Merry Christmas!

Because I've since long stopped sending Christmas cards, this will be my holiday greeting this year. Nothing says Christmas like Freya in front of a Christmas tree :), and yes, it's still standing, even if she's tried to climb it a bit. After all, she's not a kitten any longer, so I'm crossing my fingers for this year. But something tells me she's not gonna break her Christmas tradition haha.


Merry Christmas dear friends!

/MrsHjort

Stillness

Oh if I could describe to you the wonderful feelings I get as Christmas break draws close. The last lesson has ended and tomorrow all that is left is to enjoy the end of term ceremony. Then I'll finally be able to do nothing at all, which is something I've come to value highly, since I seldom get to do it. I want to stand quietly, and look at the horizon, just like this fisherman, whom I shot candidly last
summer :)

/MrsHjort

Winter Walks

The snow has come, the first real one that is - the kind that stays for more than a few hours. Last Friday the flakes were ginormous, and all of a sudden, the boring browns were covered by a blanket of white.

I love the idea of snow - it brightens everything up a bit, during this dark time of the year, and I love sitting inside with a hot cuppa by a window. I can't say that I'm overly exited about the days when I have to actually get out in it though; I hate when its slippery! My workplace is down hill from where I live, and you really have to watch your step, or you'll start sliding uncontrollably. Wouldn't that be a sight for my students? Their teacher skidding down hill, whilst wailing squeakily and flapping her arms, falling nose first into a snow covered bush. Maybe I should buy crampons for my boots, just in case haha.

Don't get me wrong though, there are instances when I really enjoy a walk in the snow. Like when I have a camera in my hands, or when we bring bread down to the stream and feed the ducks, or, even better, both!

I just found these pictures from two years ago hiding away in my computer, and thought to myself, it would be fun to compere my best shots from back then, to what I can come up with now, after two years of shooting and competing at W1K. So stay tuned for more winter bird shots. I don't have the time to go shooting today, but hopefully the snow will stay a while, and I'll try to manage a troll soon.

/MrsHjort

Looking, Searching, Hunting

Today I tried my luck at finding this month's calendar shot. I's not an easy task since about 95 % of all that is usually green has turned brown and wilted. I've been fortunate to actually having found something today, and we'll see if I end up choosing it, or if I'me lucky enough to find something else to choose from later on.

This shot is from a year ago. It's one of those that didn't quite make it to the calender last year. It sort of expresses how nature is right now too, except this year, the process of wilting has gone a
bit farther, and the brown colors have
more or less taken over.

I already miss color...

/MrsHjort

Blanket Flower - November's Citrine

I was pleasantly surprised by how well this picture did in the monthly competition. I shot it early this month - so that I could be sure to get a both a pretty flower (they're wilting away) and acceptable lighting (it is really dark here now).

It's not my favorite out of the set, but good enough, and I didn't have the opportunity to shoot something else this month. The end of the school term is a very busy time for me - there are loads of assessments to correct, grades to set and meetings to go to. And so I had to "make due".

It's funny how some pictures do better than you expect, and some do worse. For example, I like last months shot more than this one, and yet its average score was lower... But hey, that's the fun of competing - you never know what will happen :)

Now I just hope I can find a flower to shoot this month... Wish me good luck!

/MrsHjort

Count to 10

I just hate it when my computer won't do what I want. No! Scratch that! I just hate it when you install new things on your computer and all manner of other crap gets installed as well, without your permission or knowledge. Groan...

Today is my fist day with my new computer, which is awesome! I cannot wait until I get it all up and running again. The down part though, is that installing everything you use all over again involves some serious pains. Install one program and some mumbo jumbo computer fixer program gets installed as well. Install something else and some incredibly annoying search engine takes over your web browser, and, at the same time, a dingdong app adds 100 commercials to everything.

Furthermore, As if the numb nut programs weren't irritating enough themselves, the process of removing them is riddled by confirmations requests, and verification codes. YES I wand to remove this garbage from my computer, YES I am fully aware that I will not have this crap on it anymore, and YES remove
it now, do it fast, or else!

Sorry for today's complaints, but this nonsense really grinds my gears. I mean, don't people have anything better to do than inventing these bogus programs? I almost miss the good old days when you installed everything from piles of diskettes. Sigh...

/MrsHjort

Lovely Winter

It's cold now, and dark, soon it's the darkest time of the year - when you can see signs like "be ware of falling icicles" or hear the snowplough scraping past your house in the morning.

Soon Christmas will be here, though judging by the stores, it has been here for a while - they started filling their windows with decorations in October. I just hate that, as if winter wasn't long enough without them having to remind me even before the leaves stared falling...

