Friday, June 20, 2003
Previous plans on hold due to expected but unscheduled family matters.
My sister-in-law's sister has ended a year long battle with cancer. No heroic efforts were made to drag it out, she'd already hung on to life for far longer than any of her doctors predicted. They'd all said she would be gone by last Thanksgiving but she wanted to see her nieces have one more Christmas. She had that and more.
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Posted by coldmarble @ 12:13 PM ET [Link] [blab]
Vacation to do list:
- Get house key made for dog and cat sitter
- print instructions for pet care, including doggie medication schedule
- drag beach toys up from basement
- dig through summer clothes box for beach attire
- convert Clack to pinhole
- double check film supply and pack in cooler
- pick up disposable camera and clear nailpolish
- take niece to get Harry Potter book at midnight
- nap for a few hours
- pack car
- check e-mail one last time
- morning snack and fresh water for beasts
I'm sure there's more. Won't remember some of them until we've been on the road for an hour but I won't give a rat's ass because I'm on vacation. Leaving shortly after dawn to beat the traffic frenzy, we'll get there too early to pick up the key to the beach house from the rental agent but can chill out at my aunt's for a few hours. Cook up a nice breakfast, maybe stroll up to the ocean for a few hours while the rest of the beach rat race sits and stews in traffic and mile long backups at the Bay Bridge. I don't do well in traffic at all and it's a fine excuse to squeeze a couple more hours of beach time into the week.
The weather forecast is teasing me with talk of at least a few sunny days. I'll need at least one for some decent results from the infrared film I want to play with. One day of sun and warmth's not too much to hope for, is it? Beyond that, a bad day at the beach beats a good day at work.
Posted by coldmarble @ 09:36 AM ET [Link] [blab]
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Marcy Merrill is back from her latest pintoid adventure. Despite her moaning about lousy scans, the results from her conversion of Altoid tins to pinhole cameras look pretty cool.
I'm glad someone's getting out and about for some photoplay. The weather here has been less than conducive to my own energy and creativity. Even the forecasts are conspiring to sap what little enthusiasm I can manage to garner. The end of last week, they said today would be a bright sunny fun time with perfect temperature and light for some pinhole and infrared madness. Reality is a completely different story. Positively chilly for the middle of June and a heavy overcast with rain expected just about the time I get off from work.
I can only hope that next week brings a radical change in the weather patterns here. Headed for the beach and some fun in the sun but I'll bring plenty of books in case this gray mess continues. If a miracle occurs and the sun does shine for a few days, I'll have plenty of film along as well. Enough for a full blown photo frenzy to make up for the past months in just a few days.
Posted by coldmarble @ 10:17 AM ET [Link] [1 blab]
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Back in my more adventurous youth, I was an avid sailor. Every weekend was spent racing in the very competitive environment of the Chesapeake Bay. It's been years since I had a chance to be part of that scene but an 
old friend offered me an opportunity to jump back in this weekend. He'd just purchased a J-36 and after outfitting her with a new set of sails, he rounded up a crew for the boat's first race.
The race was a 40 mile course starting south of Baltimore, heading down to Sandy Point Light near the Bay Bridge, up and across the Bay, back across the Bay again towards the entrance to Baltimore harbor, north to Poole's Island above Baltimore and then back down to Baltimore Light. Long enough to make for a good workout and present some challenging situations. To make matters more interesting, the race started at 4:00 in the afternoon, so the majority of the race was well after dark.
A new boat, a crew that had never sailed together before, a night race, and a forecast for scattered thunderstorms can make for interesting sailing. We lucked out on the weather, with only one brief squall to bother us. That was interesting enough, as we were on a downwind leg with the spinnaker flying. The photo was taken later in the race, when calm had returned but you can see the large sail ballooning out in front of the boat. It's amazing how much excitement a few hundred square feet of nylon can add to your life when it's caught by the rapid onset of a thunderstorm's heavy gusts.
I'm off to soak in a nice hot tub and get the kinks out of my aching muscles. Maybe more sea stories later.
Posted by coldmarble @ 12:26 PM ET [Link] [blab]
