Honoring our home, our only home

I did just a few things on Earth Day, but they weren’t done particularly for that day only. That day I realized how much my habits and lifestyle have evolved over the years, and they are something I just do now on an everyday basis and not only for Earth Day. Our planet still houses all of us despite our abuse.

I do (or don’t do) many other things, but on that day I particularly:

• took a short 4-minute shower
• cleaned and unclogged the shower drain manually (instead of using Drano or some other poisonous liquid —I never use them). It took me scarcely 3-4 minutes to unscrew 3 screws, clear all the hair and buildup, and screw them back in place.
• took about 1 cubic meter of plastic to recycling —I tend to accumulate a lot to fill the car to avoid several car trips instead of one. But this time, I avoided it all together because serendipitously a guy in his “cargo” bike passed by and took all of it (they get money at the recycling station), so it was a win-win-win situation (good for him, good for me, and good for the planet).

I know that I still do many things that leave a footprint, but I know that I would have left much more of a footprint had I continued with my previous lifestyle.

I feel very blessed and thankful for such a beautiful and wonderful home, and I can only feel honored that it provides for me and all living beings every day.

See more progress on: honor Earth Day April 22

#2 down and some advance in other 2

Today I finally finished the VCM menus. I had finished them about three weeks ago, but then they decided that they wanted all of them in Word format, so I had to transfer them all. They’re now finished and delivered.

Tomorrow I’ll be working on #8 (bookbinding) & #14 (postcard), for which I already decided upon a photo and design. For #13, he came and went and we didn’t even sit down to see about his project. All other projects are with the same status.

1. CG logo refining and stationery DONE
2. VCM menus: currently working on this DONE
3. JE vet: need to recontact, he never sent last revision
4. S vet: need to recontact, he never sent last revision
5. PP: hasn’t replied email
6. JLC: check status of business cards
7. MS: present portfolio with proposals pending
8. M&I: bookbinding journal
9. ST: postcards Virgin of Guadalupe
10. JC: postcards volcanoes
11. AC: calendar
12. CC: check status posterized poster
13. AT: ask him again to send his work for his postcard design
14. 43T: select a Cholula photo and begin my postcard project

See more progress on: finish projects I have been procrastinating over

Digital pinhole

I made my own pinhole camera years ago in uni with a can. I remember painting the inside black and putting some sort of aluminum-foil sliding device to let the light in. You had to load the paper in the darkroom, go out and take your photo, and come back inside to unload your exposed paper and develop it —or put it in a protected box for developing later.

Now with digital photography, I learned there are special caps that do the trick without the hassle. I’m not just yet getting one of those, but I made a couple experiments with a black cardboard over my camera body without a lens. The first pinhole was too big, and everything came excessively blurred. So I did another one with just the very tip of the pin.

The photos are not great, but it was fun to experiment just a little. I don’t want to ruin my camera with dust or something —you can actually see a very visible and focused particle in the bottom left corner of both photos. If later on I want to pursue more of this project, I’ll just get a manufactured cap for the purpose.

The top photos are with the pinhole cardboard, and the bottom ones are their equivalent with an 18-55mm lens. The equivalence is not so much in the sunset one, which was taken at 18mm, something the cardboard is obviously not capable of achieving.

See more progress on: do pinhole photography

Digital pinhole

I made my own pinhole camera years ago in uni with a can. I remember painting the inside black and putting some sort of aluminum-foil sliding device to let the light in. You had to load the paper in the darkroom, go out and take your photo, and come back inside to unload your exposed paper and develop it —or put it in a protected box for developing later.

Now with digital photography, I learned there are special caps that do the trick without the hassle. I’m not just yet getting one of those, but I made a couple experiments with a black cardboard over my camera body without a lens. The first pinhole was too big, and everything came excessively blurred. So I did another one with just the very tip of the pin.

The photos are not great, but it was fun to experiment just a little. I don’t want to ruin my camera with dust or something —you can actually see a very visible and focused particle in the bottom left corner of the pyramid photo. If later on I want to pursue more of this project, I’ll just get a manufactured cap for the purpose.

The top photos are with the pinhole cardboard, and the bottom ones are their equivalent with an 18-55mm lens. The equivalence is not so much in the sunset one, which was taken at 18mm, something the cardboard is obviously not capable of achieving.

See more progress on: do pinhole photography

Door #43

I started this goal with one of my favorite doors, but I’m ending it with one of my non-favorite ones: it gives the impression of grand and wealthynouveau riche.
Treated metal gray garage doors with mirrors, gold appliqués, and the initials of the family. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #bonus

As a bonus, and to end this goal here on 43T —I’ll still be shooting doors for a little while—, here’s the door of my house. It’s not my favorite but not the worst either. It just lacks the personality of many of the doors I’ve been shooting. The rest of the exterior is also a block without personality —my neighbors’ house can be seen reflected on it. You can also see me kneeling to get the whole reflection in the glass. Uma is patiently waiting to get inside…
Glass sliding door with worn metal frame. Cholula.

