BlueHouseRedDog

A new blog from a friend

2010-07-12T21:01:00.003-04:00

My girlfriend at work and her cousin (I think) have a blog they created and I'm so envious of them. They post pictures once a week, one from the States, my friend, Ines and one from France, her cousin, and put them together to form a blog post. I am overwhelmed and fascinated by their blog. The difference in images and culture and light and depth, things so similar and so foreign, I can't wait each week to see what they've seen... and there are no words. My blog is all about words and I add pictures to keep people's attention, and here, two women, and all they put up are pictures, images of life in on two different continents, just their everyday. I wonder if I only put up pictures if they would tell a story like this blog does... I feel like a very lazy artist right now, and it's inspiring to see a blog so different than mine and so lovely and creative, and about a woman I know from work, but that I clearly don't know as a person... and I like that person, a lot! What a great gift, my friend! Thank you so much for sharing.

If you have a moment, take a look, I hope that you are as captivated as I am by their creation, doesn't it make you want to write a short story for every week they post?

http://epidemixe.blogspot.com/

Cheers friend!

The Kaiser toddles on...

2010-07-12T15:38:00.008-04:00

While I was in Harpers Ferry this weekend, I stopped in to visit with Corey and Konrad. I've missed my friends terribly,~ Shawna, Attila, Ruby and the farm, ~the Fair brothers, ~Corey, Brendan and Konrad, ~Donnie, ~Dean and Steve, ~Carrie, Chad and the girls. Chris and I made some really super friends while I lived there and I'm sorry that I don't live close enough to just drop in when the spirit moves me (which is the best way to receive or be company, in my opinion). SO, last week, I called Corey and set up a visit and was so glad that I did.
OK, so, here's the Kaiser in all of his long legged glory! He'll be 2 years old in mid August, and I'm just stunned by how he no linger looks like a baby... I went away for only a few months and he's now a child...
a child that loves to give you things... hahaha, here he is offering me a very carefully harvested piece of Norman the dog fluff... he's quite thoughtful and serious about his gift giving.
He could have done this all day with Corey... secrets and Mom's breath on your ear is a lovely way to spend the afternoon
well either secrets or buttmunching... the Kaiser was howling! I was howling on the inside, and the three of us were just having a great time on a lazy Sunday afternoon in our (well used to be mine) sleepy little town. Chris was looking through these pictures on the camera and he got to this one and I thought he'd laugh, but he thought it was odd... ugh, men, buttmunching is love. It's something you do with your child, in the company of friends, on a day that just feels good to be healthy, happy and safe. This picture says 'we are living well'. I love it!
This is one of his new things, checking out the floor. He reminds me of a Hugh Prather poem that went something like...
'There were seventy-five people in the lobby and only a seven-year-old girl was finding out what it felt like to sit on the marble floor'. That was from I touch the Earth, the Earth touches me. My friend Craig gave that book of poetry to me for my 17th birthday and I still have it and I still read through it every once and a while. Floors are a very underrated part of everyday living, there's so much joy and creativity you can gather from just checking out the floor once in a while.
So, unfortunately I timed my visit incorrectly and the Kaiser was on a steep decent to a mid day nap.
I love these sleepy moments of watching his wheels turn. I love that his face is on the cool, slightly uneven wood, and his fingers are slowly touching Norman's slick nails, and when his fingers slide off the nails he runs them over soft fur and all the while his eyes are half shut, close to dreaming. Watching children fascinates me...
oh man he was tired... but look at all of his teeth!! Oh he's got a mouthful! hahaha, it was so cool to see him so grown. He was a totally new little boy, with the same sweet face, but a brand new long and lean little body. I put my hands around his torso to feel the difference and he felt like a child, no more baby fat, no pudgy little tummy or sausage legs, he was so tall and coordinated. (and tired!!)
and a couple minuted later, he was out like trout...
oh I love this image... those sleeping feet, the pretty door, and we all go inside, the end...
well almost the end, while Konrad took a snooze, Corey and I caught up and toured their garden.
One of the things i miss most about the country is how I took the farm and our gardens for granted. I missed being able to grow anything this year because I was in transition and I look out at my one scraggly tomato plant that's barren of fruit and I think, next year... but in the meantime, I'm going to start an herb garden for the fall. YAY! Corey loaded me up with fresh summer squash and zucchini, pickling cucumbers, red onions and 2 basil plants. THANK YOU FRIEND!!
and thank you for the blissful visit, it was such a wonderful part of my weekend. See you soon!
Cheers!

We had some fat floating fun this weekend...

2010-07-12T14:27:00.008-04:00

We went back up to Harpers Ferry this weekend to take the dogs to the vet and to the riverses. The vet appts. went well. June is fit as a fiddle, Cane got ear medicine for his ear infection and Hank has a pretty severe heart murmur so he's apparently going to blissfully peace out one afternoon while napping on the couch instead of some other more painful death... things could be worse for a 14 year old dog, right? Other than the murmur, he's a fit and happy 14 year old.
Amber is still honeymooning so Babe came with us for another vacation in HF, and we brought her life jacket so she could do some swimming.
Once the vet appts. were through, we gathered up the troops and headed down to the river. Babe was hilarious. She's so slow on land, that I will often pick her up (much to Amber's ire) and carry her places just because I don't have an hour to move from the car to the house, or from point A to point B... seriously, it will take her an hour to walk a block and a half... the jackass... some of it is because she's overweight and has arthritis, but some of it is because she's just stubborn and rolls on her time, not anyone else's... well, in the water, with her life jacket on, she is a little, white, bouyant submarine... she is so fast, I think she startled Cane and June! At one point she zoomed out to play stick with them, and then as she got close, she let out this terrible growl, and Cane and June scattered and beelined for shore to seek out our protection,
and Babe came zooming back to shore with the stick and a very large smile. hahaha, what a buttmuncher!
Hank stayed on dry land and watched it all, parked happily next to Chris.
The Johnny Cash sign is doing well. The last time we were out there, I noticed that some jackasses had started tagging their crappy poorly written handles around The Cash, and thought, what douches, they can't even appreciate good graffiti... well, someone did and went out and covered The Cash and spray painted over all the other trash... thank you random graffiti art appreciator in Harpers Ferry...I like that sign too.
aah, so back to the river. We took the old dogs back inside to nap and grabbed the young ones again and hit the other side of the river for more play. June is ferocious in the water. hahaha look at her going in to eat Cane.
Her river shark mode belies her sweet seal face and her lovely dog park nature in the city. I mean, c'ummon man, look at that face!! Get her in the water man, and it's all over... she's a funny little girl, and I love her to pieces!
aah, I miss Harpers Ferry in the summer. The rivers are low and beautiful, there's usually a breeze in the air, the dogs are in heaven and how can anyone be unhappy knee deep in cool water on a hot day.
I wish we had a river near us on capitol hill... yeah yeah, I know there's the Anacostia and Potomac river flanking us, but one will give you a rash is you're in it for too long and the other one periodically turns up floaters for the DCPD to figure out, and I'm not sure which is worse, floaters or pollution, so I won't say which is which... Anyhoo, check out Cane fetching the stick... he is the most alert one of the pack... throw a stick, or think about eating, and he's on it... he just feels your intention and is right there...
haha, June on the other hand, loves playing with kicked water... she'll chase Cane chasing the stick, but water kicked at her, that's her game... Cane on the other hand just looks offended when you kick water at him... dogs are so funny
So, after making a bunch of pictures, I handed the camera to Chris and said shoot! (I know my watermarks are on this one above and the 8 images below, sorry, I loaded them all into LightRoom and added my standard copyright without changing the ones he made to his name this next bunch was made by Chris). SO, Chris was about waist deep in water and as I headed to shore, June headed towards Chris and check out what he made!! hahahah!!! I LOVE this bunch of images! June loves taking in water, drinking some and then letting the rest sluice through her mouth, it must feel good. We see her do it all the time but have never actually caught her on film doing it until now. Hahaha enjoy! SO in the image above there she goes like a shovel, tucking into the river and then...
and...
but wait...
what's in there!
ooh hahaha, she sucked up some algae and thought it was GROSS!!
hahaha, sweet hound!! (Thanks Chris for making these!!)
oh man, I needed this so bad. I'm enjoying the city, and the dog park, and, of course, I love my job, but there's little that compares to drinking your morning coffee at around 7:30am like this...
yeah, this is a little piece of heaven, coffee, swimming dogs and a river... it doesn't really get any better, why must work be so far away from this! Come on universe, give me a break here... (like I have anything to complain about...I know my life rocks... I'm well aware and quite thankful)
SO one of Cane's favorite things to do is to bay at June, trying to get her to play... here she is panting and taking a break and here's Cane talking crap to her... he's really funny the way he gears up and says, aaaawwwrrraarrrrroooooo... sometimes he ends it with a squeaky little bark and sometimes with a trilling growly end
and a couple seconds later, it works every time... so, once again...
talking smack...
making faces...
and game over...
river shark Junie attacks!
and the days ends with a dance off... think 'Riverdance' in it's most literal meaning (no offense little Irish girls, I know you train so hard, but these kids are naturals...)
Everybody gets dry in the grass on the way back to the house...
we all take a nap
and then go out in the evening to do it all again...
Life is good.
Chris, thanks for having us!
Cheers!

4th of July 2010 in DC

2010-07-04T22:54:00.004-04:00

So, I got a few invitations to do stuff tonight, but my memories of 4th's of July's past reminded me that this is the worst day of the year for Hank... this, and New Year's in DC, because everyone sets off fireworks of guns... I'm not kidding, I had a window shot out once on New Year's Eve with what I think was a BB gun (winky caliber, shot a tiny perfect hole right though the living room window back in 1998 or 99)... sweet right...

well, I decided to stay in and I'm glad I did, because Hank is absolutely shattered...
on an up note though, as I was taking out the garbage, I ran into my next door neighbors and they were about to set off fireworks and invited me to watch with them. They're a lovely family and I hope to spend a lot more time with them... well, the grown ups... the teenagers liked my tattoos but otherwise relegated me to their parents generation... old...

hahaha, yeah... getting there... Edward and his wife are the kind of people that say hello to you and emit such kindness and joy that you want to hug them, immediately... (without scaring them away...)
bystanders coming back from the Mall would stop and watch with us for a few seconds, as we were blocking the whole sidewalk and they had to jump out onto the street to avoid the fireworks, and me croughed right in the middle... oops, our bad...
we thought this guy was going to walk right through them but he was just making video, I bet it was fun too, he got really close before jumping away at the last second
I am starting to love my neighborhood... as ill tempered as I was about moving to the city, it's starting to grow on me again... having the dogs here helps tremendously and meeting good neighbors is another huge bonus...
and here are my new neighbors... oh hahaha!!! um, here are the folks that have been here for a while having their picture made by the new neighbor (keeping things in perspective)
Hello Capitol Hill, I think I can stay here a while...
at one point we had block wars going on, one either side of us... there would be a big firework set of on one block and then the next block over would set off one of theirs, it was like watching firework tennis, our heads moving side to side, looking to the sky as we'd all say, oooohhhh.....
oh and Hank, here's what he thinks of the 4th of July... hyperventilating in the corner
until he puked in fear... oh my poor old man... his life is so hard sometimes
it's tough being Hank... happy 4th of July to everyone, hope it was safe and fun... (and that you had a better time than this guy)
Cheers!

Holy Crap, they're mine?

2010-07-04T15:34:00.004-04:00

When I got back form Harpers Ferry, there was a box sitting on my porch. A box that wasn't supposed to be shipped until July 6th and a box that, had I not come home early from Harpers Ferry, may not have still been waiting for me, this being the city and all... and the box saying 12 piece multi-clad pro, and all...
My Mom and Bubba (her Mom) bought me a combined moving in/ birthday present, and this is what they got... I am absolutely in love with them, and can't wait to cook in them. I have my friend, Jens, coming over for dinner this week and we're going to get them all broken in (maybe not every single one, but a bunch of them). When I finally got all the packing cardboard and plastic bags off of them, I lined them up on the couch and almost cried. I'm 35 years old, and I've never had such a lovely set of cookware... they're really quite something.
Thanks Mom and Bubba!!

A whole new life...

2010-07-04T14:20:00.014-04:00

So, DC has been busy. I've worked almost, if not, 7 days a week since April, long hours and drastic changes. I moved into the city June 13 and brought Hank and June to the city yesterday. Chris had been nice enough to keep them in Harpers Ferry until I was ready for them (less work, dog walker, moved into new place, etc), and so here we are, Hank and June and I ... awesome job, new little place on Capitol Hill, a block away from a large dog park, and finally a weekend where I have a day off (4 of them in a row actually!!). So, it's July 4th, Happy Birthday America, and we're lounging around in the heat, doing laundry, doing dishes, making tuna fish, listening to Pandora, letting the day slowly slip past us as we move in cadence with nothing to do but whatever happens to move us.

Friday I went to yoga, YAY! It was an hour and a half class on Capitol Hill and I loved it. I can't wait to go back. Um, yeah, I'm still sore today, but that's because I didn't go back this morning to work out all of my ouchies. One day on two off and then back again, should straighten out some of those 'beginning to exercise again aches'. After yoga, I packed up the car and drove out to Harpers Ferry to pick up the hounds and spend a few days relaxing. Chris' father came out to visit as well, and them working on the house does not = relaxing, so I packed up early and came back to the city with Hank, June and Babe (Amber and Kevin are in Italy so I'm taking care of Babe) and began to relax in earnest. So far, we've done 3 loads of laundry, reorganized the shoe closet (hahaha, I know!! that's not relaxing but I'm so glad it's done), made tuna fish, ate a hearty lunch of tuna and crackers went to the dog park (twice!) and had 2 cups of coffee... oh man, the house looks great and we're feeling good. Tonight I was thinking about making firework pictures on the Mall, but I may just stay in and enjoy the apartment, which is finally starting to feel like home, now that the dogs are here. Apartment pictures are coming up next!

