days in the life of a
Previous POSTS
September 1, 2008
GOD'S MASTERPIECE
A picture is worth a thousand words, they say.  (Who is "they"?  Ask Kyler...he knows!).  We have had the most gorgeous skies right before sunrise the past several mornings.  About 6:45 am, get out of your cozy bed and take a peek at the eastern sky.  It's as if God painted the most glorious pastel colors across the heavens, one shade gradually changing into another.  Absolutely breathtaking!  I like to think that God is saying "Good Morning!" to us.

Okay, enough of my thousand words.  Just look at these early morning photos...it doesn't get any more beautiful!


























Read previous posts...

August 2008
July 2008
September 2008
September 3, 2008
HOME SWEET DORM!

























Road trip to Bloomington!  Kim and I drove down to see the boys (and take them out to eat!) on Labor Day.  Classes started yesterday, so they are all settled in and ready to get started with the school year.

Both Kamaron and Kyler are living in single rooms in Wright Quad.  Wright is the oldest dorm on campus, but it also has the best location.  They are only a block away from Kelley School of Business, where they have most of their classes, and a couple of blocks away from the Student Rec Center, where they both like to work out and play basketball.  Plus, they both work at Wright Food Court, right here where they live.  So they put up with the older rooms and no air conditioning for the conveniences of living here.

















































Kyler straightened his room up when he found out we were coming.  He's got a nice set-up and everything he needs.  It's not luxury living, but he's comfortable and organized, in his own college-boy way.





















































Kamaron lives just a couple of units over from Kyler.  Rooming with 4 bicycles, his room seems a little more crowded...and I don't think he bothered straightening it up for our visit.  But he's happy there and has things organized in his own way, so that's all that matters.

After going with Kamaron to Best Buy to get him a laptop, we stopped in at Barnes & Noble to see the Sunrise card
display (Kamaron interned at Sunrise this summer).  Then we met Kara, Anique, and Anique's mom Dorothy for supper at Longhorn Steakhouse.  Then it was time to head home...early mornings for all of us on Tuesday!  Now I know my boys are all settled in for a great semester at Indiana University!
September 5, 2008
FOOTPRINTS IN MY HEART
"Many people will walk in and out of your life,
but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart."     
Eleanor Roosevelt

























Throughout my life, God has blessed me with many special people.  I had wonderful friends while I was growing up, some extra-special friends during my college years, and over my adult life I've met and become friends with many beautiful people that have crossed my path.  Many of these friendships have fallen away, as life and time and distance have separated us.  And, some of these friendships I still treasure and nurture, even though life and time and distance have made our relationships those of an occasional visit, phone call, or Christmas card.

But I am so blessed to have 4 amazing girlfriends to share my daily walk through this life!  These are the girls that I know I can always count on, whose friendships I treasure, who leave their footprints in my heart.  I LOVE these gals!

Each one has unique gifts and talents that make me love them. These Christian women inspire me with their love and
incredible abilities to balance their lives every day. Amy is a dedicated mom of 4 and also manages to be a great 3rd-grade teacher.  She is everything to her family, and we feel so honored that she also finds time to be a wonderful friend.  Brenda has a sweet, gentle spirit, is super-organized, and is so generous with her time and talents, always giving to our church and community.  She's also my aerobics-buddy...she keeps me going when I feel like being lazy!
Linda is a newer friend to me, but I know God brought her into my life!  She is just so much fun to be around, and even though she's gone through the unimaginable tragedy of suddenly losing her husband in February, she has such an amazing inner strength and she's been a wonderful example of faith in the face of adversity.  And then there's Peggy, who is like a sister to me and a beautiful person inside and out.  Our children grew up together, and we spent a lot of time working together on sports dinners, post proms, fundraisers, you-name-it.  She is so dependable and capable, and I know she'd do anything for my children and for me.  These are 4 fabulous gals!!!



























We did a laughter-filled "Girls' Night Out" in Indianapolis last February.  The giddy laughter turned to tears of indescribable grief just days later, when Linda's husband Tim suddenly collapsed with a heart attack.  And yet, the friends were there (and still are!) to help her get through it.
























When Emily got married in June, my friends kept me sane (or at least TRIED to!).  Brenda and Peggy were the reception coordinators, keeping everything running smoothly so I could enjoy the evening.

























