People

Steve and Kai

Cathy and I went to visit our grand-nephew Kai this evening. We also visited his parents, but really, we all know why we were there. But seriously, it was a nice chance to visit and of course to hold the baby, who is growing like the proverbial weed. Cathy took a bunch of pictures of me holding him, but of course I post pictures here that I’ve taken, so you are spared that. This is Steve giving him his dinner. Actually, I don’t know how you name meals when they come every two hours, but it was 7:30 PM, so we’ll call it dinner.

Masked Lunch

We had lunch with some of the rest of our family today but it was a little unusual because we all wore masks to reduce the risk of passing infection to Ralph, whose immune system is “somewhat compromised” at the moment. It was really nice to get together and have a visit. We were sorry that Steve, Maya, Kaien, and Danna were not able to join us but having a baby throws your schedule off and it can make what would formerly have been an easy outing into a complicated journey. Of course they’ll get into the swing of things soon but we all missed seeing them (especially Kai).

Glenn

We have known Erin and David since Dorothy was in first grade. In fact, Erin was Dorothy’s first grade teacher, back in the day. She and David were married the following summer and we stayed in her family’s house while they all went off for the wedding. Over the next few years we got to know them better, even though she stopped teaching to begin raising the family they have now become.

This afternoon we were blessed to spend a little time with all but their oldest, who is now 12. This picture is of number five, Glenn, who was born last June. I won’t say he’s any cuter than his older siblings were, because they all have been quite attractive (some kids have all the luck in the genetic lottery). But this is one adorable little fellow. Look at those cheeks, to say nothing of his eyes. Thanks, Erin, for letting me hold him and thanks, also, for holding him so I could take his picture.

Cathy and Dorothy Doing the Cleopatra Move

We had originally held off celebrating Christmas with Cathy’s mom because Cathy’s niece (Dorothy’s cousin) was going to be coming and we thought we’d do it while she was here. Maggie’s travel plans have changed so we decided to go ahead with Second Christmas without her. That’s why there are all those presents under the tree.

Lately Cathy and Dorothy have been watching various exercise videos and working along with them. Yesterday they were talking about the belly dancer that we saw in a restaurant in Rockville and they looked up instructional videos. Who said the internet isn’t good for anything? Anyway, they worked their way through it and this is one of the many moves they practiced.

Amy and Jon

It’s funny how some things become tradition. Thirteen years ago, Amy and Kevin invited us to their house on New Year’s Day for what Amy described as a “low-key celebration.” When they repeated the invitation the following year it was on its way to becoming a tradition. The guest list has changed with the only constant being Amy and one or both of her boys and Cathy, Dorothy, and me. Since Keven passed away, we have hosted the party and this is our fourth at our house. The aim is the same, though, a low-key celebration of the new year. As we approached the date, Amy asked if she could invite a family that she’s known for many years and of course we agreed. When they arrived, we introduced ourselves to Karen, Kyle, and Grace and to our surprise, Karen recognized Cathy. Their families knew each other back in the day. And by that I mean the 1960s! Small world.

Hannah, Rachel, and Lyla

Well, it’s the end of another year. For what started out as Project 365, with one picture a day for a year, posted on Facebook, I’ve now finished six years, 2,192 consecutive days of at least one photo a day. I just looked back at the posts from December 31, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Of those five posts, three of them were taken in the family room of our good friend, Stuart and Donna. They were also all taken right before the stroke of midnight. This year’s photo was taken in their kitchen about 40 minutes before the end of the year. It features Hannah, Rachel, and Lyla.

In all I took only 18,270 photographs this year, the first year under 20,000 with this camera, but that brings the total for the camera to 134,953. I had one day this year when I only took one photograph but I’ve managed to take at least one every day. The most I took in a day was only 792, which is a pretty low maximum. We didn’t take any extended sightseeing vacations this year and I had no weddings to photograph, which played a part if the lower numbers. But I’m still at it. Anyway, see you next year.

Maya, Steve, and Kaien

Happy birthday, Maya. I know you’re exhausted but look at this little boy. What a dear little thing he is. To everyone else reading this, let me introduce to you Kaien (pronounced basically like Ryan with a K) or Kai, if you prefer (like Sky without the S). He was born on Saturday, December 24, and we visited this evening and I know you’re going to be shocked but I took a few pictures. This is one of my favorites. I probably say this every time I see a newborn but it always surprises me again how small they are. Anyway, welcome to the family, Kai. We’re a bit of an odd bunch, but you don’t get to pick your family. Sorry about that.

Dorothy and D’Argo

Cathy and Dorothy went over this afternoon to pick up D’Argo from Steve and Maya’s. They were going to the hospital to have their first child and we will have the dog for a little while, certainly until they are home again and settled down a bit. As I write this, late on Saturday morning, there is still no word on the baby’s arrival, but we should hear any time now.