There are some things I like about winter though, like mulled wine and gingerbread cookies. Or snuggling up in a sofa with a blanket watching a movie, taking long hot baths, or when all the advent candle sticks get removed from storage, and every window glows homely through the dark nights.

To Mr and me, winter is special. Even though we both prefer summer. The first time we met was a November evening and the first time we said "I love you" was the midwinter solstice. It's a time of year when we remember those early crazy romantic days of our relationship and reminisce.

An other thing I like about this time of year is that "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy movies, as well as "The Hobbit" movies has had their premieres then. I've always looked forward to seeing them, though this time I'm a bit worried as to how they will present the last part...

You see, I'm one of those hard core Tolkien admirers who don't see kindly to changes. Especially when, in my opinion, brilliant bits of the book are removed and replaced with exaggerated action scenes, concocted love stories or recurring characters who do not belong in the story. To me "The Hobbit" has always been more about courage than anything else, and while I think that they did a good job capturing that in the first movie, I found the second one lacking that particular quality. But I digress, this was supposed to be about winter after all, so... what else...

I love the beauty of winter - the snow, the frost and the icicles. Shooting them is so much fun even though I hate the cold, I get very enthusiastic when snow falls. These shots are not from today though, they're from almost two years ago when I was lucky enough to find some gorgeous ice-formations down by the pier.

Shooting snow is hard. I've taken many walks with my camera in the woods and come home with "nothing" - the light conditions are very tricky - since this is a dark time of year. The shots often lack that "zest" that I like and end up "flat". The trick is not to shoot on overcast days, which is easily said than done. Though sometimes, in the end of the winter, when the days are a bit brighter, you might end up lucky anyway, like when I shot these. I look forward to the snow this year. I hope I will get the opportunity to do some serious shooting.

/Mrs Hjort

Page 394

Whenever I'm at work, having just finished going through new stuff in front of a class, when I get to the point when I tell the students to look up a page in the book and get to work, I always think of Snape!

You see, I have perfect sound memory, and for some reason, one of Snape's lines has burned itself into my memory. I can actually hear it as I write this; "Turn to page three hundred and ninety four!" (Harry Potter, the Prisoner of Azkaban)

This is how my mind works. Ever so often, when I hear a phrase, or when I am in a certain situation, I can remember certain sounds, with perfect clarity. Mr is the same, and I love that! During our years together we've developed our own inside humor. We very often think of the same sounds, look at each other, and chuckle. Like when one of us (Mr!) puts on clothes that one other one of us (me!) doesn't like, because they don't fit the occasion, we'll go "I'm not going to be wearing the shoes am I?!"  - a line from the Office (UK version). Or when one of us corrects the other, the sentence will end with "... my young Padawan" (Star Wars). Or, when one of us is late we'll go "A wizard is never late!" (Lord of the Rings).

So there you have it, I hope you've enjoyed today's random ramblings haha. Oh, and by the way, Mr is back now! Squeeeeeeee! :D

See you soon

/MrsHjort

Mr and Morris

To continue the cat theme I've been running when Mr is away, I'll show you this picture today. A while back there was a "pet and owner" contest on W1K, and I made Mr pose on the floor with our most tractable cat Morris. Those two have always been very tight and Morris sleeps with Mr every night, to Mr's delight, and annoyance.

You see, Morris is a very kind cat - you could do almost anything to him and he'd just purr and look patiently at you - turn him upside down? No problem! Carry him around all day? Fine! Put him inside your sweater? Yup, no problem! But while Morris is very patient and placable, he's also very clingy, and when he lays down in your lap he suddenly becomes very cumbersome, and at least twice as heavy. So, when Morris comes to sleep with Mr at night, he does not lay down and curl up like into small ball beside Mr. No, no, he lays down on top of Mr and "ferments", like a large piece of heavy dough - which has actually inspired some of Morris' nick names, like "the lump of dough" or just "Lumpy".

Anyway, Morris also misses Mr, and he has been trying his doughy techniques on me lately, in lack of the real deal. But, sorry Lumpy, no such luck! Like me, you'll just have to wait until Mr gets home. You'll have to settle with the other side of the bed for now.

Good night :)

/MrsHjort

Crazy Cat Lady

When the cat's away... no let's start over, when Mr is away... Mrs goes crazy! I's so hard to pass the time here at home... alone... I'm just too used to having Mr around to talk to. You'll never guess what I've done today. If you do, then you're probably a crazy cat lady too.

Well, let me put it this way, since Mr is away this week, I'm left alone with the cats, and today, I've been training Freya, the kittie in the picture, to shake hands. See! I told you you'd never guess!

