Paula's Pictures

Memphis wedding

2007-08-08T19:53:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in I don't know how long. But I've been in Ukraine and Arkansas and Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Excuses, I know. But here are some pictures from the wedding I did Saturday.

Give me a hand???? I don't get it.

2007-07-12T21:55:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure what this hand was doing in a room for x-rays. Oh well, it didn't bother me.

July 11th

2007-07-11T22:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, the view from the parking lot of my doctor's office has to be up there in terms of beauty. Hopefully I won't be seeing that view too often though.

July 10th

2007-07-11T22:16:00.001-04:00

And another trip to Pennsylvania

July 9th

2007-07-11T22:13:00.001-04:00

And then nighttime at the point...with a fire. Why when it was hot outside? I don't know...there's just something about fire.

July 8th

2007-07-11T22:10:00.001-04:00

The beams of light were beautiful coming through the trees.

July 7th

2007-07-11T22:08:00.001-04:00

A sunrise walk back to our point.

July 6th

2007-07-11T22:04:00.001-04:00

Raspberries in our own backyard...makes for sweet walks!

July 5th

2007-07-11T22:00:00.001-04:00

Plebes at the academy...oh what fun! Not.

July 4...fireworks of course

2007-07-11T21:57:00.001-04:00

We were supposed to go out with friends on their boat but there was a tornado warning. Of course, nothing materialized but I guess it was a wise choice not to take the boat out.

Ah, summertime

2007-07-02T23:12:00.000-04:00

First, although I'm not putting a picture in for every day, these were taken on four different days!

Julia, Nadia and Suzanne arrived from Ukraine. Now they are off to Kansas and Colorado before they return back here again!
We looked at some beautiful land in Pennsylvania...water from fresh strings, great outbuildings, gardens and fantastic mountain views...

And then of course, there are the sweet, sweet tastes of summer!

My cubicle

2007-06-27T22:35:00.000-04:00

I started work this week for real. And it has been a crazy week. On Friday we returned home from White Sulphur Springs. On Saturday I had a strategic planning meeting that took all day. On Sunday we celebrated Father's Day with almost all the kids. On Monday I started work (9 hours) and came home to company. On Tuesday I worked (81/2 hours) and came home to three Ukrainian girls and the company. Today I worked a 'half day' until about two and came home to those same girls...bored and hungry and then friends from DC came over to see them...and the list goes on...I can't believe how busy I have been. This is about the first free moment I've had in days and tomorrow we leave at five a.m. to take the girls to the airport and then go to Pennsylvania for the day. Not that anyone really needs to know all that, I just needed to say it! I feel much better now. : )

A new plebe

2007-06-25T23:30:00.000-04:00

Well, we have a new plebe. I guess it was meant to be. After meeting this family the dad and I realized we used to be in youth group together and had all the same friends. Pretty amazing, really. David had to report today, early, because he went to NAPS. He's a kicker and hopes to be on the football team, in which case I guess we'll need to buy season tickets. It would be fun. I Day is on Wednesday and then the fun begins!

Home again

2007-06-24T22:23:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how infrequently I've been posting. I've been out of town though and that makes it tough. WSS is a step back in time and that includes internet time! Rocking chairs on the front porch of the hotel are about as high tech as things get.
We did go out to Raystown lake...a manmade lake up in the mountains. It is 29 miles of absolute beauty. Our friends had a 21 foot deck boat. It was great.
Art did a little skiing. Not bad for a fifty-something guy who hasn't done it for over a decade. He even did some time on one ski!
Today we celebrated Father's day late...all of our kids were here except Andy. He deploys to waters south tomorrow. If he had been here it would have been great but it was nice to have all the rest of the kids here. I haven't been able to look at the other blogs lately. Life is just too hectic. Our church is doing a series on 'margins'. I think it might be timely. I have my first full day of work tomorrow, guests coming in the afternoon to bring their son to the US Naval Academy and then three Ukrainian girls the next day. I'm not even sure what happens after that! One or two days at a time!

Where I am

2007-06-18T16:13:00.000-04:00

White Sulphur Springs! It's a retreat center owned by Officers Christian Fellowhip. It is a quaint old inn...quaint but a bit ragged after years of use. Lately we have been coming here about five times a year, but after we are off of the council I am sure that will slow down, but it is always great to be here.

I love the beauty of nature around us.

