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Zoom In, Zoom Out on Three!

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It’s the last Wednesday, the last day of 2014, and my 53rd Zoom In, Zoom Out pairing. I’ve loved this project and send many thanks to Helena for hosting it this year. I’m looking forward to next year’s pairings which you can read about here.

We’ve been in Chicago for the last four days. We celebrated Christmas with Sarah, Adam, and Caleb when we arrived, and yesterday was a day-long celebration of Caleb’s third birthday. Rather than opening all his gifts from his parents and two sets of grandparents, we spaced them out over the day. He was delighted with them all.

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Caleb wanted a Thomas the Train cake, and luckily a local grocery store was able to accommodate him.

Here are a few other faves from yesterday.

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Caleb woke up to this great poster drawn by his dad, and balloons on the stairway and on his chair at the table.

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This was one of his favorite gifts (and his grandpa’s, too.) Both Sarah and Adam and Tracy and I bought track sets that work together to produce this amazing spread with three motorized cars that zip around the track, over the hills, and through the tunnel. There are endless combinations, and he and Grandpa have created at least four different variations over the last day and a half.

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Another big hit was a huge collection of matchbox cars we found at B.J.s. I couldn’t resist and wasn’t sure Sarah would appreciate them, but she found a Superman lunch box and all 64 cars fit right in it.

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Have the Happiest of New Year’s and best wishes for a wonderful 2015! 

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Sunset

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In a bizarre twist on the weather, it was 57° here today. Tracy and I walked over to the new College Town near the University of Rochester for lunch, and really didn’t need our jackets. Just an hour ago, I heard our mail carrier start up our street. She’s the best mail carrier we’ve ever had, and we’ve been hoping to catch her with a small gift of thanks for the last several days. As I looked out the window, this is what I saw. So I grabbed my camera on the way out.
 
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Fortunately for all the holiday travelers, the weather is supposed to stay warm and relatively calm through the weekend. We’ll be here for Christmas, but we’re headed to Chicago over the weekend.
 
You can find more ZIZO pairs on Helena’s blog here.

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Christmas Tree

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Here we are at Week 51 of Zoom In, Zoom Out. I was happy to see that Helena’s planning to host another photography meme for 2015. This one will be a little looser, and I’m trying to decide if I want to limit myself to one specific kind of photo, or just post a pair each week. I have another two weeks to think about it.

Last year, we broke a 40+ year tradition and bought an artificial tree. I never thought I could do that, but in reality it’s the only thing that makes sense since we leave right after Christmas to drive to Chicago to celebrate there. Having to dismantle the Christmas decorations in just a day is more than I want to contemplate after hosting Christmas dinner the night before. I have to admit, I love this tree. The Zoom Out photo had little white spots when I uploaded it, and it took me a minute to realize they’re reflections of the lights. What you can’t see in the photo, are the subtle twinkling lights that came with the tree. Unless you really look, you’re not aware of them, but they add a touch of festivity to the tree.

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Our tree is covered with ornaments we’ve collected from our travels and many that have been gifts over the years. The large one here came from the Biltmore Estate a year ago October.

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Thanks to Tracy’s help, our Christmas cookies are baked. We still need to frost the sugar cookies, and I have one more batch of candy to make and then we can assemble the cookie plates to be delivered this weekend. Aside from a couple gift card holders to make, the only big job left is wrapping presents. It’s something I enjoy doing so I’m feeling more prepared than usual. Hope your preparations are going well.

Zoom In, Zoom Out on Snowy Weather

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I took these photos about 10:00 this morning, and then left for a lovely luncheon at a friend’s house. By the time I returned we’d gotten at least five more inches. It’s beautiful, and fortunately the roads weren’t as bad as I thought they might be. I’m glad to be home before it gets dark. Most evening activites around town have been cancelled for tonight. I just heard on the news that by Friday we might have as much as 15-18 inches of snow. It’s much worse east of here. I guess winter is really here.

Out our front window:

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Out the back window on the patio:

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Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 49

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I’m trying to figure out what happens to my days. They are simply flying by too quickly, although I am truly grateful for my happy, healthy, busy life! 

