My third attempt, and second complete 365 Days project. An endeavor to take a self-portrait every day for a year. The rules are simple. I must be visible in the picture, and I must take the picture.
-
Ginger and Gary reading Backpacker magazine while Sprinky sleeps (365:288)
Tomorrow at 7.30 am I leave for Chicago for the week
-
The quiet before the storm (365:289)
The quiet before the storm (365:289). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Tomorrow the work begins
Tom and I had an uneventful trip up to Chicago. We’re up here to clear Rebbie’s family’s house ready for sale.
Ginger and Rebbie were up here a couple of weeks ago, and they sorted through all the papers and cleared out all the cupboards, drawers and stuff. We’re here to move everything out. Some things are to go back to Springfield, the remainder is to be donated to charity or trashed. We’ve four days to get it all done, as I’m due back in Springfield Friday pm.
Tomorrow we’re expecting people from Brown Elephant to come and take away some of the furniture, and a City inspector to come and check that the house is up to code before it is put on the market.
-
Making Notes (365:290)
We had a good first day clearing the house
The guys from Brown Elephant took most of the furniture – turning down just a few pieces, and the city inspector only found a couple of minor problems that need to be put right.
We took a pick-up load of stuff to Goodwill and started the process of moving and clearing – especially in the basement which was very messy.
At the end of the day I had an opportunity to catch up on some reading (I should have brought my coursework with me) and make some notes in my Journal. I’m not very good at keeping my journal. Erratic would be a good word to describe it. I normally only write when I have issues to resolve, which results in a record of my angst and frustrations rather than a glowing record of all that’s well in my world. Today I was able to redress the balance a bit.
As all the beds have been broken down, I’m sleeping in my sleeping bag on a mattress on the floor. In a day or so the mattress will have to go too. I have my sleeping pad with me so that shouldn’t be a problem.
-
In the backyard – Berwyn, Illinois (365:291)
Today we made major progress
We made a lot of trips to Goodwill today and got rid of just about everything that wasn’t fit to be trashed. Then we started piling up the trash to be carted off on Wednesday. There was some very heavy lifting involved, we moved out all the beds and mattresses. The basement is cleared, cleaned and tidied, as is the garage. Curtains have been put up, floors vacuumed and surfaces dusted.
The local vultures removed the defunct appliances we had left out for collecting tomorrow. The only items we couldn’t donate, and can’t be left for trash are a couple of TVs.
In the front yard – I think I look a little more chipper in the backyard picture. The only problem at the moment is that the builders haven’t turned up to fix the problems that need to be cleared to get the building up to code. They say they are coming tomorrow at 7.30 am. We’ll see. In the mean time I took a couple of minutes out between carrying out all the rubbish to take today’s self-portrait.
-
Waiting for the trash man (365:292)
Things didn’t go quite as planned
The plan was to get the work finished on the house, get the work inspected, have all the rubbish taken away, hire a trailer for the pick-up, load everything to go back to Springfield, and drive home – a day early. Great as this means I can attend EfM tomorrow.
It all slowly fell apart as the day moved on. The builders arrived, did their stuff and the inspector approved the work. The recycling guy turned up by 10 am, and then nothing happened. Tom tried (and failed) to get rid of the TVs and I sat and waited for the trash man to come. It started raining. The drive from Chicago to Springfield takes 8-9 hours so we were keen to get moving. Finally sometime after two pm the trash man arrived, took everything and we were free to go.
Then we discovered that there was a fault with the pick-up’s electrics which meant that U-Haul couldn’t let us have a trailer for safety reasons (no right indicators on the trailer). We decided to rent a truck and I’d drive the pick-up back to Springfield. Of course the U-Haul branch we were at didn’t have a truck available. Off we went to another branch which did have a truck available. By the time we’d got the truck, loaded it up (in the rain), given the house a final check over it was around four-thirty. We’d not be getting back to Springfield until after one am.
And so it was. The trip was almost without incident. Almost that is apart from while driving out of Chicago the Pick-ups speedometer went on the blink. At first I didn’t notice, but when a truck overtook me when I was apparently doing over 90 miles an hour my suspicions were confirmed. I called Tom and jokingly suggested we slow down, as the best I could tell we were travelling at over 140 mph – the speedo needle had by now gone right off the scale.
