Congratulations Mom!

This week couldn't have been better.

After much anticipation Mom sold and bought a house! We couldn't be more pleased for her.

Although it is strange saying goodbye to the house I grew-up in, I'm so excited for Mom. She has found an amazing place in Medfield that she gets to build a condo from scratch.

Hopefully I can repay her for looking through all those wedding magazines a few years ago by looking through architecture and interior design magazine in the months to come. It looks as if this spring and summer will be busy since she moves at the end of August.

Congratulations Mom!

Rowley's Arrival

Rowley has arrived! After much work "dog-proofing" our house (the place hasn't been this clean since we moved in), purchasing crates, toys, and treats we were ready to head to Maine to pick-up our new pup.

Last weekend we made the trip to Warren, Maine for the newest member of our family. It's hard to believe we have had this little German Shepard for a week. We swear she has already grown. Fortunately, she has started to sleep though the night. It took us a while getting use to waking up every 2 hours at night to let her out -- sleep is something we haven't had much of until trading off who looks after her this weekend. Managing on a few hours of shut-eye each day is the least of our troubles considering how rewarding every other minute is with her by our side.

Fortunately, Rowley doesn't mind us sticking a camera in her face. We'll try our hardest not to post too many photos of her -- it's not easy considering how cute she is!

Here is the first of many slide shows: (Click on the thumbnail below to start the slide show).

Rowley
March 22 - 29 2008

Rowley's Arrival

And the Winner is...Emily

Every Easter my Mom's side of the family has their annual Egg Crack. I have no idea how the tradition started, but we have been keeping the tradition alive with success. Since explaining how the Egg Crack works would take up much of your patience anyone interested in learning more should send $3.00 to the address below. Please allow 12-16 weeks for delivery.

This year Emily won the egg crack (a first in 26 years). Emily's winning egg (aka "The Crusher") pummelled the competition -- the sweet looking teddy bear/bunny rabbit painted facade won't fool us again next year. This couldn't be a better surprise for all since Easter happens to be her favorite holiday and she traveled the furthest to be there.

Here are a few images from the exciting afternoon.

Welcome Home Emily!

Welcome home Emily! I'm not exactly sure when Emily, my Mom, and I just took a little time to hang out together. Since Emily is home for Easter Mom and her decided to stop by for an impromptu visit. It's been good to hear how her classes are progressing. Fortunately, Jay was able to sneak a camera and snap a casual photo of all of us. I believe that last time a candid group shot was taken of all of us together Emily and I must have been in grade school. Although none of us like having our photo taken, it's nice to finally have a recent image of all of us together.

Back from the Bahamas

I just returned from a wonderful and restful vacation with my Mom, my aunt Anne, and cousin Victoria. Mom was kind enough to invite me to travel to the Bahamas with the rest of the crew for 8 days. The weather was a much needed change from the bitter cold. Nothing beats lying in the sun all day, not having to cook one meal, and of course time with your family. Mom, thank you for a wonderful trip. I love you.

Husband of the Year

After much procrastinating, today was the day to pack for the Bahamas. My Mom has been kind enough to invite me along with the girls (my Aunt Anne and cousin Victoria) for a week in the sun.

The most dreaded part of preparing for a last minute trip to the sun, has to be trying on last year's bikinis. I confronted my fears late last night and instantly had plans for today -- find at least 2 bikinis. After 5 hours and 7 stores later the mission was complete.

Not being a fan of shopping, especially when hunting for necessities needed the next day (it seems to be a common occurrence for me), I was so pleased when Jay offered to spend the day with me. I don't know how he managed to withstand dressing room after dressing room. If there is a husband of the year award drifting out there it has his name on it.

The day wouldn't have been the same without him. Between watching him pull out the most absurd outfits for himself at Filene's Basement and then finding a smile still on his face after I returned from 45 minutes of trying on different suits (I managed to snag 13 - 15 different bikinis at once -- I was desperate) he couldn't have amazed me more.

Jay, I don't know where I found you...but thank you for making the day a blast. I promise you won't have to return to any of those stores again soon -- you know I'm not in any rush. I love you.