Right, so anyways, while in Harpers Ferry, I went to visit Dean and Steve and they had a gaggle of the ugliest rescue dogs ever put together which made me laugh hysterically, and a litter of rescue kittens... enjoy!
So here's Momma cat, Griz... she's got beautiful eyes, and is a winky little thing, maybe 7 pounds and that's while feeding her kittens...
and here's her most outgoing kitten, hahaha, oh man... they're just about 5 weeks old, and they're fat and stupid, and their eyes are still not completely registering what they're seeing... they run into one anothers butts when they play and they wail like baby birds, high and reedy
oh and they're amazing little climbers!! 5 weeks and look at how strong they are!!
It looks cruel, but this little one was only up in the air for a second and right over Dean's lap. He just wanted to show me their amazing ability to hang on
oh kitty... sorry 'bout that...
hahaha, ok, really, we didn't torture this little one for more than a couple of minutes... but he was just adorable and so adventurous... he was squirmy and quick and quite happy to run around on the deck and the dogs didn't bother him at all...
oh wait, but before all the circus freak hounds, check out the Australorps, I'm not a big fan of birds, sharp talons, feathers, airborne, all that, 'oh god no, watch the eyes!!' but these ladies were very well behaved and very cool looking... walking dinosaurs...
of course, like every other animal in the house and probably around the world, they all loved Dean... hahaha, this one would have sat there all afternoon letting Dean rub her neck and enjoying every second. Dean is a modern day, sarcastic (hahaha, very sarcastic) St. Francis, watching him with the animals is amazing... talk about someone finding exactly what they should be doing... rescue work fits him to a T, and there are hundreds of happily rehomed animals that would vouch for that), my June Bug included!
Here's Kip to prove it. He was a puppy that was adopted out but then brought back for anxiety... he's now wearing an anxiety jacket and learning how to cope with being a neurotic dog... Dean just refuses to give up if there's an opportunity to make the animal better or give them a second chance on life...
So, let's get to some ugly dogs... hahaha, check out this fat little thing... she's not so bad right?
Well how 'bout her!! hahahaha!!!! This is a very flattering picture of her, because the rest of her body looks like a horribly sunburned fat lady's arm... spots, dots, moles, tufts of hair and so very red and angry looking... ugh... gross... oh man, when they all came racing to the gate to say Hi, I almost fell off the stairs I was laughing so hard, my god, what an ugly bunch of raggedy rescue hounds...
I mean, my gosh!! it's a hairless!! hahaha, ugh, she felt so nasty!! But she was so nice, what a sweet little dog, rescued from a nasty overcrowded situation of filth and neglect, and lucky her, Dean found her... I'm sure she'll be rehomed with no problem
and this girl... ugh schnauzers... not my cup of tea, but she too was a sweet one... little bossy but all she wanted was love...
and this old dame... 8 years old, so docile, slow moving, so sweet, non barking, going blind, and left at the shelter... who does that!! I don't care what the situation... find a friend, find a relative, put her on craigslist in search of a loving home because you're a dick and don't want her anymore, but you don't just abandon your animal! This animal who lives to love and please you... people are so amazingly cruel...
and of course, little Moses, who came to Dean with so many fleas on him, Dean didn't think he'd survive... Below is a picture I took off of Dean's blog from when he brought Moses home... Dean and Steve kept him, this little ugly bugger just stole Dean's heart... (but don't feed him anything after midnight or he'll go all gremlin on your ass and eat the family while you're sleeping... hahaha!!!)
The person who had Moses before Dean rescued him should be in jail... those black spots are fleas... not dirt, but fleas... ugh and his fur had matted one of his back legs against his body so he couldn't use it to walk on!!!
Anyhoo, Moses is in heaven now, he's loved and spoiled mercilessly... Just like the sign says at the top of this post... The whole sign says 'almost heaven' and is posted right on Dean and Steve's porch... so true, my friends, so true...
Donnie ran by on his way to Brooklyn to see Amy, and showed me his new rescue... named Butters... hahahah!!! Oh Donnie... good looking to women before, lady killer with a Chihuahua named Butters in tow... hahaha, nice move, friend!
yeah, couple more kitten pictures and then on to the work Chris has been doing at his place
ugh!!! so adorable!! If anyone needs a cat to love and adore for the next 15 or so years, please let me know... they have not all been adopted out yet...
hahaha!! Steve, you're adorable too... (sorry men, not up for adoption though, no matter how cute he may be) Dean and Steve are a perfect pair of friends... Dean and I talk about animal rescue and get all bitchy together, and then Steve and I talk about books and knitting projects... you guys are the best boygirlfriends a girl can have... I love yous twos!!
Thanks for being such good friends!
Oh Dear, the hat's making it's grand escape... someone better put it back up on shelf... hahaha oh kittens...
so while I was visiting with the mens, Chris and his Dad were working on the house.
Chris is putting in an incredible amount of time on the rehabilitation and it's really paying off.
he is so close to being done, and the rooms are turning out beautifully... here's a crappy picture of the new bathroom!
and here's the new version of the old TV room... lovely!
and in a couple of weeks, these walls will look like the pictures above... (here's Babe trying to be good and June, trying not to be scared of Babe, who is a bit of a bully and kind of a spoiled, only child jackass... hahaha, oh old dog, you're still ok by us)
yup, yawning is contagious, even in canines... June is sleeping in the backyard right now, and I'm sure she misses Cane, but she's doing better than I expected. I know it helps to have me at home right now... we'll see how she fares during the week while I'm at work.
Cheers and Happy 4th!

Sheep and Wool, Holy Sheep I had fun!!

2010-05-02T13:57:00.008-04:00

This year I went to the Sheep and Wool festival instead of looking for housing in DC. I know what I should have been doing, but the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival happens once a year, and the shitty housing situation in DC is my daily frustration, so off the the wool I went. This weekend it's been a steady 90 degrees, 32c for the rest of the universe, and man it felt awesome! I love the heat, the more heatier the more better...( yeah, I said it wrong, and wronger) I slapped on my crappy favorite jean shorts, a loose tank top, my hiking boots, my cash and camera, dropped the hounds off with Chris and went to go laugh at some sheep and grope some wool... and I had the best damn day in May so far... yeah yeah, so it was May 1... but still... it rocked.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Grandma Fran! 90 years old, holy moly! Good for you girl!
So, sheep and wool, it's a outdoor festival with livestock, plants, a bit of ceramics and jewelry, but mostly it's the spot that once a year, bit huge fat ladies, skinny ones, religious ones, tattoo'd ones (or just me, hey represent!), ladies of all backgrounds and ages come together to push and shove one another out of the way so they can finger, sniff, photograph, rub against their face, talk about, calculate and find the best wool out there from all over the country. The past few years I've dragged Chris to the festival, and I asked him this year, but he laughed and said something to the effect of, hey, we're no longer dating, so I'm no longer obligated to being molested by knitters...
cool, just asking... hahaha.
When I finally parked and made it into the festival, I went for the animals first. I take great joy in walking slowly past the stalls and making eye contact with as many natural wool makers as possible... there's something that sucks so much about being penned and on display (zoo style, I hate zoos), yet I can't help but stop and rub these critters and say a few nice words about how lovely they look, and make a picture here and there... eeh, I feel bad but so good when I'm at the fair... such is life. Anyhoo, the critters were all panting and unhappy and I loved every second of hanging out with them... Merv calls it forced fun... and forced fun is good for you... so Merv tells me...
hahaha, once out of the sheep, I bee lined for the alpaca... I still think that June and Hank would benefit from a new alpaca sibling, and if I weren't moving back to DC, they might have gotten a new brother or sister this weekend... hahahaha, look at these guys!! They're awesome! They'd keep my grass cut, and me in hysterics watching them in the summer, keep me warm and busy knitting in the winter, and June would have someone to play with... where's the bad part of any of that!
Look, I even found the Hank of Alpacas...
hmm, they do get to be pretty large though... I might need a king size bed... Hank and June sleep with me at night, it would be unfair to have Noodle (the best name for an Alpaca ever) sleep on the floor...
anyhoo, on with the festival... I was there for 4 blisteringly hot and glorious hours, filled my eyes with loud and beautiful colors everywhere, drank a rootbeer float, felt the sun on my shoulders and ponytail, walked the fair twice and came home with some good loot that will keep me occupied this fall once the summer breaks and football season begins... Yay knitting and football!!
Sheep and Wool makes it feel like summer is finally here and the weather is normal and warm again and the days will last forever. I love this time of year, and Sheep and Wool sets it off for me every time I go.
So one of the crazy things at the festival is the amount of lamb that is for sale... I mean, right next to the livestock stalls is this smelly monster... WTF!! How crazy to have your fellow species smoking away in savory glee while you are locked in pens right next to them... What's wrong with People! I wonder how many people eat a big ass lamb roll with all the fixings and then crouch down to talk to some damn sheep in the barn 20 feet away... it's like a cannibal hahaha'ing in your face while you're locked behind bars awaiting the same fate... People are crazy and suck ass sometimes... anyhoo,
here was my view while waiting in line for the rootbeer float, which I must say is the next best thing to a Miller Highlife on a 90 degree day. Oh, and I bought a poster this year! YAY, if you look hard, the bottom of the poster roll says sheep and wool! hahaha, the ladies behind me were talking up a storm until I made this picture, and then they were completely silent in the way that they want to talk about what just happened but they're too polite to talk about someone in hearing distance but also too disaffected to ask you what you just did and why... oh people...
and here's what I bought this year at Sheep and Wool... oooh, apparently it was an orange year, I bought a beautiful rust colored wool, a tangerine wool, and a gorgeous sea creamy coral wool, oh and a seafoam crystal blue wool... I cannot wait to make some bad ass scarves...
I picked up all the hounds on the way back from the festival and Chris followed me back to my place for dinner. Hahahah, that's not a cloud on June's neck, that's her big slobber mark that landed on my camera while I had it out the window making pictures of her... the drool came out of her mouth and splat, hit my camera doing about 65 mph (or 104 km which makes speeding spit seem so much faster!)... life is good!
Chris took a break from working on his house to go fishing Friday afternoon and he brought over two beauties which he grilled up along with some chicken wings and a huge salad that I made.
I'm going to miss the luxury of eating meat from the wild and the farm and not from the store when I move into the city, and I've been thinking of cutting out Red meat and fowl, it just feels safer than buying hormonal mass grown and slaughtered meat from the stores...
Today is another hot day and Hank, assessing that he was still out in the country, went back to the couch and is snoring the afternoon away.
June, on the other hand, has not been inside all day, and although both front door and sliding glass door are wide open, she's spent the day outside, sleeping under the trees, harassing the carpenter bees, playing with sticks and walking through the house to make sure we're still here and then out the other door back into the open... I love open doors...
I am going to miss this little house something awful...
Cheers!

Lot going on...

2010-04-25T16:25:00.005-04:00

I've been so busy recently that I haven't even thought about writing. Lame, I know... I'm still in the weeds so here's a picture that Justin posted of me on Facebook from High school... hahahha, yup, I used to blow out my hair straight every morning in the hopes that one day I'd wake up and I wouldn't have to do it anymore... which finally happened when I gave it up and just let my curly hair be curly...
So, in the next few weeks, I'll be moving back into DC, once I find a place, box up my little blue house and have the sad keys to a new apartment not nearly as nice as my little blue house dropped into my waiting hand. As soon as everything settles down, I'll get back up to speed on the blog. As for now, I'm in duck and cover mode.
I should remind myself to talk about, falling down in the middle of the street while looking at pretty leaves on my way to work (yup, it was awesome, and not at all humiliating), having some dude tell me my tattoos turned him off, (another awesome April moment), getting chewed out by millionaires (I'm on a roll, I wish every month could be April), and hanging out with WWII Liberators of the concentration camps (that was so awesome, I'm still processing all the good parts, and I can't wait to talk about it and show pictures, my job at the Museum is amazing!!)
Wish me luck...
wish there were two of me...
wish it was June already so I wouldn't have to deal with any of this... or wish I was this June, so I wouldn't have to deal with the move back to DC...
Cheers

Drunk bastards of spring, here again!

2010-04-11T15:46:00.007-04:00

I love carpenter bees, they huge, loud, round, bossy, territorial, dumb ass, no aim, drunk bastards and they are one of my favorite things about spring. Guess who has a crush on them too...
oh yeah... my girl is in L-U-V, luvvvvv...
I was outside testing my time lapse options on my camera, preparing for a shoot next Thursday that I can't miss, so I'm setting up a camera on a lighting scaffold and letting it shoot the crowd while I'm on the floor photographing the event. Anyhoo, Hank was sleeping on the couch (ooh! surprise!, really?) and June was out with me, after I dialed in my timer and intervals, etc, I turned my attention to June and her new friends.
Carpenter bees are really cool, I know they're all destructive as get out, but they really played with June. When she'd lose interest they'd fly high closer to the shed roof, but when she came back around, they'd fly low and buzz her, really getting close to make her give chase.
June on the other side, although she could have caught them and killed them, when she'd snap at them, I could see a few times that she'd pull up short to make sure the game continued.
Fucking nature is awesome. (Sorry for the f-bomb Mom). Here are some fun images of June and her pals, enjoy, we did. I can see June from where I'm sitting inside. The front door is wide open and she's sitting in the sun with her chin tiled up and her eyes closed. Hank is in a sun spot on the couch next to me, and the dryer is making good on it's name with the bed sheets, kitchen is clean, nose prints are off the glass in the front door, the house has been swept, bathrooms cleaned, and the last thing to do is mop. One of my favorite tunes is on, I'm not huge on Sean Hayes, but this tune is great, rattlesnake charm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mTjpAiPvCA&feature=related
I'm blogging, and when I'm done I'm going to call, my Mom, Aunt Martha, and Bubba. I've already spoken to AuntiAfro and had my usual weekend skype coffee date with Aly. I am having an amazing Sunday. Hope everyone else is too.
Cheers, and here's more Junie June.
Look at how low they were, watching her, baiting her, and she loved it all!
Ooh they were so great together, maybe 4 or 5 bees and June
hey! who's chasing who!
click on this picture to see a larger version. Hahahaha!! oh June! Happy birthday sweet hound, you turned a year old yesterday or sometime within this week, but I like to think it was yesterday, because then she and my Mother can share a birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!!

HOLY BALLS!!!

2010-04-04T18:38:00.003-04:00

Holy Balls, what plant is this!! I love it!!! It's flowers are like like chandeliers and they glow in the morning light like nothing I've ever seen!!
I walk past them every morning, from Merv's to the metro at Union Station, and every morning, I stop, touch them, smile at them, wink at them, smile some more, wiggle a little, and then use every bit of will power I have to not pluck every single stalk of flowers, shove them in my HUGE city purse and take off running!
They are pretty, no?
Cheers!

Sunday walk

2010-04-04T18:12:00.012-04:00

This morning the hounds got me up at 5:20am... I let them out, rested my forehead on the front door with my eyes closed, let them back in, and went back to bed. Hank can't hold it all night long anymore, so he gets me up once a night. It is what it is, and the alternative is him having an accident every single night... he's a good boy for getting me up... I've got no complaints. This morning the hounds got me up at 7:01am... I got up, royally pissed... let them out, yelled through the glass of the front door that they were rotten dogs, shook my fist, adjusted my underpants without shame, and watched them tear around the front yard. I let them back in, and glared at each of them until they ignored me, got up onto the bed and went back to sleep. This morning I lay in bed until 9am, too stubborn to waste the only day I get to sleep in, by getting out of bed before 9am, but unable to fall back asleep. *SIGH* I let the dogs out, wished them well if they didn't come back, put the coffee on to brew, and took a 20 minute shower. And when I got out of the shower, I felt fucking AMAZING! I drank 3 cups of coffee, smiled at everything, even the stink bugs on the wall, made the dogs nervous by barring my teeth at them every time they looked at me, and we finally decided to go buy some groceries for the week, and go find some river.
We went people food shopping first, and the dogs stayed in the car with the windows down while I bought stuff for the coming week in the city, and then... we went hound shopping, because right next door to the Weis Grocery store, is the Petco, 'grocery store'.
The dogs LOVE the Petco... we walk up and down all the aisles, check out the turtles and the ferrets, that make June's tail wag so hard, the employees fawn over them, and then we get to the treat aisle, where I basically buy them whatever they want. I know, it sounds insane, but they check out all the treats, and then which ever one they pick up is the one I buy for them... Hank is a big fan of the pig ears, and June picked out a pressed rawhide treat this time and Cane couldn't decide so... oh, did I mention that whichever treat one dog picks out, I buy three of them... just to be fair... anyhoo, yeah... I'm insane... but the dogs LOVE this store!
And we all love driving with the windows down...
Even spoiled Junie who stole Hank's front seat spot for the ride back home... naughty younger sister! Yeah, I did take this one and the one of Cane and Hank's butt and the groceries, while I was driving... ugh... yeah... but the weather was so nice, we were invincible today...
So, after we got back to the house and unloaded groceries, we packed back into the car, drove just about 2 miles and entered Shannondale (National Park) and weaved our way to the Shenandoah river. The water is still really high, from the almost flood we had, so the dogs didn't spend too much time in it, but we had a great walk. Hank walked for the first 20 feet with us before deciding it was too much nature and headed back to the car.
HHHhahahahaha!! This view makes Hank shake... what an ass! Oh my poor agoraphobic hound. Oh well, the weather was awesome, and we rolled down the windows for him and off the rest of us went for a walk.
I've had Cane all weekend as Chris is spending Easter with his family, and it's been really great for June to have her play partner with her on such great days. Hahaha, foot travel only is no joke... Cane got some foot travel right in the face!
So these are spring onions... they look like lovely grass, but they're edible and so very delicious... as they get older, their tips start to curl in these dramatic kinked shapes... mmmm spring onions
kind of like this vine... I love finding these vines and all the crazy shapes they make... The next time I'm out I'm going to pluck some of them and see if I can't make some cool earrings from them... I wonder what I could dip them in to strengthen them... like a shellac... hmmm... am thinking... can you feel the heat coming off my head... it may very well start to melt...
ooh! look at how the inside of this stalk looks like a spine... or a skeleton... I thought it was beautiful and stared at it until June circled back to collect me...
Everything is in bloom right now... big trees, small weeds, broken grasses and tangled vines... everything is cranking out life...
and it's so great to walk along a path with the dogs and not see another person and find all these lovely displays of nature
oh June, not that display of nature... She's a funny hound. When Dozer was all up in her grille wanting to play, she wanted nothing to do with him, and even turned tummy to get him to stop... thinking perhaps that if she was submissive he'd leave her alone, but he just wanted to play and tortured her... hahaha, silly June, and yet, with Cane, she's a ferocious play hound! GGGRRRRR!!! June the Terrible!!
June, the tree eater!!
June the copycat... she copies everything she sees Cane do! She's a roof sitter, she's a wind growler (she'll grumble at the slightest noise), she pulls food from the bowl and goes to eat it somewhere else, so many of her characteristics have so clearly been learned from Cane... it's neat to watch, especially since I have access to her sister Ollie, when we visit with Mike, so I can see what she's learned from Cane and what characteristics are just in her nature, because her sister does the same thing.
It's been a great weekend, hanging with the dogs, and with the perfect weather. Oh, and do you see the balls of leaves, twigs and stuff behind me, that's all from the almost flood we had. The river, at one point last month, was over my head here in this shot... cool!!
This is the road to get to the river... it says, city folks steer clear, you might be swept away by the little river, so you may not even want to cross this to get to the real river! To me it said, YAY! There should be no one on the path today!! Thank you Bernadette, for being such a good (and high chassied) car, this was a piece of cake and well worth the barrier crossing.
Cheers!

