Swinging

3 generations:  my mother, sister and nieces Mother's Day weekend.

Family Portrait

My nephew, me, my mom. 3.12.2011

Faithful

Catching Up!

I'm running a little behind here because I'm keeping up elsewhere.  In fact, of the birthday and Christmas gifts I want to give this year, I have all the birthday and at least 1/3 of the Christmas. I know.  It's stunning, really.  I usually spring into action via Internet somewhere around mid December.

Here are some Thanksgiving snaps...I had a great time this year.  And hope to build on it next year.

Now, on to December:

I'm doing December Daily, and my friend Merry the elf sent me a word a day chain to get mindful about the season, and I'm meditating on that reverb10 thing [well, sometimes] that has swept the blogosphere, and last, and possibly least, Picture Holidays...I must say, I'm less compulsive about Picture Holidays this go around as the others have first claim on my attention. Actually, the season has first claim.  But you know what I mean.

Monday is our potluck at work. I need to run to the grocery store.

How's you're December going?

Busy Work

I haven't had much time for photography or anything else me-related.  It's very busy at work just now, and when I get home I am really tired.  It matches what kind of work is going on at the time. You know, things that are in my skill set sweet spot are not draining.  Things that are not a natural fit can be draining until I get them mastered.

 Also, I have an uncle who is gravely ill, and the family and the decisions they are making are on my mind.  It's remarkable how very innocuous and momentous life can be at the same time.

Church Lady

I took my mom to brunch today since she couldn't go to brunch or lunch on Easter Sunday (hope your back is still feeling better).  When we walked in, I immediately noticed a booth full of ladies in Sunday attire:  dresses or suits, hats, elaborate earrings, hose and heels. 

I had my camera with me.  And my iPhone.  I tried to figure out an introduction that wouldn't result in a plate of eggs in my face.  The best I could come up with is 'can I take your picture?'.  No panache. I chickened out.

We were shown to a booth next to the Church Ladies. 

Plan B.

iPhone to the rescue.  It was more subtle.

This may be one of my favorite photos.

In other news, the photo two posts ago of the doorknob got a "that's beautiful" from the professional photographer who leads the class.  I'm still grinning when I think about it. I should probably learn something from the fact that I took the doorknob picture while I was putting together supper for bridge and didn't overthink. 

Ack.  Tomorrow is Monday.

Ready, set, go!

Roses

Small World

In this old cemetery in Blue Ridge, I found some stones with my grandmother's family names on them. They were not on this side, but on the other side of the road in the middle.

It was really a surprise.

Do things like that happen to you?

Two for $20

Yesterday was my mother's birthday. My sister, her girls and I took her out for a celebratory supper. We chose Chili's because they have a special - I'm sure you've seen it: 2 people get an appetizer to share, each get a meal and get a dessert to share--all for $20.

I was surprised how it made the whole table engaged with each other. Rather than everyone disappearing behind big menus to each pick our own oversized entrees, we all worked together to coordinate appetizers (which ones looked the best?), meals and especially desserts (I want chocolate! no, not white chocolate!).

Because there were 4 adult appetites (3 adults and a tween!) we guessed there would be plenty to share with my 4 YO niece...and of course there was more than enough.

After supper, we repaired to HomeGoods to do some shopping. Mother found herself a ceramic chicken cookie jar (all I will say is it's huge, and brightly colored), I found some pillows and my sister found some shopping bags. I love that store. Their lamp selection is so fabulous.

It was a fun evening. Happy Birthday, Mother.

Gussie's Ears

Gus loves the kids but he really loves my nephews (don't tell Audrey). I adopted him when he was just under a year old, and had been living with a family with young children, where I think he learned to be gentle with them.

And I think there must have been a boy he bonded with, only to have to leave later.

Don't worry, Gus. You're here to stay.

You won't lose these kids.

The Park

The first question one of the kids asks when they visit is "can we go to the park?".



Luckily, my house is on the one dead end street in the neighborhood that overlooks the park. At the end of the street there are stairs to a path running alongside Peachtree Creek, and a little further along a little bridge that takes you into the park.



They go to play, I go to take pictures, everyone wins.

Honeysuckle

On the way to the park, my nephew brought me a honeysuckle blossom. Wish you could smell it with me.

Happy Mother's Day.

Anticipation

Company's coming. And the dogs know it because I called and told my mother her mother's day surprise was that we would all be able to get together because "Rob and Carrie and the kids are coming". That was all it took. The dogs assumed their welcoming stance about 24 hours early.


Hello Rob, Carrie, Brooks, Eli, Audrey and Metz!


p.s. The dogs aren't the only ones who are excited.

