Shots From Around Town

When I first moved to Marlinton, I took my huge secondhand Canon DSLR out and walked around the town snapping photos.  Today, since it's beautiful, I have a new secondhand camera I'm trying out, and my dog is a canine perpetual motion machine, I decided to recreate that walk.  Here are the shots I got, as well as two from another walk yesterday.  They're far from professional-looking since my trial-and-error method of figuring out cameras is often more error than trial, but I'm getting there.

The camera is a Polaroid Colorpack II, which was produced from 1969-1972, so mine dates from sometime in there.  It originally came with a detachable flash, which mine lacks.  I'm using Fujifilm FP-100c film.

This is Michelle, the Pocahontas County Convention & Visitor's Bureau VISTA who is often dragged along on my pretty day treks.

Snapshots of December

I have been scolded for neglecting this blog.  And Jamie shamed me by posting a whole bunch of December-in-Marlinton photos last night.

(Random side note: before moving away, Jamie kept a blog about her home town, Los Angeles Love Affair, and it's my new favourite thing online.  Whether you've been there before or, like me, have never even been to the state, it's a great read.)

I haven't done much wandering this month, as it has been cold, and snowy, and COLD, but I do have a few to share.  They are completely unedited, just snapshots.

The lovely signs we made for the Opera House float in the Christmas Parade.

The float ahead of us in the parade.  It was from the Gesundheit Institute, and you can't see them well, but it had great, flapping wings.  Very cool.

The woman of the hour, Opera House VISTA Jamie, treated her carolers to homemade cocoa generously laced with Peppermint Schnapps.

Then it snowed!  This is from the first snow, which you can tell because the tops of my shoes are still visible.  We got a good foot of the stuff a week later.

Vista looks quite lovely in the snow.

So, we've been keeping warm.  I baked cookies for six hours the other day, but that's pretty much the most physically exerting thing I've done in weeks.  Mostly, Vista and I are staying bundled up inside, watching movies, writing short stories, and listening to music.  I've been loving "Treats" by Sleigh Bells, "Doolittle" by the Pixies, and "Oracular Spectacular" by MGMT.

To Denver And Back In 3 Days

After graduating from UVA in May, my little brother moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Because he was working at a ranch and living in a bunkhouse, he left most of his things behind, including his dog.  Now, he's ready to move those things out, but the DC-to-WY drive is a doozie.

So I'm coming along.

We'll only be going so far as Denver together.  We leave today, and hope to get there in two days, with some time so I can see the city (I've never been, but Case spent a year in school there) before I fly back to Washington and Casey heads to Jackson.  So that's MY weekend, anyway.

Sadly, this means the end of Leilani's time with our family.  She's become an integral part of the crew in Vienna, and saying goodbye won't be easy.  I'm glad to have two extra days with her, but it's comforting to know that they'll be fine on their own.  They make a good team.

All photos taken by Marley Withrow.

Ghost Woodshop

Last week, Mr. and Mrs. H and I traveled to a neighboring county to take a look at a piece of equipment.  It was being sold out of a woodshop that had shut down after the economic downturn.  I forget sometimes that I have a purpose larger than making a website and going to potlucks, but this trip reminded me, pretty forcefully.  The whole place was left exactly how it was when the employees walked out of it, months ago.

Here's Your Blog Post, Ma

My phone rang yesterday while I was watching a movie about the music of Appalachia.  It was my mother, worried because she hadn't heard from me.  Now to understand the oddness of this call, you have to understand that my mother is not the sort of parent who wants her children permanently tangled in her apron strings.  My mom is all about my independence, probably even more than I am.  When I first went away to college, I called home fairly often.  I love my mom, and wanted to hear her voice.  Her response to one such call was, "What are you calling me for?  You're in college, go to a party, get into trouble!"  That's my mom.

I still call her, but nowhere near as often as I did in those days.  I assumed this was a system that worked for both of us, so I was startled by the reason for her call, especially considering I'm driving home tonight for the weekend.  "I haven't heard anything from you!" she exclaimed.  I was still trying to puzzle out why this was unusual.  "And you haven't updated your blog!"

Ahhhhhhhh.  Well, here, Mama.  Here's the most interesting this I did this weekend:

The lovely Miss Jamie, Opera House VISTA and today's birthday girl, suggested an impromptu drive up the Scenic Highway.  So we did.