Sundogs...

2010-04-04T17:44:00.006-04:00

So, after visiting with Dean and Steve, June and I went back down the hill, picked up Chris and Cane and we all went for a walk along the canal. The hounds had a great time and Chris and I enjoyed the sunshine. It's weird how well we've been able to maintain our friendship after having such a long relationship fail... all I can say is that we did the right thing, and I'm glad that I still have a friend.
So, as I was making pictures of the hounds running around all crazy, and Chris was unpacking the lunch he brought,
some jackass who will remain unnamed, found a mud puddle...
and some other younger jackass, who will also remain unnamed, learned about how awesome mudpuddles are...
HA! until someone splashes mudpuddle in your face!
oh being young is tough sometimes...
UGH!!! Look at that filthy dog!!! Chris was howling with laughter, the hounds were having a ball, and I was slowly being covered in mud as they made laps around me shedding muck and nasty like mudflaps on a big rig...
my favorite picture of the afternoon... this how you completely enjoy a spring day.
HA! Dogque du soleil...
This is a great tattoo arm band... this is what I see, and no Mom, not getting another one...
thanks goodness mudpuddles are found near rivers...
HA! Mud is gone, and hello sand.
nice shake... Between coffee with Dean and Steve and a nice walk with Chris, June and I spent several hours in the sun on Saturday...
We dropped Chris off at his place, picked up Hank (who'd been napping in the basement on the couch) and off we went, back up the mountain... so we could sit in the sun all the rest of the sunny day until it went down...
even Hank sat in the sun (if you count sleeping on the leather couch indoors on a glorious day... what a butt... ehh, at least he's happy!
Cheers!

Dozer, Atia and a morning with friends...

2010-04-04T17:22:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since I've seen Dean and Steve in Harpers Ferry. So, yesterday I made a point of stopping in for a visit and was overjoyed by Dean's new fosters. Dozer is a 3 month old tank of a hound, 30 pounds already, and just a mess of legs and speed and girth. Atia is his cartoon nemesis, weighing in at 14 pounds at 8 months old and as dainty as a fairy. I brought June and the bunch of us, Dean, Steve, their two hounds, Dash and Roux, their fosters, Atia, Dozer, and Moses, June and I, sat in the late morning sun drinking coffee and taking in the awesome weather. The hounds played around us everywhere and we finally had a chance to catch up. Steve broke his arm in the big snow, and this is the first time I've seen them since before I moved out of Chris' place and up onto the mountain. Thanks men, for being so awesome (and snarky!!), June and I had a blast!
So, this is Dozer... and he's up for adoption... (just saying he's freaking awesome!!! If any one's looking for a hound that's going to be over a hundred pounds)Ugh, he's so awesome! I wouldn't trade June for anything, but this was the kind of dog I envisioned rescuing after Roark passed last year... Big, Bull, monster, sweet hound...
HA! and this is Atia... hahahahaha!!! I'm not a small dog fan, but look at that 'tude!!! Hahahaha!!! She's a wee morsel, but so sassy!
One more time, I was so smitten with this big lug!!
hahaha, he's so awesome, and stubborn, and big, and he just walks (or runs) into the sides of other dogs and barrels them over... June didn't want anything to do with him at ALL!!! hahaha
Hi Steve's head! Hahaha, I love these guys...
so apparently all I did while I was talking to Dean and Steve was make pictures of this guy. I'm amazed I know what either of them look like, as I don't think I bothered to look up at them once... thank goodness they're used to me and my camera face...
UGh, stupid love this picture...
being one of Dean's fosters is like going to heaven. They all get adopted out fatter (MUCH fatter) and happier and beautifully socialized... seriously, look at Dozer's expression... total bliss...
yup, it's good to be a Dean foster...
HA! and here's wee Atia again, who almost jumped this fence with such ease, that I wouldn't bat an eye in shock when she attempts to jump the house... she's spring loaded! (and ALL eyes on Dean!!)
oh huh huh huh... monkey see, fat monkey do... Hahahah oh Dozer, spring loaded you are not!
Cheers!

Buddy, I feel you...

2010-04-04T17:14:00.003-04:00

Ha, my morning commute, when I stay with Merv, in the city, passes me through Union Station and pops me up at the Smithsonian metro. Last week, the weather was cold and rainy Monday and Tuesday, but by Friday, it was in the 70's, sunny and gorgeous. Women looked beautiful, perfect hair (no humidity), colorfully dressed as we are all so desperately tired of wearing black sweaters, leggings and tall boots (although this is a good look), and this poor bastard just overloaded on joy (or rabies) sat gargoyle'esque on the corner of a building...
I feel you buddy... Life is so good it stuns you sometimes (or the rabies makes everything look cuh-razeeeee, man, cuh-rahzeee...and it's just best to stay put until the hallucinations fade). Either way, man...
Cheers!

a wrinkly afternoon

2010-03-06T19:38:00.005-05:00

I took the hounds to the farm yesterday afternoon to visit with Shawna, Attila and Ruby and also to see the little piglets that Miriam the pig (yes she was named after me, and yes I am proud) gave birth to a couple weeks ago. The weather was in the 50's and the sun was shining. This is the first weekend that it feels like winter could be breaking. Today is even warmer and although I have to go back to the city this afternoon, at least I will do so with my windows at least partially cracked, Yay for spring!! Here are some pictures of the farm. Ruby is getting so big, she's a little mimic, and a wonderfully happy child. I laugh to myself as I look at her and think, what if their second child isn't as photogenic as she is... what am I going to do!! Shawna is due in July, and if this coming child is better looking than his/her older sibling, my head just might melt... Ruby makes it so easy to make good pictures of her! Enjoy the farm, we did. June and Cane played themselves out with Blue and Critter, and Hank took a nice long nap in the passenger seat of the car with the hatchback open to the fresh air and the warm sun shining down on him through the windshield.
I got to hold several piglets (a first for me) and I loved their texture, they're wrinkly and soft in a bristly fashion, like an itchy sweater against your neck. They reminded me of petting elephants.
Oh, hahaha and their god-awful squealing, did I mention their amazing 'singer for a death metal band' capacity, think Napalm Death not Dethklok. They are burrowers, and I'd pick them up out of the hay, one by one and hold them close to me, swaddled in my hands and pressed tight to my chest, and they'd wiggle like demons and scream like hookers caught in a raid... it was so great!!
Ruby tried petting them a couple of times, and when they'd scream, she'd jerk her hand away and smile like she'd pet them too hard and was sorry.
but sometimes she'd get all toothy and smile like making them squeal was the best game in the world!! (and I tell you what, those were my sentiments exactly!!)
I pet Alice the cow, Larry her calf, the assorted goats, and tried to pet the sheep but they are gosh darn fast and flighty... I mean really fast for being so fat! The farm does good things for the soul. We packed up to leave as the sun was fading and I felt refreshed, and relaxed, and better than I have for the past couple of weeks.
We hit the barns in beautiful late afternoon light and I set the speed for damn fast, and shot everything with a shallow depth of field and natural light... the world was in perfect color and sound, auburn light shining through the slats of the barn, everybody with warm ruddy faces from the wind's chill, piglets squealing, Momma Miriam happily grunting with her snout in the full trough, the sounds of hooves against wood as the nosy goats tried to peek over the next stall's wall to jealously watch all the human commotion, and Ruby armed with a whole new vocabulary testing out words and smiling proudly at her parents approval.
I could not have been happier. Thanks Attila, for making this picture, it's lovely!
Rubes might grow up wishing she'd been raised in the city, concrete is always greener, but for right now, she' loves helping, and pointing and saying baby, pig, dog, water, and a million other words that I've missed watching her learn, and that she uses liberally.
Cow, Cow, goat! cool...
Chris has brought June down to the farm a couple of times while I've been in the city, but this was my first time bringing her. She was, of course, very well behaved. She played well with the other hounds, stayed behind all the gates, and didn't need constant watching. I love my, not too terribly bright, little dog.
Goat eyes and ears are so lovely... it makes up for their knobby spines, distended bellies, rough and wirey coats and their terrible and unsightly anuses... ugh, goat butts are the worst!!
yup, goat butts, they'll bring even a farm girl to tears...
Ruby was entranced as her father wrote her name on the car. The next image I made of her was her looking at me in awe, but I liked this one more because you can see Attila in action (well, a very wee, but important part of Attila in action). ...and in the end, while Rubes macked some late afternoon cereal, and her parents stood around the kitchen eating bowls of chili for dinner, I drove away with a container of homemade chili, a very satisfied inner harmony, and the demand to not be a stranger... It was a very good day.
Cheers!

just lovely

2010-02-19T20:35:00.003-05:00

My sister's in college. A lot of the pictures I see of her on facebook are hilarious... sassy, funny, she's having a great time, it's good to be her, it's easy and she's popular without trying, a magnet for life. I adore her.
She sent a note to me a few days ago, just a small, 'thought you'd like to see this' note... she was right, I did want to see this... a lot.
Here's what she wrote to me:
so I sent in a card to postsecret (that anonymous postcard secret sending website) a year ago on Valentine's Day... just saw it got posted yesterday! thought you'd enjoy it...
Thank you Sissy...

Jumping through the window to see how it feels

2010-02-19T19:48:00.003-05:00

I've been friends with Christopher for a long time. He's the way I feel when my eyes glaze over slightly and I bend over to write a story... light, half blind to time, not aware of anything but the words in my hands, totally without fear or presence, omniscient and raw. He gives me advice in my dreams, advice that I take because I trust him, me, him, and sometimes when I wake up, in the fog of blinking and looking around, waiting for everything to come into focus, I am not sure if we've actually spoken to one another or if I'd just spoken to the Christopher in my head. He's special in my world. I see him maybe once a year, and talk to him (outside of my head) maybe two or three times a year... we should barely be acquaintances... but again, he's special. I spin out when I'm with him. Everything comes out at once and I tell him things I haven't even told myself... it's good, it's awful, it's hard to be in the same room as him, I always leave disappointed and I'm not sure why... maybe let down that I didn't tell him enough, or told him too much, or fumbled with words when I knew them inside, but they wouldn't come out. There's no balance with him in sight, everything either floats or crashes and it's always too bright. I want to write when I think of him, I want to feel this agitation every second of everyday, it's overwhelming, spontaneous crying, leaning in for a first kiss, vomiting for the third time, burying your dog, running your hands over the chest of your lover, lightly, so lightly, jumping through a window to see how it feels... it's too much all at once and it makes me feel so good. He makes me feel so good, but not in a good way. Good for writing, magical for writing, living through my hands, to touch words in the right order and feel them come out perfectly, but no good for living.
Thank you friend, in ways, for being so good for me, I wish I could see you more often... you help me write.

The tale of a sexpot closet floor

2010-02-19T17:48:00.011-05:00

So, my feet are a saucy set of sad whores who every so often compel me to buy a pair of shoes befitting to their status... I blame my Aunt Martha, and my sad clad ladies of the evening thank her so much! While I was up in Middletown this past weekend, my Aunt Martha and I went shopping. As we were heading to the Old Navy (which I usually steer well clear of... their commercials make me so angry I could gnaw the Formica off my kitchen countertops), we passed by DSW and had to go in and make asses of ourselves. It's a Middletown tradition, that when I'm in town, we go to the DSW, and try on all the saucy shoes we'd never every buy, and then I make a bunch of pictures of our feet in all of their stiletto glory and we howl like lunatics and scare the other shoppers... there's comfort in ritual. Anyhoo, besides trying on said shoes, I've also come to have quite a collection that I've purchased at Aunt Martha's insistence that they look divine on, and I must wear them immediately and all day long. hmm... not going so well so far... but the floor of my closet looks amazing! So, I promised Aunt Martha that when I got home, I'd make a picture of every single pair of shoes I own and share a story if they had one...
Here goes... you may want to go to the restroom or grab some coffee... I've got a lot of shoes!!!
bought these this weekend with Aunt Martha. To me they say dirty punk rock, but so available and takes shower daily... never been worn...
mmmmm... bought these this weekend with Aunt Martha too! Wore them to 'Aunt' Jeannie and Billy's house, and as we were leaving, Jeannie had to hold my elbow as I wobbled my way to the bathroom... ugh... they're so high!!! I hope to wear them again, and soon!! (possibility of that happening... very slim)
aah, yeah... bought these in Middletown too, for Mandi's wedding last year... they're great and I do wear them occasionally (very occasionally... ok, so I wore them twice last year...*sigh*)
Love them! Every girl needs a delightful pale pink pair of spring shoes for the first several weeks in spring when everything is in bloom... including ladies... ha! never worn them... have had them for over 5 years
bought these for the White House Press Photographers Dinner in 2006 when Chris was honored for one of his images he made in the Tsunami. I had on this gorgeous pale pink tiered dress that scalloped to the floor. Aly has the dress now and I've never worn these again... oh and they're so uncomfortable I could have thrown myself out of a moving car and sustained less bruising than my feet did that evening... but I can't throw them away and I'd totally wear them again... they looked so great on! (oh and apparently because I'm a complete moron)
HA! never worn them but really want to... (um, and have wanted to for about 3 years now...)
never worn, grr... have had these for over 5 years...
OH MIAMI!!! These are Betsey Johnson and I HAD TO have them. I found these when I was down in Miami with my mother a few weeks ago. I haven't worn them yet (huh, funny, 3 feet of snow and haven't had the chance to wear them yet... oh the excuses...) I made my mother try them on (we're the same size) but she wouldn't let me make a picture of her in them. Total bummer, she looked fab in them and her khaki shorts... I find them completely beautific, and when you take them off, they leave a dusting of glitter on your toes... *sigh...* chances of wearing them out... so so slender...
ooh, hahaha, never worn 'em... so saucy!!!
oh so sad... never worn... but silver stilettos (hahaha, had to spell check this word, got it so wrong!!) they look so awesome with skinny jeans!!
never worn them, but they were hand made in Italy!! come on! so sweet!!
I've worn them several times, but not once this past year...
HA! Aunt Martha demanded that I buy these! They're smoking hot, and I wore them out dancing in Middletown this past weekend with Kurt and Heather!! In fact these have an awesome story to them.
We made it out of DSW, finally, and headed over to Old Navy (I had a gift certificate) where Aunt Martha and I tried to find a couple of sweaters to go with the boots. We were victorious and poof! Holy Moly, that's me, in my new boots, sweater and leggings... No seriously, stop laughing, that is really me! hahaha!! Suh-weet! Aunt Martha made me pose like Masha (my gorgeous cousin who loves to pose like a model whenever a camera is near) and I had a great time doing it, posing like this is hilarious, everybody should try it, it makes you feel silly and about 10 years younger!! And then while we were out, I, in all my glory, fell in the garbage can at the bar that we had gone dancing at and ... yup, as we were leaving, I missed a step as my boots wobbled and tipped me sideways, and as I went to brace myself against the wall, I misjudged the distance and instead I fell into the tall garbage can up to my armpit... and then couldn't get out without help because my boot heels were so tall and skinny I couldn't get any leverage to hoist myself out of the garbage... yup, that's me... feeling like a smokin hot girl stuck in the garbage can... hahaha, serves me right for making such a saucy face...
so, this is not the same pair of boots that Aunt Martha made me buy, this is the lonely pair of boots that I bought because I so desperately want to be the girl that wakes up and throws something on and thinks, oh, I'll just wear these 'everyday boots' nothing flashy today... hahaha, I'm so not that girl, that when Aunt Martha told me to buy the 'makes me fall into garbage can' boots, I didn't even remember I had these... damn they're hot though, yes?!! rrrrrowr!!! sexy, sexy boots!!
eeh, brown boots I never wear... Amber gave them to me, and they're lovely... oh and I never wear them... lame me... they snake up your calves and look like they've been laquered to your legs... and yet, I never wear them...
so now we come to the shoes I actually do wear with some frequency... prepare to be underwhelmed... These are the shoes I wear to shoot weddings that are black tie ( or optional) they're, um, comfortable...
I'm wearing these like I hope to be buried in them and I'm not so sure it's a good idea. I think they look great, but I might look like I'm going to steal your mother... the verdict is still out and no one has said yea or nae on them.
ha, never worn 'em... cute though, yes?
These are my shooting boots. I use them to boost my height so I'm not shooting peoples nose hairs at events... These bad boys push me up to 5'6" or a little taller and I get better angles when I shoot with them... hahaha, little scary looking though... doesn't matter, I've had them for over 10 years and they're unbreakable
my sandals... love them, wear them all summer... usually with shorts and a ratty t-shirt... I need to update from the knees up this year...
wear them a couple times each year, people ask me if I speak English when I wear them... hahaha, oddly they make me look Hispanic... hey, I'll take it...
shoes that make my legs look fat... and yet I can't stop wearing the black pair because I feel cute as a button... a big, fat, round, black clad, button... but I won't stop wearing them... hahaha. ugh!!! I try to wear them with jeans, but the urge to wear them with a poofy skirt that hangs above my knees is sometimes quite overwhelming... (and always a bad idea!!! Ladies, don't be tempted!! Wear these only with jeans!!)
oh yeah... so I got these for Amber for one of her birthdays, I thought they were magically ugly... I got them back that next year for my birthday, they were apparently just ugly... they're going back to Amber this Christmas... neither of us have ever worn them... but oh how they make us laugh!
never worn them but oh I cannot wait! superhero sneakers... I'm so excited!!
wear them daily, hate the sight of them... so comfortable I've slept with them on... (no I was not passed out...)
super... I have crabs (on my feet)... the men are lining up to date me... *sigh* they're a summer staple
hmm, yeah... you're thinking smoking hot, aren't you... yup... smoking hot...
I'm embarrassed to even have these in my closet... wore them all the time last summer... sexy shoe lord, please forgive me...
I'm noticing a sad trend here... all the awesome shoes are at the top of this post... and yet, this is what I live in... These by the way were what I bought myself for my 34th birthday... hahaha!! 34 is for suckers!!! It's like turning 20... my sister just turned 20 and she said, oh yawn, can't drink, middle of college, no big thang... that's 34 too... weird huh?
Stoopid Mother nature, making me wear these every day for over 2 weeks... hate them so much, love that I have them (thank you Peter Miller circa 1996) and can't wait to hide them in the basement for a very long time, sometime very soon.
The girl the closet thinks I am...
the girl the rest of the house is familiar with... hahaha!!! *sigh* I gotta start wearing some of my shoes!!
Thanks for making me do a post about them Aunt Martha! This year I'm going to make it a point to wear each and every pair of these shoes... out in public... not just when I'm vacuuming the living room (I practice standing in them when I clean the house... hahahaha!!! I'm serious...)
and for anyone counting, that was 34 pairs of shoes... crazy huh!!
Cheers!

