Sabine in Gozo

Rain!

Sometimes rain is just as beautiful as sunshine – not to mention sunshine after a cleansing rainfall! Early this  morning I was awoken by thunderstorms with a heavy downpour that rid the greenery in our garden of all the dust and grime:

In the meantime, thick grey clouds are back, and it’s raining. But hey, it’s February, after all. And I had my photo fix!

Signs of autumn

Temperatures around 28-29°C are forecast for the next 5 days, but all in all cooler weather has made it to Malta, even some rain. It’s so enjoyable to be outside without breaking out in sweats by simply being there! Mornings and evenings I walk around in the garden; I’m probably fooling myself if I think that counts as putting my muscles to work, but it’s a start, no? I’m beginning to feel like a hermit, hardly seeing the world any more. I’ve resolved that this afternoon I’ll start a routine of properly walking outside the confines of our property, probably to Ta’ Pinu and back. Let’s see how that goes!

Took these pictures this week… it really is time I went out for something else to shoot, isn’t it?

September morning

Sleep… what an elusive commodity these days! Having kept a diary over the past three weeks where I record pain levels, what meds I take and at what time, I found that I function best by taking two panadols at 2 am (pain always wakes me up at that time) and another two at 2 pm. I’m still on Nortrilen but it doesn’t seem to make a difference whether I take them or not. I’ve resolved to be an obedient patient, at least until I see the rheumatologist on Saturday. Not too much longer now… Isn’t it disconcerting how you potter through a week’s worth of hours without even realising it?

Woken up at 6.45 by my alarm clock that I forgot to turn off for today’s public holiday, I thought it was healthier to take my coffee out in the quiet garden than staying in bed grumbling about lost sleep. I’m glad I did, too, because otherwise I would have missed this wonderful cloud display!

I’m so longing to go out for a proper photo-shoot again… *huge sigh* I’ve finally become a member of the Malta Institute of Professional Photography (MIPP) and have every intention to make more out of this hobby. Maybe one fine day…

Better days will come! Better days will come! Repeat until true…

Playing with shadows…

…’cos I just didn’t have anything better to do. I felt pretty good this morning – after having slept rather well last night, 7 hours in one piece! – but not strong enough to venture out into the world with my camera. Being thoroughly fed up of exclusively shooting cats, I chased around for some other subject. And found these shadows…

olive twigs on the table

water bottle on the garden path

yucca palm behind an umbrella

bamboo blind on the sitting room wall

Mixed bag on Sunday

Like Bees to Honey

Like Bees to Honey is the title of Caroline Smailes’s new book – and it’s all about Malta! You may remember Caroline’s sad stories In Search of Adam; and Black Boxes. Well, this one is different; it is a very positive and enchanting tale – but it has all the tell-tale signs of Caroline’s totally unique style. Which I just love! I bought  Like Bees to Honey a week ago here in Gozo, couldn’t believe seeing it on sale in Gozo! However, I only started reading a little of the first chapter – and it’s not Caroline’s fault I put it down again. Actually it had drawn me right in, but I still have trouble sitting still for long stretches, which is why for instance this blog post has already taken me two days to write. But what’s even more disconcerting is, reading (even with my glasses on!) makes my headaches worse (for this old bookworm that’s a disaster!). But it is on my immediate to do list, and when I’m done I’ll tell you more!

Incidentally, Caroline was just in Malta on a book tour. She toured several Agenda bookshops, which I found out from the news on TV… What a bummer! I certainly would have made an effort to meet her in Malta, had I only known before. *sigh*

Gotta Go To Gozo

At the last count there were almost five hundred people that call themselves my “friends” on facebook. Yet I can’t seem to get even one tenth of those to vote for the photos I submitted to Arkadia’s photo competition, Gotta Go To Gozo. (However there are a few real friends who put so much effort into helping me that I don’t know how to thank them!!)

It’s a drag, especially as I’m one of the worst sales persons you could imagine, spamming other people just makes me cringe… But unfortunately that’s the way this competition works.

So, I’m not giving up just yet! Perhaps with a little perseverance I’ll reach at least the ‘Top 20′. If you’re on Facebook please do click the above image and vote for it. It’s pain-free and doesn’t cost anything. You can vote for my other photos, too, if you like (see my previous post), but this image has received most votes so far – and it is actually my favourite, so I might as well concentrate my efforts on this one pic… Thank you if you do vote, and don’t worry if you don’t: I wouldn’t know either way!