A friend and I enrolled in Jane LaFazio‘s “Sketching and Watercolor:  Journal Style.” I really like Jane’s style, and am enjoying the class. This week’s assignment is sketching flowers. Tina and I both joined the Rochester Sketch group who met this afternoon at the Lamberton Conservatory at Highland Park. This public sketching was a big step for two novice sketchers, but we both agreed it was a wonderful outing. The folks in the group couldn’t have been nicer or more supportive. 

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The Lamberton is all decked out for Christmas, and I took the opportunity to get the Week 49 Zoom In, Zoom Out photos. I had a different set in mind, but it hadn’t happened yet. Probably this week, for Week 50. (How is it possible that there are only three weeks left for this project?) I’ve truly enjoyed Helena’s meme this year.

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It’s another busy week ahead:  lots still on the To Do list, and many social engagements. December is a time when all my friends want to get together, and I just let everything else go. Connections and relationships are always #1 for me, and especially so during the holidays. Hope your preparations are coming right along!

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on Ella

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It’s already a blessed Thanksgiving holiday. Matt and Betsy welcomed Ella Renee at 9:20 Monday morning. She weighed in at 9 lbs. 9 oz. and 20.5 inches long. If her first two days are any indication, she’s going to be a good baby! Skylar seems very happy to be a big sister, but wasn’t quite ready to sit for a photo with the new little sister.

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As I write this (late Tuesday evening), Sarah, Adam, and Caleb are about two hours away from Rochester. Soon both my kids will be in the same town for four days—always a reason to celebrate.

We’ll be joining Tracy’s family at my sister-in-law’s on Thursday for our annual feast and family fun, and spending lots of time with our immediate family through the weekend. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope it a wonderful holiday, filled with love and good times!

Zoom In, Zoom Out On Something Wrong

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I don’t think we’re supposed to get snow when some of the trees have yet to lose any of their leaves. But that’s what happened this week. And I’m not complaining, because we ended up with just a couple inches over two days, and Buffalo (60 miles to our west) has up to 6 feet of snow! I was lazy and didn’t get out to take photos early in the morning when it was much more beautiful, but here’s what the street looked like early in the afternoon.

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Even after two days of snow and wind, most of the leaves on these trees and others on the street are still on the tree!

See more of what’s happening up close around the globe on Helena’s blog!

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Mastodon

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This afternoon I went to the Rochester Museum and Science Center on a sketching assignment. I can’t say I was terribly happy with my progress for the assignment, but I did enjoy wandering around the museum. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been there. The mastodon exhibit is quite something. About 15 years ago or so, mastodon bones were found in a field not far from Rochester. My neighbor is a palentologist, and the Director of Collections at the museum. He was responsible for the excavation of the skeleton.  After it was completed, he came to talk to my fifth graders who were absolutely fascinated by his experience—and the bones he brought to show them!

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I just had my iPhone with me, and couldn’t get a good zoom in of the skeleton, but was more successful with the model Mastodon across the way.

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The two men walking by the exhibit give a good sense of the size of the mastodon.

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It’s hard to imagine a herd of mastodons roaming about in this area, but indeed, they did.

Head over to Helena’s blog for more Zoom In, Zoom Out photos!

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Fall Hydrangea

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It’s been a wild, hardly been home, wet (with snow showers!) week. Finally, yesterday morning Tracy and I got out for a walk and I brought my camera hoping for a good subject for ZIZO. I found it in a neighbor’s yard: their beautiful oak leaf hydrangea.

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I’m looking forward to a week that’s a bit quieter, but still too busy, and time to get to some sketching assignments, some Christmas cards, and Project Life. It’s been way too long since I’ve had consistent time in my studio. Hope you’ve had a great weekend. Take time to pop over to Helena’s blog for more Zoom In, Zoom Out pairings.

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Pumpkin Patch

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On Wednesday afternoons, I volunteer at an after school program in the inner city. Typically, I help 4th, 5th, and 6th graders with their homework, but this afternoon the whole center (K-6) went on a field trip to a local farm market’s Halloween pumpkin patch.

