Puppy Love

The cuteness! I can hardly stand it...



I went to visit my friend Ann the other day. She has a new crew of foster pups at her place & they needed some portraits for their online pet adoption profiles. Seriously, it was all I could do not to stash a puppy in my pocket to bring home.



I'm all set in the furry friend department right now, though... but maybe you need a pooch...?

Team Players

Over the course of the season, these girls have played every kind of game there is. There have been wins, losses, ties, amazing upsets, and thrashings. Of course, witnessing a thrashing is the worst.

But, it happens.

Uninspired offense, sloppy goaltending, lackluster defense, opposing players that are twice as big as the home team... Whatever the reason, it's always a bummer.

So, here we are, at the last minute of the last game of the season. Down by several points. Coaches decide to finish the game on a festive note, and empty the benches onto the ice. It's a free-for-all... the chaos on the rink threatening to widen an already large gap on the scoreboard. Not that it matters at this point, but, still. Groaning, I survey the horde making its way toward the goal... where my girl crouches, a pile of gear wrapped in a red jersey.

(Who, by the way, is never afraid of an oncoming horde. She relishes those moments. And even in defeat never hesitates to say that she loves playing goal. I will never understand this.)

Anyway... the horde is coming, and I'm hoping for damage control, is all. That's when two teammates glide up beside her, and take their posts. They are all smiling. The horde arrives. Then the shot. Gloves, skates, sticks everywhere. The puck squirts out of the melee, into the corner. No goal. Then, thankfully, the buzzer.

Hooray!

A confession: I have been a reluctant Hockey Mom. Until now. To love the game, to become a team... what else is there? We got our money's worth, for sure.

See you at the rink!

Exposed

I feel so... naked.

Out there in the world, without my camera. Noticing possible subjects. Observing moments that neatly capture the mood of the day. Seeing photo opportunities everywhere... and feeling a tad under-dressed...

I have left the big rig at home, on purpose, for the past several days. Just to see what it feels like. And while I have enjoyed a little more freedom from the routine, sometimes pressure, of making photographs daily... I do feel like something is missing.

iPhone + Instagram app

Feeling Lucky?

365.
As luck would have it, we have arrived at day 365!

There were times in the past year when I thought this day would never come... and now that it is here, I look back and wonder how did the time pass so quickly? Funny how our years are made up of a series of looong days strung together in a quickly-moving blur of weeks and months.

Of course, that's the beauty of a project like this... each day is represented with an image. And even though I couldn't tell you what we were doing last June, for example... I can look back and remember the art fair, and the night out with a friend, the first day we pulled out the slip & slide, our trip to Chicago, and the last day of the soccer season. I can't stop time, but the photography and the photos help me to slow down, and hold on to the moments that might be lost in the blur.

Thanks for coming along on the second round of this project. As much as I value the process, I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to a third volume of daily posts just yet. Besides, there are a few other projects I'd like to focus on... Of course, I'll share photos, so stay tuned!

Sign of Spring

364.
Right on cue... tulips!

Another Season...

363.
...down the drain.

There goes the remains of our ice rink. Fun while it lasted, but I think we're all ready to move on...

We've Come a Long Way...

362.
Here's a wide-angle view of where things are now in the barn.

For comparison's sake, take a look at where we started, back in November:


The difference just blows me away. I love, love, love how it's turning out. Look at all that light! Woohooooo!

Spring Spin

361.

With temps in the 50's and barely a trace of snow in sight, she was itching to go for a ride. Of course, we know better than to believe winter is completely behind us just yet. Still... without these occasional moderate days, we'd never make it til spring.

Iphone & Photogene app....

Unfinished Business

360.
New plaster and windows notwithstanding, there are still several items on the punchlist that need to be checked off before we can call this project "finished". Like floors, trim, electrical work, and dealing with our grafitti'd chimney...

Finishing What I Started...

359.
You might remember, waaay back in November, I mentioned something about starting a little painting project in my kitchen? I had been having trouble choosing a color... but I did make a choice, and even bought the paint that week, promising myself I'd get it done, lickety-split, before the holidays.

(I'll pause here while you roll your eyes, maybe even chuckle, at that notion...)

