PrettyTiny Film Company Pic-A-Week **2022** (#52, Dec. 29)

[Alliecat]

"Hello everyone!
"Well, here we go again... another year of Pic A Week from PTFCo.  We do enjoy it and are glad you guys are all joining in again this year.
"We have no rosy hopes this New Year.  In fact, things are looking pretty bleak, and Mum said she used up her philosophical thoughts on facebook, so I should go ahead and write our first post of the year.  Sooo....

"We've been thinking about barnacles.  
"Yes, really.  Barnacles in the intertidal zone open up and feed when the tide is in, taking in what they need from the water that surrounds them.  When it goes out, they close up tight and wait, sealed in their shells against the drought and the heat and the cold and the wind, living off what they've taken in, waiting for the next round of the cycle.  There will always be another flood tide.
"Mum started the year with a vow to finally albumize the last of the old photos that have been sitting for years.  They're pictures of another life, in another world, when people went where they wanted, and did what they wanted, with whom they wanted, and friends could come and visit, friends that we've lost touch with, or have less touch with, now.
"Simon and Garfunkel sang, 'I have a photograph... Preserve your memories; they're all that's left you.'  It's true.  When everything else falls away, we have memories, of things done and places visited, and people loved.  They're like the sustenance the barnacles draw from the sea... something to nourish our souls through the dry and the cold.  
"We should be like barnacles... comb the sea of ex!perience around us for the best bits, the bits that nourish our souls, so that when the tide ebbs and we have to close our shells and wait it out, we will have those nourishing memories to sustain us until the next flood tide.  

"We wish you all another flood tide someday soon, dolly friends.

"Love, Sunsette    "

[Elfy]

Great to see Sunsette and Co back for another year. That’s a lot of pics for the dolls to sort.

[davidd]

Actual photographs on photo paper! Cool! I was thinking about photo prints a few days ago, and realized I have no idea where to have them made here where I’m living now.

If I recall correctly, at least some types of barnacles are believed to live for hundreds of years. They can afford to be patient, waiting for the tide to turn. They do, however, have a rough go of it between the good times and the high tides.

[Lejays17]

Lots of photos to sort thru. I look at tge photos we’ve printed of some of our longer trips & think I really need to pit them in albums.

Looking forward to seeing the crews adventures this year!

[dargosmydaddy]

Sunsette and co. are industrious no matter the challenge!

Loving the barnacle metaphors.

[Alliecat]

I don't know where one would get film done now either.  A few mail-in labs are operating, or were, last I heard... but it would cost too much as they'd have to go parcel rate (canisters are too fat for Canada lettermail).  There are home-developing kits too, but not something I've looked into.

Well, I'm only 20 minutes late for the week... thanks to nonsense computer issues.  3 calls to Bell Aliant over several days, utterly useless not-in-Canada call centre that told me "we'll get our advanced tech people to look at it; they'll call you" (x2) and "it's not our problem, our server is fine, but you can subscribe to our tech service for another $6 a month and they could help you" (x1).  So I posted a screenshot on the community FB page and a young lady who works on computers messaged me a 5-minute solution.  Bell USED to have actual "tech support".  So that was my evening, and why this pic is late.
Meanwhile, during winter storm #2 with a ton of wind that banged the house all night, Sunsette & Scarlett kept cozy with their holiday gift, a new fireplace.

[davidd]

Computer and Internet issues are a pain. Nobody wants to take responsibility for outages, but everybody is eager to sell "service plans" - plans which are pointless if they're not going to take responsibility for the problems.

At least Sunsette and Scarlett have a fireplace so they can stay warm and cozy during the storms and power outages! You should follow their lead! Start collecting rocks to build a chimney!

This is an adorably cozy scene. it looks like you set this up on the floor. The paneling on the walls looks very nice, with rich wood tones. If you're crawling around on the floor, your injured foot must be largely back to normal, which is a good thing.

[Elfy]

That is too adorable for words. Their little fireplace is fantastic, and I know that’s been on Sunsette’s wish list for many years.

[dargosmydaddy]

That is adorable! The whole scene is so cozy!

[Lejays17]

So cute & cozy (meanwhile, I'm melting here as its awfully humid & that & I dont get on at all. I bought a little desk fan this week for my side of the couch as Elfy doesn't have the same reaction as i do).

[Alliecat]

Thanks, all.  I suppose I will have to try to fit the fireplace into the Christmas party table next year too!  It's pretty full now!

You should follow their lead! Start collecting rocks to build a chimney!
If you're crawling around on the floor, your injured foot must be largely back to normal, which is a good thing.

If I have to start collecting rocks, it might be more as ammo....
Crawling on the floor was never a problem; getting shoes on was.  My toenail has almost-half detached but is good at the base so it looks like it will stay on unless I do something dumb.  Will be taping it down with a bandaid for a few months yet, "just in case"... but, I'm delighted to be able to run again, (even if not in the shoes I'd like to get on, to run in) and did 4km on a long beach on a -4C day last week, which was a big achievement.

--------------------------------

Dragging in at the end of the week, 3 weeks in a row, not a very auspicious start to a pic-a-week.  The January freeze is here so it's been rather uninspiringly cold for photos.  But I took Aislinn along today for a walk on a shorter beach.  I should have gone earlier, for better light.  Will make that my destination on my next mental-health day.  (i.e. not touching the internet for a day!!)

[davidd]

Oh my! The dolly is gorgeous. The ice is especially gorgeous! This scene looks like something out of a fantasy movie! So cool!

You run? Like... slow jog run, or pretty decent pace run? Four klicks?

What kind of shoes do you wear - normally, when you're not deformed?

Do you bundle up to run when the temp is below freezing?

Your walks and runs take you through magical scenery like this?

Truly, I wanna move there.

Except... not. Because of the gov't stuff (which is only marginally better here). Might be time to move to England, of all places, where it sounds like they're doing away with all the vax and mask requirements.

[Elfy]

That's an absolute ice palace. There's an idea for a story right there in that pic.

[Lejays17]

This looks too cool, in both senses of the word. Aisling looks very elegant in the shot.

[Alliecat]

That's an absolute ice palace. There's an idea for a story right there in that pic.

Such as...?  

This looks too cool, in both senses of the word.  Aisling looks very elegant in the shot.

Aislinn & her sisters always look lovely -- wish it was easier to find inex$pensive J-Dolls these days.

You run? Like... slow jog run, or pretty decent pace run? Four klicks?
What kind of shoes do you wear - normally, when you're not deformed?
Do you bundle up to run when the temp is below freezing?
Your walks and runs take you through magical scenery like this?
..

Truly, I wanna move there.

Slow jog, mostly.  I say I'll try interval training when I get ambitious but I haven't more than a couple of times.
Just regular running shoes.  They're a bit narrower so I'm running in the old hiking shoes that have worked since the Toenail Incident.
Yes... too bleepin' many layers, but not so much to run.  A layer of Helly-Hansen "PolyPro"  
Well, sometimes...  other times it's just the boring road to the mailbox with too many cars passing too close.
...
Dude.  No, you don't.  It's unravelling.  Although NB is supposedly ending the 2-week lockdown tomorrow night (two whole days early, wow wow...).  We'll see what the next inventive policies are.

———————

This week there is something happening in Canada, and the world is watching.  I rarely use my hobby to make any kind of "statement" about things, but this was a rare exception.