I was able to squeeze in a portrait session this weekend after the wedding that I did in PA on Saturday. It was a bright, bright, sunny day which can be a digital photographer’s nightmare because it requires extreme attention to positioning to avoid harsh shadows and get proper exposures. But in this case I had the fun of capturing a happy four year old boy & his adoring parents, and the sun turned out to be just right for capturing this family! Here’s a sneak peek:

…to this -  Dream Catch Me by Newton Faulkner

The nights have been beautiful here because of the moon shining so, so brightly on the lake. Jim & I have been sitting on our deck enjoying it, and I tried to photograph it the other night. Since I was too lazy to get out the tripod, and since I really do not have this kind of photographic eye (give me a kid anytime!), this was the best I could do before I lost interest in photographing it & instead just enjoyed looking at it:

Headed to PA tomorrow for a wedding on Saturday, a few sessions on Sunday, then driving to Stacey & David’s on Sunday evening to spend Memorial Day with them & the kids…driving home on Tuesday…only1400 miles! I will be back at work on Wednesday morning – have a great weekend everyone!

Jim & I have been faithfully watching "American Idol" this season…we capture it on DVR & watch it when he gets home from work. We haven’t missed an episode, and we both actually predicted early on that the two Davids would be the finalists. Tonight we really enjoyed the finale, and it came down to the last part where Ryan opened the envelope…said "the winner of this season is….David….." Boom. Nothing. The dreaded "show has ended;delete?" is on the screen. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!!!

I have been ranting & raving like a lunatic. Our DVR routinely doesn’t get the end of shows, and I have absolutely had it – I swear I’m canceling it tomorrow & going to Tivo!!!! I CANNOT believe I missed it!!!!

Edited to add: Apparently, this was a network glitch – Fox ran overtime by at least 5 minutes, so ANYONE who tivo’ed or used a dvr & did not extend the time missed out! We routinely do it for sports that are of course unpredictable, but who would have thought that something like this would run over? Anyway, I’m still mad but THANK GOD for You Tube!!!! And because of my meltdown, Jim actually dug out the manual for the dvr & looked up how to pad the time so hopefully this won’t happen anymore to our regular shows that we record.

My neighbor’s cute little calico cat MayDay went missing a few weeks ago. She was a rescue cat that was in pretty bad shape when they adopted her a year ago, but was healthy & thriving & had the run of the neighborhood. She ALWAYS came for her morning feeding but didn’t show up one morning, so we were really worried. After a week, we had all but given up and were afraid that something had gotten her. On Day 11, she showed up in the afternoon, meowing like crazy at the door and looking thin but none the worse for wear – ate like a pig, then slipped right back into her routine like nothing ever happened. It’s a mystery, but glad it had a happy ending. Here is a pic I snapped of her yesterday; she was annoyed that I disturbed her nap in the sun and stomped haughtily back to her own yard, turning briefly to give me a disdainful stare:

Check out these "Command" Picture Hanging Strips : here

The word is that they REALLY work, and are very easy to remove with no wall damage. I’ve seen them at Michaels, and I am going to try them in my new house – Jim will be thrilled if I can avoid nail holes!

A few months ago I was pleased to donate a photo session package as one of the auction items at a fundraiser for the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts in Clemson. The winner of the session lived in Pittsburgh for a number of years with her husband & in fact her son was born there – what a small world! So we have been waiting for the weather to be nice enough for the kids to play on the beach, and despite rain in the morning, we were able to get the job done. Super nice kids and mom; super nice smiles!

It seems like just yesterday that Stacie called me to photograph her new baby girl, but it was actually about 18 months ago – here is Melina as a precious newborn:

And here she is now – an adorable toddler!

With her trusty blanket:

And the newest reason for another photo shoot – little brother Grant!

So all of you children of the 60’s (oh wait – there are none of you
that old that read this website, lol!) – ok, so all of you who love
classic preppy styles that scream "summer" will LOVE the timeless
styles in fabulous modern color twist of Cape Madras

More progress pics of our house – the foundation is poured!
Our front door:

Garage:

View from the lake looking up at the house from the basement:

View from across the cove: