Why me, AARP?

Hello and a happy Friday to you.

I hope that this glorious day is treating you well.

Did you see what arrived in my mail today?

When did I get old?

How did this happen? 

Who decides that at 51 years & 120-ish days that I need this?

And

why doesn't this person 

know my current last name?

AND

why do I not remember "joining" in 2008?

SHUT UP

I know I don't remember diddly squat, 

but I would have remembered this.

Moving on....

I would like to wish my children's daddy 

(and my grandchildren's grandpa)

Happy Birthday.

(Not my photo)

I wish you the best, Wayne

&

I hope you have a glorious birthday weekend.

Senior picture time is here.  

Johnna and I went out last night for a "road trip" picture taking session.  

We let her mom & Mindy tag along. 

We started out in Highland Park. 

It was a beautiful evening just full of possibilities.

I love the evening sun with the subtle pinks in the shot.

So I took a couple of hundred shots.

I thought I would show you just one or two.

Johnna is just so easy to work with.  

She always has a ready smile & her attitude is wonderfully upbeat.

Even if she doesn't completely agree with what I ask of her, 

she carries out the pose.  It is nice to work with a cheerful teenager.

This is a pocket with Eric's last name on it in tribute
for his service to his country.

Johnna is living through her senior year.  

She is dating Eric, who is away at boot camp right now.

She misses him keenly.  But she continues on with her life 

knowing that she will see him in a few weeks.  

I am very proud of her.

After Highland Park, we all loaded up in the van and drove to our next shots.  

We had some dangerous moments (like the bridge with all the traffic)

BUT we survived.  

We drove out to the Greentown area 

and took some shots in the pumpkin field.

I fell off of a pumpkin that I tried to perch on

and landed on my butt in the mud.

All in all I took about 200 photos that I will 

used in the "cleaning" process for this portion of her package.

We used a few places that I like to keep "guarded",

so I am not going to give up my secret places here.

We ended our session at the railroad tracks in Greentown.

The sun was going down and we were fighting 

the time limit trying 

to get in all the pictures in that we wanted.

I came home and wanted to fall over, but no time for that.  

I have several packages of pictures 

that need to be cleaned in front of this package.

I am still working on Sally's pictures. 

Here is one that I have been playing with:

Kind of interesting, huh?

I ran it through several filters and it looks like a painting.

I need to get Fred's (Sally) photos done for next week, 

so I will keep plugging away at that.

We have a full weekend ahead.  

Al is going to be judging a parade on Sunday. 

I can't wait because it is a corn festival 

and that sounds right up my alley.

I wonder if I will be lucky enough to see

a person dressed up as an ear of corn?

(This is NOT my photo)

I am taking my camera, so you will know by Monday.

Have a great weekend everybody.

See ya.

Bow to the SOUP QUEEN

It's a "homey" kind of day around here.

After the prerequisite coffee & newspaper,

I puttered around doing house stuff.

I am so aware that there are a lot of women that do not have this luxury.

I have gotten up many a morning and faced the dreaded drive into work.  

But, today I am able to putter-er.

For a lot of years I had problems finding "joy" in cleaning house.  

Mom told me that housekeeping could be a hobby.

  

(I decided she was crazy)

But

on mornings like this,

dreary, overcast and raining

I find my self taking a lot of comfort in straightening my nest.

After accomplishing several loads of laundry, 

a sink of dishes and taking trash out,

I sit down to write my blog.  

While we wait for lunch to finish in the oven,

we are relaxing in the living room.

I have started the first fire of the fall 

and that just adds to the coziness of the day.

The rain beats on the roof while my

 husband & a pile o'cats take up the other end of the sofa.

Johnna & I had a set of senior pictures scheduled this afternoon

and sorry to say we are going to have to re-schedule. 

This weather may be good for ducks 

but not so good for outside pics.

Last evening I traveled out to Eastern High School

to watch Al work with the Band.

