Well, today got off to a disappointing start. I was up at 6:30, even before my alarm went off. My brain was set to LEARN. I had already packed my notetaking materials, so I put on the kettle and prepared to make two thermoses of tea (one regular and one decaf). I put my lunch things in a cooler. I started on a breakfast that I intended to finish cooking in the magic lunchbox in the car while driving north to Mount Pleasant.
Then I checked my email. Turns out, Mount Pleasant was hammered by the storms that moved through the area last night, and the venue for the conference had lost power as a result. So the conference was canceled. It might possibly be rescheduled—I’m sure they’re scrambling to figure out what to do.
I’m so glad I found out before making two big thermoses full of tea and before setting off for Mount Pleasant! I hope they get their power back soon. And I still cooked my breakfast in the lunchbox, and it worked out pretty okay.
Meanwhile, I was suddenly at loose ends. It took me a while to switch gears. Eventually I realized that I could get all the printing for next week’s classes done today instead of trying to squeeze it in tomorrow afternoon. It is a time-consuming and tedious process, but the printer cooperated and I got it all done. So. Much. Paper.
In the middle of the afternoon the mail arrived, and with it my new Polaroid film pack. According to Jasper, a Polaroid camera is required equipment for any self-respecting white girl right now. I wonder if I get bonus points for using my 30-year-old vintage camera?
I couldn’t wait to pop that film into my ancient device, even as I struggled to remember how to do it. It’s been at least 20 years since I used that camera. Then of course I had to go in search of a test subject. I chose some roses in our front yard that are blooming beautifully right now. The results were disappointing, to say the least. The photo was of very poor quality and quite blurry despite the bright sunshine outside. I will try a portrait tomorrow when Walter is more alert and not suffering the side effects of working outside all day and taking too many antihistamines. But at the moment, I’m glad I just got one pack of film. Even if all 8 photos are duds, it won’t be too great a loss. I thought, after all the years they’ve had to improve the technology, that these new photos would be super awesome. I guess I was wrong.
Sammy came over for supper, which I did not have to cook, as we still had leftovers from Tuesday’s cookout. Jasper, of course, is still away on his trip. We watched some interesting videos and then looked up random information about Zambia on Google. We didn’t agree with some of Google’s answers.
My Midlife Menagerie 