51

1. We had rain again this week, much needed, and most welcome.
2. Storms do amazing things to the ocean, (like churning up nasty shit from run-off), that always has me wondering why people are out there surfing, and understanding the lure of those big waves.
3. When I was a kid, there'd be surf competitions in the fall and winter that all the boys would enter, and all the girls would watch. 
4. I realize how idyllic growing up here was/is, even though I chomped at the bit to get out. I'm happy that our girl is growing up here, and I'm glad she is also chomping at the bit to leave. 
5. Even though we live in L.A, we are in a small, suburban, community and most of the people never leave. I get it. These little beach towns are spectacular, but there is a big world out there and I'm glad our kid wants to see it.*
6. I pulled the trigger and bought my own printer. I've been super intimidated by the idea, but most everyone I know prints their own work. 
7. And there's a damn good reason: having someone make your fine art prints becomes very expensive. Particularly when a portfolio/series consists of twenty images.**
8. For portfolio reviews, most photographers I know show more than one body of work, typically ranging from 2-5 portfolios, each numbering twenty. 
9. For smaller reviews, a portfolio presented as 'work in progress' is acceptable.
10. I think having 'work in progress' will be a great conversation starter life saver for me and portfolio reviews. 
11. Twenty minutes doesn't seem like a long time, but for someone that has performance anxiety, it can be an eternity.
12. In other news, I finally bought a dremel so that I can finally make no.75 on my list. I've had a collection of larger chunks of glass and ceramics that I found when we lived back east. 
13. Those pieces have been in a bag waiting for me to make a mobile. Last week on a  beach walk, I found the perfect piece of driftwood and now I'm ready to begin.
14. I'm digging the new filters with the latest update to Instagram.
15. Listening to my body this week, and understanding that I need to give my body a  temporary break from spin. 
16. Despite my youthful brain, this body needs tending and 'pushing through' at fifty isn't the same as pushing through even five years ago.
17. Taking time off doesn't mean quitting. And even though taking time off scares me, I also have to acknowledge that it is necessary to slow down. 
18. The war wounds are resurfacing, (achilles tendon/sciatica issues), and I need to take care.

*When A told her friends she was going to Japan, quite a few said, 'why would you want to go there?' She said that is exactly the reason why she will leave this town for college. Go girl!!

**I'm not sure why the magic number is 20, I haven't been able to get an answer that makes sense to me. This seems to be the 'accepted' number of images, although there is one very famous lady in the fine art photo world who speaks of portfolios with 12-15 images, which to my thinking feels like the right number of photos.  With 20 images there are filler photos, (there's a name for these images but I can't remember), ...anyway, these images create space in the portfolio, pauses I guess, and my teachers really like those photos that pause the flow of the work.