March 2010 Mosaic

A collection of the pictures for March 2010.

094 - A bit of sparkle today

The little princess has on her sparkle shoes. Very nice to bring a bit of dazzle into an otherwise rainy, dreary day!

093 - Sick of it all

Several more inches of rain to deal with. More flooding. Very depressing. And the kids are all feeling their spring allergies so I'm headed to the pharmacy for meds. We are all sick of it!

092 - Memories

I pass this church once a week to bring Tia to dance class. It's the church where Tom and I got married over 18 years ago. It's also the church where we had the funeral services for both of my parents. The minister, a family friend, left us a couple of years ago too. It's where my father began and continued meetings that were life-altering for him and make me so proud of his accomplishments even as he struggled. Lots of memories and I'm feeling old today!

091 - Renewal

Springtime renewal brings a lightness of step and a sparkle to eyes as we see, once again, that life starts again.

090 - Flowers for tix

I sent my husband and 2 boys to see the Harlem Globetrotters as a birthday treat for the boys (they both have April birthdays, so does my daughter... go figure?). They had front row, courtside seats and young Tom played Knockout with the team. When they came home that night, they brought me flowers as a thank you. Very sweet!

089 - Masterpiece by necessity

The story behind this "masterpiece"? My Dad was a craftsman and worked his own sheet metal shop. Now the guys in the local businesses always knew, and helped move info through the grapevine, when certain inspectors were heading to the area. Well, one was on the way shortly and my Dad had a batch of paint hanging around that needed to be disposed of first. Instead of doing the environmentally irresponsible thing of dumping it all, he took old jagged pieces of plywood and dumped the paint all over them creating "art". When dry, he hung them up on the walls of the shop with ridiculous price tags. No one ever bought one, but I have a couple hanging up in my garage to remember my Dad and his wonderful sense of humor. Wow, I really miss him and can't believe he's been gone for almost 17 years. *sigh*

PS - he passed inspection!

088 - My evening

John has AAU practice and I'm sitting above with free wifi doing homework. He's in the red shirt on the court below. I think this will become a usual spot for me this Spring!

087 - Mailman Tom

Tom helping me by getting the mail out of the mailbox as we head home from school. I love the reflection in the rear view mirror here.

086 - Rainy night

Another rainy night, another couple inches of rain, another night on the road headed home.

085 - Headlight in the dark

Headlight on my truck. The lighting and angle intrigued me.

084 - First time on ice skates

First time on ice skates and he can go F A S T! We were at a birthday party. Tom's hands are freezing, but his skates are hot!

083 - Simple joys

Sunshine and temps around 70F. Spectacular! Tia and I are taking advantage of the great weather and have all the windows down. Love seeing her enthusiasm and joy in the simple pleasure of warm wind blowing through the windows!

082 - Tooth!

Tia lost a front tooth and is having fun experimenting with lots of new and interesting sounds she can make. The "th" sound, for example, fascinates her right now!

081 - Pump

The Daily Shoot assignment I undertook for today:

Find something that's so old it's almost timeless and make a photograph of it.

From an aunt and uncle's house came this old pump that used to sit out in front. After they were gone and the house was being sold, I wanted the pump as a reminder of them. My aunt used to hang a bright basket of yellow flowers from it each summer. I miss them and I miss spending some of my summertime at that house.

080 - It's here! It's here!

It's here! It's here! The new phone book is here! (reference to "The Jerk" - my husband and I used to laugh so much at that movie)

Anyhoo, Spring has Sprung and it's right beside my front steps. Seriously, how much do you LOVE crocus? They give me hope.

079 - Nostalgic for ceramics?

I had a set of pasta dishes that my mother-in-law gave me as a gift. Just the perfect size, the perfect shape, they were just right. She had a set as did her daughter. Over the years we used them like crazy and now most are gone. We've never found replacements that were as good. It's late and I'm nostalgic for ceramics? Maybe...

078 - Beyond soggy

The Plains in Kingston. We've had around 8 inches of rain in places around here (so thankful it wasn't SNOW!) and we are beyond soggy. Where is the sunshine?

077 - Soggy? Our house is becoming an island!

More than 3 inches of rain and it hasn't stopped yet. Looking out the "front door" into the woods and all the puddles. Wet, wet, and more wet!

076 - Flag football at the dome

The Daily Shoot for today has us looking for:

Curves, squiggles, and flowing lines interest the eye. Make a photograph dominated by a curvy shape of some sort today.

