Completely Blocked

I've written and discarded at least 7 posts over the last week. They all seemed so lame. They were all about nothing, which only works if you're a writer for the Seinfeld show. Which is off the air, so that won't work. Today I'm going to keep writing and post it anyway, and maybe if I keep doing it, I'll be able to write again. Bear with me as I work past whatever is blocking me. It might not be pretty.

To add to that, photography is really frustrating lately. I either have a lens issue or a camera issue, so fully half of all the photos I'm taking have this slight, out of focus halo around every object. I have it narrowed down to a few variables, and I think it might be one of my lenses at a certain range of f-stops, but then it will happen unexpectedly at another time and mess up my data collection. I need to go talk to my guys at Penn Camera. It's good to have a little perspective on the old Photog hobby and remember that a few good pictures are good enough, and that sometimes even the fuzzy ones can tell the story. It's photos, not world peace.

The news is bad because of terror and the economy and all that, which is serious, but I really have to focus on my real life, which is so far, unaffected by most of the bad news that is dominating the airwaves. I don't mean to sound flippant, because I know many people are truly being affected, but all I can do right now is try to live by sound financial principles in my own sphere and try to be prepared. I feel fortunate to belong to a church that teaches personal preparation for the future so it is something of a way of life for many Mormons. Sometimes we are seen as being extreme in our preparations, but it is not about bunkers or predictions about the end of the world. It's called Provident Living, which simply means being able to provide for one's self and then reach out to help others. What we do have is extra food and water, and it is part of the doctrine of our church to be careful and prayerful with money so that we control it rather than it controlling us. Preparation puts any person in a position to have less fear. It also allows them to keep giving and be generous with time and money rather than hide in a corner, clutching at their own stuff. I love that the little free money management course that you can access on the above website is called "Peace in Your Hearts." How's that for the polar opposite of what the news is reporting?

Our Thanksgiving was nice-small and quiet-all the little ones are out west and gathered at other homes. This year, it was our family of 5 plus my cute Mom and Pop. We went to their house because they are getting ready to sell and retire and all that in the next couple of years, so it might have been our last Thanksgiving there. Bittersweet.

Friday was leaf raking and house-cleaning and Saturday was Christmas-tree getting and house-decorating. More photos of that later.