A while back, a friend of mine told me about this device called a clicker. It's a small thing you hold in your hand that you can "click", which helps you train your pets. Ever heard of Pavlov's dog? It works just like that! The first few times your click the device every time your per eats their favorite food - that way they will associate the sound with reward. Later, you click the clicker when training your pet, but only when they do something to your satisfaction on command - that way they will learn to do what ever you desire on cue. It really works!

The training session today was me saying "pretty paw!" and holding out my hand to Freya. A few days ago, I had to tap her paw gently, sort of forcing her to hold it out, then click and give her a reward (you should always reward when clicking, or the click will loose its "power"), but she caught on pretty fast and after a few training sessions spread out over a few day's she's got it! Mr has really doubted the validity of clicker training, I've taught her to sit down before (since she used to jump at me when ever I took out the treats) and he dismissed it as her "maturing". Bah, humbug! Clicker training really works and he'll drop his jaw when he comes home, moahahahahaaaaaa! No no, I'm really not that crazy, just a tiny bit...

/MrsHjort

All by Myself

Next week is going to be really slow. Mr just left for Stockholm this morning and won't come back until next Saturday. I just hate it when he's away, but luckily I won't be entirely alone. I still have my furry friends to keep me company, so I guess I'll be the crazy cat lady for a week haha. They may not me much for conversation, but at least they are good listeners, and they love snuggling.

Mr and I will soon celebrate our ten year anniversary. Not that we've been married that long yet, but it's been ten years since we fist became a couple, nine since we got engaged - Mr proposed to me on our first anniversary. Funny how fast time flies, ten years feels like a lot, and yet, at the same time, it's like I've known him forever. I cannot remember how life was like without him. I guess I'll "find out" this week...

/MrsHjort

Tropical Nights

As the day's grow shorter, and colder, I long more and more for the tropics. This weekend Mr and I went to a museum with an artificial rain forest. I could not help but go "aaaaaaah" as I stepped inside and inhaled the warm humid air. I love environments like that, not only because of the lovely smells and pleasant memories that they bring back, but also because they're very healthy. Or, at least for me they are.

I grew up with asthma. During my teens it was particularly hard, and I just hated the winter - the cold would make it quite difficult for me. I guess my lungs have always bothered me in some way. Nowadays my asthma is gone - after a change of diet (no margarine) - but instead I get occasional chest pain as a result of three past lung-related "injuries". You see, I'm one of those genetic rarities who has the misfortune to be prone to spontaneous pneumothorax - collapse of the lung. It really sucks getting those sharp pains. As the winter comes, I get more and more paranoid as the temperature falls and my lungs sting with increasing frequency, and intensity...

It's been 4 years now, since my last relapse (knock on wood). Hopefully it's something I will not get again, and the pain is just something I have to live with. Gah! I sound like an old lady haha. Complaining about bad weather and aching limbs. But hey, that's life I guess. But enough with the rambling, now for bed, and pleasant dreams about warmer climates :)

Sleep tight!

/MrsHjort

In "Transit"

What I hate about travelling, is that you usually spend a lot of time waiting... If you're unlucky, you spend just as much time idling at various airports, or train stations, as you do in transit, if not more.

I usually feel like something the cat dragged in at those situations, which means that I don't feel like shopping (I don't even like shopping in normal circumstances), and I usually end up just sitting, waiting for time to pass.

There are some who have found ways to make time pass more quickly though, like this guy, or how about picking one of these?

Cheers

/MrsHjort

First Snow

The first thing I noticed as I opened my eyes this morning was giant snowflakes falling outside my window. My initial thought was "Nooooooo! Why?" but as I stood up, I saw the beauty of the landscape...

It's strange how the fire in your heart can be awoken by a lovely view. I took a sick day today, and even though I feel kind of funny, and my head isn't quite screwed on properly (excuse the typos, I'm sure there are a lot of them today), my photography fingers awoke and started twitching with joy.

I love the view from our home, I know I've said it before, but I cannot help myself. These are shot from the attic window, with my  70-300 mm macro lens, using a tripod and remote. I love playing around with that lens. It's not as fast as my "all-around" 15-105 mm lens and it's kind of noisy, but I love the bokeh you get when you shoot macros with it, and the way you can zoom in and do landscape shots without loosing quality. I've been thinking of getting a telephoto lens for a while now... Any suggestions are welcome :)

/MrsHjort

Lewisia - October's Rhodolite Garnet

Lewisia is my favorite flower, well, at least when it comes to the ones that grow in my garden. I love its sweet pink color and the way it grows in clusters. It blooms twice a year, both in the spring, and in the autumn. So, even though I ended up choosing other flowers this spring, I still got the opportunity to get it into the calendar last month.

My other favorite flower is the Lillie, especially white ones, even though some consider white flowers inappropriate. They say that they only belong to funerals, but I've never been the type to care about things like that. If they are pretty, I love getting them, no matter what color they are.

