Category: photos

warming up (PhotoHunt)

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I took this photo on the afternoon of January 20th, 2009, a day that will probably always bring me a warm fuzzy feeling. After watching Obama’s inauguration with friends and with my little ones, I met up with another friend. The Boston weather was cold, the snowbanks along the road were high, the slush in the road was deep. We went to a snug little hole-in-the-wall coffee shop my friend knew, and had a snack and warm beverage.

This week’s PhotoHunt theme is “warm.” For more photos on the theme, cozy on up to the fire at tnchick’s place.

away from the bridge

It would seem that I’m having some trouble getting away from the bridge as a theme. This week’s PhotoHunt theme is “nautical,” and while I have quite a few ship and boat photos in my library, I opted for this photo taken from a boat.
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This is taken from a ferry heading across the San Francisco Bay towards Oakland in the late afternoon. I took this photo (and this ferry ride) in June of 2008.

For more nautically themed entries,pay a visit to tnchick.photohunter7iq

red bridges (PhotoHunt)

The PhotoHunt theme for this week is “bridge.” Like the reflections theme that first enticed to me to play along with this game, this is another theme that I am quite drawn to. I have many photos of (or with) bridges in my photo library, so it was hard to choose which to present.

In the end (or perhaps the beginning?) I chose to start with this photo, which reflects my fondness for reflections in photos, as well as my fondness for bridges. (You see how I like to run on with a theme? Just like that time when I ran on with spoons and reflections.)

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This photo has the added appeal of showing the bright light and vibrant colors of a late summer day, which contrast so vividly with the colors of the landscape around my home right now. We are in the midst of a long, icy, snowbound sort of winter, which offers the sort of stark gray and white palette that can leave the eyes craving a splash of color.

And to warm and brighten things up a bit more, I offer photos of Phoebe, looking regal as she is wheeled (along with her Bunny-Bunny-Bunny) across the steeply sloping bridge.

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This arched bridge is in a park in central Massachusetts, but it is clearly modelled after Japanese bridges, such as this one, in a park in Nara, Japan.

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(The kimono-clad women in the photo are some linguists or other speech researchers attending a conference in 2004. It was during a special kimono-trying event, mind you, and should not be taken to reflect the standard style of dress of speech researchers attending conferences.)

And lest it appear that all red Japanese bridges are fancifully arched and primarily decorative, I offer up exhibit C, a very different red bridge which I came across (and walked across) in Kyoto, Japan. While this bridge is much more sturdy and utilitarian, I still appreciated its lines as well as its color.

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To come across more bridges, make sure to visit the PhotoHunt home at tnchick.

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p.s. Don’t forget to send in your Just Post nominations by the end of today, Saturday, February 7th.

super bowl

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I’m quite fond of this serving bowl. It’s got this cool variegated blue glaze, with swirls of grays and blues with bits of browns and whites. (I’m sure that someone with more knowledge of pottery could tell me what it’s called.) It has a nice shape, and it’s a great size for mixing up a salad or whatnot, or serving chips at a party. It’s also dishwasher safe, which means that I don’t avoid using it. It’s beautiful and sturdy, an object that gracefully nods towards both form and function.

A woman I worked with gave it to me at a going away gathering when I left my job as assistant manager of a bookstore, before starting grad school, which was now 9 years ago. I think the occasion for the gift-giving was my civil service wedding, which was a couple of weeks or so before. It was a totally unexpected gift, as the coworker and I were more friendly acquaintances than friends. I haven’t seen her since then, but her gift became one of my favorite household items.

That bowl has become a sort of gold standard for me for gifts: an item that is both useful and aesthetically pleasing.

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Would you call a cow furry? (PhotoHunt)

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Cows at the dairy farm down the road from our house. Taken in March of 2006.

This week’s PhotoHunt theme is “furry.” Cows aren’t the first animals to come to mind for the term, but I like this photo, and I’m on a roll with the bovines for the Year of the Ox.

To see more fur a-flyin’, check out tnchick.

chipped (PhotoHunt)

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This is part of set of china that was my great grandmother’s. For decades it was in the china cabinet at my grandmother’s house, but now is part of my own collection. I love the dark, bold pattern with its unusual color scheme of rust brown and black. And I love the quaintness of the egg cups, which seem like such relics of another era.

