I'm catching up this weekend; I haven't posted since Christmas. Each of the thumbnail photos to the left will take you to a different photo album.
My photo collection was getting way too large - it exceeded 15,000 photos. Over the past few weeks I've spent many hours culling it and have it down to 8,000. I've realized I need to change my photo editing habits. Up to now I have deleted the obviously bad photos, put the obviously good ones into albums and posted them here, and done nothing with the rest. Over the long run that doesn't work. So now I'll include a few more photos than in the past in albums and delete anything that doesn't make that cut. Bottom line: you're going to see slightly more photos here (but with the same frequency of posts).
Bedtime Photo Shoot
It's been a long habit for the girls to wear Carol's nightgowns for dress up. Once in a while they adopt one and they start sleeping in it. Charlotte has done that with a black nightgown recently. On her it looks like an evening gown. One night I thought it looked so elegant that I asked to take a picture. That turned into a fashion shoot. Audrey happened to be wearing all black that day and she got in on the act with some dramatic poses of her own. She looks like a beatnik doing interpretive jazz dance.
Then, of course, they got goofy.
Plum Island
Plum Island is a barrier island less than an hour from home and includes the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. I've been meaning to visit it since we moved here and we finally made it on one of our unseasonably warm January weekends. What finally got us there was news of an unusual snowy owl irruption this year, as well as information that many had been sighted at the Parker River Refuge.Carol had one snowy owl pointed out to her but it was far away and it just looked like a rock to her. The rest of us didn't see any owls. But the refuge is spectacularly beautiful and we had a wonderful time exploring it. We'll definitely go back in other seasons.
We brought the "big" SLR camera with us - we haven't used it in a long time because our iphones are so much more convenient. We should take it more often because the pictures are much higher quality.
We got ice cream on the way home.
National Marionette Theater
The weekly family activity email that I receive led us last year to attend the National Marionette Theater's performance of Sleeping Beauty. We loved it and I put it on my calendar to check for this year's event. This year's performance was Pinocchio and was equally good. After the show the audience is welcome to come and take a close look at the set and the marionettes. The company consists of a father and two sons and they are wonderful with kids. At the very end, Audrey even had Pinocchio sit on her shoulder! We'll be back again next year.
The Winter That Wasn't
This album is a catchall.
So far this winter we have only received 7.8 inches of snow. The average by this time of the season is about 30 inches, and last year we had more than 70 inches by now. We've also had the second warmest November and December on record. I'm not sure about January but it was pretty warm, too. So we've spent a lot of time outdoors on the weekends and have been loving it.
It took a long time for my lungs to clear after my Christmas bout of bronchitis, so I didn't ride my bike to work during January even though the roads were clear and the temperatures mild. Two weeks ago I started, though, and have ridden most days since.
When I don't ride I take the commuter rail for a few stops and then switch to the T (the subway). From the T station, if the weather isn't nasty, I often walk to work through the Back Bay Fens, a piece of Boston's Emerald Necklace. I really like the view of the city across the Fens and I often stop to take a photo.
Last weekend our neighbors the Giuliana-Latta's invited us to join them at a community theater production of "Into the Woods". It is a Stephen Sondheim musical that weaves together several fairy tales. Everyone enjoyed it. At intermission the kids assumed it was over. We had been there an hour, so we parents just went along with it and we left. It was no reflection on the show, which was great, but we figured we'd quit while we were ahead!
If you're not familiar with Carol's hair, it is thick. The thickest I've ever seen. When it's long it has considerable weight and is difficult to tame. Carol has been tiring of it for a while and in late January she finally decided to cut it off. I think it looks fantastic!
Well, there you go. All caught up. Just in time for vacation!
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