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At the Antique Mall (365:035)
At the Antique Mall (365:035). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Today we managed to escape the kids for the first time in three days.
Last night, I found the leftovers of a bottle of Scotch (thanks Mick!), and drank a silent toast to Chris who died early this morning (UK time). He enjoyed his whisky and we have enjoyed many a dram over the years. It seemed a fitting end to the day.
Today is a new day and yet another snow day for the schools in Springfield, and our Youth Minister at Church volunteered to take the Youth Group kids for some snow day fun. I, for one, wasn’t going to try and dissuade her, the thought of nearly six hours to ourselves was far too good to turn down. At eleven I took the kids to Church, and I was surprised how bad the roads were, only the major roads have been plowed. At Church I checked if there was anything I needed to be doing and inspected the huge pile of snow in the next door parking lot before returning home.
Once home, we had to get a parcel in the post and then the day was ours. Which was a problem as we don’t have the right footwear for hiking in a foot of snow and the lakes are frozen so Kayaking was out of the question. We ended up going down to Ozark and visiting a couple of flea markets (or Antique Malls as they style themselves), where I drooled over some oil lamps, Coleman lamps and some very nice cameras. The light coming from some of the display cabinets was very nice, which is where I took today’s picture.
Today’s out takes and alternate pictures
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One door opens as another closes (365:034)
One door closes as another opens. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I’ve just received news of a death in the family back in the UK.
It was expected, but I’m deeply saddened by the news. Saddened that it’s happened so soon and so quickly, and saddened that I wasn’t there to say my goodbyes or provide support.
And then, this morning we went to the hospital to see the latest addition to our family, Natalie Anne, born yesterday evening to Betsy and Matt.
Just as one life ends another has begun.
Today’s out takes & extras
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There’s an icicle in my beard (365:033)
There’s an icicle in my beard (365:033). Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. It was a tad cold this morning.
Well I consider 6°F (-14 °C) a tad chilly, but the sun was shining and there was nothing for it but to shift the foot of snow off of the path, drive and clear a way across the deck. I had help with the drive as Alek assisted me once he’d cleared a path for Diane next door.
With my warm woolly socks, base layer, shirt, trousers and my romper suit, hat and gloves I was soon too hot. That didn’t stop me growing a small beard-cicle. How cool, I’ve never had one of those before.
What with the winter hiking and now working outside in the low temps I’m discovering that with decent clothing the cold does not have to be a major problem. However, today was sunny and windless; some cloud and wind would have made a big difference.
Today’s out takes & extra
Out take: Clearing snow from the drive 
Out take: Clearing snow from the drive 
Out take: Gary, backyard, snow -
Snow day (365:032)
Snow day. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. This bad weather’s been on the cards for a while.
According to the reports, today was Missouri’s first official blizzard. With high winds and drifting snow, it wasn’t worth going out so the day was spent lounging. At least we’ve got power and Internet access, which is good for keeping kids amused (well those whose grades are good enough to be allowed Internet access anyway).
I took this picture while checking the weather radar and watching the snowdrift by the window. Not long afterward the kids went out and collected some snow to make genuine Ozark Snow Cones.
Today’s runners up
Out take: Snow day 
Out take: Snow day 
Ozark snow cone -
January Summary
It’s been a good month, and despite it being the middle of winter we’ve been quite busy. We’ve been hiking four times, and out in the kayaks twice. We’ve visited St Louis, Thornfield and Carthage.
I photographed my hands three times, posted thirteen black and white pictures, four pictures have one or more cats in them, there’s one dog and I appeared in bed twice, both times drinking coffee.
My most popular picture on Flickr was #17. But I suspect that’s only because the thumb nail image of my finger looks a bit like a penis, and Flickr’s like that.
1. New year’s day, 2. Gary and Ginger on the trail at Valley Water Mill Pond, 3. A quiet place, 4. Recycling, 5. Coursework, 6. Lesson remembered, 7. After the school run, 8. Taking it easy on a Saturday Morning, 9. Choral evensong, 10. My major achievement of the day, 11. Watching the world go by, 12. Lesson 15, 13. Gary in the parish hall kitchen, 14. Gary and Ginger relax at the end of the day, 15. The owl over my shoulder, 16. Gary and Ginger at Compton Hollow, 17. Gary and CD, 18. True Brits wear plaid, 19. Waiting for the kids, 20. Oil lamp reflection, 21. Checking the tires, 22. Kayaking in the ice on Lake Springfield, 23. Just before bed, 24. Cats, coffee and laptops in bed, 25. Tidying away, 26. Lesson 17: Numbers, 27. Halfway up the first hill – Busiek State Forest & Wildlife Area, 28. Drilling in the workshop, 29. Kayaking on James River, Springfield Missouri, 30. Thinking of Ginger, 31. The problem with varifocals…
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The problem with varifocals… (365:031)
The problem with varifocals… (365:031) Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. …is that the only way I can see anything close up is to tilt my head way back.
