Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Small Tortoiseshell on Coltsfoots.



I can't help it, I keep taking photos of them. But, this time I made a video too. Change is stimulating. I'm still struggling with the conversion and quality of the videos but I think I'm getting closer to an acceptable result.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Just a little test to see how videos turn out when I upload them...


I'm so tired of this. If I understand this correctly, I have to convert the mov files into something else and then upload them , but there is a size limit too and ... the quality turns out to be so and so. After going half crazy trying to figure this out last year I got a promise from my husband, he'd figure it out during the winter. It didn't happen, he's been very ill all winter and my videos are at the bottom of the list of things that needs to be done.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Birds

I got several good photos of birds today, even some of birds flying. I also shot a short video of a Common Goldeneye male that was trying to get the attention of two ladies. The poor thing didn't know how to work it since the two ladies were separated by a sheet of ice.

I also have hundreds of photos of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on Coltsfoots. I don't need another photo of it but ... I just have to take another snap simply because I can.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Swan

We now know that we have missed the grand spectacle of the year, the mass migration of birds. From what we can tell we've missed it by weeks since spring is early this year. It's bitter since it is something that we long for all winter, but things are what they are. The good thing is that my husband is well enough to get out into the car again. It's been 6 months since he could do that.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Fresh air

I decided that I had to go out and get some sun. It lifts my mood and the extra pain it causes me is worth it. Spring is early this year and it's strange to think that it's still April. I found coltsfoot blooming on the south side of a slope and one tiny Siberiean squill spreading its petals out among the sheltering roots of a tree.

There is still ice on the water down in the bay and there are streaks of snow on the north sides. I only saw one migrating bird an Eurasian Curlev, but I know there are many more out there since I've heard them.

My husband too a giant leap forward today. He went to the garage and backed the car out. Now our sons can help us change the tires to summer tires. Then we're set to go, if he has the strength to go out into the car again anytime soon.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

"You should not cry hello before you are over the creek."

The title is a Swedish proverb basically meaning "don't celebrate too soon". Well, I did. The pain is back and with a vengeance. =/

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

It's storming outside.

Well, maybe not storming but close to it. It's a good reason for me to not go out and I plan on poking my laptop for the rest of the day. The CYOA is calling for me and I think I will attempt to finish it. Writing in second person narrative is not my thing and how to manage it in the CYOA bothered me for a while. Then I got the (if I may say so myself) great idea of making "You" a being that is mostly a spectator that sees things through the eyes of another person. Every now and then "You" have choices to make, as it works in a CYOA, but the story itself is told in third person.

There is still a problem. I keep mixing the tense up. Sometimes it's present tense and sometimes it's past tense. I think I'm doing it because "You" are following "This" person, and you see and experience what he or she is seeing and doing. You are there when it happens, present tense, but I'm still telling the story. And then there is that part that says "show don't tell" again. I think it will haunt me for the rest of this year, or longer.

I'm using Hero Machine 3 alpha to make the characters. It's quick and easy to make one and even easier to make changes if needed. It's better than the old versions of Hero Maker because of the easy to use functions where you can change size and shape of the character. I  pop the finished images into PSP to make backgrounds and correct minor flaws and then they are set to go. My characters don't need to look professional since this is something that I'm doing for fun, but the Hero Machine still makes them look really good. =)

Monday, April 18, 2011

I'm still amazed.

I had a brief moment when I thought that the bad pain was back, then it faded again. Perhaps I should pinch myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming, but I've had enough pain as it is. I have tons of things that I have to do now when I can, such as the laundry, and my mind is still foggy. In other words, I still have excuses to not start editing and rewriting. It might be for the best. The "show don't tell" part is still bugging me. From what I can tell it would have been easier if I had written it all down with that in mind the first time. Now that it's there in writing I'm having problems to "rethink" it all.

I've started to make a CYOA (Choose Your Own Adventure) while my brain was partly disconnected. The idea was to make a basic and short adventure and put in basic illustrations. Needless to say, it's a disaster. Tangled minds = tangled adventures. Now I have one more thing on my list of thing that I need to fix. =/

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Suddenly, it happens.

At first I didn't dare to believe it, but now I think I dare to think it might be so. The worst part of the pain is gone. It disappeared just as suddenly as it started. The "milder" pain is still there but it is easier to manage, I'm used to "everyday" pain as  it is and a bit extra will probably not bother me much.

The spring is here. At bit early it seems but still very welcome. We still have snow on most of the lawn but the flowerbeds by the house are clear. This morning I saw this years first crocuses when I leaned out of the office window. I've also heard swans fly over the area early in the morning. Now I hope that my husband will get better soon so that we can go out birding again.

Monday, April 11, 2011

The pain is driving me insane.

I don't sleep much, I can't do the things I really should do and I can't even do the things I usually do to distract myself from the pain. =(

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Dragon Eye

Dragon Eye - Conchron
I' procrastinating again. Trying to fix my writing still gives me a headache and I keep finding reasons to avoid doing it.

In my defence I have to say that making a dragon eye is something that has been on my to do list for ages. The first eye I made was accidentally erased and I've been planning to make a new one for ... Oh... about 2 years now.


My husband is finally home again and things are turning back to normal. I'm still in pain and I'm still hungry but things are at least moving in the right direction.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Woe is me

The pain in my shoulders and arms is getting worse. I can't sleep properly at night because the pain wakes me up. I've started taking extra pain killers and this far it hasn't changed much. For a while I thought that the pain stemmed from the cold that I had, but the cold is gone and the pain is still here.

I'm also struggling with the rewrite and the pain in my arms is not the only problem. I just don't "get it". Well, I know what I need to do but I still can't figure out how to do it. It's like knowing what way to go and still keep walking down the wrong path. I could ask for help, have people show how it should be done, but I think it's better if I struggle to learn by myself. At least for now. There has to be a way for me to get this through my thick skull ... somehow.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Funny

A Texan professor and an Oxford professor are chilling at a conference bar. The Texan professor, bored, looks to the Oxford professor and strikes up a conversation. "So there partner, where y'all from?" Oxford prof. replies, pushing his glasses to his nose: "Well, in reply to your query, I hail from Oxford. In addition, where I come from, we never end our sentences in a preposition." The Texan prof. blinks once, shrugs his shoulders and drawls, "My apologies! What I mean to say is 'where y'all from, asshole?'"

Friday, April 1, 2011

Show, don't tell.

I'm good at telling stories, at the kitchen table. My husband claims that I have a million faces and the way I speak with my whole body often amuses him. I also use the tone of my voice as well as verbal, often dialectal, expressions to tell the story.

Writing is another animal entirely. I still "tell" the story but without the "action" of my voice and body language and the story falls flat. I've been Googling and reading advice on how to do it in writing and I'm still struggling. At times if feels as if I've met my nemesis and I feel like giving up. (Though, that might be my fever talking.)

It's somewhat easy to show when I write dialogue, but it's a terror when I have big hunks of text with no dialogue in it and still need to show instead of telling. I know I don't have to "show" it all, there are things that's better if told, but it's still a pain in the rear.