photo confusion

I am trying mightily to figure out how to post pictures. I think I've got it.

Yesterday was beautiful. The surprising heat and humidity enhancing a glorious trip down the river. The last time I did this, I was so traumatized by the deerflies eating me I haven't been back for at least a decade. The bugs are probably moments from emerging - with this heat and rain they will be huge. Elise and her future college roommate floated downriver from a point above us and we took the canoe into the "brickyard". Sarah caught a load of bluegills and I caught the tree branch twice. Sarah was happy I was along and provided commentary on how I was to conduct myself. Our takeoff was a bit shaky. Sarah and I were carrying a load of stuff down to the water and were freaked out by a frightening little growl emitted from a stack of clay pipe. Outdoorsy is not an adjective used to describe me. We looked at each other and ran back up the hill screaming for Gordon. Apparently, the enormous racoon in residence didn't care for our trek past his house. Sarah was quite sure I had never done this before. I reminded her I had known her father for a looooong time. The walk back upriver was hard. My thighs screaming more than my feet as we pushed upstream. I may even do this trip again. Maybe.

Can't find the camera cord.....

I am so out of my element here. I am a computer idiot. I do love my mac laptop, but there is so much about computers that I find befuddling. I used to have a cord to connect the camera to the computer. It seems to have disappeared. Would love to learn how to add pictures. some day.

beginnings

This is my maiden voyage. I have no map, just apprehension and curiosity at this point. I was really trying to respond to a post I found fascinating and it led me to setting up my own site. Yesterday was my birthday. I'm quite proud of myself as I recently finished taking 2 classes at the University to renew my teaching license. I've never taught. Worked for years in political landscapes and non-profits while raising 4 daughters. My brain is currently captivated by the idea of writing. I landed back at school by way of recognition that I want to explore this new idea for myself. Not teaching - wanting to write. I guess this is as good a place as any to try it. I have wondered if one has to be read to be a writer? I don't think so. It is hard not to be fearful. I hope some day to be able to identify my own dangling modifiers and sentence fragments, but for now, I don't think they matter much.

How does one start this? Knitting is the connection... but how did I get here? My life is changing fast. Four girls ranging in age from 21 to 8. The difference between letting go and hanging on. The oldest, headstrong and graceful, is poised to leave at the end of summer for a year of study in Spain. She and her boyfriend look like matching candlesticks, tall and lanky, as they walk down my driveway. She's ready - am I? My second, returning from her first year of college, leaves clothing and dirty dishes in her wake. She's straddling her new and old senses of self, changing too quickly for both of us to keep up with. I love having her home again. I recognize how quickly her experiences are leading her away. This is how it is supposed to be. I am relieved, proud, scared, hopeful and confused about my daughters' emergence. My third daughter, eternally described as "a delight", loves her cello and the ending of middle school. Her summer will be a flurry of activity midst a travelling pack of teenaged girls... My youngest is 8. I know how to do 8. Scraped knees and tattered friendships easily comforted by a hug or a kiss. I am a very fortunate woman. 21 years and counting at the summer swimming pool.