Category Archives: January

“Hey Siri”

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“To read a book, to think it over, and to write out notes
is a useful exercise; a book which will not repay some
hard thought is not worth publishing.”
Maria Mitchell

Write It Down

For years I had numerous diaries and pretty little notebooks that I would write in and keep all my notes of thoughts and ideas. However, it was difficult to keep the ideas and reminders in any order. Then I started using my iPhone and my laptop to keep track of all my notes. I found this a much more practical and easier way to find what I was looking for when I needed to reference my material.

Recently, I discovered Siri and how handy this little Apple App can be. In fact, Siri has become my new personal assistant. I still keep folders and notes on my laptop, but I’ve substituted writing notes to dictating them using Siri.

By using Siri I can make dinner reservations, place phone calls, make notes in my Reminder and Notes app, send messages and even use Siri to pull up a song on iTunes. I’m finding the more I use Siri, the more I realize how handy the app is in keeping me organized and informed.

Now, if I want to remember anything, instead of writing it down, I just say, “Hey, Siri.”

Shine On

Write Write Write

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“The scariest moment is always just before you start.
After that, things can only get better.”
Stephen King

Write Write Write

The best advise I’ve read from accomplished writers is when you’re writing a novel, to just sit down and start writing. Sounds easy, but unless you’ve tried writing when you’re not inspired, it’s a tough task to accomplish.

Here I am entering week two of 2016, and I’ve yet to sit down as I had planned to work on my novel which I started in mid 2015. Even though I have fifty pages finished, I just can’t seem to get going. I have cut back on my reading so I’d have more time for writing, but just can’t seem to get writing.

So, starting Monday I’ve decided to try a method I read about recently where you sit down, set a timer for 25 minutes and just force yourself to write. If I’m going to get anywhere with my writing, I need to hunker down and write – write – write.

Shine On

Cyanotype Photography

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“The difficulty of making accurate drawings of objects
so minute as many of the Algae and Confervae
has induced me to avail myself of
Sir John Herschel’s beautiful process of Cyanotype,
to obtain impressions of the plants themselves,
which I have much pleasure in
offering to my botanical friends.”
Anna Atkins

Cyanotype Photography

There has been a few different styles of photography through the years, but one I’ve always thought was beautiful is cyanotype. It’s actually obtained not through photography but through a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print.

The process was discovered in 1842 by an English scientist and astronomer, Sir John Herschel. He developed cyanotype mainly as a means of reproducing notes and diagrams, such as blueprints. But, it was Anna Atkins a botanist and photographer who brought this popular processing style to photography in the 1840s.

Atkins created a limited series of cyanotype books that documented ferns and other plant life from her extensive seaweed collection. She would place specimens directly onto coated paper, allowing the action of light to create a silhouette effect. Anna Atkins is regarded as the first female photographer and also the mother of cyanotype photography.

Shine On