c r a f t i n g

It's reading week, at last. I haven't felt so in need of a rest since... the last reading week in February. Term is so punishing, so thank goodness for small breaks from it. I am going to try to catch up with some crafting.

S y r a c u s e

This is my trip to Syracuse. It's very unusual for me to sign up for travelling on my own, so this was a big adventure for me. I was going to a conference, but didn't know anyone else who was going. And it was across the Atlantic, and to a part of America I'd never visited before. I had a huge wobble on the way when my flight was diverted and I had a crummy time in Boston airport and I really thought I'd done the wrong thing and I knew I should have stayed at home. I felt bad afterwards that I'd been so negative on the phone with doglet and co-carer. But... it got a lot better just the next morning. The sun came up over Syracuse, and it turned out not to be such a scary place after all. In fact it was great, and the people so friendly. I had lots of fun, and the sunshine was warm and positive. So, it turns out to be good to go on adventures.

a u t u m n a l

This week I'm trying to catch the changing tree colours in moments between work and more work. It's so gorgeous around here at the moment. Here I'm experimenting with 'blowing out' the sky by over-exposing it, and creating a strong contrast with the (actually quite muted on this day) tree tones. You can see the green just starting to give way to browns and oranges.

an ant's perspective

Evidently thinking that a full time job at its most full-on plus housework wasn't enough, I decided to take an online photography course. And then our bedroom ceiling fell in (these two things weren't related), and now I'm completely exhausted. But here are some of my photos from our weekly tasks. These ones are from 'light' and 'depth of field' exercises. Who needs sleep?

a p p l e s

I was very lucky to visit upstate New York recently just at the start of the apple season. The sunshine was so beautiful; the leaves' colour just beginning to turn. I had great hotdogs from stands and smoothly delicious apple juice, and met some lovely people. There were a couple of hours when I just lay in the very warm sun under a tree and read a book. I haven't done that for ages and it was bliss (Parade's End, as it happens). The town of Ithaca is pretty beautiful -- so quiet and calm, and full of beautiful things. I came back with a huge reading list, and feeling pretty restored that there are good people in the world. Although physically coming back straight into teaching has been brutal, I think this trip set me up to keep my head above water in spirits.

c o o k i n g

It's been a bit of a long time. I've been away in America, and then swept away under a wave of new term crazy busy-ness. I'm so tired. I have lots and lots to catch up with here, both domestic and travelling. Here is a tiny bit of domesticity to begin with, and in honour of the Great British Bake-Off season. This loaf was from a Paul Hollywood recipe and I was so delighted by how it turned out. I couldn't believe it looked like real bread. (I'm now in team Beca, or Frances. Please not Ruby!) And these blackberries we picked from the high banks of the river near us in Maryhill. Although they were a little bit small and bitter-looking, they turned out to be really tasty in a crumble, and it's just a pleasure to eat things from an obliging hedgerow.