Jewelry Store Owner Does the Right Thing

Hardly the headline that would likely appear in tomorrow's paper or the lead in tonight's news, I know. It doesn't bleed. If it doesn't bleed it doesn't lead.

But, I feel like I have a wonderful secret that the press doesn't know. People who do the right thing are out there, doing...well, the right thing.


Tonight at 5:40 as I was working out times for a group presentation that had to fit 12 or so people and topics into 60 minutes or less, I got a phone call from my mother telling me she'd lost her purse.

Her tone of voice said it all: disgust, aggravation, frustration, fear. She was so convinced that it was gone, never to be seen again that she went ahead and called her bank and shut all that down. She was letting me know she didn't have her cell phone and therefore would be out of communication commission.

I asked if she had checked the lost and found. She had not because she was not hopeful.

You can see where this is going, so I will spare you the details but for this: at 8:00 pm we were at the mall security office where she picked up her purse, intact, complete with cash and cell phone.

Today is the start of the Lenten season, and all over the world people are giving up something for Lent. But I feel like Lent gave me a gift today in renewing my belief that we, Americans, are bigger than all the bad news. We still quietly live our everyday lives and do the right thing.

Concentration

This is an action shot. Can't you tell?

A blurry, slightly off kilter action shot with my almost 4 y.o. niece and my sister playing Concentration, the game we whipped up in 40 minutes yesterday.

My sister didn't realize that she had packed almost the same exact outfit for each of them - I know because I asked if she had intended for them to dress alike. She didn't.


Oh, and I love it when Alabama folks do good. Chef Scott Peacock is from Alabama and currently has a restaurant, Watershed, in Decatur. They have the best fried chicken. It's so good that they have a weekly chicken night and you can barely get in. Anyway, Chef Scott is featured on the Martha Blog. His pimento cheese recipe is available and a video of making pan fried chicken. Now, any of you who are not from or in the South: pimento cheese is a Southern staple, like cheese straws and fried chicken. There are as many variations as there are cooks. But it's all good.

Happy Saturday!

Winter Break

I took this Thursday/Friday off.

Thursday, my sister came to visit. She dropped off my nieces to stay with our mom and that gave us some sister time. We had a leisurely lunch and went to Whole Foods which my sister hasn't got near her home.

She picked up a star fruit to try. How many times have I walked by the star fruit and passion fruit and other exotic fruit and wondered but never picked one up? Who might be the adventurous spirit in our family?

Then she went and collected my youngest niece and brought her to my house.

Olivia told me about Father/Daughter night at preschool and the big boxes of dirt and trowels with WORMS! Real ones. That were wiggling. They dug worms with Dad.


And while I cooked chili, she cooked bubble soup.

And then we all sampled star fruit. We all liked it's looks, both before it was cut and after. And Olivia was an instant fan. I thought it had a kiwi fruit like consistency, and a light taste but something else. My sister called it a green or herb like taste. We had to put away the remaining star fruit so my older niece could try it.

Last night we had a family dinner with both nieces and grandmother and my sister and me. And the dogs. Who were in heaven with so many people to love and sniff.

So today we made a matching/memory game with some Secret Agent Josephine valentines and scrapbook cardstock (I printed the valentine images on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and then cut them up and cut the cardstock into 3" squares and we all glued the valentines on the cardstock ). Then we played the game. When I was little we called it Concentration. Maybe it's not called that now. Anyway, it was a success and it gave me an idea for a family version.

Tomorrow I will go spend an afternoon with a friend.

And this little mini-vacay will be over.

Still Life a la Olivia

My niece is fond of picking up the gravel from the path and putting it in the bird bath, water or no water. This time she accented her work with leaves, pine straw and a pine twig. After she did it 10 or so times in a row, I started taking pictures of it to share with her when she's older, worried about her manicure and far too sophisticated for such things.

Time Flies

Quick! Someone hit pause. This little one will soon be four. It seems like no time since we celebrated three.

Kool Kats

When my nephew visited last fall, I took him to my friend Cindy's. Our mission? See the very cool, very large, Maine Coon Cats. These cats have temperaments that are dog-like, except for their appetites, which are reassuringly feline finicky.

One, Bailey, is an escape artist and occasionally gets himself into scrapes that require rescue. Because they are inside cats. Bailey just didn't get the memo.

In the shots without my nephew, you can't really tell how large they are.

Here you get a bit better perspective on that.

Their names are Bailey and Bella, and they are really Kool Kats.

Christmas Flashback

There are many things I'll treasure from this year: the cards that didn't get made and mailed until Christmas Eve, the new lens that's smarter than I am, the fun of having the dogs around, the kid's faces, my BIL teaching my mother to play the Wii with her new coat on, playing Legos, my neice and her Dora umbrella...all the simple things that made this a wonderful celebration.