Project 365: Mission Accomplished

Hello there, Blog Reader.

If you have been reading my blog at all during the last year you have probably seen my Project 365 posts. And, if you check in regularly, you may have noticed that since I finished it last weekend, I have been fairly quiet. I think I needed a little blogging vacation after the past 365 days of obligatory blogging. Throughout the past week I have been thinking about what the project meant to me and how I will go forward from here. To keep this from being the longest blog post ever, I will recap the experience mostly through bullet points. Even then, it is a long one, so you might want to get a cup of tea.

My rules were (posted on Day 1):

• Project 365 = 1 photo posted for each of the next 365 days
• All photos will be taken by me
• I will try to post daily, but at worst, will only fall a few days behind real time
  
• My camera is my new best friend
• I am excited to see where this project takes me (and you!)

What I thought I would get out of it:

• inspiration and motivation for regularly posting on my blog
• increase my competency with my camera
• 365 photos
• fun
  

What I learned in the process:

• some days are kind of uninteresting but if you try, you can usually find at least one remarkable thing each day
• i value having a photographic journal and having recorded the stories that go with those photos
• my camera hates low light
• camera flashes have very limited use/natural light is my best friend
• it is a lot more fun to take pictures in the spring/fall/summer than in the winter in MN
  
• i feel uncomfortable taking pictures of people without their permission
• i favor taking pictures of things over people, yet i love pictures of people
  
• i like to photograph food (and make it and talk about it and write about it and grow it...)
  
• 365 days is a lot of days
• the last 2 months of the project went by really slowly and most days of the last month i really felt obligated to finish the project, rather than enjoying the project
  
• sometimes it felt like a chore while other times it was a lot of fun
• the project gave me an excuse to take pictures at odd times or places
• a lot happens in a year

Damn, I am proud that I did it! I got what I had anticipated out of the project and then some. I followed all of the rules I set for myself, even on the days were it was a total chore. Like this day, which I think was my worst photo. I was not in the mood that day and was trying so hard to just find something to take a picture of. I eventually gave up and just posted this photo:

No doubt there were times where I did not want to take pictures or post, but the rewards were definitely worth it. I don't know about you, but the rules I set for myself are for my own good. If I had started to let myself make excuses, chances are that I would have skipped a day and then another day and then another day, which would have diminished the impact of this project. And, sometimes having to find a photo stretched my creativity, like on this day:

Making it a habit to always have my camera with me was essential in the success of this project. Having it on hand provided me with some great opportunities for photos that I might not have been able to capture otherwise. Like this day:

and this day:

Now that I am used to carrying my camera with me everywhere, when I left it at home for a few days this week, I felt a little bit naked. And, I missed it!

So, what does this mean for the blog now that the project is officially over? Well, for one, it means you won't be forced to see awful photos like that first one in this post! The project definitely served its purpose of inspiring me to post regularly and I expect that influence to continue. I really enjoyed the small amount of explanation that came with most of my images. The images and the stories are like my own personal scrapbook.

One of the most important opportunities this blog affords me is a venue to share the important things in my life with you, Reader. Be those things the simple joys or the major events, I enjoy putting them here and connecting with others through my posts.

I suspect that there are a good amount of you who have never commented, so I would like to invite you to do so. Of course, you do not need to feel obligated, but please do feel welcomed. And, for those of you that have commented, please keep it up! I love to get feedback from what I throw out there.

With that said, I am interested to hear anything you might have to say about this project. Have you done anything like this? If so, would you share a link/your thoughts about the experience?

And, lastly, a big thank you! Thank you for spending some of your time here on TrinKnitty.

Puff, Puff

Project 365: Day 365

Take a look at that title up there! Project 365: Day 365! I did it! Hooray! I am working on a wrap-up post for a little later.

Now, if you take a look at the photo, you will see the reason why this was not a completely happy day. Edward, my little-Nissan-that-could, is nearing the end of his life. Now, this is not a particularly surprising thing as he has just shy of 150,000 miles, is a 1997 model and we have had many warning signs. In fact, I wrote about my strategies for dealing with a car-on-the-verge last August, so really I should be grateful that he made it through the winter.* There is really never a good time for your car to die, but the winter in Minnesota would be an especially bad time.

Today, I started the car up to drive home from running an errand and noticed it was making a weird sound. While driving home, I noticed it smelled like exhaust/burning oil/smoke. By the time I got home, smoke was billowing out from under the hood. My novice inspection led to the conclusion that there is some sort of leak in our engine. We will bring it into the shop, but are pretty sure the verdict is going to be to get a new car. This new problem is the icing on the cake in addition to the following problems: the brakes are in bad shape, the alternator is questionable, the lock on driver's side door doesn't work most of the time, there is a rusted hole and a water leak in the trunk, the radio squeals sometimes, the cd player turns on and off at will and one mechanic said something to Paul about our front axle being weak. At this point, I just hope it is safe enough for us to drive to the used car lot so we can go car shopping!

