Momma, Don't Take My Kodachrome Away

"Kodachrome, it gives us those nice bright colors
Gives us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph
So momma, don't take my Kodachrome away..."

~Paul Simon, Kodachrome

I began taking an online photography course
on Photographic Composition this week.

It's all about composing better pictures.
It's about seeing things, noticing things.

Noticing patterns,
               lines,
               light,
               shadow,
               repetition.

The first assignment was to go outside
and take pictures of these things.

So I went on a hike and stopped in one area.
And I looked around.
I looked high and low.
I stayed in one spot and looked in every direction.

It's amazing how much you see when you try.

Oh, and I forgot to mention...
The pictures have to be black and white.





There were interesting lines and patterns on the railroad trestle.

 A stone stuck in the pedestrian crossing grate.

This bolt was holding the railing.
Yikes!

 

  Without color, it's easier to notice light and shadow.
 
 There was a nice pattern of light and shadow on the stones
behind the tree.

 

The bridge from below.
Patterns of lines and squares.

 Without leaves, it's easy to see shapes in the branches.

 Lichen on tree bark.

 A pretty, curly vine.

 A single red berry.

 Concentric circles in the top of a log.

The sun came out briefly and helped create
patterns of light and shadow.

 An old piece of farm machinery -
I'm not sure what it's purpose was.
It's not a wheel because I could see the
rubber tire on the wheel.
Any ideas?

 A perfect letter "e" on the ground.

 
The posts and their shadows form a nice
set of lines.

Downed tree limbs form an "x"
as the sun shines through.

I had a lot of fun with this assignment.

Black and white photography forces you to
take pictures differently.

It makes you notice shapes, light, and shadow.

Sometimes color can be distracting.

But if I had to choose between the two...

I'd go with color every time.


______________________________________

13:18 min           1.04 mile            12:47 min/mile
12:29 min           1.05 miles           11:53 min/mile
14:53 min           1.24 miles           12:00 min/mile
12:34 min           1.06 miles           11:51 min/mile
15:08 min           1.37 miles           11:02 min/mile
16:46 min           1.45 miles           11:34 min/mile
16:07 min           1.44 miles           11:12 min/mile
16:20 min           1.40 miles           11:40 min/mile
15:54 min           1.40 miles           11.21 min/mile

Pride and Accountability

Ok.

I used to be an active person.

I used to bike, play tennis, cross country ski, downhill ski,
                        and jog.

During the years that we were trying to start our family,
I started running to relieve the stress of infertility.

Once I finally became pregnant, I stopped running.

Being a stay-at-home mom to 3 active kids,
I did a lot of running around, but not really exercise.

I skated...

I still went biking....

I played hopscotch and jump rope.
I would swim a little bit in the summer...

As they got bigger, we would go on family bike rides -
     but only as fast the the youngest child could go.
I started exercise programs, but nothing lasted.
Other responsibilities would always get in the way
       - or so I told myself.

I have belonged to LA Fitness for the past 2 years or so.
I usually get serious about it before bathing suit season.
But it takes so much time to go to the gym every day
that I can't sustain it for an extended period.

So last month, as it became impossible to zip up
my jeans once again, I knew I had to do something
that was easier to sustain and didn't take so much time.

I started running.

 NOTE:  THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF ME!
It is a picture of what I would like to look like!


My first day out, I ran less than 1/2 mile and stopped 5 times.

I was disgusted with myself.
I felt old.

Then I found an APP for my iPhone that really motivates me.
It's called LogYourRun.

It uses GPS to keep track of your mileage.

I can listen to songs and it interrupts the song every quarter mile
        to tell me how far I have gone.

And it keeps track of my distance, speed, and effort.

I started using it my second time out..........

19:13 min             0.9 miles        22:05 min/mile

and I stopped 3 times to walk.

Pretty bad.
But it has motivated me.
That, and watching the contestants on the Biggest Loser
       run a marathon!

Since then, here are my stats.

13:18 min           1.04 mile            12:47 min/mile
12:29 min           1.05 miles           11:53 min/mile
14:53 min           1.24 miles           12:00 min/mile
12:34 min           1.06 miles           11:51 min/mile
15:08 min           1.37 miles           11:02 min/mile
16:46 min           1.45 miles           11:34 min/mile
16:07 min           1.44 miles           11:12 min/mile
16:20 min           1.40 miles           11:40 min/mile 


I am seeing progress.
I definitely slowed down after eating all those
         Christmas goodies!

But I am not stopping to walk anymore.
And I have increased my mileage - somewhat.

Now I am going to use my PRIDE to keep me going.

EVERY TIME I WRITE A BLOG ENTRY,
I WILL LOG MY RUNS.

I will be accountable to you.

I hate to lose.
I hate to say I can't do something.
I hate to give up -

especially when someone is watching.

So wish me luck.
And get on me if I slack off.

