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Well, here we go again: The weathermen all predicted a veritable doomsday of a blizzard, so school was cancelled the night before, morning came and...there was barely any new snow! Somehow, this always happens on the days when I have the most to do. (Funny how that works, huh?) But I wouldn't let the snow day get the upper hand--here's how I kept the kids happily occupied, while keeping my own sanity...
1. Cooking up a creative meal together. The kids are slightly obsessed with the show "Master Chef Junior" (which I fully endorse, since it has the double-benefit of making them more helpful in the kitchen and more willing to try new foods), so we whipped up a french toast breakfast buffet, complete with pomegranates, clementines, powdered sugar, chocolate coins, and syrup. (Mornings are the one time when I don't mind if the kids eat some chocolate because it gives them a little wake-up boost but won't keep them up when it's bedtime. I just pretend that we're French, eating pain au chocolat!)
2. My son asked for a "proper camera" for his recent birthday, and we were happy to oblige! So, activity #2 involved a photo shoot of our breakfast. If your kids don't have cameras, why not lend them your phone to take some snaps?
3. Swimsuits on, bath-time for the dog! Delilah hates bath-time...
...but she loves it when we dry her off!
4. My daughter had the idea to make paper dolls. For added sturdiness, we pasted them onto cereal boxes before cutting them out, and then backed them with pretty decorative paper.
5. Legos! Need I say more?
6. Dress-up time with the grown-ups' stuff: Hats, jewelry, scarves, boots...the works!
7. Write and illustrate a book.
8. Musical instrument practice time!
9. This one involves pre-planning: When you hear forecasts for snow, make sure to hit the library for a new stash of books!
10. And finally...get out there in the snow and go wild!
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We're really in the thick of it now: Snow Friday night. Snow Saturday. Snow Monday. Snow Tuesday. It's a snow-white world out there, with the occasional dusty-rose sky. Stark and beautiful, and very, very "January."
Catch my latest posts by subscribing (at the right), "liking" my Facebook page, following me on Twitter, or circling me on Google+. (That last one is my favorite place to share--check it out!)
Catch my latest posts by subscribing (at the right), "liking" my Facebook page, following me on Twitter, or circling me on Google+. (That last one is my favorite place to share--check it out!)
I just got back from a lovely ski weekend in Great Barrington, MA with my family. (Well, to be technical, my husband and daughter went skiing, my son went snowboarding, and I went photographing!) While I'd love to show you some pictures from the ski trip, I thought you might like a little break from all of the snow and ice lately...to take a little vicarious vacation to Hawaii!
Aside from a couple of posts featuring the work of my photography students, I've featured other photographers here only twicebefore. But I'm making an exception again, for one of my nearest and dearest friends, Michael Graziano, whom I've known since we were 16 years old, when we met at a summer arts program for high school students at Wesleyan University.
Michael and I are birds of a feather. We both grew up in Connecticut; we both lived in New York City for many years, where we were both in creative fields; and we're both crazy about the music of Neil Finn and Liam Finn (but oddly, not Tim Finn). He's one of those friends that no matter how much time passes between get-togethers, we start right up where we left off. (I love that kind of friendship, don't you?)
For the past twenty years, Michael worked at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and as its Producing Director, he helped raise millions of dollars for its charitable efforts. Last August, he decided to step down from his high-profile job and step out into the Great Unknown. I've been thoroughly enjoying his Facebook updates (let's be honest: how many friends can you say that about?), and I'm betting you'll enjoy this armchair trip, too.
The following quotes are Michael's updates from Facebook, and all of the photographs in this post are his, taken with his iPhone (all used with his permission, of course!).
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September 23, 2014: "An adventure begins this week. I am off to live in Hawaii for 4 months, volunteering at Kalani retreat on the Big Island. I'll be living in a tent, which I bought from an Italian gal who is leaving for Costa Rica. I am bringing few possessions--clothes, some good books, a journal, my good-luck necklace that I bought in Amsterdam when I was 20 years old. I will be living in the shadow of the Kilauea volcano, nature's reminder of its own awesome power. How will I be touched, humbled and changed by dangerous Pele, the ancient Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes?"
October 15, 2014: "I am making friends with some new members of the animal kingdom here in Hawaii such as this gecko. There are also the feral cats that live on the property and are very sweet. Less friendly are the wild pigs that roam around my tent at night but they scare easily. I am trying to avoid the dreaded fire ants which pack quite a sting. Sea turtles can be seen in the ocean nearby but so far they have only poked their heads and shells out of the water and not ventured onto the land. So many living things to encounter!"
October 26, 2014: "The lava approaches. We shall see what Madame Pele has in store for us this week. The closest town may have to evacuate but we are not currently in the lava path. It will likely cross the highway, though, so we will be cut off from civilization as new roads are made. The lava changes its path and rate of flow all the time so nothing is certain."
November 15, 2014: "This guy has been living in the shower stall for a few days now. Seems to be friendly so far."
December 10, 2014: "When I arrived in Puna in October, it was hot, humid and rained every day. Now that we are in the 'rainy season' of December, it is glorious with the sun shining, lower humidity, cooler nights and no rain for days. Perfect holiday weather."
December 24, 2014: "These palm trees looked to me like snowflakes against the sky. Happy Christmas Eve from Hawaii!"
January 12, 2015: "Night falls over my tent."
January 13, 2015: "Cats. There must be close to 100 feral cats on property, fed by animal-loving volunteers and whatever they can find in the jungle. These cats act like dogs, begging for food or attention. This is Wilbur."
