life in the old lane

Well, I did it. Consigned 23 pounds and 10 ounces of photographs to the dumpster. I still have 2 archival boxes to deal with. But, I am putting that off until Saturday, soonest.

I don’t think I’ll regret this move. Maybe I should have done it 15 years ago when Carlton and I first moved. But, I didn’t. It was not the right time. This was the right time. I made all those photos. So, they were mine to clean up before I  leave.  And, I did.

The remaining binders are 3 binders of Carlton’s DVDs. And a binder of financial records that are too old, flimsy and stapled to scan. 

And summer is giving us one more blast of hot air. 95° in late August is easier to take than 95° in early June. Because, in August, fall is one of the coming attractions. 

Back into the old summer oven again today. Over 90° today. Maybe higher tomorrow.

Thinking about getting a ticket to see Hamilton. That is one advantage of being a widow lady. You buy A ticket. Of course, back in my day – if you were a girl you never bought ANY ticket. Tickets are most expensive in NYC. Then DC. Much cheaper in Chicago.  Or maybe just try to score a standing room ticket. Think I can still stand upright for 3+ hours. 

You just never know what you will see on the bus. Learning how to use public transportation 15 years ago was one of my smarter moves. Checking into   The Asylum was another. Wonder if I have any smart moves left?

A busy but very ordinary day. Nothing at all wrong with that.  10 of us ate dinner together. Five of us got the wrong order. The kitchen was not having a good evening. At work, our computer system was really really slow. Could not do a thing about it. Server issue. Outside my pay grade. Nothing life-threatening. 

1995 is when I drug Mr C off to Hawai’i – for his first time ever. After that, he never missed a winter in Kona. 

Tired now. Off to read then off to sleep. 

Been spoiling myself with the last of my Kona coffee most afternoons.  Feeling a little smug this particular afternoon – because I have almost finished with the photo binder project.  I looked back on the blog…

July 7, 2004.  Made a major dent in getting my photo collection ready to move. I decided that I am not throwing out a single photo. I’ll move them. And, then maybe, just maybe cull things down. Same with the negatives.

Well, I have only taken 14 years to get down to actually getting rid of the prints and negatives. Negatives all gone. Prints will be gone by this time next week.

In a fit of boredom yesterday I decided to figure out how many “animals” live in the Old Bat Cave. My earrings and hair sticks not included. Surprised to find 16. And, I am not sure that dragons count as animals.

Surprising how many animals share my studio apartment!

Exactly how bad will next week be for The Orange Lord. Expect more than normal weirdness. It will be be some sort of end of summer fit of madness. Even crazier than “normal”. 

Still “death cleaning” my photo collection. Nothing made it to the dumpster. But, I processed another book. Only 2 books and 2 boxes of photo left. 

As was our custom in those days, we went on a 4 to 6 week road trip in the fall after we finished working at Harpers Ferry Park. In 1995 we some to have crossed Canada and then turned south and east through Utah.

And, we ended up in Kansas. 

WordPress isn’t working correctly. Well, that worked. Let us see if we can make a real post now. OK, here goes. Hope this will publish.

Well, I took the day off from work today, because of the hurricane. Never-mind that the hurricane is 5,000 miles away. But, I thought you would like to see how worried my home folk are about the coming storm. 

Did it. I actually took a fist full of negatives and prints to the dumpster. As well as some crap  to our “What Not Shop”. Real progress is being made. 

Today, I am messing with prints from 1990-1991. At that time, I was playing with one of my favorite cameras. The Zeiss Ikoflex 1a. It was a twin lens reflex camera – sort of a poor man’s Rolleiflex – and it had been my father’s. 

I always printed the Ikoflex photos in full frame as was the fashion back in the day. Especially when using 120 film. I still have the camera. And, I believe 120 film is still manufactured. But, I sure don’t have what it takes to develop and print my own photos anymore. 

The Ikoflex is a decoration now. As is it’s buddy an old Yashica.

We lived a couple of miles from this establishment and it was a favorite subject. And, that would be my beloved Alpha Romeo in front.

This is one of my all time ever favorite photographs. I didn’t take it. Some fellow traveler in the South Pacific did and sent it to me. We did that before we had email. And, a phone that took pictures.

That trip to French Polynesia was the first time Carlton had been anywhere that wasn’t all nicely western civilization white bread. And, it was his introduction to Polynesia. Which became an important part of his later years.  

Well, it is dinner time. So, this is it for today…

The food gods were a little crazy today. That insane Texas culinary offering “Chicken Fried Steak” appeared at dinner tonight – perching atop a raft of asparagus. K-Bob’s would not do this. Apparently, our chef will. She also puts artichoke in her otherwise excellent crab cakes. (I did not have the chicken fried steak riding on asparagus. )

And, then earlier today at my hospital – I encountered this tragedy:

Back at the photo project for a bit this afternoon. This set of photos I scanned in September 2013 and they were sort of just floating around in my Lightroom Catalog. The prints no longer exist. Don’t know when I pitched them. But, I do remember that scanning was much harder than my current Shamu the Phone 2 method. Not to mention the fact that the scanner didn’t make the move to The Asylum.

Point is: I don’t miss the photos. And, I rounded these images up into a nicely named folder inside my Lightroom Catalog. 

1986. That was a long time ago. Before “the internet” as we know it. But, we did have CompuServe and dial-up acoustic modems. Funny, no one remembers acoustic modems fondly. Not even old women. 

Ah, Mother Nature – just when I am feeling all tired, grumpy, frumpy and old – a monarch butterfly floats in front of my lens. 

Not much to record as far as my garden efforts – which were de minimus this weekend.

There is vast nothingness in this half of the weedlot – I plan to put an Elephant Ear bulb there next year. Turns out Elephant Ears and Taro are very close relatives. And both are considered invasive in Florida. But this isn’t Florida. 

This section of the weedlot is OK. Not great, but OK. I plan to put in some Spanish Blue Bells for a little late spring interest in the fall. Spanish Blue bells are supposed to be rabbit proof. I am hoping the Elephant Ear can out grow the bunnies.

Not much happening in the wild child garden box. 

Wow, two nights out in one week! I am getting to be a real party animal. Tonight, I am going to a musical event that involves a couple of 75 mm antitank cannons. What’s not to love about that?

And, I think that I am officially 1/2 way finished with my photo binder project. Still haven’t tossed any actual photographs yet. They are hanging out in a shopping bag, just waiting to go down to the dumpster. 

After the binders are done, I have a couple of archival boxes to deal with. 

The 1987 Circle the South Pacific trip ended in mid-May in Aitutaki, Cook Islands. We spent a week in Aitutaki.  It was very undeveloped then. We only had cold water and we had electricity occasionally.