What would this blog be without a picture of the 'man'?
We always have a campfire, though usually it's later...after dark. This year we are blessed with the presence of Dr. Hudson Armerding.
I'll try to post more, but the connection is really slow. But at least there is a connection now!

Mary from Dakar was here!

2007-06-14T20:15:00.000-04:00

They came! They really came! I'm usually not hyperactive, but this morning I was acting like a kid, waiting for Mary and family to arrive. And they came! Woohoo!
We rented a boat and took them out on the Severn river...

David is Mary's husband...you can see us reflected in his glasses...
We went to the Naval Academy Museum. These boats were made by prisoners out of the beef and mutton bones from their food. They are amazing...so detailed. I guess true artists will find a way to create.
Jacob came too. He was a great boat driver on the river and a good sport to hang out with us.
It was even better to be with Mary, David and Jacob than I had hoped. I felt like they were old friends.

He's Growing!

2007-06-13T21:42:00.000-04:00

Our little puppy isn't so little anymore.

From and to Iraq

2007-06-12T22:29:00.000-04:00

Dave, one of our mids, now a FIRST LIEUTENANT!!! is home from Iraq on his R&R. I didn't have the heart to tell him it's really not humid today. It was great to see him. By the way, hello Heather!

But today there was a send off for the Maryland National Guard deploying to Iraq for the first time. The fellow at the back right is the son of a lady I work with. Not an easy time for a wife or a mom. It brought back the memories of sending Andy off. I had forgotten a little.

Yesterday and today

2007-06-10T21:52:00.001-04:00

The picture on the bottom represents what we did yesterday and today. We have woods all behind out house. We spent many hours thinning out the undergrowth and clearing some paths and making a spot where we hope to build a fire pit. It was fun! It's amazing what the right tool will do. Yesterday I was working with some old shears, today I had new loppers. They were incredible! I think I'm going to be a bit sore though, I'm so not used to doing that kind of work. Then tonight we went downtown and ate and walked around. I saw this lamp post and thought of the LampPost gang. I love my downtown, even if it is touristy. We see so many interesting people. I can't think of a better place to people watch.

Surprises

2007-06-07T22:09:00.001-04:00

Eli came to surprise Betsy. It was quite an endeavor to carry it off. Hopefully it was worth it though!
Now this was a much smaller surprise, but not what I expected to see when I looked out the window!

Two of the reasons I haven't been posting...

2007-06-04T22:41:00.000-04:00

Three photos from the past three days

2007-05-28T21:14:00.001-04:00

Saturday we arrived at the hotel...this was just the view from our window.

Obviously, I didn't take this picture. I spent my time holding babies instead of a camera. Betsy took a few shots though. I took this today. One of our young Marine dads loving on his little girl. He is separated from her now and it's killing him. Being a geographic bachelor is tough duty.

Senior candlelight ceremony

2007-05-26T10:51:00.000-04:00

Last night Christie had her senior candlelight ceremony. It was refreshing. The students had a chance to stand up and say things if they wanted. It was incredible to hear guys talk about the love they had felt at the school, at the testimony their Bible teacher (who also happens to be a coach) had been to them, at the affection and respect they felt for the teachers. The girls also said those sorts of things, but then I believe it comes more easily to girls. But to hear guys talk so openly about love and their faith was really encouraging.
The last picture of the evening was Christie giving her dad a kiss.

Honeysuckle

2007-05-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

I took my camera while walking Jackson this morning. It's amazing how many flowers we have growing wild in our yard. Good thing, 'cause I sure don't know how to garden.

Blue Angels

2007-05-23T18:27:00.000-04:00

It's fun to have a boat. It's even more fun to have friends who have boats. That way they have the headaches and you get the benefits at times.
Today was one of those times. The family that Betsy nannies for took us out on their boat to see the Blue Angels. They really are amazing pilots. We used to live in Pensacola and watch them practice but this is the first time I've watched them for several years. And we were in a prime location. We went out and anchored amidst a virtual flotilla of boats. One by one they were asked to move until we were in the front row of allowed space. It was great. And the day could not have been more beautiful, the children more well behaved...it was all just perfect.

If I click on the photo below to enlarge it, I feel almost like I am in the jet with the pilot!

Senior projects

2007-05-22T21:54:00.000-04:00

My girls' school has projects for seniors instead of exams. Chistiana did hers on orphanages. Her friend did his on swing dancing and she helped him give his demo. Family members, including Andy, attended.

