steps and missteps

This morning, Jamiewoo the Wonder Dog didn't amble downstairs from her nest on the living room couch until eight. She usually pops up at six. So, there she was, ears askew, little nose quivering, when I opened the back door to let her answer nature's call, as is our custom first thing. She put two paws onto the patio, turned around, and came back in. "ungh uah, Little Missy," I told her, "It's been twelve hours. Get out there. You can do it." This time she got all four paws onto the snow before dashing inside to cower against my legs. Oh Drat. I had to bundle up and walk out there with her to prove she would not freeze to death. She wisely peed the instant her paws hit the grass and we both dashed back into the house for hot coffee. (Okay, me coffee; her kibble with hot gravy, the next best thing.) Radio Dude said it was minus three with the wind chill factor. Minus three, people. In Dallas. Today. That's all kind of wrong, any way you slice it. Too cold to go out.

So I skipped yoga class. I light some candles and settled in to work on an editing job beside the space heater in my office/craft room. Only, the candles got me thinking about my camera, Agnes, and how pretty the glow would be on film. I'm easily distracted. I took a ton of pictures trying the self-timer, since it was low light, to avoid blurriness. I recently read about this technique. Only when I put the pictures on my computer, most of them were absent. I realized I'd been pressing the video button, not the self timer. And I hadn't even done that correctly, so my efforts had accomplished nothing whatsoever. Time for emergency measures: the owner's manual to figure out the self-timer. Why do we so often resist finding the answer in the most obvious place? At least, I do. Anyhow, here's one of the shots. Even though I missed the best ones, I learned something. That's the important part. Life is a journey of learning step by step. Now on to that editing job. Stay warm!