It’s the quiet before the storm. We are waiting for a predicted 12″-20″ of snow. We’ll see; knowing the weather around here, it could be 1″ or 20″. In the meantime, I’ve just put the new annual license stickers on the van. That way, I’ve made sure I won’t forget to do it if I get all excited when it snows.
Today’s outcasts:
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Thinking of Ginger (365:30)
Thinking of Ginger (365:30) Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We had a quiet day today, venturing out just twice. Once for breakfast and to get in supplies as it’s possible a big snow / ice storm may be headed our way, and second to go pick up the kids from the Church when they got back from the Bishop’s Ball. I decided to get my picture taken early, and grabbed a quick self portrait while gazing out of the window at the back yard. Ginger asked what I was thinking about when I took this picture. Well I was thinking of her, so I’ve changed the title to reflect that.
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Kayaking on James River, Springfield Missouri
Kayaking on James River, Springfield Missouri (365: 29) Today was a busy day. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Today was a busy day. We decided to take advantage of the weather and go kayaking on the James River this morning. I’m glad we did, as the temperatures got up to 72°F (22°C), giving me my first chance this year to expose my legs to the air. Despite the warm weather the lake was still frozen in a couple of out of the way places.
We couldn’t stay out on the lake for too long, as we volunteered to take kids to the 2011 Bishop’s Ball, and I also volunteered to take some pictures while we were there. We had another reason to be going though. We’d been tipped off that Alek was to receive an ‘Outstanding Youth’ award, and we wanted to be there to see him receive it. The evening was good fun, though it’s been twenty odd years since I’ve done event photography, and it showed in the pictures, I need to wear contacts if I’m going to do any shoots like this in future. It also didn’t help that the flash only worked every second shot. Anyway, Alek looked pleased with his award and Ginger was very happy to be there to see him receive it, and it was good to see the girls all dressed up for the night.
Once I’d finished taking pictures we headed home, leaving the kids to get on with their evening – unlike last year when I headed out to the bars.
I was so wrapped up in taking other people’s pictures at the Ball, I forgot to get one of myself, so one of my pictures from earlier in the day, sitting enjoying the sun in my Kayak will have to do.
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Repairing a kitchen drawer
Repairing the kitchen drawer — I repaired a kitchen drawer and in the process learned two valuable safety lessons. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Today I repaired a kitchen drawer and in the process learned two valuable safety lessons. I used my nail gun to fix in a support for the drawer base. I unloaded the two-inch brad nails I had been using, loaded half inch nails, ran a couple of test shots and then nailed the support from the back. Unfortunately, there was one two-inch nail ‘in the pipe’ and it came straight through the front of the drawer slicing my finger. Firstly I should have triple checked all the two-inch nails had been removed, and secondly, my hand shouldn’t have been near the workpiece. I could have easily nailed my finger bone to the front of the drawer. I made absolutely sure there were no nails left in the gun when I put it away.
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Drilling in the workshop (365: 28)
Drilling in the workshop (365: 28) — Today, I spent some time in the workshop. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Today, I spent some time in the workshop. With temperatures expected to be in the sixties, we planned to go out in the kayaks. That didn’t happen. Some shopping was done, and I spent some time in the workshop instead.
First, I repaired a kitchen drawer and, in the process, learned two valuable safety lessons. Then I made myself a pair of huaraches. I’ve been reading about minimalist footwear for quite a while, and the huaraches seem to be the way to go, providing a very open shoe with a firmly attached sole. They are also very easy to make. So today I made a test pair. The finish of the sole cut-out is a bit rough. I won’t worry about it because I don’t expect these to last long.
Now, I’ll have to give them a test and see how well they fair out on the trail and around home. One thing that has surprised me is that I’m having trouble getting used to the feel of the cord between my toes. As a long-term flip-flop wearer, I wasn’t expecting it to be an issue.
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Halfway up the first hill – Busiek State Forest & Wildlife Area (365:27)
Halfway up the first hill – Busiek State Forest & Wildlife Area (365:27) — Tomorrow I’ll ache. This morning we went on a short 3 mile hike on the Silver trail at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area. The hike might have been short but it included two, two hundred foot ascents. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Tomorrow I’ll ache. This morning we went on a short 3-mile hike on the Silver trail at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area. The hike might have been short but it included two, two hundred foot ascents. We’ve been slacking and not hiking much recently, so we’re a bit out of condition. We paused briefly halfway up the first hill to catch our breath and take this picture. The temperatures were due to get up in the fifties today, but when we started hiking were still below freezing. By the time we got halfway up the second hill we were hot. The only wildlife we saw was an armadillo, which I managed to get within three feet of, but didn’t get a picture as I was too busy laughing at the bouncy way they run.