Practicing...

Ring dance and puppy love

2007-05-20T08:03:00.000-04:00

As juniors the mids go to ring dance, the biggest dance of their time here. Usually people make a whole weekend of it and sail, or go into DC or eat at fancy restaurants for three days.
Our little puppy is growing up. He was born February 28 and already he's almost up to our kitchen stools!

Sea Trials

2007-05-15T20:50:00.000-04:00

Plebe sea trials at the United States Naval Academy.

Sister...wild and tame

2007-05-14T10:34:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day

2007-05-14T10:32:00.000-04:00

My kids (Christie in particular) had copies made in black and white of each of them as children and then had them blown up and framed. Christie is going to hang them in a special way, probably above my bed.

Riches

2007-05-11T22:56:00.000-04:00

Foxy fellow

2007-05-09T21:04:00.000-04:00

I saw this guy out my bedroom window both last night at dusk and again this morning. I hope he doesn't think he's Jackson's new playmate! Especially after I saw him scratching at his fleas!

Painting 101

2007-05-08T20:23:00.000-04:00

Betsy took some art classes this spring. She brought home her paintings this week and I really liked them. I think she should pursue this. What surprises me is how much color she puts in her paintings. She's pretty quiet but her paintings are loud and bold. It's surprising.The one of the trees looks so much better is real life, I'm not sure why it doesn't come out in the photograph. She took the sunrise from a photograph I took at Topsail Island.

Four down, Two to go

2007-05-07T22:59:00.000-04:00

Guess where we were this weekend? Our fourth child has now officially graduated from college. Just the two youngest are left, and one of them starts this year. Wow. Here Art and I are with our four girls.
Elijah and most of his family were there to join in the celebration.
Betsy and one of her funny faces!

Nesting instinct

2007-05-03T21:45:00.000-04:00

Today, going out to my car, I saw that a bird had nested in an old backpack that I had hung up in the garage and 'stored' a soccer ball in. When I took this photo the bird wasn't there, but later when I looked, I saw two little eyes peeping out at me. I'm assuming that means there are eggs...hopefully chicks soon!

Face wash for Tecumseh

2007-05-02T21:36:00.000-04:00

The irony is that this isn't even a statue of Tecumseh, though everyone always refers to it that way. It's of another Native American leader. But the midshipmen paint him in honor of different events. I never saw them cleaning him back up though.

Ukraine on my mind today

2007-05-01T21:28:00.000-04:00

The new guy in my life

2007-04-29T21:58:00.000-04:00

I came home from a fantastic time at the beach with thirteen awesome women to my new puppy. So far he doesn't have a name...getting everyone to agree is proving to be difficult. So far we have seriously considered Loki, Koli, Jackson, Lars, Mr. Knightly...and many more. Hopefully by the time I wake up tomorrow I will have had a moment of epiphany and he will no longer be 'little buddy'.
He already weighs about twenty pounds. He's a solid puppy. Now begins the fun...the training of the owners. : )

And more talk...

2007-04-28T16:36:00.000-04:00

Beach talk

2007-04-27T12:20:00.000-04:00

Dune fence

2007-04-26T08:43:00.000-04:00

The Yellowfin

2007-04-25T12:12:00.000-04:00

This is my son's ship, the Yellowfin. What a hoot. At 25 he was a commanding officer. I got to go out on it with some journalists and then I even got to go out in their small boat. It was fun.

Prom and then Colorado

2007-04-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

My daughter Christie went to prom...she looked beautiful! She didn't want a 'princess dress' but that's sure what she ended up with! Many thanks to her aunt who got it for us at cost.
Then the next morning I left for Colorado. It really is beautiful, I can see why natives believe their state is superior. I'd love to have a place there. We saw beaver, mountain sheep, ducks, deer, all sorts of things.

Sunrise at the beach

2007-04-24T07:28:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning to see the pink sky peaking through the window. I got up and took some pictures of the sunrise.
I've been absent a good bit...I'll be posting some photos of the days I've been gone.

Snow blossoms

2007-04-07T21:50:00.000-04:00

Snow? This time of year?

Dolphins!

2007-04-06T18:41:00.000-04:00

Two a day

2007-04-05T10:19:00.000-04:00

I'm going to post two photos a day for a few days...here is one of Texas and one of Topsail. Two very different kinds of beauty.