Well, we all know how that story goes. In December, I even admitted to a friend that it would "probably be a January project."

(More laughing...)

Oh well. Nothing like a little spring tease weather to motivate some sprucing up around the house. My November/December/January/February/ March project is almost done!

Race to Nowhere

358.
I've been dragging my feet on this post for a few days now. Mostly because I have very mixed feelings about this movie, and it would be a really big job to unpack all of that here.

I'll just say this... the movie deals with a fascinating topic (to me, anyway), "the dark side of America's achievement culture", and looks at some of the dysfunctional aspects of our educational system. Lots of good food for thought there, no doubt.

I was disappointed that the film maker relied mostly on emotional anecdotes to argue her point. Some of the most striking and memorable arguments from the film would have been much more effective if she backed them up with facts. For example, one "expert" she interviewed, by way of assuring us parents that grades aren't everything, mentions that the "world is run by C students."

And as she says "C students", the smiling mug of Bill Gates flashes on the screen.

The implication being, of course, that Bill Gates, wildly successful entrepreneur, business magnate, author, billionaire, philanthropist... was a C student.

Well, I don't have Mr. Gates' transcript, but the guy scored 1590 on his SAT, was accepted at Harvard University, and held a job as a Congressional page. I daresay, if all of our C students were that accomplished, this film never would have seen the light of day.

And by the way, how is assuring the parents of America that even C students will run the world supposed to diffuse the achievement hysteria that the movie rails against? Seems to me that kind of talk is more part of the problem than the solution.

So, that's just one small example (and I didn't even want to get into this, remember?) of why I found this movie to be such a disappointment. Education is an important issue. It's complex. There are kids being cheated at both ends of the have/have-not spectrum. Understandably, emotions run high in the debates over what's best. But, I think the debate is better served when we try to bring real information, facts, and research to the discussion, and leave the emotional manipulation out.

Coconut Isle

357.
Never met a coconut confection I didn't like. This is my new favorite, though.

Plaster Master

356.
Walls almost done. Floors are up next.

Window

355.
Steamed-up windows reveal a peek at progress: plaster is going up and the heat is on.

Not Cool

354.
And... this is where I get off the Hockey Fan Bandwagon.

Hair Dos

353.
There's a LOT of 'tween energy around here that wants to be channeled into things like hair and make-up. More than should be spent on just one person, really. Thankfully, we have a little sister on hand to absorb the excess...

Partners

352.
We have a plan, a goal. Baby steps will get us there.

iPhone photo, "posterized" in Photogene app....

Bedtime Reading, Ch. 2

351.
A little Beverly Cleary before lights out...

Sheetrock

350.
Tuesday, 3pm.
Still lots to do, but the walls are going up fast... it's starting to look like something up here.

Special Delivery

349.
Monday morning, 7am. Sheetrock delivery. This feels like a significant moment in the project. A turning point. The beginning of the end, perhaps. At least, the end of the middle.

The Power of Kumquats

348.
A kumquat care package arrived from California! Which means this fresh snow -- and all this winter we've had -- won't last much longer. Right? Right...?!

Cozy

347.
The guys have been very busy in the barn while we were gone. The place got sprayed with foam insulation, making it more airtight and energy efficient than our house will ever be...

Sudoku Slam

346.

The in-flight mags aren't that intriguing, but at least there's a few Sudoku puzzles in the back. On our flight out last week, I blitzed through a couple of "easy" ones to warm up, then started on a third. Soon, though, I was stymied. Stumped. I couldn't solve the puzzle.

(To add insult to injury, I found it especially disturbing that the puzzle was labeled "medium"... I can do those medium Sudoku at home, no problem! Gah! This had to be a misprint. Right...?)

I stashed it in the seat pocket in front of me, and deplaned, defeated.

Fast-forward five days later... Sudoku re-match on the return flight, and guesswhat? I did it. No problem.

Maybe I made a mistake on my first try that threw me off, maybe it was the altitude, maybe I was too distracted by the in-flight screening of "$#*! My Dad Says" (Really, United? This is what we're showing now?)... or maybe I just needed a vacation.