5/24/26

It's Sunday of Memorial Day weekend here on Halfmoon Lake. I got out for the first time on one of the two kayaks I bought yesterday. Fun. Cher and I went for a walk with Bing. The gray day was perfect for B+W.

 5/23/26

    It's a gray, cold start to Memorial Day weekend. I had a headache all last night and most of today. We did watch the hummingbirds today out the window. I may have inserted myself into getting a dock for the neighborhood lake access point. I've got some waders coming to get that dock work started.

    

Hey! That's not a hummingbird!

 5/22/26

It was not a great day. It started out with me thinking that the A/C man was coming today when in fact they are scheduled a week from today. So that was a wasted morning until I called them and they told me 'you're on the schedule next week'. ugh. Then I decided that it was time to finally make a decision on some kayaks. I saw a couple on sale at Tractor Supply. I packed up Cher and we drove over only to find out they are in stock at a different store. ugh-2. I ordered them online for pickup only to realize that putting them in the Maverick could be an ordeal for me, Cancelled order. Ugh-3. So now I finally just ordered them for delivery ($69) and they came same day. Finally one success. Cook dinner. Get Cher ready for bed. Day over.

 5/21/26

    It's Thursday before Memorial Day. I think the goal of blog/diary is to give myself something to do that is different from the day to day of caregiving. I gave Cher some new hiking shoes yesterday. I set them out for her but she forgot to put them on. A couple of minutes into our walk I looked down at her feet and she still has her old shoes on. It's not that big a deal but those shoes are worn out. She had a stress fracture in her foot last year and I don't want that to happen again.

    Cher is having a hard time taking pills. I'm looking at liquid calcium for her. Along with that she would need a 'K2' supplement for calcium absorption or change her diet a bit.

    I took out my Olympus e-pm2 with the 9mm and 15mm body cap lenses today. It's pocketable and lots of fun.

    It's evening now and Cheri and I head out for a quick walk over to the lake. Good night for now.

A Fresh Start

 5/20/26. I'm going to use this as a bit of a diary and a fresh start on the blog. It's been more than five years being  a caregiver for my wife who has Alzheimer's. It's not a great day today. I'm just having one of those down days. The excitement today was a trip to the Kroger, returning Amazon stuff to UPS and cutting the lawn. My wife is at that point in her 'long goodby' journey that she follows me around pretty much everywhere. Tiring.

A rainy day with my Fuji X T1

Well, many cloudy days continue but after a break in the rain I headed out. This shot was f5.6 1/125 55mm focal length (about 80mm with crop sensor factor). I still have been up in the air about a telephoto or prime as my first lens. The last thing that I wanted when coming back to interchangeable lens cameras was always chasing the next great lens. I am intrigued by the Fuji 27mm 2.8 pancake lens. With that lens on my X-T1 it's almost pocketable.

Getting used to my Fuji X T1 with the 18-55mm OIS lens

After spending quite a bit of time with my Fuji X100T I missed having a bit of telephoto in different situations. I've had a bit of a love affair with the X100 family (I owned the original and the T) but since I can't afford two cameras it was time to sell the "T" and look for something that would give me a bit of telephoto if need arises. I looked at bridge cameras, looking to steer clear of interchangeable lenses but I would not be able to live with the small sensors. The Fuji X system seemed to fit the bill. Now, I don't have an issue with earlier generation camera bodies so I looked at the X T1 which is about 4 years from its first release. I found a lightly used, 2000 shutter actuations, with box and documentation for a great price (eBay).  I could only afford one lens now so I chose the 18-55 2.8-4. I'll be spending some time getting used to some different controls from the X100T and I'll post some pics as me and x t1 get used to each other.

1/42 F3.2 ISO3200

Standard "film" setting

Fuji X 1T review and pictures

Well, I have traded in my Fuji x100t for the x 1t and I'll be testing it out in the next couple of days.

Where am I?

We're still in Glen Ellyn and this one is pretty easy.

Where am I, reveal!

Well... there you go, yesterdays puzzle answer! Getting out with my LX3 is entertaining but I have a new project in mind that will put me out of my comfort zone. More details will be forthcoming!

Where am I?

Today I thought of just having a bit of fun in Glen Ellyn. It's kind of my own little photography exercise to open my eyes to my surroundings. So, "Where am I" in Glen Ellyn. Prizes will be awarded! (not)

Well... the man cave got booted from the third bedroom to the basement! All I need is some milk crates, cinder blocks, and these tubs and I'm doing the retro college dorm thing. It's all good! Notice what's left of the behemoth metal desk. I paid about 50 bucks three years ago to buy that thing. Craigslist. I knew the minute I went to get it in Naperville that I had made a mistake. It weighs a ton!! Anyway, Jim Hall and his son in law, Joe, helped me wrestle it upstairs at the time. Getting rid of it turned out to be a bit easier. Drawers out, top off (which we turned into a laundry table), legs off and then slid the rest, which you can see in the pic, down the stairs and then out to the dumpster! Yay me!!

The promised winter photo!

Well, not the blizzard that was predicted. Maybe this is the end of winter? Even though there was only about an inch of snow, incredibly, there were some tracks (you may be able to see in the snow) from cross country skis. Cheri and I used to be gung ho like that. If there was any kind of snow we'd be out there.

Photo: Panasonic LX3 F2.8 60mm 1-1/3 second

What I saw.

Kind of a spooky night here in February.

Holy Crap! Winters Back!

     Well... it's snowing cats and dogs! Just last weekend I was cooking with the barbeque! 60 degrees! I'll get outside in a bit with my camera to snap a few pics of the snow and maybe walk the critter. (Bjernt). I'm working off of my old white macbook, sitting in the blog seat in the living room. The battery is deader than a doornail but it works (kind of) plugged in.
    Early trip to my favorite grocer today. Aldi! Chicken on sale today so we will have chix sandwiches tonight. I'm sure you all wanted to know.
    Anyway.... I'll be out later to snap those snow pics!
SW
    

Who's walking who?

 

   

Here is a publishing test of safari!

Well... it looks like a bit of practice is in order to post from my iPad. Anyway, I have a little point and shoot that hopefully will get me to carry my camera more (everywhere)!

Blog resurrection?

I have come to the conclusion that this blog benefits me the most, possible as an online journal with pics. So... That being said..... February 19, a new commitment to posting! That means getting out or having my camera with me. It's not just about the pics though. Going through my blog it's nice to see a little bit of where I have been even though the posts are sparse. So then away we go!

What to call this?