September 2, 2010

I took Nelly to a new vet this morning- my friend Simon from the camera club is a vet, and I decided to switch because the original vet we'd taken Nelly to basically said there wasn't anything they could do about her ears being so itchy. I noticed when I got back from Michigan on Friday that not only has Nelly been scratching a lot, she's rubbing her eyes and also around her mouth seems to be itchy. She scratches quite a bit, and I can hear her scratching at night. She's also more fussy than usual (those of you who know Nelly will know what I mean!) She's been waking me up at night every 3 hours or so, and that usually wears off in a day or 2 after I get back from a trip. Anyway, time for a trip to the vet. Simon said it was probably allergies, and he gave her a steroid shot, hoping that it would knock back her over active immune response. I'm not expecting a cure, I'd just like her to be more comfortable and less fussy especially at night. Anyway if the steroids work she may need them every 3 months or so- it's not good to give them too often. Here's hoping it helps. The vet couldn't believe that Nelly is 16 now- she's very healthy, aside from a slight deafness in the lower ranges at times. Her teeth look great, her fur is nice and shiny, and she's still very active, aside from right now which is typical for a post-vet visit. Yesterday she forgot she was a housecat and was outside stalking a muntjac deer (about the size of a boxer) which somehow made it's way into my garden!

Just now I was drinking some tea, and I got to the bottom of the cup and thought "uh, what's that crunchy thing in my mouth?!" Turns out that it was a decent sized bug! With wings! I was blessed enough to have started to crunch it with my teeth so I got the full effect of crushed bug flavour in my mouth...not the first time I've eaten a bug, but I prefer to have the choice of it. :) This was quite a big one, with a crunchy exoskeleton, and it wasn't very tasty. Yuck.

About that muntjac that I mentioned earlier- you may have missed that as I was mostly talking about Nelly. Muntjac are a small deer, and at first glance might pass for a tan coloured boxer. They are not city dwellers. Important point, because I have no idea where this one came from, how it got in, or where it should go. Apparently they are impossible to catch because they panic and break their legs in the frantic struggle to get away. I've put some water out for this one because I thought it might be thirsty, but Simon my vet friend suggested the only thing to do is provide a way for it to get out of the garden. Great. Where's it going to go though? Into the street? I don't want a dead muntjac, so I guess I better figure something out.  Here's a link with some more info on these little deer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Reeves%27s_Muntjac

Since I got back I've also been doing a lot of cleaning, vacuuming, and getting rid of random clutter that appears over time- it's been nice to get rid of old clothes and just generally nip that "you've lived in the same house and stuff piles up" business that happens to most of us. :) I was thinking about it today, and basically I haven't been living here in my house for over 3 months, between house sitting, traveling, and staying with friends. Time for a clear out! You're probably wondering why I'd want to stay elsewhere for 3 months. I mentioned over a year and a half ago that we'd been meeting with a relationship therapist/counselor, and I've also mentioned to quite a few of you that it's become clearer over the past 6 months that the issue is in fact not relational, but has to do with some quite serious thinking issues that G has, which impact me in a negative way. It's too complicated to put into a blog really. But not living in the same house has been very helpful for both of us, and in light of that G is going to be moving in with a good friend here in Cambridge in a week or 2. I know I'm glossing over a lot of the detail, but suffice it to say it's been a difficult process- pr for us both as we adjust to the changes, and for our community here to be supportive and understanding.

August 28,2010

Made it back to Cambridge yesterday, G left for Brazil yesterday, I fotoed a wedding today, G arrived in Brazil today. Crazy crazy. :) Its cold here, cool anyway compared to the MI summer that I've been enjoying. It feels weird to be sleeping in a bed- I've been sleeping on the floor for 2 weeks. :) Trying to sort out work stuff after 3 weeks, make to do lists, and generally get back to normal.

I'm jet lagged and pretty worn out after today's work, so off to bed for me. I made it till 9:30pm, quite an accomplishment!

August 21, 2010

Been in Michigan for 2 weeks now- since I've been visiting with people I haven't updated the blog! :) I've been helping my parents renovate the house- we've ripped out the carpet in about a 1/3 of the house, removed a wall, ripped out the entire bathroom, put in a new wood floor there, and have primered the walls in the rest of the house. Been very busy!! :)

I've also been doing a bit of research on bird photography in Michigan as well- we've narrowed down that Paradise, Michigan in the UP is a fantastic place to foto birds, so at some point in the near future we'll need to take a trip there and check it out. The workshops are starting to come together, when I get back I'll need to talk to my travel agent to see if he could help us put a package together. Very exciting!!

