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Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Family Reunion 2010

24 Aug

This past weekend we attended my family reunion in New Ulm, MN.  We’ve had the Lee family (my maternal grandmother & her brothers et al) reunion as long as I can remember.  I talked about it in this post.

We haven’t gone in the past few years as it was a long trip for a few short hours.  This year we are closer & we were anxious to show off Magnus to the extended family.  There weren’t many people in attendance & unfortunately it appears that this will be the last year we have the reunion.  I’m saddened by this…so many of my childhood summer memories are tied up with this event.  I would love for my child (and my nieces/nephews) to have a similar experience.  However, the family circle has drifted to all corners of the country & a yearly reunion just isn’t feasible.  It remains to be seen what will happen. In the meantime I got a few pictures that I really want to share from this year.

 
 

Country Summer

13 Aug

There have been very few posts on here lately & they have pretty much been serious & a bit depressing. I won’t apologize for that because I’m hella depressed. However I have not forgotten to notice the beauty around me. Though I haven’t been outside much this summer I have managed to take pictures while traveling to & from the doctor’s office.

Out here my scenery is comprised of extensive corn & soybean fields covered in a bright blue bowl filled with puffy clouds. Summer here is hot & humid during the day; the nights are hot, humid & stormy. Many nights I have woken to fierce lightning & thunder rocking my house. When the rain starts drumming on the house & lawn I roll over, snuggle deeper into the covers and slide into slumber again.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures I’ve captured this summer….

 
 

And into the West a Sunset

09 Apr

These are just random pictures I’ve taken of the area around our new home.  One thing I can say about living on the prairie is that when there is a sunset (or sunrise) I don’t have to worry about finding a clear shot.  It’s easy to avoid an ill-placed tree in the wide open plains.  I miss the giant conifers that guarded our house up north.  When the weather was raging somehow I always felt safe & sheltered by those massive green giants.  Out here I feel exposed & isolated…something with which I used to feel comfortable.  After living in the dense forests of northern Minnesota I’ve lost that feeling of comfort & belonging that I acquired as a child.  Anyway here are a few photos I took while riding home one day (I think it was Easter Sunday).

 
 
 

Some Scenery & A Little Football

29 Mar

This past weekend (from Saturday night to Sunday night) we had the opportunity to play host to Hubby’s brother Greg & Greg’s friend Michael.  It’s always good to have Greg visit & now that we live so much closer it is a lot easier for him to make a trip up.  The guys got to our house about midnight on Sunday morning & we decided to head into Sioux Falls so they could check out Senor Weiner. (You can see what I said about them in a previous post.)  This time the experience was only slightly better than the first one.  They seem to have improved their service & they guys were okay with their meals.  It was a late night & we all crashed once we got back home.

Sunday morning I got up & made breakfast.  With my new, large kitchen I decided to try something new & made chorizo, scrambled eggs & got all the fixings out for some burritos.  Based on the rate at which they disappeared I’d say they were a hit.  I had some too & am glad I tried them.  I’m not very adventurous with food right now as I don’t know how Baby will react.  Anyway after cleaning up the kitchen a bit we got ready & headed into Sioux Falls.

It was a gorgeous spring day & we spent time at Falls Park enjoying the sun & taking photos of the waterfalls.  After spending a nice time at the park we headed over to the Arena & watched our first ever arena football game.  The Sioux Falls Storm are the local arena team & have won the championship 4 of the last 5 years.  It was fun & funny to watch how into the game the fans were.  There were people tail-gating in the parking lot a couple hours before the game (we stopped to pick up tickets at the box office) & there were lots of people all decked out in team gear.  It’s definitely something we will be checking out more as tickets are pretty reasonable & it’s a fun way to spend a couple hours on a lazy Sunday.

Here are some of the photos from our day out.

 
 

Baby Pictures

24 Feb

Here are the ultrasound pictures of Baby.  I must say that the pictures are quite blurry ‘cuz the little one was moving around like crazy.  One of the most active times so far….except for when I play music.  Seems this one likes to dance just like the rest of the family.  Of course we also found out that Baby is just as camera-shy as I am….as soon as the tech went to try for a pic of the little face Baby flipped right over & faced my back.

Seeing Baby was wonderful & everything looks great so we are feeling very happy about that!  July 6th (or so…never really know for sure) is the due date so that means no travel/parties for the 4th this year.  We are looking forward to all the years to come though & are praying that the remaining months of pregnancy go well.

