BACK to photography!!
Hello and happy April 2019,
Update:
I am in Phoenix, AZ and even though I am still a nurse I am a full time photography student working towards my certificate. :)! Yay.
it has been amazing to have been a nurse and after 32 full time hospital working years I'm eager to start a new chapter in my life. Nursing work will be on a part time, diminished hours schedule only. :) I always felt that working in hospitals was like being married to them, now I'd much rather only have the occasional "fling!" tee tee! :)
I'm nearing the end of my first semester and have really enjoyed both my photography and both of my drawing classes. We shot film and digital and drew life and inanimate objects.
I've added an album from my last time shooting, (the 2016 National Finals Pow Wow.) I will also add a film album now too. :)!!
Thank you,
Jen
Easter time and Easter Bunny photos
How interesting to have the honor to shoot an Easter Eggstravaganza family event here at Fort Irwin!
It really was a great turnout and a good event. However, people wanted their pictures with the awesome Easter bunny we had and I learned a couple things.
1- There is a certain amount of shear terror that an age 8 to 18 month year old will feel for the bunny.
2- Bunnies need to sit lower or the kiddos need to stand in order to fit in the frame.
3- Don't forget your go to lens for an event like this, (it would've been so much nicer for me!)
4- Finally, double check your spelling in the watermark BEFORE you complete all the pictures. :)
I'm grateful for these awesome moms, dads and kiddos who trusted me to take their pictures for Easter this year, it was an honor knowing that many of them are far away from their homes and were looking forward to having pictures of their precious little ones to share. )
Humbly, thank you,
Jen
p.s. and I could not have done this without the AWESOME help of my neighbor Brent, who knew that I was very distracted about my mom being in the hospital and he helped turn around my pity party about missing my mom to be with other families, really put it into perspective.
Happy Kitty
Yesterday was the local Easter eggstravaganza even where I live and I was lucky that I got to take the pictures for kiddos and folks with the Bunny. Even though I am worried about my mom in the hospital back in Phoenix, (with all lobe pneumonia and a very nasty bug,) it was nice to do the photos.
I'm about to work on the shots as soon as my lightroom finishes uploading to my new All-in-one Asus computer.
In the meanwhile, here is a picture of Marco my cat after he rescued a ping bong out of the carton I put it in. :) Shortly after I took this cellphone shot, Marco also demolished the box!
Jen
Real life window a/c
Awesome!!
My neighbor graciously mentioned that he had an idea for my travel trailer to have good air conditioning. Since we are anticipating a particularly early and hot summer here and that the Mojave is already relentless with the heat I am grateful.
He had a couple of ideas and was looking out for me. When I told him I couldn't find an air conditioner in town, (we are out of season apparently,) He mentioned that he could find one near his home. He brought back a unit that is strong enough to cool twice my space AND it has a temperature control with auto shut off, "sweet!!"
Our schedules don't really coordinate and when he was able, I wasn't willing but today was A/C day. Brent, my neighbor, reconfigured my shoddy cinder block brick arrangement and made an interlocking brick base and stand which he trimmed some 2x4s in order to serves as verticle stabalizing rods inside the brick column. Next he positioned some more wood in order for the A/C unit to sit at the right level of my winder and screwed them together. He put the a/c in the window, insulated the open space with insulated foam and taped it down. Voila!!
It is very cool in here!!! Granted we already plan to augment this during the really hot season, as needed but, for now I am really good with this super effecient and cool set up!!
Thank you Neighbor Brent!
p.s. Oh yes, and Marco the cat LOVES it in here!!
Nearly two months into full timing
Hello and happy near spring to you!
I'm over due for an update but have been enjoying the big sky out here as well as getting acclimated to my new job. Thankfully due to my "really not so isolated location," I've taken a weekend away in my short 10 weeks as a full timer. I took the local bus to Vegas, visited a friend for the night and then flew out to visit friends and loved ones in Portland, Oregon for a few days. It worked out so nicely I am going to visit friends in Vegas soon again too.
Vegas is only a couple hours drive away, as is LA and San Diego too for that matter.
However, my trip to Portland was just around my one month anniversary of full timing so I felt I needed to wait a few more weeks before I considered myself a true novice full timer. :)
It is going well, thank you to the helpful advice of my neighbor, and also hugely to his returning from his weekly trips home, (to civilization,) with advice and items to help my trailer situation.
Last weekend he did some recon and brought back an air conditioner that should fit in my window and he told me yesterday it also has an auto sensor to turn off, (important in a small trailer,) when it cools to the set temp!! I stacked cinder blocks outside the window to support it and we ought to get it set up relatively soon.
I'm working the midnight shift for my regular job and then will likely be on call for 10 days straight every month for my alternate duty at the hospital too. Since its cool this week, and I'm going out of town this weekend, we'll probably set it up next weekend.
What have I learned so far?
1- It is nicer than I anticipated. It is quieter than living in the hub of the city center here, and just that extra 500 meters to drive here feels like living in a campground with a slower pace, relaxing.
2- The local storage, (like a closet,) for $20. a month was worth it to use for the items I had stowed in my truck bed, it has my garage type items and also helps to keep my trailer storage space open and roomy. There is plenty of unused space here but, it helps when I need to move things around so I don't feel so crowded.
4- It is more convenient and nicer to use my own latrine system than it is to use the port-o-potties here!! I'm still using the P.E.T. system, (with the absorbant-enzymatic gelling powder, (waste in a bag.) I still have the "Pee-Wee" bags too and its much easier for me than messing with black water, odors and mess. However, the RV waste water dump site is close enough where I could use a portable system to collect to transport and dump but, I am getting settled without using that for now. Maybe when it is hotter and I set up my indoor shower systemthough, I could use that for the grey water.
5-I'm not cooking like I used to and I miss my own food. I have my ricer but, have been enjoying myself outdoors.
6- Oh! This is huge. I feel like the entire outdoors is my living room. Even though my trailer is 8x15 I have a gorgeous view out my windows and when I leave my 'bedroom' I am in the amazing open sky. Very nice.
So far, this feels like something that will be easier to do than I thought. I have downsized some more and my cat has plenty of space to move around and play in. He is also getting more exercise in this trailer than in the last place we lived. He has 7 levels of areas to climb up and jump around from and 4 hidey areas that he will play peek a boo from.
Today's picture is from the nearby Rainbow Basin area.