kelseybacon.com

Yesterday my grandmother called to tell me that she was making photocopies and then mailing off the paperwork we needed to get the family moved over to America.  I expect it in about a week to ten days.  We are also waiting for something from the Embassy, then we are good to go for the paperwork we need to send to tell them we need an appointment for a VISA interview.  Then we spend that month or so gathering up all our paperwork, and we are done and ready.  Depending on when we get the papers back from the embassy, we could be approved in as little as two months, and of course much longer. 

Date night with Missus tonight.  Something is on her mind, and I don’t know what.  But whatever it is, it has got her down in the dumps.  I wonder if this is all getting too close and too real for her.  But then, it may be nothing related at all.  Or it could be looking into an insecure future and not knowing what is next, is will happen in the near future.  I don’t know.  The big thing will be to make tonight a time when she is relaxed and feels easy and open to talk. 

KB

Today Katrina and I went down to the Post Office with a load of papers in hand and a pile of money to send off to London to the American Embassy.  The paperwork was for the boys’ VISA applications, and the money for them was the last big and unbearable hurdle before we have to ship our stuff and pay our airfare.  As we stand now, if we can go before 15 July, we will be able to get on the plane without paying an extra fare for the baby.  However, after we will have to come up with something like £700 more.  Maybe less, if we can get lucky on the fares. 

So, as of now, we need to get confirmation from the Embassy on what we have sent in today, then there is the bio info for them, and the letter stating we are ready for the interview.  We also have a pile of things to produce our end in the mean time, and then we go in and do the interview and we get Kiry’s birth registered, and her passport and SSN, and we are set.  If we get through the interview, then we are at last good to go..!! 

Today’s packet was a huge thing to get out of the way for us..!!  HUGE..!!

Kelsey

Worcester, England.

Today is like so many other days here in the UK.  It is overcast and the sky is pretty much white.  There are no bits of direct sunlight causing things to glow with golden hues and red tones.  Both the boys are sickly today, with bad bellies.  I need to get to a chemist to see what can be done about this.  Kiry will need a feed and freshening before departing, and Dylan will have to come with, though I am told to leave Jordan behind as he is old enough now.  So, there is a silver lining..!!  :-)  I am sure he will be thrilled not to have to walk..!!

The sounds of any cars can still be individualized, if there are any at all.  Also, the birds chirping and the sound be a breeze blowing a pop can down the street could as easily be in America as in Britain.  They sound exactly the same.  It is rare to find anything that really is the same. 

I am of two minds.  When I was in middle school I took some Stanford test to tell me if I was right or left brained.  I took a Facebook quiz a few days ago that tested the for the same, and both had the same results.  I am nearly dead centre minded thinker, which, according to the test, means I think creatively and analytically.  The example of Middle Brain Thinkers the Facebook quiz cited was Leonardo Da Vinci.  I am sure he had a much higher IQ though, even though I score pretty well there too.  So, when I say I am of two minds, I mean I think with two types of approach to things.  This creates a situation of paralysis by analysis for me because when I look at a problem, I see the solution from both approaches.  This means that while I can see a practical and creative solution, I also see all the pitfalls of it, and then destroy it be over analysing it.  This is a problem in and of itself that I need to solve, without tearing the solution to pieces. 

Intellectually, I know I am a snob.  I tested on another quiz that told me one of my greatest fears was stupid people taking over the world.  Funnily enough, I had already written that almost verbatim on my Facebook profile about 6 or 8 months before I took that quiz. 

Despite that, I do believe that there needs to be a space for everybody in the world.  This does of course include a space for me, which I don’t feel I am in.  Success does not always come to those who actually are capable, but also to those in the right situation and who are invited in by those who hold the keys.  I need to work my own lock and get it opened though. 

Of course, there is that two mindedness I spoke of at the beginning.  You would think that finding a solution to my marketing issues would be easy for someone who wants to work in art as I want to.  Photography is the greatest thing I can personally spend my time doing.  However, despite its rewards, I am also in need of money.  Money does not always come to a photographer unless he sells his work.  That is where the marketing issue comes to bear. 

One of the solutions obviously is to see how the successful pros do it.  But I know that by looking at a webpage, I won’t see the back of the plan, and what is being done in addition to the webpage.  That is where I need links and contacts who can help out.  Maybe it is time to mine Linked-In?  I need good tips from people who have made it, and tips that may be available to someone on my current income. 

