Hats off to you!

So many women in hats and scarves. Some pink, some grey, some red. Not an indication of the weather, not winter wear, rather a byproduct of chemotherapy! One of the more obvious side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss. It is a hidden side effect in men. In men bald is beautiful, but only for blokes! Looking around me there are many men with shaved heads and none look like they are undergoing any medical treatment.

When you begin chemotherapy you are warned about the hair loss. They say when the first locks fall to have your head shaved. This action is to alleviate the rubbing off of hair during sleep. For hair rubbed off will not regrow and you end up all patchy.

While I sit here at the Mater Hospital Cafe waiting for my mother to endure yet another scan I see in front of me a woman apparently in her 70's embarrassed by her hair loss. She constantly tugs and pulls at her headwear. Her hat is grey, knitted with a narrow brim. A big flower on one side. Her hands are aged with time.

Maybe it is easier for the younger ones, short hair rocks, you can look trendy as a bald young woman, but the woman in front of me seems to be struggling with her loss. I must say her choice of headwear suits her well. She fiddles again and I can just see a wisp of white hair slip below the knitted rim of her hat.

Hats can be stunning if you have the right shaped head. Hats look tragic on me. I obviously do not have the right shaped head!

I hope the lady in front of me has fast and effective treatment for her cancer and her hair grows back thick and rich.

So what's happened to Blogging? The more relevant question would be so what's happened to MY blogging. The answer is little! I just can't seem understand the relevance of it when I feel I am already out there in Flickrland and now facebookland. I am no wordsmith, so perhaps my skill is in the visual as opposed to written word. I am not sure where this may go. Or if this has already ended. I guess it comes back to time will tell.

Memory and disappointment

What causes the memory to be better, more fulfilling, more satisfying, tastier, fuller and seemingly more real than the reality? What is it that allows the mind to embellish the truth? Is it in all minds or only my mind which reacts this way? My mind is fickle. I am sure it is encouraged to blow the memory out of proportion to the reality.

Weeks pass and the desire to feel like that again grows stronger. I find myself lost in day dreams reliving how good it was and how great it will be when I get to enjoy that pleasure again. My mind recalls every minute detail, smell, feel, taste. I become needy, it is always on my mind.

When finally the planets align and there is just enough gap in the daily grind to allow for an hour or so free of guilt and ripe for dirty pleasure the desire is at its highest.

Disappointment reigns.

The reality is nothing like the memory. Everything is wrong. Although it may look the same it is not. Different smell, different taste, different feel, none as good as the memory, the recollection is too good for the reality. My mind has cheated me. The little cafe by the lake has let me down. Their hot chocolate disappoints.

I've been dreaming of this for weeks and now when finally time permits the reality come crashing down around my ears. It's not strong enough, not sweet enough and not hot enough. It is simply not as good as I remembered it!

I have to admit it does look the same, exactly the same and it was made by the same girl so I can but assume it IS the same, but it is my memory that has treated me like a fool. I have allowed my mind to wander and distort.. The lesson here is simple, so as not to face future disappointment don't leave it so long next time, as the myth grows with time.

Long time between drinks!

Christmas and the new year have been and gone! I've let my blog go unattended for too long. Much has happened. I have yet to work a full 5day week, in fact I have not worked a full weeek since mid December. This comes to an end tomomorrow sadly. The next few months will have me working odd days and there will be a large block of time on carers leave. Violet is again going under the knife and will need some very special care for a few months ahead. Fingers crossed it will all go well and my mid 2010 she will be back on her feet and running!

Photographically I have had some absolutely fantastic trips away and day away shoots. Bought some more equipment, learnt more "stuff" and generally improved the quality of my work. As long as I continue to learn I shall be happy. Yesterday Moo, Peter and I went to photograph some Aboriginal cave art and then on to participate in a photographic treasure hunt. It was a long and challenging day.........and I loved it!

Today, by comparison, will be spent in a far less stimulating way with domestic duties filling the majority of the day. A late afternoon coffee at Warners Bay is a possibility though.

So now, a couple of images taken of late. I hope you enjoy them!

Christmas is approaching at an alarming pace. This year I made some gifts for family and friends. This is sooooooo not me, but I was impressed with the quality of the RedBubble calendars that Moo made for her "Looking for Love" exhibition and took the plunge and made my own. I had 5 calendars and 4 diaries made. The diaries were a complete leap of faith. I had them printed in France, sight unseen, quality unknown and I am more than happy with them.

October and most of November have been lost in bloggerville. Mum became ill and I had 5 weeks of novice nursing filling my world!! I did mange to get SOME pics taken and it is best if I leave them to speak for themselves.

Gallery Raw called for submissions for an exhibition to be held for the month of October to celebrate Mens Health Week. I had an idea for a shot and I only needed a heavily tattooed man to pull it off. Work provides me with access to many fit young males and I only needed to ask about until I found one with the right Tatts. When asked if he would be interested in posing he originally hesitated, but it didn't take much to convince him. A few days later I popped around to his place and with his lovely wife holding the reflector I took 6 shots of him. I also took another 6 shots of them as a couple. This shot was the first taken and was the image I had envisaged. I was in and out of their hime in about 20 minutes. I converted the image from Raw to Jpeg and tweaked the sharpening. I had it printed as a 20x30 inch metallic paper print thru Digital Works in Victoria and had it mounted and matted thru The Framing Game at Charlestown. The black matt was not really black enough, so I had it matted with a black linen finish matt and it looks great. It has been hung at the front door of Gallery Raw. I am really happy with it. It is the shot I envisaged, the print came out really well and the mounting and matting is really well done. I love it when it all goes as smoothly as this shot.