So many choices

Day 100/Year 2

 The time is flying by so quickly. Tomorrow is July 1st........which means that Miss J's wedding is just a little over 3 months from now. We have accomplished so much over the past year. The church is booked, the reception hall is booked, the DJ, caterer, photographer, trolley........all booked. The menu has been planned. The florist has been booked (we are using Whole Foods Florist Dept......the flowers are gorgeous and the prices are very reasonable.....less expensive than a florist shop yet the quality is outstanding.) The bridesmaid dresses have been ordered. The bridal gown was bought, and my dress was just delivered yesterday.

Which brings us to the next choice we have to make. The invitations. Miss J and I looked through several invitation books and we picked out what we think to be the perfect invitation for her wedding! There are so many choices!!!!!!! But, once we saw "the one", we knew it was "it".

It's been so much fun planning this wedding, and everything, so far, knock on wood,........has gone smoothly. Miss J couldn't be any more accommodating, or any easier to work with. You hear about these "bridezillas" all the time..........Miss J is the polar opposite. She is a delight! :-)

The KEY to happiness :-)

Day 99/Year 2

It's official...... Miss J and her fiance Steve are now homeowners!!! They passed papers this afternoon. I am so proud of them. :-) This is such an exciting time in Miss J's life and it warms my heart to see her so happy.

The painting and stripping of wallpaper has already begun. :-) I can't wait to see the house when they finish putting their own style into it.

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/8, f2. -1/3 ev

Complimentary colors

Day 98/Year 2

Purple and green. Don't those 2 colors compliment each other nicely?

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 400, 1/250, f9, -1 EV

Godfingers

Day 97/Year 2

What a beautiful way to start the day! I pulled my car over this morning on my way to work to photograph these beautiful Godfingers (shafts of light coming from the sky)

Today was a good day! :-)

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/160, f2.8

Get me out of here!!!!!!

Day 96/Year 2

The light at the end of the tunnel......oops I mean the garage. :-) No matter what you call it, I could not wait to get out into that light this afternoon. This is my weekend off. I went in to work this morning at 5:30 am for a few hours to help out because I knew they were shorthanded. A few hours?????? Hmmmmm........a few hours turned into over 10 hours. I couldn't drive out of that garage any faster. :-)

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! The weekends are sooooo precious, aren't they? And when you work every other weekend as I do, the weekends off become even more precious.

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 320, 1/40, f2.2

Transformation and beauty taking flight

Day 95/Year 2

We attended a remembrance service this morning for "Auntie Ginny"............Mr. S's Aunt........the sister of my wonderful Mother-In-Law.

 Auntie Ginny passed away on May 26th in Florida. Her wishes were for a service to be held at her hometown church here in Massachusetts. It was a beautiful service and it was a very special time to spend with extended family. It's times like today that bring family together, and it was so nice to see those we haven't seen for a while.

I know Auntie Ginny was there with us today, and I know how proud she is of her family, especially her daughter Linda, who made sure her Mom's wishes were carried out.

After the service, there was a ceremony in the garden outside the church where Monarch Butterflies were released. So beautiful......... and a wonderful symbol of transformation.

This is Alex enjoying the butterflies. What an adorable little boy with a sense of adventure, yet a gentle spirit while handling the fragile butterflies. I, for one, was very impressed with his demeanor. What a cutie-pie!!!!

Virginia Mae Norris Pellegrini

May 6, 1928-May 26, 2011

Wet Deck

Day 94/Year 2

The weather hasn't been good for sitting out on the new deck the past few days.........

A few from Vermont

Day 92/Year 2

A few more from last week in Vermont. It's raining today and I didn't get out to take any shots. The above photo is located at the Parker Pie Company in Glover VT. Mr. S went in to pick up dinner, and the barn and flowers caught my eye while I was sitting in the car. Soooooooo.......I fired up the Nikon and took a few shots. I eliminated the grey sky in this shot as it added nothing to the photo, and I like the tighter crop that I made focusing on the barn and flowering bush.

