It’s been terribly hot this weekend, so whatever plans I had for going out and about over the past few days were put on hold. Some people can tolerate high temperatures, but I am not among them. A heat index of 107°F/41°C is too much for me. So I’ve spent the past few days being indoors as much as possible. That said, I did make it out to my favorite used bookstore for the last day of their summer sale, and it was worth the short walk through a hot afternoon.
I took up knitting a couple of months ago. I’m not sure why, as I already have too many hobbies, but here we are. The allure of colorful socks that actually fit me was too high to pass up, I guess. My first big project is a scarf, and of course I’m working on it in the summer when it the absolute worst outside. But that means I’ll have a cozy scarf just in time for the temperatures to start falling sometime in October. In another wild departure from my previous fiber arts adventures (I also crochet a little), I’ve decided that warm colors are a thing I enjoy. My crochet projects are almost entirely in blues, purples, and greens. Now I’m knitting in red. Once I finish this one, I’m going to tackle my first set of socks. (The yarn pictured above is KnitPicks’ Wool of the Andes Tweed in garnet heather. It’s not the softest wool I’ve ever worked with, but it’s not scratchy and has been nice to work with)
My day job is in photography. I don’t spend my days taking photographs (though that is a common occurrence), but cameras, lenses, film, lighting, and a host of photo accessories fill my working days. After years on the job, though, I’d started to lose that spark of excitement for the art. Not completely, of course, but when your hobby has also been your job for twenty years, it can get a little old. But I recently started watching a few photography channels on YouTube- especially GrainyDays- and that spark of excitement is starting to come back. If only this had happened in the spring when the weather was good, I could have gone out and actually taken some interesting photographs around town. Alas for me, it’s ridiculously hot outside, so I’m looking around at the things in my apartment and wondering if my cat’s toys will really make good photographic subjects. Personally, I like the above photo of the mouse toy, but your mileage may vary. We’re due for a short, mid-week break in the hot weather, so assuming it isn’t pouring rain on Wednesday I’m planning to go out somewhere to take some photos. Film? Digital? Street photography? Landscape? Who knows. I certainly don’t.
In the late 1980s, the National Gallery of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago collaborated on an exhibition to showcase 150 years of photography. On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred Fifty Years of Photography is the book published to go along with that exhibition. It contains the photographs from the exhibition, as well as several essays about the art and science of photography. I found this at one of my local used bookstores, and I’m glad I braved the heat to check out what they had for sale, as I got a great deal on the book. Because the cover has some strange fading, I was a little worried that the pages would also show some fading, but it looks like the interior of the book is fine. It is full of great reproductions of so many amazing photographs. What I’m not looking forward to is storing this thing. My photography book collection is rather small at this point, thanks to the size and expense of most photo books. My single photo book shelf is basically full at this point, and I’m afraid that if I try to put this very heavy volume on it, it may cause the shelf to collapse. I’ll have to spend an evening or two moving books around. But honestly? It’s worth it. This book is fantastic.
What I’m Reading: I am, of course, always reading a book or five. Right now, the book getting the majority of my attention is the third installment of Shauna Lawless’ Gael Song series, The Land of the Living and the Dead. While I had forgotten where the characters left off in book two, it didn’t take long for me to catch up with everyone. There is a time jump of about ten years, so the fact that I’d forgotten a few details didn’t end up mattering too much. Anyway. It’s hard to praise this series too much. It’s so good. It has everything that I could want in a historical fantasy: rich historical details, complex and interesting characters, excellent prose, a solid plot. It’s frustrating to me that Lawless hasn’t received more recognition for her books because they are just so good. Given that Irish-adjacent settings are all the rage in fantasy and romantasy novels these days, it would be great to see more people reading Irish-based fantasy books by a Northern Irish author who knows her stuff when it comes to her country’s history and legends. I will undoubtedly have more to say about this book in the future, but I’m only about 150 pages into this 559 page tome. If you’re looking for a great fantasy series to dig into this series, give Shauna Lawless’ Gael Song series a try. It is set in the late 900s and into the 1000s, and deals with the political tensions between the many Irish kingdoms and the Viking raiders and traders who visit the island’s shores. Behind all the human politics, there is an ancient conflict between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians. Though the Tuatha Dé Danann’s numbers are in decline, they are confident that they have defeated their ancient enemies. But a few Fomorians have survived and they will do anything to take back the power and wealth they once had. The series’ novels in order:
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Sunday, 22 June 2025
Three Things #1
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Episode 5 - Relax, Guy!
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