In the event you have been living on Mars or some other planet, the entirety of New York State has come to a screeching halt because of the Coronavirus, aka, COVID-19.  The Governor has asked us to stay home and to keep any trips outside of our homes to “essential activities”.  This includes getting groceries, going to the pharmacy and going to get medical care.  It also includes trips to work for those people who still need to travel to work.  Hats off to the medical personnel, supply chain workers, postal employees, and many others who still have to “go out there”  to keep society running.  You have my respect and admiration.  More importantly, you have my gratitude. Thank you.

For others, it has meant staying in your home 24-hours a day.  With the possible exception  or a walk outside or going to a grocery store for an hour or so.  I include myself in this group of people.

Given the reality of the situation, I always try to find a silver lining.  I always look for the opportunities that come when life hands you a bowl of lemons. So, this past weekend, staying inside has been a blessing because it has allowed me to practice photography.

You might think that taking photos for a blog, facebook and instagram is easy.  Well – you are sort of right and sort of wrong.  Taking the actual photo – that’s pretty easy.  The work that needs to be done before the photo is taken – that requires some work.

So, with nothing but time on my hands and no place to be – I got to work. I rolled up the rug in the living room.  Mr. Sky Lark House helped me move the coffee table and sofa out of the way.  They don’t make men like Mr. Sky Lark House anymore.  He’s definitely a collectible.  After moving said rug and furniture out of the way – trips were made to the basement where various items for photography were brought up. Then they were staged.  Then I set up the tripod and camera.  Then, I took some photos. Whew.

Although in most parts of the United States, Spring equates to flowers and greenery, here in New York that doesn’t really happen for another month.  Yup.  We have branches but no greenery outside.  So, I resort to faux greenery and flowers.  It’s not my first choice but the realities of the season and geography leave me no choice.

 

 

 

The faux branches with greenery shown above are some of my favorite because they are so unruly and wild.  They remind me of the branches outside for their lack of tidiness. As an aside, I love this slightly wonky Adirondack style branch table that someone constructed.  I love the character it imparts. Perfection is overrated.

Between Saturday and Sunday, I spent about ten hours practicing photography.  I will share with you a few more photos I took.  However, the majority of them, I will save and share with you in the coming weeks through Instagram and future blog posts.

This is a chippy white Victorian era chair that a friend gave to me.  The chair started off as wood but I gave it a coat of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Farmhouse White.  The perfect amount of chipping occurred.

 

 

 

She has great personality.  I had fun trying to take photos of her in different poses.

 

 

 

So tell me, are you in also enacting Operation #Stayhome? How is it going?  What silver linings have you found?  What have you been doing to pass the time? Stay well my friends. I will share more photos with you in the coming weeks.