Day 16 Travel Day

First travel day of 2012 for me. A CRJ 700 took me from Detroit to Chicago and another CRJ700 from Chicago to Pittsburgh.  Yes, I had to go West before I could head East. I am headed to Pittsburgh, to meet my new clients. This is a big change, I’ve been on the Unilever client team managing for the last 10 years. Now begins a new chapter for me.  I am thankful that I have this opportunity and I’m looking forward to the challenge of learning new products and meeting new people.  So, here we are, new year, new job, same company, but a different client.  Our world is constantly changing and that is what keeps it interesting.  As much as we would like to have things remain the same because we’ve grown comfortable; we need the change to keep us on our toes.  

Day 15 Musical Instruments

Music is said to, “soothe the savage beast”.  I find it difficult to remember things from long ago.  But when I hear a song from long ago, I can remember every note and word like it was yesterday.  Songs are tied to events in our lives.  We hear a song and instantly memories rise to the surface.  We remember where we were, who was there with us, and everything that was said and done.  The memories can be of happy times, sad times, and thoughtful times.  We read about David soothing King Saul in the Bible, maybe that’s where the “savage beast” saying came from, Saul certainly acted as a savage beast on occasion, especially toward David.  A day without music, I can’t imagine it.

Day 14 Gugel Bridge

Somebody or something beat me to the Gugel Bridge this morning

I was out running a couple of errands this morning and on the way home, I decided to stop by one of my favorite places in Frankenmuth, the Gugel Bridge.  Note the spelling , it’s different from the search engine website.  The bridge crosses the Cass River and is a foot / bike bridge.  This is the first time I’ve visited the bridge in the winter.  I love the combination of wood and steel, along with the woods and water of the Cass.  Today was especially nice with the beautiful blue sky and puffy white clouds as a back drop.  My only regret was the tracks in the snow, I really love seeing fresh snow.  These were tracks from an animal, and as I looked over the bridge, I warmed to the idea that a man made object could be helpful for one of God’s creatures.  We hear so much about how much damage man does to the environment and wildlife, it’s refreshing to think that this bridge opens new territory for the little creature that used it to cross over to the other side of the frigid Cass river.  Man and nature in harmony!  I love it.

Day 13 Now This is January

Fresh January snow clinging to the branches of the trees and brush

Now this is what we’ve come to expect during January in Michigan, snow and lots of it.  Up until today, it has been a very mild winter, we had a light dusting of snow in December and earlier this week we saw temperatures climb into the fifties!  I love the way the snow clings to the branches of the trees.  I love to see the new fallen snow without a track in it.  Everywhere we look it has that fresh and clean look.  This is why we live in Michigan; to enjoy each of the seasons.  Welcome Winter, stay with us awhile, we enjoy your company, but please try not to wear out your welcome.

Day 12 Spin Me a Yarn

My wife, Vicki is a fiber junkie. She just loves yarn made from natural fibers like wool and alpaca. When we travel we always have to check out the local yarn shops to see what they have to offer. She enjoys knitting socks the most. Vicki’s hands are always busy with a couple of needles and some yarn. This picture is of the spool of her spinning wheel. Vicki plans on learning to spin so she can make her own yarn from roving, which comes from alpacas or sheep. Once she learns to spin, I know we will be wandering the countryside in search of alpacas to provide her with an endless supply of yarn. Well, we each have our hobbies and Vicki’s hobby will provide me with more picture opportunities.

I like the contrast of the wood and the brass eyelits (not sure if that is what they are called) and the fiber as it winds on the spool.

Day 11 Mongolian BBQ

The cooks appear to be having a good time stirring up some wonderful tasting food.

I worked in the Flint area today. When it was time to break for lunch I suggested B. D.’s Mongolian BBQ. I love the idea of the Mongolian BBQ. If you’ve never been there before, you owe it to yourself to try it. I’m not sure why the name BBQ, there is no barbecue grill as we think of it, but a giant circular flat stainless steel cooking surface with a hole in the middle. It looks like a big stainless steel donut. The cooks use swordlike sticks to stir fry whatever combination of meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, spices, and sauce you give them. For today’s lunch I chose Mahi Mahi, Broccoli, and Bean Sprouts, with lemon and teriyaki sauce. I also had a salad and cup of Beef Vegetable soup. Very tasty and low on the calories too.

Day 10 Introspection

From Wikipedia, “Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one’s own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one’s soul. It can also be called contemplation of one’s self, and is contrasted with extrospection, the observation of things external to one’s self. Introspection may be used synonymously with and in a similar way to human self-reflection.”

