Saturday, January 23, 2010

"The Kid"

"The Kid." That's what they call him.


Number 3, the baby on the team.


Like a Phoenix he has risen from the ashes of injury,


and emerged as the A-Rod of the senior league.


When he steps up to the plate opposing coaches shout out a warning to their players..."Big stick, big stick."


And the outfielders respond, moving quickly towards the outfield wall. (Ok, so there is no outfield wall but it makes a good visual doesn't it?)


He can run too. Maybe not like the jackrabbit of old, but not bad for someone who has spent the last 25 years moving from his car to his office and back again.

He is no slouch in the outfield either. Just look at that concentration.


He moves on the ball with an air of confidence, making the catch as if there was ever a doubt he would not.


He's a Super Star.

And I'm his Groupie.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Man on the Run

Don't let this picture fool you. The quiet, contemplative little boy in the photo below is a ruse, a trick, a scam, a deception, a ploy. That's what my thesaurus calls it and I'm not one to argue Mr. Webster.


Be forewarned, the trap will snap shut on the con quicker than you can say Grammy's a sucker and the game will be on.



Our Mr. Gabers is faster than lightening and as fearless as Evil Knievel. He darts, he climbs, he slides, he falls, he rolls, he runs.


He stops briefly to flash his heart melting smile and then he darts, he climbs, he slides, he falls, he rolls and he runs some more.


He's faster than a speeding bullet.


And capable of leaping tall buildings (and chairs) in single bound.


He is a pint sized dynamo with an inquisitive bent and


races at break neck speed to a destination known only to him.

Gabers is our man on the run and if you aren't careful you'll get caught in his trap. It's all good.


That is if you have 4 or 5 spare days to catch up on your sleep!




Monday, January 11, 2010

What I Did for Love

I flew to SC on Saturday afternoon for a quick visit. When too many weeks go by without some lovin from the grandkids my right eye begins to twitch. That's how D knows it's time to book a flight or fill the gas tank and send me on my merry way.

Allie's four now you know. I didn't arrive in time to attend her birthday bash at Monkey Joes on Saturday morning, but I did arrive in time to attend the party of her friend Grayson later in the day. It was held outdoors, at a church camp, complete with a hay ride and a blazing fire. I'm certain it seemed like a good idea at it's inception but what Grayson's parents didn't bank on when they drew up the plans for this shindig was the arctic deep freeze that had descended upon the southern part of the country.


However, being a doting grandmother and the good sport that I am I eagerly (ok, reluctantly) agreed to attend the event with Allie. After all I had missed her party, it was the least I could do.

I bundled up as best I could. Florida clothes aren't known for their warmth. I spent the better part of the afternoon chasing Gabers around the basketball court on two blocks of ice that were once my feet and huddled around the bonfire with fingers too frozen to even think about roasting a marshmallow. I couldn't grasp the stick. I even climbed aboard the rickety hay wagon for a turn around the camp grounds. I am certain that the wind chill factor was 20 below. It was a tough job fighting off the wee ones for those blankets but I'm strong and I persevered. My eyelids were frozen solid by the time the tractor rattled to a stop and it was hours before I could resume routine blinking.


All of this I did in the name of love. After all this was Baby Girl, my one and only granddaughter. I would do just about anything for her.


So you can imagine my dismay when at the end of this very long and very cold evening she looked up at me with those big blue eyes and stated, every so confidently, "Grammy, you smell old."

I'm not quite certain what old smells like. I'm just hoping there is a cure for it.



Saturday, January 9, 2010

Pump Up the Volume

I have always admired architectural design photos. The type that are cropped tight and full of color, bright, sunny color. In the past I have made some weak attempts at such photos with less than desirable results. Recently I stumbled upon a blog post on the topic by photographer David A. Ziser (www.digitalprotalk.blogspot.com) which got me thinking about one such photo I had taken in Bermuda last spring. Below is said photo in it's SOOC (straight out of camera) form.

It is flat, boring and quite disappointing. As the photographer I can tell you that this was not the image in my head when the shutter was snapped.