On the way out to the school Anna & I were talking on the phone.  

She and I talk "on the fly" quite a lot.

I flew past this wonderful scene and had to pull off the road to get it.

Man, isn't this wonderful?  Those "bales" are corn stalks.  

Because I live in town now, I don't get to see these sunsets very often.

Thankfully Anna was patient with me and let 

me take the shot in the middle of our conversation.

So, I drove on out to the High School and spent time 

watching the staff work with the band.  

It was around 7:30 in the evening and the sun 

was really pink/orange tinged.  It was beautiful.

 These kids worked hard.  

They are a fun loving group with decent skills.  

I feel like they would follow Joel to the ends of the earth. 

 Joel Matthews is the band director out at Eastern High School.  

I think of him as a good kid.  

Everybody else probably sees him as an adult, 

but he is just young to me.  

But, then again, everybody seems young to me at this point.

Last night Joel, Al & Max Johnson were working with the band.

It was a tiny bit chilly up on the tower.  

But, as all of you band people know...

It's gonna get a lot colder before we are done, right?

Mr. Temby doing his thing three stories up in the air.
Isn't he handsome?  I love him so.

 So, this afternoon I plan on cleaning dog photos for Mr. Barber. 

It's a good rainy afternoon project.

Sally & Fred having a snack.

We have had our lunch, which by the way was the bomb...

I will never buy soup in a can again.  

I have become the 

SOUP QUEEN.

I made a big pot of homemade tomato soup last week 

and froze 2 person size containers of the leftovers.

I just pop the soup out of the container 

and put it in a Pyrex bowl and bake it for an hour.   

No, thank you.

I don't want to do it in the microwave.  

It was is Great Grandma Daisy's recipe.

It's good, cheap & without those scary chemicals.

I am not going to cook it with "gama rays".

So, what have we learned today?

1.   I am not the best house cleaner.  It is NOT my hobby.  But, I will do it when the mood strikes.

2.   I don't take pictures in the rain.  Does that make me a "fair weather" photo taker?

3.   I drive the back roads of Howard County looking for photo "opportunities" while talking on the phone and taking pictures.  Sometimes, I eat too.

4.     Band is one of my guilty pleasures.  It will be until the day I die.

5.    I don't understand how microwave ovens work or know what kind of "rays" they have.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

6.  I am the soup queen.

Good day, my subjects.

....Keep Calm and Carry On....

$3.57 for a bag of apples...

Good morning everybody!

It is another wonderful fun filled day in central Indiana.

We woke up to temps somewhere in the 30s.  

I got up and turned on the heat before my cup of coffee.

Every morning I feed the cats,

get a cup of coffee

&

read the newspaper.

This is so much easier than when my kids were little,

although I would not give up a minute of that craziness.

Here's a business update:

The photography end of Sherrill Studios is just smoking right along.

Kelly

I was sad when Kelly's jump was postponed 

due to weather conditions on Saturday.  

That shoot will be rescheduled in the Spring. 

 I look forward to it

  (because I don't have to be in the plane).

______________________________

On Saturday morning I did get to go through with the shoot for

Chris & Lisa Dzierla.  

Highland Park made a nice setting for these photos.

Baby William was born on Monday morning.  He & mommy are fine.

I will be "delivering" these pictures later this week.

Hey, I just got that.

I made a joke.

_____________________

On Sunday afternoon I met up with Fred B. to take Sally's photos.  

We met at the Artworks Gallery and 

found a nice 

sunny window to shoot against.

Sally

Sally was excited to be there.  

It took a little coaxing, but we (Fred) got her to calm down.

It really surprised me that her hair was so wiry & rough.  

She is nine years old and her breed is 

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen.

I know I have said this a few times before

but just imagine a sheepdog cut off at the knees. 

She is by no means a small dog, just a short (in height), hefty dog.

The shot went well.

I Should be able to deliver this package next week.  

