Taylor News Network (TNN) has noticed recent activity on this blog has become very Tomcentric. We scroll down and see nothing but words; this will not stand. We would like to apologize to the segment of our audience that has been patiently awaiting an update from the Star of this show, the incomparable Miss Taylor Sandra. Without further ado...
TNN would like to welcome you to this edition of "Taylor News Update" :
"Simple Pleasures..."
One of the times when Taylor is in her best moods is just after she gets home, but before getting unbuckled from her car seat. We tried to catch a bit of her antics. It's often difficult because she is enamored with the media hounds. I'm not sure if she has inherited her fathers camera shy gene, or if she is just trying to figure out how to play to the camera. More on this story as details develop.
"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here..."
Taylor was spotted out at the club spinning her favorite tunes. We tried to get some video footage for this report. Unfortunately she spotted our camera's and decided the show was over. The crowd gathered at the Saucer Command Center asked for an Encore but Miss Taylor rules with a fist of iron, and she said "Show over." We, still love her. We understand even the biggest celebrities can't be on stage all the time.
"Medium Rare Please..."
It looks as if she may share her fathers love of a good steak. As proven by this footage, caught at her favorite steak house, located at the Saucer Command Center.
Finally, we would like to offer a sampling of what our esteemed photography crew has been able to capture in recent weeks. Your senior staff editor makes a cameo appearance in this batch. There's a story behind the gorilla. Remind me to tell it one day.
Taylor Photos
Showing posts with label Taylor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taylor. Show all posts
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Cold, Colds, Parades and Floats
Here I am, staring at a blank page. I have things I want to talk about, but I'm not sure how to start. My first inclination is to note the date of my last entry and call "Not Too Bad", and by extension myself, a failure . When I initially launched this page, I never intended to go a month without posting something in this space.
Upon closer inspection, I'm able to step back and take a more in depth look at the situation. Realistically, I can't expect to go from decades of self-imposed reclusion to suddenly effortless expression of my thoughts to a mass audience overnight. (mass audience in this case taken as a purely relative term)
Part of the problem is not enough happening in my life that I deem sufficiently entertaining to those who may read these pages. The flip side of that coin is having too many thoughts and being unable to satisfactorily organize them for public consumption. Being stranded in this eternal, internal sparring match renders me to a perpetual state of inaction. Otherwise known as procrastination.
I could sit here for another month and dipping my toes into the pool. The water isn't going to get any warmer and my toes will resemble prunes long before I gain the skill of Michael Phelps. I just need to jump into the pool and start swimming.
A better analogy might be sitting atop a hill with a hastily built soap box racer. I know the steering mechanism isn't up to par and judging from previous posts the brakes are non-existent. But, sitting up here atop the hill will get me nowhere and if I wait much longer I'll be too old to get in and have fun driving the thing. With that said, I'll just choose a couple of subjects, push off... try to keep this thing on paved ground for as long as possible and pray there isn't traffic waiting for me at the bottom of the hill...
"How's the weather?" "It's COLD!"
Perhaps I'm mistaken but I could have sworn we lived in Florida. I know I've only been here 13 years, and with my advancing age my memory isn't what it used to be, but this winter has been the coldest I can recall. We've had so many freeze warnings and even though I've diligently covered our plants, the flower bed looks as if it has been kept by the Adams Family.
Let me preface the following paragraphs by saying I completely understand there are many out there living under much worse conditions then we currently are. Take Sarge for instance (pictured to the left) He spent most winters in a insulated dog house with a straw floor built into the side of the garage. He was plenty happy and you never once heard a complaint. This is one of my all time favorite pictures I've snapped. I always wished it was a little sharper, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post it in a somewhat relevant context. He was a great dog and deserves his own post someday on this site. With proper respect shown and the groundwork laid, let me commence being a grumpy curmudgeon.
Our current abode doesn't do much to assuage this whole deep freeze situation. Our furnace is a relic of a bygone era. The house itself was built before I was born and I've come to believe the furnace wasn't new upon installation. Compounding this issue is the fact that the duct work is better suited distributing any generated heat into the attic then to the vents supplying livable space and I've seen Speedo's containing more insulation. I know I need to crawl up there, seal the joints in the duct work, and blow in some more insulation, but that is much easier said than done. In true old Florida tradition, our home has a nearly flat roof. I'm being generous when I say there may be 3 feet of head room at it's peak, which means I will have to crawl around on my stomach and seal all the joints before crawling around some more to re-insulate. I will obviously have to conduct this adventure during the winter, else I risk dying of heat stroke in the summer. Taylor is actually the perfect size to complete this task, but she lacks the prerequisite ability to crawl, or seal duct work, or control an insulation distribution hose. For now we cope with the strategic use of a space heater to supplement the relic residing in the closet.
When things seem bleak and I start feeling sorry for our current situation, I remember back to the days of my youth. Oh yeah, Taylor can look forward to many "When I was a kid..." stories as she grows up. I'm sure she will be thrilled. For instance...
We didn't have any central heat and our bedrooms were located in the basement on the opposite side of the house from the barrel stove. One of our main year round chores consisted of preparation for, or tending of the fire that burned continuously from early fall to late spring every year. I remember many mornings waking up and expecting to see my own breath. The first thing we would do would be to run over to the barrel stove and re-stoke the fire, hoping we had done a sufficient job the night before to have plenty of coals, then getting dressed huddling around the heat source. There were many times I realized I hadn't filled the stove with enough wood the previous night to keep the fire going for the morning. One of the times the coals weren't hot enough I learned one of those life lessons that tend to stick with you forever. For instance, you should never add kerosene to a smoldering fire, then close the door while you run upstairs to grab some matches from the kitchen. When you get back and open the door again you'll notice massive amounts of smoke billowing out of the opening. That smoke is actually very flammable. I bent down and struck a match... I don't recall if I actually got to throw the match into the stove. That detail is really immaterial. I do remember flying backward across the basement floor and explaining to everyone I saw the next few days why I lacked eyebrows.
Then there was the time just a few years before moving to Florida, when I was living and working in Tracy MN. I woke up one morning in the middle of a blizzard and headed to work in near white out conditions. I only lived about a mile from the office and of course I hadn't learned anything from living most of my life in Minnesota. I wasn't really dressed for the weather, wearing a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, with a moderate jacket and baseball cap. I made it maybe half way there before running up on a snow drift and getting stuck with all my wheels suspended above the road surface. With no other options and no hope of getting rescued (this was years before I owned a cell phone) I headed off on a trek toward the office. Now, I've done a lot of stupid things in my life including walking on ice in the spring long after it was safe to do so. I've fallen through many times by myself, each time making my Dad shake his head in disbelief as I arrived home soaking wet and freezing cold. One time it happened out in the middle of the lake we lived on, seriously thinking I'd met my end before finally finding purchase and pulling myself back onto the ice. (these excursions could be the subject of a future post)
That being said, never once did I have the feeling that I wasn't going to make it like that cold morning in Tracy. The wind was howling, the temperature was well below zero and I was dressed for a nice fall day. The only thought I had was someone was going to find me frozen in a snow drift later in the day when the sane people left their homes. Obviously, since I am here writing this blog, I did make it to the office, and luckily there was an entrance on the down wind side of the building that was still free from obstruction. Needless to say I was the only one who had even attempted to come to work that morning. The picture on the left was taken out of another door of the building. If you look closely you can see the drift is actually much higher farther away from the building. You can just see the tops of the trees in the distance. Later in the day I was able to get in contact with some who had a snowmobile to take me back to my house. So I guess in relative terms the winter I'm dealing with right not is not too bad... And at least our cold snaps are sandwiched between periods where the temperatures reach into the 70's. So when I see we are headed for a record low in the 20's and I see our thermostat stuck between 60 and 65 I know there is a large segment of the population that would scoff at any complaints I may have.
