lucifersprize

Valentine's Day. Hmm.

I hope everyone is having the romance that they want or need, today. I feel like I may need to romance a nice veggie chilli into my belly. As an asexual, and aromantic, I find it a hard concept to grasp, so just another day, but I did get a comfort hug from a virtual stranger this morning when I found myself  at almost at breakdown over a 'shut out of my own house by a faulty door' situation so that counts, maybe.

It was nice, actually. I had a posse to help me, from the walking group I had just been to. Turns out that one of them is a local private landlord, so if my landlord continues to neglect repairs, he'll come over to fix the door and keep me informed of any suitable houses he has ready for a new tenancy.

Anyhoo, enough of all my personal drama. I continue on with my photography course (for mental health rather than skills - that is kinda obvious from the amateur hour pics but I am trying new photoraphy things). Thought I would share, just because this is supposed to be my creative space. The topic is Favourite Things, with secondary prompts of Winter and Orange if we were struggling for ideas.

I mostly tried to keep strictly to 'things' rather than places, activities etc.


Milk Frother

20+ years of cappucino and milkshakes have been produced by this random Christmas gift I received, which I didn't think it would be any use to me. It's a traditional cafe/milk bar milkshake maker. Boy, was I wrong! Some days a vanilla, soy, cappucino can save my life and this is the gadget that makes it possible. I've always loved how shiny it is.

Nobody warned me how difficult it is to get a 'reflection' photo without the camera or photographer sneaking into the image. A ridiculous amount of time went into the set up for this and it stil wasn't as crisp as I would have liked.


Spring Flowers

This was not set up. I got wet for this. My knees were cold. I love how the raindrops pool in the centre of the top flower like spilt tea caught in a saucer.


Buttonhooks

Yes, I have a button hook collection. Do not judge me. These are a few of them. I don't get them out often enough, thay are pretty and it  really is a mindful and tactile thing for me to do. Some are home made from washers and polished to a shine, some are  silver or 'modern' bakelite, hand painted. The Tiger's Eye one draws me in, every time. I wonder about the stories of the people and businesses that owned them and who used them, hurrying to get ready for the day, or to help a customer to try on a shoe or jacket.


View from The Beach

My deviation from 'thing' I guess this is really a place or activity but sitting on the beach IS a 'thing' for me. The yacht is surprisingly far out but I was being lazy, sitting slouched low on the beach and the perspective gave it this really close-up look.

So there's all of that. Hopefully y'all will be too busy being romanced at restaurants, clubs and wine bars to be reading this!

I had been intending to post a few of my pretty photos from my trip to Ireland but I still haven't sorted out the files from my main camera.

These are a few sneaky pictures taken on my phone because they made me laugh in context of my SPN fandom stuff.


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I've been a bit rough lately but today I managed to get into town and get my house rental sorted for another year which was a huge weight of my mind. I took a walk on the ancient town walls and took some photos both there and a few of the more run down corners of town. I think I got some interesting pics, most of which are for a different time and place.

But then I reviewed some of my last outings and a bit of a theme stood out which, in my current dip felt like a message:-

Just surviving can be a triumph in itself.

So here are some of the photos which sparked that theme and I hope it inspires others :)

Flowers flourish in a crumbling cliff face.


Town centre alley.


Brambles on the edge of a building site.


Buddleia growing in the gaps of the town walls.


Marram grass colonises in the shelter of steps from the promenade


An exposed, lone tree bends without breaking in the wind (and boy it was windy that day)


A bee enjoys a ragwort plant which survived local purges. (Ragwort is poisonous to horses and cattle. No I didn't have the heart to pull it up.)


So, it's Monday, it may not be a wonderful, day week, year but you're surviving and it's a triumph in itself and in just being, like the cliffs, plants and flowers here, you support others, you are valuable.

This is photo heavy but there are no pictures of people since there are consent issues involved in that. Sometimes it meant aiming my camera at odd angles. My camera isn't waterproof so there are no in-water pictures, but there was a photographer on the boat who will forward some pictures of us in that sea when they have ensured that they are only of people who consented to share their photographs.

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I swear I am going to sort through the photos for my seal swim and gather my thoughts on it. A quick summary in the words of Dean Winchester would be "Awesome!" Here's a little taster from waiting for the tide to turn at Seahouses Harbour in the meantime:


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