Still to do: the school run, another visit to the bank, get the slow puncture in the van’s back wheel fixed, and then my class this evening.
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Stopped for lunch
Stopped for lunch. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. We stopped for lunch near the end of our hike on the Silver Trail at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area.
Stopped for lunch. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
View to the North from the Silver Trail at Busiek
View to the North from the Silver Trail at Busiek — Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. This descent is much steeper than it looks, and it’s very easy to lose your footing on the loose stones that make up the trail.
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Ginger approaching halfway up the first big ascent
Ginger approaching halfway up the first big (200-ft.) ascent on the Silver Trail.
Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.We stopped for lunch near the end of our hike on the Silver Trail at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area.
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Lesson 17: Numbers (365:26)
Lesson 17: Numbers – Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Wednesdays are kids taxiing days.
Ginger’s been feeling a bit poorly, so I was up early again to do the school run. I spent most of the day reading and making notes for my class tomorrow night. I stopped to do the afternoon school run, pick up some more cash from the bank and drop off the recycling.
Wednesday evenings are Bell choir, Choir practice followed by Youth Group, which today requires three trips downtown. By the nine pm kid curfew I’ll be ready for our adult time.
Future Gary says: The picture’s fine, but in a small thumbnail format my finger looks like a penis “once seen you cannot unsee it.”
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Tidying away (365:25)
Tidying Away (365:25) Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. I need to find my tennis ball.
My day started early with the school run at seven-thirty. Back home I finally put all the boxes of Christmas decorations out in the shed where they belong.
There was a visit to the bank and some shopping required. While shopping I spotted a display of ‘Valentine’s Day Monsters’. I liked their color so much I decided to take a quick safety shot with them.
While Ginger put the shopping away, I put away our kayaking socks and shoes from last Saturday. To do this I had to lower my Kayak from its berth on the garage ceiling. While it was down I retrieved my Emergency kit. I thought this activity might make today’s picture, so I set up the camera and once more encountered the ‘out of focus’ problem. This time to make doubly sure it was the camera and not me, I asked Ginger to look through the viewfinder as I took the shot using the remote. Sure enough, the camera wasn’t focusing. It took a lot of fiddling around to get a couple of in-focus pictures. D’oh!
While I was taking the pictures I flicked our hanging tennis ball up into Ginger’s kayak so it wouldn’t be in the shot. We use the ball to tell me when to stop so I don’t plow into all the stuff stored at the end of the garage. I forgot about it until later when I came to park the car and had to use the ancient art of ‘touch parking’. I retrieved the bit of string to which the ball is attached only to find the ball has gone awol. So now I’m going to have to lower Ginger’s kayak and find the missing ball.
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Tidying away
Tidying away — With my Kayak lowered from its berth on the garage ceiling, I searched it for a pair of missing gloves and my emergency kit. Copyright © 2024 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. With my Kayak lowered from its berth on the garage ceiling, I searched it for a pair of missing gloves and my emergency kit. I thought this activity might make a reasonable picture, so I set up the camera, and once more, I hit the ‘no focus’ problem. This time, to make doubly sure it was the camera and not me, I asked Ginger to look through the viewfinder as I took the shot using the remote. Sure enough, the camera was deciding it was in focus without actually focusing. It took a lot of shots and fiddling around to get a couple of in focus pictures. D’oh!
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Valentine’s Day Monsters
Valentine’s Day Monsters. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. -
Cats, coffee and laptops in bed (365:024)
Cats, coffee and laptops in bed. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. A little peek into our morning customs. Cats, coffee, and Internet in bed
I had to very carefully get out of bed to set the camera up without disturbing the cats as I wanted them in the picture. As soon as the autofocus started whirring, Tubby sat in front of the camera – half out of shot, head on one side staring into the lens. after ten pictures he grew bored and sought out his favorite perch on Ginger’s chest (he isn’t called “Tubby Tit Sitter” without reason). I needn’t have worried about disturbing Sprinky. She refused to move from her selected spot on the side of the bed.
That’s my picture done for the day and it’s still morning 🙂
Today’s Out takes & extras
Ginger, Tubby, Gary and Sprinky. Morning High Jinx 
Laptops in bed -
Just before bed (365:023)
Just before bed — Not a lot happened today. Alarm at seven, Church, Sunday School, Nap time, Star Wars Episode 1, Internets, hiking plans and bed. Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman, all rights reserved. Not a lot happened today. Alarm at seven, Church, Sunday School, Naptime, Star Wars Episode 1, Internets, hiking plans and bed.
I settled for the cliché self-portrait against a wall, and I didn’t put a lot of effort into it either. A tripod would have helped with the blur and lens distortion as I could have had the camera further away. As it was I had to hold the camera in both hands to minimize camera shake. A tripod would have also left a hand free to hold a reflector to fill in the light a bit. I’ll be able to try that another night.