It's been nice to be home, and to spend time with my family- as usual I've missed lots of people I've wanted to see. Sorry I've missed some of you!!!

Off to Mackinac Island and bird centers tomorrow afternoon, be back Tuesday night!

August 3, 2010

Tuesdays are always a bit of an odd day for me- I have a meeting I need to be at for 6:30am, so I'm up much earlier than normal. Some Monday nights (every other one) I have a Cambridge Business Club meeting, which results in my not getting to bed very early. All that to say that after running some errands in town this morning, then having a riding lesson at noon, I came back for some lunch and promptly fell asleep on the sofa till dinner time! I wish I'd just gotten in bed, because now my head is absolutely pounding (this sofa's not the best for long naps) and I feel all groggy and unproductive. Not my usual choice for the day before I need to pack for a trip.

Tomorrow evening I'm heading into London because I have a very early start for an exhibition on Thursday morning. Then very early Friday I'm off to Heathrow, which is starting to feel like a second home now, and by Friday afternoon EST I'll be in Detroit! Looking forward to seeing you all then!

July 31, 2010

July has come and gone- it hit me yesterday that I'll be back home in a week! One of my tasks while I'm back is to research the possibility of running photography workshops in Michigan. British photographers pay big money to fly all over the world to photograph specific stuff, and we have a very interesting raptor migration in Michigan in the fall which might turn into good business for 361. Also having a look at raptor centers in Michigan, as we have such a great relationship with the one here that the workshops sell out quickly. This part of the business is something I'm not as familiar with- one of the benefits of adding a business partner is that they bring their own special interests and expertise into the mix. A is a brilliant photographer and has a cracking head for business, which has increased my own business already. Since the raptor fotoing is his baby and not really mine, he's coming over mid month to check things out for himself, meet people at the various centers, see the raptor migration, and have a bit of holiday time with his daughter. Some of you may meet him, he'll be the Brit with the enormous camera, hard to miss. :)

This week I've been catching up on projects- late July and all of August are perfect times for fotogs to come from behind on the work that's been piling from the summer. It's been fantastic having some catch up time, and getting to process some of my own photos. I've uploaded loads to facebook and phanfare (they both have the same photos on, now that I can upload to phanfare first and push them over to facebook) and here are a few from our group trip to Keswick:

Chilling out in a local pub in Keswick

The Lake District hills, from the top of a nearby hill.

Kayaking on Derwentwater

July 28, 2010

I'm starting to get back to work after the group trip to the Lake District. I'll be sorting out my photos to show you all shortly, it was gorgeous the last 4 days there! We went for a C conference, in Keswick, and there was fantastic bbl teaching there. I learned a lot about JC's parables in Matthew's book, and about how we should both be ready for his return but also be aware that he might be delayed- ie it could be awhile. It's been 2000 years already, and when don't know when his return will be, but we shouldn't think that it's been a long time and so he's probably ditched us. :) He is definitely coming back, in Gd's timing.

We did some kayaking, sailing, and mountain climbing while we were in the Lake District, and it was SO beautiful! There are a few photos on facebook, taken by one of the 8 of us who went on the trip. Like I said, sorting mine soon. :)

It's amazing how tiring going on holiday can be- we got back late Saturday night and Z, G, and I all chilled out Sunday. I also spent most of Monday and Tuesday resting and catching up on loose threads including emails, and trying to get back to a normal sleep schedule. In fact it's 10:45pm and past my time to be in my bed, so I better get to it! :)

July 21, 2010

Hi everyone! As my last hasty post indicated, I'm not dead! There's just been a lot going on here- some exciting and good, some very difficult but good in the long term. Lots of pr-ing, quite a bit of very crazy stuff. To be honest I havent known how to even begin to explain it all via blog. I think of you all every day, and I certainly never stop thinking of you even when it goes silent here. I'm actually sending this post from my iphone in Keswick- we are here for a C conference in the Lake District. There are 8 of us- the first 2 days it poured but we are in for good weather now!

Business is going well- steadily increasing. www.361photography.com is live now, have a look!

I've decided to spend August back home- with all that's been going on here I'm feeling the need for some R and R and more face time with my family and friends. I'm arriving August 6 and coming back to Cambridge on the 26th. Cant wait to see you all!

I'll write more when I get back from the Lakes this weekend.