How do we all make time in our busy schedules to keep our friendships strong?  We make it a point to meet together for coffee once a week at the Iron Kettle in Sulphur Springs.  Coffee at the Kettle is our time together...to share our struggles, to laugh and sometimes to cry, to solve problems in our families and the world.

























With everything life throws at us, we all need friends!  I thank God every day for my special friends!!!  Thank you all for sharing my life with me...I cherish our time together.  You're leaving footprints in my heart every day!
September 7, 2008
WALKin' FOR LIFE
























Saturday morning turned out to be a picture-perfect day for the Henry County Pregnancy Care Center's 15th annual "Walk for Life" at Baker Park in New Castle.  I volunteer every week at this center, providing Christian counseling and support for young women facing unplanned and crisis pregnancies.  The Walk is the biggest fundraiser of the year, and this year's edition was fantastic!
























More than 200 walkers from 22 different churches collected pledges and walked to support this ministry.  With more money coming in, so far over $10,100 has been raised!!! 

























Brenda and Linda joined me in representing the Sulphur Springs Christian Church.




































Following the 1-mile walk around the park, the crowd munched on donuts and Starbucks coffee.

























The director of the Center (and my "boss" on Mondays!), Janet, talks with her sister Janine.  Janine has been instrumental in securing Kohls as a corporate sponsor for the event the past couple of years.  And Janet...well, Janet is the heart of the Center and beloved by all the volunteers...and clients, as well.  She's an amazing and beautiful Christian woman who has blessed me with her friendship for almost 20 years!

I am privileged to be a small part of the Pregnancy Care Center ministry, a wonderful group of people who LOVE LIFE!
September 9, 2008
OUT OF THE CLOSET
























Behind these closed doors, hidden secrets lurk that few have ever seen!  I am bravely allowing you a peek at my private stash of countless, unused items that I am finally ridding myself of.  Just the very thought of freeing myself from them makes me giddy with delight! 
























I have too many clothes!!!  When we built this home 10 years ago, I thought the closet space was so enormous that I would never fill it.  Well, you can see that in 10 years I have completely filled up my side of our spacious closet.  It's time to downsize!!!  And today, I'm taking many of my fall/winter clothes to the consignment shop to find new homes.

As I was sorting through them, I found that they generally fell into one of 5 categories:

1.  "Been There, Done That!"
























Remember the "theme" sweaters?  Put a turtleneck underneath, throw on a pair of Dockers, and you're
dressed to kill!  It's a neat, coordinated look, but I'm tired of that.  And these sweaters are some I've had
for years...I'm tired of them and they just seem tired to me.  I'm ready to let them go!

2.  "Misfits"
























Too big, too tight, too short...they just don't fit right!  Some of them used to fit, some never really did fit right      but I bought them anyway.  I like them, but I never wear them because I just don't like they way they fit me.
So, out of the closet they go!

3.  "The Uncozies"

























There's nothing worse than an article of clothing that looks cozy and comfortable, but isn't!  That's what's
wrong with these items.  Oh, sure, they look warm and inviting and snuggable, but in reality they are bulky
and itchy and scratchy and just plain uncozy.  The older I get, the more value I place on comfort.  So these
babies are out the door!

4.  "It Looked GREAT on the Model..."
























Because I'm a strange woman-creature in that I hate shopping, I more and more am buying clothes online.
I have my favorite catalogs and I enjoy looking through them at my leisure and picking out things I like.
There is a huge downside to this type of shopping...I am NOT a fashion model!  So many outfits look darling
on the size 0 models in the photos, but when they arrive at my house and I try them on...well, it's just not
the same.  Not even close!  I usually end up wearing them a couple of times, but when I really don't feel
good in the clothes I have on my body, they end up spending most of their time hanging around in my
closet taking up space.  They may be beautiful on the models, but not on me!  So, to free me of my body-      guilt and to free up my hangers, bye-bye to them too!

5.  "One Wear Only"





















And finally, there are a few clothing items that, even though they are very nice, were only good for one      wearing.  For one reason or another, once was enough...or even too much!  The navy dress was a gift from
Kim many years ago.  It was pretty, but not my style and I never really liked it, but I did wear it once just
because he picked it out for me and gave it to me.  That was many years ago and I haven't worn it since.
I think he finally got wise to the fact that I'd rather pick out my own clothes and he started giving me jewelry
instead (which I LOVE, by the way!).  The brown dress I wore to my mother-in-law's funeral...sad memories
attached to that dress.  And the purple dress/jacket combo I wore to Kristoffer and Dana's wedding.  I love
that dress and looked good in it, but I'll never wear it again, so why hoard it when someone out there may
be looking for just that dress?  Sometimes, once is enough...out of my closet and into someone else's!

