Photo Friday: Babies!

November 21, 2014November 22, 20142 Comments

frankie Last Sunday, Cricket’s godmother had her first baby, a little boy named for his father and his grandfathers. Yesterday, we stopped by to visit on our way home from the funeral. Baby is too cute, and looks just like his daddy.

I don’t think it’s quite registered with Cricket what this means yet. While we were there, his godmother didn’t hold baby for more than a minute or two, up until a nurse came for baby’s check-up. But Cricket is rather possessive of her, and when he realizes that his room at their house is no longer his but baby’s, and that he’ll have to share his godmother with someone else from now on, I wonder how he’ll take it. I’m expecting a lot of tears, at least until he gets used to baby.

I hope he’ll surprise me. I hope he’ll prove me wrong and be the best godsibling ever.

I had a heck of a time trying to get Seymour to let me have my turn holding the little guy. I miss the days when my boys were that little – they were quiet, and still, and let me snuggle them as much as I wanted. Now they’re too big and/or too intent on moving to let me snuggle them for long, unless they’re sick, as Thumper is. Poor guy stayed home with Daddy today and got lots of good cuddle time.

What do you miss about your children’s baby days?

Time for another review!

November 21, 20143 Comments

Earlier this fall, I signed up to participate in a blog tour for Glass House Press. I volunteered to read and review a novella by Mary Fan called Tell Me My Name. But there were a couple of glitches, because computers rock, and I didn’t get the file until the day my post was supposed to go live.

But! I’ve finally managed to find enough spare moments to sit down and read this fantastic novella, and now I’ve got the scoop on what it’s all about. The blurb:

In Mary Fan’s second novella for Glass House Press, a girl wakes up in an icy cell, alone and frightened. She has no memory of who she is or how she came to be there.

She does know that she must get out, at all costs. And that escape must start with remembering…

Photo 365 #106: Landscape

November 21, 201415 Comments

I love landscapes. I think the majority of pictures I take are either of my kids or landscapes (49% landscapes, 49% kids, 2% other). Iowa is such a beautiful place that I can’t help whipping out my camera (either of them) and capturing the glories of nature.

quixotic

As previously mentioned, I also love sunsets. The arrival of snow is seriously hindering my ability to capture them through the break in the trees that form the western borderline of our property.

I may or may not have mentioned, however, that I’m not fond of the wind farms that are springing up all over the area (seriously, I can’t remember if I’ve talked about it or not). There’s one that stretches for a good ten miles south of where I live, and the blinking red line on the night horizon is one I find quite annoying. Now there’s another one that mars the northern horizon on my way to work. If this keeps up, I’ll be living in the middle of a wind farm inside of ten years.

Still, I do like the silhouettes these particular turbines made against the darkening night sky. And I love the hint of blurriness evident near the horizon and the edges of the turbine blades; it makes the whole scene feel a bit dreamy and surreal. When I took this picture, I was reminded of Don Quixote tilting at windmills, and I love it when nature makes me think of books.

What do your favorite landscape photos depict?