Last flag football game for the winter league inside the dome. Tom is in the lineup second from the left - he's sizing up the situation and is just about ready to explode and run for the catch. They won this game.

The dome itself is fascinating to look at with the curves and flowing lines. A great backdrop for the game.

075 - Fridge

Part of my never-ending circle (dishes, laundry, groceries). Y'know... they can make ice and water magically appear out of the fridge door, why can't they do that with milk too?

074 - Porch guardian (he's thinking about it)

Poor gargoyle. It's been a long haul since summer. He's covered in cobwebs and dust as he contemplates guarding our little porch. Spring cleaning time is coming soon!

073 - My big BIRD mistake

Back in January I posted a picture as "Tia's bird". My mistake. That was actually the bird made by her art partner, Cole. I am finally getting around to correcting my mistake and posting a picture that really and truly is... Tia's Bird. It's definitely my favorite of the two!

072 - Stone Feathers

So the daily shoot today invites us to:

Most of us enjoy some symmetry in our lives. Look around for it today and make a symmetrical photo.

This is from a statue that my husband bought in his youth. It is of an Indian and I like the symmetry of the feathers on the headdress. Each is unique, yet they are together symmetrical.

071 - Monday blue

So the daily shoot today invites us to:

Take care of the Monday blues by picking up your camera. Make a photograph dominated by the color blue.

Little Miss Tia is wearing blue today and it brings out her blue eyes. Here's one of them!

070 - Artwork on the kitchen wall

John painted this when he was in middle school. It hangs in our kitchen & brightens up the space.

069 - A list. Seriously, it is.

So the daily shoot today invites us to:

Lists guide an eye in a linear way: menus, recipes, etc. As you're out and about today, find a list and make a photo.

Everything I saw today was ordinary in the way of lists. Grocery list, list of ingredients, list of stores in the plaza, menu. I even took a picture of the menu at Burger King and was going to use that today (hey, I only got a Diet Coke & some of those new funnel cake sticks OK?). Well, the bag had this picture on it and the lightbulb went off over my head. It's a list. A visual list. A list that anyone could understand regardless of language or reading ability.

Now I'm thinking about other things that I do as lists, particularly in the classroom. I'm thinking that it's time to put together some that are purely visual. Maybe even an activity in which the students make lists in unique ways. Hmmm, thinking thinking...

068 - Strawberry season... only 4 months away!

Not sure I captured quite what the daily shoot called for, but here it is.

Food engages all the senses. Make a photograph of food that causes our mouth to water or pucker. Get the viewer engaged.

067 - Stripes... what is it?

I decided to try the daily shoot today:

Striped patterns have a natural pattern that catches the eye. Find some stripes today and make a photo.

This is what I found for my stripes. Can you tell what it is?

What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?
A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, Everyone knows it’s Slinky…
It's Slinky, it's Slinky, for fun it's a wonderful toy
It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun for a girl and a boy

-- from this website

066 - G'day mate

A boomerang with traditional artwork that hangs on our wall. We got it near Cairns (in Kuranda I think) in 1995 when we visited Australia. John was 6 months old and we took him everywhere in his backpack.

February 2010 Mosaic

A collection of the pictures for February 2010.

065 - Mmmmm, muffins

After 5 days without electricity, we are finally back online. I was going through internet withdrawal! Took the time to fire up the oven and cook some muffins - the house smells wonderful.

064 - Power play

I am soooo sick of this. We still have no electricity, this is our generator which keeps a light on and the furnace going. This is DAY 4 without power.

063 - High water

View from the Phanzone at Route 111 facing East. Flooded, no electricity, trees and powerlines down everywhere. Another fun day in paradise.

062 - Snow dome

We returned home to NH and a house with no electricity. BUT, flag football goes on and we traveled - in more snow & wind - to the Dome to play. Both boys played and the team won.

061 - Braving the wind

Daddy and Tia feeding seagulls during the wind and snow at the New Jersey shore.

060 - Keyboard

I'm stuck on the computer today.

059 - Date night

Tonight was a special night where my husband and I had the rare opportunity to go out without any kids! He was sweet and took me to a Ruth Chris' Steakhouse (yum). This pic is of the decorations that intrigued me on the ceiling.

058 - Birthday Cake

Today is my husband's birthday. Here is young Tom (at Grandma's house) frosting a special cake for Dad. Tom just came in from the snow and rain outside!

057 - Barney

Tia had an earache this week and she was such a trouper (and a savvy shopper) that she ended up with this dog. His name is Barney.