Rain, Coffee and Friends

Last night the storms kept me up so I was tempted to sleep in this morning, watch movies and read.   Instead we got up and drove about 40 miles, through the rain to have coffee with our friends Judy and Jeff.  Judy and Jeff were our neighbors for eighteen years. 

Party time in '98

During those years we raised our children, decorated our homes, held yard sales, gardened, dreamed, did lots of laughing and crying together, but most of all had lots of coffee talk. 

Starbucks - yay!

   In 2005 we both sold our homes with Judy moving further south and us heading north.  It was a sad day for us both.  I  could not have dreamed up better a better neighbor and friend.  I treasure those years.

Moving day 2005

  Today would have been a perfect day to sleep in and read but instead I enjoyed something even better - coffee with Judy.

 

 I'm linking up with The Tablescaper

celebrating Seasonal Sunday.

  

 

Spring has sprung…

And the horrible little secret is…

My paper whites from Christmas are still doing their thing.

I mean, really. They aren’t dead….not completely growing either. Just at that place I love them.

weird.

In other news….I found me a HUGE dough bowl

so huge that son # 3 walked in and asked what a baby’s cradle was doing on the table. sigh.

Back to the drawing board.

Children are Tough to Photograph!

As many of you know, I spent most of December shooting kids in a mall, and I have to say, it was tough! I have a new admiration for photographers who specialize in working with children!

But it is very rewarding to photograph children as well, to see the reaction of the parents when they see the prints for the first time and you know they just love it! The reaction of the children can be priceless. For me the interesting thing was to see how each individual child's character really comes to the fore, especially in the themed setups we did.

In the photo below are three very different siblings doing very different things in reaction to being in the same shot. Rather than trying to keep maximum control over what the children were doing while posing, I just let them have free rein and got some great memories for their parents.

Some parents ended up getting several extra prints made for all the grandparents, uncles, aunts, god-parents, etc. which was very good for business!

 An explanation of the set-up used is here: My Santa Set-up

In the market for a cottage… Maybe a Row House.... Tennis Cottage anyone??

In our little town….we have some *cottages* on the market that I thought you might like to take a peek at

any of them could be yours….If you would like.

I would like. yes indeedy, I would.

While the above home is considered a cottage this little ditty below

is called a row house…

Long and narrow. slum living at it’s best.

This next little number is listed as a tennis cottage…

Quaint, eh?

Vero Beach, Florida….come visit. Pick up a cottage

or two…

Find more here.

A Muse For March

"Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty."
 - Shakespeare, 'The Winters Tale.'


The illustration is one of Cicely Mary Barker's exquisite flower fairies. 

Mary Katrantzou Fall 2012

Mary Katrantzou‘s quintessential lampshade-like silhouettes and trompe l’oeil prints have evolved tenfold for fall. Images of pencils, cutlery, coat hangers, old-fashioned typewriters, and circular telephone dials were digitally stamped atop structured dresses with knitted details and flowy chiffon frocks.
images via style.com

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