Bluebonnet fields forever

2007-04-04T14:15:00.000-04:00

Lone bluebonnets

2007-04-03T21:48:00.000-04:00

Finally some buds!

2007-03-25T23:52:00.000-04:00

It was hard to decide which picture to post, but I've waited (it feels like) so long to see buds on trees, I finally had to go with this one. The odd thing was the lower branches had blooms but the upper ones were still bare. I guess the sap got to these first, I don't know how that works. Anyway, it good to see something on those bare limbs.

Frustration

2007-03-24T22:42:00.000-04:00

This is what I spent most of my evening doing...trying to fix a computer problem for my dh. Why in creation do these things happen? We have MSN. We have four accounts, one for each member of our family living at home. On our desktop, all can be signed into but mine. On my laptop I can sign into mine. Does that make any sense? My dh does our banking from my account. So I spent too much time IMing a service rep at MSN who in the end just told me to find someone else, like Microsoft to talk to. Uuurrgh!

Mexican chic

2007-03-23T20:24:00.000-04:00

These lovely and elegant decorations were on the wall above me at our hole-in-the-wall but very popular Mexidan restaurant. I actually like them, though I know they are a bit tacky.
But how can you have a restaurant like that without some colorful decor?

Nightlight

2007-03-22T23:12:00.000-04:00

This glass was a gift from a friend. There is a factory in her dh's hometown where they make it.

Moon tonight

2007-03-20T22:28:00.000-04:00

The moon tonight was pretty neat.

Cut up

2007-03-19T22:46:00.000-04:00

We lost several trees in our storms this winter. My dh cut this one into pieces. Not the most exciting picture. : )

Happy Birthday Katie!

2007-03-18T21:26:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow our oldest daughter turns 24. I'm amazed that time has gone so quickly. http://mindportals.blogspot.com/ We celebrated with her today and then her dad helped her figure out her taxes. I can't believe I have four children out of college.

Last day babysitting

2007-03-16T22:52:00.000-04:00

Today was my last day. It was fun. While I was in the other room she stripped down to her diaper and then started to climb the stairs. As soon as she saw me get my camera, she turned around, sat down, and crossed her arms. Guess she's had her photo taken a few times!

Can you tell I've been babysitting?

2007-03-16T00:03:00.000-04:00

I don't have this kind of toy around my house. But I've been spending my time with someone who does!

Sunrise

2007-03-14T22:53:00.000-04:00

I got up this morning to go babysit for my dd and the sunrise lit the sky with pinks and blues. Even though I was running a bit late, I took the time to take a couple of pictures. Here's one.

My Downtown at Sunset

2007-03-13T21:33:00.000-04:00

My downtown is awfully nice. DH and I went down to walk around tonight. We are blessed.

My Companion Today

2007-03-12T23:10:00.000-04:00

I babysat Halle today. I took her outside and she loved it. How do kids move so much on so little food?

Halle

2007-03-11T15:02:00.000-04:00

Betsy, one of my dds, is babysitting this little one all week. All week except when she's in class. During those times I'll be with little Halle. She doesn't know me that well, so I've spent time with her the past three days, trying to get her used to me. She's a cutie.

By jove, I think spring has come to the area!

2007-03-10T16:44:00.000-05:00

I went outside to take a picture of a dry end of grass that I saw and I took that. Then I looked up and saw we had two daffodils up! When I walked up to photograph them I saw our crocuses and some other little flowers. Then dh and I walked down to the dock and the swans are back! Now, hardly anyone in Maryland likes these swans. They are really destructive to the waterways because they pull the grasses up by the roots. They aren't native to the area and they are ruining things for the crabs and other native water creatures. But, they do still have a smooth grace that is beautiful to watch. Of course the closer they get, the more you see their imperfections, but isn't that true with anything? I waited to try and get this picture with the reflection and my swan friend finally turned the right way. I'm going to post a few of my other pictures on my other web site, I really am going to try and keep this site to one a day.

No, I'm not depressed

2007-03-09T15:34:00.000-05:00

I just like cemeteries.

First Watercolor

2007-03-08T17:02:00.000-05:00

I don't know what got into me.
I don't know a thing about watercolors, but I love them.
But today I stopped at Michaels and bought:
A beginners set of watercolor paint (six colors)
A beginners set of paintbrushes
A tablet of Strathmore water color paper
A little plastic thing that you can put the paint in
And an extra tube of blue, a different shade, because I like blue.