As you know, If you've kept up with my blog, it was a long time ago that Mr brought me flowers (since the cats usually either eat them, knock over the vases they're in, or in other ways annihilate them), but yesterday... Yesterday I came home to a three course dinner and candle light. Mr, you truly are the best!

/MrsHjort

Wonderful Clichés

Sometimes I can't help myself! Flowers with water drops on them are just so boring, and they have been done millions of times, particularly daisies, but as I saw this in my garden I couldn't help myself! I just had to shoot it! The light hit it just right and the shadowy background made it look like a studio shot, even though it's not, it's really not! It could not be farther from the truth - to shoot this I had to push my tripod to it's limits and place it on some mean mud.

Clichés puzzled me at first, as a virgin hobby photographer, who had just found W1K, the concept was new to me, and it was hard to understand why some of the contests had that restriction. But now, that I've seen more, I find it very wise! Because some things, are just not creative anymore - just like this shot; even though I cannot help but like it I cannot help but think that it's kind of cheep. It's hard so make a flower with droplets on it look bad...

/MrsHjort

Old Friends

Isn't it strange, how you regress when you meet buddies that you go way back with?

I met some of the girls from my class in upper secondary school today. It was like no time had passed at all and we were all teenagers again. We even did some happy girly jumping when we met haha, shrinking with excitement. What a joy to meet them! We laughed a lot, reminiscing and telling long forgotten stories. Odd expressions that we used to use popped into our heads and the way one of the girls played with her hair brought us right back to when we were sitting by a table together, waiting for science class to start, talking about random silly teen stuff. We vividly remembered walking through the corridors (the picture on the right is of a piece of art that you can find in one of the stairways) or sitting in the library together during recess... We were all in the "scientific program" and today we laughed about our nerdy hang out spot. Those were the days!

Yes, it's so much fun to talk about the "good old days", when we were all giggling teenage girls filled with mischief and dreams. Remembering our teachers is particularly fun, like our biology teacher who used to tell us stories of his camping trips, or the math teacher who at one time surprised us all by imitating an elephant in a very life like way... or the time when we brought a cake for our English teacher's 60th birthday, it brought a tear to her eye... and she cancelled the homework test that day... My, my, my! What happy memories... Time really goes by in a wink.

I love our occasional reunions! And it's really wonderful that, even though a decade has passed, we still keep in touch and meet up at least once a year. I hope we can keep it up!

/MrsHjort

My Day Off

I love some of the perks my job brings - like autumn break! I've had this whole week off, and believe me, it was well needed! Because, even though we get these extra days, we also work that much more, and often take our work home with us. It's unavoidable, or at least for me it is - there's almost always something that's nagging me, that I want to improve or solve in some way... and the last couple of weeks have been particularly crazy, with the development talks coming up.

But enough of that! This was supposed to be about my day off after all. So, I woke up to this amazing view today, and I could not resist going up to the attic to shoot the top photo. The lighting was stunning and lit up all the yellow autumn leaves gloriously. I love autumn days like this! When the colors come out in all their splendor and the air is fresh. Soon they will be a thing of the past and there will be brown everywhere, yuck! I just hate that about winter, the lack of color depresses me.

So, today being a beautiful day, I finally got the craving to go out and shoot. Honestly, I haven't felt like that for weeks and it's so nice to finally be relaxed enough to feel like doing something creative. Today has been wonderful, my dear mother-in-law and I took a spontaneous walk in the woods, shot some autumn pictures, had a nice lunch out, and ended up talking for hours. I just love that we share the same hobby! So here are today's pictures, fresh from the camera sprinkled with some photoshopping :)

/MrsHjort

Where the Heart Is

So, finally, after roughly 1½ years of renovating, our home is ready. As I've probably told you already we've redone just about everything - both exterior and interior.

I love living here, in the outskirts of our town, and yet close by. A ride by train into town only takes five minutes, my workplace is a 10 minute walk away and there's a little forest grove right behind the house, which means - no neighbors in that direction.

People often ask us about the railway tracks, since they run right behind our house. As I tell them, I never think about it anymore. The trains run very silently nowadays, and our windows are triple glazed, so we hardly hear anything when inside. The only time when it's noisy is when the cargo trains go by, if we're outside that is. Though there's only one or two of those per day anyway, and they go by fast. So, I'd much rather have the railroad behind the house than an other neighbor - it's so nice to have the back yard completely to our selves. Don't get me wrong though, I really like our neighbors, but it's wonderful to have secluded spot where one can relax wearing ugly, but comfortable clothes haha.

One thing that's a bit funny about our house is that I'm the third teacher to live here. My mother-in-law who lived here before us taught business administration at an upper secondary school and the lady that lived here before her taught younger children. So it's become a bit of a "tradition" haha.