This snow is f'ing never ending...

2010-02-11T22:42:00.007-05:00

So, this morning, surprise, snow's still here... we're supposed to get more on Monday. I'm over it. June, is still quite loving it. She's a snow devil, a little red tumbleweed in the white wind... she's freaking hilarious, and every time I feel like spitting in the wind, when it's blowing in my direction, she does something worthy of the short bus and I feel so fine.
June and Hank are staying with Chris over the weekend and I'm heading to New York... to get out of the snow... I was talking to Aunt Martha this afternoon and came to the realization that I head north for the winter to stay warm. Last year, with Aunt Mart's bum wing, I was warmer than I would have been in Harpers Ferry (trailer vs, stone house... trailer wins by default of winky space). This year, after three feet of snow... check it... OVER 3 FEET OF SNOW, WV can eat my shivering (imaginary) nads, I'm heading north to get out of the snow, and back I go to Middletown... Anyhoo, I spent some great time this afternoon digging out the car (oh joy, oh yeah...) and goofing off with the hounds. Chris came over for dinner and we did the whole, 'wonder twins unite! Form of two left over dinners!' and bam, I meant, BAM!! I had left over mashed potatoes and Chris had left over deer mushroom stuff, add a bit of sour cream, and oooh, feel the love. My pants are unbuttoned, I'm leaning back (to be closer to the wood stove of course, I'm not crude, you know...) and darn, we ate well. A nip of Jameson's to warm me while I'm writing, and well, winter has its purpose... (to make all swimsuits look bad!)
OK, but really, I've been in the house for a week now, and I'm a bit itchy to talk... (very itchy, I'll leave you with pictures before I make a complete ass out of myself... I really hope that hasn't happened yet...)
*sigh*... enjoy
Yay, look at Hank, he's outdoors, against his will, but all the same, he had a big day. I made him stay outside with us while I shoveled the car out (ugh!!! AGAIN!!!) June is not used to sharing the spot light, and every time I went to make a portrait of Hank, she'd come running at me like a grenade of joy. Hahaha, this one took me off my feet! Naughty puppy!!
Hahahaha!!! Hank's waiting to go back inside and is ignoring my callings to him, and June... well... June is just being an idiot... she stuck her whole head inside the snow... I was tempted to make a picture of the big dumb hole she left, but it was a boring picture... she's a moron sometimes, and SO funny!!!
ok, so she's a moron a lot of the time, hahaha, check out her gait, she's all the way up in the air... and Hank... poor Hank is sticking it out... I think he thinks my name is Dante... all those layers of hell he navigates everyday... *sigh* it's tough being Hank...
hahahaha.... I do not want to be around when he finally gets his super power death ray eyes kit in the mail... that's all I'm saying...
Hank slunk off to wait by the door, and June took the opportunity to go bananas... She loves the snow!! She loves the river, she loves the fall leaves, she just loves being outdoors... I love that she's going to keep me active all year round! Good hound!
HA!!! so, while I was kicking snow at her, or throwing snowballs, she found out that she could go a lot faster and save a lot of energy if she made like a bobsled and used the banks of snow as a source of potential energy! Zoom!!!! she'd get up to speed, and then lean into the wall and careen past me like it was Hound Olympics... Oh!! and I totally forgot to say thanks for the awesomeness that is 'Brad', my neighbor!! Yesterday, while I was in the final stages of wedding editing, I looked up and saw a big yellow thing, like a bobcat, moving snow... and I thought, oh yeah, they're finally plowing the street... and then I looked up again and thought, holy hell!! That's not the street, that's my damn yard!! WTF!!! So I got on my milk boots, threw on my jacket and went outside to see if, 1- my car was in one piece, and 2- why they thought that my front yard was the road! Well, it turns out that my neighbor, 'Brad' wanted to help his new neighbor, and his wife had gave him the go ahead to play with his new toy, which happened to be a big yellow bobcat. I love my new neighbor and his kind wife. Brad plowed me out of my house, around my car, and made enough room for Chris to park today... Dude, this guy's got good karma coming out of his arse!! June was in heaven with all the level playing space, and I finally got the front of my car shoveled out and I made it from the house to my car without getting snow in my boots... it was a really good day!!!
Not that Brad knows me or reads my blog, but... THANK YOU TO ALL THE BRAD'S OF THE WORLD!!! You don't know how long this would have taken me!!! (I don't know how long this would have taken me, I've never seen this much snow!!)
Check it out, June is in the world before Brad... I'm making pictures from the world after Brad... things are looking up...
before Brad... boots full of snow... tired after making it from house to road... mail not being delivered because mailbox cannot be reached... and after Brad... all things are mellow... emphasis on the low...
this is my favorite picture of the day... this one says to me... 'life is so great!'
hahaha, this one says to me, my hound is a moron... hahaha!!! What a great real estate portrait!! Buy this house, loads of fun, good price, dog not included... little red shed stays... I love my little place!
Hank loves playing ball. When he was young, he'd fetch until my arms were rubber and he was gasping like he'd smoked a pack of Pal Malls' before playing. Now a'days, he has trouble seeing the ball to catch it, and jerky June always beats him to it when he tries to get it. Here's June, also glad nothing's been delivered in the mail (ie... super power death ray eye kit)
aah, hahaha, here she is rubbing it in... naughty dog!! Younger sisters are the worst!!! (um, no offense Megan! You're a good one!) Hahaha, here's Hank making for the front door, completely disgusted with all the women in his life!!
Yup, we still have snow, and life is still good, although sometimes harder than we'd like...(especially if you're an almost nekked hound in a jerky sweater... surrounded by ladies that are not as funny as they think they are...)
Cheers!

Are you sure you're not my Mother?

2010-02-08T11:52:00.010-05:00

When I left Miami last Friday, I didn't go directly home, instead I diverted to Winterpark, Fla (yeah, my thoughts exactly, WHERE?!!) and AuntiAfro picked me up and took me to gorge on sushi (I love this woman). I loved this restaurant!
http://fujisushiwinterpark.com/menu.htm
check out their sushi menu, I've never seen a menu so big!!! MMmmmmmm, sushi!!!
Afro is my mother's youngest sister. She's down 10 years on my Mom and so when she was 16 and unruly, she lived with my Mom and Pop while they were pregnant with me. Well, she apparently rubbed off on me in the womb, because we are so much alike, she and my Mom joke that Afro should have been my mother...
So, we have a long and awesome history together. AuntiAfro took me to see the Rolling Stones when I was 12, and several other concerts that my mother had no interest in, but that Afro couldn't bear to miss. Why she'd want to take a teenager is a mystery to me, but I'm so glad I got to hump along on all of her amazing trips. Anyoo, we made an amazing weekend together. We packed it full up and yet, we had nothing but time... no rushing, nowhere to be except where ever we were... it was awesome!
Saturday morning, still full of sushi and armed with coffee, we took the hounds for a walk through the town of Lake Helen, where AuntiAfro lives. Lake Helen is 'Old Florida', it's what the state looked like before it got raped by home owners associations, gated communities and Miami fashion shows and turkey snowbirds... this is pre air conditioning, pre 55 miles and hour abilities, and pre strip malls. It's sleepy, separated, built to be community oriented, and just beautiful...
here's a sign we saw at the post office... I love this town!! hahaha!!! If it's too small to see, the sign says:
Lost FFA Steer. I have lost a black Brangus steer. His ear tag number is (I've scrubbed it out of focus). He has a black and white rope halter. Last seen on the lake, north side of McCracken RD. On 12/21/2009 at approximately 5:00 PM. He is 8 months old. 450 lbs. He is not mean, just scared. With any information please call (I've scrubbed the phone number). Yup, that's a good sign, I hope they find him... poor scared steer.
anyhoo, here's the rest of the walk... I miss things about Florida, a lot, but I still don't think I could ever move back there. I like the north, the mountains, streams, colors, trees... they just feel right. Although a tree pregnant with bright orange fruit is hard to beat.
ugh!! look at this winky tree and all the fruit it's putting off. The oranges are HUGE! I wanted to put the tree in my suitcase and take it with me...
HA! I'm totally getting online and finding a monkey costume for Hank... Later that afternoon we drove into DeLand to see the dog parade. It was hilarious, the weather was glorious and we had an absolute ball!! Here's a little poodle thing dressed as a monkey. he would run and jump on his person's leg and then twirl around, and I just laughed and laughed, he really did look just like a little monkey! hhahahaha!!!
Ha! this little guy was sitting in front of us watching the parade.
This one and his brother were behind us. When we were younger, AuntiAfro had a parrot like this one and a beautiful African Gray too... I was always scared of her parrot (because it was HUGE, and because he was so LOUD!!!) but they are such beautiful creatures!
Hahahaha!! And this bubbling beast was in the parade! oh no... that slobber issue is out of control!
oh hahaha, cotton candy poodle!
oh haha, and this guy, he was in the parade too... jeez louise!! hahaha!! Look at her pride!
so I fudged this picture. I took a picture of Afro sitting alone and then she took one of me. We did this because there was no one else around and ...
we decided it would be a brilliant idea to get our faces painted, so we needed a 'before' picture
getting our faces painted, a spontaneous decision at the dog parade, was the best thing we did all weekend!
We were both thrilled with our faces and we kept the paint on all weekend! here's AuntiAfro saying 'Cool'! hahaha!!!
we walked around the rest of the parade with it on, and then went out to dinner, then walked around the mall, then went to see Avatar in 3-D and IMAX in it and then we carefully tucked ourselves in for the evening in it too...
but not before making some awesome photobooth mac images of ourselves!!! Hahahahaha!!!!!
We had the best time together!! hahaha, look at us! it was probably midnight, we were so full of popcorn, I thought I was going to have a hernia trying to keep my stomach from pushing through it's muscles and oozing comfortably to the floor with a huge sigh or relief... and there we were, making faces into a little black dot on the top of my computer screen.
hahaha, it was so time to go to bed... that's just creepy looking!
the next morning, we got up and went to yoga, with our faces still intact, of course, and then we hit the local diner... AuntiAfro commented on how many people smiled at us with the paint on our face. We did get a lot of attention, and it was really quite nice to elicit smiles from folks who would usually just glide past us without noticing. Silly usses, looking like fools who'd lost their circus, made people smile where ever we went... hey, that's pretty great... I was sorry to have to finally take a shower, but I was so itchy and dirty, it had to be done...
Sunday afternoon, we ran with the dogs for a while. AuntiAfro had the tragedy of having one of her hounds die when she ran out into the road (55mph) and tangle with a car. Since then, she's gotten two more snow dogs to go with her 12 year old little brown hound, and she also built them an awesome playground so they never go near the road again.
Here's their formal portrait in their playground. (L-R) Z'bo, T'kayia, and Twiyllah... hmm, I'm sure I spelled at least 2 of those incorrectly... sorry A.Afro!!
The playground was a hoot and we stayed out there until I was too cold to enjoy it anymore. Of course I pick the week in Miami and DeLand that it was cold as balls... oh yeah, and then I returned to WV to 2.5 feet of snow... ugh winter can eat a dick...
A.Afro's hounds are wild and young and so affectionate... I loved being around them and was very lonely for Hank and June.
HA! Here they are eating the rest of our movie popcorn... you gotta love the corn...
Z'bo reminds me of Hank. She's snowing down, and thinning out, and she's mildly bossy, and just has stopped giving a damn about being good or listening. Luckily they're good dogs and even though they could care less, they are still well behaved in spite of their attitudes...
HA! Here she is in her Queenly jacket. I love this picture, all the textures are lovely.
hmm... look familiar... little blue house on a lot of land... uh huh... I'm telling you... she totally could have been my mom... I might not have made it through my teenage years alive, my mom had the patience of a saint, but there's definitely a theme here...
hahaha!! Love you AuntiAfro!!
Cheers

Screwed the pooch... SORRY MEL!!

2010-02-08T10:45:00.007-05:00

So, I got a note form my Mother saying that I'd screwed the pooch on one of my blog posts and she's so right. This blog for me is a rambling delightful trip through the finer parts of my days. The way I build it is that after I make a ton of pictures all day (or all week), I look through them, pick out my favorites, or the ones that make me want to talk about them, pull them into photoshop, one by one, cut them to web size and save them in a folder. I then write a small paragraph on the new post to warm up, and then I upload all the images. Then, I pull the images into place one by one and talk about them or use them to illustrate my narrative. It's simple, thoughtless, easy fun. Well, that is until I do something stupid like forget to mention someone important...
So, Mel, this post is all about you (and a winky bit about Ron L.). I'm sorry that I didn't make a single picture of you having fun at the Miami gathering. I guess I just got to talking in circles and I'd make pictures of everyone I was speaking to, and with you kind enough to give everyone their first dibs on me, I never got around to talking to you at the party... lame right?! OK, so here's some fun stuff about Mel...
Mel and my Mom have been together for over 12 years and they finally eloped like teenagers at the local mall, this past November. That's right, they got dressed, called in a notary, went to a local mall called 'The Falls' that has a lovely winding man made river of water and waterfalls running through it, and they gosh darn got married!! HA! I love it! My Mother and Mel were Morning Mall Elopers! hahaha!! There's a country song in that somewhere! Although Mel and I have completely opposite personalities, I am so happy to have him be a part of my life because he makes my Mother so happy, and I love anyone who does that!
*sigh* this is the only image from the gathering that Mel is actually in... hahaha!!! Oye vey! Anyhoo, Mel's got two great kids, and heart full of love, he's bright and can speak on almost any topic, he loves sports and one of his quirky things is that he claps at the State of the Union addresses, in unison with the other clappers at the address. There just happened to be a State of the Union address while I was down in Miami. I was engaged in making pictures of Eric and 'Veronica' so could only partially pay attention, but one of the things that made me giggle, was that at one point early on in the address, Mel started clapping fervently at something that was said, and my Mother, just gave a few golf taps on her palm. Well, Mel looked over at her and said, why aren't you clapping!! That was a good point (this all said while he was still clapping loud enough to be mistaken for thunder), and so my Mother picked up her game and clapped in earnest. Hahaha, Mel clapped every time that the folks clapped in the address, and then he clapped at things he approved of even if they didn't clap. That man was a clapping machine and how can there be anything wrong with that. Clapping at a president's speech, clapping for the spoken promises for the betterment of this country, that's a good man. It's silly things like that that make me smile when I think of Mel. He's a fervent American, he's passionate and intense, he's got a sense of humor (which I totally don't get ) but when he laughs, which I can almost never get him to do myself... hahaha we are so different!! When he laughs, it's a great sound, and it lights up his face, and his eyes twinkle!! Really, they sparkle! It's really cool to see! So, anyways... it was an oversight on my part, and of course not intentional. Oh, and another thing he does, which I can't thank him enough for, is that every time I put up a blog post, he always tells my mother, so she knows to get online and read it. If not for Mel, My mother would be a sporadic reader of my blog... and I don't think she'd get as much enjoyment from it because she'd have to read through all the back posts and with my endless words and images, even I would get bored trying to catch up! So thanks Mel, for keeping her up to date!!