This is Lake Willoughby in Westmore VT. Seems like we are experiencing the same kind of weather this week as last week:

This last one was taken at the Red Sky Trading Shop in Glover VT. I LOVE this place! It's run by a wonderful couple who sell goods out in their barn. She bakes homemade goodies, as well as jams and jellies that are to DIE for! They also sell antiques, and whimiscal items as well. Their property runs alongside the Barton River and their gardens are just made to be photographed (by me of course!) I stop by here everytime I am in VT and they are always so kind and welcoming to me and my camera. Here's a shot of one of the barn windows:

I also got this lupine in the garden there:

Looking forward to heading back here next month! :-)

Hydrangea

Day 91/Year 2

Guess what? It rained today. We had a couple of very nice days in a row, and now we are back in a rainy pattern. It's supposed to rain the next two days as well.

Isn't this Hydrangea beautiful? I was sitting in the car outside of the folk's bank today and noticed the beautiful hydrangeas. So, I jumped out of the car and grabbed a few shots for today's photo. I hope you enjoy it (in other words, I hope it was worth me getting wet for!) :-)

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/200, f2.5

Tonight's Sunset

Day 90/Year 2

It was a great sunset tonight which I photographed from Monponsett Pond in Halifax MA.

Follow up on the folks. I am happy to report, they loved their dinner last night. They also were very happy with tonight's dinner. Tonight was a cookout. They were very impressed with the quality of the food as well as the amount of food served. :-) WHEW!

Welcome Home Mom and Dad!

Day 89/Year 2

Today was the official move in day for the folks. They are pretty much all settled in. They are exhausted! I'm pretty tired myself. Today's photos are more or less snapshots. Actually, more than less. :-) Did I say I'm tired? So just point and shoot shots for today. This is the entrance to their new home. Pretty, huh? Then once inside, this is the foyer you walk into.

Here is their living room. It hasn't been completely set up or decorated yet, but you get the idea. It's very spacious, huh?

Here's my Dad in his new den. He looks pretty comfy and at home already!

Notice the bay window? There are 3 of them in the apt......one in the living roon, one in the den, and one in the master bedroom.

I know they will be happy here. They already had a few knocks on the door with some of the other residents welcoming them. One woman named Myrtle (yes her name is Myrtle....she looks like a Myrtle....she's as cute as a button!) offered to walk them down to the dining room for dinner this evening. (Please dear Lord have my father like the food there!!!!! If he doesn't like the food......we're in for some big trouble!) :-)

I decided I want to live there myself. They come and clean your apt and even change your bed once a week and they serve you dinner every night. They even have a beautiful pub. I KNOW my father is going to love the happy hour at the pub. :-)

Cheers!!!! ;-)

Dexter's Grist Mill

Day 88/Year 2

This was our final stop in Sandwich. The Grist Mill was not yet open for the season, but it was still really pretty to see it from the outer perimiter.

I hope you enjoyed the "Sandwich tour". It was a lot of fun for me.

On another note, Happy Father's Day to all of the Dad's who read my blog. I hope you enjoyed your day!! Today is a rather emotional day for my Dad (and Mom), They are going to be moving out of their house tomorrow. We have already moved the bulk of their belongings into their new home. Tomorrow morning, the movers will come and move the big stuff and furniture. It was sad for me to leave their house this evening, knowing they will not be living there again. HOWEVER.......there is also very happy news and very good news. Miss J and her fiance Steve are buying their house!!! They will be passing papers within the next week and a half. My parents are thrilled that the house will remain in the family. I am so proud of Miss J and Steve and I am looking forward to seeing the house that I spent so much of my life living in, become the house where they will be starting their new life together.

Green Briar Nature Center

Day 87/Year 2

After we left the beach in Sandwich, we visited the Green Briar Nature Center.

http://www.thorntonburgess.org/GreenBriarNatureCenter.htm

It was wonderful to walk through the trails among the beautiful gardens.