Coming up on 110mph – not quite what it appears Apparently, this is a known GMC fault, and at our first rest stop Tom managed to reset the speedo to 0mph and it worked perfectly for the rest of the trip.
I arrived home around one-thirty, but couldn’t settle down to sleep until around three am.
-
Tired (365:293)
Tired (365:293). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I got to bed at 3 am, and was up again at 7.30
I met with Tom at 10 am to help unload the truck and return it to U-Haul. He treated me to a very nice breakfast (That would have probably made a much more interesting picture), after which I went home and did my EfM coursework.
By the time class started (six pm) I was tired but managed to get through the evening.
-
Family cookout (365:294)
Tonight we’re camping at Ginger’s parents
After school the we loaded up our camping gear and drove down to Thornfield for a family cookout. We took the girls with us, and Katie drove part of the way, which was a bit nerve wracking for me in the co-pilot’s seat.
The main purpose of our visit was to meet Ginger’s aunt, who’d been staying with her parents this past week. Jim had cut wood and we had a great time roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. We took our dutch oven and cooked up some very tasty veggies too.
Ginger and I took the tent and spent the night camped out near the house.
-
Gary and Lanie down by the creek (365:295)
Today we relaxed at Ginger’s parents
I relaxed so much I spent a good part of the afternoon fast asleep sitting on the porch of the guest house.
This morning Lanie decided she wanted to go fishing in the creek. That would have been fine if I’d known the day before and had packed our fishing gear. Jim rummaged around and found a small portable rod we couldn’t get to work, and then turned up with a proper fishing rod and some bobbers. No hooks though. So he made one from a sewing needle. Lanie packed some of this mornings wonderful breakfast sausage for bait and we headed down to the creek to fish.
At the creek we saw a beaver swim under the bridge, and we found a small lure and a large fish hook – tripling our fishing gear. The fish loved the sausage but the needle hook wasn’t very effective at catching them. Lanie caught one fish on the huge hook we’d found up in a tree over the creek.
-
Relaxing in the backyard (365:296)
Today comprised church and sitting in the backyard,
that sums up my day. I must have still been tired as I slept away part of the afternoon.
-
Old Radio (365:297)
Old Radio (365:297). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I have a passion for valve radios and amplifiers
Ginger found a couple of old vacuum tube radios in the house in Chicago, and I brought them home with me. I can’t see an iPod working in fifty years’ time but both of the radios, well over fifty years old, are in working order – which is fantastic.
Now I need to find out how to restore them to an ‘as new’ condition.
-
Breakfast at Aunt Martha’s Pancake House (365:298)
Today we did a lot of running around
Our plan had been to go grocery shopping and visit the library. But then we popped into Ozark Adventures to look at rope (I need more rope for my huaraches) and backpacking gear. So we made a day of it and treated ourselves to a late breakfast, which is where today’s picture was taken, before going to a couple of other places before finishing the shopping.
-
Another old Radio (365:299)
Another old Radio (365:299). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. My second Valve radio
now I know it’s a similar shot to the one I used the day before yesterday (day 297), but this was a ‘no brainer’ for a late-night quick picture.
-
Left Profile (365:300)
It’s been said that I’ve not been showing this profile view
So there you are.
BTW today is day 300! 65 days left.
-
A bit of essential beard maintenance (365:301)
A trim was overdue
-
Tubby (365:302)
Tubby (365:302). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Look closely at his eyes
Tubby is a Burmese cat of many names: Rotters, Rot-row, Tubster, Tubmeister, Irritant, and Pokey Paws. I suspect he is harboring an ambition to get his paws on an ‘Uzi 9mm’ (Must be said in the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger) and get his revenge on us.
His eyes have been like that since birth – he can see, but not perfectly. He’s annoyingly hesitant, but I suspect that’s more due to his personality than his eyes. He hates having the top of his head touched – possibly because he can’t quite properly see your hand coming. More likely he’s just contrary.
-
Trunk or Treat (365:303)
This evening we went to the Church Hallowed Carnival
Lanie wanted to take part in the ‘Trunk or Treat’. After a lot of head-scratching, we came up with the idea of making the back of the van into an ambulance with Lanie as the patient, tended to by Katie as Nurse D’eath. We even managed to find a hospital IV bag hanger for $1 in the Habitat for Humanity Restore Center.
I forgot to mention that we won the best-decorated trunk award!
