End of the old year, Begining of the new

Good evening, Gentle Readers!

It has been a while since I've posted here. Much has happened since the last time I did regularly, some happy and some not so.

My father has died after a short but vicious fight with brain cancer. I wanted to believe that maybe he could be cured- but the last time I saw him alive, I knew that wasn't going to happen. Mother and Aunt Shirley tell me his passing was peaceful. I imagine that now he is running and playing with Georgie, his favorite dog.

Shortly afterwards, Hurricane Sandy roared through. Oddly enough, my little corner of the world wasn't effected much, other than the usual thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. Points north of me were another story, though- especially after the storm melded with a blizzard. My friends on Facebook have said they've never seen anything like it. Most of the clean-up from that storm has been accomplished, though, for which I am grateful; One of the friends effected has a year-old baby girl. The baby thought it was some kind of great big game.

Now for the biggest piece of news: On January 13, I will have successfully completed my Bachelor's studies! It was a long wild ride, but I met some amazing people on the way. With my studies out of the way, I will be able to focus on getting a business up and running. Once that is accomplished, I will announce it here so you can go see for yourselves.

Until we meet...

White Wine In The Sun by Tim Minchin

Nine- Eleven

Good Evening, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is one of my early works, and has been displayed before. It, like the title of the post, is named Nine- Eleven. While it is slightly stylized to accommodate the capacity of the tools I used to make it, one can see the towers and flames.

On this day, we remember our lost. Some of those who witnessed the event were still children. Others who now see the documentaries and tributes were not even born yet. These children- and yes, even the adults- live in the shadows of these acts of terrorism.

Certainly, I do not agree with some of the new rules and regulations enacted supposedly to combat terrorism. In my opinion, many of these rules and regulations not only will not detect terrorists, they will harass law-abiding citizens and limit their ability to legally defend themselves should such events occur again.

Yet, because of the heroes that rose that day, I am free to express my objections. And we are all free to heal and move on beyond the ashes. While we survived terrible losses, we also learned valuable lessons. Let us use those lessons now.

Until We Meet...

Hurricane: Aftermath

Good evening, Gentle Readers!

There will be no image with tonight's post. At present, I am taking advantage of the library's connection to the Internet. Unfortunately, that means I have to forego some of the goodies.

The hurricane has hit, and hit hard. Oddly enough, my especial little corner of the world has not been hit as hard as some- but it is still an experience I am not eager to repeat.

Still, I did get to observe some wonderful things. The girls next door- whose home had a tree fall on it- are wonderful, smart, hard-working children. Bless their wee hearts, they came running to help clean up my yard, since they couldn't do much with theirs. After that, my husband and I put the underpinning back up on the trailer. While that project took a while, it didn't take as long as he feared. The neighbors on the other side watched out for our place as well as they could during the worst of the winds; My husband and I had taken shelter with my parents, much to the displeasure of the kitty contingent. They wouldn't have been any happier at home, though; They don't like storms.

The mood of the neighborhood was almost festive as everyone in the neighbor cleaned up and started putting their lives back together. We even got treated to the sight of an ice cream truck jingling down the road.

The second day was a bit more mundane, but a couple of gentlemen came by to clear the tree of the neighbors' home. One of them saw me chopping at a blown-over scrub tree with a hatchet and finished the job with a chain saw- a far quicker proposition! We were told to expect at least a week before we could get power back.

The local power outages were very strange indeed. It was more of a patchwork of outages than the usual pattern of clearly-defined areas. The holes without power are being closed as quickly as the power company can get to it, but some areas will need new poles.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...

Daily Update 2

Greetings again, Gentle Readers.

This image is titled Chelcie. I made it for a young lady who was celebrating a birthday when I was introduced to her. I admit that I did have some difficulty finding a color balance that would match her without screaming, but the effect is quite soothing as well.

I was just listening to the radio for storm updates when the transmission suddenly stopped and was replaced by static. That's not unusual in itself; While the MCs don't say so, I'm under the impression that the equipment is a bit dated and buggy. What concerns me is that the staff is having trouble getting the transmissions back up. It may be something as harmless as a little rain getting into the wires or casings, and the crew not being quite as polished as that of some other stations.

The wind is a little stronger now, and the area is under a tornado watch or warning. Oddly enough, I'm seeing relatively little rain at the moment. I'm going to check on the status of the Dismal Swamp fires shortly; Hopefully those will be out.

Until We Meet...

The Storm Starts

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Sunlit Band. The reasoning behind the name is pretty much self-explanatory. I was experimenting with copying bezier lines one day so I could create parallel curves, and this is the result. I will have to go back and see what else I can do.

Right now, I am seeing wind and rain from Irene, but I am not seeing a real threat. I'm not holding onto any illusions that this will last; Right now, only the leading edge of the storm is here. She isn't exactly a speed demon, so we are looking at hours yet and might not see an end until tomorrow. The only thing I've unpacked is the coffee maker, and that's because I am hopelessly addicted to caffeine! That will be going back in a travel box when I'm done with it.

I'm also thinking I should make some eggs for breakfast; If we lose power, anything still in the refrigerator will be gone, so we might as well enjoy what we have.

Stay safe, Gentle Readers!

Until We Meet...

Hurricane preparations

Good afternoon, Gentle Readers!

Today's image is titled Intertwining. I chose it for today's post because I find it soothing.

Right now, soothing is good; Irene is scheduled to come knocking tomorrow. I'm in the middle of making preparations to bug out because unlike some of the earlier hurricanes, she has me a bit jumpy. I've packed toiletries, cleaned the house and washed laundry, and even packed a few cleaning supplies in a bucket just in case. All that is left is the clothing and the kitties. We may have to tear apart their hiding places to get them- but there is no way we're going to leave them behind. I'm thinking if the storm is too dangerous for grown humans, it's too dangerous for a pair of cats who haven't been outside since they were kittens.

Until We Meet, Gentle Readers...