Another Day At the Park

Had the grandkids again today. We went to the park. Here are 5 out of 6 of them.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

I belong to a bookgroup. I joined when I was pregnant with Leah. She is 25 now. The bookgroup started 5 years before that, and there are some people still in bookgroup that were there when it began. Wow!

We tried to get Oprah's attention about the longevity of our group (really). I guess she wasn't impressed. But 30 years is a looong time, dontcha think?

So here's the game plan. (it's probably not much different than the majority of bookgroups, of which there are more than likely a gazillion in existance) Right now there are about 9 of us. The number has fluctuated over the years, but we seem to be doing well with 9 right now. We work on a rotation. Each month the next person announces what book we need to read and we meet at her place the following month. There's food, always, and liquid refreshments of various kinds.

We seem to be gradually changing from serving an array of appetizers to an actual sit-down meal first with just light snacks during the discussion, and, of course, dessert after the discussion. But it's up to each hostess to "do her thing". We're never disappointed!

We really do discuss the book--many of the husbands think we just get together to talk, and some feel threatened because they think we spend the evening man-bashing. Not so!

We only have two rules:

1)the person who chooses the book has to have read it already, and

2)no men allowed.

Simple.

Anyway, Sept. is my turn. Next Friday to be exact. I chose "The Picture of Dorian Gray". I read it when I was in high school and remember loving it. Then I read it again a few years ago. It's been on my list of books to choose for bookgroup for many years, but it seems like I always choose something else. This time I determined to choose it. Everyone seemed pleased.

I'm always on the lookout for more potential titles. What are you reading now and how do you like it?

I'll Catch Up Sooner or Later

And yet another late post. This one is for yesterday (Sat).

Yesterday was my birthday. It rained and I sat around all day doing just about nothing except checking facebook and watching sweet movies on the Hallmark Channel. Ooops, I did do one constructive thing: vacuum.

Anyway, my day was brightened when I opened my present from my husband. You know that "ridiculously bad sense of direction" I mentioned a couple of days ago? Well, my husband is well aware of it--can't count the number of arguments we've had in the car because of it--so my gift was a brand-spanking-new-GPS. HOORAY!!! I had one about two years ago, but it began malfunctioning and when my husband questioned whether it could be repaired he was told that the cost would probably be prohibitive. Ergo--the new one!

So I spent the evening programing it and will probably give it a test run today--you know, like program in the church address cause it's always iffy if I'll make it there without getting lost (just kidding).

Oh, and a treat for dinner: pizza (that I didn't make even though I actually like mine best) and wings--both of which I didn't have to go fetch myself. Quite the treat!

Not So Healthy

(late post for Friday--no excuse this time)

I decided to play off of Jayme's Friday post. All of her healthy food choices were very inspirational. I was so inspired that when my husband said he wanted to go to Karen's for a strawberry shortcake, I decided to go along with him for a hot fudge sundae. Scott came along too and enjoyed a sundae with me.

So today I'll try for a more healthy lifestyle, but FYI--the hot fudge sundae was yummy!

Do You Hear Banjos?

(This is a late post for yesterday, Thursday, due to internet problems. )

The assignment was to take photos of two different things that were connected somehow. It was the assignment I gave--sure enough, I was completely confounded by it, but I liked the concept of it.

At the end of my travels yesterday, I wound up at a cemetery. This composite is the result of my quest to satisfy the assignment. Two different grave stones, from two different eras, both honoring the lives of people who lived, loved, laughed, people who were the child, spouse, sibling, parent of others who cared for them and people who left legacys of some sort behind.

When I began my travels yesterday, I headed toward Gloversville, and I turned onto a road I don't think I've ever been on before. My hope was that I would be able to find my way home, considering the ridiculously poor sense of direction I have. I eventually came to a sign that told me I was in Bleeker. Bleeker! Who lives in Bleeker and why?, I always wonder.

I kept driving and came upon this sign, "Pavement Ends". I could have sworn I heard banjos--and they weren't coming from the radio. But I persevered and continued on, wondering where in the world I would end up.

As it turns out, I wound up at Caroga Lake. As I approached I was thinking I could get a few shots at the old amusement park. Not to happen! Everything was closed up with barriers and "No Trespassing" signs. So sad. Another death.

Free Ice Cream

Tonight the Glen Church held a "Free Ice Cream" event. I stopped by thinking I might get some shots of the goings-on.

Jayme and her mom

Some folks trying to persuade the police officer to take advantage of the free treat. No success.

Only 35 days to go.