And here’s the inside view —a little more personality can be appreciated here. Uma is now waiting to get outside…

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #43

I started this goal with one of my favorite doors, but I’m ending it with one of my non-favorite ones: it gives the impression of grand and wealthynouveau riche.
Treated metal gray garage doors with mirrors, gold appliqués, and the initials of the family. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

2010.04.27

• I bought a bouquet of “inmortalis” flowers from a farmer in the nearby fields. Just $15 pesos a bunch (a bit over a US dollar). As I turned happy from my purchase, a woman who was running by stopped to ask me about them. “Are they inmortalis?” “Yes,” I answered, “Beautiful, are they not?” She nodded and told me she wanted to get some in another opportunity when she brought money. I smiled and handed her one and told her to select another one of her color of choice. She thanked me heartfeltly and asked if I regularly walked in the fields. We did a little chit-chat about her running, my walking, and the dogs. She introduced herself, and then I did so, too. She’s Vicky. She thanked me again for the flowers and gave me a hug. I hugged her back and then waved goodbye. This gave me a huge smile of how such a little interaction makes this a better world.
  Back home, I added the flowers to the sunflower another farmer gifted to me the other day :)
• And in my mailbox today, a postcard from AaroninsouthMN from Minnesota. Finding the postcard between all of my neighbors’ bills certainly lifted up my spirits :) I need to define my postcard goal to reciprocate…
• Hibiscus water. So refreshing and healthy!

See more progress on: enjoy life

Door #42

Post-art-deco white metal double doors with translucent glass in weathered white and blue house. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #41

Simulated arched brick door. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #40

White metal door in partly-demolished brick wall. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #39

Concave oxide-red metal garage door. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

2010.04.26

• Yesterday’s spectacular cloud topping the Popocatéptl volcano. It seems like the smoke coming out of it cannot pass through the cloud, and it’s flowing downwards. It’s not a huge cloud like some I’ve seen in even more spectacular photos, but I still got excited to witness this. I definitely need to plan getting a better lens; this one’s way past done.
• Waking up relatively early at 8 without the alarm after going to bed at 3am. I’m going to bed after this entry, and I do intend to keep this up for the rest of the week.
• A nice day at my aunt’s. We watched a DVD of an Osho talk, and it was truly inspiring and enlightening. Well, it was also sending me right to sleep, too —his tone of voice will do that, as well as his speaking pace—, yet it was one of the better DVDs I’ve watched of him.

See more progress on: enjoy life

Door #38

Weathered brown wooden door in green house. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #37

White metal door with brick fill on the side in a green house with yellow rim and some graffiti. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #36

Arched wooden door with a rim of bricks. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Lousy week :(

I barely passed 50% accomplishment this past week. That’s pretty much flunking. On the bright side, something happened between yesterday and today —a moment of clarity you might say—, so I’m expecting this week to be much better than last one.

See more progress on: April Bootcamp: Springtime Two-A-Days

2010.04.23

• The overflowing love of my neighbors’ dogs, Café (in the photo) and Barbas. Both normally tag along for our daily walk with Uma. I was trying to take a photo of the church above the pyramid with a flower field in the foreground, but she would keep jumping at me so I’d pet her. I just wish she’d had a manicure; my arms are already badly scratched, although she doesn’t mean any harm. They are both very good dogs :)
• My neighbor rescued a baby bird that fell off a nest in a tree in his garden. It is a two-story tall tree, so he couldn’t put it back there, but he placed it in his balcony, so the mother could have access to feed him/her, but the cats cannot climb there. Let’s hope it works, and that the little bird survives until it can fly. The mother bird was very stressed with all that happened.
• Beginning to make new plans. Yet again, I have to postpone my trip to France because my papers still aren’t ready, and they told me very lightly that it’ll take at least another month or two. You know? When it’s ready, it’ll be ready. I have depended my life on this, and it’s now been a year! I can’t believe it. Either way, I won’t be leaving during the summer, so I’ll wait until autumn. This week I shall clear my mind on what to do…

See more progress on: enjoy life

Door #35

Weathered door in country hut. Las Hamacas, Veracruz.
_{This is the kind of photo I like to make. I wish the door opening was a tad wider —and I wish I had had a longer lens—, but you can still appreciate the girl peeking through it. This really lets you see “behind the scenes” ;)}

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #34

White garage door with blue forged flowers. Cholula.
_{This one was funny to shoot because the spotted dog was coming into frame, and I thought it would make a good addition to this door. Little did I know his true intentions!!}

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #33

Modern concave metal door in blue house. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #32

Forged doors with eclipse and stars, backed with glass and edged with mosaics. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #31

Carved double doors inside the Church of San Francisco Acatepec. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #30

Wooden double doors edged with talavera mosaics. Puebla.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Happy birthday, nicolasc!

