I'm not there yet on the new iPhone camera. Parts of this pumpkin blossom are quite nice but other parts are not in focus.
I keep having this problem. I need to read some more, watch some videos, learn some more.
This isn't bad but it doesn't scream MAGNIFICENT to me.
Meanwhile, here's our biggest pumpkin.
The bee balm is beginning to bloom. (Unintended alliteration.)
Not there. Getting close. No pun intended.
Last night when I was taking the first pictures, I captured something that really sort of blew me away and it's the camera's capability when it comes to telephoto shots.
The sun was going down and was shining bits of golden light here and there.
You can see three of them here if you look closely. I focused in and look what I got.
That is not bad detail for being so far away.
So yes, I am going to have fun with this thing and still find myself shocked at the fact that I enjoy taking pictures so much. I never, ever would have discovered that without this blog or iPhones which make it easy to get at least decent pictures, if not superb ones.
My anxiety seems to have settled in. I find myself anxious about the silliest, tiniest, little things I need to deal with. Things on the internet, as I said yesterday, things I need to get in the mail. Picking the last of the peas so as not to waste them. Getting the garden cleared for the fall planting. Not having spent enough time with my grandchildren this summer. Not having spent enough time with all my children this summer.
Wondering if I'll ever feel that same sort of contented happiness I was feeling when we got back from North Carolina.
And none of this is life-threatening or even necessarily true. And that, of course, makes no difference at all in how I feel.
I did get a few things accomplished yesterday and today and transferring the data to my new phone was a big one although it turned out to be incredibly simple.
I have a terrible neurosis about returning things and mailing things in general and I wanted to get my old phone on its way to AT&T according to instructions which involved nothing more than erasing the data on it, getting it packaged in the same box my new phone came in, and printing out the label I'd been sent. Glen did that part for me and I did the rest which, again, was nothing. NOTHING! And then all I needed to do was take it to the Fed Ex place which is about five hundred yards (if that) from where Lily works.
I managed to do that and I got my things in the mail I needed to send off and I got to visit Lily at work which is always a joy.
I have to stop here and brag for a moment. She got an evaluation at work recently and got a perfect which she rather modestly said she'd never even heard of happening.
I am not surprised.
I wanted to go by Oak Tree and check out the treasures there just for fun and also because I needed to get out of the house. Jim, Tom's friend, is back and he and Glen are hard at it. So I went by there and found not one thing I wanted or needed. By then I was so hungry and took myself to get some shrimp tacos and THEN I had to go to the dreaded, horrible Walmart to get a new phone case.
It wasn't that bad, really. The phone cases are locked up and there are so many to choose from as to brand and color and design and blah, blah, blah. I spent a lot of time just looking without asking for help to unlock them so that I could examine at least the boxes more closely and I finally did that. I realized at one point that there were at least three different sources of speakers, all blasting different things from TV shows to stereos and it was hard to think, much less think logically. When the lady unlocked the first display of them I just reached for the Apple case and after discussing it with the her and she said she had no idea if they were any good, I chose it. Life is too short for this fucking around, trying to make a decision based on quick internet searches and absolutely nothing else of substance. I got a screen protector too, paid for them, and left the store. At least with an Apple case, I knew it would fit properly and besides that, it was packaged as artfully and simply and easy to open as all Apple products are. This is not nothing. It cost more than the cheapest cases, and less than the most expensive.
And so that is done.
On to the library to drop off books and then to Publix to pick up a prescription and get groceries.
We are indeed having scallops again tonight. Last night's chili was very good and Glen and Jim finished it up today for lunch.
I have a terrible neurosis about returning things and mailing things in general and I wanted to get my old phone on its way to AT&T according to instructions which involved nothing more than erasing the data on it, getting it packaged in the same box my new phone came in, and printing out the label I'd been sent. Glen did that part for me and I did the rest which, again, was nothing. NOTHING! And then all I needed to do was take it to the Fed Ex place which is about five hundred yards (if that) from where Lily works.