________________________

So next on the docket, 

I have a second set of Senior Pictures for Johnna 

on Wednesday.

Johnna and her sweetheart Eric

Johnna is my niece (Matt's daughter).  

Because she is my brother's daughter she gets several 

different shoots over the course of her senior year.  

It is a joy to work with such outgoing & lovely girl. 

____________________ 

During all this picture taking, 

I am still working on my newest donkey painting.

As of this morning...

Leia came into the room yesterday 

and I kid you not, 

said

"Grandma, it's a donkey...and some lovely vegetables..."

If a three year old thinks they are tomatoes, then I am in trouble.

So, I bought a bag of apples this morning.  

Al asked me if we needed apples.

You should have seen his face when I told him 

that they were for me to paint from.

$3.57 a bag...so I could get the shape right.

You will find that added into the cost of the painting.

example: @250. + 3.57 = $253.57

Did you see that?  

I did math and there was no blood shed... Hallelujah!

It IS A MIRACLE.

We will talk about me filling out 

applications for a 

part time job 

and 

having to do story problems 

....later.

____________

Of course we can't forget that I have a wedding to shoot in December.

Candy & Brad are getting married December 16th.

Don't they make a handsome couple?

________________

Mary and I worked on a Pinterest project yesterday afternoon.  

We have the faces painted on about 10 of these jugs.  

I need to go out into the garage and "scare" up some while Christmas lights.  We have to cut holes in the back of the jugs 

and run Christmas light bundles into them.  

I am starting to like recycling.

Well, I had better get to work. 

Keep good thoughts, everyone.

And

enjoy this beautiful day.

See you soon.

Friends don't let friends jump out of planes.

Good morning!

What a wonderful fall day we are having.

The air is crisp & clean

and the sky 

is a beautiful vibrant blue.

I have had a full last few days.  

I am getting ready for some photo shoots this weekend.

No, I am not jumping out of the plane.  

Kelly is SO MUCH braver than I will ever be.  
Wow.  
I agreed to shoot this months ago.  
The thought that I may have to actually go up in the plane to shoot it...

that came about 5 days ago.

Thank you, Kelly for not requiring that from me.
Everyone one that knows me knows that I am a HUGE chicken.
Kelly told me this was on her "bucket list".
Obviously her bucket is deeper than mine.

This is my Saturday shoot.

Should be fun (from my perspective on the GROUND).

________________________________

On Sunday I have a dog portrait to take for Fred Barber.

This is Fred and one of his children.

And here are some more of his babies:

Fred and I met about a year or so ago in the Artworks Gallery.  

He asked if I would be interested in taking a portrait of his dogs.

I said, yes, of course.

I didn't know he had eight dogs.

It has been a great trip through the individual settings of these animals.

It is obvious to me that Fred loves and truly cares for the dogs in his pack. 

If I were a dog...I would want to live with Fred at his house.

So, anyway.

We have a sitting this Sunday. 

I have lost count on were we are in the count.

I want to say we are at doggie number 6.

BTW, I am also painting these dogs individually.

__________________________

Benny Update:

Even though Ben is a lovable little cat, he is a pain in Wally's butt.  He is always jumping out of nowhere and pouncing on poor Wally.

Sometimes Wally has to reach out and put him in his place.

    Afterwards he just takes a nap.  He is currently sleeping in an apple crate that I pack my event set up in. I have a lot of memories packed up in those crates.  They came from my Grandparent's apple orchard.  My grandparents are gone now, but every time I touch those crates I think of them and that time I spent with them as a child.  I need to put the crates away, but Wally seems to enjoy sleeping in this one.

__________________________________

So, yesterday evening was interesting.  

There was really nice evening lighting and sky was purple-y blue.  

Al needed to go work a practice out in Greentown, 

so I dropped him off and drove 

to this field that I had spied earlier in the week.  

It was right out of the Peanuts cartoon.  

A huge (like cornfield size) pumpkin patch. 

It was incredible.  The colors were so intense.  