Then again, if there is by chance anyone out there in the whole world who actually DOES read this little blog of mine, feel free to drop in a suggestion in the comments section!  Meanwhile, I will get my hat and boots, and my pick-axe, and my shovel and go a mining! 

Kelsey J Bacon

Worcester, England

(Curves and Levels adjustments done in GIMP, a free alternative to Photoshop.)

What could be lovelier than the lamps at Great Malvern in the snow?  It is as though I have just gone into Narnia. 

Last night my mother-in-law rang up and said to have Dylan ready to go by 9PM, and that she’d be by to pick him up.  “Cool,” I thought.  Then it was pointed out to me that I had only Kirynie till Friday afternoon.  At 19 months old, she is easier to do things with than either of the two young teens who make their demands known, and who fight with each other incessantly.  So, I, in passing, thought of what I could do today, including Abergavanny, Wales, and Hereford Cathedral.  The freedom is of course in the ability to decide for myself whatever I want to do!  Kiry is not old enough to vote me down!  I am putting last minute charges on the camera and gear, checking the weather, and packing the stuff I will need to make this a successful day out with the camera, including the GPS units, and even lens filters.  My wife has described me as giddy…  Well, yeah!  And as the sun starts to light the morning sky, I look forward to the bright day ahead! 

Today’s weather is forecast as “a real mixed bag” with fog, sleet, snow, and more…  Sounds perfect!  Dress warm, fill the water bottle(s) and cover up the push chair with a rain cover, and away I go..!!  After a healthy breakfast, of course…  Oh, and getting Kirynie ready!  The only thing I am unsure of is if I have to transfer at Hereford Station, how do i get the pushchair off the outer platform?  There is a hellish bridge, and I don’t know where a lift is there.  But that is not to dissuade me!  Shall I bring the headphones and mic too?  Podcasting?  Maybe…

I am at Colwall now.  We have just come out of the tunnel after Malvern.  Readers think, “so what!”  But I have to note this sort of thing because I want to remember it for years and years to come.  It is foggy out, ant the view quite obscured, but this is not something I will experience in Nevada, or some place like that, so I am enjoying it to its fullest! 

Hard to believe that Abergavanny, Wales is only about 40 miles as the crow flies from our house.  Little Britain!  Yet it is an hour and a half by train! 

Abergavanny

Well, Kiry and I have walked all through Abergavanny’s High Street, and past the Market, which is closed today, possibly because it is snowing.  I had to buy a hat to cover my head and keep the now off my face and glasses.  It is not a perfect day for the camera, especially with he GPS unit fixed on top, so I may take that off as it is not water proofed. 

We are sat now in a place that sells chicken and burgers and fries (chips).  I am positive it is the same place as Katrina and the boys and I sat in the last time we came out to this lovely little Market Town four or five years ago.  The all tile interior is partly a give away.  Apart from the ceiling, the whole place is food fight proof!  Will we go out to the castle ruins?  The weather is not great, nor is the idea of walking in the mud. 

Kiry has dropped TWO…  Not one, but TWO BBQ sauce bottles on the floor..!! 

The staff here are speaking Welsh.  Thankfully they are not looking our way, or I think I can guess what they’d be saying! 

I almost dread putting on the warm clothes and going back out in it.  Kiry is so good natured, and keeps tapping my arm to point to things.  I wonder what she’d say?  I assume that it would be friendly, and nice.  By the time she is old enough to tell me, I may find out it is not.  But for now, it is fun to pretend that she is speaking nicely about nice things.  More people pass by, and finally, an older couple enters and takes a seat.  Time to get my warms on and get ready to get out in it.   Kiry is now wiping BBQ sauce on my sleeve.

Took a While to Get Home

Getting home turned out to not be so easy, so I have waited till I did, and defrosted, in order to write the rest of this post!  For any unaware, I have psoriassis on my feet, and as a consequence, I have to wear sandals all the time, or they really act up.  When I said all the time, I meant it..!!  So today has been extra fun.  I am not complaining!  It really has not bothered me in the least, but I wanted to document the fact so you have a full picture of the day. 