I managed to do that and I got my things in the mail I needed to send off and I got to visit Lily at work which is always a joy.
I have to stop here and brag for a moment. She got an evaluation at work recently and got a perfect which she rather modestly said she'd never even heard of happening.
I am not surprised.
I wanted to go by Oak Tree and check out the treasures there just for fun and also because I needed to get out of the house. Jim, Tom's friend, is back and he and Glen are hard at it. So I went by there and found not one thing I wanted or needed. By then I was so hungry and took myself to get some shrimp tacos and THEN I had to go to the dreaded, horrible Walmart to get a new phone case.
It wasn't that bad, really. The phone cases are locked up and there are so many to choose from as to brand and color and design and blah, blah, blah. I spent a lot of time just looking without asking for help to unlock them so that I could examine at least the boxes more closely and I finally did that. I realized at one point that there were at least three different sources of speakers, all blasting different things from TV shows to stereos and it was hard to think, much less think logically. When the lady unlocked the first display of them I just reached for the Apple case and after discussing it with the her and she said she had no idea if they were any good, I chose it. Life is too short for this fucking around, trying to make a decision based on quick internet searches and absolutely nothing else of substance. I got a screen protector too, paid for them, and left the store. At least with an Apple case, I knew it would fit properly and besides that, it was packaged as artfully and simply and easy to open as all Apple products are. This is not nothing. It cost more than the cheapest cases, and less than the most expensive.
And so that is done.
On to the library to drop off books and then to Publix to pick up a prescription and get groceries.
We are indeed having scallops again tonight. Last night's chili was very good and Glen and Jim finished it up today for lunch.
So. I can still get things mailed off. I can still go visit my daughter at work. I can still do my shopping. I can still make our meals. I can still keep plants alive. (Mostly.) I can still laugh and I can still cry and not let it overtake me. I can still survive Walmart. I can still have a perfectly normal conversation with another person in Publix.
I'm okay. Anxiety passes.
And in the entire scheme of things, this bout of it is not so bad. Not so bad at all.
Tomorrow? A pedicure with Lily and Jessie! The kids start back to school and mamas need to do something to note that day. It's a big one. And they have invited me. I haven't gotten a pedicure since Lily and I got one probably back in June.
Love...Ms. Moon








Back to school? So soon. Here it's after labor Day. That feels like a law of nature to me!
ReplyDeleteI know. I have no idea why the schools here start so early. The teachers hardly have time to take a breath between end of classes and beginning of classes.
DeletePedicure? I cut my own toenails yesterday, does that count? Ha Ha.
ReplyDeleteThe gold on the tree photos are THE BEST! Especially the zoomed in one with all the detail. I bought my phone case/cover online, it's leather with a nice embossed design and I thought I had ordered the wrong size so next day I ordered another and checked the size before clicking "buy" so they both arrived and both are the right size so now I have a spare.
So are your leather cases like wallets or simply phone cases that are leather? What do you feel are the advantages? I'm not sure I've ever seen a leather phone case.
DeleteI will email you a photo of the spare cover which is exactly the same as the one on the phone.
DeleteLove the new photos! I knew you'd enjoy the exploration of a new toy! So glad you have pretty toes too. My mail hasn't been forwarded yet from North Carolina, though the order for the address change was put in on July 22. So tomorrow I get to go to the post office and see what's happening.
ReplyDeleteThe UPS isn't exactly having its best years is it? I hope you got some answers. You need your mail.
DeleteI detest technology in general LOLso I applaud you tackling the new phone/camera. I had a glitch in my email program here on my iMac today and spent 2 hrs researching and trying to figure it out..... I think I did? because now it's all working? but I have ZERO idea how I screwed it up, or fixed it. I'm an idiot that is just not into technology but through time and life have been almost forced into using it. I have limits! otherwise....I just scream for help! I know nothing about bee balm, but the flowers are lovely
ReplyDeleteSusan M
Well, if your email is working, you must have fixed it, right?
