Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
I skipped a week, sort of. Actually, I wrote a note and then decided it was not what folks might like to read. See, I DO filter trotter.ws.
So, what have we been doing that we might want to record? A couple of weeks ago we went down to Los Gatos for a family birthday party. Ava and Sam's cousin Leyla was celebrating and, as is Rahimi custom, the whole family showed up - including all seven cousins. Leyla has been the youngest for most of her ten years, but Mila now takes over. Growing up away from the Trotter extended family, I appreciate the everybody-every-birthday practice.
Since then, we have been doing our regular stuff. Marianne is out in the Art Hut whenever she has the time and energy. I need to take some more pictures of her work. Another to-do.
For myself, activity has a daily routine: up early; coffee; survey the New York Times (print edition); screen browsing for news, electric cars, cooking, rockets, and drones-over-volcanoes. Then I mix real activity (gym, gardening, walking, shopping, etc.) and chilling with books, puzzles, and more screens. Throw in some meals and a visit to Vern and Joan and that's it. I like predictable days, but this may be too much!
Of course, I try to do a little photography. I like the process of taking pictures, but am pretty limited on local subject matter. I do miss the days when I could get out in the early light and snap shots of ancient Italian buildings or of sunsets in Western National Parks. Another time. For now, it's neighbor houses, with political posters for added color.
Mostly, I take pictures of flowers. In one sense, these shots are repetitive, since I am stuck with local gardens, but there are seasonal changes. Right now we are entering what I call "second Spring" for flowers as they recover a bit from the summer baking. Even though it is still above 100F in the day, flowers seem to enjoy the cooler nights. Fresno has been having the hottest October on record. I am ready for real cooling.
For publishing flower pictures, I am experimenting with "GIF animation" as a way to share lots of pictures without using up too much screen space. Each picture should appear for about five seconds.
It has been a few years since I did something like this, so it involved relearning, something my old brain struggles with. I just hope it works, because trouble-shooting requires even more brain effort.
This weekend we head up to Sonoma and a minor gathering of the remains of the extended Trotter family.
Stay tuned,
John and Marianne