Pain

Today is Sunday; to me that means the calm before the storm. Tomorrow I’ll have to start “functioning” normally again, and I’m rather worried about it. I’ve had two weeks off from work, to go to Munich and then another week to recover from everything, including my earlier ordeals. Only the recovering part hasn’t really worked out as expected. I still have headaches every day and night, though there are a few hours scattered throughout the day that are better than other times. The muscle pains are what really worry me, they just won’t let up and keep waking me every two hours at night. On two occasions I took a couple of Panadols in the middle of the night, which helped a little but not much. Is all this still rebound pain after my painkiller troubles – or is something else at work here?

And then there’s the weight loss; my stomach seems to have shrunk in the past few months. So I’m eating lots of little “meals” throughout the day, even chocolate and other sweets sometimes, but for the life of me I just can’t get back up beyond the 53 kg mark.

After successfully dealing with the earth-shattering realisation that I was addicted to painkillers, I didn’t expect this whole story to drag into August – but that’s what it did, and no end is in sight. I’m really at a loss here…

Fast Track to Photography Course in Gozo – Day 3

Last Saturday was a very tough one for me – see my previous post. Nonetheless, I did get a number of shots done before giving up. The setting was one of Ray Bajada’s beautiful Butterfly farmhouses, and the models were Tiziana Vella (who we’d already met in session 2), Francesca Petra Caruana and Shaun Sultana. Dress: D Elegance Bridal and Occasion Wear Victoria Gozo

Trying to make the best of it

So that crippling headache of mine is becoming an epic bore of sorts. I’m not totally incapacitated, though slowly but surely I’m kind of losing it. I can’t concentrate and sometimes I just feel like throwing things at walls in my frustration! The tranquilliser course was fine for sleeping at night (too good, actually), but nothing else. Not only didn’t it keep my mind off my headache, but on the other hand it succeeded in taking my mind off pretty much everything else. Not a very satisfying state of mind, I can tell ya!

A few days ago the Kempinski’s Ayurveda centre very kindly took me in and I received two head massages and a truly relaxing shirodhara, but both times the effect didn’t last for more than half an hour. Thanks to my bosses and Dr Reshmi, by the way!! A bigger thank you even to Tanja, who’s offered to take over my MOD shift tomorrow, which means I’m now on leave until the 17th May. I’m so hoping that all this is really just stress-related because if it’s not I don’t know if I’ll be able to cope with what might be in store for me…

’nuff of that stuff. This weekend there’s the Valletta Grand Prix in Malta, which I sadly won’t attend. BUT last Wednesday many of the classic/historic cars crossed over to Gozo, and I had made sure to take that day off for some photo-snapping…

It was fun, but after Marsalforn I left the group as it was just becoming too hot and tiring. At least I had a different subject for my photography, for a change. I am getting a little bored with the rocks and the sea…

First uses of puppet warp

OK… this is not going down in history as pure genius. At least not on my part. Photoshop CS5 has this neat little feature called ‘puppet warp’ – it’s an awesome tool if you know how to use it. Me, I’m just stumbling along, learning ever so slowly by trial and error…

My models are Renzo Knight of Gozo, our little mascot, and Charlie, the permanent resident of the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz. And of course I left them in their familiar surroundings! (Well, they don’t really spend time in hotel rooms – leave alone suites, but for today we’ll let that pass, shall we? hehe)

Renzo Knight of Gozo and Charlie, relaxing in a suite

Renzo Knight of Gozo and Charlie by the swimming pool

With that, I’ve sat much longer at the PC than I wanted to. But it was worth it. Will switch off for good now…. so in case you comment (please do – critics are welcome!) I probably won’t reply before tomorrow. Have a nice weekend!

Fog and dew

Woke up this morning at the unholy hour of 5.15 am, to take photos of the Kempinski’s indoor pool an hour before the first swimmers would appear and splash about. By the time I left home thick fog patches here and there and a reddish sunrise sky made me want to change direction and take photos of a different kind. Sadly that was no option. I arrived about 20 minutes before the agreed time, hoping my camera would have enough time to get accustomed to the tropical air of the indoor pool area – but boy was I wrong! I did get a few shots done, with lots of lens-wiping (and sweating!!) but all in all it was a very frustrating task.

Back in the normal climate of the office, I took a couple of pics, just to make sure the camera was still working how it should. And as luck would have it, the palm fronds in front of the window were dripping with morning dew – what a lovely sight! (click to enlarge)

Obscured By Clouds

Sheep clouds dotting the sky this morning. Looked a bit like my mind on the inside and reminded me of an old Pink Floyd piece…