l'anatomie d'une photo

In August, almost unexpectedly, we found ourselves at Monticello, touring TJ's old stomping grounds. As we were all together in a picturesque setting, we naturally wanted to take a family picture. Here is the result we like best.

And here is the process that produced this one shot...

1. While wondering where S & his grandparents were...we staked out a backdrop, and I snapped this. L, as he is here, is the one to watch in all of these photos. Does your family have one like him, too?

2. I took this close up shot, still wondering where S had gone off to. L puts on a good face for the camera.

3. Working the angle some more...kids getting distracted.

4. A few minutes later, still no S or grandparents, a fellow tourist walks by and offers to take a picture. With a stranger around, L sat still (!) and gave us the best face we got during the entire shoot. Unfortunately, S was awol!

5. S, a tad disheveled, & grandparents show up! The Don captures this precious picture as I primp S for the photo.

6. All together and groomed, Grandpa tries to get a good one for us. Not everyone cooperates...

7. I'm glad we took a couple more because E's getting tired and looks a bit goofy here. L is about to put on a show...

8. L pulls out his gun right when The Don snaps this one.

9. L also has a bow and arrow in his arsenal.

10. Giving L a little nudge to quit goofing off...the others are getting amused.

11. L runs with it. Flexing? I end up cropping this one just below L's shoulders and proclaim it "The Winner."

12. Such a picture derelict!

13. "Bring it on..."

And that, my friends, is one of the reasons we do not take many family photos.

en faisant la lessive

The effect on the unpracticed laundry novice of merely watching me fold four loads of laundry.

He slept like this for over an hour. Imagine if he had actually helped me do the folding. I think I need a nap.

lecons de la vie

A few days ago, I glanced out the kitchen window and saw this going on in the backyard...

Somewhere along the way, L has picked up on how to swing on a swing! Just as with a few choice words he's also picked up, I had virtually no hand in teaching this to him. When I was a young mom, I used to fancy myself as the dispenser of all knowledge. Now I know way less than I used to and they know way more than I realize...like how to swing on a swing. Where did that come from? Now I often don't enter the picture until after they've learned something, and my role is increasingly reduced to confirmer and/or dispeller of everything they soak up from the world around them. I think I'm okay with this. So when L asked me this week, "Mom, is 'shet' still a bad word today?', I answered with equanimity, "Yes, 'shet' is still a bad word."

chanteur de salon

As it appears we've had a lounge singer (or two) in our midst, buying the used piano was an excellent idea.

Having two fledgling pianists (three if you count me, four if you count J) helped seal the deal.

ayant chante tout l'ete: en ville

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a lame blogger. I now find myself in a new year posting the following picture of our fair city...

...in August of last year. On this particular beautiful summer afternoon, we headed downtown for an impromptu adventure. I don't want to let this day slip between the cracks. It turned out to be a bit of family magic.

We jumped rocks on the esplanade along the river...

...while J attended to some business for church.


We explored a floating dock and let Scout off her leash.

Scout's new best friends...

Our rented surrey with the fringe on top...

Waiting to eat at a sidewalk cafe...

Crossing back when the sun started to set...

  Posting this on a gray, rainy day in January makes me long for summer.