So there you have it...privy to my deep, dark, closet secrets!  This afternoon, I'll load them up and take them away to
be lovingly adopted by someone else.  I feel cleansed, freed, unburdened!!!  But my closet looks too bare...I think my
JJill catalog is calling my name!


September 11, 2008
REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11






















Seven years ago, I sat down at the kitchen table with my youngest 3 children for a normal breakfast on a normal school day.  We even talked about how that day was "9-11" or "911" day, when the emergency workers were being honored across the country.  We had no idea that the world as we knew it that innocent morning would change forever in just a couple of hours!

Everyone remembers what they were doing that day, and I clearly remember it all.  I sent them off to school and puttered around my kitchen, doing dishes and laundry with the television news on in the background.  When the "Breaking News" report came on, I paused for a moment to see what it was, but when I realized that it was a plane accident in New York City, I didn't pay much mind to it and went on about my busyness, halfway listening to the reporters talk about the incident. I stopped for a second to glance at the TV screen picture of the smoldering floors of the World Trade Center when out of the blue, another plane caught my eye and then crashed into the second tower.  A feeling of terror and dread suddenly came over me...this was no accident or coincidence!

As the story unfolded in horrifying detail that morning, I,like most of America, was riveted to the screen, absolutely stunned at the whole sequence of events.  And then I began to wonder...is this attack limited to New York and Washington, DC, or is the whole country in danger?  I thought of my children, the oldest in his first year at IU and the other 3 at Shenandoah schools, and I suddenly wanted them all home with me.  Kim called me from work, which he rarely does, obviously shaken up too.

My instinct was to get everyone back home right away, so we would all be together, safer here than any other place on earth.  I heard later that many parents did go pick their children up from school, but I stifled my mother-hen instinct and trusted the school to keep them safe.  And, my motherly mind always thinking of the worst-case scenario, I thought that if I were a terrorist and wanted to destroy a nation, college campuses would be prime targets, where all the best young minds in the country are congregated.  So I worried immensely about Kristoffer. 

There's a fine line as a mom between protecting your children from danger and teaching them to live in fear.  We taught them from babies that God is in charge and to trust in Him, but the way we handle situations like this teach them so much more than our words ever could.  Walk the Talk.  Trust in God.  We do, and we did that day, even though it went against my own personal desire.  In times like that, if you can't trust God...well, I can't even imagine the hopelessness and fearfulness a person would feel.




































Life has changed since that day, hasn't it?  America's innocence is gone.  We feel vulnerable to people who hate us, on the other side of the world or maybe even in our own neighborhoods.  We aren't as trusting.  There truly is evil in the world, and we have seen its ugliness again.  We've sent our loved ones to fight against those terrorists who hate America. 

Everything has just become more complicated, it seems.  Traveling is much more of a hassle now, with longer lines because of increased security and rules about what you can take with you.  Life is just different, and I know it'll never be the same as before. 
























But there were some positives that came from the horrific events seven years ago.  America woke up!  People were proud to be Americans again.  We realized that we take so much for granted, living in the freedom that we have every day.  Our complaining spirits were replaced by thankfulness and gratitude for all that we had.  
























Flags began popping up everywhere.  Patriotism was at an all-time high.  I remember going to Emily's high school volleyball match that next evening and crying when the "Star-Spangled Banner" was played, something I had never done.  Life seemed so much more fragile...and precious! 
























God delivered us through a terrible time as a nation...let us never forget!!!  God Bless America!!!



September 13, 2008
JUST BECAUSE...
























I am married to the most wonderful, loving man!  Yesterday afternoon, he came home from work early, kissed me, and handed me this beautiful bouquet of red roses.  Every little whipstitch he does that, for no particular reason. 
"Why?" I asked.  "Just because."  "Because why?"  "Just because you are my Tootsie!"

























Kim has called me "Tootsie-Girl" for as long as we've been together.  I don't really know why.  I assumed it was just an old-fashioned term of endearment, like in the song "In the Good Old Summertime"...you know, at the end, it goes
"for she's your tootsie-wootsie in the good old summertime."  A sweet, charming name for your sweetheart.  I can only HOPE it's not referring to the "Tootsie Roll" that has stubbornly wrapped around my midsection.  Surely not!  My husband would NOT name me for my Tootsie roll...would he?!




