So, the other person I forgot to get a single image of, other than the group shot, is Ron L. Ron and Joan have been family friends forever. As a kid, I do recall that Joan would test out my knowledge with a thousand endless questions that would sometimes make me mad because I couldn't figure out the right answer to them... Hmm, recalling that makes me think that hanging out with Joan probably made me smarter... or at least more logical... huh, thanks Joan!! Joan was always more outspoken than Ron and she has always had long beautiful black hair that went past her waist and Ron was always the silent man that I was afraid of as a kid because he was just so soft spoken. Now as an adult, Ron reminds me of Paul Simon. He's thoughtful, and his voice is so soft and melodic you want to lean forward in the hopes that he speaks for a long time and you catch every word. Ron was kind enough to come out for the gathering even though I haven't seen him for years, and I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with him. The only reason that I can think of as to why I didn't make a picture of him, is that I was leaned over listening and enjoying myself so much that the only image I could have made of us was our feet, as that's the way the camera was facing... Hahaha!!! So, here's that group image again. I did manage to get Ron into the group image! YAY!
The Miami gathering (or what was left of it by the time I could round everyone up) from left to right, kind of: Michael, Rachel, Mel, Mira (all the way in back), Jenna (in black), Susie (in yellow), Ron (all the way in back), Chris and Bree (smoochers!!!), Grandma Fran, Teddy (hahaha, nice face!), Janet, Eric, and the two shorties in the middle are my Mother (front and center) and Patti (behind her). What an amazing group of people!!
Cheers!

Superbowl dig out!

2010-02-07T14:56:00.006-05:00

So, back to the snow... today is beautiful!! The sky is a deep blue and the shadows of the trees on the snow are lovely! June and I managed to blaze a trail all the way out to the road, and after over an hour of digging, I finally managed to uncover at least a quarter of my car... I think I'm done with the car today, and will clean off the deck instead. I'm afraid the weight of the snow will put unneeded stress on the deck (and I'm also afraid of the long trek back to the car, so screw that), so my goal today is get the deck cleaned off and finish talking about Miami. Done with Miami, so now it's time for the deck. Wish my luck!
Here are some shots from today, enjoy!
HA!! There's a car under there somewhere. I leaned the snow shovel against what I assumed to be the car. Check out how far away the house is... it took June and I about 15 minutes just to blaze a trail all the way out to the road and the car... walking through 2.5 feet of snow is not easy!!
But, check out the road!! Totally passable, so it's just us and the car that are snowed in, it seems the rest of the world is able to move around freely... sigh... I've got a lot of shoveling to do...
AAArgh!!! This was after about an hour... and I'm not a wimpy slacker, I just had to dog to the car, and then start digging it out...
this was as far as I got, which is lame, but I also managed to dog out about 4 feet in front of the car, so when I finally reach the road (I've got about another 5 feet to shovel before I reach it), all the car has to do is go down hill.
Here's June sitting on the walking path we blazed to the street. When I finally crested the plow hill of snow, and staggered out onto the street, I had to lean over and put my hands on my thighs and take big long controlled breaths... HHHHHHhahahahahah!! Yup, house to road, blazing snow trails sucks butt!!
but it's all worth it to make a sweet picture like this one... Here's Junie June sitting on the plow hill while O shoot her from the street...
once I called it quits on the car, we trudged our way, well, I trudged my way back towards the house, while June frolicked in front of me in the trail.
Ha, we are making quite a maze in front of the house. When I was talking to Aly this morning, she asked me if I'd hidden pieces of cheese at the ends for myself... hahaha, I'm a clever mouse!
This is the trail that leads out to the road and the car... I was coughing I was so worn out by te snow, but this little turkey could have been out in it all day long...
aah, back inside the blissful little blue house... check out all of June's toys that she loves to drag out of her basket. My Mother says half of her life is devoted to opening and closing the windows in Miami because she's constantly turning on and off the air conditioning... half of my life is devoted to putting June's toys back in her basket, because her simple joy is taking them all out, and surrounding herself with them so they can all watch with horror as she decimates one of them... it's very barbaric, but she looks so cute in her cruelty... hahaha!!
and Hank has assumed the position again this morning... poor old man... he's snoring next to me right now...
Cheers!

The everglades were on fire under an almost full aura'd moon...

2010-02-07T14:06:00.004-05:00

I saw the most beautiful thing when I was down in Miami. Aaron and I took a drive into the everglades like we used to do when we were young. 3am and we had the car in neutral, poking down a dirt road with the everglades marsh lands on one side and a canal'ish line of water buffering the road from the marshlands on the other side which had recently been on fire. The moon was almost full and there was a wide aura around it that kept the clouds at bay and wreathed them around the perfect black iris and white pupil of the moon. Every once and a while, small islands of scrub brush in the canal would catch fire as the embers from the larger fire that had died out, dried them out enough to smoulder and then ignite... and there we were, windows down, sweatshirts on because of the breeze, Bob Marley playing low, full moon with an aura and clouds that were lit brightly enough to cast shadows against the sky, as the everglades burned around us, and the dirt road was endless and empty.
It was so perfect, I could feel it burning into my memory, this moment, the feeling, the smell of burn trees and the crisp air that brought it to me that had as always just a touch of humidity in it.
It makes me take a heavy breath to remember it, and it may be the best thing I see all year, and that's fine, it was more than enough.
Thank you my oldest friend, time with you, really is going home again...
~Cheers

old friends that aren't scary...

2010-02-07T13:59:00.005-05:00

So, several months ago, Chris and I had a really wretched experience with an old friend that I decided not to write about on the blog. This is a PG blog, I keep it for my mother and the few friends whom are curious, and so I use it to highlight the joys of being alive... there's a ton of crap that I'd love to bitch about, but do you really want to hear it, most of the time I'm sulking it's because I don't even want to listen to myself bitching about it in my head!! So, that's the main reason I didn't say anything, the other reason is that I just didn't want to spit out a lot of hate and disappointment about this person in words. It's not worth it, and I'm sure the person isn't too thrilled with me either, so we've both kept our silence like adults and I'm pleased by that.
OK, so, here are some of the great parts of living... old friends...
This is Samantha. We were fast friends in elementary school and junior high but then were drawn to different crowds in high school and lost touch. Amazingly, we are still very similar, she's a TV producer and I'm a photographer... we're basically the same exact size and we still had a roaring time with one another. I am so glad she came by 2 nights in a row, and can't wait to talk more about her, since I hope very much that we stay in touch. Oh, and my Mother made this picture and I love it!
This one too! Hahaha, I'll have to find a picture of us when we were kids, we look the same, just not as conservatively dressed... hey, it was Miami, wearing orange and red striped shirt with neon blue shorts was completely in fashion... (ugh.. I shiver at finding those pictures, they may be better off at rest...)
aah, yeah, I accidentally goosed her while my Mom was making pictures of us... hahaha!! Good times with old friends!! Sorry Sam!!
So, here's another great old friend I got to hang out with while in Miami. This is Eric and we were fast friends in high school. We were in the same photography class (the only one I ever took) and we also had sign language together. Eric, amazingly dug out a high school portrait he made of me (we were partners, so I'm sure I made one of him too, but the hell if I know where it is, sorry old friend!) and brought it over to the house... my Mother laughed out loud and started reminiscing about what a rotten kid I was, and Eric laughed and laughed while I tried to hide in the closest cabinet with the pots and pans...
HAhahahah!! really!! Why Eric ever spoke to me, or how I had any friends at all is amazing!!
Anyhoo, Eric is now a father to a 7 year old little girl, who is the most charming and social little person I met all trip. He's doing an incredible job raising her, and it's astonishing to see kids that I was kids with having kids that are little people and not babies...
Eric and I had set up a formal portrait making session before I got to Miami, and here are some of the images I like the most...
Eric is a big man. he's touching 6'3" or 6'4" and has very long features. When we were in high school together, he was really shy and thin and gangly, but now in our mid thirties, he's become quite handsome, and having a child has made him very warm and comfortable to be around... he's got a charisma that wasn't there in high school and it's so good to see him flourishing!
I made his daughter run around with a flash light. I was telling her about the blog and I asked both her and Eric about their comfort level in using her name. Eric said he didn't mind if I used her name, and so I asked her, and she said that she preferred to be called Veronica on my blog, because even though that was no her name, it was her friends name who'd recently moved away and she missed her. Aaah, to be young and fresh and in love with everything... how wonderful.
Here's 'Veronica's' formal portrait. I then gave the camera to her, set up the focus and light and told her what to push. Even though she had a vocabulary far beyond her years, she still has little girl arms, and it took both of them wobbling to balance my camera. The first couple of images were out of focus and then...
she NAILED IT! I love this image of me, made by a 7 year old!! Hahahah!!! Brilliant. I'm laughing at something her father said... what a moment... Thanks' Veronica'.
Cheers!

More Miami...

2010-02-07T13:56:00.007-05:00

This is my Mother's back yard, and the yard where I spent my youth. Where the pool is now, there used to be a play set with swings, and a slide, etc... and there are pictures of Aaron and I hanging on one another like monkeys and sticking our tongues out at my mother, making the picture. There used to be mango trees, avocado, banana, orange, grapefruit, and key lime trees too, but blights and hurricanes have taken them all but a couple of mango trees and the avocado tree. This yard is truly a piece of heaven.
a piece of heaven...
so, here's a fun story, thanks to facebook. On New Year's eve, I was sitting in my little blue house, alone, and was on facebook, just idly being a voyeur... when all of the sudden, I got a ping from Anita (shown here with her husband Frank), and Jane. Jane used to live across the street from me when I was growing up, and she and my mother were very close. Jane and Anita were the best of friends and so the three ladies spent some time together, well, actually for many years. Anita and Frank have 2 daughters and Jane and Gene have 2 sons and a daughter, and we're all relatively close in age, all of us within 10 years of each other... so, back to NYE... Anita and Jane and I were all drinking wine and we proceeded to have an hour long messaging session that culminated with me promising to visit Anita when I got into Miami. Weird right, having drunk fun with my Mother's old friends, but well, that's what facebook is all about... so when I got to Miami, I called Anita and invited myself over.
I had a great time over there and we even got silly enough to stand with a gap between us, so we could insert Jane into the mix, hahaha!!! we're so clever when we're drinking!
here's their cat, whose name I forget, but should be named cheerio, because he loves to chase them! hahaha, check it out!
yup, he was the cheerio king!
now I'm starting to get put of order, and just rambling, but I did so much down there in Miami, that my sequencing is muddling... anyhoo, here's Sheila getting some puppy love from my Mother. I learned to love animals from this woman. I would bring home all sorts of strays and she would inevitably say ok to keeping them. She's always so kind with them and animals live forever in her house. We had a cat that was older than my brother for 21 years, we used to tease him and tell him that his older sister, the cat, not me, got more attention than he did! hahaha...
Here's my mother being playful. Look at the mirth in her eyes... yup, that's where I get mine too... she was a tough Mom and I was a rotten kid, but my play, my love of all things silly and my easy way is directly from her... she's nutty, but she's fun! Love you Mom!!
Hahaa, here's my Mom and Samantha's Dad joking around at The Palace. The Palace is the assisted living home that both my Bubba and Samantha's grandfather live. My Bubba calls it the Prison, but you know, I kind of agree with her, it's like a college dorm with all single rooms, and although you should be sunsetting gracefully into the sweet here after, there's always someone asking you if you're ok, who's probably a quarter of your age, and well, of course you're not ok, you can no longer live on your own, and you're old, and your mind or body, or both are heading south, rapidly... it's tough. That said, I think that the Palace (the Prison) is a great opportunity, and my Bubba is lucky to have the money to live in assisted living.
We were listening to a lady cover Benny Goodman showtunes in the common area after an Italian dinner, on a Thursday evening. Life is good. Bubba said no pictures so this is the only one I got... she's so sassy sometimes!!
Back at home, Samantha made some pictures of my Mom and I being, my Mom and I...
I like this one...
the next afternoon, before I left Miami, I wanted to get a picture of us made my way (arms outstretched and doing it myself... Here I am testing light, usually I just erase these tests because I most often look like a moron, but I like this one...
aah, Mom, you're so awesome, but why do I have more gray hair than you do... Miami was so warm (and sometimes cold!!) and wonderful. I need to get down there more often... it's a whole 'nother world down there!
Cheers!

THIS is Miami...

2010-02-07T13:21:00.006-05:00

So, apparently I chose the wrong week to visit Miami. I guess I should have asked Mother nature instead of just my Mother when she wanted me in Miami... I'll know next time! anyhoo, Miami was amazing!! I haven't been down there for many years, probably closing in on a decade, so of course, every thing's changed, people have all become adults, the adults I knew all look the same, and my next door neighbor, Aaron, with whom I grew up is still living at home with his mother, so I guess not everything has changed... I can't tell is he's a super genius or super slacker for still living at home, either way, I was so glad he was there, because I love his company and he stays up late, just like me...
So, let's go with some Miami pics... this is going to be a long one... I was there for over a week!
I got in, after a 28 hour train ride (what!! I don't like to fly, and I've never done it before, um, and I won't do it again, maybe flying ain't so bad...) and slept in Saturday morning. My Mom and Mel went to see the Cirque de Soliel big top with the horses, and so I had a few hours to kill before having a lovely evening with Bubba. I went next door, hung out with Aaron and then went to dinner with Bubba. The next day, My Mother threw a gathering with all of my relatives in Miami and all of her friends that had watched me grow up. It was funny, because I kind of felt like I was the main exhibit at the petting zoo, or the auction block, people sized me up, checked my teeth, asked about my occupation, love life, home and dogs, and I answered politely and made sure not to kick or bare my teeth. Hahahha, that said, everybody there was awesome, and I'm so lucky to have such wonderful family members and friends. Seriously, that they even showed up after so many years of me being away was a big deal to me... so I shouldn't be snarky, it just felt weird at the beginning... Anyhoo, here are Ray and Patti, I used to babysit their daughter who's now an adult (and a teacher), and Ray was my Dad's (stepdad's technically, but that's too hard to write and I never called him that growing up, it was always me and my 2 dad's, so for this post, my 'Dad' is Mark, and not James, to whom all my NY relatives are related. This is the Miami side of the relatives) so, Ray was my Dad's best friend. They had poker games and birthday parties and superbowls together and I remember them as being the great adult mysterious parties of my youth when my Mother would sneak me some snacks and tell me to go play in my room or stay with her while she folded laundry or some other chore, because I wasn't allowed to disturb the men folk while they were enjoying themselves... When I think of my Dad, whom passed form cancer when he was just 42 years old, I remember his laugh, heard loudest and largest evern amongst all of his closest friends... that laugh, I still hear it in my dreams, he was really quite something amazing. On the far right of the image is Carol, Aaron's Mom and my next door neighbor. I feel like she and Aaron are relatives too because I grew up with them, and I've pretty much known them my whole life. Carol is the bees knees, and I had long conversations with her while I waited for Aaron to get his ass in gear so we could go out and do all the things I wanted to do once my Mother was fast alseep (south beach and the everglades, etc...)
HAHAHA, here's my grandmother, my dad's Mom, Susie in the middle and Aunt Mira. I'd asked them to stick their chests out proudly so I could make a picture of strong women... hahahaha!!! Hmm, and where did I learn my sense of humor... I wonder...
hahaha, these ladies are great!!
Here's Mira's middle child, Teddy and his girlfriend, Janet. Time is amazing... the last time I saw him, or either of his sisters, they were barely reaching puberty, and now they're all taller than I am and they're all doing adult things... Teddy's a therapist for touched kids, Janet's a teacher,
Sabrina's a teacher, and married to Chris...
and Jenna's getting her doctorate in Physical Therapy for sports injuries and I don't know what her boyfriend Eric does, but he was really nice. It was amazing to have the time to catch up with everyone and I can't thank my Mother enough for getting everyone together, because I never would have seen them all if she hadn't organized us.
Oh, and did I mention that my Mother eloped in November!! Yup, E-loped, not cante-loped, not ante-loped, but E-loped... so here are my new step brother and sister, Michael and Rachel... weird right? Now I'm one of 8 kids... hahaha!!! suh-weet... *sigh*, they look scared... and I was even bahavin' well...
so this is my Mom's across the street neighbor's son whom was born mid December. He was enormous and sleepy and so warm and soft... I've got 'other people's baby, fever' right now, and I will hold anything that's smaller than my dogs for as long as the parents want me to... I can't get enough of other people's babies!!
and then he was done with strangers holding him and Rachel promptly returned him to his mother.
aah, and here's the oldest dog on the planet. Sheila is 17 years old and still kicking it. She's wheezy and crickety and my mother just adores her. She outlived Roark, and she may very well outlive Hank if he doesn't start doing something besides sleep on the couch.
ok, I'm going to stop here and start a new post because I just realized that I have about 40 more images to put up, and that's too much for one post.
Cheers!

snow night, I meant, good night...