36 Days To Go....

Our MVP group has just 36 days to go to finish their challenge of taking and posting at least one photo a day for a year. We officially began Oct. 1, 2008. It's been a long 11 months, but it's been very rewarding/challenging/inspirational/educational/annoying/stressful/invigorating/discouraging...oh, you get the point. I think we're all glad we did it, and I know we're all glad to see it coming to an end.

Tonight we had our bi-monthly meeting--the one during which we pass the trophy to the next recipient.

But before we had dinner, Trish had the idea to take some photos of us as a group with our cameras. For some reason, she thought this would be a great idea for the photo for her post for today. Little did she realize that she provided the rest of us with material for our posts. So, Thank You Trish!

After dinner we had the drawing for the trophy. Steve didn't want to relinquish it. But he stubbornly held onto it with a smile.

AND THE WINNER IS...........JAYME!

Bridget wanted a little time with the trophy, so Jayme shared it with her for a couple of minutes.

Jayme relishing her award.

Don't get too attached, Jayme, our Sept. meeting will be here before you know it.

The Old Mill?

While I was out today, running an errand at the post office, I decided to take a ride over to this old mill (at least that's what I think it is) in Fonda. I love this building, but it sits there year after year, decaying a little more each day, and it makes me sad. It's such a classy old building--I wish someone would buy it and restore it, if not to it's original layout, at least to a functional building of some kind.

I did notice a "For Sale By Owner" sign on the property, so maybe someone will rescue it from an almost certain demise...

Tenacious

This weekend, from Thur. to Sat., Ft. Hunter was celebrating Fireman's Days. There were rides and food vendors on site. I wasn't able to get over there until late this afternoon, but by the time I got there, around 5, they were tearing down the rides and packing up. Surprise! I thought, for sure, that they would be open this evening.

So, having missed that photo op, I rode on down the road to the lock. A place where I'm completely uninspired, but I didn't want to just turn around and go home.

These first three shots are just of the foliage that tenaciously grows every year in every crevice and hole in the stone. It constantly amazes me. So even though the images aren't very spectacular, God's creation is.

This image below is looking down into the water with the greenery growing out from the side.

The light was really beautiful when I was there, and seeing it shine on the building was very pleasant considering the dreary weekend we've had.

Another Take on Yesterday's Assignment

Yesterday we had an assignment to take four images from the same spot, turning 90 degrees for each of the four shots. I posted those 4 shots, but had actually taken many more shots, with the thought in the back of my mind to try and see how it would look as a panorama. I didn't use a tripod and wasn't particularly careful, but here are two partial panos from that experiment. I've included some of the individual images so you can see what I stitched together. If you click on the pano you can see it a little better--(I didn't really intend for them to be so small.)

Thursday's 360 Degree Assignment

The assignment for today, given by Trish, was to stop whatever we were doing at 4 pm. Take a photo of whatever we were looking at, turn 90 degrees and take another shot, turn 90 degrees for another shot and turn the final 90 degrees for the last shot. Those 4 photos are at the end of this post.

I'm beginning with the start of the day. Two days ago, hubby went deep sea fishing. This morning he decided to fillet the fish he caught. Lauren was entranced!

Later in the morning I packed up the grandkids with some snacks and we headed off to Saratoga to the pool in the state park.

I remembered this story: once upon a time there was a young girl who loved to swim. When she went to college she discovered that she could take some courses that would grant her the right to become a life-guard. She was so excited that she enrolled in the classes right away and in no time flat she had obtained her WSI card and her Senior Life Saving certificate.

During Christmas break she applied for a Life-guard position at a private swim club in the town she lived in. She was hired!

When this young girl returned home for summer break, she began her job right away. Although it was often quite boring and tedious, she loved what she was doing. She never forgot that summer...

Okay, so the young girl was me. While I was at the pool with the grandkids, I remembered that time in my life... Yeah, I'd do it again if I could go back and relive those years.

So. There was this flume slide at the pool. Mace didn't think it was exciting enough to do twice...

but Jacob had a few goes at it.

Lauren didn't meet the height limit, so she headed back to the pool.

Now for the assignment. I didn't manage to remember to do this at 4 pm. It was 4:50 when I thought of it, so I ran outside and this is the result. Very, very boring and uninspired, but I love the project and applaud Trish for coming up with such a creative idea.

A Little Cemetery Time

It occurred to me late in the afternoon, that I could have been out shooting infrared today. This afternoon was bright and sunny and perfect for IR. Well, I had a meeting to attend at 6, so that didn't leave me much time, but I was determined to get a couple of shots.

I took 6 shots--all of which were pretty awful. These 3 are the least awful, but since I made the effort to get them and I needed something to post, here they are.