And it's forever as beautiful as I remember it.

(And if I'm been silent here and you're missing me, for some reason, chances are I've piped up one way or another on my other blog, or my tumblr.)

In Which I Continue to Grow

Another from this impromptu shoot: goofing around with my two favourite globes.


As of September 15, I will have been here for 4 months, or a third of my tenure as a VISTA.  I've been thinking lately about what I've learned--about myself, this place, and the universe in general--since May 15th.  As per usual, I made a list.

Things I Have Learned, or Weird Habits I've Picked Up in West Virginia
- Taking laundry off a clothesline after it's clean and dry is one of the most calming exercises I've found. Seriously, try it.  It's all very zen.
- I can no longer go to sleep if I have dirty dishes in the sink.  A little voice which sounds suspiciously like my mother's gets to harping on me and next thing I know I'm back in the kitchen.
- When driving up or down a mountain, if you see a sign telling you to slow to 25 miles an hour, do it.  If it's advising a speed of 10 mph, you might as well stop.
- My brain now translates the words "Thrift," "Goodwill," and "Salvation Army" to SHOPPING SPREE!  And I'm totally okay with this.
- Netflix is God's gift to rural communities.
- A trip to the swimming hole turns any blue day bright and happy.
- I may not be able to fix the broken toilet, but I can apparently diagnose it.  Just call me the Toilet Whisperer.  (Seriously, that's awful, please don't do that.)
- Sometimes a skunk will wander into your yard.  There's nothing to be done except to close the windows, crank up the fans, prepare for an unpleasantly stuffy night, and pray it doesn't take exception to anything while its out there.
- Living without air conditioning, a dryer, or contact lenses has not killed me.  Living without the internet did not kill me.  Luxuries are pretty much just that.
- I really, really love arugula, and hummus, and good Italian cheese.  I had no idea how much until I was denied access to all of it.
- Not having cell phone service is not the end of the world.  In fact, it's often kind of nice.
- I love drive-in movies just as much as I thought I would.  Vista remains undecided.
- I do not mind giant bugs.  I really, really hate cobwebs.
- A good flannel shirt is worth its weight in gold.

That's all for now.  Goodness knows how this list will grow once the snows descend upon us.  I'm already shopping for boots.  In August.  I guess that should go on the list, too.

Photogenic

It occurred to me recently that there are no photos of Vista and me together.  Granted, I've only had her about 3 months, but considering the number of photos I take on a daily basis, one would think I'd have managed to get the two of us together.  Tonight, ensconced in my room, I decided to set the timer on my camera and give it a try.  The following series is the result.

Okay, now look...look at the camera...what are you doing?

If you could just maybe sit up?  Maybe?

Alright, maybe if I look at the camera and ignore the fact that you're impersonating a corpse...

Oh, come on, now.  Please?

And that was the end of that.  To be fair, it probably would have been wiser of me to attempt this BEFORE her nightly ear cleaning, the thing she hates most in the entire universe, no matter how many treats I bribe her with.  So the self-timer experiment failed, but I'd like to think that enlisting someone else to man the camera might help...sadly, I think her reaction will mainly be confusion regardless.

I did manage to get some other photos, minus Vista, all pretty and lit by the globe, which will probably show up in a subsequent post.  Until then!

In Which I Long For Water

When I moved back in May, I was still laboring under the impression that it didn't get hot in the mountains.  HA.  It's been in the nineties everyday this week, and please don't tell me it's hotter other places.  I grew up in the shadow of DC, where, like the Eskimos and snow, we have hundreds of words just to describe "humid."  Also: do you have air conditioning where you live?  That's what I thought.

The photo was taken last spring on an equally hot day back home, when I dragged the sprinkler out of the garage and shamelessly ran through it like a maniac in my backyard.  Leilani wasn't as keen on the running through, but she was all about drinking that cool, sweet water.  A feeling I can certainly relate to now!  I unearthed this photo in order to submit it to the Amateur Photography Contest here in town, part of the 44th Annual Pioneer Days.  It's kind of a big deal out here.  Anyway, to see this photo and the others I submitted (and whether they won anything), drop into McClintic Library on Friday or Saturday!