2010-02-06T18:24:00.006-05:00

OK, here are the last snow images of the day. My Mom bitched to me about not having Miami up, so now I feel all bad for not posting Miami first, but not so bad that I won't post these last images of snow for the evening. Bob came over around 5pm tonight and as I opened the door, he said, thanks for dinner last night, the light is beautiful right now, everything looks like a sculpture, and you're burning your fire wrong. Hahahaha!!! Um, thanks neighbor. So, after being lectured about proper log burning, I put on my second pair of socks, the hard wear fleece, the jacket, the gloves, the milk boots, the hat, the scarf, got made fun of for not having snow pants, grabbed the camera and followed him along the path he made up to my house to make a few pictures in the pretty light... mostly of June, of course...
HA! She cannot get enough of the snow. I fell bad that Cane isn't up here with us. I would have offered to take him on Friday morning, but I know Chris would have missed him terribly, and snow isn't as much fun without hounds.
so she's having to suck it up and have fun with me, also known as molasses lomaskin, or make it herself.
I think she's doing ok making it herself. She runs in front of me along the paths that we've blazed through the snow and then she turns around and makes crazy moves with her body, all wiggly and sometimes a bit breakdancishly robotic and then runs back towards me and tries to squeak past me, which is pretty impossible because the path is only as big as my two legs walking.
HA, here she is trying to pass me
and her in the path. Look how much taller the snow is than her, ok, actually not that much at all, but it seemed like it.
oh, this is a better perspective... it's a good half a foot taller than she is...
HA, and here she is tearing ass towards me!! hahahaha, I would laugh so hard, I'd plunk my butt down in the snow as I'd lose my balance from the giggles and poor Bob must have thought I was losing my mind, but she was just so animated and funny!!
Bob finally had enough of us and said he was going back inside to make slushy margaritas, and June and I blazed a trail back to the house.
and then I made 3 really sweet pictures of my June before calling it an afternoon and heading back indoors.
isn't she so awesome!!
ooh, hahaha, she's resting her head on a path wall while standing in the hole I just made as I pushed through the snow...
Cheers!

it's still snowing...

2010-02-06T14:31:00.010-05:00

The June and I went out into the snow to assess the situation. Last night it was at 19 inches when I went to bed, and right now it's at 28 inches and the snow is still falling. To put this into perspective, I made some measurements of all the usses in the house. Hank is sleeping on the couch so I didn't measure him, but I did make a lovely picture...
Here is was yesterday when Bob came over. As soon as Bob sat down, Hank parked himself firmly in his lap and then went to sleep immediately... hahaha, oh sweet hound... he's hating every minute of snow
Here he is this afternoon. I think he's willing himself to stay asleep until this whole thing blows over... hahaha, poor old man... I mean, come on!! HIS EYES ARE OPEN!! but when I call to him, he just ignores me and pretends to sleep...
man, it's tough being a snow dog... Here's June after one of her romps... she's just the sweetest hound!!
OK, so back to the measurements... This is 28 inches of snow... doesn't look so terrible right? I mean, it's not as if the door has snow up to its top hinges... well...
let's see... I am 5 feet and 3.75 inches. My length from heel to hip bone is 35 inches, and from heel to bottom of the old ass is 31 inches... ugh... my ass is 4 inches long... what a thing to learn... anyways, I weigh 135 pounds.
my dear Junie June is 21 inches from toes to the top of her back, and she weighs 58 pounds. Now, being from Miami, and apparently mildly retarded, when I stepped out into the snow, I thought that I too would just float over it jumping and laughing just like June
and then I sank into the snow up to my 4 inch ass... really... I'm a moron... there was no floating, no skipping happily along bouncing after my little red dog... hahaha!!! 28 inches is an incredible amount of snow!!!
show off!!!
JACKASS!!!
HA! This looks more like me out there... covered, and heading back to the house!
hahaha!!! She's 21 inches at her back and almost 27 inches when she stretches her head and neck up as far as they will go... Damn!! That's a lot of snow!!
we made our way over to the shed so I could set my camera up on a trash can
YAY for camera timers!! Holy Moly! Look at all the snow!! It's amazing cold and light and fluffy and so beautiful!! I have on long johns, 2 pairs of socks, my milk boots (wading boots), jeans, a long sleeve shirt, a short sleeve one, a sweater, my 'hard wear' fleece, and my jacket. Oh, and gloves... hahaha!!! And when I weighed myself after putting all of that on, I weighed 142 pounds! Hahaha, I was wearing 7 pounds of clothing!
hahaha!! And then I decided that I was going to make a snow angel on camera. Yeah... not so bright because I got stuck in the snow. I was caught turtle on my back and I couldn't roll over because when I pushed down into the snow, I just kept sinking, and I couldn't find any leverage. You can't tell from the image, but I was close to panicking... hahaha!! It would be just my Irish luck to be written up by the coroners as 'death by snow angel'... Anyhoo, I finally managed to roll to my side, get a face full of snow in the process (not so beautiful when you're eating it), find the bottom and push myself up
SO I COULD DO ANOTHER ONE!!! SNOW ANGELS ROCK!!!!
while I was making snow angels, June was making snow tunnels. The front yard looked like there was a full on soccer riot with tear gas and cockney accents.
Here's June pushing through the snow... hehehe I imagine this is what I looked like too,eyes all bulging, lurching through the snow, bundled up like a dirty Michelin man, making our way back to the house
aah, sweet snow hound, check out her wicked Hitler snowstache... it's time to go in... I'm sure we'll be out again soon. It's 3pm and it's still snowing... and since the high tomorrow is going to be 32 degrees, yup, the high tomorrow is going to be Freezing... lovely... I imagine that there will be a ton more snow pictures on the way. In the mean time, I'm going to start working on my Miami pictures (if I can bear it... sunshine, dog parades, short sleeves... warm nights... makes my soul want to weep silently in a corner with a big dunce cap on... why did I move north?!!) hahaha! I love the seasons, just in moderation, please...
Cheers!!

This is not Miami...

2010-02-06T12:40:00.009-05:00

So, I got back from Miami last Monday and then it snowed on Tuesday... not the best welcome back I can imagine, but not big super deal... it is still the middle of winter.
Chris and Cane came over to do laundry and for dinner and once they'd left, I started gathering my gear for DC, as I had a shoot at the Museum on Thursday. I called my girlfriends in DC and set up dates for coffee and wine and planned in spending a lovely day in DC on Friday and then heading over to Jenna's to finish our wedding edits...
ooh, soooo wrong...
I came back from the shoot Thursday night at about midnight, and then Friday morning it started to snow... and it hasn't stopped yet...
and I'm sooooo over it... oh, and I'm also trapped in my house... well, I can get out my door, but really what's the point... the snow is up to my mid thigh and I just read that the highlands (ie, my little blue house) may very well see three feet of snow...
here's the quote:
Forecasters were predicting that the mountains of West Virginia and Maryland, west of the nation's capital, would receive the most snow -- possibly 3 feet.
WTF, Nature?!! WTF, my friends...

Anyhoo, my neighbor, Bob, stopped by with a friendly, "hey, Miami, you know how to start a fire" and invited himself in to inspect my situation.
He fixed the rotation of my fan, chopped a bunch of wood, talked up a storm and let Hank sleep all over him
while we shared a bottle of wine and I made dinner as a thank you.
Bob is an Artist, he's had shows in the Village, was a painter, a sculptor, has made movies, and his brains are full of art and art history, and hatred for phony artists, and
he's a word machine. He never stops talking, and it's fascinating. Sometimes I'm totally absorbed, and sometimes, I'm barely paying attention (like when I made this picture, no idea of what he was talking about), and sometimes, he's yelling at my ceiling, railing on about something, and being in the same room with him is just an experience. I like him a lot! He's just dazzling interesting, a successful dinosaur of an Artist from the 60's... I can say he's probably the coolest neighbor I've ever had (no offense Dean, you were across the street, so you don't count as a 'next door'), this is my favorite image of him. He's got a beautiful smile, and I like that it's soft and grainy, it suits him.
So, Bob and I ate dinner, watched La Strada on Netflix, and watched the snow come down, oh and of course, Bob talked up a snownami of words to fit the weather.
So, this was one of the last images I made before going to sleep last night. I had continued to shovel away just my front entry way, because being from Miami, I have an irrational fear of being snowed into my house. You know when you wake up in the morning and your front door is stuck shut with snow, and you're trapped... Right, so my door opens in and there's no danger of that, but I was obsessive about that entry way. This was maybe two or three minuted after shoveling it...
and this morning! HOLY SNOW!!
Again, last night around 3am... it was just below my knees...
and this morning, it's almost to my hips... hahaha, for reference, because it seems impossible that it can snow that much. Think about porch railings. They usually go to your hips... and check out the snow... Cuh'ra'zee...
Poor hank was traumatized this morning when we went out to pee... He was so upset, he peed right there, in the snow, and then slogged back to the doorway and went back to bed.
June had better ideas and off she plowed...
and then realized how deep it was...
and then got stuck...
and thought, screw this!!
but then tried it again, and really got stuck, I thought I was going to have to jump in after her on this shot... she was still sinking as I made this... hahaha!!!
but she made it out! Yay!!
hahaha, every time she made a big jump, she'd all but disappear from sight. She was a nose and a tail and that's it.
She looks all though, but she's only about 10 feet away from the house.
and she found her snow path and took it back to me in about 30 seconds
and then just sat in the entry way, confused as to why the snow was taller than she is... she didn't want to come inside, but she didn't try to go out into the snow again... hahahah!!! poor snow dog got oversnowed!! June and I are going to head outside in a few minutes to make some pictures of the house. Of course, it's still snowing, so we won't be out for long, but I'm curious to see how snowed in we look, because it feels intense!! I'll make some pictures of us in the snow with my wide glass... it will really be up to my hips... hahaha!!!
Cheers!

The Amazing King of Harpers Ferry!!

2010-01-20T20:13:00.017-05:00

I had the pleasure of hanging with Konrad this afternoon, and although I'm exhausted and should actually be packing for Miami, I leave tomorrow morning, I just need to get all the wonderful things he did onto... um, paper... *sigh*, I"m so old... before I forget them all. So, he's 17 months old now, and I've barely seen him since starting at the Museum. Well, let me tell you that I was shocked and amazed by his growth. I always have a great time with the Doctor, he's a neat kid, very kind, never mean or nasty, even when he's sobbing his eyes out wishing me back to the cave I crawled out of to terrorize him, he never lashes out with his little limbs, or has a look in his eye that has any type of malice at all, he just really wished I'd leave him the 'F' alone and return his parents... immediately. But, my time away has made me realize just how extraordinary he is, and how amazing he's going to be... let me essplain.... in pictures, of course
This is the current Kaiser. Look at that new expression... he's funny! He's bright, and inquisitive, and kind of hysterical, I mean, what other 17 month old makes this type of statement with their little hands hanging onto their suspenders like they're running for office. I think he was telling me that he already knew all about spaghetti, and I was seriously boring him...
Hahahaha!!, so his new thing is to put things in his pocket. If I handed it to him, into the pockets it went. Check out, yet again, the cool stance, hand on low slung pants (thank goodness for his suspenders) perfect expression, and yup, some cool toys just chillin in his pockets... what a little riot!
Today was in the low 50's and although it's still really cold to me, he just wanted to be outside, um, like all frigging day, Kid, seriously, I'm from Miami... I almost froze my face off... while Konrad couldn't have been happier or more comfortable...
Ooooohhhh... today's first wonderful adventure was to the library. I'd never been to the library with the Kaiser, and I thought he might be at the age where he could appreciate the change of environment and all the colorful books, oh, and FISH!!! uuuugh!!!! He could not get enough of the fish. I brought over a chair that he could stand on, and although he roamed the library and had an awesome time, he kept coming back to these fish, he even said it several times, although it sounded like he was saying, fshhhhhhh, or iiiissssss.... but whatever, I got it...
So, the first amazing thing of the day, for me, happened here. Konrad had picked out several books, and one of them had a fish on it, after staring at the tank for a while, he got down, went over to his pile of books, on the floor, picked out the one with the big fish on it, pointed a the fish, looked at me, pointed at the tank, and said fshhhh, and then about faced, and walked over to the fish tank to show the fish. I about fshhhh'ed in my pants. 17 months!!! WTF!!! I was in shock, mouth open, stupefied shock.
here's a close up of the book in his hands. Fsshhhhh!!!!
yeah, so the library was a huge success until a little, not to be named, genius pooped his pants, and it was time to go home.
on the way home, we passed a little dog and I said, hey Konrad, want to see the dog, de hund? (hund being one of the handful of German words I know, and I use it every chance I get, that along with kitze: cat, vassemelon: watermelon, vassah: water, elephante: seriously, if I need to translate that one, you are just looking at the pictures, aren't you), so Konrad looked over, and said, whoo, whoo, whoo, ahahahah! vunderkind, Konrad vunderind! We then passed a cat at the next house and I stopped again and said, Konrad, look, Kitze!, and he said, oew, oew, and then the cat came over and said, meow, and we all laughed, as the cat blew the Kaiser's mind (Corey said it was his first meow, and I believed it because he was just THRILLED) and he blew mine, kitze's say oew and hunds say woo wooo, and the fish, oh man, the freaking fish book, just WOW!
we got back, had a snack in some lovely light, and then...
he threw some pretty mean gang signs at me, and I danced with him to alleviate the tension... I had no guff with him or his boys... and by boys, I mean, his stuffed elephant, the john deere tractor and his wooden fruit that I knew he kept hidden in his pockets should things go down wrong... I wanted no part of that, no sir...
Yup, I would have trashed this, but Corey said it was neat, so here's my totally overexposed glamour shot of Konrad in his Dad's mad shades. Corey said that Brendan wore these one summer, and all I can say is, Dude, I hope you and your brass balls rocked these things!!!
Cause you got some stiff competition, Brendan...
uuh, hahaha!!! This was so awesome, we were making spaghetti for lunch, and I gave Konrad a piece to play with, and as he was pulling on it, it snapped... right onto his forehead, it broke on both ends and the middle went splat, right onto his knob. Oh, I was howling, and the poor Doctor was just confused. When I finally came to my senses and could breathe without gagging with laughter,
I pulled it from his forehead, and then he thought it was funny too... I tell you, he's just amazing!!
and then Mom came home for lunch, and look at his eyes, he loves, loves, loves this lady. I understand why, but it's so great to watch him with her, and in turn,
check out the flow... this kid is well loved, and it's so lovely to see it...
I love this picture... he's just making sure I know he's the man... and his Mom is home, and he's loving every second of it...
Hey!! Here's a milestone, this is Konrad's fist picture that he's ever made. Ha!! and it's a self portrait. I was making pictures of him and the glasses again when he leaned over and put his wee finger on the trigger, and poof, a portrait of the artist as a young man, take that James Joyce (no offense, Mr. Joyce, I love that book, I'm just saying...)
Ugh, again with the outside and the cold, my fingers were freezing, along with my pointy nose and my elf ears, and he just loved it.
And then, the little man weaseled me into taking a walk with him, which I thought was just a meandering down the lane, but this kid had a purpose in mind when he pointed at the gate and said, ou, ou... so ou we went, and didn't he go two houses down and sit on some other kid's bike! Hahahaha, it was sitting in the front of their house, and he thought that was just right.
I finally managed to coax him indoors with the promise of the big yellow truck, which he thoroughly enjoyed
for about 3 minutes. (this is my favorite image of the day, not sure why, but I love it)
and then we were outside again... hahaha, doesn't he look like a forest gnome on his stone stump? I saw this sitting in the yard and made a beeline to it with Konrad trailing happily behind me, ou, ou, ou...
Once done with the stoop, it was his turn to lead again... oh little man... such an adventurer... he even picked up a walking stick... hahaha!!!
and the day's never complete without a turn in the bucket... and the babysitter shivering in the 50 degree afternoon... hahaha! Miami, here I come!!
What an amazing day we had... the world is such a wonderful place...
Cheers!

