Mother Nature's Lacework

I'm having a little fun here with some tinting. This was at the Morton Arboretum again. This time on the Big Rock walk, which is a recreation-in-progress of an Oak Savannah, which were the wooded areas in the middle of the Illinois prairies once-upon-a-time.

I pointed the camera straight up and captured the canopy of trees, thinking it looked lacy and pretty.

I've been enjoying the nature photography. Mostly because the weather had been relatively cool for a few weeks. August is usually so stifling, and the sun so intense. We are back to normal August weather now, so expect topics to switch for a few weeks. How about some puppy photos?

A moment captured: Bridge through the prairie

The prairie at the Morton Arboretum

Hi. I'm here. It's been just under a year since my last post. Thanks for sticking with me. I've been busy being a mom -- a mom with a camera constantly in my hand. I thought I should do something about that. Such as share my photos. So, without any further ado, here we go...

While my son, the X Man, was in preschool the other day, I decided to take my camera out for some exercise at the Morton Arboretum. When I entered the park, the docent at the gate mentioned how pretty the prairie was right now with so many flowers in bloom. So I headed in that direction and had a great time wandering around, reacquainting myself with the prairie there. It was a sticky, rainy day, but I got a lot of pretty photos. You can check out the set on Flickr, or wait and see if I post more. I hope to soon. I do.

My Calendar Boy

Isn't Mr. September handsome? That's my boy! (And my photo, too!)

My copies of the 2010 BARC (Bernese Auction Rescue Coalition) calendar showed up in the mail this week. Very excited!

Thor is my BARC rescue. I took this photo back in 2007, and submitted it to the BARC calendar in September, when they were putting it together. It's BARC's first calendar, with all funds over expenses going to rescue Bernese Mountain Dogs from exploitative situations. (Click here to make the back of the calendar large enough to read the explanation about BARC.)

This photo of Thor is my all-time favorite of him. It's my second-most "interesting" photo on Flickr, with over 1,000 views.

To learn more about Thor, browse my posts about him, about how he came into our lives, and about some of his misadventures in running away.

Note: When I wrote the first post about Thor being selected for the calendar, I thought he would be Mr. November. Obviously, I was incorrect. The Beacon regrets the error. :)

What are you doing?

Just the Loki dog checking in on Xander and his Gloworm.

Wordless Wednesday: She's totally bluffing

Xander's gift guide

Xander is only 4 months old and has tried out a very limited number of toys, but he does have some favorites. If Xander were to write a Christmas gift guide, there are four things in these photos that he would definitely include.



First, his absolute most favorite toy, the Playskool Lullaby Gloworm. The first time the glow worm's face lit up, Xander was fascinated. It's our go-to toy in times of stress. Press its belly and its face lights up as it plays a song, such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. If I knew anyone having a baby right now, I would definitely be giving the baby a Gloworm.



Second, the Lamaze Octotunes. Each one of its eight legs is a horn. But it's the face that fascinates Xander the most. I've heard him babble to the Octotunes from across the room. He just really loves the face. The horns are nice to give the adults something to do while playing with Xander.

Third, the Bumbo Baby Sitter. It was a gift from our good friends who have a baby just two months older. Xander was instant smiles when he first sat in it. The chair supports him so that he can sit upright, which he's eager to do, but not ready to do without support.



Fourth, the Barnyard Dance! book by Sandra Boynton. "With a neigh and a moo and a cockadoodle do, everyone promenade two by two." Dave loves to read this to Xander, and Xander seems to really enjoy the rhythms of the language. A fun book.

Disclaimer: These are genuine, unsolicited endorsements. No freebies here, unless you count the fact that they were all gifts to Xander from his various aunties and uncles. Also, the links do have my Amazon Associates ID in them, so if you follow them and then buy something on Amazon, I might earn a few pennies for referring you, not that I've ever made any money yet being an Associate.