Living and working in a petri dish...
I've spent more time sick this year then healthy. With Taylor in daycare and Linda working at a school, they are kind enough to bring home every cold and bug making it's rounds out in the general population. We seem to play a biological game of "tag you're it" and I'm the slow kid who doesn't understand the rules. I'm sure it doesn't help that I live and work in the same place. For a couple of weeks Taylor and Linda seemed to be getting better as I was getting worse so we started to sleep in separate rooms trying to interrupt the viral version of hot potato. So I was sleeping on the futon in my office. Basically living and working in my own personal petri dish. With the cold weather we have been having I would just close the door and heat the office with a space heater during the day. Spending my days and nights taking medications, sneezing and coughing all in the same room. When the weather gave us breaks I would open all the windows in the house and try to acquire some fresh air and that seemed to help, at least mentally. With an abundance of patience and reams of Clorox disinfecting wipes, I'm happy to report that the entire house seems to be cold free at the moment. I'm hopeful that fact remains truthful for the foreseeable future.
Poor Taylor had it pretty bad for a while. Between the drooling from teething, a runny nose, coughing and and ear infection she had it really rough. You'll notice almost every picture taken recently her face is pretty well soaked from one of these sources. It's done nothing to detract from her cuteness factor. She has started eating "solid" foods.. that is if you can count apple sauce and other sorted saucy fruits and vegetables solid. She has started helping Mommy during her feedings. I've never been one to think dirty baby eating pictures were cute, and frankly even watching Taylor hasn't changed my mind on that subject. Thankfully right now she isn't all that messy, although I'm sure that will change when we start introducing things such as spagetti into her diet. I did capture a little video of Taylor helping Mommy feed her. There are also a couple of pictures to view.
Taylor Pictures
Taylor Helping Video
"That's ugly!"
I'm not going to name any names because I'm fairly confident that it wasn't meant in the way it sounds. But I happened to show someone some plans of a house I designed for the 2008 Spring Parade of Homes as an example of what I do for a living. The response I got was "That's ugly!" Now, I am the first to admit that looking at a 2-dimensional construction drawing doesn't show a plan in it's most flattering light, and not every style of house will suit ever persons taste in architecture. But, I did state that the house really wasn't that ugly in real life and promised to take some pictures of the house to defend my design. Since I've spent much of this month working on the brochure for the 2009 Spring Parade, I figured it was about time I actually posted pictures of my design from last year. Unfortunately I don't have any of my designs in this years Parade (the first time that has happened in a few years). I still did the brochure work for the Home Builders Association, a project I have done for the last 10 years. I take the construction drawings from the houses in the parade and redraw them to appear neatly in the brochure that gets handed it to those making the tour. I finished that project last Friday and that is always a reason for celebration. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from my "ugly" house. I'll leave it to you, the viewer to form your own opinions.
2008 Parade Home
Enjoying Florida from a different perspective...
First thing many people think of when you mention Florida is beaches and palm trees. While we do have plenty of palm trees, and the beaches are plenty close enough to spend the day there and sleep in our own bed at night, the area surrounding Gainesville is much different then the stereotypical Florida landscape. One of the activities we really started to enjoy was kayaking. We are in close proximity to many rivers and fresh water springs. The closest is the Santa Fe River, which is where we have spent most of our kayaking time. It's a slow moving river that gradually approaches the High Springs area and becomes more and more clear as you travel along passing fresh water springs. Another place that has incredibly clear springs is Rainbow Springs. We haven't been there as often, but hope to head back in the future. We had planned on purchasing a couple of kayaks to more easily expand our destination and activity list. Some day I'd like to take a kayak out in the surf for some fun and to explore the possibility of some kayak fishing. As you all know, we received news early last year that put those plans on hold at least for a little while. For obvious reasons we didn't get any kayaking in last summer and I'm not sure yet how soon we will get back on the water, but I'm hopeful I haven't seen the last of that activity. I've uploaded a selection of pictures taken on a few of our Santa Fe River trips. While you won't really see any of it in these pictures, if you are quiet and watchful it's very common to see a vast array of wild life on a typical excursion. I've seen deer, raccoons, alligators, waterfowl, tons of fish and more turtles then you can shake a stick at.
Kayaking Photo Gallery
Well, I warned you before we started that I lacked brakes on this soap box. I really had no intention of writing a novel when I started. Luckily I believe I've avoided the traffic here at the bottom. Let's see how long it takes to drag this thing back up to the top and get ready to take it for another spin. By the way, there is a new poll up, please take the time to vote as I use that as a guide for things to write about when nothing else is going on. (it's over on the right side column)
Upon closer inspection, I'm able to step back and take a more in depth look at the situation. Realistically, I can't expect to go from decades of self-imposed reclusion to suddenly effortless expression of my thoughts to a mass audience overnight. (mass audience in this case taken as a purely relative term)
Part of the problem is not enough happening in my life that I deem sufficiently entertaining to those who may read these pages. The flip side of that coin is having too many thoughts and being unable to satisfactorily organize them for public consumption. Being stranded in this eternal, internal sparring match renders me to a perpetual state of inaction. Otherwise known as procrastination.
I could sit here for another month and dipping my toes into the pool. The water isn't going to get any warmer and my toes will resemble prunes long before I gain the skill of Michael Phelps. I just need to jump into the pool and start swimming.
A better analogy might be sitting atop a hill with a hastily built soap box racer. I know the steering mechanism isn't up to par and judging from previous posts the brakes are non-existent. But, sitting up here atop the hill will get me nowhere and if I wait much longer I'll be too old to get in and have fun driving the thing. With that said, I'll just choose a couple of subjects, push off... try to keep this thing on paved ground for as long as possible and pray there isn't traffic waiting for me at the bottom of the hill...
"How's the weather?" "It's COLD!"
Perhaps I'm mistaken but I could have sworn we lived in Florida. I know I've only been here 13 years, and with my advancing age my memory isn't what it used to be, but this winter has been the coldest I can recall. We've had so many freeze warnings and even though I've diligently covered our plants, the flower bed looks as if it has been kept by the Adams Family.