Someday I hope I paint something to justify the purchase. But I came home and tried to paint picture.

It's not frameable but I'm not disappointed for a first attempt.

One part of me would like to take a class but another part of me always wants to do things on my own. Somehow it seems less significant if someone teaches me. Which I know is silly. But anyway, here's my picture for the day, in more ways than one.

Valentine's past

2007-03-07T14:44:00.000-05:00

It was time to throw out my roses, though they still had so much color left in them.

Harbingers of spring

2007-03-06T19:21:00.000-05:00

Today I looked out my window and saw both a rabbit and a robin, the traditional harbingers of spring. Poor guys, they are in for a nasty shock tomorrow if we get the two to four inches of snow predicted.

Spilled out

2007-03-05T12:41:00.000-05:00

I want to be...

My corner

2007-03-03T20:07:00.000-05:00

I was sitting here in my corner taking a quick look at the computer while waiting for my dh and realized I hadn't taken a picture today, so I got up, walked away from my chair and took a picture of where I had just been sitting. This is my corner of the bedroom. I spend a good bit of time sitting here either reading or working (playing?) on the computer.

My downtown

2007-03-02T22:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight, after dropping off dd #4 at softball practice, I decided to go downtown and take some pictures. For the very first time I felt delight in 'my downtown'. I've always felt like it was a neat place, but never like it had any connection to me. So it was a sort of neat moment. But really, think about it. Think about going as deep into a downtown area as you possibly could. In most cities the sight wouldn't be pretty, I don't think. It might be active, it might have human interest, it might have grand architecture, but I down there are many places that in the heart of 'downtown' you would find the natural beauty that I have. I had so many pictures I wanted to share...of the boats, of Main Street, of the moon, but I chose this one. Tnis little guy flew away, but I was glad I caught him while he was resting.

Yesterday's and today's pictures

2007-03-01T20:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to Trader Joe's and they had the most amazing little roses, and for only 3.99 a bunch. I've never seen anything like these before. I remember when I went to school in England, I saw roses growing in people's gardens that looked so fake, due to their coloring. I think all I had seen up to that time was red, pink and white. Maybe I saw an exotic 'yellow' once in a while. Anyway, I thought these were really unusual.
Leaving our neighborhood tonight, my dh and one of my dd's sighted this bird. I thought he could be a good companion for Mary's vultures! The light was getting little dim, so he's not really crisp, but still you can see him.

Car day

2007-02-28T08:40:00.000-05:00

I spent most of yesterday running around in the car...but the sun did me a favor and shone through the clouds in that dramatic way it sometimes does. By the time I could pull over it had lessened but that's okay. I still got to see it in all it's drama. But here is a remnant of what it was doing.

Yesterday's photo

2007-02-27T14:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, I have to admit I didn't take this picture yesterday, but I was working on my photos in Photoshop and I found a technique I really love. I took this picture last November. I wasn't too impressed with it until I messed with postprocessing. Now, I not only love it, I am, inspired to want to take a painting class!
The reason I was fooling around with some of my old pictures is that my son needs some art work for his walls and he asked me to make a CD for him of some of my pictures. I think some of these, done this way, will look great blown up into posters. I'm having this one made today and I'm hoping that I'll be happy with the results.
Maybe it's cheating to make a photo look like a print of a painting, I don't know. All I know is that it's visually pleasing to me. Thoughts?

Snow and silly sisters

2007-02-25T19:08:00.000-05:00

It snowed again today...definitely more than was expected. They were big, fat fluffy flakes.

Catching up...February 21-24

2007-02-24T16:44:00.000-05:00

Art and I made a quick trip down to Charleston, leaving around noon on the 21st.

The next day we helped our son move from his apartment to a house he bought across the street. He lives in a neighbor'hood' but it's getting better.
We went downtown for supper on the 22nd and I had to take a picture of a lampost!
There is an elderly black man, living right behind Andy who is famous for his wrought iron work. Busloads of upper class white women come to see his shop, which is in a shack in his back yard. I mean this guy is famous all over Charleston. So I went over and took some pictures. You literally look from his yard into Andy's. But what is so amazing is that for all the aclaim his work has gotten, he still lives in the same house and still works in these primitive conditions.
We got home at about one in the morning. Today we had company and I went with dd, Christiana to look for prom gowns. Here is she is with a friend, both modeling the same dress. This was a theme for the day...both trying on the same dresses. We still haven't found 'the dress'...sigh. Her taste and my budget don't always match. And it didn't help that other girls were spending $400 on their gowns. Besides, I think she'll look beautiful no matter what she wears.