There is a lovely pond out back. This swan was taking an afternoon nap!

This one was very happy and was jumping for joy! :-)

Here are the two of them after nap time and exercise time. This was feeding time:

We also saw several of these little chipmunks running around:

This place is known for their famous homemade jams and jellies. Here is an image of some berries soaking in alcohol in a window enclosure. The heat from the sun "gets things going".

The jam kitchen is open for tours, and it's adorable. I loved all of the antique bowls, utensils, jelly jars and mason jars that are displayed on the shelves and hung on the walls. I gave these next two photos a different look using the Poster Edges Filter in Photoshop CS3. I like the feel it gives to these images:

Tomorrow I will show you the final place we visited in Sandwich.

Life's Still A Beach

Day 86/Year 2

More from the beach. I *think* this is a Laughing Gull. I have been searching an ID on this bird and it's pretty confusing.....there are so many different species of gulls and terns.

However, I *think* this next one is a Herring Gull.....but it's pretty ironic. Just take a look at him.......he surely looks like he's "laughing", huh? :-)

Here's Diane taking a shot from the Sandwich Boardwalk:

And a white Beach Rose:

Life's A Beach

Day 85/Year 2

This is the boardwalk leading to the beach in Sandwich MA. What a beautiful spot, huh?

The shorebirds you saw yesterday were nesting just a bit further up the beach on the sand below the dunes.

The skies were clearing from East to West and it turned out to be a beautiful day!! (Finally) :-)

This photo above is of a boardwalk leading to Sagamore Beach. We stopped here later in the day to see the nesting Piping Plovers.

The red buoy in this photo is where the Cape Cod Canal begins.

Time to head home.........

Cape Cod Shorebirds

Day 84/Year 2

I made another one of my goals for year 2 of the blog. My good friend and photo buddy Diane and I took a ride down to Sandwich, a lovely little town on the upper part of Cape Cod. Our co-worker Nancy D lives in Sandwich, and she took us on a photography tour.

My favorite part of today was seeing the shorebirds. The image above is of a Least Tern, which was nesting in the sand on the beach. The nesting area is scantily roped off, and it amazes me that there really isn't a nest. The eggs are just sitting in the sand. Here they are:

I was able to catch this one bringing dinner home:

We also took a walk along Sagamore Beach, and there was another nesting area roped off. The Piping Plovers were nesting here. Here's a shot of this adorable Piping Plover who posed for us for quite some time!

I had SUCH A GOOD DAY! There are many more photos to share from today, so I will be posting them here on the blog over the next few days. Stay tuned.........

Fields of Lupine in Sugar Hill NH

Day 83/Year 2

We stopped off in Sugar Hill NH today on our way home from VT. Each June, the hillsides in Sugar Hill and Franconia become alive with beautiful lupines. This is a must see for photographers. There are photo ops around every turn. The beauty is not only in the flowers, but the backdrop of the mountains which make for some stunning images. It was overcast with low clouds today and I was very limited with my time, so I only took a few photos. (The husband, 2 dogs, and 18 yr old son who was anxious to get home to see his girlfriend were all waiting for me in the car........not conducive for a relaxing photography session.........more or less hurry up and take a few shots then jump back in the car but I'm not complaining)...........I was pleased that I at least had some time to get this church scene I have been dreaming of getting:

The sky.......ugh! This is more or less a "record" shot and I want to go back next June if the sun ever comes out by then (as I say very sarcastically!) But, even though I didn't have a decent sky, I was happy to set up my tripod and take a few shots nonetheless.

The colors......oh the colors are just so beautiful. Even these white ones are just lovely and I love the way they contrast against the purples, blues, and pinks:

If you remember, one of my goals for year 2 of this blog was to take more photographs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Although it was a quick stop, I was glad to at least partially make that goal today.