I took today’s picture while I was handing out candy. We’ll pass over how I frightened one kid by making them think the candy finger they’d picked out of the box of human body parts was really my finger. Oh, how I laughed … later. 🙂
-
Relaxing in the Kayak after lunch at Lake Springfield (365:304)
Relaxing in the Kayak after lunch at Lake Springfield, Missouri Today we took the Kayaks out on Lake Springfield
The fall color has been magnificent this year. Thus far we’ve not had an opportunity to get out to enjoy them. So, we’ve decide to take a couple of days out and enjoy the weather and the color while both last.
We saw several deer, a bald eagle, more coots than you could shake a stick at, some grebes, herons and a few cormorants.
Railroad Bridge over the James River at the Springfield Nature Center
Ginger kayaking under the railroad Bridge onthe James River at the Springfield Nature Center
Ginger kayaking under the railroad Bridge onthe James River
Ginger kayaking on the James River, Springfield Missouri
James River, Springfield Missouri
Cooking lunch in the kayak on Lake Springfield -
Gary and Ginger stopped for lunch on Woods Fork, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area (365:305)
Gary and Ginger stopped for lunch on Woods Fork, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area The fall colour at Busiek was stunning
We hiked the Yellow and Silver trails at Busiek today – a little over 4 miles and around 624 feet of elevation climbed. Now we’ve started getting out again, we’ve just got to keep it up and get out a couple of times a week. This coming weekend we’re planning on going camping. It’s really good to be getting out again.
The the colour of the trees on the trail by the Carter Cemetery were breathtaking. I took this picture when we stopped for lunch by Camp Creek. We finished the hike in plently of time to visit one of the Flea Markets in Ozark before collecting the big kids from school.
Woods Fork Crossing 
Woods Fork, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area 
Berries on the Yellow Trail at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area -
Working late at the computer (yet again) (365:306)
I’ve fallen behind with this project, over a month behind (today’s December 4th). My computer decided to go slow making it almost impossible to process pictures. I’ve kept on taking them, I just couldn’t process and upload them. To make matters worse this coincided with a lot of work (which is continuing). I’ve now got a nice shiny new, custom-built fast computer, which is helping me clear my 250+ picture backlog.
I’m planning to catch up over the next week or two. I hope so; it will be nice to finish posting my 365 days on January 1.
-
Relaxing (365:307)
Tonight we had some rare down time
And even better tomorrow we get to go away for a couple of days. We’ve volunteered to take some of the youth group kids up to Kansas City. We’ll not be needed for the event, so we are going camping by Lake Truman. Just like we did last year.
-
Campfire at Bucksaw, Harry S Truman Lake, Missouri (365:308)
Campfire at Bucksaw, Harry S Truman Lake, Missouri (365:308). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Our plans almost changed.
We arrived at Church to collect the kids to go to Kansas City only to find out that there had been a few late cancellations and our services were no longer required. We had a hurried debate, as to whether we should quickly go home and pack our packs and go backpacking for the weekend, but we finally decided to stick with our plan, and go straight to Bucksaw campsite on Truman.
Here we are sitting by the campfire, it’s going to be a cold and windy weekend. We have our kayaks and with luck we’ll get out on the lake.
-
It’s November 5th and this year we left the Guy at home (365:309)
It’s November 5th and this year we left the Guy at home (365:309). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Last year we were also at lake Truman for Guy Fawkes night, and we took the Guy along for company. This year we were expecting to be carrying up loads of kids’ luggage to Kansas City, so we left Guy behind. That’s three years now he’s avoided a fiery demise.
We took the Kayaks out on the lake today, but it was too windy to go far. We saw a flock, or whatever the collective noun is, of white pelicans. After being driven off the lake by the wind I went on a walk around the closed-off areas of the campsite and ended up walking back along the lakeside. When I got back to our campsite Ginger fancied a walk, so we re-traced part or my walk, which was very fortuitous as we were able to see a fantastic sunset over the lake.
Camping at Bucksaw Campground. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Camping at Bucksaw Campground. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Camping at Bucksaw Campground. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Camping at Bucksaw Campground. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
White Pelicans on Harry S Truman Lake at Bucksaw. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Bluffs and dead tree, Bucksaw. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Dead tree, Bucksaw, Harry S Truman Lake, Missouri. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Sunset at Bucksaw, Harry S Truman Lake, Missouri. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Sunset at Bucksaw, Harry S Truman Lake, Missouri. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Bucksaw campsite in the moonlight. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.The wind continued to blow hard and unpredictable most of the evening, making sitting around the campfire hazardous at times, but the sparks made up for the absence of fireworks.