 
 

Feeling Summer in the Winter

15 Feb

This past weekend we were lucky enough to welcome visitors to our new house here in South Dakota.  It was fantastic to see Pete, Anne and the boys.  There was lots of laughter & some adventure.  One of the things we did was visit the Sertoma Butterfly House.  It’s a very cool place to check out & it is also a fabulous place to feel a little bit of summer in the middle of winter.  The viewing house is kept at 86° with 80% humidity.  It is filled with amazing tropical butterflies that flit around & occasionally catch a ride on the visitors.  Check out the pictures I managed to snag with my phone’s camera.  I definitely want to go back sometime with my good digital camera & see what I can capture.

 
 

Snowmageddon 2009 or A Typical Minnesota Winter

12 Jan

This was the scene at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve.  I was deathly ill over the holidays but I did take a few minutes to bundle up & go out to capture some of the snowfall.  It has been a very snowy winter this season…it reminds me of my childhood when we’d have days off of school because there was so much snow & the wind would blow so wildly.  The last few years have definitely been atypical with the lack of snow/cold.  Not that I complained…let’s be honest nobody REALLY likes -40 temps.  I do love the look of snow falling, swirling & drifting across the prairie.  It’s so peaceful when the snow closes off the world, blanketing the modern world & scrubbing everything clean with the icy winds.  Of course now I have to deal with shoveling the driveway, warming the cars, paying the heating bill and all that other grown-up stuff.  I do love the feeling of cuddling up on the sofa with Hubby & the dogs; a movie on the telly & a hot chocolate.  It is a safe haven & I’m hoping the new house will settle well so we can spend the rest of winter cozy & warm.

 
 
 

October Round Up: Yippie Ki Yay

09 Nov

In this month’s rehash I’m mostly going to post pictures of random things & the visit with my brother TJ, his wife Jen & their boy little A (now I have the Jetsons theme song stuck in my head).  October was a month of more struggles for me & Abe.  We’ve made some major decisions & life is on the fast track to more change than anybody could possibly want at one time.  We do believe that is for the best (in the long run….I hate it with all my being).  With that in mind we are relocating by the beginning of 2010.  That means lots of crazed packing & cleaning while trying to find housing & employment.  Oh and also the adventures of actually making the trip through the wonderful (oh so wonderful….I can’t tell you how wonderful….can you fell the sarcasm yet?) arena of a Minnesota winter.  I will do my best to post updates on all of this as it transpires…. Now on to the pictures which is all you care about anyway (and that’s fine ‘cuz there are some great ones!
TJ, Jenn & A
Aerial Lift Bridge
Abe & A at Lake Superior
Crashity Crasher
Spider Surprise
Spider Attack
Yay suckers!

So that’s a bit of what my October ended with. It was a good time & beautifully crisp weather…a perfect fall night.

 
 

Snow Feathers The Yard….

15 Oct

Just a few pics from around my yard today.

My favorite tree...waning with autumn's slide to winter.

My favorite tree...waning with autumn's slide to winter.

snow resting on my rosebushes

snow resting on my rosebushes

solitary scarlet leaf & a dusting of snow

solitary scarlet leaf & a dusting of snow

naked branches scraping at the sky

naked branches scraping at the sky

rain drops faltering, resisting gravity

rain drops faltering, resisting gravity

 
 
 

Art in Real Life

05 Oct
Okay so I am beyond exhausted today (started this on Thursday…it’s now Saturday & everything still applies) & don’t really know what to say.  I wanted to get some writing done today but the fates were against me (like that’s news…those bitches are always against me) so I lieu of writing I’m going to post a bunch of pics I took while being drug through the Minneapolis area today.  I got to go to a super excellent place that is FILLED with stuff reclaimed from old houses & available for sale should you find the need to buy an entire study, confessional, baptismal font or front porch.  There were so many amazing things….welcome to the inner workings of my mind–you can see what I find interesting, beautiful & just plain too odd not to photograph for sharing with the world.
stained glass windows

stained glass windows

sparkly beveled glass

sparkly beveled glass

gothic chic

gothic chic

random Jesus

random Jesus

fancy front porch

fancy front porch

old time rocketship

old time rocketship

my throne!

my throne!

I loved this store so much! There were so many more things & I can’t wait to investigate a few more stores in Minneapolis.  I think it’s great that all this fantastic (and odd) old stuff is being refinished, refurbished & given new life.  There is so much we fail to appreciate from the past….seeing these get a second life gives me a hint of faith that our disposable society can find value in our past.

 
 
 
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