I have zero cheers today, but here’s 43 cheers in 43 different fonts for a fantastic 43rd birthday! Cheers to you, nicolasc!

See more progress on: Cheer Nicolasc 43 Times for her 43 Birthday on April 23

Happy belated birthday, dragonfly35!

Sorry I’m a day late, dragonfly, but I hope you had a wonderful day overflowing with love, peace, and happiness!

In my photo archives I have a dragonfly, but it’s buried deep down somewhere. So, to make up for it, here’s a beautiful flower field where you can lose yourself fluttering through ;)

See more progress on: Wish the Wonderful DragonFly35 a day overflowing with love, peace and happiness on her Birthday, April 22nd

2010.04.22

• A farmer gifted me with a sunflower when I passed by and asked if he was chopping off all his left sunflowers. He was preparing the field for the next crop, and he was going to collect the last sunflowers that bloomed and collect seed from the past ones. He was very kind.
• Breakfast and craft class with my very good friend M and a couple of her students. Maybe by the next class I’ll finish my project of my wooden fruit-holders for birds…
• A much-needed nap after staying up very late last night here on 43T. It won’t happen tonight because it’s interfering with my “early to bed” goal :S

See more progress on: enjoy life

Door #29

Double wooden doors in bright-yellow house. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #28

Blue and blue: double blue doors in blue house. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #27

Double wooden doors blocked by sand, with an altar to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #26

A narrow patched-up door that hardly receives any light. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #25

See-through forged white door. Cholula.

^{Close up of the view of the beautiful jacaranda tree top now blooming}

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #24

French doors with unfinished balcony (!) in green house. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #23

French doors behind bars in pink and blue house. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

¡Muchas felicidades, maromera!

Con un día de retraso, espero que hayas pasado un muy bonito cumpleaños, lleno de cosas maravillosas y sueños aparentemente imposibles que se hacen realidad.

Para ti en tu día, una flor que se da maromas en sí misma :)

See more progress on: On April 20th, wish maromera a happy birthday, full of wonderful things and seemingly impossible dreams that come true.

Happy belated birthday, Cloudberry!

Sorry I’m a bit late. I hope you had a wonderful birthday enjoying many pâtisseries ;)

See more progress on: Wish Cloudberry an out of the box happy birthday April 18

¡Feliz cumpleaños atrasado, Tarrador!

Un poco tarde, y no es viernes ni tu cumpleaños tampoco lo fue, pero de todos modos pensé en felicitarte en español ;) Espero que hayas pasado el más delicioso, delirante, tentador y estupendo cumpleaños :)

See more progress on: Wish Tarrador, the most delicious or delirious, tantalizing & terrific Birthday on 17 April!

Happy belated birthday, K~!

I hope your birthday was a relaxing, crafty,bread-baking, book-reading, and overall wonderful one :o) Sorry I’m late. I wish you a wonderful year ahead.

^{Since you’ve complimented my door project, for you, here’s a door from my recent trip to Veracruz.}

See more progress on: On April 13th, wish K~ a relaxing, crafty, bread-baking, book-reading and overall wonderful birthday!

Happy belated birthday, Anastasia Shy :o)

A little late, but I hope it was a wonderful one :)

See more progress on: Wish Anastasia Shy a wonderful birthday Tuesday April 13

Happy belated birthday, FireRainChild!!!

I hope you had a wonderful tree-hugging, dirt-worshipping, soul-searching, and light-finding day! For you, here’s some thunder lighting I found a few days ago in my town ;)

^{PS – Your birthday is extra special because you share it with my doggies :o)}

See more progress on: Wish FireRainChild a tree-hugging, dirt-worshipping, soul-searching and light-finding birthday on April 3rd

Door #22

Weathered carved wooden large double doors topped with a greco-roman detail. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #21

Weathered wooden double doors in white house. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #20

Black metal double door in a too-narrow green house with self-growing plants on top. Cholula.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Margarita

There’s a recipe in the back of the Controy bottle, but it wasn’t written correctly. I made my own roughly based on it, but it needs a little tweaking still. It came a bit too sour for my taste. And, of course, it was lacking Grand Marnier, which gives the margarita its perfect touch.

3 oz Tequila Cuervo Tradicional
1 oz Controy (orange liquor)
1 lime
1/2 orange
1 oz sugar syrup
4 ice cubes (optional: crushed)

Shake well and serve in a glass with salt on the rim.

See more progress on: try a new recipe every week

So, so, at 65% average this past week

Even though my average could improve, it’s helping me to keep a record of the activities I do. That way it’s a constant reminder of what I must accomplish in the day.

See more progress on: April Bootcamp: Springtime Two-A-Days

Door #19

Worn brown double doors in stone house. Cuetzalan.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors

Door #18

Bright-blue door in balcony. Cuetzalan.

See more progress on: photograph 43 doors