There is a gorgeous-smelling white lilac bush close to the new apartment, lush with double blooms. Every time I come back I try to huff it.
Also, bonus white frilly iris. Second spring hurrah!
The Sadness of Leaving Something Beautiful
Kizu stands on a sand bank in Buffalo Bayou Park with the sunlit Houston skyline behind her.
We are going to miss this view, this park, the birds, and the people we know and love here. 😢
Yet ANOTHER OMG MOOOOON
Seriously, I can’t get enough.
A bright, clear, almost-full Moon photograph from February 2018
I mean, DAYUMN, Moon! You look stunning!
Galveston Pleasure Pier, Late Twilight
Galveston Pleasure Pier (a small group of amusement park rides, including a ferris wheel, roller coaster, and a tall chair swing ride on a long pier) lit up in blues, reds, and purples on the background of a dark purple late evening sky.
Of course there are many pictures like this, but this one is mine. And I did not mess with the white balance at all – it turned out this purple all on its lonesome. It feels like a wonderful gift.
Particularly Proud of this Pelican Shot
A Brown Pelican (large water bird with white-and-black mottled wings and orange patches on its head and beak) flying low across gray, lightly wavy water. Its wings are on the downbeat.
Brown pelican in flight, from a Galveston trip in early March. I’m particularly proud of this photo, given I had no tripod and was following the bird by hand. The rest of the shots in this series? Not so much.
Spring Cleaning – The Moving Version
Welp, things are again changing dramatically over here.
Jon and I are moving out of Houston, back to the East Coast, back to snowier climes. Which we’re thrilled about.
*confetti* *dancing*
This has been cause for much celebration by friends and family in the northeast, and not so much from friends and family here in Houston. (It’s nice to be loved.) But once again, Jon and I have to live hundreds of miles away from each other for a month and change, due to his company’s scheduling. He literally stopped his contract work here on a Saturday and started work in the new city on Monday.
So yeah. 45 days apart once again. Which we are NOT thrilled about.
Soooooo, given the frustration and bodily trauma that was “packing to move to Houston,” I am looking at this as an opportunity to really lighten up our load. Books about decluttering, such as Konmari and others, have been a presence in the media the past few years. We read a few but never thought we could do anything like that, because we love-and-joy REALLY hard on lots of things. (As in, YES EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF THESE WATER GLASSES GIVE ME SQUEEJOY GO AWAY kind of hard.) Now I’m in a “uhhh fine these can be replaced” kind of mood, because cross-country moves are annoyingly expensive.
And so is packing.
Ugh.
So I guess yay new adventure, boo the leadup? I am looking forward to the end point, though.
Spring Cleaning – The Clothing Version
I remember reading once that Neil Gaiman had tubs of black clothes in his closet, where each tub corresponded to a specific waist size. Recently I’ve been really varied in my sizes – even between days – and originally I thought I’d have to do something similar just to keep track. But yesterday I put on a favorite dress in a larger size and it was a little tight, and another favorite dress in a smaller size and it was a little loose.
Bodies are weird.
And clothing sizes are apparently utter BS for clothes gendered as “women” (or more obnoxiously, “Ladies”).
So I’m currently trying to figure out how to pack away the stuff that doesn’t fit me right now, without having to try on every single thing I’ve got. I might have to just suffer through it, but I thought I’d post in case anyone out there has a trick they use?
*hopeful eyes*
*cute blinking*
Spring Cleaning – The Facebook Version
Just did a quick pare-down of my friends list. I’ve been spending waaaay too much time on FB and it’s about time for me to take a rest. Before I do, I’m trying to clean up not only what I see but what others see from me, and make my “friends only” posts mean a little something.
No one’s removal was personal at all. My metrics were:
– Has the person commented on my posts or comments in a positive fashion?
– Have I commented on the person’s in a positive fashion?
– Have I seen a post from the person in my timeline recently?
– …did I particularly like any of the posts if so?
– …do I feel liked I missed out if not?
or
– *Would* I miss the person’s presence on FB, or do they crosspost/mostlypost from Instagram or Twitter enough we could interact there?
– …or do I enjoy their content a lot more on one of those? (That was the case for two folks.)
When I made the qualifications based on “do I enjoy it?” things changed quite a bit. I kept a few people who challenge me – this isn’t a blue-bubble situation – but are not snarky about any disagreement they might have with my content.
So hopefully I can have an easier time on the Blue Beast for the next few weeks before my break goes active. Fingers crossed!
