Lunar Eclipse Series

I set up on the front lawn when the moon reached over the tree that had been blocking its early rise. About 7:30 it was visible and half in shadow. The whole series ran about 2 hours, with me playing around with exposure and, to my great delight, discovering a 10 second exposure aimed at the black night sky that only held, to my naked eyes, one constellation, revealed countless stars peeking back.

Once the eclipse was finishing and the edge began to glow white again, the long exposure couldn't capture the moon and the stars without blowing out the moon, but during the total eclipse, it produced a few really nice shots.  

September Eclipse 2015, single shot

Just got in from 2 hours on the front lawn, back in the house to download what I'd shot. 

66 photos later. . .

they aren't all getting done tonight. 

But here's a tease for tomorrow's post!

Happy Birthday Shel Silverstein

It’s amazing the difference
A bit of sky can make.

~Where the Sidewalk Ends

ALICE
She drank from a bottle called DRINK ME
And she grew so tall,
She ate from a plate called TASTE ME
And down she shrank so small.
And so she changed, while other folks
Never tried nothin’ at all.

~Where the Sidewalk Ends

Underneath my outside face

There’s a face that none can see.

A little less smiley,

A little less sure,

But a whole lot more like me.

~Every Thing On It

Although I cannot see your face

As you flip these poems awhile,

Somewhere from some far-off place

I hear you laughing--and I smile.

~Every Thing On It

The Redbubble Hoodie Conundrum

Last fall I found Redbubble.com that has a ton of designs to choose from that you can typically get printed on any manner of garment or phone. Score!

I purchased two Snoopy hoodies last Fall and loved them almost to pieces in one season. Working from home means these are regular workwear for 8 months out of the year.

When I was at one of my surgeon's appointments, I was wearing one of them as well as carrying my Peanuts bag and my surgeon, probably a decade older than me at most, said, "I love Peanuts, too! Who's your favorite character?" 

"Schoeder!"

He looked puzzled. 

"The piano kid?"

"Yeah. I was a piano kid, too."

"Oh. My favorite is Snoopy."

Well, who doesn't love Snoopy?

But I hadn't really searched through the whole site last Fall and only came up with Snoopy designs, primarily. 

This Fall I refined my search and came up with a Schroeder print. Yay!

At least. . .  until it arrived.

I ordered the same size as my beloved Snoopy ones, but it just barely fits in the waist. 

And, before you assume, I am still the same waist measurement as a year ago, thank you very much. 

Not that that's great, but I have not gotten any larger!

See the tiny gap at just the top of the kangaroo pocket? I could get my hand in there just barely and with a beautiful clear handprint sticking out. 

Dangit!

So I look up the email receipt and emailed Redbubble requesting an exchange. I'm expecting to have to spend more money to send this one back but it's better than being uncomfortable in this. 

While I wait to hear back, I pulled out the packed away Fall clothes box and try on one of my my well-washed and possibly shrunk-a-bit Snoopy hoodies to make sure I'm not crazy. 

See? Plenty o'room for chilly hands, phone, dog treats, etc.

So now that I have both in hand, I start examining the labels. 

Ah, we've changed vendors.

New Schroeder Hoodie tag on the left

Delta Fleece, made in Pakistan, size XL, 80% cotton. 

Old Snoopy Hoodie tag is on the right. 

American Apparel, made in the USA, size XL, 100% cotton

A-HA.

So I looked them up online to see if the sizing charts are really that far apart. 

Here's where it gets even more confusing...

 

Delta says their XL body width is 25", assume that laying flat, of course. 

This XL is supposedly 50 inches around? No way. 

The American Apparel chart says their XL is 38 inches around. That can't be laying flat, and that can't be right either. I've love to say I still have hips in the upper 30" range, but I haven't seen that since pre-babies. They've labelled theirs "waist" but then drawn the line at the bottom, and as anyone who wears hoodies knows, it doesn't sit at your waist, it sits at your hips.

 

All of this to say, even if I'd been alerted their new vendor had different sizing charts, it wouldn't have done any good because there's no way that Schroeder is 50 inches around the bottom and no way the Snoopy is only 38 inches. 

To reiterate:

 

Just.NO.WAY.

So frustrating!

What was NOT frustrating was to get this email reply really quickly (while I was taking photos) back from Kyle with Redbubble.

So as frustrating as the sizing issue is, wow! Thanks Redbubble for real customer service!

New, roomier Schroeder should arrive before I can wear him longer than a few hours in the morning before getting warm, too. 

C'mon Fall. Get here with your chilly temps already!

9/22/15

“Veil after veil of thin dusky gauze is lifted, 

and by degrees the forms and colours of things are restored to them, 

and we watch the dawn remaking the world 

in its antique pattern.” 

~ The Picture of Dorian Gray

Peanutized

This is me, as a Peanut Character, right down to the jeans, plaid flannel, Converse, and ubiquitous ponytail holder as bracelet.

Alternate look...

(Sorry, no blue eyes available.)

Peanutize yourself here.

2 Years Ago Today

FB has a cool little feature that lines up the date with previous years and let's you review "on this date" things each evening.

This one popped up tonight!

9/19/15 Early Aspen Morning

Morning clouds on the mountains as we set out around sunrise to find what gold we could.

 

Through Cripple Creek...

 

 

see her in the water?

 

 

 

Back at Mom and Dad's, as they packed up to head back to Colorado Springs, I was listening and watching a hawk from pretty far off. I was wishing she'd come closer when, circling around, here she came, straight overhead. I only had my phone, but still...