TUM - January

I am really thrilled to say that Claire and I (and Linda-Maree, Pam, and Andrea if they have the time) are starting up TUM again, but on a monthly basis, to make it a little easier to manage.

This months theme was 'Outside'....which was pretty pants as it has barely stopped raining all month! One of the wettest January's in history, and many areas still severely affected.

January is always a crazy month for me.....at work it's finalising year end figures and preparing for the auditors who begin next week. I also had to go for an medical check up for work, which I was dreading because I have been really struggling with my weight for some time now......it was about as bad as expected....and then I was rear-ended as I drove home....nothing serious, but a pretty horrible day I have to say! And while I re-joined the gym back in November of last year, I began taking it very seriously from January 6th....5 times a week.....with a  high protein, low carbohydrate diet as well.....and I'm 3 kgs down so far......still 11 to go, and unlikely I will achieve what I want to before my visit to my brother, but it is a long term plan, and I will stick with it. To date, 2 cms lost on arms, 1cm on hips, and 2cm on thighs......watch this space.

I do have some health issues on the go...some to be investigated / resolved this week....I'm a little bit apprehensive if I'm honest, but I'm sure all will be fine.

And so on to TUM......Claire, as usual, took some beautiful pictures.

 

 

Claire, I just love your portraits!

 

Claire also took some more abstract pictures.

 

 

I like the last one the most of the three, Claire, although it took me the longest to identify what it was of!

I found their mood very dark and somewhat unsettling to look at.

 

I was quite lazy this month with my photography...we had enough good days that I could have got outside and taken some pictures, but I didn't. We have had a fair bit of disruption at home in replacing our driveway.....I'll do a separate post with some before and after pictures at a later point. For now, this is the new patterned concrete look outside our front door.

 

 

And this was a frosty morning earlier in the month. This is of the wooden beams around our pond, which have now been painted black.....again, another before and after post required.

 

I've had the most fun this month taking pictures of Trevor, and watching him find a part of himself again that I haven't seen for a long time. He is currently re-building a sprint car that he intends to race this year.....it is a HUGE task, both in time and money. Money will always be a concern, and we have had much debate about whether to spend money on machinery or pay to have others do the work.

 

 

 

 

But the satisfaction I have seen on his face in the last couple of weeks has been just wonderful.......some of the pride in himself restored that the years had taken away from him.

 

 



Claire, you asked me why I change some to black and white. 'I don't know' is the honest answer.

Like the picture above.....I like it in colour, but I also like the way the weld reflects against his shirt more noticeably in the black and white version.

It's funny you mentioned it, because Trevor had as well.......and I don't know why.....perhaps they just don't look good enough to me but I don't know how to make them better.

 

Until next time......great to be back :-)