*I noticed that when I went back to find the post from August that we have driven less than 4,000 miles in the past 8 months, which means that together Paul and I average less than 500 miles per month. Yay for public transportation, carpooling, biking and walking!

Playing with Gravity

Project 365: Day 364

Jill and I attended Studio Bricolage's Building Party tonight. The theme of the night was glass. We were given the opportunity to make glass beads, etch glass and cut glass. Jill was totally taken by the beadmaking option. In this photo she is bravely being one of the first party goers to try her hand at the torch. Margo McCreary was our resident glass bead expert and is looking on to reassure Jill. Margo told us that making glass beads is a bit like playing with gravity.

The event was so much fun. The space is stuffed full of materials and creative works in progress. The event was $10 per person and included supplies, snacks and beverages. The instructions were minimal with the emphasis being on diving in and trying it out for yourself. I look forward to going to more of these in the future.

Pop!

Project 365: Day 363

It seems that today was the day that all of the plants popped in my world! Yesterday there were buds, but today there are leaves! In this photo you can see the first signs of life in my raspberry bed. I also saw daffodils blooming and trees budding. Spring has arrived and I am so, so excited to start digging in the dirt and getting the scene set to plant our vegetable garden.

Local Liquor Store

Project 365: Day 362

Slice of Downtown

Project 365: Day 361

A little bit of downtown Minneapolis reflected in the Weisman Art Museum balcony window. I split my lunch hour between looking at the exhibits at the Weisman and sitting in the glorious sunshine.

Free Punch for Lunch

Project 365: Day 360

Punch Pizza is promoting the heck out of their new location in Stadium Village. I have gotten two free pizzas from them this month as part of their promos. Go, Punch! It doesn't hurt that they make tasty pizzas that are in and out of that 800 degree wood burning oven superfast.

March Crafternoon

Project 365: Day 359

Crafternoon today was full of lots of knitting, a fair amount of crocheting and a wee bit of quilting. Jill has been taken by the Lacy Baktus fever. Meg and Cyrus have been captured in the land of crocheted amigurumi with Cyrus crocheting a little poo and Meg a snail. Missy was upping her knitting skills while working on a wrapped stitch scarf. Jamie sewing on the last stretch of the binding on a quilt her mom sewed for Sylvia. My mom is nearing the end of her skein of oceanic looking ribbon yarn for her scarf, which she only works on during Crafternoons. Casey was sitting too far away for me to see what she was working on! What were you working on today, Casey? And, I was plugging away at my Bit by Bit Blanket. We were a very industrious bunch. I think this may have been the first Crafternoon where I actually made notable progress on my project. As people get more familiar with my house, I can start cutting down on my hostessing and increasing my time spent on crafting. It was also probably helpful that Tchazo spent the first part of Crafternoon at the dog park with Paul.

BBA and Buddies

Project 365: Day 358
March 27, 2010

Last night Paul and I went over to Mark, Jerri and Zoe's house for dinner and games. Mark surprised Paul with a mini-keg of one of his favorite beers: Bell's Brewery - Best Brown Ale.

We got to hang out, eat, drink and be merry.

Jerri, Zoe and I read stories together before Zoe went off to bed. Apparently, Zoe and I are buddies now, as she informed Jerri before she fell asleep. I am honored, Zoe.

The Things They Carried

Project 365: Day 357
March 26, 2010

A Friday lunch break with my book club book and a ray of sunshine.

Minneapolis is for Milling

Project 365: Day 356

There is a giant flour mill in my neighborhood complete with the milling building, train tracks and cars and sets of giant grain silos. I've overheard out-of-towners talking about how ugly that stretch of Minneapolis is, but I think the mills are very picturesque. I like that some of them are still functioning and I like that they represent a significant part of the history of Minneapolis. Without flour milling this city would not be what it is today. I am grateful to have these larger than life towers as part of my every day landscape.

God's Wallet

Project 365: Day 355
March 24, 2010

Way back in the day (7 years ago), before I had a digital camera, I did a little project for my own amusement. I had noticed that I was frequently seeing church signs that said the most ridiculous things on them. So, I took it upon myself to start photographing them. When we moved from the Midwest to the Boston area, this project went kaput. Church signs in New England take themselves very seriously. At that point I had gathered enough photos that we were able to make a display of them. We salvaged some old 6 paned windows. I sanded them down a bit. We hung a different print of a church sign in each pane and hung the whole thing on the wall. It made us laugh and it usually gave our observant guests a chuckle, too.

Fast forward to now. We have been amused by the photos for a number of years and are now ready for a change of pace. Last night we took the church sign photos off. We are working on some new plans for the windows, but until we actualize those plans, the windows are hanging on the wall as is.

