This one's for Robin

This is what I was trying to finish making as a surprise for you after dinner. Sorry that did not work out.

One good hand deserves another

OK Robin's hand pictures inspired me to do the same to her. So here she is cuttin' up some pig or other. For the record, we did not raise the pig. We are going to see if we can live on food we've stored for the next 30 days.

The Book Lady

Bliss has been our most frequent (just about only) visitor here in the new home. Being so far out in the sticks, we don't get a lot of callers. We kinda like that, but Bliss is family. So close in fact that Elizabeth still thinks she's my sister. She's more Robin's sister than mine, but Robin's been nice enough to share.

She brings books for the kids. The kids love this of course. We do too.

Lizard Lover and Frog Farmer...my wife Robin.

Robin caught a frog and a lizard. Then she held them a bit too close to each other. Amphibian vs. reptile. I think the reptile won. Neutral corners for each and nobody was hurt.

Some processed image samples

Hey there...a few folks have asked me about Adobe Lightroom and what I might use it for. While I have a workflow that requires organization and filing, and Lightroom is great for that, what I think most people are after is the effects and tweeks you can do to a picture. So I processed my boy. The last one is unprocessed...just scanned from Kodak 400NC film scanned as a fat jpeg with digital ice to remove dust etc. The others have been processed starting with Lightroom presets and then tweeked a bit with their tool palette. All six took about 30 minutes. I could do them quite a bit faster, but I was up and down doing chores at the same time.

Lightroom is quick and smooth. Pick your favorite Izzy!
Patrick

I have nothing to say about this photograph

OK so that's not exactly true. I just don't know what to say except it's a desperate attempt at a subject when I didn't feel like shooting anything today. So I had Izzy shoot it for me. He did a good job.

This was an object found at the bottom of a box of junk. Too much junk in the bedroom. I was not doing my bit to clear the pile away so I got in trouble. Needless to say, a few minutes later I was digging through the pile. Most of it got thrown away. This thangymawhatsit did not. It was too beautiful so I shot it instead.

I think it came from the door of a coal stove we tossed out before we moved up here.

There's a visual metaphor in this object for life, or the election cycle, or my new job, or something...but I don't have the energy to find it. Consider this your poetic scavenger hunt and find it yourself.

Or not.

Patrick

Trick or Freakin' Treat Everyone

So Robin got together some really nice costumes for the kids. Mostly thrift store materials. Manufactured stuff was all used and really cheap.

She says next year we're going for entirely home-made costumes.

Ellie was able to keep up with the kids for the first time. She did not need to be carried around all night. Great for moms and dads and wonderful for Ellie too I'm sure.

It was a bit hard this year as we have had a wonderful Hallowe'en tradition since Izzy was born of sharing the night with Paulo and Aiden and their families in Watsonville. We're not there and couldn't make it back to join them. That was hard on Robin. Perhaps next year we will.

For the record I think the person who decided to re-invent the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup should be locked into a cell with the person who re-invented the Oreo Cookie...and then they should be left to rot in their own filth for the rest of time. Some things are sacred.

Patrick Works

Low-Brow Confection Snob