Charmed by a Christmas Pyramid

Crash and Conundrum

Y'all.  Our laptop suffered a devastating crash about a week and a half ago.  It is only two years old, we have never EVER had anything near this kind of problem with our Macs, and it was really, really bad.  Not my-kid-spilled-milk-on-my-computer bad, because that, apparently, is way easier to fix than our problem.  Nope, this is the sorry-there-are-big-problems-with-your-hard-drive-and-even-the-recovery-software-you-paid-over-$100-for-tells-you-that-this-is-really-bad kind of bad.

I just went through the files that the recovery software was able to save, and you guys, it is all the junk.  I have about 50 pictures out of the thousands I have taken over the last year.  And beyond that, do you know what was saved?  One audiobook and the pictures that were in the trash.  UGH.  All the pictures of my babies since last Christmas are gone.  All the pictures from our 10th anniversary trip are gone.

By the look of things, this particular crash is more severe than the normal hard disk crash.  The people at Apple say they will replace the computer, but data recovery is up to us.  And beyond what we've already done, we'd really be looking at $1000 or more to recover the missing photos, if they are even recoverable at all.

So at this point, the only place that the best of my pictures exist is on Facebook.  And those are small enough files that they are not truly printable, because they'll never look good blown up to just about any size. 

What I'm trying to work through at the moment is whether or not it is worth it to try to recover these missing pictures.  Because I do still have the ones on Facebook, it is not a total loss.  But it does mean that I will never be able to print them successfully.  Is this a big deal?  I can't decide.  Up until Clara was born and the busyness of three kids prevented me from posting all the time, this blog was the place I stored all my pictures, I never printed a thing, and it didn't bother me in the least.  And I have still not printed much.

But, y'all, seriously, last week I was going to have stuff printed to fill a bunch of frames!  The timing on this crash stinks. 

So the lesson of the day is this: BACK UP YOUR FILES.

{Face palm.}

Why Photography? The Days are Long, but the Years are Short.

Although my presence in this particular corner of the internet has waned lately, I think it's fairly clear that I've got a new hobby that's been absorbing me lately.  Someone asked me recently how and why I got into photography, and I thought I'd write about it a bit.

My interest in photography has everything to do with my children.  I hadn't been a mother for long before I experienced for the first time that mix of poignant love and fear that the moments in their precious lives and in our life together are so rich yet so fleeting.  That maybe you missed something; that perhaps there's something precious that you have forgotten.

I value this blog so much because it's our family record of a precious set of years when my oldest kids were very small.  There's no way I'd remember so many of these marvelous details if I had not written them down in detail (e.g. Noah loved hot tea as a toddler and asked for it every day; his expressions are the same and will probably never change, etc.).  And I've found that photography is very similar; that I can catch moments that I'd otherwise miss (I'd probably even forget to blog them or run out of time to do so).  Also, like writing, I can compose and edit a photo to reflect the feeling with that particular memory, or to show off/emphasize an aspect of that child or that event.

So that's why I began learning this new skill: it's all an effort to remember the little things that are so very delightful to look back on later.  And I'm enjoying it thoroughly!

My First Attempt at Backlighting

Y'all Remember?

Y'all remember when I used to write words on this blog?  Like, full sentences strung together in coherent thoughts? 

Yeah, me too.

:)

I actually have a post rolling around in my head.  If I ever get to it, I'll write it out.  In the meantime, I just wanted to drop in and say hello! 

The First Bike Ride

 The training wheels came off!

 Their faces crack me up.

In fact, Noah has a lot of amazing faces.

Faces, I'm telling you.

He's had super expressive facial expressions since he was an infant.

 Frustration/concentration.

 Sometimes he's a thinker. :)

 And believe it or not, this is not an extreme face for him. We see this one almost daily.

 Nathan went up and down the driveway dozens of times.

  "Mom! Take a picture of my feet off the ground!"

 Everybody. :)

Clara's First Ponytail

Clara's First Ponytail

(And my first attempt at properly editing a photo!)

Bluebonnets!

Well, I may be too busy to post pictures, but I am taking them.  Here's some proof from yesterday.

Texas bluebonnets!

These were taken in a patch of bluebonnets near our house, with some careful framing in order not to include the cars and street which were 15 feet away or the ugly buildings in almost every direction.  I was pretty proud of the framing, actually! 
I took these a little after 4:00, and the sun was still very strong.  Next time, I'll wait another hour or two until the light is more diffused and softer, which will help with the deep shadows and the squinty children. :)

Authored by a Girl Who Has a Brother

Jane drew a bunch of pictures the other day, declared it a book, and asked me to tie it together for her.  I then asked her to tell me what was happening on each page and just wrote down what she dictated.  The result is hilarious.  And I think it is quite clear that this is written by a girl who has a brother.