Of course he wouldn't!  Anyway, no matter what the reason, I LOVE being his Tootsie-Girl....just because!


September 15, 2008
PHOTOGRAPHY 101
Do you remember the song "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon?  Especially a phrase in the chorus...
"...I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph..."



























Well, that's me!  I've always loved Nikon cameras, and in June I splurged on a new Nikon digital camera, a high-falutin' model instead of the Nikon Coolpix point-and-shoot camera that I've been using lately (which takes great photos, by
the way!).  I read the manual from cover to cover, played around with it a lot, and decided what I really needed was to
take photography lessons to learn how to use my new camera.



























This camera has so many dials, knobs, buttons, and screens, it boggles my mind!  So I'm trying to be brave, get off the "Auto" setting, and learn how to do manual settings to take better photos.  There's a lot to learn!  I got on the internet, searching for a daytime photography class or lesson, and, lo and behold, it hooked me up with David Horton!
























Our first meeting was at an Indy Starbucks, and I immediately liked David.  He's a great kid (25!), about the age of
Kristoffer, and he reminds me a LOT of my nephew Brett.  Very likeable personality, very knowledgeable and passionate about photography.  As it turns out, his little "Indy Photo Coach" business is very new...in fact, he has a full-time regular job and, for now, is doing this on the side.  He put together his class "book" and has a knack for teaching!  Although his idea of a great photograph is much different than mine (he's more into the artsy stuff, while I like photographing people and nature), the principles are the same.  And, most importantly, he's teaching me what all those buttons and knobs do! 
























The first lesson was basically about photo composition, framing your objects in a way that pleases the eye.  (By the way, THIS object will never please my eye, no matter WHERE it is in the photo!).  I found out that for all these years I've been guilty of a big NO-NO in photography...you should not center your object in the photograph!  Of course, this is not a hard, steadfast rule, but apparently our eyes mentally divide a photograph into thirds (how "they" found that out, I'll never know!), so your object should be in a corner, or along a side...anywhere but in the middle!  Another thing he told me is that lines strategically placed will lead your eye to your object.  Aren't your eyes just led to that ugly face by the sidewalk in the photo above?!  Well, if they weren't, they were supposed to be! 
























So then he gives me an ASSIGNMENT (I'm too old for assignments!) to take 200 or so photos and pick out the best 5 (composition-wise) to bring to show him next week, illustrating different elements of composition. 

This windmill illustrates the line principle, using a different perspective, and...I just liked it!
























And this one...notice it's basically in the top 3rd of the frame, and...I liked it too.  A lot!

























David liked the lines in this one.  He always finds something good to say!  I'm sure he wasn't pleased to see the post
in the middle of the photo...oh, well.
























He asked me where I took this picture.  When I told him in my front yard pond, I don't think he believed me...city boy!

























I threw this last one in because he love, love, LOVES black and white photos.  Hey, I'm never too old for Brownie points!
September 17, 2008
PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON--EXPOSURE

























Starbucks is our classroom!  Nothing like sippin' on a latte, playing with my camera, learning about exposure!  As if I knew anything about lattes...give me a plain black $3.75 cup of coffee, please!

























Photography is all about light...how much light comes into the camera determines how light or dark the photo is.
That little "S" is for "Shutter-Priority".  I can either make the shutter slow, allowing in as much light as possible when it's dark, or fast to let in just a little light when it's bright.  And, I can (theoretically, anyway!) use a fast shutter to freeze motion or a slow shutter to blur motion.  Sounds simple.  Putting it into practice is a little more complicated.

























David showed me how to do a technique called "panning", where the object is in focus and the surroundings are blurry, to capture motion.  This one is pretty good, if I do say so myself!
























But this one is NOT the effect I'm after.  In fact, it's the total opposite!  Sorry, David!!!  Your pupil is a little slow...































Don't leave me David!!!  Don't give up on me yet!  I'll do better next time, I promise!  (He does look like my nephew Brett, doesn't he?!)

























For my assignment this week, I had to use shutterspeed to blur motion...see how the waterdroplets make their cute little arcs as they travel through the air?  Pretty cool, huh?!




