-
Gary with our Mutha Hubba tent, Bucksaw, Harry S Truman Lake
I thought I’d get my daily picture out of the way early in the day
We sat around talking most of the morning until finally, the threat of rain persuaded us to pack up and go home while the tent was still dry.
We beat the kids back from Kansas City with just enough time to enjoy an all day breakfast at Ziggies on South Campbell.
-
Day 311 (365:311)
Once more I stand before the wall
-
Ten year US Permanent Resident card (365:312)
Ten year US Permanent Resident card (365:312). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Now I can stay in the US another ten years.
Things seem to have moved on since my two year Green card was issued. This card’s got more security features, is RF readable, and the information pack that came with it was fairly comprehensive. I can’t vote, but I can buy a gun and if I was young enough, be called up to join the armed forces.
Sobering thought. Based on the average life expectancy of my family I won’t need another one…
-
Studying (365:313)
I’m now well into year two of my EfM course
-
Day 314
-
Gary by Piney Creek, Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri (365:315)
Gary by Piney Creek, Piney Creek Wilderness, Missouri (365: 315) Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Today is Armistice Day, and the kids have the day off school.
We took the girls with us on a scouting trip down to Piney Creek Wilderness. The wilderness has access from Table Rock Lake, so we’re planning on Kayaking in here sometime then camping and hiking the area. It should make a good 3-4 day excursion. We wanted to get down here now because the deer hunting season starts tomorrow, and for a while it won’t be a good idea to go hiking in the wilderness.
Our plan was to get right down to the lakeshore, but we didn’t quite make it. We had to be back in Springfield early in the evening because Katie is playing in the orchestra for the school’s presentation of ‘You’re a good man Charlie Brown’ this week. So we decided to stop for lunch just short of our planned destination. The girls did really well, we hiked around five miles and climbed over a thousand feet.
Piney Creek, Piney Creek Wilderness
Cooking lunch at Piney Creek
Cooking lunch at Piney Creek
Cooking lunch at Piney Creek
Lanie finds a tree bark mask – Piney
Trail back to the Tower trailhead at Piney Creek Wilderness
Lookout tower at the Piney Creek Wilderness Pines Overlook (Tower) trailhead. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.I couldn’t watch Katie play last night because it was my EfM tutorial night, so we went along tonight, and it was a great show. Afterward to celebrate we treated Katie and ourselves to ice cream at Braum’s.
-
Ginger, Gary and Lanie stopped for Lunch on the Sac River Trail
Ginger, Gary and Lanie stopped for Lunch on the Sac River Trail. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Lanie enjoyed yesterday’s hike so much she wanted to go on another today.
So we went on a short hike on the Sac River trail
What can I say? 
Lanie taking a rest on the trail -
Gary Fishing , James River, Springfield, Missouri (365:317)
And all I caught was a load of leaves.
Today looked like being the last warm day for a while so we took Lanie out fishing on the James River. It was a wonderfully warm and a very pleasant afternoon. Not that either Lanie or I caught anything apart from leaves and trees.
Crighton Access – James River, Springfield. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Ginger and Lanie. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Gary and Ginger indulge in the ancient art of kitty aggravating (365:318)
it’s a popular pastime around here.
-
That’s all for today folks (365:319)
That’s all for today folks. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
After Thanksgiving Dinner at church (365:320)
After Thanksgiving Dinner at church. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I spent this evening helping in the kitchen at church
We fed over 200 hundred people, including members of the congregation and local community. We were too busy to stop and take pictures, so all I have for today is this hastily taken picture of Ginger and I in a brief pause near the end of clearing up. Ginger, it appears, found a cookie.
-
First frost (365:321)
Not that you can see the ice on the leaves
-
Impending monitor failure (365:322)
Impending monitor failure (365:322). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Just to match my ever blue screening computer
This spreading mass of dead pixels started off life as a baby kangaroo, morphed first into an ice skater and now resembles some brooding nuclear holocaust.