Speaking of tradition, our house was built in 1935 and originally it housed two families - one on the first floor and one on the second, but now it's only Mr and me... and our three four pawed friends. Anyway, it's been quite interesting to see what lies beneath the surface when renovating. We'we found several layers of wallpaper at places (one word; yikes!) and even pencil drawings and writings. I love stuff like that! When ever we're gonna paint over something I like to doodle a little or write a message - like in the kitchen, behind a cabinet, there's a thank you letter to all who helped us redo it. At one time I traced Mr on the wall in life size and me beside him, holding hands. I like to think that little things like that add to the atmosphere, or at least for me it does. Even though it's painted over, it makes me smile :).

/MrsHjort

Pleasant Surprises

Sometimes my camera does weird things, I don't know how, or why, but occasionally it's like it goes "no! What you want to do is boring! I want to do this instead!"

I always take one or two extra shot for safety. Particularly when doing outdoor macros - since the wind can ruin a good shot, or the lighting might change slightly from moment to moment, when there's a cloudy sky. Once I even tried doing a floral "HDR" shot (for the lack of a better word) - merging three shots that didn't work individually. I merged one shot from when a cloud was covering the sun, one from when there was a wisp in front of it, and one when it was out completely. It actually turned out pretty neat! It really made the reds pop - which can be a problem sometimes when shooting outside in "real" light conditions.

Anyway, this was one of those safety shots I talked about, before my ramblings lost track, and even though my camera did some wacky things, which made the shot sort of hazy, I kind of like the result. It's certainly not one of my strongest shots, with composition in mind - it was very windy, and I waited for several minutes at a time for things to settle down (whilst sighing and grumbling haha). Composition aside though, I like the dreamy mood. Don't you :)

So, tell me, does you camera also go bananas sometimes? Does it have a will of it's own, and is it just waiting to confuse you with its mastermind schemes? If so, it might be related to mine!

Have a nice weekend, dear friends, cheers!

/MrsHjort

Summer Dreams

If I could choose to be reincarnated as an animal, I would choose cat any time. What a joy to be the pet of a nice family, to not have a care in the world and live the life of the ultimate hedonist, being cared for and showered with love... Just like my Freya. Here she is, napping in our back yard, enjoying the smells of summer and the twittering of the birds. Not a bad existence, wouldn't you say?

What animal would you be?

/MrsHjort

The Sky Is the Limit

Today has been an unusual day... Let me tell you all about it.

You see, it began yesterday as I got two phone calls I could not take - since I was busy teaching.  They were from somebody with a local number that, strangely, wasn't in the phone book. Since I work as a teacher it made me wonder if maybe it was a parent, but when I tried to call back, I only got the answering machine, telling me that whomever called was away on business. So naturally I was quite curious.

Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised today as I finally got hold of my mystery caller. It turned out to be a headhunter who wanted to recruit me. That really made my day! I already have a job that I like, but that was really cool, a boost that will keep my spirits up for a long time!

So, this picture fits my mood very well today. It's been a stressful period, filled with work and things to take care of, but high above the sky beckons, and today, I almost feel like I can touch it :)

Cheers!

/MrsHjort

The One That Didn't Quite Make It

Like so many, I have a "shoe box" folder on my computer, filled with pictures that somehow didn't survive the process of selection, the ones that weren't quite good enough, or didn't quite fit into what I was looking for.

This is one of those pictures. It was a candidate for the Calendar Challenge (April), but I ended up going with an other once, since I didn't want a picture of a white flower that month - I wanted to vary the colors, and I did white in February. So, there it has been since then, in the shoe box, gathering pixel dust, still waiting for an opportunity to shine - so today, I thought to myself, why not here?

As I look back on my time at W1K, I realize that it's almost been two years now, and the quality of my shoe box pictures has improved a lot! Ever now and again I erase the ones that no longer live up to my standards - the one's I know I will probably never enter into a contest, and when you think about it, it's actually kind of cool, because if anything, it shows how I've grown and how I've found my "style" so to speak. Because apparently, I have one haha, or so I've been told.

Anyway, the point of today's fumbling ramblings today, is that a year or two at W1K really enhances your skills, and I want to thank all of the kind, generous people who have taken the time to comment and advice me. You are the best!

/MrsHjort

A Room with a View

I'ts been a year now, a year since we moved into our house here in Huskvarna. A lot has happened during that year! We've renovated just about everything; the kitchen, one of the bathrooms, the bedroom, the hall, the stairs and the media room. We have brand new windows and the whole outside of the house has been redone, from the new facade plaster to the paint jobs. Yes, i'ts been a busy year filled with hard work. I'm very lucky to have such a handy husband.

