Time for a face mask

There comes a point when you have to take a stand against the explosion of horridness on your chin and blast it away with some good old blue corn scrub … and since this last 30 Tiny Moments shot includes me, I shall take this opportunity to say that the 7 Days self-portrait project will return on Saturday 20th December 2008.

You may have seen the Flickr group 365 days, in which people take up the challenge to take a self-portrait every day for a year. That’s much too much like hard work for me … and for many others it would seem. However, we still wish to celebrate our vanity from time to time and so the 7 Days Project was born. Once a quarter the group convenes for a week of self-portraits and comment love.

If you would like to take part, the 7 days of self-portraits will run from
Saturday 20th December 2008 to Friday 26th December 2008.

Learn more at: www.flickr.com/groups/sevendays/

Because primary colours aren’t good enough for some people

So Lori got all demanding and wanted a neckwarmer in olive. I found some yarn, bought it and then gained a few grey hairs trying to represent the colour for her approval. A dark winter’s day ruled out a natural light photo and photography wasn’t working: the colour was too this or too that. The manufacturer’s website had a nice selection of yarn samples on their site, which didn’t include this one, so I tried scanning it. Not bad and with a bit of tinkering in Photoshop and then a little magic something I like to call Giving The Hell Up Before Turning To The Bottle, there was an approximation of the colour, which was duly approved by the esteemed customer. Whose screen, for all I know, could be calibrated completely differently from mine.

Maybe if I play with matches they’ll come back

One moment for which the camera was not at hand: seeing a pretty little goldcrest bobbing about in the tree.

Another moment for which the camera (very sadly) was not at hand: a fire engine full of firemen driving slowly past outside.

The moment for which the camera was at hand: playing Bananagrams with Mum and Dad. We each won a round. I didn’t win the first round because that was the round when vowels were not interested in coming and helping me out. And NMWZ isn’t really a word.

Poor old knees

After all those steps in various stations across London yesterday a couple of ibuprofen have been needed for my poor old knees. Oh, and there’s the echinacea too – because it seems that this 30 Tiny Moments feels the need to copy April’s run. So we’ve had the snow and now I’ve got the cold. If the timetable is the same, having woken up with a snot-encrusted nose this morning, tomorrow should be when my voice goes weird. Or perhaps it could just be the day when my mouth (probably self-chewed in the night) stops feeling like it’s been punched. That would be better for me.

Many doors and many steps today

I was in London today with John, photographing at a conference at the Barbican centre. Getting to the centre involved a train journey and various tube lines and an awful lot of steps up and down and – since we were travelling in the rush hour – an awful lot of people on the tube. I’ve never had to wait for the next tube because there’s no more room on the one that’s just arrived. And I’ve certainly never had to wait for the one after that either. More people should be wise like me and work from home. Sure, all your friends are imaginary and live in your computer, but at least you don’t have to get up at 6.45am to stand on a train.

Other notable events today:
- Talking about our job to a man who had cake on his face – and not telling him he had cake on his face.
- Asking for half a cup of coffee, being given half a cup, drinking it and deciding that it was so yummy that it was worth going back to ask for another half.
- Talking to Adrian Moorehouse about swimming – I’d come to the conclusion that it may well be a physical impossibility for me, but then Ellie Simmonds came along and ruined that particular theory. Maybe I should be talking to her.
- Sitting on the floor of the train between London Bridge and Chelsfield, reading my copy of last week’s The Week and eating the chocolate brownie slice I’d taken from the conference.

Fair warning

You may remember this sign, which I photographed on a trip to Norfolk to see my brother Lee and his partner in crime, Debbie. I remarked that I wanted it on a T-shirt and the pair took me at my word with this fantastic birthday present that turned up in the post today.

A pile of knitting (and purling)

I seem to have spent most of the day working on my Etsy shop, taking photos of myself modelling bits and pieces that are already up and adding a couple more items. New to the shop are the mohair scarf that has made a couple of appearances recently and a hat and scarf set in mad, bright colours. The set is intended for a child, but I suppose there might be an adult out there who might appreciate it just as much! Also about to be added is a lilac neckwarmer, just like the dark red one I decided to keep for myself. This one I can let go, as I think wearing two might be verging a little towards the Kayan.