Sunset (exposure)

Posted on January 10, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Exposure, Landscape, Life, Photos, SunsetLeave a comment

Have you tried moving your camera when you take a photo of the sky? When the sun is rising or setting people generally take photos of the landscape in the direction of the setting sun. Much more dramatic than the other direction. But include too much sky and the light entering the camera can be too much causing over exposure. Include more land and less sky and the sunset colours emerge more clearly.

By including more land the cameras automatic exposure changes. The area in silhouette may even reveal more detail than if you aim more at the sky. Also remember, if you have a crop tool on your camera you can remove part of the landscape while leaving the sky.

The only difference in these two photos is that I moved between the first and the second and I included more land in the second one.

Bee tree

Posted on January 10, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bee, bee tree, Brampton museum and art gallery, Carving, Landscape, Life, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Tree, ViewLeave a comment

At the Brampton museum and art gallery today. This beautiful sculpture was carved out of a tree trunk there. I love the bee which is well detailed. I wish I could have our old Ash tree, that was partly cut down last year, carved into a bee tree too!

He’s getting a new home x

Posted on January 9, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Happy for him, Life, New home, New owners, Outdoor cat, Rehoming, Shed cat2 Comments

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The cat we have looked after for eighteen months is finally going to a new home.

We can’t take him in because we have two cats if our own that live permanently indoors. The one that is going lives outside in our shed. It’s been difficult for him but it’s not been very cold yet this winter, and if anything he’s put on weight.

So things are looking good. We are introducing him to his new owners so he gets used to them. Fresh roast chicken is helping. (sorry if you are vegetarian). He should be going in the next week or so to a new forever home.

Life changes.

Posted on January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cold, Computer, Double glazing, Eider down, Frost, Last century, Life, Memory, Mobile, remember, Single glazing, Technology, Thinking, Window, WinterLeave a comment

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Thinking about how much life has changed since I cooked toast on our gas fire.

In the 1970’s we had electric central heating installed downstairs in our house. This was installed by our council. But my mom would not have it on because of the cost. We used to sleep with our outdoor coats on top of our sheets, blankets and eiderdowns to keep warm. In the winter there was always frost on the inside of the bedroom window. Sometimes really thick ice.

Now my home has double glazing (single at my mom’s house till the 1980’s). Central heating. The water is usually hot, where we were only allowed to put the heater on for an hour at night at my old home.

Also computers were just coming in and calculators were introduced when I was a teenager. Now they are everywhere. “go online” is the mantra.

Electric cars? Maybe imagined in the 1960’s to be everywhere by the turn of the century, and people really thought there woukd be flying cars.

Bad stuff now… Too much plastic… Too much pollution. But there were shop wrecks like the Torrie canyon and the Exxon Valdiz that poured millions of gallons of oil into the sea and destroyed sea bird colonies.

What else? Our phone, when we got it was a big green one, with a hand held ear and mouthpiece attached to the phone body by a curly wire. The phone itself had a dial with holes lined up with numbers on it. To dial a number you put your finger in a hole then pulled it round the dial until you got to a stop then the dial turned the other way and you dialled the next number… Now, well we have mobile phones, hand held computers like in star trek.

Other things, better medication, more cures for cancer, more treatments, more, older people.

The thing is, the more we have, the more we want…. Catch 22….

Cooking toast.

Posted on January 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Childhood, Cozy, Family, Food, Fork, Gas fire, Life, Memory, Taste, Thought, ToastLeave a comment

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When I was a child I used to cook toast-on the gas fire!

I would come home from school and warm up in front of the fire, warming my toes, feet, hands and face. We didn’t have central heating, so only the living room was warm. I was older than my siblings so this was my job. Slices of white bread hooked onto the bars on the front of the gas fire with a metal fork. A few seconds and you turn the bread over. Delicious hot toast and I guess margarine because we couldn’t afford butter. If it was a Sunday I sometimes cooked crumpets. They are like a savoury bread like a muffin but full of holes through the middle of them and at the top of them so when they have butter or margarine spread on them it melts right through the middle of them.

I remember the lovely smells of toast and margarine, together with a hot cup of tea in small cups with orange and brown patterns on them.

This memory was prompted by a question on the Alchemists blog page which asked for memories of being cozy. It’s good to uncover old memories like this.

Edges

Posted on January 8, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Back stamp, Beauty, Edges, Falcon works, Gold, Industrial archeology, Life, Place, Poem, Poetry, PotteryLeave a comment

IMG_20191011_180406_565 (2)_optimized Edges.

See that line around your soul?

It holds you in

holds your heart

city of pottery,

towns of clay,

each kiln and bottle oven,

part of your blood supply.

Heart of Clay.

My Stoke.

Edged with gold,

signed underneath your body

giving the city soul.

Waiting for the mechanic

Posted on January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Car, Head gasket, Life, Mechanic, Motorcar, Oil, Repairs, Rocker head cover, Rocker head gasket, Technology, WaitingLeave a comment

Our car needs the rocker head gasket replacing because its starting to weep. That means oil is starting to seep out of the top of the engine. It’s not serious but it needs fixing. The rocker head gasket is right at the top of the engine and sits above the spark plugs. Its where the top is bolted on to the body of the engine block. Not to be confused with the head gasket which is a bit further down.

Apparently its quite a simple job, and as long as the oil is only seeping out slowly its not too bad, but on the other hand it does need fixing.

When I rang up the garage I go to they said bring the cat in this afternoon. So we went down and waited, but no one is there. Its a bit worrying because our mechanic has not been well and he is a friend, so that’s even more worrying. I tried ringing but there was no answer. I guess all I can do is try again tomorrow.

Winter Haiku

Posted on January 8, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Bird, Challenge, Haiku, Life, Poem, Poetry, Rhyme, Sketch, Verse, WinterLeave a comment

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I wrote this for the 64 million artists January challenge on Facebook. (I think that’s what it’s called). Each day a different artistic challenge. I’ve only done a few of them, but it’s interesting to dip into.

” Just keeping warm now, It is hard to do for you……….. Little bird in snow.”

🐦

I’m not sure if I’ve got the syllabul count right. Is hard one or two syllabuls?

Change

Posted on January 7, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Bottle, Bowl, Change, Coins, Life, Money, Partner, SpendingLeave a comment

Does anyone else have a partner that keeps his change in plastic boxes or tea cups? I came in tonight and yet another receptacle was filled with change (and a bit of satsuma skin). The trouble is he doesn’t like spending change so it builds up.

Some people fill large bottles with copper coins. I think they then donate them to charities. I don’t know what to do about this money except spend it! One of the irritating things about living with people is that we all have our own way of doing things, and sometimes you have to have a bit of give and take.

Rain due

Posted on January 7, 2020January 7, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Barometer, Inclement, Jet stream, Life, Rain, Weather, Wet2 Comments

It’s not rained for a while, but the air pressure is dropping. The sky went yellow grey before the sun set. Weather is interesting here. We don’t get long spells of sun or rain, it fluctuates depending on the jet stream.

As you can see by the photo the pressure had dropped very low (the current pressure isn’t as low as this). I’m trying not to add new photos as my memory on WordPress is going down.

The rain is falling now, I can hear cars splashing through the puddles outside. I can hear it thrumming on the roof of the kitchen extension. It might turn to snow.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life