Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Photographic Memory

Stop me! When I was browsing my digital photo collection, looking for Isabella pictures, I had so much fun looking back at old pictures I could not stop. Since I got my first digital camera, December 2002, I have taken kept more than 16, 000 photographs. I love it! I love the images and the memories they conjure. I love the patterns and textures of flowers, feathers, skies and bread loaves, and the growing, grinning, galloping children… captured in a digital moment, mine to reflect on whenever I want. You may have noticed Chickenblog posts a lot more pictures than it did in the early days. Back when I started we did not have a digital camera, and then we had memory shortages, plus we were a little paranoid about sharing too much. Anyway, I realize I still have my conservative habits about not posting too many pictures, and I want to change this.

If you’ve come nosing around Chickenblog, then you are going to find yourself captive to my nostalgic visit through 16,000 photographs that I think are wonderful, funny, cute, sentimental and worthy of sharing with the whole wide world. Impossible and impractical… okay, so I need a system or at least a reality check, because there are too many good ones to share, and it was all getting quite random and top heavy. Humor me. Here are a handful of pictures from 2003. They made me happy, they made me remember and they made me want to gaze at them a little longer…


Here are my guys in January 2003, at our favorite beach in Kona. The Big Island. I think William is carrying a sketchbook. Wouldn’t we love to be there right now? Yes. Definitely, yes.

I like Max’s stance. I also love trucks and riding around farms and lots, with the windows rolled down, collecting guavas and eating them with fresh sugar cane. It’s great how one picture can bring up so many good thoughts.

Did you ever get those little dime store tubes of DOW ingenuity? You stick this awful smelling gum on the end of a straw and then blow these cool bubbles. You must remember to exhale, otherwise you will pass out and wake-up in a chemically induced clown filled room. When I tried to make these as a kid I had no success, which is why parenting is so great, because you can try things out again that might never occur to you, but which can be really cool!

Max likes to climb trees, and I think this may be one the first trees he ever climbed. I’ll ask him. I’m sure he’ll know.

This definitely makes me sentimental. We had the pleasure and honor of sharing our home with my grandparents for 8 years, and I miss them very much. Grandma is in Pasadena now and we do see her, but I would love to share daily visits with her. Here she is with Gracie, who was the mellowest hen ever. Don’t they look lovely together?

Are you getting inspired? Get out your camera and take some pictures, take more than you usually do. You couldn’t regret it. I’m happy to have this picture of me with my mom and her mom. Sometimes I get too particular and worry about the right time, place or occasion for taking pictures, but now that I have nothing but time between me and that moment when we were together, I have no regrets about having our picture taken.

This was one of those wonderful Easters at Holly and Rich’s house. Nick is shy, and I can’t get as many pictures of him as I would like, but I enjoy the love and tenderness in this photograph. Of course some photographs express another kind of love and this series never fails to make me love Max even more…

Chocolate

bunny

bites

are

scrumptious.

This was taken in July of 2003. I’m sure it was a hot day. Weren’t we lucky to have a swimming pool? We loved our pool and swimming a lot, but it was most fun when friends and family came and joined us in the water. I think a lot of things are better shared.

Max’s 5th birthday and here we are celebrating with a backyard party. This one makes me think of how much Max’s birthday matters to him. He loves planning every detail of his party, from order of activities to flavor of the dessert. And it’s never too soon to get started. As sick as he is, the only thing he has asked to do in the last three days is make plans for his 9th birthday.

Another great pool day. I had my MNO friends and their families over for dinner and swimming, also in 2003. I think this was in October. So Cal has awesome fall weather. Can you believe some of these children are driving now?

Fair is fair, and if you have made it this far through my little slide show, then here is my offer: Send me a jpg image that you love and let me post it on Chickenblog. Share your reflections and observations about the picture. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but your thoughts matter too.

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