"Happily ever ... "

 My nephew's wedding went off without a hitch! I was so proud to be asked and so proud to be trusted with such precious memories. Between double shooting with Sony & Canon, I came up with 500 pix. I would say 250+ that I'll use because I like to take burst of three of each shot. This was/is my gift to the young, military couple.

It felt funny to be called "the photographer." Lol. "Oh! the 'photographer' is here, they'd say. I'm glad at the last minute, I decided to use my 20+ year old photo bag to carry all my crap. I felt professional.

 I was shaking with nerves all morning the day of the wedding. Probably because I was the 'main' photographer; no one else. Once I got started, I fell into my zone.

Love this instead of the boring traditional, corney, man/woman cake topper

Sweet details

I'm now in the process of processing & getting the photos ready to send off to the couple. I HATE being this late, but what can I say; I want to make sure each photo is great. I sending off in a couple of wedding albums (hoping not to offend w/my own choice), w/lots of special touches. Who knows where it could lead? Presentation is everything :-)

Advent Day Three

Fire of Advent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edward Hays, A Pilgrim’s Almanac, p. 187

   "Advent, like its cousin Lent, is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts. Since it comes at winter time, fire is a fitting sign to help us celebrate Advent…If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer. Our worship and devotion will have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly change our hearts. Ours is a great responsibility not to waste this Advent time."

The above ornaments are ones I just bought from the WorkShops where my disable son and other talented ladies and gentlemen are employed. They create beautiful things all year round, but  love their gift shop at Christmas time the best. I think this will be my yearly tradition - to purchase a couple of ornaments there. It's for a good cause, it's close to my heart, and all monies go back into the Shops.

My advent fire will be in the form of the tea candles lining the fireplace mantle. :-)

Pictures: me

 

Back then & right now

 Happy Veteran's Day to all Veteran's out there in the world. Thank you for your service!

The first 2 photos are of homes located in the historic district 2 streets over from my house. When I first moved where I am now, it's all I wanted to do was walk the big, wide opened tree lined streets & marvel at these wonders.

I have always had a soft spot for brick houses. Big, old fashioned 'sturdy' homes. They always looked 'safe.' I took the pictures from the book "Historic Architecture Canton 1805-1940."

  

So, imagine my surprise when a friend shared our city's historic book with me, and I saw the same two houses!!! Both were occupied by doctors. Below are the homes as they are (last month) - still beautifully maintained & well taken care of.

The past, in this case, is still very much the present. And I'm so glad it is. :-)

The home below is always picture post-card worthy when decorated for Christmas. Professionals come in & light it from the roof to the ground. The roof is terra cotta shingles. Anything else just wouldn't be right.

"Real time pictures":  by me