a year in pictures: 2009

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

273/365

Still not completely happy about tummy time.

272/365

Last night Patrick and I drove out to Ikea to buy this adorable play gym for Oliver. I had seen it on another blog and just had to have it. I think Oliver likes it too.

I am off work this week so Oliver and I are hanging out at home with Grandpa, Aunt Kate and Uncle Matt. This means we also have access to our toys. Although he is only three and a half months old I decided to try Oliver in the exersaucer. As you can see from the photos it is a hit.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

270/365

Sadly I did not have my camera in my hand as much as I would have liked the past two days. I too only a few shots Christmas Eve and fewer Christmas Day. As you can see in the photo above we live in an old house that has small rooms. Add fifteen people and a very large tree and there isn't much room to move about and take pictures. We had a lovely Christmas Eve with family and a quiet Christmas day.

( I had to stand in the corner almost behind the woodstove to grab this snapshot.)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

269/365

I have not looked to see what the official snow fall amount for our area was but in our yard it is about two feet deep. Patrick, with just a little help from me, shoveled the driveway today. That's one hundred sixty five feet from the street to the back door. Then he shoveled all the snow in front of all four cars and completely dug my car out. I am pretty sure a snow blower or a plow for the front of the lawn tractor is in our future.

Patrick also shovel from our back door to his mother's back door so that we can visit with her and get the dogs out to the back yard.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

268/365

My first attempts at bokeh . I used a snowflake whole punch and got this effect. I think it would be striking with white lights and snowman.

267/365

Matt help Patrick clear the driveway and Kate pushed the snow off of our cars.
I took pictures from the window.

266/365

Patrick shoveled the driveway around noon and it was already this deep. It has not stopped snowing since then.

265/365

Most of the Christmas lights in the front of our home are covered with snow.

This bush is half buried in the snow. The lights look so cheery on the white background.

264/365

The dogs are having a great time in the snow. Sophie even looks like she is catching snowflakes.

263/365

When I woke this morning there were already several inches of snow on the ground.

By late afternoon the back yard looked like this...

and it is still snowing! We do not normally get a lot of snow before Christmas but this year we are having a blizzard. It is falling fast, too fast to even try to keep up with shoveling. I am glad I have no where to go.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

262/365

Connie gave me these adorable measuring cups (and a beautiful table runner) for Christmas. What is it that they say? Something like three or more makes a collection.Is that it? If it is then I have a problem because I now have 4 sets of measuring cups. Well, five if you include the one scoop that is an adjustable measuring cup, which is suppose to take the place of the other measuring cups. Do I have to count liquid measuring cups? They are not a set of measuring cups and I store them in a different place. If they do count then add five more. Does this count as a collection? Or is is just a well stocked kitchen? Either way I love the newest additions.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

261/365

I have cards to write, gifts to wrap, and a kitchen to clean before cookie day and I sit with my camera playing with slow shutter speeds and the lights on the tree...

These were all taken in a room lit only by the lights on the Christmas tree. I sat in the same position and moved the camera or the camera lens. Playing with lights has been fun. Maybe this week I will find time to play with bokeh and the tree lights.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

260/365

I mentioned in an earlier post that our first Christmas tree had only three ornaments. This was one of them, two doves and a heart made of blown glass. The first ornament we purchased is now traditionally the first ornament to be place, by both of us, on the tree.

Not all of our ornaments were purchased by us. Some were gifts, some were handmade and others were inherited from our families. This belonged to my parent's. It was one of my Mom's favorites. If it is placed in the right spot on the tree the heat from the lights will make the pinwheel inside spin. It was once red and has now faded to pink and the clear plastic has yellowed but I smile every time I see it. We also have tinsel balls that belonged to my grandparents. The kids all love these because you literally throw them at the tree and they stick. There is a lopsided large red ornament on our tree too. It belonged to Patrick's parents and was on their first Christmas tree. Every branch of our Christmas tree holds a treasured memory.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

259/365

Oliver is now twelve weeks old.

Christy had to return to work this week. Oliver is spending his day with me and the girls. For Lilly it was love at first site. She adores him. Chloe doesn't pay too much attention to him but since she is offering him her prized possession she too must like him an awful lot. I am enjoying every minute, not every Grammy gets to spend so much time with her grandbaby.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

258/365

Our tree is up and decorated.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

257/365

I spent this snowy afternoon putting the lights on the tree. I am not sure how many I managed to squeeze on the tree this year since I think that some of the strings may have been one hundred fifty count strings and others one hundred but I used three strings of white lights and six strings of multi colored. Tomorrow Kate, Matt, Patrick and I will put on the ornaments.

256/365

Snow!

Since I started working outside of the house snow is not my favorite thing. But on a Saturday afternoon with both fires roaring and no place to go it is not so bad.

255/365

Oliver's Baptism

The good Father kept standing right in front of Christy and I was not in the position to move right as others were trying to get photos too.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

254/365

Tonight we went to buy our Christmas tree(s). Ian, Christy and Oliver, Kate and Matt and Patrick and I went to the tree lot that we have been buying our tree from for about eighteen years. I thought we would be buying a tree from our home and that Ian and Christy would be getting one for theirs. We left the lot with three trees. Kate and Matt decided to purchase their first tree together and put it in our basement.

Ian, Christy and Oliver looking for their tree.

Kate and Matt with their tree and stand.
This photo is a bit out of focus but you can see how happy they are.

The tree Patrick and I chose.
This weekend I will put the lights on the tree and Sunday evening Kate and Matt will help us decorate it.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

253/365

More photos from our second Christmas shoot.

252/365

Christmas photos take two.

The girls are definitely not interested in posing for photos lately. Today's attempt at Christmas photos was better than last time but I still think we can do better. The problem is that we are running out of time since the photos are suppose to be for their Christmas cards. Instead of trying to get the girls to pose today I just set up the little tree and rocking chair put them in their dresses and clicked while they did their own thing. I can not imagine doing this all day with kids I do not know in a department store. The pictures above are the ones I liked with the book in them. If I could just get them to make eye contact with the camera. I need a second person to get their attention. They are way too use to seeing me with the camera in their faces.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

251/365

What do you do on a long car drive at night? I played with my camera. I set the shutter speed so that I controlled when it opened and closed. Then I took pictures of the lights on and around the highway leaving the shutter open for a long time. The results were interesting. It reminded me of spatter painting... you never know what you were going to get until it is finished.

(these are much more interesting when viewed larger... just click the photo)

Saturday, November 28, 2009

250/365

For twenty-four years my family has made Valley View Farms a part of our Holiday traditions. When Patrick and I married we decided to not run out that first Christmas and purchase enough ornaments to fill a tree. Our first tree had just three ornaments, a tacky blinking gold star on top and colored lights. It was just a small table top tree but we loved it. That's the way it has been every year since, we add one ornament for each family member. After Thanksgiving we drive an hour to Valley View Farms and everyone gets to pick their ornament for that year. You never know what your going to come home with. Add to that the homemade treasures and we now have a tree overflowing with ornaments and a life time of memories. Last year Patrick suggested we do something else, the kids vetoed that idea. I am glad. It is magical for me to unwrap each and every ornament and remember when and why it was purchased or made. This year we had three generations there. Ian, Christy are now picking ornaments with their son for their own Christmas tree. While Kate and Matt choose their first joint ornament that will hang on our tree until they have one of their own. I hope that as our lives change and our children find their own way that this is a tradition that continues.