The odds and ends remaining of the set are in varying conditions. While most of the plates are whole, many of the teacups have cracks. One of the egg cups has a small chip, which prompted me to think of it for this week’s PhotoHunt theme, “chipped.”

For more “chipped” photos, pay a visit to tnchick.

sharing the moment

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Yesterday, I kept Phoebe out of daycare so that she could watch the inauguration with me. A friend of mine in Boston was hosting a viewing at her apartment, and I thought it would be great to watch with friends. John, unfortunately, had an important work meeting, but I decided that Phoebe, Theo and I would head into Boston.

We almost didn’t end up going. Even though I got up before 8:00, things moved really slowly. A few minutes before 10:00 found me re-dressing Theo after a major diaper blowout and impromptu sponge bath, and Phoebe running around the house naked. It takes an hour to drive into Boston, and then I’d have parking to deal with, and then baby and toddler-wrangling to get up 3 flights of stairs to my friend’s apartment. I didn’t see how we could possibly make it before the ceremony, and I just didn’t want to miss it. I called my friend to tell her we weren’t going to make it.

But then, somehow, we kicked into high gear, and Phoebe (who was very unhappy at the idea of staying home) got dressed in a hurry, and we got on the road by 10:15. Traffic was light, and there was parking only about a block from my friend’s apartment. I called and one of my friends came down to the street to help us in. (There were giant 4-foot snowbanks between the street and the sidewalk, and I had to make separate trips climbing over/through with Phoebe and Theo, so it was good to have someone else there.) I think we got to my friend’s apartment around 11:30, where there was a spread of yummy food, some friends, and a bottle of champagne.

It was fun to watch the ceremony with friends, and we cheered and jeered and toasted and joked and were so incredibly happy to see this day.

I held Theo on my lap, and pulled Phoebe close to me during Obama’s speech. I’m so glad that I had them there with me, so that some day I can tell them where they were for this amazing moment of history.

I’ve never been happier to retire a piece of clothing

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
George W. Bush, August 5, 2004

In less than 12 hours, an article of clothing in our household will become instantly outmoded.

I’m talking about you, little “I already know more than the president” onesie. Yes, Phoebe wore you proudly, back when she was small enough. And sure, you would still fit Theo, size-wise. But your message, so sadly and humorously apt for far too long, will no longer be appropriate. And that deserves a celebration of extraordinary magnitude.

To send off this once-stylish article of clothing in style, I thought I’d post a few pictures from a photo shoot it had with Phoebe, back in 2006.

Photographer: Hi, Phoebe.
Phoebe: Oh, hi.
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Photographer: Hey, Phoebe, what’s that you’re wearing?
Phoebe: You mean this?

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Photographer: You look fabulous, dahling. Now, strike a pose.

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Photographer: Work it baby, work it. Now show me the pout.

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Photographer: Oh, yeah, baby. Yeah.
Phoebe: Can we stop this now? I’d like my lunch.
Photographer: Okay, okay. But first, tell me. Will you be happy to see a new president in office?
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Phoebe: You know it!
Photographer: Oh, yeah. Anything you’d like to say to the President as he takes his leave?
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Phoebe: Buh-bye.

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Phoebe: And don’t let the door hit you on the a…
Photographer: Phoebe!

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This post is also doing double duty as a Monday Mission post. The assignment for this week was to post a series of photos with accompanying dialog, inspired by such posts from Wherever Ewe Go.

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And by the way, anyone have any suggestions about what to do with this onesie?

hat fetish (PhotoHunt)

What can I say? I love hats. And what’s more, my kiddos look good in a hat. Damn good. I found myself overwhelmed by cute-hatted options for this week’s PhotoHunt theme of “hats.” While tempted to put together a headwear retrospective¹, I decided to show a bit of restraint. For now.

Phoebe in a flowered cap, age 2 and a half.
Phoebe in a flowered cap, age 2 and a half.
Theo in the cradle, wearing a funky hat. (Age 4 months)
Theo in the cradle, wearing a funky hat. (Age 4 months)

For more hats than you can shake a cat at, go visit tnchick.

¹ Like KC, it appears that I am afflicted with Trichotoppomania.