What a Life!

We’ve discovered Joey’s favorite food.

When I rented the lens and flash, they filled out a paper credit card ticket as collateral. Next to the flash, they wrote $300. Next to the 16-35mm lens, they wrote $1200. And those were used prices. I think the flash – a 550 – would have sold for around $500 when it was new. Someday I may own a flash like that, but as for the lens, renting it for a day works just fine.

The flash actually had bounce capabilities, which is what I had thought I would use. But I ended up using it pointed directly ahead because I needed its full power in order to fill in the room and make it look bright and pretty.

Considering what I could have gotten with the equipment I own, I think these photos are quite nice. Compared to the kind of photos you find here where photographers charge $300 to go shoot pictures of million dollar homes that are being placed on the market, my pictures are nothing. Those pictures were great inspiration, though.

For real estate pictures of homes in our price range, there are few as nice as mine. In fact, I saw one photo with a listing where not only was their truck parked in the driveway, the garbage can was out by the curb; and not only was the garbage can out by the curb, there was trash piled up around it. And that was the only photo included with the listing. I laughed out loud!

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen events, we will not be placing our house on the market at this time. I will treasure my pictures, though. I remember my mom taking pictures of our house up in Michigan and how fun it is to look at them. Oh, the memories they bring back! My pictures may be a bit more staged than hers were, but they, too, will be filled with many memories.

In all, I took about 120 photos during three main shooting sessions. The first was in mid-afternoon so I could get the most light possible in each room. That worked especially well in the basement. Then I took some more in the evening during the hour before sundown. My final shoot was during the morning in the hour after sunrise. We had some hazy clouds over the sun during that final shoot which gave the light a softer quality – so nice for the exterior photos. You can see the highlights – including some I wouldn’t have used in the listing but which tell you about how things really are – here. Enjoy!

So these are my new kitchen curtains. The ones they replaced were hand knit by me to a tune of about 40 hours per valence, if I remember correctly.

Since we’re putting the house on the market and the window coverings are typically sold with the house, I wanted to make something else to put up since I had no intentions of leaving my hand knit valences with the house.

I was talking with a friend of mine from southern California and telling her about how we’re selling the house and some of the projects I have going along with that. When I mentioned making new valences for the kitchen so I wouldn’t have to sell my hand knit ones with the house, she filled in the blank and said, “Yeah, they’re good enough for you, but not good enough for somebody else.”

What really I wanted to say was, “Yeah, they’re good enough for us, but they’re too good for someone else like you who would have no appreciation for them whatsoever.” But I refrained. Some people just don’t get it.

I really like the new curtains, though. They’re bright and cheery and they go very well with the kitchen. The two windows are two different sizes so I customized the length for each window. You can’t necessarily do that with store-bought curtains. I think they look very nice.

But again, no one is obligated to agree with me. If you like store-bought curtains, by all means, buy them and hang them in your house. I’ll be happy because you’re happy. Just don’t expect me to get why store-bought is so wonderful.

Cheers!

I wish I could say I took this photo. I just love it.

It’s a picture of my niece who lives far away and whom I have never met in person. Thank goodness for the internet!

Generally, parallel play is the term used for toddlers and small children who will happily play in a room together but just play next to each other without really interacting.

At our house, parallel play means following Daddy around and doing exactly what he is doing.

Mowing the lawn together.

Watching Daddy to see when its time to turn around.

Same direction, same stride, even matching mowers!

Ben doesn’t make it quite all the way to the other side, but that’s okay.

Apparently I’m not the only one who finds this amusing.

Last weekend, we went to Iron Horse Park in the historic Haymarket district of downtown Lincoln. Steve had been there with Ben after a baseball game, but I had never been there.

They have this mural on the wall that is 3-D – the train is actually coming out of it. Of course, Ben enjoyed climbing on it.

More pictures here.