Birthday Fun 2022
Low-Key Celebration
As you might know, someone around here celebrated a birthday earlier this week. Hint: It was me.
We did not have any big celebrations. After all, it was a regular workday. And 51 is not exactly a milestone year. But that does not mean it was not a good day.
As is our custom, I went into the kitchen to get our breakfast stuff ready. And then when we went back in the bathroom to brush our teeth after eating, this was on the mirror:
Laura the Birthday Elf had written that while I was not suspecting anything. Pretty cool!
I liked it so much, I thought we should commemorate it with a birthday mirror selfie, just like all the cool kids do!
That was a good way to start the day! Following that, I received a ton of birthday wishes through phone calls, text messages, Facebook posts, and Instagram messages. And no, I did not weigh them to see if it was a literal ton, because how can you weigh electronic messages and phone calls? But the weight of the emotions they brought was definitely well over a ton. It is always heartwarming and humbling to hear from so many people from all throughout your life. Almost like your own personal episode of “This Is Your Life”. You younger kids can Google that one. Or if you were in the Sesame Street crowd in the 1970s like me, it would be “Here Is Your Life”. I still always love the announcer’s line, “Here is your ‘Here Is Your Life’ host, Guy Smiley!”
Once Laura got home, we went for a walk to enjoy the last rays of sunlight on an unusually warm day. Quite the change from my previous birthday when there was snow on the ground, but I was not complaining about the warmer temperatures at all. Never complain about warm weather in February, even though it means that there will most likely be thunderstorms right before it gets cold again. Because it will get cold again. It is still February, after all.
After our walk, we ate some of the large birthday chocolate chip cookie that she brought me, which is always a delicious treat. I should have taken a photo of it before we cut it, but I was ready to get on to eating it. We watched some Olympics, and then we ended the day with a Facetime chat with Jaylin, live from Kansas.
And all of that, in my opinion, made for a good birthday!
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. - Romans 12:9
About the Photos
For the first photo, I was not sure if I could get all of Laura’s writing in the frame with the 50mm prime lens, but I wanted to use that one with its wide aperture to get the depth of field look that I wanted. As it turns out, it all fit perfectly. The photo might seem a little blurry due to the fact that you can see the reflection of the words right behind the actual words, but it is in fact in focus.
And the second photo is just an iPhone selfie, enhanced very slightly in Luminar AI on my desktop.
And after two birthday-related posts in a row, the next one will most likely be something different. In case you get tired of birthday stuff.
Photos: Each photo is a single exposure, processed in Luminar AI. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II and iPhone XR
Lens: Sony FE 50mm f/1.8
Date: February 15, 2022
Location: Home, Williston, Tennessee