Let me preface the following paragraphs by saying I completely understand there are many out there living under much worse conditions then we currently are. Take Sarge for instance (pictured to the left) He spent most winters in a insulated dog house with a straw floor built into the side of the garage. He was plenty happy and you never once heard a complaint. This is one of my all time favorite pictures I've snapped. I always wished it was a little sharper, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post it in a somewhat relevant context. He was a great dog and deserves his own post someday on this site. With proper respect shown and the groundwork laid, let me commence being a grumpy curmudgeon.Our current abode doesn't do much to assuage this whole deep freeze situation. Our furnace is a relic of a bygone era. The house itself was built before I was born and I've come to believe the furnace wasn't new upon installation. Compounding this issue is the fact that the duct work is better suited distributing any generated heat into the attic then to the vents supplying livable space and I've seen Speedo's containing more insulation. I know I need to crawl up there, seal the joints in the duct work, and blow in some more insulation, but that is much easier said than done. In true old Florida tradition, our home has a nearly flat roof. I'm being generous when I say there may be 3 feet of head room at it's peak, which means I will have to crawl around on my stomach and seal all the joints before crawling around some more to re-insulate. I will obviously have to conduct this adventure during the winter, else I risk dying of heat stroke in the summer. Taylor is actually the perfect size to complete this task, but she lacks the prerequisite ability to crawl, or seal duct work, or control an insulation distribution hose. For now we cope with the strategic use of a space heater to supplement the relic residing in the closet.
When things seem bleak and I start feeling sorry for our current situation, I remember back to the days of my youth. Oh yeah, Taylor can look forward to many "When I was a kid..." stories as she grows up. I'm sure she will be thrilled. For instance...
We didn't have any central heat and our bedrooms were located in the basement on the opposite side of the house from the barrel stove. One of our main year round chores consisted of preparation for, or tending of the fire that burned continuously from early fall to late spring every year. I remember many mornings waking up and expecting to see my own breath. The first thing we would do would be to run over to the barrel stove and re-stoke the fire, hoping we had done a sufficient job the night before to have plenty of coals, then getting dressed huddling around the heat source. There were many times I realized I hadn't filled the stove with enough wood the previous night to keep the fire going for the morning. One of the times the coals weren't hot enough I learned one of those life lessons that tend to stick with you forever. For instance, you should never add kerosene to a smoldering fire, then close the door while you run upstairs to grab some matches from the kitchen. When you get back and open the door again you'll notice massive amounts of smoke billowing out of the opening. That smoke is actually very flammable. I bent down and struck a match... I don't recall if I actually got to throw the match into the stove. That detail is really immaterial. I do remember flying backward across the basement floor and explaining to everyone I saw the next few days why I lacked eyebrows.
Then there was the time just a few years before moving to Florida, when I was living and working in Tracy MN. I woke up one morning in the middle of a blizzard and headed to work in near white out conditions. I only lived about a mile from the office and of course I hadn't learned anything from living most of my life in Minnesota. I wasn't really dressed for the weather, wearing a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, with a moderate jacket and baseball cap. I made it maybe half way there before running up on a snow drift and getting stuck with all my wheels suspended above the road surface. With no other options and no hope of getting rescued (this was years before I owned a cell phone) I headed off on a trek toward the office. Now, I've done a lot of stupid things in my life including walking on ice in the spring long after it was safe to do so. I've fallen through many times by myself, each time making my Dad shake his head in disbelief as I arrived home soaking wet and freezing cold. One time it happened out in the middle of the lake we lived on, seriously thinking I'd met my end before finally finding purchase and pulling myself back onto the ice. (these excursions could be the subject of a future post)
That being said, never once did I have the feeling that I wasn't going to make it like that cold morning in Tracy. The wind was howling, the temperature was well below zero and I was dressed for a nice fall day. The only thought I had was someone was going to find me frozen in a snow drift later in the day when the sane people left their homes. Obviously, since I am here writing this blog, I did make it to the office, and luckily there was an entrance on the down wind side of the building that was still free from obstruction. Needless to say I was the only one who had even attempted to come to work that morning. The picture on the left was taken out of another door of the building. If you look closely you can see the drift is actually much higher farther away from the building. You can just see the tops of the trees in the distance. Later in the day I was able to get in contact with some who had a snowmobile to take me back to my house. So I guess in relative terms the winter I'm dealing with right not is not too bad... And at least our cold snaps are sandwiched between periods where the temperatures reach into the 70's. So when I see we are headed for a record low in the 20's and I see our thermostat stuck between 60 and 65 I know there is a large segment of the population that would scoff at any complaints I may have. Living and working in a petri dish...
I've spent more time sick this year then healthy. With Taylor in daycare and Linda working at a school, they are kind enough to bring home every cold and bug making it's rounds out in the general population. We seem to play a biological game of "tag you're it" and I'm the slow kid who doesn't understand the rules. I'm sure it doesn't help that I live and work in the same place. For a couple of weeks Taylor and Linda seemed to be getting better as I was getting worse so we started to sleep in separate rooms trying to interrupt the viral version of hot potato. So I was sleeping on the futon in my office. Basically living and working in my own personal petri dish. With the cold weather we have been having I would just close the door and heat the office with a space heater during the day. Spending my days and nights taking medications, sneezing and coughing all in the same room. When the weather gave us breaks I would open all the windows in the house and try to acquire some fresh air and that seemed to help, at least mentally. With an abundance of patience and reams of Clorox disinfecting wipes, I'm happy to report that the entire house seems to be cold free at the moment. I'm hopeful that fact remains truthful for the foreseeable future.
Poor Taylor had it pretty bad for a while. Between the drooling from teething, a runny nose, coughing and and ear infection she had it really rough. You'll notice almost every picture taken recently her face is pretty well soaked from one of these sources. It's done nothing to detract from her cuteness factor. She has started eating "solid" foods.. that is if you can count apple sauce and other sorted saucy fruits and vegetables solid. She has started helping Mommy during her feedings. I've never been one to think dirty baby eating pictures were cute, and frankly even watching Taylor hasn't changed my mind on that subject. Thankfully right now she isn't all that messy, although I'm sure that will change when we start introducing things such as spagetti into her diet. I did capture a little video of Taylor helping Mommy feed her. There are also a couple of pictures to view.
Taylor Pictures
Taylor Helping Video
"That's ugly!"
I'm not going to name any names because I'm fairly confident that it wasn't meant in the way it sounds. But I happened to show someone some plans of a house I designed for the 2008 Spring Parade of Homes as an example of what I do for a living. The response I got was "That's ugly!" Now, I am the first to admit that looking at a 2-dimensional construction drawing doesn't show a plan in it's most flattering light, and not every style of house will suit ever persons taste in architecture. But, I did state that the house really wasn't that ugly in real life and promised to take some pictures of the house to defend my design. Since I've spent much of this month working on the brochure for the 2009 Spring Parade, I figured it was about time I actually posted pictures of my design from last year. Unfortunately I don't have any of my designs in this years Parade (the first time that has happened in a few years). I still did the brochure work for the Home Builders Association, a project I have done for the last 10 years. I take the construction drawings from the houses in the parade and redraw them to appear neatly in the brochure that gets handed it to those making the tour. I finished that project last Friday and that is always a reason for celebration. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from my "ugly" house. I'll leave it to you, the viewer to form your own opinions.2008 Parade Home
Enjoying Florida from a different perspective...