Lisa and Andy's wedding

2010-01-18T10:14:00.008-05:00

Jenna and I shot Lisa and Andy's wedding last weekend and we had a ball! Lisa and Andy are lovely people and when we had our first meeting with them, Lisa told us that she didn't want any images made of her. HHHhahahahaha!!! HUH? No images of the bride? This was our task? Our hearts stopped and for the next several weeks we poured over the internet, looking for wedding images from other Photographers that had managed to make beautiful images of the wedding not including the brides face. We sent emails of pictures back and forth and made lists of things we could do that would keep with that taxing request. A few weeks later, Lisa backed off that request, and we both sighed with relief, would have kicked her shins had she been in reach, but then thought about it and both wanted to hug her for making us work so hard, trying to create beautiful images. Thanks Lisa, your request made us better Photographers... hmm, did you do that on purpose... hmm...
Anyhoo, we had scoped out the church the week before and then had lunch to talk about how crafty we could be... and we are crafty... The morning of the wedding, we split off and Jenna went with the girls and I went with the boys to shoot their preparations. I like going with the boys, because they are usually more calm.

Here's a lovely shot Jenna made of the Lisa having her hair done. The girls are always nervous and edgy which makes me nervous, where as the boys are usually joking around to shed their nervous energy, which makes me feel better.
True to form, when I asked Andy what he wanted for his groomsmen picture, he said, by the boat... the sailboat, up on wheels, out in the field, that is... so out we tromped into the cold to make some fun shots.
Here's Andy running from his groomsmen while they threw snowballs at him. They eventually caught him, scooped him up over one of their shoulders and gave him a hard time. Fun shots, made, we headed to church to meet up with the ladies. The ladies all looked lovely, and Lisa's dress was AMAZING! I could see Gene Tierney wearing this dress, it was that type of elegance. Jenna made this one, and I love the little one watching all the fluffing and excitement. I barely remember when my Mother got married to my stepfather, I was 4 years old, but I do remember how great it felt to wear my dress! Haha, I was horrible at their wedding, crying and having a full on temper tantrum when I had to throw the flowers (I was their flowergirl) and my Mother tells me that it was a miracle that my Dad said yes when asked... ugh, I was a rotten kid... but the memory of all the dresses layers rustling when I moved, that is a permanent memory.
Hahaha, Jenna made this one too! I love the nervous stance, and the garter belt, which was not taken off by the groom's teeth at the party. I abhor that tradition! And, I LOVE the shoes! Hot red heels for a new wife, how saucy!!
Here's the bride to be, with her Mother while they were getting ready, another one of Jenna's.
The wedding was lovely, the church was beautiful, and it allowed us to make images that we have not been able to make in the past. I made this one, but only because Jenna saw it's potential when we first toured the church. I'm not sure in the frenzy of the after ceremony pictures that I would have seen this opportunity. Nice eyes Jenna! I love and fear every wedding we photograph. Weddings inspire terror in me, the images must be great, you've got one chance to make them and they are always soooooo long. This one was no different, with the exception that Jenna and I have shot enough of them together now, that I trust her, as well as myself, to get what we need independently of one another but to also be able to read her. I can see her getting the good shots in the relaxing of her shoulders, and I can see when she misses one and I make sure to get make a couple of the same thing to make sure as a collective that we've got it all. She does the same thing to me, and in the end, we come up with really great collections. I love shooting with Jenna, and I can't say it enough. She's a good partner, and she makes me laugh, hard, and often.
Here are Lisa and Andy in the middle of their wedding, and there is nothing but them, and a moment of pure joy. Nice one Jenna. I couldn't see this from the back of the church, and I'm sure most of the other people in the church couldn't either.
The ceremony, my point of view. Jenna calls me the closer. I am more comfortable shooting from the back, and so I always get the happy newlyweds leaving the church or place of marriage
and Jenna always gets the juicy ceremony shots.
Jenna gets the fronts, the close ups, the intimacy in their faces, the good stuff, the sweet looks, and the love...
and she leaves me to my strengths, which is to just shoot what I see... the pieces of intimacy that make me smile, that I wouldn't be able to see without Jenna shooting from the front. I hate shooting weddings without her. (and I love that while she was making a lovely picture of them in the window, I could make this picture, which I love, it's one of my favorites of the day)
This is another one of my favorites that I made that day. It's their first dance. The reception was at the Carnagie on 15th and P St, NW, and their reception ahll is gorgeous!! Jenna stayed on the floor to make close ones of them and gave me the opportunity to make lovely ones like this from the balcony.
Which brings us to the best image of the day. Hahaha, I know it's not of the bride and groom, but she just nailed this image!
Hhahahahaha!! This is Andy's Father with his brother, 'Uncle' Dick. Don't they just look like they stepped out of the portraits on the wall to get a couple refreshments before exiting back into their paintings. Jenna, you crafty girl!!!
So, another successful wedding, another happy couple that were just wonderful.
Congratulations Andy and Lisa!! Live long and well.
Cheers!

in the 40's

2010-01-15T13:29:00.002-05:00

Holy Moly, 40 degrees feels so WARM!! Hahaha, we've been under freezing during the days for so long, that for the last couple of days it's been in the 40's and I feel like grabbing my bathing suit and laying out in the sun (well almost, there's still snow on the ground, so that's just not happening, but it still feels so much warmer!). Anyhoo, the hounds and I packed it in to go visit with Chris and Cane for the afternoon and try to get some running time in before the earth realizes what's going on and drops us back into the freezer. Chris and Hank stayed indoors and the younger hounds and I went for a walk along the canal path. With everything going on, I've forgotten how much I enjoy these long walks with the dogs. The days are beautiful (and so damn cold! even though I just said it was so warm, it's still only in the 40's and that's stupid cold!), and the rivers are lovely in the winter light. Here are some pics, enjoy.
HA! I'll start out with a doozy! Check out the mad ninja moves by Cane as he narrowly avoids being mauled by an overjoyed June. These two hounds are inseperable. I feel bad that when Chris and I parted, that they too had to part. They still see one another often as we're only 15 miles up the mountain, but still... whenever Chris comes to pick up Cane, June just sits by the door, looking out the window, waiting for him to come back.
here's June figuring out how to out ninja Cane... it's pretty impossible. She's not nearly as fast or flexible. Cane is built like a deer and June is well, built like a fat lab.
HA! here's Cane just living it up. He LOVES making her chase him. He runs laps around her and it makes her so MAD!
She is in full out run and look at Cane, looking back at her, taking his sweet as time, and then in a moment, he makes a 90 degrree turn and books it, and she has to do a three point turn (mac truck style) as she slams on the brakes and then looks around to find him, it's hilarious!
and while she's looking around, he comes at her from behind and just nails her. here she is almost finished rolling down the hill after Cane clobbered her close to the top. Hahaha, look at him just laughing and playing while she just gets pissed!
HHHHHHahahahahah!!! Here she comes and Cane knows it! I love this picture! Cane's got his eyes closed just waiting for her to get him! He's a good older brother like that, he knows when he's pushing it too far, and then he'll slow down and let her get him a good one in before he takes off again.
it was such a beautiful day! It got up to 50 degrees yesterday and although I was bundled up and still had my gloves on, I could feel the sun on my hair and it felt so great!
yup, still winter though... Isn't this lovely? It's ice that had been frozen onto tree roots and as it melted away from the tree, it left these patterns in the ice...cool...
I don't know how they do it, but they both went into the water and continued to play as if it were summer. They were only in it for a few moments, to drink and a bit of play, but it must have been SO cold...
stupid showoff's... I had to keep moving to stay warm, and these jerks played in the river...
I finally had to go back inside because I was chilled to the bone, but hahaha, hey Junie, what's that on your face? yup, I think it's happy hound slobber from a very good day.
Cheers!

Haiti

2010-01-15T11:40:00.003-05:00

Hey all, the images coming out of Haiti are just devastating. Chris and I had the opportunity to go down to the Dominican Republic with Gang Merv (thanks Merv!!) last year, and that side of the island, once outside of the resorts was dirt poor, so I can only imagine the state of affairs on the other side of the island if the DR was the better half.

So, I got online this morning to the Doctors without borders site and made a donation, and if you have any loose coins laying around, I ask you to do the same.

Anyone whom has lived through weather in the states knows how lucky we are, Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Katrina, the 1989 SF Earthquake, the endless tornadoes in the plains, help is immediate (well, almost for the Katrina survivors), hospitals are available, and medicine is sanitary, we are rich and lucky.

Here's the Doctors without Borders website

https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org

Cheers, and please donate if you can.

6 Girls and the Doctor

2010-01-08T12:46:00.007-05:00

So, we finally all got a chance to get together Wednesday night and I was so happy to see the Harpers Ferry girls again. Thinking back, I've barely seen Shawna or Carrie this year, and the few times I've been able to see Corey were when I was sitting for Konrad. Having us all together again in the same room was pure delight. I got my Nikon D300 i n the mail on Wednesday afternoon and was very excited to test out it's low light limits with the kids. My old Nikon, the D200 only went to 1600, and the D300 can set to 3200 before messing with the high stops.
I set the camera to 2200, put on my fixed 50, 1.4 and went to town. The kids all look so big and beautiful! They are happy, healthy and so loved. Here's Konrad grinning at Shawna. Look at how big he is!! No flash, no being disturbed by the Photographer, and after looking at these images, I'm so very pleased with the camera.
the noise at 2200 is minimal although I haven't gotten out the long glass yet to see the noise levels. I'm sure it's going to be more, but I'm looking forward to shooting in the Museum's exhibits tomorrow, knowing that I won't have to use the flash and disturb the visitor's experience in the exhibits. Of course I'll have the flash, but I should only need to use it some of the time, not all of the time as I would have to capture exhibit moments with the D200. Here's The Doctor and Ruby getting ready for swivel chair rides. Talking about big, the last time I saw Konrad and Ruby together, Konrad dwarfed her, but now, she's much taller and more agile (and I know that boys develop more slowly, but her sudden rate of growth is amazing!). She's got an immense vocabulary and she's so very sharp. Konrad too is starting to become a speaking machine (and bilingual to boot) but he was pretty quiet Wednesday evening... I think there were too many girls in the house.
You can start to see the grain here, but my depth of field was also really shallow so I'm sure that has something to do with it. Oh, Doctor, I do adore your sweater!
and Ruby, as always is just a stunning little girl!
and she really likes chicken, see?!
Evangeline, Carrie and Chad's youngest just turned a year and I don't think I've seen her since she was a few months old. She's a wee child, and very bossy! She's also adorable and has several quirks that are hysterical.
One of those quirks is that instead of crawling, she scoots around sitting on her little left foot and propelling herself forward with her right leg. Shawna said it looked like she was doing a fly break dance move, over and over... and she's fast too!
another one of her little quirks are her ears, I love how they arc out at the points, she looks like a little elf!
Hahahah, it's tough being the only man in a houseful of women! Poor Doctor...
Ruby and Konrad were fascinated with the TV and the static that it made.
and they took turns touching all the buttons and then looking up at us to make sure that it was ok... very sweet!
Here's Shawna playing with Evangeline, check out the joy on that kid!
Ha! oh baby. This was exactly what I needed, an evening with good girlfriends and their kids, and a bunch of people on which to unleash the capabilities of the new camera. I made very minimal touches to the images in post production because I wanted to check out how reactive the camera was, and how it functioned on completely manual (on which I always shoot), but also on aperture priority, which I think is going to suit me in several places in the Museum this weekend, and I want to be familiar with it's limits and see if I can make the camera work for me, instead of constantly adjusting for the various lighting situations in the exhibits. I still prefer to shoot manually, because this way I know exactly what I'm getting, but,
the aperture priority mode seemed to do an ok job. it's not as contrasty as I like to make my images, but then again, it made subtle shifts in adjustment that would have taken me time, and the images still came out decent. Jeez, by the way, sorry to bore you with gear talk, more importantly, check out this wee angel face!
and this is almost my favorite picture of Evangeline I made on Wednesday night. She is just adorable.
Carrie said to me, as she handed a sleeping Evangeline over, 'there is nothing better than the weight of a sleeping baby on you' and I have to agree. It feels so good and natural. We laughed out loud and a shook with the little movements of storytelling and joy, and she slept through it all, warm and safe on my lap. I would have stayed like that all night if she'd let me, but eventually she woke up and started to fuss. Another one of her beautiful quirks, is that she shakes her little head up and down saying yes, yes, yes. When she woke up and started fussing, I said to her, do you want to go to your Mom and I swiveled in Carrie's direction so she could see her mother, and she sleepily shook her head, yes, yes, yes... hahahaha!! Oh, children... Oh, and Corey made this picture of Evangeline and me, and I love it! Nice job Corey! Thanks!!
as we were winding down the evening (at 9pm, oh hahaha!!!) I asked the ladies to sit for a portrait... hahaha!! I love it! The only boy is on his head and the only person looking at the camera is Corey.
we then made a quick portrait of the kids (hahaha, another beauty), they look shell shocked and every single set of eyes is on their respective Mother...
we got into our coats and made a round of hugs, and the youngest in our party was so over the whole thing! But look at Silly Miss Ruby, giving a hug and hamming it up for the camera. Her eyes are right on me... hahaha!!
oh Miss Evangeline, you are too funny. I love that Ruby is patting her on the head, softly trying to make her stop fussing.
as we were collecting our things, and spilling out frantic last words and important details, I looked over by the front door and look who I found... hahaha! A lone baby comforter, with 2 fingers and a head, waiting to go home... This was my favorite picture of her. If I'd had a wider lens, it would have showed the whole red couch, a bunch of purses, and a lone Evangeline, in her big winter coat, sitting by the door... hahahaha!!! Oh patient baby.
Thank you ladies for being such good friends. I cherish our time together and I love being around, and making pictures of your beautiful children.
Cheers!

