Friday, 25 June 2010

Not going to get preachy on ya but …

This is how I've been feeling lately (evidently mixed in with shedloads of self-pity, natch):


This quote, paraphrased from my vicar's sermon on Trinity Sunday, struck a chord with me, too:

"We each feel lonely when someone in whom we had invested hope of love deserts us or lets us down. Loneliness comes from the gaps in our lives that people don’t seem to be able to fill.

Listen though to these words from an obscure mystic quoted by Henri Nouwen

Don’t surrender your loneliness so quickly
Let it cut more deep. Let it ferment and season you,
As few human or divine ingredients can,
Something missing in my heart tonight has made my eyes soft. My voice so tender.
It has made my need for God absolutely clear  (Shams al din Hafiz)"

This has little to do with photography or anything strictly amateur-eye-ish; it's just something that has been preying on my mind lately, and I thought maybe sharing it here would help me to get over it! Fr. Andrew also spoke about putting people on pedestals, which also helped me make a big decision that I'm now glad I made. A little cryptic, I know, but to cut a long story short, I nearly contacted someone I don't know (on Farcebook/Fakebook), on the basis of having spent my adolescence (and some adulthood!) misguidedly idolising them, or at least the person I thought they were.

Anyhoo. I'll be back soon… been editing wedding photos from my first-ever (maybe last-ever, who knows?) wedding! 830+ … It's taken some time!

qb xxx

Friday, 21 May 2010

Yesterday I Received...

... my very own postcard from Jill @ Today I Saw! It's fantastic! I won't give too much away as to which p/c it was for personal security reasons but it cheered me up, nonetheless. ;-) I've been following this blog for a while now and jumped at the chance to receive one of Jill's hand-drawn, unique postcards. It's currently sitting atop my bureau, waiting to be framed as I want to embark on a huge framing project, at some point, and upgrade my chintzy frames to smart, black frames.

But for now ... thank you, Jill, it has arrived and I am really pleased and proud to be a recipient!

qb

Sunday, 25 April 2010

Come Dine With qb

One of my latest obsessions (which has overridden the obsession with How Clean is Your House on a Sunday afternoon) is Come Dine With Me, the Channel 4 series that profiles four or five individuals as they attempt to cook and host a meal for the other competitors on the show... Not sure I've described this very well so check out this site for more deets.

I am a recent convert of the programme, anyway, and as with most fans the biggest draw is the very funny, sarcastic voice-over-man, Dave Lamb. Barbed genius. Aaaaaanyway. I decided to attempt a new recipe just for myself last week and ... here are the visuals. Pork and red pepper spaghetti bolognese from Sainsbury's -- I was dang proud of the outcome. Tasted magnificent. ...Vegetarians: look away, NOW.

Springtime and blossom in Kensington

For anyone who doubts my sanity in favouring early mornings ... here's a good reason!

Wednesday, 7 April 2010

Step on it, driver…


Spotted at a service station over the weekend. Heehee!

Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Please may I have a badge maker of my very own? Please?

I borrowed a badge maker from a work friend for the weekend and my goodness I had some fun with it, to the point of somewhat embarrassing regression. Seriously

Five days later and these (above) are what I have to show for my efforts with the stampy-cranky machine which looks a bit like this. The Space Invader badge (perfect for provoking violence on a crowded train...) is a bit off centre (OK, very -- and how squiffy is the shot itself?! Bad. Bad.).

But I'm crazily proud of my WORD NERD badge, and the Craft Queen badge I made for my pal at the owl and the party hat! Less enamoured of my b seen badge but it's a start!

Oh and ... I should explain that "Fit as Biscuits" is a very arbitrary expression that a friend of mine invented about five years ago and which I rather took to. Takes some explaining as I'm not sure biscuits can possibly be fit (in the way that, say, Dominic Cooper or Hugh Jackman may be) but ... anyway. It makes a quirky badge, and with it I plan to bring the expression to the masses.