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.