Tap-tap...

...is this thing still on? I do hope my friends here have not given up on me. Every few days I scour Feedly to see what you've been up to and finally decided I missed everyone too much to stay gone any longer! If I haven't already stopped by your blog, I plan to make full rounds soon.

Sometimes when life throws you curve ball after curve ball...well, in my case, let's just say I felt overwhelmed. Enormously overwhelmed. I was hypersensitive to every little slight (real or imagined); stopped calling people I love and avoided their calls; sat on the couch for hours on end, unable to move. And the panic attacks continued to plague me. Poor Double D; the man is a saint.

Last year's events finally caught up to me, I guess. Within the first quarter of 2012, I had moved in with my mother, buried her shortly thereafter, sold our house in Texas, moved to Louisiana, dealt with a troubled adult son in L.A., and for the first time in 28 years I did not have a job. As you know, if one is exposed to even one huge life change (like a death) it can cause severe adverse effects on the mind as well as the body. My own personal train wreck of 2012 (AKA: The Year of Pain) wreaked havoc on this ol' gal nine ways to Sunday! But I'm praying a lot, seeing a grief counselor, and taking anti-anxiety medication. Boy, do I feel a lot better! My therapist said to think of an electrical panel; if circuits become overloaded, the whole thing shuts down. That was me, lights out; however, now I feel like joining the living again. I'm back on Facebook, though I don't plan to post much and will not put the FB app on my phone or ipad, and I'm back on my blog!

Anywaaaayyyy, part of my therapy (suggested by my counselor though I was already doing it) is still photography. Below is a new butterfly discovered with my new 100mm Canon macro lens. If anyone is thinking of getting a dedicated macro lens, I'd highly recommend it.

Red-banded Hairstreak

This little guy was so small that I could not see his markings until I focused with the lens.
I'd say he was less than an inch in diameter. I know it looks like he's resting on a big orange fruit,
but it's actually some kind of purple flowering plant with tiny orange pods the size of a pearl.

I have other macro shots better than these, but I had to share because this is a new, beautifully marked spotting. 

In other news, one of my photos may be picked up by a national chain as a canvas print, but I won't know for sure until the end of the month. They ordered a sample a couple of weeks ago. Wish me luck! It would be a 7% royalty on 2,000-4,000 pieces. Other good news to follow in another post. Don't want to bombard y'all on the first day back!