First thing many people think of when you mention Florida is beaches and palm trees. While we do have plenty of palm trees, and the beaches are plenty close enough to spend the day there and sleep in our own bed at night, the area surrounding Gainesville is much different then the stereotypical Florida landscape. One of the activities we really started to enjoy was kayaking. We are in close proximity to many rivers and fresh water springs. The closest is the Santa Fe River, which is where we have spent most of our kayaking time. It's a slow moving river that gradually approaches the High Springs area and becomes more and more clear as you travel along passing fresh water springs. Another place that has incredibly clear springs is Rainbow Springs. We haven't been there as often, but hope to head back in the future. We had planned on purchasing a couple of kayaks to more easily expand our destination and activity list. Some day I'd like to take a kayak out in the surf for some fun and to explore the possibility of some kayak fishing. As you all know, we received news early last year that put those plans on hold at least for a little while. For obvious reasons we didn't get any kayaking in last summer and I'm not sure yet how soon we will get back on the water, but I'm hopeful I haven't seen the last of that activity. I've uploaded a selection of pictures taken on a few of our Santa Fe River trips. While you won't really see any of it in these pictures, if you are quiet and watchful it's very common to see a vast array of wild life on a typical excursion. I've seen deer, raccoons, alligators, waterfowl, tons of fish and more turtles then you can shake a stick at.
Kayaking Photo Gallery
Well, I warned you before we started that I lacked brakes on this soap box. I really had no intention of writing a novel when I started. Luckily I believe I've avoided the traffic here at the bottom. Let's see how long it takes to drag this thing back up to the top and get ready to take it for another spin. By the way, there is a new poll up, please take the time to vote as I use that as a guide for things to write about when nothing else is going on. (it's over on the right side column)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Playing Catch-up Already...
Well, I guess I'm getting off to a bit of a rocky start in keeping timely updates on this blog. I don't have a lot of pictures to post. Now that the holidays have died down and life continues to march forward at it's unrelenting pace, the camera just doesn't seem to get brought out quite as often. Don't fret, I still understand what the core of my audience is here too see. There are a few pictures of Taylor near the end of this update. If you would like to jump ahead my feelings would not be hurt. After all, she is pretty cute, even if I am a bit biased.
For those who are still with me, I thought I would just give you a quick update of things that have happened around the household in the past couple weeks apart from Taylor. As mentioned earlier, the relentless march of time moves onward even with the addition to the family. It has little concern for the extra activities now involved in day to day living. I have petitioned to have a few more hours added to the day. Haven't heard back yet, but my hopes of a positive result are not high.
I did happen to fit in a round of golf last weekend. This is a rarity for me these days. My last time golfing was during our Thanksgiving visit with Andy & Beth in Panama City. I received a call around mid-week from a golf buddy at Turkey Creek (the course I used to belong to). He was one of the few people out there that actually carried his clubs once in a while. A high school teacher in what I would guess to be late 40's to early 50's, he would always be the one setting up the golf outings I used to go on almost weekly. He and I would also meet up and walk out a Turkey Creek, often in the evenings. Anyway, he and another one of his walking friends (another non-member) were going to walk the Municipal course on Sunday and invited me to come along.
Eager to get out on the course again I hastily accepted. Since I hadn't picked up a club in darn near 1 1/2 months I figured I should run over to Turkey Creek get a little practice in on Saturday afternoon. It felt good to be back at the club again, even if just to practice. I grabbed a large bucket and headed to the driving range... Soon I was wishing I had selected a small bucket.
In my head the swing was sound. I mean I have been doing this for 30 some odd years. It's not like I forgot how to swing a golf club. The balls sure forgot how to fly though. I skulled Sand Wedges, Fatted 8-irons, Yank Hooked 6-Irons, and Topped 3-woods and Sliced Drivers. At about the 6-Iron stage I noticed about 6-8 buzzards had started circling out near the end of the range. I thought to myself, "Is my game in that hurt of shape? Have they come to scavenge on the bones of my now deceased golf game? How am I going to play tomorrow with this?" As they worked themselves closer to me I became more frustrated with my game. There were very few solid shots to offset the putrid ones. With about 6 balls left to hit, 3 of the buzzards decended to earth about 85-90 yards down range. I grabbed my Sand Wedge tried to silence their mockery. None came close enough to make them take flight, but I was satisfied that none were skulled or fatted and all were in the general direction of my target. I then spent a little time chipping at the green in an attempt to recapture some semblance of touch. I was pleasantly satisfied that my feel hadn't totally abandoned me. With darkness settling in, I headed home.
Things actually turned out much better then I thought on Sunday. I struck the ball much better then I had on the range Saturday, and my short game was very effective. It was far from perfect and I fought my usual Hook, but I made putts when I really needed it. I ended up shooting a 38-37 for a 75. One Birdie on the Front-9 and one on the Back-9. It sure is a crazy game, If I had to predict my score on the Range the night before I would have guessed maybe an 85-90.
Operation Hickory Tree: In the last update I foolishly declared myself the winner vs. one of my many adversaries, the Hickory Tree. Perhaps I should clarify with some background information. For some reason unbeknown to me, (either in an epic failure of foresight, or an incredible act of vindictiveness) someone in the past of this homestead planted about 6-8 hickory trees surrounding our house. Starting late each summer and extending on into early winter our yard turns into a virtual battlefield. The nuts are rock hard and almost golf ball sized. During the fall you can hear them slam down onto our roof. When I mow the lawn it often sounds as if I'm mowing a gravel pit. They attract a plethora of gray squirrels which feed on the nuts leaving shells and half eaten nuts scattered over everything. On the plus side the trees are very attractive, on the negative side... well I don't have time to cover all that. There was one tree in particular that really chapped my hide. This one was a very large beautiful tree that forked at it's base and formed two large sweeping trees that framed our house on the left side of the driveway. Yes, the driveway... both of the canopies hung directly over our driveway. Now we only have a single carport (where another hickory tree has staked it's claim of destruction.) which basically means we have a non functional driveway for 3/4 of the year. Sure, we parked there once in a while. We both have the hail like pot marks on our vehicles to prove it. I tried to look back through my old photos to find a picture of the tree, but I seem to have subconsciously framed it out of every picture I've taken around that area of the house. My hatred for this tree must run deeper then even I imagined.