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When you enter the teepees (there are three connected ones) you enter a totally dark area lit only with rows and rows of creatively carved jack-o-lanterns. They sit on shelves from the middle of the teepee to the top. No way to get a photo, but it was pretty impressive.

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The farm market also gives hay rides through a Halloween-themed route around the property.

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The kids all came home with a small pumpkin and had an apple (most were eaten there.) They seemed to have a great time, and hopefully, they’ll get their homework done at home tonight!

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Vineyards

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On our way home from Chicago, we met our friends for our annual weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a Shaw Festival show (this year a fabulous production of “Caberet,”) and a visit to a few of our favorite wineries. It was a chilly, gray day, but the expected rain didn’t appear so we felt very fortunate.

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You can find Helena’s beautiful reflections right here, as well as the other ZIZO pairings for Week 43.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Playground

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We had a great trip, but I’m glad to be home and settling into our usual routines. It was raining most of the time we were in Chicago, but we did manage to get an hour or so in at the wonderful playground in Deerfield one day. When I asked Caleb what he’d like to do with us when we got to Chicago, “go to the playground” was the first request. This time it was the swings that were the big hit.

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It’s amazing how long it takes to get through things like mail when you’ve been gone nearly two weeks. I worked on my Sketchbook Skool assignments a little bit while we were away, but I have catching up to do there as well as the Online Card Class on Copic markers. The to-do list is long, and the hours seems to fly by! Hopefully, I’ll get back to regular blogging by the end of the week.

Check here for more ZIZO pairings at Helena’s blog.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out: On the Road

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We were on the road for four days, and arrrived at Sarah and Adam’s last night. I have lots of glorious fall photos to share once we get home (a week from today), but I wanted to share these ZIZO pairs from our first night in Muskegon, Michigan. Muskegon sits on the shore of Lake Michigan, and after dinner we thought we try to catch the sunset at the local lighthouse at Grand Haven.

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This is exactly how it looked; no photo edits except to crop and resize. What we didn’t expect was to turn around and see this:

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Early the next morning there was a lunar eclipse. When we left our hotel, the eclipse was total, and we were able to watch it recede for about half an hour as we drove north before it disappeared from our view.

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Birthday Party

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Skylar turned three a week ago, and Matt and Betsy hosted a party for friends and family at their new house. Here’s Miss Skylar just before the company arrived.

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Tracy and Matt finished the swing set in plenty of time, and Matt and Betsy rented a bounce house as well.

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We’ve had just wonderful fall weather here, but the morning of the party it rained for a couple of hours. Fortunately, just as the party began, the rain ended and within the hour the sun had come out. It took quite a few towels, however, to get all the equipment dry enough for the kids to use. Some of the kids were eager to help as well.

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Here’s another Zoom Out view of the finished swing set. The area under the set is filled with rubber mulch. It looks like crushed Oreo cookies, but it’s shredded automobile tires.

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And a Zoom In on the birthday girl enjoying the double swing.

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And a couple Zoom In photos of kids in the bounce house.

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The amazing twelve year old:

 

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By the end of the afternoon some of the little girls were ready for some quiet time. We found them all settled in a corner “reading” books.

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All in all, it was a huge success. The kids definitely had a great time, and it seemed like the adults did as well.

 

 

A Trip to the Beach: Zoom In, Zoom Out

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I had another post planned for this week’s Zoom In, Zoom Out, but I’m glad I didn’t get it written. We’ve had a week of absolutely fabulous weather for late September, lows in the mid-50’s and highs in the mid-70’s. Yesterday afternoon I just couldn’t find much enthusiasm for any of the long list of projects on my list, so I suggested we take advantage of the wonderful weather and drive up to Charlotte Beach on Lake Ontario. One of our prime motivations was a last chance for a chocolate almond ice cream cone from Abbott’s.

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A photo of the ice cream cones would have been more appropriate, but I was so intent on enjoying mine it didn’t occur to me to take a picture! As we walked to the car to come home, I did at least capture the shop.

As we ate, we walked across the street to the park, and walked along the board walk. 

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The beach itself was pretty empty, but this was one of several sailboats out for a spin.

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One last shot for a summery Zoom In, Zoom Out! You can find others right here on Helena’s blog.