The most recent thing we did was knocking out one of the walls downstairs, in order to make our living room larger. It has made the room a lot brighter too, and it has improved the view significantly - since we now have three windows facing the valley.

These are not a recent photos - the top one was taken about a year ago (and the rest are from the same season) but autumn this year is just as beautiful. Since we moved here we've quite often marveled at the rainbows rising over the hills... When they're particularly colorful, like this one, I grab my camera as fast as I can and run up to the attic. It's a very nice place to shoot from, no matter the time of year, and "today's" pictures are all taken from up there. I just love standing there with my tripod and my remote.

Come to think of it, many of my photos on W1K the last year have been shot right here at home. More than before - when we lived in the flat - but I suppose that it only natural because of "A" the novelty of it all, "B" the fact that it's bigger and "C" we didn't have a garden before and I love shooting flowers.

It turns out I also love shooting the view, and maybe you'll see even more variations of it here, or on W1K, in the future. I've always though of myself as a macro kind of girl though, and I've always been a bit uncomfortable with landscapes - so often they end up not doing reality justice, and I end up sighing at their "flatness" and lack of "atmosphere". But you know what they say; practice makes perfect. :)

/MrsHjort

Home Town

This is down town Jönköping on a typical Friday afternoon. A middle sized city situated in the south of Sweden, famous for its many churches and the Husqvarna factory, though some would stop me right there, and strongly insist that the factory belongs to the town of Huskvarna.

You see, there's this funny little thing about my home town - it's really two cities that have grown more and more close together. Nowadays, they're so close, that a stranger wouldn't be able to tell them apart, and the locals cannot agree where one stops and the other begins (this has actually been debated among my friends on several occasions). Somehow, it seems strangely important, and people who've lived in Jönköping very seldom move to Huskvarna, and vice versa.

Yes, there seems to be a strong sense of identity and loyalty tied to the respective cities, which has always been very weird to me, because really, why would it matter? Both sides of the town has their own character and I like them equally... ah, the charm of small city folk :)

/MrsHjort

Happy Memories

Yesterday, as I laid in my bed, trying to get to sleep, my thoughts stubbornly kept on spinning around.  It had been quite intense at work that day and my crazy brain just wouldn't leave things alone. Have you ever had nights like that? Nights when you just go over the same stuff again and again and again, until you just want to scream out loud in frustration?

I have a trick that alleviates the sleeplessness - nothing beats turning over and sleeping ''upside down'' - with your feet where your head should be. Strangely, it always works, even though technically, it shouldn't! Because, let's face it, you've only turned 180 degrees south, though, somehow it seems easier to get away from those loopy thought patterns and into something else that way.

As I lay there, 180 degrees from my usual position, I like to escape into moments like the one in the photo - moments of pure happiness, far away from my stressful every day life and mundane troubles. This particular memory is of a trip to our favorite island - Madeira. Mr and I enjoyed a glass of Champagne on our balcony and marveled at the view. We were completely giddy with happiness, and we didn't have a care in the world. It's nice to keep those happy memories of bliss, I always try to convert every detail into memory, so that I can relive them again when ever life is particularly boring, or during those loopy sleepless nights :-)

Good night my friends, sleep tight, I know I will :)

/MrsHjort

Out in the Rain

Today has been really "autumny" - rainy, cold and gloomy, you know, those kind of days when the cloud layer is so thick, that it seems like its twilight all day long. It has really suited my mood...

These past few days have been tough. The friend I spoke of before has passed away, and thus, I dedicate this blog entry and these pictures to her, this wonderful person who left us far too soon.

Life is a precious thing, can be gone in a wink, so you have to make the most of it. That's really something that this person did - even though she was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, she kept on fighting. She was one of the bravest persons I've ever known, who always wanted to do her best, who reached for the stars and kept on striving to achieve her goals. She was always positive and always had a smile on her face, kind to everyone she met and selfless in a way that is very rare today. I know that you usually say things like this about people who have passed away, but every word is true, without a moment's hesitation. She was something truly special.

I remember the last time I met her, she had a lot of heath related problems to deal with, and yet, she asked me how I was doing. She! It's people like her that really make an imprint on you, who find a way into your heart and sets a wonderful example to you. I admire all that she was and my heart goes out to her friends and family. She will be missed and I'll keep her memory with me forever.

~
Life is a precious thing...
... you have to make every moment count,
make the most of it,
and live every day to its fullest,
live here and now,
because you'll never know what life has in store for you,
for good or worse.

So make every day count,
reach for the stars and make you dreams come true
~

/MrsHjort

European Pellitory - September's Silver

These little flowers have bloomed like mad this year. Even now they are brightening up my garden midst all the autumn colors. We've been very lucky to have a wonderfully mild sunny autumn this year. It has allowed the flowers to stay pretty longer, which fits my calendar this year very well.