A Preview of Posts to Come

My parents were here this weekend, and I have lots of stories to share, but I don't have all of my photos uploaded, so instead, here's a preview:

Not part of the preview.  The ice cream cake from Dairy Queen which was presented to Mrs. H (who shares my birthday) and me on Thursday.  It was delish!  And for the record, that ruler was our knife.  Cause that's how we roll at the woodshop.

More later!

In Which I Fall In Love With Polaroid. Again.

I'm sure you've noticed that I'm something of a shutterbug.  I almost always have a camera on me, sometimes two or even three.  I have a large Canon DSLR, a tiny Sony Cybershot, a 40-year-old Yashica SLR which belonged to my mom, a Diana and a Holga (both of which shoot lomographic film), and a Polaroid 600-series.  I love each camera for different reasons, but my favourite, hands-down, is the Polaroid.

I got into Polaroid photography knowing that the company had announced that it would no longer be making instamatic film and that the end was near, but I just couldn't help myself.  I love the instant aspect of it, I love watching the film as it develops in my hand, and I adore how fleeting it is.  Polaroid film isn't cheap (especially now), so if you take a crummy photo, that's a few dollars wasted.  However, if you get a good one, oh, but it feels wonderful.  It's like you've someone beat the odds, triumphed over the gods.  It is for me, anyway.  The only place currently making film for my type of camera is The Impossible Project, and I've been eager to try it out.  My mom was kind enough to send me a couple of packs for my birthday, so I got the opportunity much sooner than I thought!

I thought I'd finished with the last of my color film, but there was still some left in the camera, and as much as I was dying to check out the new film, I couldn't bring myself to waste the old.

This is my spider plant, Tooey.  Named after the plant in Little Shop of Horrors, Tooey has beat the odds and my black thumb and stayed quite alive, thank you.  He's a lovely little plant.

Vista, of course.  She actually obeyed the "stay" command and let me get far enough away to snap this.  She's learning, slowly.  Don't you love her star?

I spent Friday night in Lewisburg with Tamar.  It was so strange to be in a town with any sort of nightlife!  We'd gone to see a concert, but were unsure whether it was worth the $10 cover change, so we sat on a bench listening to it for awhile.  Across the street was the Greenbrier Valley Theatre, all lit up.  The shot came out dark, but I find it a bit enchanting.  The Greenbrier's playing The Seafarer right now, which I saw in London and adored.  If you're in the area, there are one or two dates left!

The next morning, we met Jerry and Long-Lost Cousin Lilly in town at the farmer's market, where I realized that my color film was gone and finally broke the new stuff out.  I gotta say, I'm pretty much in love with it!  It's got this gorgeous sepia tone that I can't get enough of!

This is Barley, Tamar's dog.  Vista came along with me and the two dogs had a fantastic time!  I think he looks wonderful on film.

Today, I decided to take Vista for a hike.  I drove along the Highland Scenic Highway, and then we hiked a little along the Williams River Trail.  It was pretty overgrown, so we got back in the car and drove to Tea Creek.  We didn't really find a trail there, I just sort of parked on the side of the road and we hopped in the creek.  Vista had the time of her life, hopping from boulder to boulder and splashing as much as she could in the water.  I've got photos on my Sony camera, too, but those will have to wait until Monday.

All in all, the weekend has been wonderful and so is this film!  Expect many more polaroids in the future!

Uppercase

Uppercase is a gallery in Calgary, Alberta.  I've never been there, but based on the magazine they put out, I'm pretty sure I would love it.  Earlier this month, the magazine put out a call for photos of feet.  Yes, feet.  There are a fair amount of people who enjoy taking photos of their feet in the various places they've traveled, and I am one of them.  Since I am proudest of my polaroids, I submitted a couple of those.

I found out today that one of my polaroids will be in the next issue!  I am really, really excited, y'all!  Uppercase is a periodical, but the quality is so fine that each issue might as well be a book.  The cost to get it shipped from Canada costs a pretty penny (and is the reason that, despite how much I love it, I haven't been able to work a subscription into my fledgeling budget), but if you enjoy art, literature, and whimsy, this might be the magazine for you!

My issue (shown above) won't ship until July, but it's available for pre-order now!