People

Hannah On Ice

Some Of Hannah’s Fans

Dorothy’s friend, Hannah, has been skating since she was seven years old. Dorothy has seen her skate before but I hadn’t, so when she announced that she’d be performing today, I thought it would be good to come. Dorothy wanted to be there, as well, and we heard that a bunch of other friends from school were planning to be there. The first picture for today is one of quite a few that I took of her on the ice. I don’t have a lot of experience with photographing skating. Also, it’s not all that bright in the indoor rink (and it was dark outside in any case). In order to get a fast enough shutter speed I needed to set my camera’s ISO to 6,400. That let me shoot at f/3.5, so I had a little depth of field and 1/800 second. I got a few pictures that I’m happy with and a bunch that are not very good. Sorry it is so grainy, but that’s life. Hannah, on the other hand, was lovely throughout and all her fans were happy to cheer for her when she was finished.

The second photo is some of those fans. This is actually probably about half the people who came specifically to see her. They are, from left to right, back: Jessie, Libby, Dorothy, Cat, Louie, Hannah, Abagail, Brandon. Front: Tyler, Alex, Kyle, Connor, and Garrett.

Iris, Tsai-Hong, Ralph, Maya, and Stephen

After two days of Thanksgiving, we had a somewhat unexpected extension into a third day when Stephen and Maya invited us to their new apartment for brunch. They have a nice apartment not too far from their work and close to all of us, which is nice. Here’s a picture of them with with the rest of the family.

Thanksgiving, 2012

Although less thankful that we should be, we are nonetheless thankful. It’s true that we should be and indeed are thankful every day of the year, it is right that we set aside one day specifically for the purpose of being thankful. We were fortunate, this year, to have guests with us as we celebrated and gave thanks at Cathy’s mom’s house. On the left are Josh, Diana, and Jake. On the right are Kendra, Dorothy, Marge, and Cathy. Margaret is at the head of the table.

Kendra and Dorothy

Cathy and Dorothy picked up Kendra and I met them at Cathy’s mom’s house after work. They helped cut bread for stuffing, peeled potatoes, and made jello for tomorrow’s meal. When they were done working, Kendra and Dorothy sat at the piano and made up songs. You won’t hear any of them on the radio any time soon but we enjoyed their efforts (for the most part).

Ben and Trish

Two of my favorite people were leading the singing together this morning in church. Do I describe a lot of people as “of my favorite people?” If so, then I guess it just shows how fortunate I am! I don’t know if it is Ben that picked the songs or if they are picked because he’s leading. Either way, I especially like having Ben lead because of the songs we sing when he does. Thanks, guys (and the rest of the team, as well).

Dorothy the Doodler

I often doodled in school and I still occasionally find myself drawing during meetings. Most of my doodles are either random shapes or very poor drawings of people. I would love to be able to sit in a meeting and draw actual people from the room. As it is, I usually hide my doodles and they eventually find their way to the shredder. Once in a while I’ll come up with something worth keeping (and the bar isn’t even all that high).

Dorothy is also a doodler but her doodles are of a much (much) higher caliber than her old papa’s. For a good while now she has carried around a small book that has become her journal. In it are notes and doodles intermixed. This isn’t that book but another that she happened to have with her today. The outside cover is nicely decorated. Yes, she’s making a bit of a face here, but it’s not a bad picture of her, and the notebook is nice.

Rock Creek Church

During our Sunday School time this morning we gathered to put together donated food to go to Manna Food Center for their Smart Sack program. This was organized by Erick’s Hope and our good friends, Donna and Richard Brown. We gathered briefly in the church lobby to fellowship and I asked if everyone could get together for a picture. They said yes, and here it is.

Pretzels and Sausage Rolls

Dorothy and I went up to the Lancaster County Dutch Market this morning. Mostly I go there for the butcher shop, which has a nice assortment of meats, both processed (e.g., sausage, etc.) and not. We also bought a few cheeses. Dorothy asked me to buy half of a broccoli and cheese pie, which I did (and boy, was it good). Of course, we can’t really go to there without buying sausage rolls. Their pretzels are good, but unless you aren’t into sausage, I really recommend the sausage and Cooper sharp cheddar rolls. They are excellent!

Dorothy Blowing a Soap Bubble

Dorothy was cleaning up after having baked some cookies and while she was washing off the cooling rack she noticed that she could use it as a bubble wand. They didn’t “release” well. Still, as you can see in this picture, they got to be pretty good sized.

Cathy

Dorothy was out at youth band practice and Cathy and I were sitting on the couch chatting. I had my camera near by (surprise!) and I picked it up and started taking pictures of her. I had my 100mm lens so I was only getting her face. Then I got up and changed lenses to something more suitable to the close quarters. Cathy sat on the end of the sofa and I took a bunch more. In some of them she made faces but I like this one best. It’s just a relaxed pose, with her feet up on the back of the sofa.

Dorothy

I don’t really have much to say about this picture. It is of Dorothy, obviously. She has her back pack on with a blanket over it and she was saying she was a turtle, for some reason, which I don’t fully understand.

Dorothy On A Violin

Dorothy picked up a violin today and started playing it tentatively. Of course, she’s never played the violin and after a short while she said something to the effect of, “I just can’t play holding it like this, it’s just wrong.” Then she turned it down and played it like a very small cello. She did reasonably well, actually, all things considered.

Orion

I’ve got three posts for today with pretty varied subjects. The first is Orion, the son of a coworker. He wouldn’t smile for me, which is understandable. I know I’m a little scary looking to kids who don’t know that I’m mostly a Teddy bear. Even his “I’m not sure about this man” look it adorable, though. Thanks (and thanks to your mom) for the visit, you really brightened up my day.

Dorothy, Passing The Test

Or should I title this, “get off the road!” We spent a relaxing (not!) five hours at the MVA but at the end of it all, Dorothy was awarded a permit to drive a motor vehicle (with considerable and reasonable restrictions). She got her learner’s permit. Woohoo!

Most Of The Party Guests

Well, we did it. We planned and gave a surprise party for Dorothy. Lots of people say that don’t want a surprise party. Dorothy meant it. We did it anyway and she wasn’t particularly happy with us. Still, look at how many friends she has. And of course there were others who couldn’t be there (and a few who had to leave before I took this picture). It was a beautiful, cool, breezy day and everyone, except possibly Dorothy, had a good time. Thank you all for coming.

Dot, Dorothy, Margaret, and Cathy

For Dorothy’s 16th birthday we went out to dinner with her two grand mothers. Here are the four girls in my life, my mom, daughter, mother-in-law, and wife. I’m a very fortunate man.

Kendra, Briannah, and Dorothy

Kendra’s mom to Kendra, Briannah, and Dorothy to Merriweather Post Pavilion to see (and hear) Gotye in concert. It was a bit cool and they got rained on but were able to move into the pavilion, which was nice. They ended up with very good seats and had a great time.