Caden by brakelight

2010-01-07T12:11:00.005-05:00

Jenna and I went to scope out the church for the the wedding we're shooting this weekend, and on the way back, we swung by to pick up Caden from daycare, and I made a couple of photographs of him in his carseat by brakelight as we drove back to Jenna's place. Enjoy. He's a beautiful little boy, very bright and so, so happy! I love that all of my friends have really beautiful, bright children. We're a lucky bunch of folks.
Church light looks sublime! It's a beautiful palce and I'm excited to shoot in it. Hopefully, the day will be clear and we won't have to use a flash until the reception.
and here's Caden! he's a little talking machine, and so polite, Jenna and Pete have taught him to call adults by Mr. or Mrs, so I'm Mrs. Miriam, Chris is Mr. Chris, etc... it's great!
he carpools home with his neighborhood friend Austin, and when they got into the car, it was boy talk for the rest of the way home. Jenna and I would have had to scream over them to be heard, and I'm not even sure we have the lung capacity to do so...
and boy they were hilarious, to themselves, Jenna and I had no idea what they were talking about, but it was quite a tale!
oh here's a scary part!!
hmm, is that so, Austin, I see...
story, what story, hey what's that out the window! Christmas lights!!!!! I see them! I SEE THEM!!!
Cheers!!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-06T11:03:00.026-05:00

(Pop's Christmas tree)
It was another awesome Christmas in Middletown. Christian and Masha made a last minute (for then a 14 hour trip in the truck) decision to make the trip (they'd had a work conflict) and Uncle Bill and Aunt Martha were overjoyed and so happy to see them. Aunt Martha leaned over to me at one point and said, 'now it's Christmas'.
I know I already posted this image, but it was the first one I made after all the hugs were given and our huge smiles had become grins and we could finally talk again. Here are Christian and Masha reacting to something that Uncle Bill said.
Here's Christian with his wedding ring on and looking great.
Masha is the jewel of the family. She's bright and beautiful and just so lovely to be around. On the annoying side though, she loves to the the New York Times crossword puzzles and usually finishes them. English is her second language and it's so damn frustrating that she zips through them , and I can't even get through them and they're written in my native language. GRR!!! I want to kick her right in her big brains for being so bright! Hahahah, I adore her! (I don't really want to kick you, I'm just amazed by your language capacity!)
hahaha, last year, it was Aunt Martha with her broken arm, this year, it was Masha and her hand that she'd had surgery on. Written in big letters on her palm it says 'LEFT' hahaha, how comforting to know that the person about to perform delicate surgery on you doesn't know they're R from L... hmm...
oh hahhaa, both Uncle Bill and Masha are Engineers, so of course, Uncle Bill had to check out her stitches to make sure they were uniform, these two have a language of their own sometimes that makes Uncle Bill just beam!
I love this picture. Uncle Bill could just not stand to be away from his family even for the few minutes it would take to shave in the bathroom. So, here are Christian (with a toothpick), and Masha talking to Aunt Martha and Uncle Bill in the background of the kitchen shaving away. Hahaha, I love my family.
Ha, I turned around and caught them goofing off, which becomes much funnier a few frames later when you see Kurt and Heather. It's coming.
I love this picture of Masha. She really does look like a Russian Princess, which is what Uncle Bill calls her. She's just lovely, and Christian could not have made a better match for himself.
Christmas Eve we went back to Kurt and Heather's place to open up the presents they bought for each other. Here's their tree.
Before they started, I made them stand for a portrait. In the flurry of getting out of WV at 6am with Scotty, Christmas Eve morning, and packing to move to the little blue house and having to buy all my Christmas gifts this year because I didn't have time to make any, I forgot to pack my flash. UGH!!!!! So, my and my ailing D200 and my fixed 50, 1.4 lens had to make due with really low lighting, all weekend long... Sigh, when I got back to WV, I got online and ordered a D300. YAY, for less noise. (Noise is when there's not enough light in your exposure, and the image looks grainy)
Bahhaha, I told them to act natural, because even though the image above is nice, it's just so normal.. I like this one more!
And, brothers will be brothers... it's funny that both brothers enjoy eating their wives, while "acting naturally'. Hahaha, oh men...
this is one of my favorite images of the weekend. Hahaha! so this is what happens when I'm pulled in tight for a portrait. It's so great. The lights, the intimacy, and we always end up with smiling faces... I love this picture for being the rest of the moment.
oh man, FAT SALLY LOVES CHRISTMAS. She was a fat submarine making tunnels through the wrapping paper sea. We'd rustle our fingertips lightly over the tops of the papers and she'd come barreling through the papers to erupt out of them and try to eat our hands with her eyes lit up with crazy.
The next morning we went back to Aunt Martha and uncle Bill's for Christmas morning. Asher, not the daintiest creature in the universe, weighing in at a buck 17, sat himself in front of the tree and would not be budged. I think he and Uncle Bill have a lot in common! They just can't be away from the family (hmm, I think I have a lot in common with them too!)
One of the highlights of the year's Christmas gifts was this vest. The story of this vest was that in the 70's, both Uncle Bill and Aunt Martha had motorcycles. One year Aunt Martha had this vest made in Greenwich Village for Uncle Bill and after he stopped wearing it, they saved it for which ever son wanted to wear it... well... there were no takers. So, this year, Masha gave Christian a pocket watch for Christmas and she wanted to surprise him. Well, where does a pocket watch go? Why on a vest of course, and didn't Aunt Martha bring out the lonely leather vest as a small trick. So, Christian opens his gift and out comes the vest. He was a little in shock, but not wanting to be rude, he made a bright face and put it on, thanking Masha and looking at it curiously until he said, Um,do I recognize this vest? Everyone laughed as he vogued and then he opened his real gift
and the watch was really beautiful.
and Uncle Bill took in the moment, like we all did... warm house, coffee on the stove, family surrounding you, so much hard work put in to be able to buy these little tokens that are and will become so meaningful. I love the winter holidays.
so Christian's gift to Masha was next. We all had to hold her gifts while she unwrapped them, which was really silly and fun. I don't know what she said to him, but he's just so relaxed and easy around her.
Oh Christmas diamond earrings from her husband, that lucky girl!!
Hahaha!! They look good girl! Wear them well!
another great one was that Kurt got a driver. The club is a monster, but even more of a monster was the pile of clothes to the left of Kurt, that was Aunt Martha's Christmas booty stash... hahahah she's going to be warm this winter!!
I had no idea that Kurt even enjoyed golf, but apparently he's a budding golfer. I love his intensity. He checked that thing over and weighed it and shook his booty to get it into the proper swinging place... it was fun.
Heather spent the morning with her family and came over later and Scotty followed shortly after. Aunt Martha got him a sweater (red gray and black) that I assume I'll see him wearing all the time. it was so perfectly Scotty!! All through the weekend and as we were leaving, Scotty would lean over to me and say, 'your family is so amazing! I feel like I've been a part of it forever, I feel like I'm related, how do they do that?' hahaha, I don't know Scotty, but I feel the same way. I love them something awful!!
Once we were done with gifts and breakfast, we suddenly realized that we were going to be way late to visit with Jack and Julie, so we panicked and starting running around like headless chickens, and finally made it out the door, after making a ham, chicken parmigiana, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and baby carrots, showering, crying in the bathroom with a towel over our head, and the rest of the general scrambling that went on. We were an hour late... UGH!!!! Here's Uncle Bill hanging with one of Jack and Julie's hounds, Molly (I think it's Molly, they have black labs, and I've forgotten their other hound's name, so I'm going with Molly)
but once we were there, we had a great time. Jack and Julie are long time friends of the family. Kurt works at Jack's firm and Uncle Bill is their son Andrew's godfather. Here's uncle Bill and his lovely ladies.
Christian and Masha gave Heather a set of freshwater pearls for Christmas and they looked beautiful on her.
Here's a portrait of jack and Julie with Andrew. (GRR!! Who's the Jackass that forgot her flash!!) Andrew is a great kid. He's in his first year of college and everytime I'm around him, I always forget how young he is because he's just so easy going, that makes it easy to talk to him.
Scotty spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with his sisters and then came back to middletoen to spend the rest of the weekend with us. Jack and Julie invited him to hang out with us (which was so great, because Scotty is a perfect stranger to them, and it's not like he's my partner, he's just a friend whom loves my family), but they took him in like part of the family and we had a great time. Here's the boys team answering a question to the game Scene it? that we played that evening. We had 3 teams, and the boys won! Those naughty movie watching men!
haha, here are Uncle Bill and Heather doing the wave after getting one right!
and Scotty living it up!
and Aunt Martha, with a nip of Bailey's in her, and kicking some Scene it? ass! (we, Kurt, Aunt Aunt Martha, Julie and I lost, but we did so with enthusiasm)
Whenever I vist with company and have my camera, I always try to make a picture I can send with a thank you note for having me over. This is the picture I'm sending to Jack and Julie.
HHHHhahahahah!! What do you mean, James Bond, Dr. Who? what was the question again? I can't believe I got the answer wrong!
And now we get to Boxing Day and the pig nose project which has run rampant in NY while I've been away! Here's Jeannie with the Pig that she and Aunt Martha found for me, along with his glasses that Billy found. So, I've already blogged about the pig nose project, but if you missed it, here it is again on the old blog
http://hfstonehouse.blogspot.com/2009/10/pig-nose-project.html
Anyhoo, everyone got such a kick out of it, they asked me to bring it back this Christmas (which unfortunately I packed it up and couldn't find it, LAME!!) but anyhoo, so for my gift this year, they got me the pig and his nose (his human nose, Hahahahahahah!!!), a book about how to throw a pig a party and an album that they put together that includes Mr. Pig in various parts of the house, hanging out on the pool table, drinking whiskey with a friend, in the oven!! Hahaha, when I opened u[ the photo album I just about died with laughter!!! it was so thoughtful and silly!! SO PERFECT! Mr. Pig is now sitting on top of my bookcase watching me and holding the photo album. Hahaha, pig nose.
Saturday night, we all gathered at Uncle Bill and Aunt Martha's again. Heather's hair is getting LONG! Heather also has one of my favorite smiles, it lights up her whole face. Chris and her new boyfriend Brent came over as well as Mandi. We sat around laughing and eating pizza.
Dude, when Uncle Bill gets to laughing, it's really hard to 1- not laugh along just as hard with him, 2- do anything else, his laugh is so infectious. It feels good, just looking at this picture.
UGH! if I hadn't fucked this picture to the moon, it would have been so awesome. I did a ton of post production including noise reduction, double sharpening and then a freaking surface blur to make it passable. What a douche I am!! Anyhoo, I looked over and there they were, just so intimate in a room full of people, and I just missed the mark, and it's the only one I made like it. Anyhoo, so excuse the image and just feel the moment. Hahaha, Kurt looks like he has wooden puppet hands. (sigh...)
So, here's Mandi laughing at my brother Larry. Larry was on a tear that evening. he was the storryteller, the way Pop used to be. He was pulling memories out of his brain like a movie and the whole room had tears in their eyes as Larry spun out his tales.
and look at Scotty just soaking it in... I've become so used to these magical moments, that I just shoot through them and laugh along with them, and feel the love, but to someone whom hasn't had the full force of the Cunningham family (and all the marriages into and out of it, that will remain nameless so internet weirdo's don't show up at your houses wanting to have fun too) tornado visited up them, it's truly something to behold.
hahaha, back to the pig nose project, Aunt Martha gave Chris a picture of the two of them at Mandi's wedding when Chris was wearing the pig nose, life of it's own, I tell you! hahaha!!
Chris and Brent, listening to Larry. This was my first time meeting Brent and he was nice. Military, very quiet, but the way that Chris looked at him felt right to me. I'm sure when he's not in a room full of howling people that he'd have more to say too, so very quiet may not be an accurate description.
They look good together, and more importantly, Chris looks very happy, happier than over the summer, and that's so good! Oh, and I love Brent's moustache. I made a comment about it and Chris about fell on the floor and died! Hahaha, but it's true, he's got a huge and impressive moustache, not everyone can grow something like that between their nose and upper lip. I'm impressed!
and here is my brother, going to town, spinning them out, pulling perfect snapshots from his memory including names, nicknames, old stores that no longer exist and street names that have been mall parking lots, he's got them all stored up there... it's amazing! And he's fuuuunny!!!
he is THIS funny!! Uncle Bill was so red in the face from laughter at points I thought he was going to pass out!
look at him go, all those memories and the expressions on his face, and the joy that filled the room... ugh, it was incredible.
Sunday, as we were saying our goodbyes and having coffee (and beers) my nephew Danny came by to visit. He's a handsome young man, and similar to Andrew, he's got this presence that belies his youth. He also gives off a feeling of wanting to make you comfortable. Whenever I sit with him, I want to be his friend. I know I'm his Aunt so I'll always be his friend, but I want him to talk to me, open up to me... I don't know what it is, I can't pinpoint it, but there's something about him that makes me probe him, pepper him with questions that I don't normally do with people, even those whom are related to me. Hahaha, mostly because those whom are related to me are an awful hen nest of gossips, and I love them dearly for it!!
Anyhoo, Danny brought his guitar with him and sat on the porch serenading us with tunes as I made a billion images of him. I like this one, because it's our portrait, I'm in the mirror hunched over my camera.
I like this one too, and I can't tell if I like it more when he's smiling or not...
This one is my hands down favorite one of him from the afternoon though. He is a handsome young man, and would be a ladykiller if he ever felt like being one. Hopefully though he'll just sample the shapes and colors and find someone worth his creativity and talent. He's 19, so hopefully that won't be anytime soon. Damn he's a good kid!

Well, that was Christmas in Middletown. I'm always sorry to leave, and I'm always planning my next trip up... this year it will be different though, 12 more months and I won't have to plan anymore, I'll already be there... I cannot wait!
cannot wait...
Cheers!!

The Little Blue House

2010-01-03T16:13:00.007-05:00

I finally made some pictures of our little blue house. Finally, hahaha, we've been here for 3 days... it's a high of 28 degrees today and blustery as hell, so it was a quick and dirty picture making job. Enjoy! We are loving it!
Well this is it, pretty unassuming from the outside. It sits on 5 acres of wooded property almost on top of the mountain. The little brown house to the left was the original structure, and although it's empty, there's no running water and the owner says there a crazy mold issue once it warms up, so we won't be spending any time in there. Which is fine by me, because I'm in love with the little blue house.
Here's the deck, it over looks the side yard, towards the little brown house and the back yard
which looks like this... pretty awesome!
Hahaha! Here's poor Hank trying to get back inside any door he sees. It was really cold and windy today! The sliding glass doors lead to the main living space. In the spring summer and fall (basically every time but now, it's going to get a ton of use!)
Here's the back of the house. Check out the windows... I'm drooling!! Oh, hahaha, the backyard's a bit steep, so I won't be doing much in it, but June gets a kick out of plowing up and down like a mad woman!
Just like this!
and then Zoom!!
This is the main living area, it has a kicking wood stove, lovely furniture left by the owner whom doesn't mind if the hounds make use of it as well. Oh, and I'm still unpacking, so that mass of stuff in the corner isn't permanent.
This is the view from the mass of stuff, looking towards the front door, the half bath, the kitchen and the stairs leading up to the bedroom and the loft.
Here's my bedroom, YAY!
and the other side of my bedroom, boo, look at all that stuff that still needs a putting aways...
the full bathroom on the bedroom level
the view form the stairs leading to the bedroom
the view from the loft
I think June likes it!
and I think that poor Hank will make do...
Cheers!

a blue moon new year

2010-01-02T19:52:00.004-05:00

I guess I should start with the present, even though I've got a ton of past to sort through. Happy New Year everyone. New Year's Eve was a blue moon night. It was the second night I spent in the little blue house with Hank and June. My whole life is in blue plastic containers and brown cardboard boxes, but when I stepped outside into the frigid night to let the dogs out, I staggered into the amazing glow of the blue moon. It was after midnight, and I was layered in thin long sleeve shirts, bundled nostalgically in my grandfather's Irish fisherman's wool sweater that's too big for me, shoved under my jacket which fits when I'm not layered like a swaddled infant (or Ralphie's younger brother in A Christmas Story, you know, when he can't get his arms down, that was perfectly me). And there I stood, looking out at 5 acres of mountain woods with the sky a magical shade of ivory blue cast down from a cloudy sky and reflected back up by the snow. I had a perfect leading line of the snowy driveway path that I'd made with my car leading off to the left flanked by naked trees. It reminded me of Hurricane Andrew, standing in front of the dining room windows, faintly hearing my Mother yell at me to get away from the windows before they blow in, and just staring at the street, pouring rain, debris tumbleweeding past the house like a dust storm of mailboxes and pool furniture, and thinking to myself... this is just beautiful, like a desert carnival of color and activity, where's the camera. I was 17 then, and I'd only been back from Middletown for less than 12 hours. Welcome back to Miami bozo! The blue moon New Year's evening was the same, just a different color palette. Think Picasso and his blue period, not Kodak and their blasted warm tones. My camera was on loan to Chris whom was shooting a New Year's Eve wedding in Annapolis, and I just stood there in shock... so much to capture in my words without an image to show you, it was a bit scary, not having the reassurance of proof to back up my memory. And so I stood there, swaying, freezing in the cold blue gorgeous night, until I started to shiver, and even then, I didn't want to go back in, it was so beautiful. So, that's how 20ten began for us here in the little blue house up in the mountains of West Virginia.
12 months to go before I move to NY.
Cheers!

It's going to be a good year

2010-01-02T19:49:00.003-05:00

I have a lot of catching up to do, I've been away for a while, but Christmas in Middletown was another piece of brilliance,
and I can't wait to tell you more...
Cheers and Happy New Year!