Check out My 'Grams!

Well, a few posts back I said that it seemed as if the blog was dead (or dying), having been replaced by other newer, hipper forms of social media--like Instagram.  But some of my loyal friends here at String of Pearls (fellow bloggers Nancy, Madeline, and Erin, among others) reminded me that it really ain't so.  Blogs still have their place, they insisted; so I've decided that as long as they do, I'm going to try to keep this one up and running.

Because a blogger's gotta blog.

But you know, I did get on board the Instagram train not too long ago.  And I have to admit that I sorta-kinda like it.

I've always been a bit of a shutterbug--but not a good one.  I've never learned how to use any of the fancy settings on my camera properly.  I usually just set it on "auto," tell whomever it is I'm trying to capture for posterity to say "cheese!", and click away.  I historically have been the least "artsy" of photographers.

But Instagram has awakened in me an interest in photography--that is, an interest in the photograph as a true art form--that I never knew I possessed.  I have suddenly become obsessed with taking still life-style photos (What?!  No people?!  No grandchildren?!), and then playing around with the different effects Instagram offers us amateur photographers to achieve results that make our pictures look as if they belong in the pages of a glossy home decorating magazine.  (Well, maybe not quite, but...)

Here are a few of my recent Instagram offerings.  (Indulge me, won't you?  Tell me they look uber-profesh.)

Some items I bought to decorate the lake house we bought
 in the Adirondack region of NY .  (VRBO, here we come!)

These are a few of, my favorite things: coffee, and an
engraved "Grammy's Coffee" spoon with which to stir it.

Transferware dishes are another favorite.  So are fake flowers
(even a brown thumb like mine can't kill these silk mums!).

On my nightstand--a very dear friend.

That last photo is special to me--not just because it involves one of my all-time favorite saints, a Doctor of the Church known as "The Little Flower"; but also because this particular book about this saint--which I just ordered for myself, and it's not even my birthday--is so very lovely to look at.  It's a thing of beauty, with the compelling artwork on its hard cover, and it is a pleasure to hold it in my hands. 

I love real books.  I'm about to head to the airport to board a flight with my husband (leg one of a two-leg trip out to OK to be there for our youngest son's graduation from his Army school), and I've decided to bring my Kindle Fire in my carry-on bag, instead of my trusty laptop.  (The key to stress-reduced airline travel, I've learned, is packing light--a skill I'm trying desperately to master.)  There are some eBooks loaded on my Kindle, and I might just break down and read one of them on the flight--even though you KNOW how much I prefer an ink-and-paper book to an eBook.   (Actually, my publisher did a blog post about this very subject recently, if you'd like to read it here.)

Okay, it's nighttime now.  We arrived safely in Atlanta, and I'm lounging on the bed in our hotel room.  I'm using my Kindle Fire to finish up this post.  It really is a handy-dandy little device, I must admit--perfect for taking on trips.  You don't even have to remove it from your luggage at security!  There's a lot to love about a Kindle, even for someone with old-school tastes like mine.

Before I sign off, here's another quick reminder about the giveaway.  Leave me a comment by Oct. 31, and you'll be entered to win a copy of Erin's Ring.  And maybe you'll put it on your nightstand...and take a picture of it...and post that picture on Instagram...or maybe not.  But I'd love to hear from you!