People

KC, Jane, and Brice

This is the fourth year in a row that I’ve posted a picture from my company holiday party. The previous posts were on December 07, 2012 , December 19, 2013 , and December 12, 2014. This year, I took fewer pictures because I was a little distracted. On the way to the party, the brakes in my van stopped working. I was approaching a traffic light and it turned red. I put on the brakes and nothing happened. The car barely slowed down. I tried pumping them and the pedal went to the floor. Fortunately no one had started through the intersection and I went through without incident but I had to use the parking brake to slow down the rest of the way to the party. I had the van towed from there and got a ride back from the party. Anyway, enough about that. The party itself was nice and it’s always good to be with these folks and not be talking about work.

Self-Portrait

I’m not a big fan of the selfie and I don’t even particularly like having my picture taken. I know that’s a bit funny coming from someone who is often trying to get others to smile for me, but it’s the truth. I would much rather look at pictures of other people than of myself. I suppose that’s a fairly common attitude.

This evening, though, I set the camera up on a china cabinet and set the self-timer, focused as best I could, and took a few pictures. This is the best, in terms of my expression, etc., although it’s not perfectly sharp. Still, not a terrible portrait. And as much as I don’t like looking at myself, I guess I should be thankful that I don’t have to very often. Sorry, for all of you who have a harder time avoiding it.

Cathy, Hawlings River

We had a beautiful day today and Cathy and I took advantage of it. After a chilly morning, with significant frost, it warmed up to almost 50°F and in the sun it felt more than that. We went to a local nature preserve and walked through the woods and down to the Hawlings River. Not exactly the might Yukon or Amazon, but it’s a pretty little river and quite cheering on an early winter’s day. Here’s a picture of Cathy, enjoying the view and the sound of running water.

Thanksgiving Family Photo

Like many families, we have a few traditions. One of them is a family photo on Thanksgiving. It’s nice to be able to look at a collection of them for each year, thinking back to all the changes, happy and sad, that have taken place over the years. Generally there are two cameras set up, mom’s and mine, and they are both set to take a photo on a ten second delay. I am sitting on the floor in front in this picture because it was the easiest place for me to be, considering I had to start the timers going and then hurry to get in, without tripping over a tripod in the process.

Grant Stephen

He’s nearly a year old and what a year its been. Back on December 6, last year, I posted a picture of week-old Grant’s feet. Now, he’s walking, tentatively and still oh, so cute.

Cathy and I were at the WCA Christmas Bazaar today and more than the bazaar itself, what we really enjoyed was seeing people that we don’t see nearly enough, now that Dorothy has moved on to the next thing. I spent a wonderful half hour or so chatting with Angie and while we were visiting, Grant’s mom, Collyn, arrived. I was given the honor of being allowed to hold and watch Grant while his mom went for some food. He looked a little concerned when mom walked off but a few moments of distraction and he was fine. We had a nice little visit. A shame he won’t remember me, but that’s the way it is. I’ll remember him and I have a few pictures to help (including a couple selfies taken with my SLR, which isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do).

Cathy and Luna

We got to have Luna stay at our house for the weekend. Actually, she was only here a little more than 24 hours. Cathy brought her home yesterday and then we took her back to her house this evening. Before we took her back, though, I took a few pictures of her with Cathy. She’s a good dog and quite easy to care for. The sheet on the sofa tells her this is her place to sleep, and she seems to know that quite well.

Cathy

Time for a picture of Cathy. Often these are taken when it’s getting late and I haven’t taken any pictures for the day. Still, I’m always glad for an excuse to take her picture and always glad for the pictures I get. Pictures like this generally get more ‘likes’ on Facebook than any other sort, so they are clearly popular with my audience, as well.

Inevitably she will make silly faces for a few and we’ll sometimes try something a little different. This evening, after the faces, I took a few with her turning around quickly, spinning her hair out to the side. This picture happened in between, though. There were three ‘normal’ pictures (I put normal in quotes because silly is the norm, around here).

This one turned out quite well. Thank you, Cathy, for putting up with me all these years.

Iris, Caleb, and Steve

After the memorial service today, we had the family, including those from out of town (those that were staying in town for the night, anyway) over for dinner. I hadn’t taken any pictures earlier in the day. It simply wasn’t appropriate and the opportunities were fairly slim, anyway. So, I pulled out the camera and took some as everyone chatted, ate, and enjoyed being together. This isn’t a wonderfully posed picture but it does convey the casual nature of the evening.

Mrs. Huey’s Extended Family

When I was in eighth grade, we had just moved back to the USA after a year abroad. My best friend from childhood had moved away in the meantime, so in some ways it was like moving to a new place. One of the new friends I made was Rob. We were in homeroom together (sorted by last name) and we because very good friends. He lived about a block from the school and I went home with him after school on occasion. Those were good times and Rob’s mom was a big part of that, always welcoming and encouraging. She passed away a week ago and will be missed by her family and friends. I ‘just happened’ to have my camera today, so I was available to take family photos after lunch.

Julie, Maureen, Tom, and Shayna

I want to thank Tom, whose retirement party was today, for taking a risk and hiring me, back in January, 1997. I think it’s worked out pretty well for all involved, including the company, but he was already Cathy’s boss when I applied for the job he had been advertising. Tom was our boss for about five years, directly at first and then with a supervisor between him and us. In 2002 I went to work on project work and haven’t worked for Tom since then, but I won’t forget his bringing me in. I also worked with the other three in this picture, Julie, Maureen, and Shayna, a lot more back then and it was very good to see them. But it was Tom’s day. All the best in your every endeavor.

May the road rise up to meet you.
     May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
     and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
     May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Cathy

I took a few pictures around the house this evening. The best of them (by far) is this one of Cathy.

There are a lot of things that could be said about Cathy. How she puts up with me would be high on the list of things that are nice about her. She lets me take my pictures and only rarely complains about it. She lets me take pictures of her, as part of that, which is especially nice. She and Dorothy bath are fairly resigned to it, I guess, but they could fight it, and I appreciate that they do not (usually).

This picture turned out pretty well, I think. A pretty, young thing, my lovely wife.

Dorothy and Karlee

I enjoyed photographing a wedding today so I actually have quite a few photographs that I could post. But I don’t really know the bride and groom, just the groom’s parents, so I decided I would pass on that and post this picture, taken later in the evening. Dorothy and Karlee went up to Frederick for the day today and then when I got home, we went out to IHOP for a late dinner. That’s where this picture was taken. So sad that we won’t have these two girls at the beach with us this year.

Julia and Bob

After work today Cathy and I went to a benefit dinner for a non-profit run by some friends. We had a nice meal but more enjoyable still was the company. It’s good to connect with folks that we don’t see often enough and with our recent travel and how busy it’s been at work, it’s been worse than usual. We sat with Bob, Maureen, and Julia, among others, and especially enjoyed Bob and Julia singing for us. The acoustics were not fabulous and there was a bit of noise in the room (you can’t get people to stop talking at an event like this) but they did a great job. I think they are singing “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel.

Lexi Graduates!

We’ve known Lexi most of her life. Her mom and Cathy have been friends since high school. We first met Lexi when we visited her family in Germany when she was not yet three years old and when they moved back to the area, we have tried to see them on something resembling a regular basis. We live far enough apart that we haven’t always done as well as we would like, but we’ve managed to stay connected.

Today, Lexi graduated from high school and we were proud to be there with her family to celebrate. As the students filed into the room, they went past the end of our row of seats. She was only in view for a half second as she went by but I managed to get a picture before she continued to the front. I took quite a few pictures during the ceremony and afterward, at their house, but this is my favorite. Congratulations, dear one.