Hey, this is kind of comfy

I have all sorts of (what I think are) cute photos to share, and I'm way behind. So, fair warning, there are a lot of kid (and some dog) photos coming in the next week.

First up:



Loki is our social dog. She loves people. Everyone thinks she is the one that should be most attentive to the baby. In reality, Loki isn't all that intrigued yet. It's our shy dog Thor who is the nurse maid. He likes to follow us around, and will often be found sleeping near Xander. Perhaps he knows it's the safest place to be because we'd never let anything happen to Xander. Perhaps.

Here's Thor and Xander having some totally staged lounge time together. It looks like Xander is enjoying Thor's soft fur, but he didn't seem to really care at the time. He was all eyes for Dad, whose hand you can see at the bottom right.

I can't wait for the baby and the dogs to start to truly interact. Xander is paying more attention to them all the time. Soon, I hope.

... Oh my!

Xander with our three favorite stuffed animals. Props to anyone who can figure out why it's captioned "... Oh my!"

So far, this is the oldest I've ever been

This is my current favorite series of photos of Xander. I wanted to capture his T-shirt, which says "So far, this is the oldest I've ever been," but when I propped him up on the glider, he was being so cute, I didn't care that you couldn't read the shirt.

You can see he has discovered his hands, and is even sucking his thumb a little bit. I didn't expect that to start at 3 months. Somehow I thought babies were born thumb-suckers or not. He's obviously proving me wrong, which, I'm sure, he'll do a lot in his lifetime.

Weather fatigue

I'm getting ready to leave work and start my Christmas holidays. Yay! Except I have to drive through yet another weather event. I heard a term that resonated this morning: weather fatigue.

It's winter and I live in a place known for harsh winters, but even here we get tired of having weather events on top of weather events. It's exhausting, especially when you have to worry about driving in it.

Last Tuesday it was snow. My commute home took more than 3 times what it should have taken. I was lucky to get home so quickly.

Friday morning it was freezing rain/sleet and snow. I didn't go in to work until it had mostly passed, but the roads were still bad. Almost got into an accident while going straight on the expressway. I was in the center lane, and someone merging ahead of me did a 360 that almost put him right into my path.

Saturday night the temperatures plummeted to below zero.

Sunday the wind was so strong, we had wind chill of about -30 degrees Fahrenheit. My shower and closet are on interior walls, but they back up to attic space. Well, my shower froze, but we got it thawed before any damage was done. Out of curiosity, I put a thermometer in my closet, and it read about 20 degrees, which is well below freezing. I think we'll be adding even more insulation to that attic soon.

Last night things finally warmed up, and that's why we're getting more snow.

Good news is that we'll probably have a white Christmas. Bad news is that there's more snow and "wintery mix" in the forecast between now and then.

The photo at the top? That was taken a few minutes ago from a window here at the office. The white background is usually a view of O'Hare airport. If you or someone you know is having trouble flying through Chicago right now, this photo would explain why they're having trouble.

Thanks for reading my little whine. I feel better for having written it. I'll post something more cheery tomorrow.

A bucket list meme

I found this on Aerten's Blah, Blah, Blah site a few weeks ago. It looked like fun, so I had to try it.

Things I've done in my life (in bold):

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Want to play along? Copy the list to your own blog (or email) and highlight the things you've done.

Wordless Wednesday: Cannon Fodder

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A peek into the life of Simba

It's not easy being a world-famous lion. Once the rush of movie stardom ends, some kid throws you in a garage sale where somebody buys you for a buck and says, "Hey, my dogs would like this."

So, here we find you, Simba, on an October morning, sunning in the grass. Neglected like so many other of Loki and Thor's stuffed toys. You've been dropped, stepped on, rained on and mostly dried out. But you're a lion and you like the outdoors. If only you'd been dropped in that tall grass, right? Better to hunt from.



Then, after several days of laying in the backyard, you get picked up and sent on a dangerous voyage through the washer and dryer, where several weaker toys have met their doom. But you survive this trip and arrive safely to the shelter of the toy bin in the family room, clean and sweet-smelling.