Anyway, one December day, while Linda and Taylor were back home visiting family, I get a knock on the door from the neighbor across the street. She says there are some tree people doing work at her place, she would see if I could get a deal on dropping our tree since she knew we wanted to do so at some point. They said they would fell the tree for $100 and leave the clean-up to me (which I wanted because it was a chance to get some firewood free of charge). The neighbor said "Merry Christmas, I'll put in $50 if you want to do it." Well, this service doesn't usually come cheap so I jumped at the opportunity to get to the ground for $50 out of pocket. They proceeded to drop the tree and cut the trunk to clear our driveway. They packed up and left and I now realized I basically had 2 very large trees laying in my front yard.
With a quick phone call to Nate and Carol, I procured a chainsaw to begin my dissection. Through back spasms and sore muscles I separated limb from trunk, stick from limb, and twig from stick. Saving almost everything 1" diameter and larger, this process lasted almost two weeks, often with periods of downtime for recovery. Some will be used for a back yard fire pit I plan to build, the rest will be used in the fireplace. Well, when I finally had completed the dissection. A pile of twigs and sticks on the "curb" ready for pick up, the rest of the tree cut down to size and stacked according to size, I foolishly declared myself the winner. Little did I know the Hickory Tree had only begun to fight. I'm now faced with a stack of very large, very strong chunks of hickory that needs to be split. My tools have switched from gasoline powered chains to granola bar powered pains. I have a splitting axe, a splitting maul and a small sledge hammer. I've done this before, but never with a tree this vindictive. After 6-8 swings with the splitting axe, each one bouncing off a moderately sized selection of wood, I noticed the only effect my of my effort was to give the wood surface a certain corduroy effect. It was at this point I realized I had only won the opening battle. The winner of the war was and still is in doubt. I'm thinking I may need to succumb to the arms race and rent a wood splitter. Updates will be given as events transpire.
Here are some pictures taken throughout the process of dissecting the tree. There are no pictures of Taylor out helping me, so don't expect any cute smiles on this link.
Operation Hickory Tree
It's now January 20th and our Christmas decorations still are not completely down and put away. Part of it is just a lack of uninterrupted time to complete a task. Part of it is that the decorations really look nice and it's such a shame to rush them back off to storage.
There is no long drawn out story about this small segment. Just an appreciation from me to Linda. While it is a joint effort each year with each of us having our assigned areas, Linda coordinates the effort and does all the finishing details to pull everything together. My job is to hang the greenery and lights, decorate the top of the china cabinet and get the tree ready for Linda to decorate. She pretty much takes it from there and I must say each year it looks even better.
I decided to take a few pictures of main decorated areas to share with family and friends unable to visit during the Holidays.
Christmas Decorations 2008
No discussion could be complete without mention one of the more significant events in our household on the start of this new year.
National Champions!!!
One thing I love about living in Gainesville is the quality of college athletics we are able to follow each year. Make no doubt about it Gainesville is a college town. Granted it's a large town, but then it's a large University. I first moved to Gainesville in the early spring of 1996. That first year here was an initiation into college athletics like I've never seen before. The passion for the home team runs deep and since I never really had connection to any other team I quickly became a fan. That first year started with the bang of a National Championship with Danny Wuerffel at the helm. While football reigns supreme in the south I quickly found out that no matter what time of year there is always some championship caliber sporting event to follow. Dad and I used to always go to some Basketball game during his visits. The program was still building with Donnovan and tickets were more plentiful then football. He really enjoyed those games and became an interested observer of Gator athletics. We would talk about games on the phone at times. I always wished I could have gotten him into a big football game in The Swamp. Nothing I've done has ever matched the atmosphere of a bigtime game in The Swamp. The collective roar of 90,000 rabid fans is a sight to behold.
Over the years my attachment to the program grew. Even though I moved to Gainesville years after my college days were over, I definitely feel a connection with the team. For me they aren't an alma mater (would love to have attended, they even have a great Architectural Program) but they are my home team. With that said, the last few years have been something of a dream. Back-to-back Basketball Championships in '06 and '07 sandwhiched around a Football Championship in '06. Then when the Gators took break, the Kansas Jayhawks win the Basketball Championship in '08. Now we've just experienced another Football Championship. Needless to say it's been Utopia for a sports fan. Thankfully Linda, as someone who is quite the fan herself, is fully supportive of my passion. Her true sports passions lies with Jayhawk Basketball but she really roots on the home team as well!
I'm already excited about spring practice coming up then the Orange & Blue Game (final scrimmage of spring practice that usually draws 40-50,000 people). Next year should be fun. But first there is Basketball Season, then maybe I will start watching some more Baseball. When Taylor gets a little older we can go see very good girls athletics in Gymnastics, Volleyball and Soccer. I'm sure I may even get her into some games in The Swamp!
Speaking of Taylor. For those who read through this entire posting, here's a few pictures for your trouble. As I stated to start this update there are not that many, but it's a nice sample.
Early January Taylor Pictures.
For those who are still with me, I thought I would just give you a quick update of things that have happened around the household in the past couple weeks apart from Taylor. As mentioned earlier, the relentless march of time moves onward even with the addition to the family. It has little concern for the extra activities now involved in day to day living. I have petitioned to have a few more hours added to the day. Haven't heard back yet, but my hopes of a positive result are not high.
I did happen to fit in a round of golf last weekend. This is a rarity for me these days. My last time golfing was during our Thanksgiving visit with Andy & Beth in Panama City. I received a call around mid-week from a golf buddy at Turkey Creek (the course I used to belong to). He was one of the few people out there that actually carried his clubs once in a while. A high school teacher in what I would guess to be late 40's to early 50's, he would always be the one setting up the golf outings I used to go on almost weekly. He and I would also meet up and walk out a Turkey Creek, often in the evenings. Anyway, he and another one of his walking friends (another non-member) were going to walk the Municipal course on Sunday and invited me to come along.
Eager to get out on the course again I hastily accepted. Since I hadn't picked up a club in darn near 1 1/2 months I figured I should run over to Turkey Creek get a little practice in on Saturday afternoon. It felt good to be back at the club again, even if just to practice. I grabbed a large bucket and headed to the driving range... Soon I was wishing I had selected a small bucket.
In my head the swing was sound. I mean I have been doing this for 30 some odd years. It's not like I forgot how to swing a golf club. The balls sure forgot how to fly though. I skulled Sand Wedges, Fatted 8-irons, Yank Hooked 6-Irons, and Topped 3-woods and Sliced Drivers. At about the 6-Iron stage I noticed about 6-8 buzzards had started circling out near the end of the range. I thought to myself, "Is my game in that hurt of shape? Have they come to scavenge on the bones of my now deceased golf game? How am I going to play tomorrow with this?" As they worked themselves closer to me I became more frustrated with my game. There were very few solid shots to offset the putrid ones. With about 6 balls left to hit, 3 of the buzzards decended to earth about 85-90 yards down range. I grabbed my Sand Wedge tried to silence their mockery. None came close enough to make them take flight, but I was satisfied that none were skulled or fatted and all were in the general direction of my target. I then spent a little time chipping at the green in an attempt to recapture some semblance of touch. I was pleasantly satisfied that my feel hadn't totally abandoned me. With darkness settling in, I headed home.
