May 15th, 2005:

For those of you planning to attend Scarborough Faire:

We’re going this Saturday, the 21st. Previously, we had considered being there first thing in the morning and staying until we grew tired. After some thought, we’ve decided to arrive at 3pm and stay until it closes at 7pm. That means we need to leave here *before* 2pm. Therefore, if you’re riding up with us, plan on being at our house no later than 1:30pm. Those of you looking for more Jim and Jess fun and enjoyment that day are welcome to be here earlier than that. I’m sure we’ll come up with something.

Jess and I tackled another chunk of gardening today. I really enjoy working outside. Well, except when giant beetles crawl out of the earth and try to attack me. Or when the wasps decide to gather in groups of 50 to monitor our progress.

We’ve got a bunch of nice flowers on the railing in front of the house, now. We were thinking about doing just the one side, but now that I see how nice it looks, I think we’re going to do the other side too. The trees out front are now properly decorated and look quite nice. Thanks to Bermuda Grass and it’s desire to cover *everything* we’ve decided that we have to have some form of separation between the lawn and the flower beds. So, next weekend we’ll probably tackle that. The lawn got a good edging this afternoon (thanks to Jess finally agreeing with me that we need a gas powered trimmer and edger). I shaved it a little shorter and deeper than I normally would since it was very overgrown. Then I took the shovel and scraped up the huge patches of grass that were cut off. Next weekend, after it grows out a bit, I’ll edge it again and it should look pretty darn good.

I should start including pictures of all the stuff we’ve been doing. If I did that, though, you’d all be jealous and copy me.

Our Golden Pathos confided in me that it intended to take over the entire house as it finally managed to reach the floor from atop our mantle. So, Jess and I offered a compromise and bought it a trellis. I wonder how long it will be before it out grows it. Are you sure these plants aren’t classified as weeds? It sure grows like one and I’m not even trying to help it out. If it grows much more, Jess and I will probably end up installing a plant shelf in the garden room and using it’s vines to decorate that shelf.

Our pot rack still hasn’t fallen down. I’m both grateful and surprised.

All in all, we’ve done a good chunk of work today. Now, we’re relaxing for a little bit before we start getting all gussied up for tonight. We’re going out to dinner and then to the Symphony with Mike and Lisa.

Yesterday we drove out to Arlington to visit Arlington Camera. I’ve decided once and for all that there is absolutely no reason for me to set foot into a brick and mortar camera retailer again. Even if you set aside the fact that their prices are higher than online, talking to them is rarely informative, they always try to upsell you and, in the end, when you finally decide on a product, they tell you they are out of stock. No thanks. I can get that and more by simply calling an online retailer and can learn a lot more about a product by renting it before I purchase it.

I’m seriously considering some new studio lights and light modifiers. For now, I’d like to purchase a softbox, but there’s a question I can’t seem to answer: does a softbox require that it belong to the light system it is being used with, or are they interchangeable? In other words, can I use a Norman softbox on a Speedotron light (as if I actually owned or could afford either of the previously mentioned brand names)?

I think I’d like to consider trying another studio shoot. Now that I’ve had a chance to learn a little, and then a chance to consider what I want to accomplish, I think I’m ready to try something more than just off-the-cuff portraits for practice. Something closer to the stuff that Erica and I did during our last shoot together. If you’re interested in being a part of this, send me an email and we’ll talk.