The End of Phase One—Finally

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The trees got trimmed; the deck got painted; still more boxes got filled; who knows how many trips were made to the thrift store to donate items that should have been gotten rid of a long time ago; furniture got rearranged and some was moved out of the house. We were pretty much there last week, but I got sick (stress does wicked thing to the body, doesn’t it?) and then we got inspired to do more. So, we spent another week, doing still more tweaking, polishing, and “set dressing”. The Husband and I are exhausted, but we got a passing grade. Whoopee! We go on the market this weekend. I know, I know “the market is dead”. Still, someone is buying, and we are prepared to be exceptions. The main thing is that phase one is behind us. Today, Carey, our LA realtor, (we have our LA realtor and our Bear Valley realtor—lucky us, both fantastic ladies) told us that sometimes going through this ordeal wrecks marriages. Now, she tells us. I think we were working so hard that we were too tired to fight.

The only photography I have done is taking pictures for Carey. (Hey, it was better than not taking pictures at all.) Actually, it was a great experience, since I knew nothing about taking photos for marketing a house. Because I had neither the time, nor the energy, to do anything fancy, I kept it verrrry simple and shot with the on-camera flash. Still, she liked what I got, so I guess I learned a few things along the way.

I dipped into the Colorado folder for the photo above.

Going Downhill

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Going downhill describes my energy level, now; but, my level of anticipation has begun to build. I am spending more time thinking about living "out in the country"—something I have never done.

Meanwhile, we lurch through these cycles during which our current house is less cluttered and quite encouraging, then a horrific mess. One day I finish clearing an area, but before I have time to fully enjoy it, I pull stuff out of a closet or from behind a piece of furniture, to resume the sorting and packing. Oops, no longer inviting , no longer encouraging. This weekend, we are in the "horrific mess" stage. Jim litters outside. He is in the process of building and painting, as he completes repairs on the deck and fence. I wreak havoc indoors.

The photo, above, was taken near South Fork, Colorado.

Veteran's Day

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I am pathetically late, but I wanted to put up something to commemorate Veteran's Day. This picture from an old, rather isolated cemetery, near Del Norte, Colorado seemed an appropriate way to salute the vast numbers who have protected our freedom for so many decades.

Drive-by Photography

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When we take one of our road trips, I do quite a bit of what I am starting to call "Drive-by Photography". (The picture above was taken on the way home from our Eastern Sierra trip.) Since my husband is driving on those trips, I don't have to pay attention to traffic while I shoot. I shoot outside the car window, or sometimes through the windshield. Granted most of the shots are throwaways, but every so often there is one I am glad I shot.

A short while back I posted another one of my shots taken through the window and got back a fun response from a viewer who linked to his own examples of this type of madcap shooting. Apparently, Beau Harbin has done his share of photographing scenes while traveling down the highway. Now, I have learned that some of those wonderful images at Doug Stockdale's site were taken from a moving vehicle. Hmmm. I think I will apologize less now for this style shooting and consider myself having joined a growing movement. On a more serious note, Doug Stockdale has a unique style and his work stays with you. (As a bonus, he is a master of shooting from a moving vehicle.) And, speaking of work that stays with you, check out the beautiful black and white titled "Fingers", at Paul Maxim's site. Especially if you are a cloud person like me, you will be hopelessly smitten. (By the way, this photograph was taken from a totally safe and sane position according to Paul's post.)

New Gallery—You Are Invited!

There are several more entries now in the Colorado 2007 Gallery. I hope you will drop by.

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