Things actually turned out much better then I thought on Sunday. I struck the ball much better then I had on the range Saturday, and my short game was very effective. It was far from perfect and I fought my usual Hook, but I made putts when I really needed it. I ended up shooting a 38-37 for a 75. One Birdie on the Front-9 and one on the Back-9. It sure is a crazy game, If I had to predict my score on the Range the night before I would have guessed maybe an 85-90.
Operation Hickory Tree: In the last update I foolishly declared myself the winner vs. one of my many adversaries, the Hickory Tree. Perhaps I should clarify with some background information. For some reason unbeknown to me, (either in an epic failure of foresight, or an incredible act of vindictiveness) someone in the past of this homestead planted about 6-8 hickory trees surrounding our house. Starting late each summer and extending on into early winter our yard turns into a virtual battlefield. The nuts are rock hard and almost golf ball sized. During the fall you can hear them slam down onto our roof. When I mow the lawn it often sounds as if I'm mowing a gravel pit. They attract a plethora of gray squirrels which feed on the nuts leaving shells and half eaten nuts scattered over everything. On the plus side the trees are very attractive, on the negative side... well I don't have time to cover all that. There was one tree in particular that really chapped my hide. This one was a very large beautiful tree that forked at it's base and formed two large sweeping trees that framed our house on the left side of the driveway. Yes, the driveway... both of the canopies hung directly over our driveway. Now we only have a single carport (where another hickory tree has staked it's claim of destruction.) which basically means we have a non functional driveway for 3/4 of the year. Sure, we parked there once in a while. We both have the hail like pot marks on our vehicles to prove it. I tried to look back through my old photos to find a picture of the tree, but I seem to have subconsciously framed it out of every picture I've taken around that area of the house. My hatred for this tree must run deeper then even I imagined.Anyway, one December day, while Linda and Taylor were back home visiting family, I get a knock on the door from the neighbor across the street. She says there are some tree people doing work at her place, she would see if I could get a deal on dropping our tree since she knew we wanted to do so at some point. They said they would fell the tree for $100 and leave the clean-up to me (which I wanted because it was a chance to get some firewood free of charge). The neighbor said "Merry Christmas, I'll put in $50 if you want to do it." Well, this service doesn't usually come cheap so I jumped at the opportunity to get to the ground for $50 out of pocket. They proceeded to drop the tree and cut the trunk to clear our driveway. They packed up and left and I now realized I basically had 2 very large trees laying in my front yard.
With a quick phone call to Nate and Carol, I procured a chainsaw to begin my dissection. Through back spasms and sore muscles I separated limb from trunk, stick from limb, and twig from stick. Saving almost everything 1" diameter and larger, this process lasted almost two weeks, often with periods of downtime for recovery. Some will be used for a back yard fire pit I plan to build, the rest will be used in the fireplace. Well, when I finally had completed the dissection. A pile of twigs and sticks on the "curb" ready for pick up, the rest of the tree cut down to size and stacked according to size, I foolishly declared myself the winner. Little did I know the Hickory Tree had only begun to fight. I'm now faced with a stack of very large, very strong chunks of hickory that needs to be split. My tools have switched from gasoline powered chains to granola bar powered pains. I have a splitting axe, a splitting maul and a small sledge hammer. I've done this before, but never with a tree this vindictive. After 6-8 swings with the splitting axe, each one bouncing off a moderately sized selection of wood, I noticed the only effect my of my effort was to give the wood surface a certain corduroy effect. It was at this point I realized I had only won the opening battle. The winner of the war was and still is in doubt. I'm thinking I may need to succumb to the arms race and rent a wood splitter. Updates will be given as events transpire.
Here are some pictures taken throughout the process of dissecting the tree. There are no pictures of Taylor out helping me, so don't expect any cute smiles on this link.
Operation Hickory Tree
It's now January 20th and our Christmas decorations still are not completely down and put away. Part of it is just a lack of uninterrupted time to complete a task. Part of it is that the decorations really look nice and it's such a shame to rush them back off to storage.There is no long drawn out story about this small segment. Just an appreciation from me to Linda. While it is a joint effort each year with each of us having our assigned areas, Linda coordinates the effort and does all the finishing details to pull everything together. My job is to hang the greenery and lights, decorate the top of the china cabinet and get the tree ready for Linda to decorate. She pretty much takes it from there and I must say each year it looks even better.
I decided to take a few pictures of main decorated areas to share with family and friends unable to visit during the Holidays.
Christmas Decorations 2008
No discussion could be complete without mention one of the more significant events in our household on the start of this new year.National Champions!!!
One thing I love about living in Gainesville is the quality of college athletics we are able to follow each year. Make no doubt about it Gainesville is a college town. Granted it's a large town, but then it's a large University. I first moved to Gainesville in the early spring of 1996. That first year here was an initiation into college athletics like I've never seen before. The passion for the home team runs deep and since I never really had connection to any other team I quickly became a fan. That first year started with the bang of a National Championship with Danny Wuerffel at the helm. While football reigns supreme in the south I quickly found out that no matter what time of year there is always some championship caliber sporting event to follow. Dad and I used to always go to some Basketball game during his visits. The program was still building with Donnovan and tickets were more plentiful then football. He really enjoyed those games and became an interested observer of Gator athletics. We would talk about games on the phone at times. I always wished I could have gotten him into a big football game in The Swamp. Nothing I've done has ever matched the atmosphere of a bigtime game in The Swamp. The collective roar of 90,000 rabid fans is a sight to behold.
Over the years my attachment to the program grew. Even though I moved to Gainesville years after my college days were over, I definitely feel a connection with the team. For me they aren't an alma mater (would love to have attended, they even have a great Architectural Program) but they are my home team. With that said, the last few years have been something of a dream. Back-to-back Basketball Championships in '06 and '07 sandwhiched around a Football Championship in '06. Then when the Gators took break, the Kansas Jayhawks win the Basketball Championship in '08. Now we've just experienced another Football Championship. Needless to say it's been Utopia for a sports fan. Thankfully Linda, as someone who is quite the fan herself, is fully supportive of my passion. Her true sports passions lies with Jayhawk Basketball but she really roots on the home team as well!
I'm already excited about spring practice coming up then the Orange & Blue Game (final scrimmage of spring practice that usually draws 40-50,000 people). Next year should be fun. But first there is Basketball Season, then maybe I will start watching some more Baseball. When Taylor gets a little older we can go see very good girls athletics in Gymnastics, Volleyball and Soccer. I'm sure I may even get her into some games in The Swamp!
Speaking of Taylor. For those who read through this entire posting, here's a few pictures for your trouble. As I stated to start this update there are not that many, but it's a nice sample.
Early January Taylor Pictures.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
Before ringing in the New Year, I'll hit on a few highlights over the last week of the old;
I caught Taylor in a moment with her new friend. Her new friend doesn't have a name yet, at least one I'm able to pronounce, I'll update that information as more becomes available. As it is with friends they shared some secrets, shared some laughs. There were some rough patches but in the end friendship won out.
