No snow. No hats or gloves. No scarves. Nothing below 60 degrees. This is happiness in February! We’ve spent the past few days in Florida visiting my parents in their condo. What a wonderful get-away from the cold northeast. We flew in on Tuesday and still have a little more time here to enjoy the weather and the company.
The Holidays flew by just as fast as I knew they would. And considering we’re already in the middle of January, the trend appears to be continuing into the new year. But before we get too far along, I wanted to share some photos from the Holidays. Read more…
In early December my Gramma Florrie passed away. She was 94 years old and my last living grandparent. She was kind, and generous, witty and loved her family. At her memorial service everyone was offered the chance to share a few memories about her. I can remember visits to her condo in New Jersey, telling jokes to one another and rolling with laughter. She usually told the same jokes to me over and over, and I am not sure if it’s because she liked them so much or because I kept requesting them. But either way, our laughter will always be one of my most lovely memories of her.
Tonight I will finally finish up the last of the gift-buying for friends and family! It actually wasn’t too bad this year. I started early, which helped make the season seem longer and less frazzled. I still managed to get down to the wire on a few things though. For who? I’m not telling!
Sometimes last minute plans turn out to be way better than anything you could have tried to arrange over the course of weeks. Normally I would never admit to this, being the highly ordered planner that I am. (I admit that I have actually added something I’ve already done to my to-do list just for the satisfaction of crossing it off.) But the weekend we spent celebrating our 2 year anniversary was undeniable evidence that spontaneous can be far more fun than itineraries. On a bit of a whim, we signed up for a wine tour, made last minute reservations at a Bed & Breakfast and escaped into the country for a weekend all to ourselves!
I’ve said before how much I love it when my parents come out for a visit. This weekend was another wonderful example of why. New York is beautiful in the Fall, I must admit. The brisk weather, sweaters and scarves, the rich colors are irresistible. The weather cooperated with us for the most part, and I even took Monday off to extend the weekend. It was perfect weekend to spend with my family!
Well, it’s October. That means it’s time to winterize stuff. The motorcycle, the lawn mower, my parents. Mom and Dad will be heading to Florida for the impending doom…I mean winter. Sadly, that means that they will have to find another home for one of their cats, Dandelion. Don’t be fooled by the name. He’s no flower. If you’re a sissy then he’s not the cat for you. However, if you can bench more than 70 pounds and wear a lot of leather, then you’ve met your match. Dandelion, albeit a tad rough around the edges, is friendly and enjoys the company of humans. He loves to be pet and will always greet you at the door with a hello and a hefty shove to the knee area which is his version of a welcome home rub.
I am so proud of my parents! Last month they celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary. It is not easy staying married for almost four decades. It’s even more rare to be married that long and still be in love and best friends with the person you married. My parents are a living testament that true love does last.
I’m rather ashamed that it has taken me this long to finally get back to writing something. Life has been busy and it has been tough to find a few moments to devote to thoughtful writing. Both Ben’s parents and mine have come to visit us recently and that’s been a delightful treat. This past weekend I flew down to North Carolina to celebrate my cousin Corrie’s graduation from Duke University’s Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences. Not only was it a spectacular weekend to congratulate Corrie on her remarkable accomplishment, but the weather was extraordinary too. Bright sunny days, perfect for enjoying one’s long-missed family. We ate (a lot) at good restaurants, strolled around campus and relaxed at the hotel. Of course, on Saturday we dressed in our finest and applauded Corrie when she crossed the stage and became a “Master!” (a.k.a., got her Master’s degree.) We are all so proud!
These are the kinds of weekends that I look forward to for months, that lag in the coming and then are over too fast for me to feel as though I had a full grasp of them. As we walked through Duke University’s beautiful gardens, I stopped, looked around, tried to take it all in. My Dad smiles under a magnolia tree watching my brother joke with my mom, my aunt poses for a picture with Corrie, the dog eyes some ducks by the pond. I try to own these moments, to be completely aware of their significance, so as to make that feeling of revelry and love linger. Inevitably, though, the moment passes and all that is left is its beautiful memory, a precious thing, and like the flower on the magnolia tree, a little sad in how temporary it is.
Good thing, then, that we have cameras!
It’s an addictive sound. That satisfyingly indubitable click of the shutter capturing forever what your eye can catch for barely a moment. Suddenly you start to see everything as an image worth freezing, an opportunity, a possibility for great beauty or irony or laughter. You start to actually see the world in its detail, and to imagine what you can make of it. All this starts with a click.
We bought our Nikon D40 Digital SLR camera back in August. Ben, having taken college courses in photography and worked at a portrait studio, has wanted a DSLR for a long time. I liked the idea of getting into photography too. I just didn’t realize at the time the wide worlds of creativity to which it could connect me.
Before we made this substantial purchase, I researched cameras for weeks. In addition to figuring out which camera was best for us, I learned about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, metering and a host of other technical things that you never have to worry about with a point-and-shoot digital camera. Once you have control over these aspects of the camera, though, almost anything is possible!
I love taking pictures of animals. If you saw how many pictures of the cats we have you might wonder if they weren’t subbing in as children. I swear they are not, it’s just that they provide me with such good practice subjects. Get them outside and they are so expressive, everything from the dramatic to the hilarious. When we go to Ben’s parent’s house I have tremendous amounts of fun photographing, Snicker, his mom’s Golden Doodle. The dog is such a rag doll, it’s wonderful! He has so much personality to try to fit into that lens.
One day, when we have horses, I will photograph them all the time too. I will have pictures of them all over my house, in large frames, galloping across my walls. I can see it if I close my eyes. Black and whites of stoic close-ups, green pastures vivifying black and brown and gray manes and tales, a big nose reaching down to sniff the camera as I capture a different perspective. It thrills my deepest heart.
Well, it’s not really fair of me to talk all about photographs without posting a few. So here’s a smattering….