Later in the week, we find you laying around in the dining room, then in the guest bedroom, sadly neglected again. Or perhaps you're just too lazy to walk yourself back to the toy bin today?



What's this? Thor is actually playing with you in the bedroom? Is that comfortable, being held by your face?



Oh wait, now I see why you don't like the toy bin. There a giant snake trying to eat you! Oh no!



Then you disappear for another week. I begin to think that maybe the snake finished you off, but then where do we eventually find you? Outside again! Sunbathing after playing in the rain with the other stuffed toys.



So it's once more through the wash-and-dry cycle, then safely into the toy bin, to be abused enjoyed another day. There's no sign of that snake this time.

By the way, your eyeballs are looking kind of faded. Did you know that? At least you still have eyeballs. You should have seen what happened to the first Simba. It wasn't pretty. Go talk to Mousie, he'll give you an idea.

Note: I don't really have conversations with stuffed toys. Stalk them with my camera for a few weeks? Yes. But have a conversation?No. At least, they haven't started answering my questions yet. When they do, that's when you should start getting worried. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Truth in Labeling

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Musings on a cold and drizzly Veterans Day

It being Veterans Day, and me not having taken any photos for a while, I decided to grab my camera as I was walking out the door this morning and see if I could get away at lunch and snap some photos. I did.

A nearby park has a Memorial Pavilion that I'd noticed during a work picnic several weeks ago. So, braving the cold weather and the drizzle, I headed over there. Unfortunately, I was having trouble getting inspired by anything inside the pavilion. No one had laid any wreaths or left any flowers. It had a drab, concrete, institutional feel about it, and I don't seem to be able to photograph drab, concrete and institutional very well. I'm working on it.



At the end of my visit, a carload of skateboarders arrived looking to use the shelter of the pavilion. They kept their distance from me and my camera, but I did get this photo. Perhaps, while they were keeping out of the rain, they looked around and thought about the Veterans who had sacrificed their lives. Perhaps. Especially because the pavilion has a plaque recognizing two residents of their own generation who lost their lives in the current wars -- both Iraq and Afghanistan.



I'm sure there must be some sort of Veterans Day observance happening in Des Plaines, where the pavilion is located, but I could find no sign of it at the memorial or by doing a quick Internet search. They had a service there last year. I know, because I could find a YouTube video.

I guess I'm a little bothered that there was nothing at the pavilion to draw attention to the day. On the VFW website, I saw a post lamenting that fewer and fewer people show up for official observances. That might be true, but you don't have to be part of an official ceremony to appreciate the sacrifice of veterans. Maybe if the pavilion had been decorated with a few wreaths or some bunting, then the random people passing through today and throughout the week might have stopped and taken notice.

Just thinking out loud here. That's what a blog is for, right? I suppose I should take my own words to heart, and next year try to remember to bring my own token of observance.

Or maybe it would have been more appropriate for me to be photographing the pavilion on Memorial Day. In the United States, Memorial Day at the end of May is the holiday intended to honor veterans who died in war or as a result of injuries sustained in war, while Veterans Day is intended to honor all veterans, especially those still living.

Any veterans out there reading this? You have my sincere appreciation.

Pumpkin guts galore

I've handled more pumpkin guts in the past few days than I'd ever imagined. OK, it's not really *that* many pumpkin guts. Maybe it's only four pumpkins that I had my hands inside, scooping out the innards and scraping the flesh clean.

When you go to two pumpkin carving parties, your hands are bound to get dirty.

Sunday night, in what threatens to be an annual tradition, we had the neighbor girls over to carve pumpkins. We hit four different stores in our quests for the perfect pumpkins. I fell in love with this horribly scarred and pimpled one, while my husband searched high and low for the perfect big and small pumpkin duo.

Here's the end result, all lit up and lined up. Mine is in the middle. (For a good picture of mine alone, click here.)