"Inside info from your Tour Guide" (An explanation of things you may notice if you stare at these pictures too long.)
Yes, I was in clear violation of official Bumbo seat protocol by having Taylor on my desk, but I was right with her at all times and she can't move on her own yet. You'll also notice a common theme in many of our photographic backdrops. An unfinished project. In this case we are seeing an unpainted door and trim from the walk-in closet I added to the office when we went from a 2 PC, to a 1 PC and 1 Laptop home. Also another unfortunate theme would be the unkempt desk. For that I have no defense. As for the door, there will come a day... I can see it clearly in my head. In that vision all my tools are organized, the unkempt has become kempt. I often spend an afternoon putting the finishing touches on a project that has accumulated on my to-do list over the past couple of years...
Back to reality and a current project. I was out in the front yard getting in touch with my roots. Paying homage to the local lore of my childhood, I was playing the part of Paul Bunyan. Nearing completion of Stage 2, Operation Hickory Tree, Linda came outside and told me she was heading for a short walk with Taylor. I just had to stop what I was doing to snap a few pictures. They looked quite the stylish pair. Following this post's trend of unfinished projects, you'll notice branches and debris containers littering the front yard. Perhaps when the job is complete it will warrant a brief discussion in this locale. For now I will just give two personal messages on Operation Hickory Tree.
To Nate and Carol: "Thank you for the use of your chainsaw."
To the Hickory Tree: "I win."
On the last day of 2008 we were set to go out with style. We held three coveted invitations to ring in the new year at Club Dungan and festivities were set to kick off at 6:30. After assembling enough supplies to survive a short camping trip, we arrived fashionably late at 7:00. The atmosphere was great and the KU bowl game was showing on the big screen.
After some conversation over good food, we cheered on as the Jayhawks emerged victorious in their bowl conquest. Nate and Carol were very generous in their support for KU when you take into consideration they are Nebraska and K-State fans. Following the game we were treated to some floor entertainment. While no lampshades were worn as fashion accessories, things did get a little risque. I think I saw a little flirting going on, although I remained on top of the situation.
"Inside info from your Tour Guide"
You'll notice that since these pictures were not taken at the Batten homestead there are no unfinished projects in the background to point out. I will say some will notice something different in my appearance. Yes, currently I have something on my chin. I'm still uncertain how long I will keep it, although I have received a few positive remarks. Linda and Taylor both like it at the moment. Taylor seems to enjoy reaching out and trying to pull it, Linda enjoys showing Taylor the proper technique.
We didn't make it to 2009 at Club Dungan. With 1/3 the guest list already crashed, and the other 2/3 hitting the rumble strips, we headed toward home at 11:30. The new year starting with Linda and I watching the ball drop our back TV. Taylor, half awake only because she had just recently been removed from her car seat, resting her head on Mommy's shoulder while rubbing her eyes, trying to muster the energy to cry about it. Some overly hyped celebrity (I can never keep up with them) announced it was 2009. I got a kiss from my Bride and gave a kiss to my Daughter...
Then we had to go change Taylor's diaper and put her in some dry clothes for bed, before getting ready and dragging ourselves to the same destination. We arrived early in the first hour of 2009.
Now that it's Jan 1st 2009 it's time to make those resolutions. I never really made any before, or never attempted to keep any at the very least. This year I've decided to change that. Creating this blog has caused me to talk to more people about more things than I have in at least my last 20 years, if not my entire life. I'll resolve to keep building on the events of the past few weeks and to keep updating this blog as long as someone is interested in reading it.
Following the link below will take you to see more pictures of Taylor visiting with her friend, Linda and Taylor heading out for a walk, and the New Years Eve party at Club Dungan. Hope you enjoy!
Picture Gallery
Here's hoping everyone had a safe and worry free Holiday Season.
I caught Taylor in a moment with her new friend. Her new friend doesn't have a name yet, at least one I'm able to pronounce, I'll update that information as more becomes available. As it is with friends they shared some secrets, shared some laughs. There were some rough patches but in the end friendship won out."Inside info from your Tour Guide" (An explanation of things you may notice if you stare at these pictures too long.)
Yes, I was in clear violation of official Bumbo seat protocol by having Taylor on my desk, but I was right with her at all times and she can't move on her own yet. You'll also notice a common theme in many of our photographic backdrops. An unfinished project. In this case we are seeing an unpainted door and trim from the walk-in closet I added to the office when we went from a 2 PC, to a 1 PC and 1 Laptop home. Also another unfortunate theme would be the unkempt desk. For that I have no defense. As for the door, there will come a day... I can see it clearly in my head. In that vision all my tools are organized, the unkempt has become kempt. I often spend an afternoon putting the finishing touches on a project that has accumulated on my to-do list over the past couple of years...
Back to reality and a current project. I was out in the front yard getting in touch with my roots. Paying homage to the local lore of my childhood, I was playing the part of Paul Bunyan. Nearing completion of Stage 2, Operation Hickory Tree, Linda came outside and told me she was heading for a short walk with Taylor. I just had to stop what I was doing to snap a few pictures. They looked quite the stylish pair. Following this post's trend of unfinished projects, you'll notice branches and debris containers littering the front yard. Perhaps when the job is complete it will warrant a brief discussion in this locale. For now I will just give two personal messages on Operation Hickory Tree.To Nate and Carol: "Thank you for the use of your chainsaw."
To the Hickory Tree: "I win."
On the last day of 2008 we were set to go out with style. We held three coveted invitations to ring in the new year at Club Dungan and festivities were set to kick off at 6:30. After assembling enough supplies to survive a short camping trip, we arrived fashionably late at 7:00. The atmosphere was great and the KU bowl game was showing on the big screen.After some conversation over good food, we cheered on as the Jayhawks emerged victorious in their bowl conquest. Nate and Carol were very generous in their support for KU when you take into consideration they are Nebraska and K-State fans. Following the game we were treated to some floor entertainment. While no lampshades were worn as fashion accessories, things did get a little risque. I think I saw a little flirting going on, although I remained on top of the situation.
"Inside info from your Tour Guide"
You'll notice that since these pictures were not taken at the Batten homestead there are no unfinished projects in the background to point out. I will say some will notice something different in my appearance. Yes, currently I have something on my chin. I'm still uncertain how long I will keep it, although I have received a few positive remarks. Linda and Taylor both like it at the moment. Taylor seems to enjoy reaching out and trying to pull it, Linda enjoys showing Taylor the proper technique.
We didn't make it to 2009 at Club Dungan. With 1/3 the guest list already crashed, and the other 2/3 hitting the rumble strips, we headed toward home at 11:30. The new year starting with Linda and I watching the ball drop our back TV. Taylor, half awake only because she had just recently been removed from her car seat, resting her head on Mommy's shoulder while rubbing her eyes, trying to muster the energy to cry about it. Some overly hyped celebrity (I can never keep up with them) announced it was 2009. I got a kiss from my Bride and gave a kiss to my Daughter...