Great. I’m already paying out for a new computer (not cheap with a specification set to handle all my photographic needs). Now I’m going to need a new monitor. I had already identified one – a thirty inch 2560×1600 resolution monitor with an extended gamut. I was planning on sticking with my current two monitor set up while I saved up the 1,000 plus dollars for the new beast. We’ll have to see how much the dead pixels spread. It’s a shame as my current monitor has very accurate color rendition.
By the way, the stuff on the screen is what has been keeping me busy of late. I’m teaching myself Java Script and jQuery. Add that to learning how to create WordPress templates a month or so ago – I seem to be learning a lot recently.
-
Today we drove down to see Carol & Jim (365:323)
Today we drove down to see Carol & Jim (365:323). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. After dinner we sat around chatting.
We had a great day. Jim asked me to take some pictures of a couple of axes from his collection. The results can be seen after the outtakes from our after dinner conversation below.
Ginger ‘points’ the finger 
Here we see Ginger apparently giving her mother the finger – in fact the target was the camera. 
Axes 
Axe head details 
Axe head details -
Day 324 (365:324)
Nothing more to say …
-
Taking a break (365:325)
I’m still spending far too much time at the computer.
-
Day 326 (365:326)
Day 326 (365:326). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I’m still spending far too much time at the computer.
(Didn’t I say that yesterday?)
-
Putting up the kayaks (365:327)
Now it’s getting frosty I want to put the van in the garage.
Today I took a few minutes away from the computer to park the kayaks up on the garage ceiling.
-
Thanksgiving day with the family (365:328)
Thanksgiving day with the family (365:328). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We spent the day at Matt and Betsy’s
Ginger’s aunt Susan asked if I’d take some family pictures – I’m glad I did.
Taking these pictures didn’t go without problems. These are all part of a second set of pictures I took. The first set were all blurred. For some unknown reason, the camera had a major problem – it looked like the camera moved during each of the previous shots. I had the shutter speed fairly high for the dark conditions 1/80th of a second, and the camera was mounted on my new heavy weight tripod, so there’s no explanation for the problem. Checking on the Internet it seems that focus errors on the D7000 abound, though this doesn’t look like a focus error. More research is needed – I can’t afford to run into this problem again when I’m shooting.
I changed lenses and the problem went away – which is telling in itself. The family were very good and came out for a second crack at the pictures. Oh well, it could have been worse – if I hadn’t chimped the shots straight away I might not have spotted the problem.
Thanksgiving day with the family 
Alek, Katie, Ginger, Gary, Lanie, Jim and Carol -
New corner and new computer (365:329)
Today we went black Friday shopping and moved the office around
We started the day early and were in Bass Pro before seven am with a list of things we wanted from the sales. We were in luck, and found the stuff we wanted and had checked out by just after eight. To celebrate our bargins we had breakfast at Anton’s and then went home and re-organized the office area so that Ginger can sit in the sun.
So we’ve this view of me to look forward to for the remainder of the year. Of particular note is the far monitor – it’s on my new machine, which I’ve had for a few days, but what with the holiday I’ve only just got around to hooking it up. Now I’ve got several days of software installation and file transfers before I start working with it.
Getzger checks out my new desk -
Testing out the new office space (365:330)
Testing out the new office space (365:330). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Not content with pointing fingers at people, Ginger is now pointing cheese (in a very meaningful manner) at me
A day spent transferring files. Tomorrow we’ll be going to Carol and Jim’s to collect Lanie, who absconded with her grandparents after Thanksgiving.
-
An afternoon with Carol and Jim (365:331)
Today we collected Lanie from her Grandparents
Katie came too, the price I had to pay was a white knuckle ride in the co-pilot’s seat while Katie drove us through country roads. Fortunately we left to come home after dark and Katie wasn’t feeling confident enough to drive back, so I had a much more relaxed trip home in the pilot’s chair.
I took a set of pictures of Jim’s latest creation – a table, and very good it is too. It looked just right in the house, which is a shame as it’s going to its new owner next week.
Table – Jim’s latest piece 
Table detail -
Logging (365:332)
I spent the day in the woods pretending to be a lumberjack
I volunteered to give Loyal a hand today, and a jolly cold day it turned out too. Loyal felled a few trees, they were cut into logs and we dragged them then out of the way with the tractor and chains. This went on until Loyal ran over a small sapling, which got caught up in the tractor, cutting the tractor’s hydraulic hose and damaging the radiator.
