Archive for November, 2008
Greetings from a tired, yet so thankful Grandma. We have all of our grandchildren for a while and they are all well. We are having Thanksgiving today for the miracles.
DS2 was pretty shaken by what he witnessed. Bcb- you so eloquently said it. He was pretty tearful when he came into the waiting room to tell us the news! DDIL2 did very well and for a first baby, Really Well. 
LUCA! the newest man in my life! He had to stay wrapped up tight as he was so new! Clearer shots to come.
DDIL has 4 siblings and she is the first! So there was quite a crowd. They are GREAT PEOPLE so we had a wonderful day. Everyone had to take turns holding the baby.
When we all left, DDIL said she just wanted to lay him on her bed and look at every inch of him. I know the feeling. We do know that he has Really long fingers and feet and toes. They are both tall so it could get interesting as the years pass.
Does he look like AILA!?
Her head is really not that pointed.. Grandma photography!!
Or will he look like the first man in my life? MAX!
These are blessings and I am so thankful all are here and well. My heart is full.
November 21st, 2008
When last we saw our intrepid heroine she was sitting in a corner rocking and ignoring the world whilst trying to process the enormity of the illness that had befallen her own personal hero, Daddy.
Our heroine is proud to report that Daddy is back at work, is having chili for supper tonight, and has gained back about 15 pounds. There will be another round of PET(sp) scans in December, but we’re taking the joy where we can find it.
Our heroine has been spreading herself thin with new projects at work and returning to Girl Scouts where she gets to be the messy crafty one and was told she would not have to do ANY paperwork.
There are children in our heroine’s neighborhood who are not having the childhood they deserve. Our heroine sees this and is saddened. Coming so close to losing her Daddy this summer she sees these kids who have a father in the house, but no Daddy and feels for the sense of safety they will never have. In an attempt to make their world a better place our heroine, who is thinking Philomena or maybe Bronwyn would be a good name for a heroine, has taken saving the kids in this family as her own personal mission. To this end she helps the high school freshman with homework, took the fourth grade boy to a professional soccer game, and the fourth grade girl to the symphony and the mall. She had never been to a mall, not because the parents shelter them but more out of passive neglect. Philomena isn’t sure which words to use here, but will come up with something. The kindergartener, who is always up for a snuggle and likes to hold hands, doesn’t know it yet, but will soon be going to the Children’s Museum in Denver.
Philomena has cards that need to be sent to people who were in Portland and those who were not in Portland but want a card featuring Portland People. Philomena is planning on raiding the brain cells of The Orange One for addresses. If The Orange One doesn’t have your address please let Philomena know directly.
Philomena will be home in OKC for Thanksgiving this year. If anyone in the state (Marcia or others) would like to join Philomena and family for Thanksgiving dinner on that Saturday please contact our heroine. The game plan is for potato soup, vegetable beef soup, and lots and lots of desserts.
Our heroine must fly and head back to work. She is sad that she has been MIA for so long and is truly working on returning to the bar and grill she loves the best. Also, if poor Philomena’s third Wednesday has been given away please ignore this sad little post and go on with your life as Philomena sets here in the dark and learns to spin dog hair from the only friend she has left in the world.
November 19th, 2008
Lou asked someone to go so while we wait for Wapa to give us a post about her new Grandbaby (hey, if the kid comes by Thursday she’ll be right on schedule) so I thought I’d share this wiki page:
eponymous laws
Haven’t had a chance to look at all of it, landed there by chance, but seems cool. Anyone have a favorite?
November 18th, 2008
Oops. Yesterday was the second Wednesday of the month. How did that slip by me*?
Between Casey outgrowing his splint, breaking the new one in half and Scope falling over it’s been crazy. Everyone’s fine, no lasting ill effects. All I want to do is sit down with a cup of tea, read a good book(thanks Me and RSS both for fulling that requirement) and get lost in another world.
Have a seat, I’ll pour you a cup of tea on this rainy day and we’ll relax. Conversation is good.
November 13th, 2008
All together now … “We were travelin’ along, on Moonlight Bay …”, except it’s the ocean and that’s not moonlight. No, really. I actually took this photo early morning, but the glare of the sun on the water was apparently too much for my camera.
The things I had to cope with on this trip. 
An empty margarita glass! Gasp!
We docked at the Royal Dockyards in Bermuda. When the British Navy relinquished the dockyards (apparently they’ve decided they don’t need to keep such a close eye on the U.S. anymore), it was opened up for commerce and tourism. 
No sign of Dr. Who. No sign of an actual telephone, either. I guess they just left it there to make the tourists (that would be me*) happy. It did.