Also, we ate pizza for dinner. Paul made it from scratch. He used the Olive Oil Dough recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. It was delicious. I love that bread book. Those were all very succinct sentences.

Thanks Ben and Jerry!

Project 365: Day 354

Happy Free Cone Day! Missy and I got our tasty freebies after work. We ate our cones while taking the long walk to the train. I have a feeling that this new path home is going to be a popular one during the nice weather months. It doesn't hurt that the route affords an easy detour to Depth of Field Yarns, which Missy and I took advantage of this evening.

Anticipating the Pedaling

Project 365: Day 353

Despite the cold morning on Saturday, Paul and I rode our bikes to the gardening expo in our neighborhood. That little bit of bikeriding made me feel greedy for more. I am looking forward to biking on some of the many trails that go through my area of Minneapolis: along the Mississippi River, along Minnehaha Creek, over Minnehaha Falls and many other ones that I have yet to discover. I didn't get to do much biking last year, so this year I plan to prioritize it a bit higher.

Hunt and Gather is Hot

Project 365: Day 352

Jamie and I went thrift store and antique shopping this afternoon. We found these lovely instructional photos that demonstrate how to do a hip thrust and how to cup your own butt whilst levitating.

Today was all about the house.

Project 365: Day 351

Today was all about working towards being the most responsible, sustainable homeowners we can be. The day started out with a visit to the Longfellow Sustainable Yards event. While we were there we got good information on gardening with native plants, minimizing water runoff on our property, tips for planting our boulevard, instructions on how to build our own rain barrel, ordered additional recycling bins, talked to a master gardener about our dirt patches/lawn and ate some cookies from the Seward Coop. I guess the cookies weren't so much for the house, but they were tasty!

After we got home we went to work on planning our vegetable garden spaces. We have big, big dreams this year. Our plans include a 24' x 11' in-ground garden, 4 garden boxes, various potted herbs, and two raised bed gardens. Phew! We are greedy and may be getting in over our heads for our first year of gardening in our home. I figure we are justified in dreaming big on this, the day of the spring equinox. There is a whole growing season stretched out ahead of us.

After that we had our home visit with our two energy specialists from the Center for Energy and Environment. The visit was arranged through the workshop that we attended last weekend. We learned more about how our home functions (hello furnace dampers!) and we received a lot of energy saving installations. One of our water heater pipes was insulated, we replaced our low-flow shower head with a lower-flow shower head, we replaced our recessed light bulbs with CFL bulbs and ...drum roll... we finally got a programmable thermostat! I have really been looking forward to that part. It is hard to remember to manually turn the heat up and down but it seems senseless to heat the house to the same temperature when we are not home or sleeping. The only drawback is that the new thermostat was installed in the one room of the house that we already painted. It is smaller than the old one and has left us with this unsightly exposed block of cream. There will be some paint touch-ups in the very near future.

This weekend marked the end of 3 weekends spent at homeowner workshops. We have learned a lot about our house and our community in the last few weeks. I am definitely feeling grateful for the community we live in and the accessible, relevant and plentiful learning opportunities provided by community members, organizations and businesses. I am also feeling totally saturated with new information! Plumbing, electrical, insulation, air sealing, water heating, condensation, soil pH, growing zones, pervious pavers...there is so much to know!

Everyone Needs an Outlet

Project 365: Day 350
March 19, 2010

On Friday Paul and I finally sucked it up and went clothes shopping. Neither of us likes to do it but both of us really needed to. Shopping really tires me out.

Spring Break

Project 365: Day 349

Everything about today was awesome. I treated myself to a vacation day today and when I pair that with the spring break day my work gives tomorrow, I have a 4-day spring break weekend! The day started off with a hog pile in the bed. After everyone soaked up their snuggles, I was left to read my book for an hour or so before getting up to make breakfast.

Mother Nature was quite cooperative and provided me with an awesome day for being outdoors. Paul and I got a lot done including some yard work, prepping the bikes for the season, getting the grill up and running, organizing the garage, talking about our vegetable garden plans and setting out lawn furniture.

As long as the furniture was out, why not sit in it and enjoy a beer? I sat in the chair knitting for long enough that I think I may have gotten a little bit of a sunburn! In March! Amazing.

And, as long as the grill was ready, why not use it? Paul grilled an awesome dinner of steak (for him), portobella burger (for me), grilled veggies and garlic mashed potatoes.

All in all, it was an excellent use of a vacation day. And, I still have 3 more days off! Vacations and sun are both very good for the soul.

St. Patty's Day, Beer and Pee

Project 365: Day 348

Gotta love free beer until somebody pees. Sign spotted on my long, meandering walk home. By the time I came upon it, somebody had already peed. Apparently the guy who peed got plastic cups thrown at him.

Hot Spot

Project 365: Day 347