H.E.C.T.I.C.

Busy. Busy. Busy.

Wake up. Go to work. Get home. Work on and in the house. Finish that. Do more work. Go to bed.

A very busy day, with loads to do.

Still had time to inspire myself to take a picture though!

Anyway, must dash. (Work to do).

Working Together To Get The Job Done.

For those of you unfamiliar with Bob The Builder, (an English children's TV animated series), he always encourages people to work as a team in order to complete the task quicker.

Samuel watches and loves Bob and seems to have taken his advice to heart. He was very keen to help us this morning on our DIY around the home.

After helping empty a wardrobe, Samuel then asked to get involved with some painting.

As you can see, we are extremely brave parents - letting a 2year old loose with a paintbrush and a tin of white emulsion is not the norm! Samuel, however was very sensible and did a great job!

Afterwards we had a trip to the Barbers. Nothing major in that you say, BUT, the last time we took Samuel to get his hair cut was horrific - with lots of tears from Samuel, and a very upset Mammy & Daddy !

Today however was different, Samuel was a very big boy, getting his hair cut without incident. Afterwards, he seemed really pleased with his new 'super cool' haircut and was more than happy to pose for lots of photographs - my favourite 3 are included here, but there's lots more!!

Afterwards, Samuel was rewarded for his 'Barbershop Bravery' with a trip to the shop to buy some new crayons and colouring in books!

It's nearly the end of the weekend now, but still so many jobs to be done!

Hope you had a good one.

Early Start, Early Finish !

Following on from last night's post about the weekend being relaxing ....

By midday today, we had moved 3 sofas, washed the floor, defrosted the freezer and been awake for over 5 hours!!!! Pretty hectic! It seemed to be spreading too, as all of our neighbours seemed busy with DIY tasks, or sorting their houses out!

Luckily, the early start also meant we got to finish early. So, as you can see, this gave Samuel ample time to test drive the new sofa - I think he liked it!!

After a busy morning, we decided to spend the afternoon relaxing and met some friends for coffee and chat. The high street was very busy when we arrived at about 2.30pm. However, like us, by late afternoon, things were a lot quieter and more relaxed .... this street, which had been bustling earlier, was now deserted

Like I said, early start, early finish!

Coffee, Cake and Chillout.

I don't need to say much today.

It's Friday. The weekend has landed. A time for relaxation.

Samuel ordered this. Daddy ate it!

Happy Days.

All Light ?

Photography, loosely translated, means to draw or write with light. The word comes from the ancient Greek words of photo (light) and graph (draw).

Moving on from the history lesson, today has been all about light! Weather-wise, the sun has been shining brightly all day. This in turn has led to everyone seeming much happier and having a spring in their step! Curtains have been drawn open wildly and windows opened to 'get some fresh air'. Being British, the main conversation has been focused around how nice it is outside.

In fact, today's image was going to include the sun or the sky. Driving home from work in a lovely light, I had visions of a shot of a blue, cloudless sky. Or a crocus emerging from the ground to announce the arrival of spring.

This would have happened had there not been a slight mix up with some company delivering a parcel ! This 'mix up' resulted in me spending too long on a (10p per minute) helpline, sorting out the problem. By the time we had resolved the situation (the company classing a Littlewoods Catalogue as a parcel, which I don't!), the lovely light had long since gone!

Which brings me on to today's image ... I have just spent a thoroughly enjoyable evening attending my local photography club. I'm attending for the same reasons I'm getting this blog going - to revitalise my love of photography.

Anyway, the subject of tonight's club was mono prints, or black and white photography. So, after arriving home, I set up and took this image - it's a now pretty dead rose, which was one of a dozen I gave to my wife on Valentine's Day. A quick conversion to black and white meant I had a story for tonight.

Ironically, as I am lying in bed writing this, my final act of the day will be to turn off the lights !

Sweet dreams !

Ever wanted to pour paint down your ears ?

That's exactly what I would like to do right now!

As I sit and type this, some alarm is blasting out. Not got a clue where it is coming from, but it is one continuous high pitch drone - and it's doing my head in!!!

The paint ... well, the last week or so has been a bit mental in our house. As a result of Samuel's ever growing toy collection, we have had a joiner in building a new cupboard. I could arguably have done it myself, but whether or not it would be standing this time next week, is a different matter!

*UPDATE** - alarm has just stopped, yet my ears are still ringing!

You can see some evidence of the new cupboard and the tools of our trade below!

On a related note, we're off to California in just over a month. San Fran to be precise, where apparently they never stop painting the Golden Gate Bridge !

That's a lot of paint to pour down your lugs!

Sidetracked.

I really should be doing some work! Instead, I am 're-familiarising' myself with the settings on blogger. This is typical of me.

Anyway, it's too late to be getting my camera out now (especially when I should be doing my work), so instead I am going to show you a picture I took at the weekend. This is my son, Samuel, aged 2 (but very nearly 3) doing what I'm planning on doing once I log off blogger and finish my work!

And on that note ...... goodnight.

What's this? And why now?

Well, here we go.

Many years ago, I started a blog. It was fun while it lasted, but like everything else, it had to end. Recently, I've had the urge to write, not to tell a story, but rather just to document and record events in my life. Maybe someday I will look back on this and laugh ... maybe it'll just go into the realms of cyberspace - but at least I've started it!

Another reason I want to start blogging, is to reignite my love of photography. It's been ages since I really got involved with the camera. So,what better way to challenge myself than to get out with the camera more and think about the images I am taking and pop them on here for the world to see ?

Anyway, thanks for starting this journey with me ... watch this space for some more instalments.