So are we to learn from the self portrait? It seems strange to me, how I can look in the mirror each day and the man looking back at me is much the same as the 21 year old me, a long time ago; but when I see a self portrait, I ask myself, “who is that”? Do we see ourselves as forever young when we look in the mirror? And why should we be so concerned with our selves and our appearance? In Philipians, Paul tells us, ” ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

We do need to monitor our selves, to make sure that we are being less self centered, more in tune to others needs, and how we can help with the tools and gifts God has given us. I believe that is where the introspection comes into play, when we ask our selves, “who am I, and what are my strengths, how can I help”?

The self portrait may help us to see who we really are and how we appear to others. Our attitudes are reflected in our portraits and each picture is a captured moment in time.

Day 9 Bean Me Up!

I just love the smell of coffee in the morning! We have a grind and brew coffee maker so each morning begins with the sound of the beans being ground and then the wonderful aroma of fresh coffee fills the kitchen. Starbucks is my coffee of choice. I’m not sure what they do to make it so good, whatever it is, don’t change it.

Day 8 Fruit of the Spirit

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” NIV Galatians 5:22-23

This Project 365 is a challenge for me.  Through the first week I have managed to post everyday except one, Friday.  I totally forgot about posting and then woke up early Saturday morning and posted the photo of the Christmas tree.  My goal is to upload a new photo each day, hoping that this project will help me develop an appreciation and awareness of photo subjects all around me.  There are so many subjects, no need to journey to a far away exotic land, when I can venture out into my own backyard, or even within my house.  I have been practicing my lighting technique using strobes.  I recently purchased a soft box which diffuses the light of the flash.  I used 1 flash (SB800) in a soft box, with a reflector in this photo.  I really like the effect.  I have learned a lot about lighting by following the Strobist blog.  There is a wealth of information on this blog.  If you want to learn more about affordable lighting for your photos, check it out.

Day 7 Bathroom Update

Haven’t had a lot of time to take pictures lately.  Thankfully, I received an iPhone 4S for Christmas from Vicki.  This phone has an 8 megapixel camera in it and I’m really  happy with the picture quality.  Now I always have a decent camera with me.  Well, the rental house bathroom remodel is not complete yet, but it is very close. Floor, wainscoting, sink/vanity installed. We just need to connect the drain and paint the walls.

Day 6 Oh Christmas Tree

Christmas has come and gone, New Years day has come and gone, and all of the Christmas decorations have been taken down, placed in their plastic containers and stowed away until next year. But we just couldn’t bring ourselves to throw our Christmas tree away. We love the Frasier Fir and it’s short, soft needles. The Frasier Fir has been our choice for Christmas trees the last 11 years. So, we have begun a new tradition, instead of throwing out the tree after all the decorations have been removed; we strip it down until only the lights remain, and then we place it on the deck to be enjoyed for another month. This makes a beautiful night light and also helps us to remember the Joy of Christmas and God’s gift to all of us; the birth of His only Son, Jesus. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17 NIV

Day 5 Rearview Sunset

Driving home from Grand Rapids, I found it difficult to keep my eyes on the road in front of me. I kept looking in my rear-view mirror at the beautiful sunset. God’s glory displayed in awesome colors. I couldn’t resist taking out my iPhone 4S and taking a photo.

Day 4 Piano Pedals

The piano is such a beautiful instrument, the sound it emits, the rich tones are limitless to the gifted musician. I love the contrast of the black and white keys. The keys are the most obvious but what caught my eye today were the foot pedals with the wood grain background of our floor. The reflection on the piano made it look as if the pedals were floating between the floor and a wood grain wall.

Day 3 Mrowli

His name is Mrowli.  We saw him at Petsmart and knew right away that he would be a great addition to our family, so we adopted him.  We asked how he got the name Mrowli.  The story goes, a family with some young boys raised him from a kitten and when he had enough of the petting and holding, he made a sound that was a cross between a meow and a growl, so they named him Mrowli.  We liked the name and we love this big kitty, he’s been a member of the family for over 10 years now.

Day 2 So, You Want to be a Landlord

Today was an official Holiday, the celebration of New Years Day.  I like many others had the day off.  How did I spend my day off?  Remodeling one of the bathrooms in the rental house.  It was a tough job and I was not really happy about spending my day off working on a house someone else lives in, but it needed to be done.  I was not able to complete the remodel, but I’m about 85% complete.  The major tasks are completed, the final touches will be completed this week.

You can see by my self portrait that it was a long day.  I need to work on composing the self portrait better.  It’s easier with a tripod, this one was handheld and tough to focus.  Wow, I’m scary tonight.  Looks like I better get some rest!

 

Day 1 New

With the New Year, I’ve decided to get back in shape.  I have resolved to become more active and eat healthier.  This picture shows my running shoes after day 1.  Yes, I am still on track!