A way to journal?

I woke up with leg cramps - the kind where you go ah--ah--Ah--Ah--AH until you can work your way out of bed into a standing position.  I thought my watch indicated it was 2AM as I snuggled back under the covers.  While I lay there listening to my talking head I thought that this might be a way to journal if it was merely rambling - not too personal.  By using the computer I can change what I write by merely using the delete button!  So much easier - erasers on pencils are worthless!

I kept a journal at one time but destroyed it so it would never be seen by anyone else - much too personal in a time period where I had difficulty verbalizing.  Dalton Roberts is a great advocate of journaling. I enjoy his columns.

I joined several other artists one day last week for a shot at plein aire painting at Chicamauga Dam.  This has never been my cup of tea because the light changes so rapidly and I do not work fast at all! Besides, people and animals are my forte, perspective my shortcoming.   We split up - to find our own inspiration.  I challenged  myself to do the railroad bridge with the little white house on top of one of the towers where the drawbridge tender would hold forth.  My daughter later reminded me that the structure that had been on the other tower had disappeared in the freak tornado that hit the dam previous to the April one that devastated this whole area.

I had taken soft pastels to work with, sun glasses, for twas a bright and sunny winter day - not  too cold as long as one had on many layers - and one of Finch's treasured ball caps from the Nimitz Susan had given him.  I found it difficult to see detail across the river since I didn't have my prescription glasses with me and I had picked kind of a scrunched up view of the bridge to boot and had to create my own shade on the easel.  I intended to return the next day and work on the painting some more but the wind was gusting way too hard so I took some photos which have helped me to see the detail I couldn't fathom the previous day.

This is the result of my first attempt at plein aire painting.