Line drawing

2007-02-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

Betsy is taking a couple of art courses. So far they are just doing some basic things, but it's still good to see her at work. One of her art instructors told her she needs large canvases. He told her she is bold...like Cezanne. I think that pleased her! : )

Three today

2007-02-19T20:43:00.000-05:00

This first one I took the other day, but didn't get it posted.

These two are from today. I love spring flowers and my guests last night brought me these.
We had a family game tonight to end Tori's season. It was fun seeing Tori and Betsy playing against each other!

In flight

2007-02-18T14:34:00.000-05:00

I was eating lunch with some company we had over when I saw seagulls for the first time in our backyard. We've lived here over six years and they've never come up before. I know the folks visiting thought I was crazy because I jumped up from the table and ran for my camera. My husband was in the background trying to explain. "See, she has to take a picture every day..."

I'm actually behind on posting. I did take pictures on Friday and Saturday, I'll get them up eventually.

Morning Brilliance

2007-02-15T19:38:00.000-05:00

This was one of the mornings that my photographic limitations bothered me. I couldn't catch the brilliance and the colors of the ice outside my window. It was like a crystal chandelier hanging, refracting pure light. Glints of red and gold sparkled. It was an amazing site and this photo doesn't do it justice.

Valentine's Eve and Day...warmth and ice

2007-02-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

We had an ice storm last night.

Susan, Erik, Christie, Tori, Andy, Megan

Christie, Tori and Taylor

Not gonna lie

2007-02-12T15:31:00.000-05:00

My day has been heavy. The kind where it feels like there is lead in your gut and something pressing on your chest, taking your breath away. But two sights were good. Some random guy with his child on the ice and the flowers I bought my girls for Valentine's Day. I played with photoshop on the flowers.

February 9 and 10...photos from a car window

2007-02-11T15:51:00.000-05:00

Thursday was a rough day. I won't go into it here but after spending a day with "mental health" people I felt emotionally raw and abused. Friday we drove down to Virginia Beach and Saturday we drove home. I was in meetings both days, so my only photo opportunities were in a moving car. So, I just played around using no flash in low light with long shutter speeds. It was kind of fun.

I turned this one sideways because it reminded me of a flower.

We were stopped when I took this one.

Organized

2007-02-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

At least there are little things in my life that are organized.

Snow Day

2007-02-07T22:17:00.000-05:00

Admittedly, it was a pathetic excuse for a snow day...barely an inch of snow, but the temperatures were frigid for this part of the country. This picture of our front yard looked blue in the early morning light.

The girls (this is our dd Christie) quickly went back to bed.

The snow stuck to our shoes but was evidently not sticky for snowballs.

Any splash of color was immediately evident.

Betsy made pancakes for the first time. They aren't necessarily the prettiest in the world, but they sure did taste good.

Good conversation can ruin bacon though. I left it in the oven 'for a little bit longer' and then the girls and I got into a good conversation and I forgot about it. It was all burned to a crisp and our downstairs was full of smoke. :)

The birds were busy at the feeders though.

Light and shadows

2007-02-06T17:45:00.000-05:00

Pile up

2007-02-05T18:57:00.000-05:00

The picture below is beautiful...please take a look at it. But this is my picture taken today. A pile of things that represent my life...tickets to and from Africa, a half finished talk, the coaster from my coffee, a gift from a friend that I don't know what to do with, the binoculars I love to watch wildlife with, my basket of pens, the pictures I haven't finished scanning...

The face of Madagascar

2007-02-05T09:46:00.000-05:00

On Sunday morning we went to a Catholic service and then a Protestant one. This little girl was beside me at the first one. She slowly edged around her mom so that she could stand next to me and hold my hand when it was time to sing together. She is so beautiful. And I don't think she minded me taking her picture at all. I think she knew it was a tribute. Obviously, this picture wasn't taken today. I may post again to meet the goal, but I had to post this one.