January 17, 2015: "Sunset at Mauna Kea into the clouds at almost 14,000 feet."
January 18, 2015: "Goodbye Kalani! I depart today after 3 and a half months filled with laughter, challenge and creativity. I shaved off my beard and hair yesterday in prep for the next leg of the trip. Time for new growth. I'll be exploring the islands for the rest of the month and head to New Zealand in February. Aloha Kalani friends!"
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Safe travels, Michael, and thanks for letting me share a little part of your Hawaiian adventure here! I hope New Zealand is EVEN BETTER! xox Joy
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I now return you to your regularly scheduled weather. (How GORGEOUS were those pics?!)
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr! It's been hitting the single digits here for the past week, and everywhere I look, there's ice.
That means two things:
1. I'm walking around outdoors like I'm about 50 years older than I am, hobbling ever so sloooooowly along, so I don't wipe out. (I've done that, and it's no fun.)
2. I'm taking more pictures than ever. (I can't help it--I'm a sucker for things that sparkle!)
Confession time: I took the shot above while lying down on my stomach in the driveway (it's a photo of the ice on it). Yep, that's right, I'm crazy like that when it comes to getting the shot I want! Wet clothes can be changed whenever I come back indoors, but there are only a few precious minutes to get the right shot before the daylight changes. (Note to my photography students: Recognize the bokeh effect in the shot above?)
All of this glittery, sparkling wonderment outdoors is helping me notice things indoors that are catching the light in lovely ways, too.
Perhaps with some people, they'd just see a piece of toast and a pair of glasses, but really, it all depends on how you look at it, don't you think?
I put a vote on Facebook for my photographer friends: Should we be called "photoptomists" or "optimographers"--we of the breed who are making the best out of winter with our cameras? The vote was nearly unanimous: Photoptomists we are!
Sure, I wouldn't mind if it were a good forty degrees warmer. But right now, I'm seeing the world through very sparkly, frost-covered glasses.
How 'bout you? Are you making the best out of winter, or are you just barely muddling through? I'd love to hear!
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Well, now that's a hopeful sight, isn't it? Even in the coldest, darkest days of winter, even in the very thick of it, when springtime is just a wish and a memory, you can still find plants that are forming tiny little buds, just waiting to bloom.
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I'm happy to be back here, tap-tap-tapping away at the keyboard. The holiday break with my extended family was the longest break (actually, the only break) I've taken in blogging since opening up shop here in July 2012. I love my little corner of the internet, but it was good to step away from it for a bit and really, truly focus on the people I love whom I don't see often enough.
Sometimes, you really have to give yourself permission to rest.
I remember reading a thoughtful post called Extremely Important Priorities from Tammy, one-half of the brilliant blogging team at The Great Jollyhoombah (one of my all-time favorite blogs, which is sadly no more), about how we often concoct these long to-do lists for ourselves, chockful of tasks that (if we're really honest about it) we don't actually NEED to do.
Yes, it might have been beneficial for me to keep on posting away through the December holidays, as the third session of my nature photography e-course was starting in January. (It started yesterday and I'm loving my new students already!) But as I watched more and more of my blogging friends sign off until the New Year, I felt a little twinge of envy, and it just felt right to join the holiday parade and hang up the "CLOSED" shingle for a while.
But as I said, I'm happy now to be back. Refreshed. Recharged. Revved up to go again!
That's the whole point of vacations, isn't it?
While I was "on leave", I took LOTS of pictures (no surprise there), especially first thing in the mornings. I haven't quite figured out how to work a camera while wearing gloves, so my outdoor photo shoots would usually end when my fingers and toes went numb. And then I was doubly thankful for a toasty-warm house!
Because I like to give experiences instead of stuff, as a Hanukkah present, I took my two teenage nieces out to dinner and then out for a shopping trip. (Yes, I know, the shopping part negates the non-commercial aspect, but they're teenage girls--I can do only so much green-preaching! And I admit, I did have fun scoping out makeup with them.) I love my nieces to pieces--funny, sweet, and whip-smart girls who have somehow escaped "Sullen Teenager Syndrome."
Our uncle treated us to an afternoon in New York with a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore" at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. It was good ol' silly fun! I hadn't seen a G & S show since childhood with my dad.
I also saw some very good movies, including "Into the Woods"--twice! That's always been my favorite musical. I saw it on stage in London ages ago (oh my, the set designs were GORGEOUS!), and then I saw the taped Broadway show with Bernadette Peters. I loved the movie (obviously--I saw it twice), and Johnny Depp ROCKED IT as The Wolf (no surprise there), but here's a crazy opinion for you: I didn't think Meryl Streep was as good as Bernadette Peters. (There, I said it!) Don't get me wrong: Meryl Streep is amazing (naturally), but she missed the comedic timing of Peters. Lines that had the audience roaring with laughter in the play with Peters were met with near-silence in the movie theater. (It was a little shocking, I must say!) So if you liked the movie, look up the Broadway version with Bernadette Peters and let me know what you think.
Lastly, I played "Master Chef" with my kids a whole lot during this break, whipping up yummy things like french toast, Chinese broccoli, fresh breads, and cookies. Life is really too short for bad bread, so once you get the hang of making homemade bread from scratch (I promise you, it's not that difficult), you won't ever want to eat the bland stuff in the cellophane bags again.
All in all, 2015 is off to a very yummy start!
How 'bout you?What has kept you happily occupied lately? Let's hear it--I'm all ears! (Email subscribers: Click on the blue title of the post to get to the main site; then you'll see the comments section at the bottom.)