DeleteI told Jessie and Lily today that I wanted all of my technology to involve a dial to turn things on and off and a dial to change whatever needs changing.
They laughed. I did too but I was serious.
Liz Sparks gave me the bee balm cuttings and now I have about a shit ton of it.
I’ve got an anxiety itch around my neck (I have cream for it). Maybe it’s the time of year; more likely it’s the time of man. I would have just gone with the Apple case, too. I have to remove my iPad case to charge it. The cutouts aren’t properly aligned. It cost less and is a pain in the...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos. It looks like the 17 has better zoom than the 13. Something for me to think about.
"...the time of man." Yes. I believe you are right.
DeleteI looked at some pretty phone cases. Ones with blue flowers and so forth and then I saw the plain Apple one and I said, "Done."
Yes. Definitely on the zoom! No doubt about that.
Oh the fucking anxiety. I swear it is worse than depression. With depression you feel nothing. With anxiety you feel everything and then some. Horrible horrible horrible. At least you know that it can and does subside now and again. I do hope this visit is fleeting.
ReplyDeleteI bought a google pixel for its camera. I don't think I've really learnt how to drive it. I admire your skill. Maybe that is my problem ... the user not the gadget!
It seems to me that I can't have just anxiety or just depression. I call them the horrible Siamese twins because they always seem to come together. One may cause the other but if so, I don't know which one is which.
DeleteI had to look up a google pixel because I'd never heard of one. Huh!
I think one of Apple's main advantages is how user friendly it is. It's sort of intuitive? Can I say that?
Do they sell "Google Pixels For Dummies"? If so, I recommend buying one. Ha! What a great series that was.
I'm impressed by the telephoto on the 17 pro, so much better than my last phone. There's just nothing much to take close up photos of around here right now.
ReplyDeleteThe older the grandkids get, the less time they will spend with you and that's NORMAL. They need less supervision, they have social lives, they go away to school and don't come back (the twins) but then some stay and they will still need Mer and Bop, just not as often.
The zoom IS a huge difference, Ellen. That's no joke.
DeleteYou're so right about the grandkids. Gawd, they grow up faster than the kids did.
Yeah, that telephoto is pretty impressive. I think for really fine control of focus you'll need something other than a phone -- something where you can determine the depth of field -- though sometimes moving away from the object helps. (Not that I'm any kind of expert at phone photography.)
ReplyDeleteI still haven't bought a new camera yet and I am missing it something terrible.
I also get antsy when I have to get things in the mail or submitted or whatever. I've had a long "to do" list in that regard and I'm still trying to whittle it down.
Are you researching cameras? I know it's a big decision and you don't want to buy the wrong one.
DeleteWhat IS it about those little mailing or submitting things? Or ordering things? I do not know but the anxiety they cause me is real.
When the to-do list gets long and has deadlines (self-imposed or not) I think we all get antsy. My late Uncle used to say, one thing a day is enough. Today I see his point!
ReplyDeleteI especially like the marigold photo. It is a perfect little beauty. Also, the orange light on the tree branch is like magic; the sunlight wove through the tree branches to exactly that spot and made it glow.
One thing a day IS enough.
DeleteFor me, anyway.
The light on the tree branch is magic, isn't it? A little gold in the golden hour.
My two grandsons that live near me will start back to school tomorrow. My activities will pick up with meeting the bus 2 days a week after school and also soccer games to go to on Saturdays. I enjoy it as I know how quickly the years will fly by.
ReplyDeleteYour grandsons' mom and dad are so lucky to have your help. This is absolutely the truth. I'm glad you enjoy doing the things you do for and with them. It means a lot, I'm sure.
DeleteCongrats to Lily for the Perfect Eval. That Camera is a fine one and I thought all the Pixs you took were excellent and great Quality.
ReplyDeleteThank you, lady!
Delete