Fifty years ago today

On June 28, 1958 my parents were married in Richmond, Virginia. I thought this was worth noting in spite of the fact that my parents were divorced about 17 years later. My mom went on to marry a good guy, and is happily married with him today (see my blog posting on June 15). My father died the day before his 72 birthday about 5 years ago.

So, while no one else is paying attention, this date is obviously important to me, since I was born a little over a year later (yes, I will be 50 next August 25... mark your calendar). And I feel sure it is important to my siblings, whether or not they are aware of it.

My dad was an attorney in Fairfax, Virginia. I think he was good at it, too. When I was about 8 or 9 years old, he had the opportunity to appear before the Virginia State Supreme Court, and he took me out of school to go watch him present his case (which I can't remember what it was about, but he won). I was really bored, but very proud of him. And really happy for the excuse to miss a day of school. My dad's gift to me was a true appreciation for the truth, and for the tenacity of the people who started our country and the miracle of its inception.

My mother is an artist. I love her work, and have many of her paintings in my home. In fact, it might not be a stretch to say that our house is her personal gallery. One of the paintings I have had since I moved to Idaho is of me when I was two years old. I love it. I think she hates it, but too bad. It continues to hang in my house. My mother's gift to me was a love of arts in all forms, and the creative process.

Its funny (maybe not so funny, but interesting) how as we are growing up we do not appreciate what our parents have done for us, how we hate them sometimes, and certainly have our trials with them as we try to separate our lives and become our own beings. But at some point, regardless of what might have been wrong, we find there was so much right. I think my two brothers and my sister and I all turned out to be very cool people.

So mom and dad, thanks for everything. I love you both.

Lemmings no more

Do you remember reading about lemmings, the little rodent that follows its leader to its death off a cliff, when you were in grade school? (Okay, I hear that is a myth, but that is what I, and many others, think of when they hear about lemmings.) Three years ago, I decided to quit my job and be a non-lemming. Shortly thereafter, Lynne decided to do the same. So the two of us started a little lunch club that we called "Lemmings-no-more" since we were no longer following the leader off the cliff, but were doing our own thing.

It didn't take long for us to invite other non-lemmings (and even a few lemmings... lets face it, we do not discriminate) into our little group. Honestly, it is not a big deal... just a chance to get together and enjoy each other's company, usually on a Friday at lunchtime.

But I love our time together. Today, we met at Gail's gorgeous backyard patio, where she has some lush gardens and a nice waterfall cascading into a little pond. The atmosphere was perfect, not too loud or rushed like some restaurants, and we all decided we should meet at someone's house while the weather is nice just to be outside and avoid the high prices of eating out.

If I die tomorrow, I want to be able to say I spent as much time as I could with the people that mean the most to me. A lot of people mean a lot to me, and if I haven't gotten around to spending enough time with you, I am on my way. 

Nighttime photography

My big challenge lately with my photography is learning to take night time shots. I had been trying to adjust my camera's setting but I wasn't sure what I was doing, and the lights I was practicing on were like glowing orbs, and intead of a relatively black eveing, it looked like daylight. I want to show what my eyes are actually seeing.

So, this week Nancy and I set out to learn just how to accomplish these tougher shots. Nancy, of course, did the research, and then together we experimented on our cameras with the settings. I have finally been successful with atleast getting the photo to look like what I am seeing with my eye. My next goal is to make the photo and what I am seeing a little more interesting. But one step at a time.

So the top photo shows the problems I was having with the glowing lights and the too bright daytime look. The bottom photo is actually what I saw with my eyes. It creates a cool, somewhat eerie, but soft effect.

Hands in the sky

Yesterday the sky was such a gorgeous blue I had to play with trying to touch it. Does it make you wonder when I ever get work done? I am sure my husband asks himself that very question.

The sun was irresistable yesterday, so I set up my office out on the patio... a little tough to see the screen, I am going to have to rig myself a little hood of some kind. But I am pretty sure days like yesterday is exactly why I went into business for myself.

Last night, we went to check out the opening of the new martini bar in Coeur d'Alene: 315 martini and tapas. We sat out on the patio to eat and drink. I had a martini, Kevin had a beer, and we had some amazing food. My dinner began with the Ahi Tuna salad, seared Ahi on a bed of lettuce with sliced hard-boiled eggs and olives. Mmmmm. Kevin had the Kobi Beef Sliders, cute little hamburgers with sweet potato chips. The desserts were to die for. You really should stop in and check out what they have going. I am pretty sure it will be the new hot spot in town.

Well what do you know... we made it through spring

The Ironman winner finishes the race. I was so preoccupied with watching for Mike, I only saw this guy running a couple of times. But he was excited to win. The purse for the first place man was $12,000. I am sorry, but that just isn't enough.

I consider Ironman the actual beginning of summer. It was a good start to what we all hope will make up for the stupid spring. But in all fairness, the spring has done wonders for the colors in our yards. My little veggies I have planted are struggling however. But that will change as the ground finally warms up.  We might have tomatoes by frost.

While we waited for appearances of Mike on the Ironman trail, I set about to be a professional photographer and chronicle as much of the day as I could. My favorite shots were the bikers coming down Lakeside on their way to complete their first loop up in Hayden. They looked fresh, were pumped up from completing the swim, and the perspective from the street was exciting.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene--Team Atwood

Today was a perfect day for Ironman. In the six years that I have witnessed the morning swim of the 2000+ people that start this amazing adventure, I am so happy with our gorgeous mornings. Coeur d'Alene has never looked so good as it does at 7 am on a Sunday morning in late June.

This year, our good friend Mike participated in this mad adventure. I call it mad because who consciously sets out to swim 2.4 miles, then bike 112 miles, and then run a 26-mile marathon? Not me, that is for sure. But Mike decided to give it a shot. I am so proud of him. He worked hard all year training for this race. And he looked good throughout. Our team, Team Atwood, began the day at 6 am to watch him swim. At 9:30, we had already pushed him out for the bike portion, and sometime after 5, we were cheering him on for the run.

It is really amazing to watch all these athletes put themselves out like they do. I keep asking myself "why?" I think each participant has their own reason. Ultimately, it probably doesn't matter... with that kind of drive, it is amazing what the human body is capable of putting up with.

There is the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat as we test ourselves beyond our comfort zones. I think the theme of the day... the unknown reason for what I see as torture... is to challenge ourselves beyond what we can perceive.

The Butterfly

I can tell I am feeling better. I was sitting outside soaking up the warmth of the day, when I saw this butterfly dancing around my lilacs. It took me a minute of purely enjoying her movements, when suddenly I realized I needed my camera to capture her. Fortunately, she stayed to pose for me for about 5 seconds, then danced her way to another yard. This has been the first time I have even looked at my camera since Tuesday... a good sign that health is on its way back.

Kevin and I have created several of these vantage points around our home to sit and quietly observe. It is my favorite thing that we have done in and around this house. We have a great front porch that is partially covered by a beautiful maple tree, our patio with the man-kitchen, the pond in the front yard, and the little porch off our bedroom door. In the evening, we turn the landscape lighting on in our raised bed garden. I am working on getting a photo that captures how pleasant this looks, but nighttime photos are still a mystery to me. Soon...