Happy Birthday, Steph

Our grand daughter turned eight years old today. This isn't really anything special except for one very important thing. The day she was born she was 10 weeks premature and weighed 2 pounds. It was almost surreal looking at her in the isolette. I read her measurements over and over and wondered to myself how, in later years, I would be able to grasp just how small she really was. SO I took those measurements and hunted high and low for just the right bunny rabbit. It had to be exactly 14 inches long and weigh no more than 2 pounds. it had to have thin arms and legs. It took me a while but I was relentless finding just exactly the right stuffed animal. The nurses let me put it in her isolette and we took a photograph of her next to the bunny. We've taken this photograph every year on her birthday to remind us all of how tiny she was and to remind Stephanie as well of what a fighter she was. She came home from the hospital a little over 4 pounds with very little health issues. We thank God everyday for sending her to us and allowing us to keep her. I just thought you'd all like to know how wonderful the staff in the neonatal unit at Dartmouth Hitchcock really is. I even wrote a piece on her first birthday and sent it to the papers along with her 1st birthday photo. Attached to this piece is the one I took today.

It's A Party, After All

Today is Super Bowl Sunday and the grandchildren are making their annual visit for our three hour tailgate party. We eat too much, laugh a lot, tell stories and watch football but the events of the day happen in that order when football is the least of the reasons for the gathering. I‘m still feeling really lousy but we wait a whole year for this event, I wouldn’t want to disappoint either of them. We see them often, that’s not the reason. It’s the randomness of the munchies and the cooking with the kids. It’s all about the PARTY!!!

Long Lapse

I can't believe that it's been almost four months since my last post. I hope I haven't lost all my readers because of this lapse. I have to report that I haven't been idle during this time. I mentioned we would be building an addition on our house for Mom and this is nearly complete. With one of the wettest summers, and I use that term loosely, everything took weeks longer than it should. My photography, too, has suffered due to lack of good light, the expense of driving and the time to set off to search for adventure.
We've also started a side line to my business. Our 7 year old granddaughter, Stephanie, has been taking photographs since she was about 5. This past week, I taught her how to make some of her better and more interesting images into note cards. We spent this past weekend at the Sandwich Fair where she spent time talking with customers who showed an enthusiastic interest in her work Of the 60 note cards made up of nine designs, she returned home with only 36 and was very excited to find that people loved the image of her cat, Mrs B, and her ponies, Fancy and Lily. In the next post, I'll tell you about the foliage season and what's on tap for the next couple of months. The image I've posted is Steph's photo of Mrs. B.

Ogunquit In The Fall

We had a marvelous camping weekend with our granddaughter and spent a full day with camera in hand. There are so many opportunities and beautiful scenery to point my camera lens at in Maine and I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful autumn weather while we had it. Steph was there with her camera as well. At times, I feel sorry for my husband who is inevitably left holding the camera "bag", literally. Does anyone have suggestions on how I can include him while I'm lost in the moment? We spent an entire afternoon exploring the Rachel Carson Reserve, a beautiful marsh area nestled between the forests and the ocean. Self guided walking tours with informational pamphlets explain the need and importance of these wet lands, not only as homes to all sorts of marine animals but also how they act as a buffer against serious weather such as hurricanes. The resource acts as a filter for pollutants and a nursery for hatch lings. Later, we had a night of campfires and cooking hot dogs and toasting marshmallows for s'mores. The next morning, we found ourselves at Perkins Cove, a picturesque but working fishing harbor, and we included a walk along the Marginal Way, a mile long path that follows the rocky coastline and offers breathtaking views of nature's beauty and power. Then all too soon, it was time to head home by way of my favorite Mt. Chocorua which never disappoints in the way of splendor.

My apologies for not posting photos in the last few posts. I've been making entries from other computers but I promise, in the next week or so, the problem will be remedied and I'll add a few images to older post so check back, please.

The Schedule Calls For Fun

This weekend is reserved for our granddaughter, Stephanie. We're going camping. Of course, it's a working holiday in that I will be taking photos during the weekend. The plan is to head to Ogunquit, ME and find some sleepy little fishing cove to remind people of what it used to be like up and down the entire coastline before the tourists became the mainstay. I'll let you know how that turns out.

This is also the beginning of the ALCS and I am a RED SOX FAN. So, with the campfire crackling away and Steph roasting marshmallows, I will be quietly cheering for the boys of summer to take the Angels out in quick fashion so they can move on up the ladder of success. Even though I choose to be out among nature and beauty, I also choose to follow baseball and either watch or listen to every game. There are few exceptions, like being at 30,000 feet in an airplane or in a foreign country ( Hawaii sometimes qualifies ). When the season is over, I'm lost.

It's A Matter Of Perspective

Tickets to the game:$48.00
Tickets for bull riding:$240.00
Hotel and food for the weekend:$350.00
Fun with the grandchildren: Priceless

Okay, so maybe I went over the top with the analogy but we did have a great weekend. Sometimes, we tend to take life's experiences for granted but change or add just one thing, two grandchildren, and everything is different. I mean, I've been to a dozen baseball games and I'm always watching the action, who's about to steal, how many outs there are and who's on deck. This time, I looked at the whole experience through my six year old grand daughter's eyes. Could she see everything, was she enjoying herself, did she have enough to eat, was she getting too much sun???? As I'm writing this, I realize that's what grandmothers are supposed to do. I wasn't there as a photographer to grab the action or make a record of the up and comers who were playing the game. So, I didn't take too many images. I only took pictures of and for the kids, the mascot-Fungo, even the fun and games between innings. Go figure! I am here to report, however, that the NH Fisher Cats have a great stadium on the banks of the Amoskeag River and the facility is clean, safe and reasonably priced. The quality of the game was professional and we had great seats. All together the weekend was a huge success. I can't wait to do it all over again real soon.

Flu-Like Symptoms

Our weekend to St. Albans, VT started out with an unremarkable trip to the northwestern part of the state. During the first two days of the exhibit, we visited with hundreds of people who stopped to admire my work. Even our hotel room at the Econo Lodge was comfortable. Yes, everything was going according to plans. That is, until I woke up Sunday morning not feeling very well. I felt worse as the morning wore on and by lunch time all I wanted to do was crawl into bed. Carl stayed to greet potential customers and I climbed between the sheets to take turns shivering and sweating until the show ended later that afternoon. All I can say is that day was a blur and I'm really glad I wasn't alone. I've already marked my calendar for us to attend the 43rd Annual Maple Festival in 2008. I'm still not one hundred percent but this weekend is devoted to two of my other passions, the grandchildren and baseball. We'll be spending the weekend in Manchester, NH, where we'll enjoy two nights of pro bull riding and cheer for the Fisher Cats at an afternoon game. The newly formed single A franchise is an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The photo of my grandson was taken in August of 2005 while we were catching a couple of Paw Sox games. And yes, that is THE 2004 WORLD SERIES TROPHY he's touching. It was a major high to be able to have our photos taken with the symbol of an 86 year long struggle to achieve Baseball's highest honor. We all, as Red Sox fans, have loved ones who died before seeing the events of October 27th, 2004. I, for one, will never forget those games.