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Date Night

I bought Patrick 3 sets of tickets to the BSO for his birthday. Tonight was our first concert.

Don't you just love a man in a bow tie?!

These are the seats opposite ours. We had box seats, big comfy chairs with plenty of leg room and a great view.

It is a beautiful venue.

and just for fun I grabbed a quick shot of the Bromo-seltzer Clock as we drove home.

© Michelle Hines

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I only got to play with my new lens a little bit today but I did catch this adorable face.

© Michelle Hines

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I couldn't believe my eyes when we saw daffodils not just sprouting but budding during our walk today. There is hope that spring is coming.

I finally got my new toy! You would think it would be easy to find a 50mm 1.8 lens. Just walk into a camera shop and buy one right. Nope! I tried 4 different Ritz Camera shops to no avail. I now know why... they have declared bankruptcy. No new stock for Ritz. I then tried our local independently owned shop. They would have had to order it. I then pulled out the list of camera shops my instructor handed out. Bingo, the closest Penn Camera didn't have one in stock but one of their other stores an hour away does. That was on Saturday. They said they would do a store transfer and have it to me on Tuesday. It didn't actually arrive at their store until today. So after work I drove the 30 minutes there and picked up the lens and not a moment too soon because.....

My 18-135mm lens is broken. When I took the camera out of the case today the metering system wasn't working properly. It is because the lens is actually coming apart near the focus ring. I called Nikon and got someone on the phone right away and tomorrow I am sending it in to be repaired. It is still under warranty.

© Michelle Hines

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Almost every morning from fall until spring the farmer's field across the street from where I work has geese on it. The past few days there are been a lot more of them. I love to listen them.

Last weekend the bird feeder at work was filled. I love watching the birds flit back and forth. All morning I can catch glimpses of them, cardinals, chickadees, titmice, blue jays etc. As soon as I get the girls down for their naps and grab the camera there are no little birdies to be found.

I stood on the deck for about 30 minutes and no one wanted to have their picture taken this afternoon.

© Michelle Hines

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I have definitely been in self destruct mode. Kate made brownies and cupcakes and I can not seem to stop picking at them. Last night I made this huge bowl of air popped popcorn. Doesn't sound too bad does it... I smothered it in real butter!


I have managed to get myself out of bed and make it to the gym before work the last two mornings. See I have my sneakers on and Sophie is wondering why I am not snuggling with her in the bed.

© Michelle Hines

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My sister called my daughter and invited her and Matt bowling... Patrick and I tagged along. I of course brought my camera. I left it on the table for all to use so I am not sure who took some of the photos below.

Not taken by me.

My nephew Spencer, who bowls better than I do!

Of course he did not have a Big Bowl Margarita (or two).

not taken by me, that is me :)

© Michelle Hines

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As I have explained my current project for my photography class is to chose and object, I choose my daughter's rain boots, and photograph it in unusual settings.

Here are some of the prints I have made.


Sophie in the boots... these did not turn out well enough to submit for a grade but I had to have at least one print just because she is so darned cute.

Lilly in the boots. For some reason the image scanned in darker then it is on the print.

Lilly in the boots again. notice the crossed arms... she is growing tired of this "game".

The boot being used as a vase sits in the middle of the road.

I love the darkroom. There is a moment of magic when you put your photo paper in the developer and your image starts to appear. I am always a little sad when our time in the darkroom is done.

© Michelle Hines

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I drove to work in the rain but by 10 the sky was blue and it was warm but windy. We headed to Chick-fil-a for a playdate with our friend Meghan.

© Michelle Hines

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We had a light dusting of snow yesterday....

but even a light dusting is exciting when your 2!

© Michelle Hines

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I took most of my photos today with my film camera. I am still photographing the boots.

This afternoon I introduced finger foods to Chloe. She loves to eat them but isn't sure how to get them into her own mouth. She pushed them around the tray a lot.

© Michelle Hines

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Last night Patrick had Donald over for dinner and to play music, the kids came over too. I made Jambalika, a Rachel Ray recipe. Yum-O! You serve it over steamed rice.

Donald and Patrick

While they played music the kids and I hung out around the dinning room table talking.

Kate

Christy and Ian


It was a lovely Sunday evening.

© Michelle Hines

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What's on your kitchen window sill?

Does your dog wear boots?

I am still working with the boot as my Object for my first photo assignment. Today I decided that maybe Sophie in boots might be a cute photo. I tried in digital first. Yes I chopped her head off but how cute is she. The ones on film hopefully turned out better since she obeyed when I said stay.... if you know Sophie you know how amazing that is!

© Michelle Hines

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When I got home from work tonight Patrick had cooked dinner, chicken Kiev, broccoli, salad, pasta and cheesecake for dessert. Yummy! After dinner Kate, Matt, Patrick and I played Risk. Kate won.

© Michelle Hines

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This evening I managed to get in a little hoop time.
This poor quilt has been in the hoop so long it is dusty. It is my first entirely handpieced quilt. Some day I will finish quilting it.

© Michelle Hines

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February 11th and it was 69 degrees today. A bit overcast but beautiful. We spent a lot of time playing outside. Can you believe things are starting to sprout?! I know this weather won't last but I am loving it . It was still warm enough after work to drive to the train station to pick up Patrick with the top down!

Lilly and I also spent some time today making rainbow crayons to give for Valentine's Day.

© Michelle Hines

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Meet Max...

and Sophie...

Affectionately known as "the babies".

© Michelle Hines

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Star light, star bright, the first star I saw tonight.

If you look closely you can see a little twinkle of a star through the tree.

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My first day in the dark room

My first contact sheet.
From this you can view the photos from your negatives and decide which you would like to enlarge.

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I am running a few days behind. I have taken the daily photo I just haven't had time to post.
So here is Friday's picture...

I have been hunting for the perfect atlas for a 2 yr old. I use to have one when I did daycare. It was a Big Board Book that had very simple maps of each continent and one of the whole world. The kids loved it. Lilly is showing an interest in maps and the places people go so I would like to find a similar book for her. She is searching hard for a "map book" in this photo.

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Lilly and I played with our cameras a lot today.
I shot in manual mode.
Something I am trying to do more of.

Below is one of Lilly's favorite toys right now. We played with it a lot when she was younger and recently brought it back out for Chloe. It is fun to see all the different ways Lilly plays with it. Sometimes the bowls are even pom poms and she is a cheerleader. I love toys that encourage imagination and are battery free. The colors are great to practice taking pictures with too.