Let Time Stand Still

Time flies. Time waits for no man. Time heals all wounds. All any of us wants is more time. Time to stand up. Time to grow up. Time to let go. Time.   ~Dr. Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

Today was quite a day for TIME.

Today was a new day,

... a new week,

... a new month,

... a new year.

How did I spend my TIME today, January 1, 2012?

My day began with a dream.  A nice dream.
In fact, I didn't want to wake up.
I dreamed I was visiting my mom and dad - and they were both alive and well.
They say dreams come and go in an instant.
Thankfully this dream seemed to last a long TIME.
 
I didn't do a whole lot today.
I didn't shower.
I didn't even get out of my pajamas.

Some people would say I wasted TIME today.

Around two o'clock, I went upstairs to a bedroom
at the farthest end of the house and crawled under
the comforter and      fell    asleep.

Over the next 4 hours I went in and out of sleep.

I heard my dogs walk in and check to see if I was awake.

Each time I woke up, I thought I should get up
            and accomplish something.


Then I decided not to. 
And I drifted back to sleep.

It was already dark when I finally awoke for good.
I stayed warm and content under the covers, listening.
I heard the TV downstairs.
I heard my husband ask my daughter if she was hungry.
The door to my son's room opened and I smiled to myself
           as I heard his stomping footsteps go downstairs.
My guess is that he had been sleeping too.
I wondered what Annie was doing.
I wondered if anyone knew where I was.

As I lay there, I reflected on the past year.
I mused over the possibilities of this new year.

But mostly, I just basked in the present moment...

My family is home, together.
We are all healthy and happy.

Let TIME stand still for today.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Savoring Christmas

Acclaimed French photographer Marc Riboud says, 

“Photography is about savoring life at 1/100th of a second.”

This blog is about savoring Christmas 2011
                at 1/100th of a second! 

I am really into wool felt this year.
I had so much fun sewing new stockings for all of us!

 Then I put my dogs' fur to good use.
I combined their fur with colored wool
that I purchased at the craft store to make
a garland of felted balls.

 These are the balls before they went through the
washer and dryer.

These are the felted balls strung into a garland.
Halle and Sami's fur if the brown/tan color.

I also made a runner for my table using medallions of
birch that I cut from the trees that fell during last month's 
storm.

My family spent a quiet Christmas Eve alone at home
opening gifts from our stockings.

 After we finished,
 Annie fell asleep on the dog bed with Maddie...

On Christmas morning, I couldn't wait to open 
the gift Kerry made for me.   She stayed up
until 4AM on Christmas morning to finish it!

 It was a beautiful glass vase filled with delicate
origami flowers.  Each flower was made from
five folded origami folders.

 So colorful and pretty!  Perfect for my desk!

 

 

 After opening gifts on Christmas morning, 

we headed to NJ to visit Vance's relatives.

The favorite gift for the 2 little girls there

was a make-up/beauty kit.

Adam was one of the first to get

a make-over!

 But before long, everyone was looking
                   BEAUTIFUL!

We don't get a chance to be around little

girls much anymore, so this was a treat!

One more stop before heading back home!

We stopped in to see our friends from

Lake George, Linda and George and their

children, Matthew and Zachary.

But first, we had to don our ugly Christmas sweaters.

Adam and Annie bought sweaters from Goodwill

and jazzed them up to make them ugly!

Then lunch and a few games of xbox.

I hope your Christmas was as fun as ours!

Thank You, Berra!

For the past few days I have been coming up blank as I've been trying to come up with an idea for a blog about Christmas.  I've had many ideas go through my head, but nothing that I felt was right.

Until this morning.

 I was watching a talk show on TV about great children's books for Christmas when I found it.

Let's back up a little.

My 19 year old daughter Kerry has been holed up in her room since I picked her up from college a week ago.

What has she been doing?

She's been making my Christmas gift!

Every day she comes downstairs and comments on how it's coming.

Sometimes she seems excited about her creation.

Other times she seems discouraged, and tells me not to get my hopes up.

Annie told me there's no way she can come up with a better idea than Kerry.

Then, this morning, I heard about a children's book called Thank You, Bear.

Early one morning, a little bear found a little box.

He looked inside. Then he exclaimed,

“Why, it's the greatest thing ever! Mouse will love this.”

Bear's friends aren't so sure of his newfound treasure, however. “That's not so great,” says Monkey. “I've seen those before,” says Owl.

  You can see, through Bear's face and posture, that he was becoming discouraged by his friend's words. We all can relate to Bear as he sits wondering if his treasure is so great after all.

  

 But Mouse has the last say.  

 Mouse looked at it this way and that.

Then Mouse crawled inside the empty box 

and said,

"It's the greatest thing ever!"

“Thank you, Bear.”

There is a simple, powerful message in this story.

"It's all in how you look at it."

So as Christmas approaches, I can't wait to see the treasure that Kerry has for me!

But no matter what it is,  I'm sure I will love it!

I already know what the beauty of the gift really is.

By the way, our nickname for Kerry has always been "Berra".

Thank you, Berra!