As a matter of fact, I think I'll soon head out into the garden to shoot this month's photo - you never know how long luck will stay - and there are some other wonderful flowers that have just started blooming. Lucky me! I hope this lats all the way to December!

Wish me good luck shooting! :)

/MrsHjort

Day 30 - Finish Line

I had intended to end my challenge with a super duper shot! A real autumn whopper! But, my busy life has a tendency to get in the way of my plans. The work day of a teacher is unpredictable and sometimes you just get swamped.

The sun was almost below the horizon as I got home today. The lighting was terrible, and therefore I was happy just to get a shot that wasn't all washed out and blurry. So, this might not be what I intended, but at least it's alright.

Thirty days, don't they go by in a wink. It's been so much fun seeing what everyone (links low to right) has come up with each day, and I'll really miss that. Congratulations too all of you who made it! You are super awesome!

Finally, I'd like to end this challenge with saying that this is not the end, the end of this blog, that is. I'll try and drop a line or two, once or twice a week, and I hope to see you all here, dear readers and fellow "challengers" :).

Cheers!

/MrsHjort

Day 29 - Early Dusk

I shot this as I got home today. Sweden has reached the point when it's dawn as I go to work, and dusk as I go home. Daylight savings will end in a month... It feels like we're living in Mordor for 4 months each year.

Yes, the day's grow shorter now, and the angle of the sun becomes more and more acute. The lack of light causes the body to stop producing vitamin D3, and a lack of vitamin D3 can make you feel tired. Therefore, Mr and I try to think of what we eat during the winter.

Vitamin D3 can be found in a verity of healthy foods, like fish, egg yolks and various deary products - which isn't a problem for us, since we usually eat a lot of all those things.

For a long time Mr and I have been very strict with what we eat. Periodically we have not eaten anything sugary at all, nor any fast food or snacks. Stress, however has finally gotten the best of us, and nowadays we eat fast food far more often than I'd like (not to mention snacks, I have a thing for salty things). But at some point, I guess you just have to give in, and be "sloppy" for a while. I look forward to when things calm down and I can take the time to cook again.

/MrsHjort

Day 28 - Flavor

Autumn is slowly creeping into my green house. The last tomatoes have been harvested, and it's time to take care of the last herbs as well. This shot is of Thai basil. The leaves have a very aromatic scent, and I love going into the greenhouse just to smell them! The taste is a bit bitter sweet, but it adds a little something extra to whatever you use it for. We usually add it to soups or curries.

I love Thai food! In fact, if I could only eat food from one country for the rest of my life, I would choose Thailand, no competition! There's a lovely Thai restaurant here in town that we frequently go to, so often in fact, that we've gotten to know the staff. Last time we where there, I ordered something I don't usually eat, and our waiter went "Oooh, trying out new things today are we?" The friendly atmosphere is part of what I love about that place, not to mention the menu!

What's your favorite food?

/MrsHjort

Day 27 - True Colors

"Sedum spurium" is this plant's name. It has leaves all year around but during autumn some of the leaves turn red while others don't. I just love the way the crimson brightens up my flowerbeds.

There is color all around now - it's the time right before the trees start shedding their leaves for real, and everything is still hanging on. As I look out through my window I can see all possible shades of red, orange and green in a beautiful mix.

It's growing colder now, there has even been frost outside in the mornings, and I've already worn my winter jacket more than once. It won't be long now, before the trees are naked, the colors are gone and nature goes into its hibernation, awaiting the coming Spring. I hope winter is short this year.

/MrsHjort

Day 26 - Life

This little hare stopped by my garden today. Usually they're very shy - so first I snapped a few shots through my window - but surprisingly, he didn't react when I opened it a moment later. He just sat there, calmly, patiently eating the grass. I rarely see animals in our garden, but their tracks can often be seen in the snow during winter.

I got some sad news today. A friend of mine is very ill. She's one of the most wonderful persons I've ever met in my life, and I've come to care for her a lot. I hope, with all my heart, that she will get better.

Life is a fickle thing, things can turn around in a wink, for better or for worse. That's why it's important to treasure every moment, and not to miss any opportunities. Even if it is just opening the window, to snap a picture of a hare.

Cheers dear friends

/MrsHjort

Day 25 - Autumn Cat

Miiow, mieow! On my way to work today I heard meowing. As a cat owner one responds to the sound instinctively, like a mother to a child's cries. It's funny but it's true. It turned out that this little kitty cat (she's not mine) had been left out alone all night, and was eager for some attention, poor thing. She brushed up against me and looked disappointed when I could not take her with me and rescue her from the rain. I hope she got home alright.