It was too early to stop so we went on a quick hike around the property, discovering an illicit deer stand while we were at it. All in all, it was a good, but cold day.
Postscript: Unfortunately the radiator was beyond repair which meant that our day’s work probably just about paid for the tractor to be fixed.
-
I have a cold (365:333)
I have a cold (365:333) – and I’m feeling miserable. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. and I’m feeling miserable
I spent the day moving files and installing software on my new computer. This is not good, I was ill this time last year. I’m supposed to be cutting wood with Tom at the weekend, I’d better be better by then.
-
Last day of Movember (365:334)
Good, I’m getting tired of this messy beard and tash.
If I don’t trim it I’ll get mistaken for Father Christmas (Another day spent moving files and installing software).
-
Trimmed (365:335)
Yay! Only thirty days of this project to go!
Beard trim and course work today followed by EfM tonight
-
FUTAB with a beer (365:336)
FUTAB with a beer (365:336). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. (Feet up and take a break)
It’s good to see (not) that the Nikon has completely failed with the focusing — yet again.
-
Cutting wood with Tom (365:337)
We’re going to have to come back and finish cutting up the log we’re sitting on.
We’d already cut and split two 18″ long chunks from this log, and what with all the other wood we’d cut the pick-up and the trailer were full. Now all we had to do was get back to Tom’s, unload and stack it all. It was a tiring but worthwhile morning.
I should also mention that it was cold. Cold enough to turn my water bottle slushy.
-
This seemed like a good idea at the time (365:338)
This seemed like a good idea at the time (365:338). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Turned out to be an awful picture
This ranks up there with the worst I’ve taken this year.
-
Washer repair man (365:339)
Turns out the water on the laundry floor wasn’t a backing up drain after all.
No, the water was pouring out of the bottom of the washer instead. Today I learned how to replace a ‘tub seal’ which involved dismantling the washer and removing the washing tub to gain access to the seal. Here you see me in the process of putting it all back together again.
-
Not so good (365:340)
Not so good 365:340. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I’m not very well, let’s hope I get better quickly.
Last time it took me six months to recover – not a prospect I want to consider.
-
Day 341 (365:341)
Day 341 (365:341). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Oh dear another at the desk picture.
I wonder what I have more of, pictures of me sitting at my desk, or me in front of ‘the wall’.
-
This was going to be a picture of me and the anti-sparkle shield (365:342)
But I didn’t like that shot. It’s still there though – but only just visible in the background (yes the anti-sparkle shield is a huge curtain).
-
Gary with our blue Christmas tree (365:343)
Gary with our blue Christmas tree (365:343). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Are you wondering why the tree has a blue Santa hat?
So was I. Lanie decorated the tree, I’m sure she knows.
[Image updated 12/27/2014]
-
Gary, Tubby, and Sprinky (365:344)
Gary, Tubby, and Sprinky (365:344). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Half past eleven and I’m still at my desk
At least I have a drink on hand.
-
Apple, cheese and crackers (365:345)
Apple, cheese and crackers (365:345). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Yum
-
Today’s photograph was picked by Ginger (365:346)
Ginger said this picture is me.
It must be the slight smile.
-
Gary and the Christmas tree (365:347)
The erratic focusing on the camera is starting to annoy me
The camera software tells me the camera focused on my chest. So why is my hand in the primary focus zone? Sigh. I can’t wait to get this project finished and run some detailed focus tests.
-
An afternoon in bed (365:348)
An afternoon in bed (365:348). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I thought I was feeling better
Unfortunately not.
-
Checking my lesson (365:349)
Ginger dropped me off early at church tonight.
I used the extra time to sit in the classroom and go over my coursework.
-
Sparkles (365:350)
I promised some pictures of the sparkles (when the sun finally came out again)
When we reorganised our office area Ginger put lots of glass and crystal beads in the windows. However, there was a problem, getting sparkles like this all over my monitors required the installation of the ‘anti-sparkle screen’.
Pretty sparkles on the wall -
Gary eats a Tie fighter (cookie) (365:351)
And swiftly dispatches Daft Cookie-Monster in the process
Actually it’s the ‘H’ from Christmas; Lanie made some Christmas cookies tonight.
-
Ginger puts a smile on my face (365:352)
I checked my eyes; unfortunately you can’t see what she was doing.
