I Miss My Camera, and It Misses Me!

As I was sitting at my desk today working, I looked forlornly at my camera sitting - almost neglected - just a few feet away from me. "Why hath thou forsaken me?" it seemed to be saying. Now, I know that I'm Jewish, and we know a thing or two about guilt, but this is going too far. I was feeling guilt from an inanimate object! This is nuts!

"I hath not forsaken you," I assured it.

"But you haven't used me since last Monday! That's over a week!" Is it possible for a camera to pout? If so, it did.

Oh, this was getting silly. I looked out the window and saw the sun shining brightly. The temperature readout on my computer said it was a perfect 72 degrees. What the heck. I put down the phone, grabbed Mr. Cranky Camera and my macro lens, and stepped into the back yard. I think I've photographed just about everything possible out there, but I managed to find something I've never captured before. Why hello, Mr. Bug!

After that little break, my camera was looking decidedly happier. I promise I won't let a week go by without picking you up again. (After all, there's a soccer game on Saturday!) And I'll always love you!

Reading Naked at Home

Get your minds out of the gutter!

As most of my friends know, I'm a voracious reader. When ereaders first came out a few years ago, I really wasn't sure I'd like them. I like books. I like the feel of them, the weight of them, the smell of them. There's just always been something very soothing and enjoyable about getting lost in a good book, and I didn't think a little machine would provide the same feeling for me. Then a friend of mind showed me her new Kindle, and I was instantly hooked. I thought it was so amazing to be able to carry dozens of books with you anywhere in one neat little package. So I ordered one.

For the last 4 years, my Kindle has gone almost everywhere with me (even getting left on a plane once! Thankfully I got it back, and I apologized to it profusely for abandoning it like that.), and I've never regretted not having a physical book to read. Now that it's been a few years, my beloved Kindle was showing some age and slowing down some, and I decided for my birthday this year, I wanted an upgrade. It was a little early, but I got my new baby yesterday! It's so much smaller than its predecessor (which has already been adopted by Erin, who promises to give it a loving home), and I immediately realized that a cover would be an absolute necessity.

From reading some of the Kindle boards (because, you know, there are boards for EVERYTHING these days!), I saw that a lot of people say they like, "reading naked at home," meaning (and I warned you to get your minds out of the gutter!) that they like holding their Kindles without a cover. I tried that yesterday, and didn't like it. The Kindle felt too exposed (another naked reference - sorry!), and I kept worrying that it would either slip from my hands or that something else would happen to it. I'm not willing to take that chance, so I ordered a really cool looking cover that will hopefully be here on Wednesday. No Kindle-streaking for me! Now my biggest problem is ignoring it calling to me from the other room, "Read on me! Read on me!" while I'm supposed to be working. I will be strong... I will be strong...

One for the Bug Experts

I just wandered outside for the first time since around 8am this morning to grab the mail, and on the way back inside, noticed that our front step and the wall at the front of the house are covered with these little, well, buggers. They're teeny-tiny, less than 1/4" long, and both shiny and translucent. Kind of pretty, but there's quite a nightmare-inducing quality to them too, especially when you see them in big numbers. Eew. Anyone have any idea what they are?

Did I saw eew?

The Start of Something New (Kinda)

For the past two-plus years, I've enjoyed making a quip that I'm a REAL housewife of Orange County. Trust me, my life is nothing like what you see in the TV show (although I was once invited to a Botox party - I kid you not!), but it was a fun thing to say. I've enjoyed (almost) every minute of being a true stay-at-home mom, but for a variety of reasons, the time has come for me to return to the working world. How fortuitous for me that the week before our trip to the east coast, my former company called to see if I'd be available and interested in working with them again! Terms were agreed to, detailed worked out, and I had my first call to start getting up to speed today. I'll be doing what I enjoy (recruiting), and I'll get to do it from home. No nasty commutes, and I'll be able to have Molly keeping my feet warm while I work. It doesn't get much better than that. Oh, and getting a paycheck again will be nice too! I think my biggest challenge will be taking pictures regularly (and soccer games don't count). I'll find a way!

Wild Kingdom, Surburbia Edition

This morning, Erin had a soccer game at 8am - again. All of her spring games this season have been at that time. on the one hand, it's nice. You get it over with and can do something with your day (as opposed to the 11am or 1pm games, which are smack in the middle of the day, and are kind of a pain when it comes to scheduling other things). But on the other hand? It's 8am. On SATURDAY. Give me a break... Anyway, this morning, I positioned myself, as I do each week, on the bleachers on the field's home side so I'd be shooting with the sun to my back. A few minutes before game time, I heard a strange noise, and looked up on the field lights on the other side of the field. There was a hawk perched up there, just taking in the view of the backyards up the hill from him. A few other birds were apparently quite disturbed by his presence, and were squawking and dive-bombing him in an effort to get him to leave. After a few minutes of taking this abuse, apparently he decided it wasn't worth staying there, and flew away. But I caught a few shots of him along the way. Amazing what you see hanging out in suburbia!

Spring Break Trip Day #5

Today was one of those days that was a photographer's idea of paradise! Ever since our visit last July (when it was over 100 degrees, making any outdoor activity synonymous with masochism), I couldn't wait to return to Longwood Gardens with my camera in hand. And since I got my macro lens, I've been chomping at the bit to exercise there. Today was the day! We caught a quick lunch at one of Erin's favorite local places, and then headed to the gardens.

 It's early enough in the spring that not much is in bloom outdoors yet, but the budding trees were an inspiration in themselves!