And how a slow shutter can make a waterfall look so soft and foamy.  I love that effect!

















































And, I'm really good at panning now (breaking my arm patting myself on the back!)...I bet the Indy 500 will be hiring me as their official photographer, whatta ya bet?!  But, I have to say, it's a skill I probably won't use much out here in the country...nothing moves very fast around here!  Still, if the need to "pan" arises, I'm good to go!!!
September 19, 2008
PHOTOGRAPHY--DEPTH OF FIELD



















Have you noticed?  I'm starting to talk like a real, bona fide photographer!  Not really, but..."Depth of Field"???  Who would've thought it?  I'm learning quite a lot from my new friend/Brett-look-alike/photographer instructor David.

Actually, it's a pretty simple concept.  And it's all controlled by that "A" setting on my camera, which stands for "Aperture Priority".  The aperture is the hole that lets the light into the camera.  It can be wide or small, depending on what depth of field I'm after.  That just means how much of the photograph I want in focus.  Some photographs, like the one above, have a long depth of field, which means the whole thing is in focus...from the flowers in front all the way back to the person walking in the background.  Long depth of field = tiny aperture opening = big aperture number.

























Now here's basically the same photo with a very short depth of field.  I focused on the flowers in the first planter and everything else is out of focus.  On purpose!  Real photographers take pictures with things PURPOSELY out of focus sometimes!  Anyway, in this photo the effect is very different, with your eye pulled toward the first planter only.
Short depth of field = big aperture opening= small aperture number. 

It's that simple.  Or so it would seem.
























This time, instead of Starbucks (darn!), I met David and his friend Jeff, who is helping David with his classes, at Garfield Park just south of downtown.  I'd never been there...beautiful place! 

Quick quiz...what is the depth of field in this photo?  Answer:  it's kind of short/medium.  See how the fountain is in focus, but the flowers in the foreground and also the trees in the back are not quite focused?  You're getting it!!!
























"Focus on me," David/Brett says!  (Short depth of field, right?!)  "I'm trying to tell you something!  Work with me here!"
























So he sent us off to play with our cameras,  Actually, practice with our cameras.  That's the fun part.

Very, very short depth of field.  Thank you, Miss Bee, for sitting quietly while I figure out how to set my camera! 
























Another short depth of field...except this time the focus is in the back of the photo and the foreground is out of focus.
























What the heck are you photographing, David?!  An ugly pipe sticking out of the ground?!  David does stuff like that.  He's an artsy type.  He showed me the shot, which was kind of cool if you like that kind of thing.  I like bees better.
























And people. This is sweet little Jeff, David's cohort.  Jeff couldn't kill a fly if he had to.  He's got one of those monstrous zoom telephoto lenses that cost more than my car.  Jeff is very nice and is a great teacher too.
























Ornery, red-headed boys who like to show off in front of the camera instead of listening to their mothers are hard to resist.  At least when it comes to photographing.  But he is cute (I'm convinced cuteness is a survival technique!).
























Back to flowers and bugs.  Another short depth of field.  I took a lot of photos like that.  I think it's very cool, how that works.  Any old person can take a picture in focus, but it takes practice to unfocus one like this!  On purpose, even!
September 21, 2008
LOCAL HONEY

























The industrious Gray honeybees produced a big crop of honey this year, 23 gallons of the sweet stuff from only 6 hives!   Now, we LOVE honey, but that's a lot of honey for Kim and me and our kids to eat all by ourselves.

























So, while we have our regular honey customers, I decided to put a sign out in our yard to let people who might be driving by our house on the way to Middletown or Muncie or the golf course know that we have honey for sale.

























After all, everyone knows that "local" honey is the healthiest kind to buy!  The theory is that, since honeybees use
pollen and nectar from flowers to make honey, by eating it you will gradually develop an immunity to those pollens.  And if you are allergy-prone, local honey can help you overcome allergies to those pollens in the air where you live.
I don't know of any scientific proof of that, but many old-timers and beekeepers staunchly stand by those claims.

So, if you're buying honey, get the local honey!

























But my sign always creates a little stir in this tiny farming community.  One of my dear farmer friends once teased me about my sign, which used to say "Local Honey for Sale."  He wondered what I was actually peddling...my honey, or...myself!  Now, I definitely wouldn't consider myself the "Local Honey", but, hey, people get desperate out here!
























