Around My Home

It's an exciting day when a new lens arrives in the house.   In looking at pictures on Flickr, my eye is always drawn to photos that have smooth and silky bokeh.   I can't afford a lens that will do exactly what I want to do.   But in reading reviews by Ken Rockwell, Gary and I decided to try a Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens.   It's fairly inexpensive .... and with some practice, I hope to achieve better bokeh than I've been able to achieve thus far.   The lens arrived late yesterday afternoon and I've experimented a little today.   Have taken some really horrible pictures .... a new lens requires practice.    

Because I was waiting for a phone call, I took a few pictures inside my house.   I liked these three fairly well.   Please overlook the layers of dust on the shelves of knick knacks.   One of the pitfalls of developing a new passion for anything is that other responsibilities fall by the wayside.   Shelves containing collectibles, especially when those shelves are cluttered and are sitting next to the hallway that leads to the dusty shop, do not very often get cleaned and dusted.    My poor mother would be so embarrassed ....

(some of the many things I have collected over the years)

Gary made these kitchen cupboards a few years ago.    They were made from cherry and are aging nicely.  You wouldn't believe the amount of time we spent trying to decide what hardware we wanted.   But we were happy with our choice in the end.  The plate on the wall over my oven is illustrating a painting by Sandra Kuck.   It shows two sisters looking out a window, with each sister holding her own kitten.

(click photos to enlarge)

Everything from the little house was in the wagon, except the beds and tables and chairs. They did not need to take these, because Pa could always make new ones.

(Laura Ingalls Wilder)