One might wonder what's "autumny" about a cat in the rain, so, well, let me explain to you. So called "summer cats" are a bit of a problem here in Sweden. There are heartless (or ignorant) people who buy a kitten during the spring. The little kittie is cute and fun to play with for a while, but, when the Autumn comes, they grow bored with the almost full grown cat and abandon it where ever. They think that, since cats are natural hunters, the cat will be able to survive on its own, but they are sadly mistaken. Most summer cats don't survive the winter.

On a more positive note though, there are wonderful people too. I have a friend who once found a kitten in a waste bin (!), she still has her - Nova (the cat) now has the fortune to have a loving permanent home. I really admire people like that! They give me hope :)

/MrsHjort

Day 24 - Scarlet

Strangely, one can walk right by something every day and not realize it's beauty. I found this today, and it grew right outside my own doorstep. I've previously written it off as a hopeless case, since I couldn't find ways to shoot it without getting things I didn't want in my shot. But today, I saw this little branch that I've never noticed before, funny how things just hit you sometimes.

I hope you like it too :)

/MrsHjort

Day 23 - Golden Moments

I've been meaning to shoot these rose hips for a long time now, but the lighting hasn't been favorable until today. They grow in a place that is usually shaded at the time I when go to work (and they're shaded when I walk home too), but the light has drawn nearer and nearer each morning, as the days grow shorter. Today was the day, today they finally glowed as the early sun rays hit them.

Today has been filled with those little moments of happiness. I just love days like that. Somehow my Mondays are usually very stressful and I come home with a frown on my face, but Tuesdays, Tuesdays are very nice. Fridays are even better though, for obvious reasons ;). There's nothing like sitting back with a hot cuppa (or a nice glass of wine) on a Friday afternoon, plus, Fridays are "fika days" at work. If you've ever been in Sweden you'll know what I'm talking about haha.

What's your favorite day of the week?

/MrsHjort

Day 22 - Messages in the Wind

I've learned to value peace and quiet. I really enjoy my walks home from work with only my own thoughts as company, listening to the birds sing and the wind in the trees. It's so nice to breathe the fresh air and to get to enjoy all the pretty things around me. Autumn beauty can be found everywhere. One has to enjoy it while it lasts.

The winter walks are not as pleasant. I've never liked cold, especially the last 4 years, since I've become more sensitive to it, due to an injury. I can always predict bad weather, and especially during winter.

Today was the coldest day yet, it was the first Autumn storm. The temperature wasn't that low, but the strong winds and the humidity enhanced the effect. I even wore gloves toady. Brrrrrr! Winter's coming...

/MrsHjort

Day 21 - Autumn Rain

I was surprised by myself this morning. I looked out the window, saw some gorgeous water drops and could not help myself. I was like a little kid with a bag of candy. I ran up on the second floor to get my camera gear, jumped into my shoes and went outside to shoot the droplets, they were just so beautiful :). I love when that happens, when you just cannot resist and get into that artistic trance, shooting picture after picture with a smile on your face.

I chose this one for today since I want to use the same lens throughout my challenge - I shot with my macro lens today too, but I'll save those for a rainy day (haha). And, this was the most "autumny" of my shots today anyway. The greens are a little bit muted and you can see some brown hidden away in there as well.

Have a nice Sunday my friends :)

/MrsHjort

Day 20 - Prickly

I really liked how these caught the light today. Even ex-flowers can be beautiful. I like shooting prickly things, even though I don't do it very often, and I really love shooting nature, as you've probably noticed. Especially closeups and macros.

If you were to look through my photo albums, you might notice that I very seldom shoot people. And if I do, they're very often candid shots. I've never been very good at arranging portraits, and I like the natural look to a photo taken when somebody is unaware. Somehow, photos like that come alive to me, and they take me right back to the moment, rather than to the process of shooting the it, if you know what I mean.

Don't get me wrong though, I really admire those who can arrange beautiful portraits. It must be really hard to get all those little technical details just right and to capture the "essence", the "personality" and the "soul" of the person posing at the same time.

I guess it's a skill like any other, either you're a natural, and just "know" how to do it or you're like me, and need to practice, practice and practice. :)

So, dear readers, what do you prefer to shoot? And what is your Achilles' heel :)

/MrsHjort

Day 19 - Little Berries

There are may berries growing on the rowans this autumn, you might even say unusually many. It made me think of superstitions today, and how people try to predict the winter in different ways. Some say that if the birds eat all of the rowan's berries before new year it will be a mild winter, I've also heard that bullfinches are signs of harsh winters...

I can't say I believe any of those old sayings though, I have almost never seen a bullfinch, no matter the type of winter. As for the berries, I just enjoy looking at them, or shooting them with my camera. :)

/MrsHjort