Friday, April 14, 2006

 

Time to catch this up.....

I have been remiss on writing posts for the last few days. Partially because I wasn't sure what I was going to do this weekend. One of my cousins lost his wife to cancer a week ago on the 6th and her Memorial Service is tomorrow in Spokane, about 340 miles and a mountain pass away. Annie will be laid to rest (and me too, eventually) in the new Memorial Garden at our church here in Mt. Vernon and that space is to be consecrated Sunday and I really want to be there for that. Also, it seems winter has returned to the northwest with February type snow falling in the mountains & cold temperatures this weekend. I don't think I could put chains on the Miata, even if I had them. With all these things going on, I have decided to not go over now. From my own experience last summer after Annie died I know B is not alone now but in a couple of weeks he will not have as many people around, so I will go over then to visit and spend some time with him.

I have a photo I want to post. It is of my older son, B, when he was one year old. We owned a photography studio, Holly Tree Studio, on Vashon Island in Puget Sound at that time. I took a series of photos with our Mamiya RB67 camera and this was our favorite. The following spring we entered it in the Professional Photographers of Washington annual convention competition in Children's Portraits and it was picked for 2nd place. The judges didn't like the bright red clothes, but that was one thing we did like. I guess it shows that judges do not always look at things the same way parents do. We have a 16 x 20 inch print of this hanging on our wall at home still. This is the same baby that is in the B&W photo with Annie that is in my January archives:
Baby at one year old

I took the Miata to the dealer on Tue & they were not able to determine if the 30,000 mile service had been done. At that time, after driving it home from Arizona, the car had 33,500 miles so I had them do the service. I also bought two more keys & had them programmed so I now have three keys. There was one recall that had not been done so they took care of that, too. The car sure drives nice now and, although the service and new tires added another $1,000 to my costs, it should be in good condition for quite a few miles & months.

Last night I went to a camera club meeting. They meet at a pizza place in the town of Anacortes, about 15 miles from my home. It seems to be an interesting group and I think I will probably join them. I left my email address & should soon be getting a copy of their newsletter.

The weather report sounds like spring may come back by mid-week. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival goes on all month and the fields are in bloom now. I think son & DIL M & J will be coming up Mon or Tue and we will go with cameras to the fields. I have never done that, even though I have lived here now through three festivals. The first year we were here we were not back from our Snowbird trip in time & last year we didn't want to fight the traffic. It is like a zoo down there on the weekends, especially if the weather is good, but I don't think it is too bad on weekdays. I should hopefully have some photos from there to post after that trip. In the meantime, so we can feel that summer really does exist & should return, here is a photo taken last summer in Riverfront Park in Spokane, WA, with lots of flowers:
Summer flowers

Until next time, stay warm & dry and think SPRING!

Comments:
The photo is adorable.

My kids always want to pose with self conscious tight lipped grins. I have to make fart noises to get them to relax and do something real.

I don't even announce I have the camera out. It's like they can SMELL it!
 
Hi Dick
Happy Easter , I am sorry to read about your cousins wife's passing , it is hard anytime to make a choice whether or not to go to services , hard choice .
I love the pic of your son , I like you ,love the red , it makes the shot!
Sounds like your ready to go with the new car all decked out and a car like that must be a treat to drive ,,,enjoy. and as much as I think spring ,,it isnt working over here , eventually I hope . Give Huggy some lovin for me and you take care in that new car, drive safe
Greeneyes
 
Sorry about your cousins wife. I think its very nice for you to think of visiting him at a later date. I am sure he will appreciate your company at that time. And you will be ceertainly able to relate to him. You are proof that the ones we love never really die. Did you realize that you wrote 'we' still have this print hanging on 'our' wall? Annie is still there in your heart and thoughts, and that is how we are able to go on with out our departed loved ones.
 
I love the photo of your son, and I think the red just adds to the punch of that picture!

I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin's wife, Dick.... and having been in those shoes myself, I understand what you mean by visiting him later. Right now he'll have the world around him (it will seem that way to him) but in a couple of weeks is when he's really going to feel alone. He'll appreciate your company then, and you know what? It will be good for you, too. It always helps us when we help others through....

Happy Easter Dick, and God bless you.
 
Welcome home Dick,
It's good to have you back.
 
Hi Dick, oh Camera club. I used to attend one of those in Dallas Texas. I didn't know you had a photo studio at one point in your life. I had thought to owne and operate one of those in the 80s but it didn't happen. With joining a camera, you will have more chance to take pic and fill up your blog and we can enjoy. I has been enjoing the D70 camera and the nice 19-200mm zoom lens.
 
Well I must say this was a blog well worth reading. Once I got started I just had to read the whole thing. The pictures were wonderful and so were your stories. I slipped over here from Cowboy Joe's blog. My wife and I met Joe and a few other blogger friends last summer on a trip to BC. Have a wonderful Easter. I'll have to stop by again and read some more when you post.
 
Wonderful post, Dick, with absolutely gorgeous photos.
I am sorry about your cousin's wife ... it is a very sad time for the family.
Have lots of fon with your Miata ... it's a cool car !!
Happy (late) Easter.
Take care, Meow
 
Hi Dick, thank you for visiting my blog. I am sorry about your wife, it has to be tough.

I really love the pic of your grandson, he is precious. My children and grandchildren are miles and miles away from me, which is hard.

I really enjoy taking pictures, glad you like them, stop back and visit. I have more pictures on flickr.
 
hello dick. how are you. i was just over at ms. vickie's blog and seen your reply to her post and clicked on your link. you have a nice blog and some great photos. i wish i was half as good at taking photos. i have been married now for 41 years. my wife had cancer when she was 38 and i thought i would loose her then but she is still here with me. i am very sorry to hear of your loss. i wish you a good day and a better year. drop my my blog any time.
 
Hi Dick, just wanted to let you know that I put a brief description of Vegemite on Greeneyes blog ... I was too lazy to write it twice !!!
Take care, Meow
 
I don't really remember that picture when it was taken almost what... 33 years ago? hehe... but I do have it on my wall at home.
 
Gorgeous picture. So is the black & white photo. Annie was a beautiful lady.
 
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