Being Thankful

I’ve been away from my blog for awhile.  Blogging takes creative energy, focus, and steady commitment, and I’ve been lacking all three.  In my last post, I was so excited to announce what I thought would be the appearance of my first book of photographs, in the form of an eBook.  Then my computer died, and so did the momentum.  At the same time, my recovery from shoulder replacement surgery last July took a turn, the result of getting decked by a bulldog at the local dog park (how ironic!).  The metal implant fractured my upper arm bone and yanked my still-healing shoulder muscles, and I’ve been in pain ever since.  It’s been a real bummer.

I finally have my new computer.  And this Saturday I will have a second operation to get my shoulder back on track.  My rehab starts over from the beginning, so 6 weeks in a sling, 6 weeks out of sling but no lifting anything heavier than a coffee cup, then physical therapy starting with a one pound weight.  I won’t be at the AKC/Eukanuba show, and if I’m at Westminster it will be without a camera.  Bummer, bummer.

But I will be back to blogging, because it’s one of the few things I can do with both hands that doesn’t entail lifting anything.  Once I’m past the week or so of post-surgery pain, I’ll be able to type.  So I’ll be focused like a laser on doing this book, and it will be a real, printed-on-paper book, with a version also available as an eBook that anybody can afford.  ($0.99! No shipping!).  I’ll also get back to my Shoot The Dog posts for those interested in the “how-to” behind getting great photographs of dogs.

I won’t be taking any photographs for a few months, and since that’s how I make my living, I’m going to have to come up with some new, creative ways to make a living from the thousands of photographs I’ve already taken.  Necessity is the mother of invention, and in addition to a book or two I have a few other ideas that I’ll explore.  And I welcome your ideas, too – ordinary, wacky, outlandish, whatever.  I’m all ears.

Today, I am so grateful for my wonderful friends, who have enriched my life in so many ways.  I wish all of you the happiest Thanksgiving holiday and a wonderful feast with your friends and family.