random thoughts – Day 2,085 (Monday) – in motion

Working on a project with a friend has been exactly the kick in the derriere I needed to break an inertia cycle that has gone on for far too long. I sprang out of bed ready to tackle the tasks mentally mapped after the learning experience of the earlier effort over the weekend.

After the first setup.

The project involved some photos, so while the setup was set up, later in the day things moved into another, different little shoot. The idea was potential images for this year’s holiday cards because I still like to torture myself with the self-imposed torture of it. Based on past years, I’m a full ten days ahead of the usual timeline that has me sweating, swearing, and grasping for ideas on a deadline. There are already two potential backup layouts done in case the snowstorm we’ve been promised for this week isn’t as photogenic as I am hoping.

Thank goodness that with all the stuff that was shed before moving, a black trifold presentation board that had been used for a roller derby project years ago wasn’t one of them, and more importantly, I knew where it was. During the move, it was taped around some fragile artworks. The past couple days it has served as a photo backdrop. For one phase of things today, it had a front load frame attached to it with painter’s tape so I could change various pieces into and out of it quickly. Later, the frame was removed for the next phase of things.

The new ring light cantilever stand and the cell phone tripod got a workout. It was a lot easier to control things when the lighting could be adjusted independently of the camera.

Wreath on the door.

The energy of working on a project propelled me to other activity during the day. The floors were vacuumed so I could empty the cannister before the trash went out. The dead mums were finally removed from the front stairs and the solar lanterns were brought into the house. Wreaths were retrieved from the shed and hung on the front and back doors. I took a walk down the street to the mailbox. 

A mirror that belongs on a dresser and was taken apart to be painted black in the fall had been “temporarily” (ha ha) stuffed in the shed when the old paint wouldn’t sand off. This afternoon, it was taken from the shed, reassembled, and set back atop the dresser for the winter. Maybe next spring the dresser and mirror will finally be painted to match the accompanying chest of drawers done in the fall.

Once I'm in in motion, I can stay in motion. I just need a little kickstart.