a fresh start

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Welcome 2011

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Mass Transit


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Public bathroom drain


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"What was that?"


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Baked with Love


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Wintry Epiphany

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Snow on boot


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"I wrinkle my nose in your general direction"

Christmas

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Twas the night before Christmas...



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Opa and his girl

This picture of my father kissing my daughter just makes my eyes tear up, every time.


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Marlowe, the Merry Maker of Mischief

(I gave Marlowe this very appropriate nickname a while back. We just learned that he's at least part Maine Coon, so now the May Queen refers to him as Marlowe the Maine Coon the Merry Maker of Mischief)

SNOW!

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Clearing off the car


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through the window

I loved these shots I took of the May Queen throwing snowballs at the window. I picked this one as my favorite, because it's so clear of her face, but these were too fun not to show you as well:




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Snowman



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Snow capped

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Christmas Chandelier, Detroit Opera House


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Just Dance


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Turning her world Upside Down

Gravy

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Mom making gravy

4 hankie post

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Handkerchiefs

I've had the handkerchiefs since my paternal grandmother died over 8 years ago. The handkerchief box belonged to my maternal grandmother. I came home with it just a few weeks ago, after my grandfather died. It seems lovely to me to be able to put the two together.

Veteran's Day

My father in law (a WWII vet) and a friend of ours (Korean war vet) came to my daughter's class for Veteran's Day. The kids gave a brief presentation, then the men told a little about their service, and the kids asked questions. At the end, the class presented them with thank you cards and practiced shaking hands.

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Thanking the Vets

I learned some interesting things, like how the Navy pants can be quickly taken off in the water and used to trap air and become a flotation device. And that the collar on the back of their shirts is a design holdover from long ago, when the men would take their long hair and harden it into a ball with tar, and in hand to hand combat would swing their head and use the hardened hair ball as a weapon. The collar kept the tar off the blouse. The kids were, of course, FASCINATED with this little tidbit of info. Who can blame them?

The most important lesson though, I think, came when one boy asked if fighting in the army was fun. My father in law very quickly and emphatically replied "No."

Mourning and Celebration

My grandfather died last week... here are some pictures...

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Three Kleenex Breakfast
When The May Queen woke up we broke the news that her Great Grandfather had died. She barely touched her pancakes, and when her plate was cleared this is what was left on the table.

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Sanibel at Sunset
A view from the plane

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Young Driver
Driving the golf cart was a kick for me as a child, and The May Queen and her cousin were thrilled to be deemed old enough to drive it themselves. My cousin was patient- and strong stomached- enough to let them drive round and round the cul de sac. I love the joy on their faces and the way the sunlight is captured. Grandpa would have been smiling. And then telling them not to drive with two feet ("You'll strip my brakes!" ... like mother, like daughter!)

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Waves
I have a picture at this same beach of a 2 year old May Queen holding hands with her great grandfather... wait... let me see if I can dig it up...
There it is. Nov. 2004. We decided that taking the kids to the beach was a great way to honor Grandpa... by doing something he loved doing.

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Fancy Dishes

We spread out the stuff, and each took what we wanted to remember, and thought we would use. The rest... most of it... we boxed up to donate.

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Grandpa's Garden

Still blooming...

we're hunting rabbits

We got together with my family on Labor Day, and the cousins set up a rabbit trap, complete with carrot. The bunnies were smart enough to stay away, but I did capture some cute pictures. In fact, I couldn't decide which was my favorite. For the first time, I'm posting two:

Hunting Rabbits
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Hunting Rabbits 2
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35-39

More catching up...

Wheeee...
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We spent the day at an amusement park, and I took this picture of the screen after a ride with my iphone (and got reprimanded, thank you very much, but I wasn't about to pay $15 for a copy of this photo). That's my daughter and I wearing red. It's blurry, which is pretty much how I felt after 31 coaster rides in 9 hours. I have given birth to a roller coaster FIEND.

Legos adrift
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Colors
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In Louisiana, everyone calls crayons "colors."

Spinning lights
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Daddy, daughter and boats
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We went to a wedding. The reception was at a yacht club.