Happy Birthday, Mother!

2007

as a child

Happy Birthday, Mother. I wish I could be spending it with you in Tennessee!

My dear Mother. When we were growing up, she sewed all our Halloween costumes,

then my Dad would take us out treat-or-treating, and she would be at home alone passing out candy. Not much of a birthday! Even now she says she's always resented the fact that her birthday is on Halloween! She's always been an incredible role model!

There's no Mother who is more awesome and talented and beautiful in her 81 years!!!

Weekend Photo Session

My neighbors are SO GREAT and the kids so accommodating. Here's a few from my photo session with one of the girls this weekend... she's fourteen going on twenty! We had so much fun! They love having their pictures taken. They often come and knock on my door to see if I can take their picture. I usually print some for them to pass around to family and friends, and I often have popsicles in the freezer to bribe them to be good (the little ones)!

Tag 2nd generation

Ok, I've been tagged by quite a few people lately, and there are two different "tags" rolling around. Here's the second one, which is quite fun, I think:

1. I LOVE wind and severe weather. I love watching the leaves fall from the trees as the wind blows, the sounds it makes whirling through the trees. I LOVE snuggling up on my couch in my flannel blanket on cold winter days. I would love going out to play (or shovel) in the snow if I still lived in my mountains, but unfortunately that's not the case anymore. I LOVE my nose going purple from the cold but the rest of my body being warm under layers of clothes.

2. I LOVE the fact that I'm a flower child, or I was anyway. I LOVED the sixties and that I was a part of that remarkable season... cheering on returning soldiers (and wearing a bracelet with a POW's name on it to be reminded of our soldiers' sacrifices - my guy - unknown to me - spent seven years as a POW but came home!!!) but protesting the war. I actually passed out flowers at the local park when I was a teenager and said "make love, not war." It was a tumultuous, invigorating, sad, wonderful time to be a teenager.

3. I LOVE to write letters and send cards. The old fashioned way. I still do it, just because.

4. I LOVE rock and roll - loud. I love all kinds of other music too, and I'm even starting to get into country.

5. I LOVE blue cheese dressing... on everything... hamburgers, salad, in mashed potatoes (instead of the milk), on veggies broiled.

6. I have a few things I can't stand... people multi-tasking when they are communicating with you... so rude... hey, call me back when you can give me your full attention. And being late. Again, selfish and rude. Is your time more important than mine?

7. I LOVE taking time to smell the flowers... meaning, I LOVE to lay down on the grass and stare up at the sky. I LOVE to stop my car at random moments when I see something gorgeous. I LOVE spending the day with my camera photographing beautiful and interesting things. I LOVE breathing in deeply, exhaling slowly and intentionally, and taking in all of God's wonders.

There's so much more, obviously... I didn't even mention PEOPLE. But the rules said seven, and those are what I thought of first.

Ok, and now I tag Jolene, Jessica, Crystal, Rhonda, Christy, Chelle.

Tag!!!

You asked for it! This is a picture of my great-great grandfather, with his second wife. If I showed you a picture of my great-great grandmother, you might not question why he took a second wife 21 years his junior so quickly after her passing (oh, that was bad). She was a rather sour looking person in her pictures... poor thing! Maybe not in good health... I shouldn't judge!!!

Here are the rules of the tag:- Go to your Pictures folder- Go to the 6th folder- Go to the 6th picture- Publish it to a new post and tell the story of the picture.I tag: Susan and Rhonda and anyone else who wants to play!

Dorothy

Here's my little Dorothy with her Toto! We had a picture session this weekend with Kylah in her Halloween costume. I couldn't decide which image I liked best, so I uploaded all my favorites. Which one is yours? She's such a great poser!

Above are two images from this weekend's photo shoot. Thank you for your patience, Crystal, you are a gorgeous model!

What a great weekend! Crystal and I got to do lots of things we love... talking, of course, shopping at some interesting, sometimes quirky, places, having brunch together at a sidewalk cafe, enjoying a new dish for dinner (one of my old family favorites that Crystal wanted to try... and she did GREAT... it was so yummy), taking photographs, looking at pictures, discussing plans for my wedding, specifically the flowers and centerpieces which Crystal is going to do for me, and giggling like teenagers at midnight. An awesome time and weekend!

At The Lake

I was invited to join Carl, Chelle and Kylah at their Dad's vacation home on the lake, it was great fun, a gorgeous day, and so relaxing! Here's some pictures of Kylah enjoying herself and posing for Grandma:

There's also a pool, as shown above! We had a great time!

The Impressionists and The Kimball Museum

Eileen Hart's London Street; Rainy Day - 2008

Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day - 1877


Carl, Chelle, Kylah, Bryan, Joanna and I had a blast at the Kimball last Friday night. I won first place in the Van Gogh Impressionist Photography Contest, and our prize was free admission, a private tour by the curator of the Impressionist Exhibit and dinner for six. Unfortunately Robin couldn't make it; he had an appointment that ran late. But we enjoyed it, and felt privileged to have a personal tour. The photograph that won was my impression of Van Gogh's still life of grapes, pears and lemons, but shown above is the photograph that I entered in the "other" contest sponsored by the same museum, this time I won second place! The resemblance to the original painting is amazing, and was not planned. I took this black and white photograph of my sister and her husband Ken while we were in London this past May.

Affirmation

I think this is an extraordinarily important word. I befriended a guy once who was going through a divorce, and I asked him what he felt was lacking in his marriage. He thought for a moment, and said "affirmation." Wow, I didn't expect that answer. There were many other choices he could have made that I don't need to list. I've never forgotten that, it was a very valuable lesson for me. I realized then how important it is to affirm all the people in our lives that we care about. Here are the official definitions:

Affirmation:
1 a: the act of affirming
b: something affirmed
c: a positive assertion
2 a solemn declaration made under the penalties of perjury by a person who conscientiously declines taking an oath

Affirm:
1. a: validate , confirm
b: to state positively
2: to assert (as a judgment or decree) as valid or confirmed
3: to express dedication to