Our main destination was the Conservatory. I hadn't been in the building since I was a child, and I couldn't wait to see what it held in store for us. It certainly didn't disappoint! The entire structure was a spectacle blooms in every shape and color imaginable!

There were other things to see in the building besides the flowers themselves. One was the Children's Garden, which contained some incredible fountains!

I also got what I think is a wonderful picture of my mom and Erin in the Children's Garden.

Another incredible site to behold in the Conservatory is the amazing pipe organ. It's one of the largest in the world, with over 10,000 pipes. That's a lot of pipes! We're talking literally room after room of pipes, ranging from teeny tiny ones to HUGE ones! Although it's hard to gauge their actual size in this picture, these were some of the smallest.

I could spend days at Longwood and never run out of things to admire and photograph. Throughout our time there, we all kept marveling at what it must have been like to actually live there back when the entire property was a private residence. "Incredible" doesn't even begin to describe it!

Spring Break Trip Day #3

Day 3 of our trip dawned with beautiful, if freakishly uncommon for this time of year, weather. We were expecting highs in the (ready for this?) high 70s. WHAT? I didn't pack for this weather!  Well, I'm nothing if not adaptable, so I decided to forget the fact that I'd be a-schvitzing, and started the day. The morning started with Erin getting plenty of doggy love from Niko. I swear, this dog is such a cutie!

Our activities for today were taking us to the Hagley Museum, the earliest of the DuPont homes, and where the powder company got its start. We had visited it when we were here in July, but they were having a special exhibit on the DuPont weddings that we thought would be interesting.  We spent some time exploring the museum itself before taking a stroll to wait for the bus to the main house and tour.

Three of my favorite people in the world!

The house itself is beautiful and has a fascinating history.

Although we had been there not long ago, we all learned new things on this tour. Erin's interest and enthusiasm for the tour was fantastic to see. She asked our guide a lot of good questions about the house and the family, and seemed to have memorized the DuPont family tree by the time it was over.

After the tour, we hopped on the shuttle back to the visitor center. Erin and I decided to get off at the Sunday School to see what that was all about.

We learned that it was for the children who worked in some of the factories along the Brandywine River, including textile mills and factories. It was called a Sunday School because Sunday was the only day that the children didn't work, so it was the only day they could attend school. At the school, they learned reading, writing, and math - quite a way to wrap up their 60-hour work week. Erin at that point decided that she's glad she lives when she does. I bet she is! 

Spring Break Trip Day #2

Today's adventures started out with a Civil War exhibit at a local B&B near my parents' house. We weren't sure what to expect, but with what the tickets had cost, we expected something.  Um, we were wrong.

Yes, it was a beautiful house and it was neat to see the period furniture and hear some of its history, but there wasn't much else to do. Bummer. But Erin got to learn something about what it was like to dress in those clothes (this woman had SEVEN layers under that dress!), and we got to see some things that we did not want to eat.

After that disappointing start, we decided to go on a REAL adventure. My father set out to find every "roller coaster" road in Delaware County, and we all almost lost our lunch a few times, both from soaring over the crests and also from laughing so much. We eventually wound up at the Delaware Museum of Natural History to take in their tarantula exhibit.

The exhibit (and the museum, for that matter) was great fun, and it was really amazing to see all of the furry creepy crawlers up close and personal. But my favorite part of the visit was when my father crept up on my mother and put a stuffed spider on her shoulder. Scared the *#%! out of her!

When we left the museum and headed toward home, we decided to revisit a road we'd found last time we were here. This is a little road that connects two bigger ones, but to say it's unpaved would be a huge understatement. It's gravel, dirt, mud, holes, pits, and car-swallowing craters. Last time, my dad turned around halfway down the road, convinced we'd have to call AAA to get us out. This time, in his new (and slightly higher) car, he decided to go for it. He had a few hear attack-inducing moments, but we made it through!

And we did it right!

You CAN Go Home Again!

Erin's spring break has begun, and she and I flew to Pennsylvania yesterday to spend the week with my parents! We haven't seen them since we were here in July, which is the longest I've ever gone without seeing them. It's so great to be here! They've now been in their new house for over a year, and it's fun to see all the changes that they've made since the last time were visited. Like a lot of people, I wasn't sure how it would feel to visit my parents in a house other than the one where I grew up, but this house is definitely still "home." It just feels right, and I still feel very much like I belong here. Awww... We got in quite late last night and it was around 1:30am before we went to bed, so it was no surprise that we got a kind of late start to the day today. That's fine. This isn't a trip for a ton of running around, but one for just spending time together. That's the best kind of visit, if you ask me. I broke out the camera first thing, though, and started making memories!

It was quite nice of my mom to have fresh flowers for me to "play" with! I'm sure I'll be taking many more of these as the week goes on.

Miss Espi spent much of the night with me. I left one crazy puss behind only to find this one! She is so funny. When I was making my bed last night before climbing into it, I pulled the mattress out a bit to tuck in the sheet (it's a daybed with a trundle underneath) and found Espi squashed on top of the trundle's mattress, under the springs of mine. Um, there's only around 6" of space there, and Espi weighs over 20 pounds. I have no idea how she fit there. She's a nut, but a cute nut, even if she has an extremely funky haircut right now!

And this is Niko! Niko's a new addition to my parents' house, and he's too cute for words. Very loveable and sweet, and so happy all the time. He and Espi are still trying to find their version of peace, but I have no doubts that they'll eventually be great friends.

It's sure to be a great and fun-filled week!