People

Fiona Grace

Her big brother Orion has appeared here, almost a year ago (October 26, 2012) and now I’d like to introduce Fiona Grace to you. She was born less than four weeks ago and I got to meet her for the first time today (at Mike’s retirement breakfast party). She actually slept most of the time, which most will agree is a good trait in a baby. But she woke up long enough for me to get a few pictures of her with her eyes open. This photo doesn’t really do her justice. What a beautiful little thing she is.

Mike at His Retirement

I have three pictures to post for today. I’m going to start with how I spent my morning. My boss of about 11 years is retiring and tomorrow is his last “official” day. He will be in the office from time to time but won’t be working full time any more and is done supervising me.

Kathy planned a farewell breakfast for Mike this morning for those of us working on the current project with him. It was a nice time of visiting with coworkers whom I also consider friends. I’m not much for “the best this” or “the most that” but I don’t have any qualms about saying that Mike has been a great boss and a great coworker. I’m going to miss him.

Thank you, Mike.

Dorothy and Sarah

It’s not terribly uncommon for me to take pictures at church. Most everyone seems to have become used to seeing me with a camera and for the most part they humor me and pretend they don’t mind, which is nice of them. This morning I only took a few but this one, I think, is quite nice.

On a somewhat random note, these two girls have birthdays on each other’s half birthday. That is, their birthdays are exactly six month’s apart.

Dorothy and Kato

When Cathy and I were in high school (and starting long before we were) a wonderful couple from our church opened their home on a regular basis to high school kids. The K’s open house was definitely a highlight of those years. They aren’t opening their home any more but the tradition lives on in two homes next to each other in the same general part of the county. Thank’s Kato and Doug, Kathy and Michael for doing for Dorothy what the K’s did for us. They’re big shoes to fill but you’re doing a great job.

Corinne and J.J.

Today markes a milestone of sorts. I suppose all days are milestones, if we think about it. But today is the one thousandth consecutive day on which I’ve taken at least one photograph. Technically, the milestone was reached three days ago but it was 1,000 days ago today, January 1, 2011, that I began the conscious effort of taking photographs every day. I happen to have taken photographs on December 29, 30, and 31 of 2010, but those just happen to have been taken. Whatever. Actually, the photos here only start at the end of 2011 because the first year they were posted on Facebook. I’m in the process of importing them into this site, so eventually they’ll all be here.

For today’s photo, we have two of our next door neighbors, Corinne and J.J. who are 4½ and 2½ respectively. As you can see, they are out for a ride being pulled by their dad. Their little brother was on the back of Katie’s (their mom’s) bike. As it happens, today is another milestone. Happy birthday, Katie.

Cathy, Dorothy, and Margaret

Yesterday’s birthday party for Keith was a bigger gathering and there was a lot more food. Nevertheless, today’s birthday bash, with just the three of us plus the guest of honor, was just as important. Cathy’s mom turned 87 today and we celebrated in quiet fashion at her house. The light bulb is a little out of place but Cathy was changing a few that had burned out and just happened to have it in her hand.

We had a small gathering for our friend Keith today, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his birth. We had delicious beef barbecue, collard greens, salad, cornbread, potato salad, etc. as well as cake and ice cream. It was a good time of fellowship with good friends. This isn’t the best possible picture of Keith but it’s the best I got on the day. Happy Birthday, brother!

Donna, Maureen, D,, and Donna

The church youth team met this evening to make plans for the fall. Since I didn’t really have much time to get out and take pictures today, I took a few pictures of the team. We had a nice dinner together and planned all the details of our X-Factor kick-off. I think it’s going to be fun.

From left to right, we have Donna, Maureen, D., and Donna.

Dorothy and Duke

Dorothy had a day off from school today and we decided, sort of at the last minute, to take a trip down to James Madison University. We saw the campus in July of 2012 but it wasn’t an “official” visit and we didn’t take a tour. Last night we signed up for a tour today at 10:00 AM. We left home at about 7:30 and got there in good time. We saw what was to be seen and ate lunch in the dining hall before driving home. Dorothy agreed to sit with Duke before we left.

Spencer

It’s a little surprising that Spencer’s picture hasn’t appeared here before now. He was mentioned in a post, when he gave some cookies to Dorothy and I took a picture of the cookies, but there hasn’t been a picture of him. So, here he is. Granted, this isn’t the best picture of him I’ve ever taken, but I think it does him justice.

Dorothy Driving

Dorothy’s had her learner’s permit since the middle of October, last year. She drove a few times, starting out staying in our neighborhood and then venturing out onto larger and busier roads. She hasn’t driven since December, though. It’s been a combination of her not caring and us not pushing it. Today, we went out driving again. having been out of the driver’s seat so long, it was a little like starting over but she regained her confidence fairly quickly and she did quite well.

Julia

Foam Party

we went to visit our good friend Julia this evening at UMBC. Dorothy and I visited the school one day last year but Cathy had never been. It was nice to see Julia’s dorm room and we also went to dinner with her. School hadn’t started yet, it was still orientation for a few more days, so not everyone was on campus yet.

After dinner in the dining hall we sat on a bench outside the dorm and watched as a foam party began on the lawn. It was an interesting time of people watching and to be honest, I can’t say it made me wish I was back in school.

A while ago I had a realization that was a little disconcerting but ultimately has been quite freeing. When in a situation like this, where most of the people are half my age (or even a third of my age), I don’t think I’m strange for wondering how I am seen by these young people. I don’t think it unusual for someone, particularly an older someone, to feel like they are younger than they are and want to fit it. The reality is that someone my age is mostly invisible to most people a third my age. Particularly in a situation like this, where the young people are probably more concerned with how they are seen, they are unlikely to care about that old man on a bench (even when two of his three companions are also a third his age). So, while they might see me enough to avoid walking into me, they are not liable to look at me long enough to have any idea what I look like or whether I’m liable to fit in. I’m virtually invisible.

Suzy and Calvin

I’ve had one picture of Calvin here before, when he was less than a week old. His big brother, Henry, has been in at least two posts (and possibly more — searching for his first name doesn’t help, because it’s on every page!). Here’s another of Calvin, now about four months old. I don’t know where he stands, percentile-wise, but he seems pretty big to me.

As you might expect for such a cute and even tempered baby, he gets passed around quite a bit on Sunday after church. This is Suzy who has him here and I think they make a handsome couple. She might be a little old for him, but he could do worse.

Hannah, Stephanie, and Lyla

I don’t have a lot to say about this photograph. As most people who know me know, I don’t really care for young people that much. These three, however, have been such good pals for a long while and I’ve enjoyed watching them grow from girls to young ladies. They spend much of there lives far apart, at their various colleges and it’s grand to see them together.

Evan’s Window Seat

One of my co-workers sons was in the office today. He didn’t make a lot of noise. In fact, I wouldn’t have noticed he was there except I happened to walk by him. He had found a window seat and was quietly reading one of the A Series of Unfortunate Events books, by Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler). I asked if he minded if I took his picture. Knowing his mother and how photographically oriented she is, I wasn’t surprised when he said something to the effect of, “whatever.”

Dorothy and Cat

After our vacation, where finding something to photograph wasn’t a problem, I’m back at home where I get up, go to work, come home, fix dinner, and that’s about it. My commute doesn’t take me past much in the way of scenic beauty. My office is pretty barren, photographically. I wonder, sometimes, how long I can keep this up. When I got home today, though, Dorothy’s friend, Cat, was here. A photographic subject! Thanks, girls.

Oh, and cute haircut, Cat.