Sunday, February 4...My mother's hands

2007-02-04T19:16:00.000-05:00

This is my first try at any sort of self-portrait. I have my mother's hands. So often when I look at them I think of her. We both have thin nails that we can't grow long, prominent veins and thin fingers. I love my hands, not because they are beautiful, but because my mom gave them to me and as long as I live I'll have that part of her.

I edited this to make it black and white after reading the other posts. Where do we find out about the challenges?

Saturday, February 3

2007-02-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

Josh and Val and baby.

Our niece married the first midshipman that we sponsored, the son of a life long friend. So it's sort of like we're related on both sides. I stayed with them this weekend when I went down to Florida to speak. It was neat. She's pregnant and due in six weeks. It's cute. Our first female mid had her baby last night. I'm hoping to see them next weekend. If so, I'll be posting that here!

Madagascar...the transportation

2007-02-04T17:40:00.000-05:00

Madagascar...the market...part 2

2007-02-01T16:29:00.000-05:00

Isn't the calves head appetizing?

Madagascar...the market...part one

2007-02-01T10:46:00.000-05:00

Undeserved surprise

2007-01-31T21:15:00.000-05:00

This morning I was feeling pretty low for a variety of reasons. I came upstairs after I had packed the girls lunches and sent them off to school and found this on my computer keyboard. My youngest daughter had put it there with a sweet message inside. It turned my day around. Funny how something like that can make such a big difference.

Madagascar...the people

2007-01-31T11:24:00.000-05:00

My living conditions Janurary 19

2007-01-31T07:30:00.000-05:00

My views of Paris January 18

2007-01-31T06:31:00.000-05:00

Sometimes my kids surprise me.

2007-01-17T16:46:00.000-05:00

First, I want to apologize to all the other 365ers. I haven't been able to post any comments lately. I can't wait to catch up with everyone. It's been all I can do to snap a picture of my own.

I'm running around in circles. I can't get focused. I ran downstairs and there was Tori, studying for one of her exams with her snack. Wow. Maybe I didn't ruin their eating habits. How often do you see kids choosing veggies (even if she did add ranch dip) for their after school hunger buster? Made me proud! Now, if only I could always make such wise choices!

And then this is the other picture I was going to post. Since I'll be silent for the next few days, I figured I could go ahead and post more than one today. I love candles. For a long time I was too economical to burn them...if I burned them I'd use them up. What kind of logic is that? I guess I'm a grandchild of the depression! I'm finally over it though, and I love the sight the smell, the feeling.

2007-01-16T17:56:00.000-05:00

I'm getting ready to go to Madagascar. It's a little stressful, only because I'm not sure what's going on. I think conditions are going to be pretty rough. I was advised to bring long sleeved, cool clothing. Unfortunately, I don't have much of that! I guess mosquitoes are pretty bad. They said there are two kinds. The daytime critters cause dengue fever and the nighttime ones cause malaria. What fun!

It's going to be okay though. It's definitely not a vacation. I hope and pray that God will use me somehow. I ordered a few books on ESL. I'm desperately hoping they arrive prior to my departure. I have tomorrow to run the last minute errands and stock up on food for Art and the kids. Then the next day, I'm off!

January 13-15, 2007

2007-01-15T16:51:00.000-05:00

These pictures loaded backwards, but that's okay. I was at White Sulphur Springs this weekend, a retreat center for a group called Officer's Christian Fellowship. We go twice a year with the mids from the US Naval Academy. They are weekends of football and skits and line dancing and talking and then there is always a speaker. This weekend we didn't participate as much as usual. I was trying to get some talks ready to give in February. I leave for Madagascar on Thursday and go down to Florida soon after I return, so time is short. The girls were studying for finals. Anyway, the center is in Pennsylavania, it's really pretty. It's beautiful in the snow, but no snow this time. : ( This is the road leading up to the barn.

The mids almost always have a skit night. Here we've got three of the guy mids embarrassing the heck out of one of the girl mids by singing to her. The guy on the left is about 6'8"!

This was where I spent a lot of time, working on my talks. It's a really old inn, built in the 1800's. This is probably the best room. Unfortunately, there is no internet access!

Well, these pictures aren't much to look at, but they are pretty representative of my weekend.

2007-01-13T00:15:00.000-05:00

We went to Tori's basketball game tonight. It's really hard for me to get good pictures in a gym, but even though this isn't technically good, I like it. We're leaving town tomorrow, I may or may not be able to post while we're gone. But I will take a picture a day while we're gone and post them when I get back.