Negativity

Looking out at Boscastle

 

 

I’ve been feeling a bit sorry for myself just recently – I don’t often get ill but I’ve been suffering from a chest infection and accompanying cough and general lethargy. ‘Luckily’ it coincided with the Easter break and so my precious few days off work were spent trying hard to feel human and not too grumpy.

 

Anyway, to cheer myself up I sorted out some bits and pieces at home including some of my vast collection of camera equipment. During the tidy I found a couple of unexposed 120 films. How exciting! I still love the thrill of sending off film, not knowing what will come back – and this was even more exciting as I had no idea what was even on the film!

 

DS#1 looking cool at the beach

The negs and CD came back in super quick time and it transpired they were from holidays in 2013 and 2014… The rolls of film had been used in my Diana camera and then stashed safely. The Diana is a fun piece of kit is based on the 1960’s super low quality box camera. The poor plastic construction is part of the appeal as the resulting light leakage and soft focus effects give some interesting results. It uses 120 film which gives large sized square negatives and prints which several firms are now able to develop. It’s not a super cheap hobby but it is fun!

 

Not my most flattering shot but I just love the colours

Textures

Here are some of the better results – some of the shots were so ‘effected’ that you couldn’t really tell what they were of. It has rekindled my desire to get out there and take some more and to make sure I get the films sent straight off this time instead of sitting around for years…..

These two pics were taken at Sidmouth when I did my yoga retreat. Happy memories!

DS#2 being mean and moody (and small)

Balancing my Life

Had a quick visit to Sidmouth before the retreat.

It’s been a lovely couple of weeks for me here – must be something to do with all that cosmic energy that I keep hearing about!

I finally got to go on my Yoga Retreat and absolutely loved it.. My yoga teacher, Jane, hired out a whole holiday complex for us near Honiton in Devon. It consisted of a barn converted into 4 beautiful cottages and then further barns which housed dining/yoga space and a small fitness room plus outdoor hot tub. The hot tub and gardens had spectacular views over the Blackdown Hills. Now, I was a little nervous leading up to the retreat – I don’t always find it easy to meet new people and before the event I knew a grand total of one person. But, I was brave and tried not to worry about the thought of sharing my room with someone I didn’t know. (We discussed this concern at work and decided that no one could be weirder than me so it should rightfully be the other person who should be worrying!)

A view of the yoga barn

However, this concern proved unfounded and everyone I spoke to was very friendly indeed. My roommate happened to also be called Karen which made things nice and easy and the other ladies in our cottage were lovely (they even brought sneaky alcohol).

A beautiful view for journaling and relaxing!

The yoga was awesome – I had lots of chance to deepen my practice and really try new things and push myself a little bit further. Added to the yoga was opportunities to meditate, enjoy some wonderful healthy food and in between the classes we were free to do what we wanted. For me this meant trying the hot tub, having a massage and mostly reading. I brought along some deep and meaningful self improvement stuff but actually ended up reading from the Game of Thrones tome. Most of all I got the chance to RELAX and think and just be. It was truly blissful!

More Sidmouth

However, the downside of all this blissed out peace was that the new week back at work hit me like a ton of bricks.... Part of my deep thinking was to make some changes to my own routine – more yoga, better diet (ie less snacking), more time in the garden/allotment, less time on mindless TV and computers. However, after a couple of days I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the new changes I was asking of myself. So I decided to slow down and make smaller adjustments but all heading in the right direction. In a moment of pure synchronicity I found this book in a charity shop. We have been struggling a bit with keeping on top of our allotment recently and DH came home a couple of weeks ago in a major downer because all our hard graft had simply provided the world’s best picnic for the slugs. Not a single pea remained, not a carrot to be seen, even the onions had been nibbled! So I decided to do a sneaky thing and not tell him that I have been doing half an hour at the ‘lotty every night after work. So far there is not much of an improvement but I can see the onions again through the weeds and I have been picking copious amounts of raspberries. I have also dug a patch (the size of a postage stamp – but small steps, remember) This method is suiting me perfectly as I have a short attention span and it means I still have time to fit in all the other self improvements. Healthy eating? Oh yes. Snacking? Not a single thing has passed my lips (well, apart from an oat cracker the other night). Yoga practice? Most mornings, even just a cat/cow stretch is better than nothing! Technology? Yes, I have neglected my blog and mostly ignored Facebook.... I just have to get the balance right!