But after some thoughtful cropping (you can read a lot of "do-overs" into that comment), I finally settled on something that I liked. The much tighter crop makes the image less about about a house in Bermuda and more about shape and form and line.

I then began to play with color: hue, saturation and luminance. It was most definitely a trial and error exercise filled with a lot of trial and even more error. But eventually things began to take shape. The image below is the result of throwing caution to wind.

I like the results but I have to tell you that this particular image looks different on my laptop than it does on my desktop where it was originally created. The color is brighter and much more intense on the desktop which poses a question for another day. Which one is correct?

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Here We Go Again

Or perhaps that should read "There We went Again." This morning we are returning (if the boat didn't sink) from our first cruise of 2010. However, I would wager my next paycheck that 8 out of the 10 of you didn't even know I was gone.


Didn't miss me one little bit. Allie might have missed me since she was forced to start her birthday without me, but the rest of you, not so much.


I tried very hard to keep this little trip on the down low. My children are drawing up commitment papers. The cruise intervention they staged apparently didn't work.


And I really hate to add fuel their fire.

One more thing, in the off chance you heard that Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Sea didn't make it back to Miami somebody please go let Henna out.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Gabers Calling

The other afternoon while I was "busily" working at the gallery, my cell phone rang.

"Hello." Silence. "Hello, hello."

The silence was broken with scratching sounds and gibberish the likes of which I had never heard. Who on earth was on the other end? And why were they bothering me?

And then the light bulb went off....GABERS!


He loves nothing better than playing with cell phones. This time it appears he made a connection.

"Hey Gabers" I called. "Is that you buddy?" More gibberish and scratching.



This rather one-sided conversation went on for a few minutes until I heard a sweet little voice demand, "I want to talk too." Big sister was on the scene. But apparently Gabe held his ground, or his phone, because that was the last I heard from her.

It's not easy carrying on a conversation with an 18-month old child but we managed until I heard an exceptionally clear "who are you talking to?" Followed by a quick "bye, bye." And then silence. The line was dead. Our chat was over. The little man was busted.

No sooner had the line gone dead when my phone once again rang. It was B. "I guess you figured out that was Gabe." "No doubt" I said, "no doubt."


Sunday, January 3, 2010

Sweet Little Baby Girl



Sweet little Baby Girl
the one that our hearts adore,
That's why it is so hard to believe
that so quickly you are turning four.

You charm us with your smile,
each and every day.
If only we lived a little closer,
then you could visit us and play.

Sweet little Baby Girl,
you're a delight in every way.
And Pappy and Grammy are wishing for you,
the biggest and bestest four year old birthday.

We love you Baby Girl. Hope your day is extra special.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Out with the Old


Here we are again - January 1st. The start of a new year. Time to get that list of resolutions out of the top drawer of my dresser, dust it off and give it a look. 

Hmmm, it appears to have been a dismal year. Once again I failed to achieve any of my goals. Nadda, zip, zero. I am still a miserable procrastinator, and I did not lose one ounce in 2009. Instead I gained a few, makes it less likely that I will blow away in the event of a hurricane.

I'm thinking it might be time for a change. Rethink this whole New Years Resolution thing. Abolish it. Ban it. Kick it to the curb. I have worked a lot these past weeks on self-acceptance as it pertains to my photography, I think I'll apply those principles to "the list." You know, embrace my shortcomings, make Long Island Ice Tea out of lemons. (Why stop at Lemonade?)

I am a procrastinator. I am very good at it. Over the course of my life I have honed this skill to perfection. I have found that if I put planning dinner off long enough, I get to eat out. If I delay cleaning out my closet a few more months out-dated fashions tend to become fashionable once more. Look how much money I save. And if I push back washing my car just one more day, it might rain and do the work for me..seriously, why bother? However, failure to clean the house in a timely manner has not yet managed to get me a maid, "hope springs eternal."

I'm beginning to like this new attitude. I realize that I run the risk of getting a reputation for being lazy, but that's not it at all. (Well, maybe a little bit.) It just means that if I'm going to put unpleasant tasks off as long as possible I might as well find the good in it. It also means that those of you still standing by your mailboxes waiting for my Christmas card can come inside now and get warm.