Just do the next thing...

I feel dull and unmotivated today.  Sort of like the weather.  I'm not complaining about the weather - actually I really dislike complaints about the weather so I try not to do that, ever.  It just happens that I feel greyish on a grey day.  I shouldn't feel this way.  Plenty of wonderful things are happening.  I have a cozy fire going. The kids are all happily occupied and Nadia is having a long nap.  I had a nap. A friend gave birth to a baby girl this morning. I'm sure the baby is beautiful and I'd love to see her, only they live three hours away.  We got some nice, personal mail two days in a row. (Thank you, friends! Especially for the DVD - too funny.)

My way of dealing with an unmotivated day is to follow a simple rule I learned when I was experiencing a difficult time after Gavin was born: just do the next thing.  One thing at a time.  Don't try to decide what should happen next.  I keep a list of the day's chores on the counter so I just go to the list and do one thing on it.  Then I go back and do the next.  It isn't the most efficient way of operating, but at least it keeps me going and the day is somewhat productive.

I have not even picked up the camera today, other than to take out the memory card to download yesterday's pics. Maybe I should put 'take pictures' on my list.  At the very top. Of course, then I might never get to the second thing on the list...

So here are some not-from-today shots:

Look at the difference between  Kizzy's fur in colour,

And black and white:

It really changes him, doesn't it? 

Last week's photography homework was to take a picture of a person using the rule of thirds, with something in the backround that 'said' something about them.  We had a hard time choosing between this one:

And this one:

So at last we put Justine and Leah's names on pieces of paper and Leah's got picked.  Each week we have to email our homework to the instructor and then in class he projects them onto a screen to view and comment on them.  He is not critical, he just uses them to demonstrate a point he is teaching.  He did have say something complimentary to say about this one, so that was encouraging.

I really like this next one, but didn't submit it because it didn't fit in with the rule of thirds. It's hard to tell her exact age here.  I think she looks older than she really is.  To the older girls' chagrin, Leah is often mistaken as the oldest.

Well, that's all for tonight.  Our computer is acting up (or is it blogger?) so I had better end this here.  Good night!