Where Have I Been?

I originally wrote a much longer version of this post, but parts of it are already outdated and it doesn’t seem worth the effort to finish what was probably a pretty boring read anyway. To make a long story short, I haven’t blogged in a while and there are some (I think) very good reasons for that!

My work responsibilities have increased over the last year, we got a puppy, the world is on fire, celebrating holidays alone is sad, and my photography standards are too high.

I don’t want to dwell on these explanations; I just want to get back to blogging! I’ll address the last two points, however, since I have some control over them.

First, sad solo holidays: I feel like my sabbats have involved little more than cooking a nice meal, eating it, and then cleaning up. I need to make time for more than this. It’s hard to muster the energy when I’m celebrating by myself but I think it will be worth it. I want to develop more holiday traditions, engage in meaningful ritual, and find religious community. I did better this Beltane and I’m hopeful that my sabbat celebrations will become more special over time if I keep putting in the work.

Second, I’ve been avoiding blogging because taking and editing pictures for blog posts feels like so much work! I set a high standard for my photography that I meet at the expense of frequent and timely blog posts. I have a hard time not being a stubborn perfectionist about this. To be a little more specific about the issue: my DSLR is over 10 years old at this point and it’s very difficult to use it to take high-quality photos indoors. I live in a 1970s-era townhouse that doesn’t have a ton of natural light, so in order to take decent DSLR photos, I basically need to use a tripod. This is particularly obnoxious when a holiday meal is on the table and I want to eat it before it gets cold. I’ve had some recent success with outdoor DSLR photos + indoor phone snaps, though; I think I might be able to live with that.

Anyway, I care about maintaining this blog and think about it a lot, so I hope to get back to more regular posting.