I can tell you that she was standing behind the camera and used a very effective technique to make me smile.
If you’ve been wondering why there have not been many ‘Wall’ shots of late – the answer is quite straightforward. When we re-organized the office area we ended up with a huge pile of stuff that no longer had a home. It ended up piled in the hall where my favorite wall is. So I can’t use the wall – but now I’ve found this alternative spot that might just do.
-
Cat and mouse (365:353)
Cat and mouse (365:353). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Sprinky decided to fall asleep on my EfM lesson notes.
-
Another late night (365:354)
Another late night (365:354). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Gone twelve and still at my desk
-
Day 355 – Only ten days left (365:355)
That’s all.
-
Back to the wall (365:356)
It’s been a while since I took a wall picture.
Working late again – 2am.
-
Edible display (365:357)
We arrived home from Christmas food shopping to find this very kind gift of fruit and fruit dipped in chocolate had been delivered
Of course it had to be eaten straight away as we knew it wouldn’t keep 🙂 and of course the fridge is full.
-
Christmas Eve (365:358)
Christmas Eve (365:358) Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Here I am in my church Christmas finery
Christmas has begun. The grandparents arrived this afternoon and are staying overnight to be with us on Christmas day. In the evening we all went to one of the Christmas services at church. When we got home we sat and chatted until late – and I slipped in this quick self-portrait just before bed.
-
At the end of Christmas day (365:359)
Christmas day
Despite my preference for a lie-in, we were up before seven, then it was non-stop with present opening, visiting family, food, drinks and finally a couple of card games.
Somehow the evening slipped away from me while we researched our joint Christmas present which we may go out and buy tomorrow. Exciting. In fact so exciting I was worn out. You can’t really see it but I’m wearing my very first camo shirt. Now I really will blend in with the locals. With the camo shirt and Christmas hat I’ve decided that next year I’ll take on the role of ‘Stealth Elf’.
Christmas Tree – the quiet before the present opening 
Christmas present carnage 
Sprinky finds a nice box under the coffee table to sit in 
Betsy and Natalie 
Gary the ‘Stealth Elf’ rests at the end of a busy Christmas day -
Gary and Ginger’s Christmas present (356:360)
Today we went Boxing day shopping.
And we bought this nifty hand-held GPS receiver as a joint present for us both. One of the problems with GPS is buying the maps which cost more than the receivers – this unit allows you to create and load your own using Google Earth – which is brilliant as we have a subscription to a topographic map service – so we can download any map we need.
To test it I loaded a map for Busiek State Park taken from the online brochure – I thought it came out rather well.
This was a considered purchase; as we have ideas to make it earn its keep. I’ll also be able to more quickly and accurately geotag my photographs.
Update
- 2023 – standalone GPS devices are so … 2011. Most modern smartphones have excellent GPS facilities built in, which combined with a decent GPS App work much better than the dedicated units. I use and recommend Gaia GPS, which I have on my Samsung Galaxy phone.
-
Making stuff (365:361)
Making stuff (365:361). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Today I made myself useful by making stuff in the garage
In fact I’m being a proper Santa’s Elf helping Ginger make Christmas presents for the girls when they arrive on Thursday. Darn I missed an opportunity to wear my Christmas hat again.
Making stuff – The Close-up. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Winding down at the end of the day (365:362)
Winding down at the end of the day (365:362). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We seem to spend a lot of time in the office area at the moment
Tonight we were researching a backpacking trip – the weather looks to be warm (for the time of year). We have family visiting tomorrow, and they are taking Lanie away for a few days, so we have a window of backpacking opportunity to take advantage of.
It’ll be nice to get out under the stars for a few days, and hopefully, it’ll provide some good picture opportunities for the last two days of my 365 days project.
-
Gary and Tubby (365:363)
Gary and Tubby (365:363). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I was taking some family portraits and I forgot to include myself, so here I am with Tubby.
Ginger’s parents, her brother Sam and family came visiting today. I was (albeit reluctantly) persuaded to take some family photos, and once again I’m glad that I did. I’ll post a couple of sneak previews now – but I have a whole 30 minute session’s worth to go through selecting and processing the ‘keepers’.We used the kitchen as a makeshift studio, it’s not really big enough, especially when I’m using the ‘nifty fifty’ lens, but we managed fine.