And here's a close up of my husband's pumpkin, which is actually two pumpkins screwed together in a "must eat brains" fashion, and a close-up of Linnae's pumpkin, which is also two pumpkins screwed together in a "must suck brains" fashion.



Then Tuesday at work, the social committee threw a pumpkin carving party. At first I told myself I was just going to play photographer, but then I found myself getting into the act.

In the end we carved and decorated 18 pumpkins. Some were carved free-hand, some were carved using templates, and some were decorated using Mr. Potato Head-type plastic parts.





I used a Jack Skellington template to make my own Nightmare Before Christmas pumpkin. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

P.S. I promise this is the last of the pumpkin carving posts. Unless I get some good photos of the pumpkin decay cycle or something. OK, sorry, I just can't promise. Maybe there will be more pumpkin posts and maybe there won't. I don't know. I really like pumpkins. :P

Wordless Wednesday: Brain surgery

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Workouts at the castle on the hill

I don't think I've ever blogged about my workout schedule. I didn't have an interesting angle, until now.

I've been working out with Stan for a couple years. One evening of personal training a week, and then a weekend warriors class with him on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I (*ahem*) try to get in a fourth workout on my own, but find that if I don't have someone at the gym waiting for me, I often don't make it there.

We do a lot of activities that work the cardiovascular system and the core muscles, focusing on both strength and balance and endurance. I think they call that functional training. It's not my area of expertise, but I'm pretty sure that what it's called. (Hint: If you look at the client photos on Stan's site, you can find some unflattering photos of me working out. There's lots of sweating involved.)

Since I work at a desk job and can be a couch potato at home, I need something to motivate me to get moving. (As if both my parents having heart attacks in their 50s wasn't enough motivation.) For those three hours a week I'm with Stan, I'm motivated and focused and I get a really good workout.

Anyway, that's not the interesting angle I promised in the lead. What's interesting is that for the past month or so, Stan has been a trainer without a formal gym. The old personal training gym closed, and while Stan has been looking for a new location, we've been doing our weekend workouts outside -- Saturdays in a park and Sundays at a local high school track. It officially become too cold to workout outside this past weekend, but up until then our Sunday workouts were here:



What is "here"? It's Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn, Ill., known informally as the castle on the hill. Imagine me huffing and puffing and running around the track, dodging goose poop and being dazzled by the view. I took this photo one morning after our workout.

Why do I feel the need to blog about it now? Because ESPN just recently named it one of the best high school football stadiums. Here's what ESPN had to say:

7. Bill Duchon Stadium (Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
The field is surrounded by woods on three sides, and with the man-made Lake Ellyn Park behind the visitors' stands, the crowd atmosphere on Saturday afternoons (there are no lights) appears right out of the movies. In fact, scenes from the movie "Lucas" were filmed at the site. The high school, built in 1923, looks like a castle, complete with turrets, and sits atop a hill behind the home bleachers. After a Hilltopper victory, the home-team players storm up the hill to ring a victory bell to announce to the town they've won. The field is named after a longtime coach/athletic director who still resides in the affluent suburb west of Chicago.

I would have been oblivious to this tidbit of information, except I saw today that another blogger used my photo from Flickr and had posted about it.

Oh, and about that movie mentioned -- Lucas? My husband was an extra in one of the crowd scenes. I'm pretty sure you can't actually see my husband in any of the crowd shots in the movie, but he was there and can tell you in minute detail how mind-numbingly boring filming a movie can be.

P.S. I'll give 100 Entrecard credits to anyone (up to 2 people) who locate a photo of me on Stan's site and link to it in the comments. Why? I have no idea.

Update: Fragileheart found two of the four pictures. There are still two more on the site. Hint: In one I'm photographed with Karen and in the other with Yvonne.

Wordless Wednesday: Camera Shy

My good friend's daughter, Sam (left), hides behind her hair while her friends turn away from the camera. In another photo I did actually get them to smile for me, but yet I find this photo very compelling for some reason.

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Wordless Wednesday: Watching You

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