Mark Jenkins: Street Installations

I know very little about installation artist, Mark Jenkins. After recently coming across some of his work, I couldn't resist sharing it. All of the photos I've included of his pieces were displayed in one of three locations: Washington, DC, LA, or NYC in 2006 or 2007. Since some of you live in these areas, please let us know if you have seen any of his work or have any additional information about him (as of now his website doesn't include a bio). If you are as intrigued by the photos of his work (he kindly let me "borrow" them from his website -- not exactly-- but hopefully he won't mind the free publicity) check out the other projects he is working on.

Here Comes Hiroko

Last year we asked our friend, Gary Demercurio, for some pictures of the dog he rescued - Hiroko - a very young and very adorable Akita. Hiroko (generous child in Japanese) and Gary lived for a few months together in their North End apartment seeing the sites and selectively marking their own territories. Then Gary took a job in Connecticut at Sikorski, the helicopter manufacturer. Now they have plenty of room to lounge about suburbia. It only took about a few hundred days to get Gary to send us some photos of Hiroko but we've finally got them to share. Hopefully he'll keep us updated with more photos before the next leap year returns.

What Did You Stumble Upon?

Before I begin let me just say I'm sure I'm behind in the times. One of my co-workers sent me a link from a site search website (I'm sure there is a more technical term some one has derived) that I thought was worth sharing. If you haven't taken some time roaming through StumbleUpon give it a whirl. The site is the equivalent of an "Intellectual YouTube." Don't let my typecasting make you run away. It really is worth taking some time to stumble through.

Here is just one site you may find among the millions: (remember, we went to Art School)

Living My Life Faster: Oct. 1, 1998-2006
8 Years of JK's
Daily Photo Project
(yes, it is suppose to open in YouTube)

Lensbabies

If you haven't tried using one of Lensbabies selective focus SLR lenses and are struggling from "artist's block" this may be the solution for you. Just the way the 3G lens is constructive becomes a conversation piece -- my description won't do it justice (check out Lensbabies website if you are curious. You will also find some interesting portfolios of work). After years behind a view camera, having the option to experiment with a lens "with bellows" recently was a blast. I look forward to the next time I'm able to look at the world from a baby's perspective -- that might be a bit too extreme, but I'll roll with the thought for now.

Willow 2000 - 2008

When it rains it pours. At least that seems to be the best way to explain the current absence of any 4 legged friends living at 59 Winthrop Street.

On Monday, we decided to put Willow down. Although we are still recovering from Sydney leaving us, Willow's unpredictable behavior was getting too risky for us or guests to be around. While he may have been missing a few marbles, it doesn't make it easy to say goodbye. Fortunately, I was able to take a good number of photos of the little guy this weekend. He certainly was a gorgeous cat. I loved his slate blue/gray coat and bright yellow eyes. Thankfully, he always was a good model.

1Ds Mark II

After my digital camera broke this summer, we have been saving our pennies for a new/used camera. While working through this situation, I've been using the school's Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. The time and energy I have been taking trying to salvage what I have shot has worn me out.

This past weekend I had to shoot the school's annual silent auction. Since I knew the event would require 5 hours of shooting in a poorly lit gym full of too many people to count huddled over cocktails and dancing, I decided to treat myself to a new camera and lenses -- at least for the weekend. For the first time I was able to rent one of Canon's "high end" digital camera's. Their 1Ds Mark II (now replaced by a newer model) was enough to convince me that I was still a competent photographer. The 3 lenses I got my hands on made the situation all the more better.

Aside from driving home in the snow Saturday morning, enjoying dinner at 2:00 am, being exhausted the next day, and feeling as if I had lifted weights all day (the camera, lenses, and flash weighed approximately 6 pounds); I fell in love with a digital camera -- something I never thought I would ever say. Never say never...

Bezanson's Bakery

When Nicole sent us this photo of a cake she recently made for a friend's baby shower we were amazed. The combination of colors, polka-dots, and of course the green baby carriage couldn't have looked more like the invitation to the event (pictured next to the cake). We are just waiting to see what Nicole pulls off next in the kitchen. Since her whoopee pies are to die for, we know anything she bakes will have us coming back for more. No matter what sweets enter the scene next we are always willing to be on call as taste testers!