Mixed good things lately

It's been an exhausting few weeks, with a tragic event in our community, family members' health issues, my own midlife crisis (or perhaps simply perimenopause feeling meh), and Elsa having surgery (spaying, so nothing serious but still an extra layer of stress) as the icing on the cake.

But while it's normal to be sad and overwhelmed sometimes, in reality life is quite good and I don't have much to complain about. So let's focus on the things to be happy about and grateful for! In a world that seems to get worse and worse (or perhaps we're just more aware, or are being fed the wrong news?), at least I need to look at all those little, although not life-changing, things that give me joy.

Cat cuddles

When Ester came to us she was very scared, but grew into being ok around people, and social in her own way. Except when she was little, she always preferred my husband. She always slept on his lap and responded more to him, and there wasn't much I could do about that. Elsa has been very social and curious from the start. To begin with she DID prefer my husband - which was sort of heartbreaking because I love cuddling with cats and was quietly hoping Elsa would be THE ONE. Fortunately after a while she started coming to me, nowadays I think she considers me her main bed, and this has been the situation ALL at-home evenings the last few weeks:

As soon as I sit down in my armchair, she's there. She also enjoys sleeping on my legs at night. After we switch off the light at night, after a while I feel someone come walking on the bed, and she lands on top of or next to my legs.

Then on Thursday she had her surgery and they kept her overnight because she was so sore afterwards. You know that old saying "A house without a cat is just a house"? Oh, how true! Was the house always so empty after Ester died? I don't even remember.

Then on Friday we took Elsa home, she was fine then but we were wondering if they starved her at the hospital because she was so ridiculously hungry when she came home! It took some trial and error before we figured out how she would access the food and water while wearing the cone (we had to cut off some of the edge and use different, flatter bowls), but after being fed, she took back her usual place.

And over the weekend, her usual Elsa-style sleeping position too.

In a bit over a week she'll be ready for the great outdoors!

A photo competition surprise

A while ago we had a competition in my camera club with the theme "Still life". I had no ideas, and also knew it would be difficult to do any lighting setups or any fancier type of setups with Elsa around. But on the last day I realised I could put a fabric over my computer screen and voilà, I'd have the perfect spot. So I took out a whisky bottle, a glass, and a decoration that suits well with it because of the story of the angel's share. Later that day I experimented with some coffee beans and other accessories on the kitchen benchtop. I almost didn't join the competition because I didn't like the coffee photo, but sent them in in the last minute. On the competition night, I wish I hadn't sent anything because I felt I had just put together some random stuff. I always think everything has to be so shiny, well thought-through with spot-on lighting! I used natural light, and for the whisky pic, a small bit of extra fill light from my phone.

Somehow I won the competition.

These are my final shots (The whisky pic needed some extra editing for digital use... it was great in print but parts of it get too bright on screens. This version is ok - I think).

Spring

This is an important one. The garden is waking up from its slumber and there's some colour out there other than green, it's milder outside, and we have more daylight. Pure joy.

A Photoshop alternative for Linux?

The other day I went to download GIMP to see once again if it possibly can be at least somewhat useful for at least something. On top of the software list I found something called Fog Panther - a new app that looked a lot like Photoshop (at least on the thumbnail).

I've been using Linux for almost everything since January. I started exploring different Linux distros late last year after hearing some bad rumours about the future of Apple (more AI, enshittification, etc, plus the fact they are a big American tech giant and I don't trust them with my data anymore), and eventually settled with Zorin 18. Then in January this year we bought a new laptop I could use for this, and I'm loving everything about it. There were some bugs to begin with but they seem to be fixed with both some hardware and OS updates. Linux isn't only for geeks anymore, many distros are very user-friendly for anyone, with some pre-installed apps, an app store-like app, and it's only as complicated as you make it.

The only problem with Linux is the lack of certain apps, in my case apps for graphic design. There is a nice vector design app called Boxy SVG that works quite well for simpler illustrations (and possibly more, I haven't tested it enough), but there's nothing for layout and nothing that replaces Photoshop/Affinity photo. And no, GIMP isn't it. I get it that some people love GIMP but in my opinion it's NOT a replacement for Photoshop. If you come from environments like Adobe and Affinity, the UI is horrendous and exhausting, and it lacks important features.

This new app has lots of problems but it gives a lot of hope! It's under active development, the UI looks good, and more than anything, someone cared to make a Photoshop-like alternative for Linux. ABOUT TIME! I'll closely follow the development and may even pay for a license (no subscription but a lifetime license, some decent people here) even if I don't think it's ready, if there are frequent enough and good enough updates.

A trip to Sweden and a long summer in Ireland

This year we won't travel much, because Elsa will still be so young. But my husband is going to Sweden in May for work and a half marathon, and I've booked a trip to Sweden in June to see my family. The booking is almost more stressful than the actual trip! I managed to get something half-decent except I had to go for Ryan f***ing Air for one of the routes to get a somewhat ok price. I'd love to be home in my garden for the peace and quiet, but I really look forward to seeing my parents and my sister. And Sweden is its best in June!

After that, we'll enjoy the rest of the summer at home. We have two gigs, and I look forward to doing more in the garden. I haven't given it much TLC the last few years, it started going downhill when I had the stress fracture in 2023 and then I've had various elbow pain issues and didn't want to do much garden work. I've done some new planting, but haven't spent much time cleaning up or keeping things pretty like I used to. More than anything, I haven't been doing my garden walks like I did the first years we lived here. I used to go out every morning (if weather allowed) for a stroll in the garden to look for new flowers, insects, or just for enjoying the environment.

What are some of the little things around you that made you happy lately?