Every Little Bit Counts

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I hadn't even considered picking up the 50D with the 70-200mm lens since my hand surgery. I have stuck with the lighter 40D and the 50mm, or even the G7. Today, I felt that I could no longer stand the suspense and reached for the heavy equipment. Granted, I could only manage the camera for a very short time before taking breaks, but I managed to snap a few pictures before common sense won the day. 

You may be thinking, "why not use a tripod?" I tought of that for a fleeting second, then remembered how difficult it is to open a water bottle, or brush my teeth, and decided against it. My tripod is not state of the art, and I have given myself a couple of good pinches with it even when I was at my best.

I have begun to venture into creating my own texture layers and this is my first time to post an image using one of mine. There are a couple from Shadowhouse that are favorites and I know I will continue to use them from time to time; but, I can see myself enjoying my own creations, as well. 

All Wrapped Up

I thought I would would share this snapshot taken just before my debut in the boxing ring. Okay, you are right. I am not about to take up boxing. This is what my hand looked like when I left the hospital last week. While I am long past needing that much padding on the hand, I still have quite bit of dressing covering the stitches.

If you thought you spotted writing on my fingers and that they have a strange orange cast, you are right on both counts. Prior to surgery, each finger scheduled for the knife was marked, "yes"—no smiley faces, though.  The orange cast is from the antiseptic, not an out of kilter monitor.

In The Pink?

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Since I am still not at my best, it seemed an appropriate time to post my impression of the pink peonies that The Husband brought home a couple of weeks ago. Just as the peonies had seen better days when I took this photograph, I have been better. But, what matters is that I have been a great deal worse.

The healing of my hand is coming along nicely. I am typing with all ten fingers now and yesterday I picked up the 40D and snapped a couple of pictures. Since I had the old Canon "nifty fifty" on that backup camera, the gear was light. I couldn't resist giving it a try. I didn't make any pictures that I want to post; but, that was mainly because the freshest flowers in the house have seen better days. Unfortunately, they haven't aged as gracefully as the peonies or the tulips did. The sound of the shutter was music to my ears and fueled my determination to continue the hand exercises. Keep the Advil and Tylenol handy.

Today, I dream of living where peonies bloom for weeks on end. But, I dream about a lot of things and who knows what it may be tomorrow.