When I’d finished taking the pictures I realized I’d not taken my 365 days picture, so I swept up the nearest cat – who happened to be Tubbster, and quickly rattled off a couple of shots. I should have swapped the backdrop over to black which better suits my skin tones, but I was working quickly to get my picture out of the way so I could continue with the family festivities.
As planned Lanie left with our visitors – so tomorrow we’ll be backpacking.
Ginger and her brother Sam
Sam and Family
The Girls (Lanie in the middle) -
Penultimate campfire of 2011 (365:364)
Penultimate campfire of 2011 (365:364). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Today we backpacked into the Piney Creek Wilderness
We were in two minds as to where to go backpacking this weekend. Piney Creek Wilderness, or the similarly sounding Paddy Creek Wilderness. Piney creek has around twelve miles of ‘official’ trails, and Paddy Creek has a twenty-mile loop.
In the end, the weather made our minds up. It’s supposed to get very windy and quite cold, so we opted for Piney Creek with its wind-protected valley trail, as opposed to the Paddy Creek’s ridge trail which would keep us up in the wind.
Piney Creek was a good decision, as neither of us was as fit as we thought, and we would have struggled with the 20-mile hike. The first two thirds of a mile of the Tower trail at Piney Creek drops 350 feet over some fairly rough terrain, carrying a backpack plus 10lbs Christmas excess around one’s middle (that makes 20lbs I need to lose now) made it quite hard work – made even harder as the descent is immediately followed by a steep 135′ climb. The total drop to the creek is six hundred-odd feet over one and a half miles, and it quite wore us out. But at least the trail to our planned campsite by Table Rock Lake was flat – although quite muddy, and involved six creek crossings – fine for me in my bare feet but awkward for Ginger, who finally gave up taking off her hiking shoes for the crossings and just got them wet.
Our hike was a paltry three and a half miles to the lakeside. We found a few old fire rings, picked one and pitched the tent. It was a great spot, and we decided to make this a leisurely trip and just lounge around. I’ve wanted to get down to the lake here for quite a while, as we think it’ll make a great Kayak/camping spot. And just across the lake we could see the potential campsite I’d identified from the air on Google Earth. The locals had already been of course – and typical for the Ozarks there were some rusting chairs stuck in the mud on the lakeside.
We saw several Bald Eagles – including some, that we’ve since concluded were, juveniles. And there was a very big nest.
There was plenty of wood laying around so we could afford to have a nice fire before turning in for the night.
-
Typical Ozarks recreational arrangements (365:365)
Typical Ozarks recreational arrangements (365:365). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Today we sunbathed and went on a short exploratory hike
Yes, that’s right, sunbathed on the 31 December in the Northern hemisphere – I was impressed. Though to make up for this there was ice on the inside of our tent when we woke up.
My sunbathing was interrupted by a pack of horses crossing the creek, which confirmed my suspicion that there was a trail on the other side. This was good because when I’d spotted the chairs in the mud across the lake yesterday I’d thought that a picture of me sitting in one might make a fitting last 365 photograph. And so it turned out. Ginger declined my invitation to join me for my last picture – though we did try a few and they ended up on the cutting room floor. For a tripod I used one of the rusting chairs supported by my hiking pole. Close inspection showed that the chairs – like a lot of things in the Ozarks had been used for target practice at some point, as each had several bullet holes.
Despite it looking very calm down by the lake, we could hear the wind ripping through the trees high above on the ridges.
The end of this year’s 356 days project
That’s it for my second full 365 days. I’m not going to do another as I’ve found the self portrait format too restrictive this time around, and heaven knows the world doesn’t need anymore pictures of me taken late at night, standing by a wall or sitting at my desk. Once more I’ve enjoyed the record this project has created, but I can’t say I’ve always enjoyed the process of making it. I’ve had far too much time invested in this when I have other pressing things I ought to be dealing with. I wish I’d managed to get more people involved, but it is what it is.
Strolling in the lakeside mud. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Gary enjoying the view. Copyright © 2011 Ginger Allman, all rights reserved. 
Piney Creek Campsite. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. 
Piney Creek Campsite. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Piney Creek arm of Table Rock Lake. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Table Rock Lake Entrance to Piney Creek. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
Where Piney Creek joins Table Rock lake. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
New Year’s Eve – toasting tootsies by an open fire. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.