So, I made a new sign and took the "for sale" part off of it, but I'm not sure that really cleared things up.  One of my teacher friends kidded me about proclaiming myself the "Local Honey."  Nothing could be further from the truth!  But, like I said, the pickins' are slim for the old farmers around here, and they've got to have something to talk about at the Kettle!

I guess the moral of the story is...be careful what you're advertising!  Especially if you're the Queen Bee!!!
September 23, 2008
VISITING THE COLLEGE KIDS

























My favorite 4 college kids!  We miss having them around, so Kim and I and our friends Peggy and Jeff made a road trip to Bloomington to see our kids and take in an IU football game.  The game wasn't so hot, but we had a blast with our kids!
























This is Kara with her roommate, Challen.  They live in Eigenmann, a couple of blocks from where the boys live at Wright.  We hadn't seen Kara's room yet, so we stopped in to check it out and meet Challen.

























After a nice supper at Longhorn Steakhouse, the 8 of us decided that walking to the stadium was the most efficient way to get there.  Plus it was good exercise after sitting in the VeraCruz for 2 hours.  The weather was perfect!

























As usual, Kamaron and Kyler blazed the trail and the rest of us tried to keep up. 




















Sitting in the student section was fun!  Except we had to stand up for the entire game.  But we got to hear some interesting "cheers" and comments.  College kids have an interesting perspective on life.  I love their energy!

























Can you believe they are SENIORS?!  Where does the time go???  Next May, Anique will be graduating with a degree in International Studies (and minors in Business and Spanish) and Kamaron will have a bachelor's degree from the Kelley School of Business with a double-major of Marketing and Operations Management.  Two sharp kids!!!  And exciting futures await them!




































Kara and Kyler are both sophomores at IU.  Kara was officially accepted into the Kelley School of Business that very morning, so she had a big day!  Kara and Kyler are both business students, doing great in their classes and loving life at Indiana.  We are so proud of them both!

























An added bonus was seeing my sister Barb working at her Maui Wowi booth, where she sells yummy smoothies and specialty coffees.  She was very busy, pouring smoothies and ringing up the profits (I hope!).

























Someday, I would love to have just a portion of Barb's energy!  She's a go-getter, for sure!  And she makes a mean smoothie, I have to tell you.  She and her husband John set up their Maui Wowi stands at all the IU athletic events.
























We had a great time visiting with Peggy and Jeff on the way there and back.  Thank goodness for Jeff...he stayed awake and kept Kim company at 1:30 am when Peggy and I were fading out!  It was a late night for us older folks!!!
























And even though the score didn't turn out the way I had hoped, we still saw some great football on a beautiful night with some of the most terrific people in the world around us.  Life doesn't get much better than that!!!
September 25, 2008
HANGIN' WITH HANNAH
























Meet  my little buddy, Hannah.  Hannah is 4 1/2...going on 16!  The past few weeks, I've had the joy of sharing my
Tuesday mornings with her. 
























We do lots of activities together.  I found this really cool coloring/glitter set of Disney princess pictures (her favorites!).
Hannah does "creative" coloring.  Let's just say she is not bound by social norms when it comes to picking colors to use!  But her favorite part of the picture is definitely using the GLITTER pen! 
























Sometimes she gets a little cheesy with the camera! 

























I've got a box of kids' meal toys that I kept from when my children were little.  They are all new characters to Hannah!

























Taking a walk takes on a whole new meaning with Hannah.  She isn't one to stick by me...she likes to run ahead.  I don't even try to keep up with that girl! 

















































We always go out to the chicken house and visit the birds!  Hannah is fascinated by them...but doesn't want to get too close! 
























Of course, we must feed the fish!  Again...not too close!!!

























Her secret hideaway in the yard...a great place to hide from Mom when she comes to pick her up.

























Once in awhile, she sits down long enough to watch cartoons...once in a great while!




































I love my mornings with Hannah!  She's an adorable, sweet, smart, ornery little thing...kind of reminds me of my own children when they were little.  Thanks, Lee Ann and Rob, for sharing her with me!
September 27, 2008
PHOTOGRAPHY-- PORTRAITS
























LIGHT.  LIGHT!  It's all about LIGHT!  "Photo" actually means "light", and photography is all about light.  From
everything I've read and heard from "real" photographers, the built-in flash on the camera is a huge no-no, so I decided that if I wanted to be a "real" photographer, I needed to buy a better flash.  So I splurged on this great Nikon speedlight, intending to attach it to the top of my camera to replace the built-in one. 