As you can see, Dorothy is enjoying having a dog.

Kasia, Troy, and Katie

The group I work with had its annual holiday party today. It’s not exactly the sort of party portrayed in some movies or television shows, with dancing and revelry. It’s just a bunch of folks (about 150) getting together for a meal, a silent auction to raise a bit of money for a local charity, and a time of mostly quiet socializing. I was one of two photographers today with the other being the “official” photographer. That freed me up to take a few candids and not really stress.

Being a technical person, I’m technically not a member of this group but this is the group we largely support. I work with quite a few different teams within this group although there are a lot that I don’t know at all. I’ve worked with these three for quite some time and probably know them better than all but a few others here. They all hate to have their picture taken but they were kind enough to let me take a few.

Iris and Ralph

After the three day birthday, Thanksgiving, family reunion with Cathy’s family, we got together with my family today for our fourth day of celebration. I cannot express how thankful I am for both of my families and it’s nice to be given a day off (and to take two more) specifically to express our thankfulness. I’m thankful for more than family, of course, but that’s certainly high on the list.

Dorothy, sadly, left to drive back to school and wasn’t able to spend the day with us. It was good to see her and she’ll be back in just a few weeks for the Christmas break. As usual, I took pictures of everyone as we sat in the living room and visited, with the usual range of discussion topics customary with the my family (we tend towards the geeky end of things, I have to admit). In addition to some family pictures, I particularly like this one of Ralph and Iris. It just works.

Hannah

It’s been way too long since we saw this young woman. Actually, the last time we saw her, she was a girl of only about 8. She’s grown up a lot since then and it was so good to have her visit for Thanksgiving, along with her dad and sister, both of whom we’ve seen a bit more recently. It was a really nice to get to know her a bit and I think we’ll put more effort into getting together again befor too long.

After a busy Thanksgiving yesterday we went to Great Falls today. While I took a few pictures of the river, it was more an occasion for photos of Hannah, Abba, and Darius. I really like this one of Hannah. She has an amazing smile, also, but it’s more common, when the camera is pointed at her, that she makes a silly face.

We also saw a great blue heron in the process of killing a black snake. It would stab the snake with its beak and picking it up. The snake would coil around the beak and the heron would drop it and the process would start over.

Cathy and Darius

I picked up David and Darius this afternoon and the Thanksgiving (and birthday) festivities have begun. This was taken while David went to the airport to pick up Jim and Hannah. Dorothy and Abba were on their way from New England. William would come down tomorrow morning. So, it’s still relatively quiet. Cathy, as you can see, is making some animal sound (although it looks more like a “moo” than a roar, but I don’t know) while reading The Three Happy Lions to Darius.

Cathy

I was taking pictures around the house this evening, looking around for interesting shapes and patterns. I took some of a patch on the shoulder of a jacket, some of etched metal and a couple of a photograph of Cathy’s mom taken back in the day. I also took a few of Cathy and this one I like best of them all. It’s not a huge smile but it’s a familiar look. I suppose I could have waited until her birthday, which is coming up, to post her picture. On the other hand, there’s never really a bad time to take and post her picture.

This photo was taken on Monday (which is why it’s dated on Monday) but I’m actually writing this on Friday. It’s been a busy week for her with a software conference from Monday through Thursday at the Gaylord National. Lots of good information but fairly tiring. She took her first rides in Uber the first three days and then drove herself yesterday (Thursday).

An Elf

An interesting thing happened on the way to the river today. We had thought about parking near Old Angler’s Inn but the parking area was jammed, so we went to the main Great Falls entrance and parked there. We left the car and headed towards the visitor center and then the river when a woman called Cathy’s name. Actually, she just said “Cath!” It was a friend of Cathy’s from high school and her husband. That in itself would have been surprising and of course it was. It was also lovely to see them since it had been probably fifteen years since we’ve seen each other.

But what was more surprising was that they were in the company of an elf. I’m afraid I don’t remember her name but she was nice enough to allow me to take her picture. It isn’t everyday that I get to photograph an elf. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever done so before. She looks young but of course, as we all know, elves live a considerable time so she could easily be quite old, as we humans measure time.

Joanna and Juan (Again)

I generally only post one picture a day or if I post more than one from a single event or location, I combine them into a single post. This event rates a bit more, so I’m posting this separately. The wedding of Juanna and Juan was an entirely outdoor event. If you’ve ever planned an outdoor wedding, you know how nervous it makes you as the day approaches and the weather is uncertain. Planning an outdoor wedding in November is really a risk. Nevertheless, the day was about as beautiful as you could ever expect to get in early November. It was warm (in the sun), perfectly clear, with no wind. The perfect setting for the marriage of this lovely couple. There may be cloudy days on occasion in the future but at least they started out on what was arguably the most beautiful day of the year.