Ye old fort at the Royal Navy Dockards. Possibly HM Royal Navy left to pursue better accommodations, these being somewhat, um, quaint, yeah, that’s it. Formerly, I think I recall, this particular area was called the victualing yard, where, one presumes, the victuals were eaten. This being Bermuda, they could have dined al fresco all year round. The interior of the fort has been turned over to local craftsmen and tradespeople. Glassblowers work in one of the larger buildings.
But the best idea they had was turning a few of the rooms into a pub called The Frog and Onion. According to the menu, the pub was opened by a Frenchman (the frog) and a local (the onion … what? you’ve never heard of Bermuda onions?) It’s really cool inside, very little natural light, a giant fireplace and lots of fat candles on wrought iron holders.
I took this photo on the way to Horseshoe Bay. Just a few yards from here is the road 
that leads steeply downhill to the beach. Pretty, isn’t it? See that big rock on the right hand side of the photo? On the other side is …
… this cove. The water is crystal clear and swarming with pretty, tropical fish that are very curious about the odd formations that visit. There were actually way more people there than it looks, but by some unspoken agreement everyone set up chairs and towels against the towering rocks on either side of the beach, maintaining the picturesque view.
And not least, my new shoes.
November 8th, 2008
We tend to think in: Either or. Left, right. Yes, no. This, that. Black, white. Senate, House of Representatives. Pres, Vice pres.
I claim this is because we are bisymmetrical: 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 arms and hands. 2 legs and feet. We are genetically programmed to think this way. This is our World View. Looking down from above at a person geometrically, consider we are basically a square or a rectangle with arms and legs sticking out.
What if we were … trisymmetrical? Looking down we would see a triangle with 3 arms and hands and 3 legs and feet sticking out. So we would have 3 eyes and 3 ears. Wouldn’t this change our World View?
So how would we think of things?
November 5th, 2008
Hi everyone. Long time no post, eh?
There are a number of issues that I wanted to address:
SPAM
First on the list is the Spam issue, but more importantly the incorrect classification of good comments as spam. I’ve run out of options with the current configuration. Our choices at this point are:
- Leave things as they are and try to train the filter to leave the people we like alone.
- Increase the number of permitted links in a comment. This will reduce the mistaken classifications slightly while also slightly increasing the number of spam comments getting through. Some of our friends will still be sentenced to purgatory by mistake.
- Require commentors to be registered and then remove the filter. This will probably be the most effective means to solve the problem, but will likely put a damper on the voices of those who prefer more annonymity.
COST
I’ve received several e-mails asking whether hosting this site is costing me any more than hosting my own sites. The answer to that is emphatically “No”. However, my life is drastically different now than it was then. Sooo…
I would be uncomfortable just taking money from the kitty. If you want to help, consider buying a photograph or hiring me to shoot an event. Here’s what I can offer:
For portraits, I can be hired for the cost of gas if you are within 200 miles of Indianapolis, IN or Baltimore, MD or Greenville, SC or Memphis, TN (or enroute from Indianapolis to one of these cities). If you are further than 200 miles, I need a place to stay. This cost will be in lieu of a sitting fee. For weddings, I will pay for gas and lodging from my standard fees without adding travel costs. Advertising images may or may not require travel or model hire. If you have something in mind, contact me and we’ll see what we can work out.
If you are interested in buying a print, you can go to http://bjwcreations.lifepics.com/ and use the Event Code PUBLIC (or for prints of the nudes which hang in the Kinsey Institute Gallery use Code FINE ART). Various print sizes are available, as well as coffee mugs, etc. Right now the selection is limited. I just started loading images. If you have something in mind, whether a particular subject matter, or a different size or product, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. To order the mugs or mouse pads or framed gallery prints, click on “Gifts” toward the bottom of the screen once you are in the image collection you want.
The point of all this is that while I don’t need to be paid to host the site, my budget is very tight right now and photo sales could keep me in coffee.
PERSONAL STUFF
I’m no longer a reference librarian. A year ago I made the move to full-time photographer (just in time for the floods and slow economy). To fill my spare time, I’m training to become a CASA/GAL (Court Appointed Special Advocate or “guardian ad litem”) and I’ve been writing. Mallory has his own story now (woebetidehim), and Ian and Gabby are doing well also. The photography business is profitable, but making the personal ends meet can be interesting sometimes, especially around dinner time when some items which were never intended to be served on the same plate wind up supper mates.
I’m running late… so I’m going to close for now and hope to be able to come back for a further update later.
Bye for now.
November 2nd, 2008