Off I went to my final photography lesson, which was to focus on lighting techniques and portraiture, with my brand new fancy flash unit in place on top of my camera.  Mr. Real Photographer David and his friend Jeff were horrified!!!
They loved my new strobe (a "real" photography term for a flash!), but not where I had it.  Apparently I am NOT to use my flash ON the camera!  (Then why in the world did they make it so it attached?!)  Oh, no!!!  Gotta get that flash OFF the camera!  To the side, to the front, to the back, on the ceiling (?), in your pocket (just kidding about the last two) ...but NEVER ON the camera!  How was I to know?!  I guess that's why God sent me David and Jeff!

They got it all set up and showed me how to use it.  David and Jeff get excited about things like that.  Quite a fancy contraption, it is.  Not just a simple light, oh no.  The thing has a brain of its own inside!  It can figure out how much light to put out, can be adjusted to countless positions, and can be remotely set off whenever I push the shutter on my camera (that's when it becomes a "slave" and the camera is its "master"...more "real" photographer talk!). 

So we started practicing!  David instructed me and, bless his sweet little heart, Jeff was my subject.
























Jeff is holding the flash off to the side, using the flash as "fill light" on his face.

 























Above his head for "hair light" (now isn't that a creative term?!).
























Backlighting.  The flash is laying on the table behind him.  See how it lights up the back of his head?

























Hi, Jeff!  You're just too cute!  I could be your mother...

























Here's another catchy term for you.  "Catchlights"...(get it, "catchy" term, "catchlights"...I crack myself up sometimes!)  No, seriously, do you see those white dots on the irises of his eyes?  Those are called catchlights.  Catchlights are good.  You WANT catchlights in your portraits.  But only in both eyes...catchlights in one eye but not the other give the subject an alien look...not what we're after.  (Unless, of course, you're photographing an alien!).
Nice catchlights, Jeff!

























Same room, totally different lighting.  This photo demonstrates "Rembrandt lighting."  Named after...guess who?
The painter, Rembrandt, who used this lighting technique in his portraits.  (I'm taking David's word for it...I'm going to pull out the encyclopedia and see for myself!)  See under Jeff's right eye (from our viewpoint, the eye closest to the middle of the photo), there is an upside-down triangle of light.  That is a classic sign of Rembrandt lighting.  That's also a good thing, supposedly the most pleasing shadow patterns on a person's face come when the light source is 45 degrees to the side and 45 degrees above the subject.  This lighting happens to have a very yellowish, warm tint to it because David is holding a gold foil reflector as well. 

No catchlights, though.  Hey, you can't have everything?!

























YES, YOU CAN!  Check this out...Rembrandt lighting AND catchlights, all in the same photo.  I'm so good (LUCKY!)!




































Thanks, Jeff, for being such a good, cute, patient model.  And a sweet person.  Have a good life!  Maybe I'll catch up with you again sometime...
September 30, 2008
AT HOME IN HAMPTON




























Just southeast of Minneapolis, about 20 miles west of the Mississippi River, lies the little burg of Hampton, where Kristoffer, Dana, and Karter live!  Kim and I always enjoy visiting them in their charming little town.
























It's the perfect place for an early evening walk.  Karter loves riding in the baby carrier strapped on his daddy.  And Rascal the dog always goes too!  This summer, when I stayed with Dana, I could run every single street and alley in Hampton in 30 minutes...and I'm not a fast runner! 



























Hampton has all the essentials...a post office...



























...City Hall/ Fire Department/ anything else official that goes on in Hampton...



























...and the Main Street "business district".  As you can see, Hampton is a booming little place!
























But there are a few sights in Hampton that you wouldn't see in a small Indiana town.

























Like an ice hockey rink!  Kristoffer says it is filled with kids on skates all winter long.  It even has lights!

























And all the fire hydrants have these red flags sticking up.  Why???  So the fire department can find them in the deep winter snow.  Minnesotans are always prepared for the inevitable big snows and long winters...
























...which is not far around the corner.  Fall is in the Hampton air!
























Yes, Hampton is a special place to Kim and me.  Not because of its many landmarks and sights, but because that's where a VERY PRECIOUS family lives!  Thanks for a great weekend, Kristoffer, Dana, and Karter (okay...Rascal, too, I guess!)...see you at Thanksgiving!  Hugs and kisses!!!