• Family

    Madie’s Graduation

    Madie and Friends
    Madie and Friends

    Late yesterday afternoon a front moved into the area bringing light rain, some thunder and lightening and pea size hail. The foothills were covered with snow from the snowfall during the night. By mid-morning today we began to see snowflakes mixed with rain and temperatures hovering just above freezing in town. But a little snow and cold weather was not going to stop a special graduation for us folks from Colorado.

    My youngest granddaughter, Madie, had her graduation today along with nine other students. All of these kids have come a long way to walk these stairs and receive their diplomas. It wasn’t easy an path. Each one of the students shared something personal about their experience at Centennial so there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Thank goodness for autofocus. Congratulations to Madie and her classmates. Madie now moves on to a junior college this fall with a full ride for her first year. She then plans to transfer to Colorado State University. Did ya notice her smiling in every image?

  • Art,  Art/Design

    I’m Out of Here

    Voted Best of Show
    Voted Best of Show

    photocrati gallery

    Can’t take the cold anymore. So, my sister and I are boarding a airplane this morning and heading to Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving with our parents, our sister and our favorite brother-in-law. Checking the forecast we see temperatures to be near the 80 degree mark. I can live with that! My sister and I met Sunday morning for coffee and plan our attack. After settling on our plans we headed out to a woodcarvers show. My dad has been carving for the past 20 years and now Sheree has been bitten by the bug. She’s joined a local club who is sponsoring the show. I have seen some nice carving through photographs in my dads magazines but seeing these carvings up close will take your breath away. Here a few images from the show. I’m not taking a laptop nor expecting to be connected to the internet for the next week. Stay warm!

     

  • architecture,  spirituality

    With my latte, again.

    My Bedroom and Rocker
    My Bedroom and Rocker

    After 21 months of having a daughter and two teenage grandchildren living with me, I now have my condo back. I have a small one bedroom one bath condo and adding three more people it became much smaller. My daughter and granddaughter slept in my bedroom and my grandson and I used bunk beds in my living room. It was nice to sleep in my own bed in my own bedroom. They really did not bring that much stuff but when all of it is this little condo it seemed like so much more.

    So, now we all have moved on to anther phase of life. These months were a stress on all of us. We learned a lot about each other. Some issues we dealt with and some we didn’t. This time allowed me to discover a few things about myself and them that I did not about before. It’s a change not having them here but pretty sure I  will adjust in couple of hours. I’ve already noticed it’s quieter and peaceful. I no longer find dirty dishes in the sink or shoes laying around on the floor or curling iron sitting on the bathroom counter or someone in the bathroom.

    I missed that bedroom. I was not aware of how much of a sanctuary it was and how much time I spent there. It’s a simple bedroom: a full size bed, a dresser, a small desk and a wicker rocker. I now having quiet mornings, and evenings, in that rocker with my latte, again.

  • clouds,  landscape,  Plants

    A Farmers Life

    Darryl working on the irrigation system
    Daryl working on the irrigation system

    I’ve been traveling a bit and without internet. It’s been nice, actually. Visiting family in the Texas/Oklahoma panhandle area. I have several cousins who work hard at farming in that area. One morning I went with Daryl to check on his irrigation systems. Farming is one of those seven days a week jobs and is hard work.  The corn in this field was wet with dew so both of us were pretty wet by the time we were back at the truck. I admire their work ethics.

  • Family,  People/Portraits

    Birthday Boy

    Dad the Birthday Boy

    So when your retired and just turned 83, it’s time to celebrate. Glad I had a fast lens so I could capture all the action as we celebrated dads special day. So glad for the time with them on his birthday. Now he gets to enjoy more of his retirement while I start another trip today.