Then we had to go change Taylor's diaper and put her in some dry clothes for bed, before getting ready and dragging ourselves to the same destination. We arrived early in the first hour of 2009.
Now that it's Jan 1st 2009 it's time to make those resolutions. I never really made any before, or never attempted to keep any at the very least. This year I've decided to change that. Creating this blog has caused me to talk to more people about more things than I have in at least my last 20 years, if not my entire life. I'll resolve to keep building on the events of the past few weeks and to keep updating this blog as long as someone is interested in reading it.
Following the link below will take you to see more pictures of Taylor visiting with her friend, Linda and Taylor heading out for a walk, and the New Years Eve party at Club Dungan. Hope you enjoy!
Picture Gallery
Here's hoping everyone had a safe and worry free Holiday Season.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Eve
Just a few quick thoughts and a wish of Merry Christmas to all.We spent some time a few days ago trying to take some pictures of Taylor. That is always hit or miss. Well, more towards the miss side of the bell curve. But, we do usually get a couple of suitable shots littered among the many "Calvin" impersonations.
The Christmas setting was a lot more difficult then the nice outdoor Halloween setting sitting on Mommy's lap. Between lighting issues more complex then my already Season of Joy seared brain capacity could comprehend, and the desire to photograph Taylor sitting in front of a festive backdrop before she had actually learned the skill of sitting, the deck was stacked against us. I really feel for all the parents who came before me, the ones who had to take baby pictures with *gulp* film. I would give up after the 3rd trip back from the drug store. I've come to appreciate why I only have a handful of photographs of myself as a baby. Dad must have done me the favor of removing my "Calvin" shots.
Taylor has had it pretty easy so far. I've been pretty good, deleting most of the damaging evidence I may one day feel compelled to show a suitor. I could not remove them all from the Christmas photo shoot or I would be left without evidence of it's occurrence. I did take a couple that caught my eye and played into the imperfections, kind of an artsy approach such as the one leading this article.
With that, I release the rest of the naked truth of:
Taylor's Christmas Photo Shoot.
You may notice one submission has a peculiar caption. This is the first prose of Taylor. She was sitting on my lap while I was editing the photo, she started playing with the keyboard and titled the photo without my knowledge. I saw the work a bit later and decided I just could not erase it. How will my refrigerator survive her trek through school? I have a phobia of my refrigerator being overrun... I am starting to wonder if I will mind. I'd like to think we can find some medium ground on the issue.
All this and we still haven't gone through Christmas Morning and Christmas Day. It ought to be interesting. Maybe that will be another topic. I hope your day goes (or went as the case may be) well.
*I trust that these pictures are being released to friends and will not be used in any way against Taylor. That's strictly Dad's domain, and only if she really deserves it!*
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
"How was halloween?" "Not too bad, Taylor went Trick-or-Treating."
Taylor 
isn't able to speak. This definitely does not mean she is unable to get her point across. Her first Halloween saw her as a Bumble Bee. Truth be told it was she was going to be a Sheep, a Pumpkin, or a Bumble Bee... cause that's what they had. She already had acquired enough lamb stuff that I grew concerned she may develop Species Confusion, and you just knew everyone was going to put their little one in a 0-3 mos. sized pumpkin outfit. I think we made the right choice.
Linda of course was anxious to show her off to our next door and across the street neighbors. Our neighbor across the street talked Linda into heading out to the surrounding neighborhood to do some trick-or-treating. They had fun, met some people out in the Subdivision, and got a Decent sized bag of treats. All 3 seemed to really enjoy themselves and Taylor was a big hit with all the houses. Everyone was excited to meet her.
For those that don't know, we live in a little area that was built 20 years before the surrounding area. So to we go through a Subdivision to get to our house, but we don't actually live in it. We actually live down what looks to be a Limestone service road. There are 6 houses total back here situated between the Subdivision and a Public Library that sets on other side of a creek and large stand of woods from our houses . 3 of those houses were all built at the same time, they all sit along a 100 yd. dead end lane, we are the 1st house on the right. So really it's like we are in a neighborhood of 3 houses and both our neighbors are great. Sometime, I will get a post up about our house and neighborhood. I think it may add some more character to subsequent posts if you know where I am living. Let's put it this way; We live in the middle of a large Residential / Business area of Gainesville, yet we have above ground wires and private wells. Our location is by far the best part of our house and nothing can really encroach on our little oasis.
Anyway... Here's a link to some pictures of Taylor in her outfit. She had a nice little photo shoot, told us she was done, and then got a little rest.
Taylor's Halloween Photo Shoot
*Disclaimer: These pictures did not occur exactly on Halloween. Credit shout be given to Grandmom for keeping on us enough to get these taken before she out grew the outfit.
The only one taken on Halloween is of Taylor sleeping. We did get some indoor ones, but the outfit just doesn't translate to indoor flash photography. At least not with our lighting.*
isn't able to speak. This definitely does not mean she is unable to get her point across. Her first Halloween saw her as a Bumble Bee. Truth be told it was she was going to be a Sheep, a Pumpkin, or a Bumble Bee... cause that's what they had. She already had acquired enough lamb stuff that I grew concerned she may develop Species Confusion, and you just knew everyone was going to put their little one in a 0-3 mos. sized pumpkin outfit. I think we made the right choice.Linda of course was anxious to show her off to our next door and across the street neighbors. Our neighbor across the street talked Linda into heading out to the surrounding neighborhood to do some trick-or-treating. They had fun, met some people out in the Subdivision, and got a Decent sized bag of treats. All 3 seemed to really enjoy themselves and Taylor was a big hit with all the houses. Everyone was excited to meet her.
For those that don't know, we live in a little area that was built 20 years before the surrounding area. So to we go through a Subdivision to get to our house, but we don't actually live in it. We actually live down what looks to be a Limestone service road. There are 6 houses total back here situated between the Subdivision and a Public Library that sets on other side of a creek and large stand of woods from our houses . 3 of those houses were all built at the same time, they all sit along a 100 yd. dead end lane, we are the 1st house on the right. So really it's like we are in a neighborhood of 3 houses and both our neighbors are great. Sometime, I will get a post up about our house and neighborhood. I think it may add some more character to subsequent posts if you know where I am living. Let's put it this way; We live in the middle of a large Residential / Business area of Gainesville, yet we have above ground wires and private wells. Our location is by far the best part of our house and nothing can really encroach on our little oasis.
Anyway... Here's a link to some pictures of Taylor in her outfit. She had a nice little photo shoot, told us she was done, and then got a little rest.
Taylor's Halloween Photo Shoot
*Disclaimer: These pictures did not occur exactly on Halloween. Credit shout be given to Grandmom for keeping on us enough to get these taken before she out grew the outfit.
The only one taken on Halloween is of Taylor sleeping. We did get some indoor ones, but the outfit just doesn't translate to indoor flash photography. At least not with our lighting.*
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