New beGINNIngs

In case you hadn't noticed, I spell my name (a nick for Virginia) without the normal "Y" on the end ...Ginny...like most Virginias do. My parents used to spell it that way, with the "Y" but when I was in Junior High, my Dad said to me, "You know your name should be spelled Gini because that's how it is in the middle of Virginia." I kind of liked it with the "Y" but I decided to do what my Dad wanted me to do, only I made a compromise and spelled it Ginni, with 2 "N's". I'm really glad I did it that way because people who see my name have a hard enough time trying to pronounce it with 2 "N's" in it. I'm called Gina mostly, but also Jenny, Jannie, Janey, Jeanie, Jenna, and all kinds of mis-pronunciations. My name is Ginni, rhymes with Skinny, Minnie, Thinnie, all of which I'm NOT! (LOL Sometimes I crack myself up!!) But call me Junie Moonie if you want. I really don't care and very rarely do I correct someone who says my name wrong. But I do like the fact that my name is in the middle of the word beGINNIng. I think that's so cool. Especially today. Because I'm starting a new beginning point of my life and I love that word today.

Thanks Dad for talking me into being different and not like so many other Virginias out there. Not that there's anything wrong with being a Ginny...but I like being a little shade different.

Speaking of New Beginnings

A friend of mine who is really into deer hunting and nature told me that most deer have their fawns around Memorial Day in this area. On my way to work last Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day, I saw this sight and just had to go back with my camera and try to get a shot of this mama doe with her brand new fawn. She allowed me to take some shots, as tho she was very proud of her new baby. As soon as I got back into the car and started to leave, she left too. But she stood there the entire time I was taking pix. These are the two best ones.

P.S. I was late for work.





Aren't those cool!

Enhanced Hobbies

I'm in the process of getting a new telephoto zoom lens for my big Canon. I'm planning to get into bird/wildlife photography more now that I will have more time to do it. I'm hesitant because of the cost, but it will pay for itself in the long run if I continue to do well at the local fairs with my photos.

Sis, if you read this, I'd love to know your advice on zoom lenses. Or Anne, you seem to know a lot about photography. Or anyone else who comes here who is into photography. The one I'm looking at is a Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras. That is cut and pasted from the Amazon page it's on...I'm not that smart about lenses. It's pricey but at Amazon I wouldn't pay any shipping and the price there is about $500 less than book price or from what I'd pay at our local camera shop. I've done a lot of research on the internet and this one seems to be a good bet.

Blog vs. Journal

I plan to do a lot more blogging since I'll have time. But while we were shopping today, I got a new journal so I can write about my retirement, as the days go by. I feel this will be a good way to keep track of good and bad trends in my life. I got new pens and a pad of kids stickers so I can make the journal fun, as well as informative. Many of my hobbies are rather sedate and mean a lot of sitting around. (Computer, drawing, painting, crocheting, reading, writing, blogging, movies...and ironically, journaling.) I'm afraid I'll get to a place where I won't have a reason to get going in the morning or that I'll get into a vegetative state and that wouldn't be good. I want my life to be about balance and being active, not just sitting around, even if I'm doing something productive.

If I keep track of my daily activities and even my feelings at any given moment, I can be more attuned to how I'm doing. I'll be able to keep my life balanced. I could do that to a certain extent in my blog, but I can't/won't put too much deeply personal stuff in a public blog and I can do that in a journal. So that's one of the first plans I've made for myself in my new life of retirement.