The breeze was blowing and I could hear the leaves rustling.

Pumpkin heaven. 

I'm not sure if the Great Pumpkin was there or not....

 Fall is here

 Whether we are ready

or not.

So, 

as you can see, 

I do love to use my camera.  

I am available for shoots at a reasonable price

and   

I have references.

I have in my portfolio: 

Weddings

Reunions

Babies

Dogs (any animal, really) 

5 generation

Grandchildren

 Anniversaries

and

coming soon

JUMPING OUT OF PLANES

Good luck, Kelly.

It was nice knowing you. 

Feeling like a chicken on a rope

This was a "first" for me.  I had never seen a chicken on a rope.

It was such a good weekend

that it took me until Monday night 

to write about it.

It was great.  

Al & I traveled on out to

Kokomo High School 

for the band competition Saturday morning.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy marching band.

Now remember, that is said by a women who doesn't 

have to stand out in the sun and learn footwork and music.

No, just a woman who got to work behind the scenes.

I miss it

somedays...

This is Eastern High School from Greentown, Indiana.

We sat down in the stands and watched Eastern, 

Northwestern, 

Twin lakes,

Western 

and a few others.  

We had a great time 

(me more than Al, for him it's just work).

Twin Lakes High School

Here is the silly thing.

I took pictures of other bands, fully well expecting to take

photos of Western ( MY SCHOOL).  They took the field and I was so 

excited that I completely forgot about my camera.  

So, no you don't get to see Western.

But let me to you...

THEY WERE TIGHT.

I am so proud of them.

_____________________________

Then

we drove out to the Kokomah Reenactment 

out west of New London, Indiana.

 I like to go out each year and take photos for future

projects.  You can definitely see things that you

wouldn't see in everyday American life.

This was the first pic that I took at the encampment.

I thought that this first picture was going to be a nice pic.  

After I came home and looked through them I found the problem.  

Unless I crop it really tight, I am going to have a zip lock baggy 

with what looks to be Doritos in it.

They are so careful to dress appropriate to the period.

There was a battle going on when we arrived.  

Pretty noisy and a little smoky.    

Again, these are things you just don't see everyday.

It may be small, but believe me, that cannon is LOUD.

I love this shot.  The sun coming down through the trees.
There are warriors in the back ground.

I have taken photos of this man for several years.  He is so striking.

As I said before, they dress true to the period.
I just love butt flaps...don't you?

It is amazing how many different tribes are represented.

The battle is over.

Post skirmish we get to see Tracy Oberholtzer.  Doesn't he look wonderful?

And here we are back to our chicken on a rope.  At first, I thought this was so cute.  Then the realization hit that this poor little fowl was dinner for the folks at this camp site.
It really kind of made me sick to my stomach.  I think the chicken knew why she was there, too.  Each time I took her picture she would turn her head away.
Yeah, I know...I eat meat.  
This just really bothered me.  

I don't want to know my meat.  

Sometimes, I feel like this chicken.  

Unable to get away from things in my life that I don't want to face.  

Tied to those things that I want to run from. 

I guess we all feel that way at some point or another in our lives.   

For a country girl, I am pretty spoiled, aren't I? 

Thank GOD people don't eat horses...

yet.

The economy is pretty ugly, you know.

You would have to have a really, really big crock pot.

OK.
I am a horrible person.
BUTT FLAP!!!

Chickens in a basket.  Lord, I hope they were just for pretty.  

These are Shetland sheep.  They were really pretty.
They were from the area & belong to some girls that were there spinning wool.

Time to leave.

One last look at the shops.

So, we needed a nap after that.

Wouldn't you?

On Sunday



Al fought with Benny cat for his cereal.

I worked on a new painting.  I am in the very early stages of this one.  I think I am going to have him nosing his way out of an apple tree.  We'll see.

AND

my favorite little man came over to visit.

It was a good weekend.

See you tomorrow.

Nighty night