When I finished the ride back to Worcester, there were no taxis at the rank, there were no bus 33, and there were no taxis after I waited an hour for the non-existent bus.  So I ended up walking home from town to our house, exactly a mile and a half as it turns out, and may I add, up hill almost every inch of the way, and quite steep for the last half mile.  That was fun in the snow..!! 

As it turned out, I was sat out he train from Hereford next to a photography instructor from Israel.  She encouraged me to go professional.  Did I dare tell her that I have been trying for a long time now, but it is hard to get off the ground?  Maybe it is a case of those who can’t do, teach.  Was that what she was doing?  Is that what I should do?  Either way, I never want to put my camera down.  I will take holidays, because I know that is necessary for sanity.  But I do want to do it till I die, and NOT SOON..!!! 

I plan to put some of the photos I made today on my photo blog.  No intent on selling any.  So look there for them! 

Kelsey Bacon

Worcester, Hereford, England and Abergavanny, Wales.

This morning I find myself unexpectedly free from the usual constraints of life, so I am packing up the camera, the one child I have with me, and the travel kit, and I am going to go find me a train to Abergavanny, Wales.  You get to come with!

On the train the stop in Great Malvern was touristy as I took a couple of tourist photos of Kiry, to document her being here, and out the window, with reflections on the glass and all.  We have picked up food for the day at Tesco Express next to the Station in Worcester, and while I write this, we are passing through the tunnel after Malvern.  We do have to make a change at Hereford, so the option to stop and stay is open, though I have no particular reason to on such a foggy day.  It is a bummer there is no free Wi-Fi on this train.  I’d bet more people would ride it if they could finish their work before they got home.  Welcome to Colwall!

Kirynie and I have walked the length of Abergavanny now, past the Market, which is closed today, and the whole of the High Street.  It is snowing and I had to buy a new hat to cover my head in a cheap shop.  £15 to keep the wet snow off my face.  Then it was down a little further to a shop to fill our bellies for another £4.50.  Kiry and I shared a chicken and chips meal.  The snow is still coming down, and I am told by the man in the cheap shop it is to be like this tomorrow too.  Of course,tomorrow we shall be tucked safely into our warm little living room on the Gorse Hill. 

By the way, it has got to be said that I ordered our food, and the man behind the counter must have been waiting with the plate in hand for as fast as the waitress brought it out to us!  This is amazing!  I am not even sure the word waitress is in my British English spell checker…  ;-)  Only a couple of people have walked in to order chips since I have been here.  Perfect for a chance to sit and write a not down.  Too bad there’s no Wi-Fi. 

After walking out to the Castle, Kiry got a bit fussy, so I walked us back to the train station and caught a ride back to Hereford.  I thought about going down to Hereford Cathedral, but it was snowing too hard by then, and gave no sign of letting up.  Kiry wanted out of her push chair too, so I let her out a bit at the station Cafe, but that was not enough, so after a bit more than an hour hanging out there, we caught the train back to Worcester. 

On the train back, the lady across the aisle asked me about the photos I was shooting out the window, and after I told her, she said that she was a photography instructor at Hereford University.  So we had a great chat. 

I tired to catch a taxi outside Worcester Forgate Street Station, but there were none, so I waited an hour at the bus station with a massive queue of people before deciding it was fruitless, and walking home.  On the walk home I only saw one of the busses on the route I needed, and it never passed me to get there, so I must have caught it up.  It was having a hell of a time getting up the hill on Tolladine Road! 

In the end, I got home with Kiry safe and warm(ish) a little after six in the evening. 

I do plan on putting some of the photos I took today up on the photo blog, so check there! 

I woke up this morning and looked out the bedroom window to find the most stunning morning!  It is bright and sunny, but with banks of fog rolling around the city and valley.  To the left, on Ronkswood Hill where the trees are in silhouette, the fog covers half the hill, and leaves the other half exposed in such contrast to the light grey bank.  Further down in the city centre St. Andrew’s Spire occasionally peaks out from behind another grey blanket, it’s point with golden weathervane the last thing to vanish, and again the first to show.  of course, this is all shifting around and the light along with it, leaving my house in shadow sometimes, and at other times in the bright morning sun. 

Now that I am up and getting ready for the day in earnest, I will look forward to enjoying some of this fascinating weather as soon as I can get out with Dylan and Kirynie to go up to the store to get some things.  Maybe it is time to haul out my camera…!!  This winter has been too long!