 The Princess and the Castle

by Jane Elisabeth Benesh

The fire is exploding on the castle!

The firemen put the fire out, and the princess is smiling.

The princess wears a pretty dress.  There is a fire in the fireplace, but it doesn't explode.

This is the imaginary prince in the princess's mind.

These are hearts made of letters that are exploding.

This is a person who is thinking in his brain about chewing 100 pieces of gum.  Actually, he is an alien.  With one leg.  Actually, he is a tadpole.

The End.

Tip of the Day

Hey guys,

I'm back!  Well, I'm back for the moment.  So much catching up to do!
But for now, I give you this gem:

I have discovered via firsthand experience that it is best to start a restrictive eating plan (like Whole 30) while you have a sinus infection.  Particularly if that eating plan restricts or eliminates sugar.  Why?  Because you can't taste anything and don't miss the sugar.  Even cravings are all but eliminated (for me, at least).

Who knows where I will be when my sinuses clear up and I actually taste my black coffee?  Ha!  How's that for an unexpected benefit? :)

PS 52: Photo 9

I just realized I had not posted this!  I wrote it a week ago but got busy with other posts in the meantime.
 ---
So this week, I challenged myself to get a good low light photo.  This is the one I took:

Oh, the grain!

Low light + high ISO = grain.

They say to embrace the grain, but I have some trouble with that.  If it were grainy and sharper, perhaps. . . . I don't know.  I'm just not there yet.  Plus, the color seems off.  And I even cooled it down a bit.

So I now know enough to know that a full frame camera would shoot in low light conditions far better than my camera does, but I am determined to figure out how to make the most of the camera I've got, at least for now.

Also, I'm going to try shooting in RAW and (finally) dealing with my avoidance of the white balance issue.

Janey Beth is FOUR

 Our Janey Beth is FOUR today.

She is too precious.

Before I had children, when I thought of what it would be like to have a little girl, it was Jane I was thinking of.  To a tee.  She is sweet, girly, and extraordinarily loving.  She loves ballet, frilly dresses, crafts of all sorts, beauty, and bedtime stories.  I tell her all the time that my favorite thing about her is how her heart is so full of love, and indeed, it is.  She is affectionate and loves physical affection, in return.  And she loves to care for things, whether it's by making a nest of all her bedding to sleep in (she is the mama bird, and all her stuffed animals and dolls are the baby birds), or dressing a doll or brushing its hair.

 But there are also things about Jane that I did not imagine in my little girl.  Like how zany she can be.

Or how she can be so emotional and unreasonable from time to time, or how she can work herself into a little snit and get in trouble for being rude and angry.  Or what an independent thinker she sometimes is.  But it makes me glad that she's got a touch of sauciness--I wouldn't want her to be so sweet she gets trampled on in life.  A little tang will help her along, I think . . . as long as she can hold it in check. :)

 This afternoon, she had her regular ballet lesson,

 and then after we went home and had dinner and cupcakes (she said that of all the dinners in the world, she wanted sandwiches--well, okay then, birthday girl!), we surprised her and took her to Build a Bear, where she's been longing to go for a long time.  This is the friend she built:

 Actually, I hate the My Little Pony cartoon.  It's inane, I don't think the animation is pretty, and the voices drive me up the wall.  But she loved this purple pony--in fact, she had eyes for nothing else--so purple pony, it is.

And we let Noah get something, too.  He chose a pretty basic bear, but he got a Yoda costume for it.  (He is REALLY into Star Wars.)  It is awesome.  I like Yoda way better than the purple pony, but don't tell Jane.

After we left Build a Bear, we dipped into the Disney store for what we all thought would be a quick look around.  But I ended up buying Jane some "glass" slippers, and my mom bought her a Merida dress.  Both are very awesome.

And so ended an epic day.  I have one wonderful four year old.  She is a blessing to our family, and we love her lots and lots and lots.

Banff: Early Morning Shots

 So one morning while we were there, I got up a bit early and headed outside, because I wanted to get some night shots of the lake and the surrounding mountains.  

The hotel was serene and quiet as I made my way towards the outside.

It is quite a wonderful sensation to walk outside in the frigid cold.  You inhale that crisp, freezing air and simply feel alive.  And at peace.  Because snow mutes the sounds of the world, except for the crunching under your feet.  Solitude, peace, life.  And beauty all around me.  I loved my few minutes outside that day.

Would you believe that this was at 7:00am?  Yet it was completely dark outside.  Lucky for me, I went out to take some night shots on the shortest day of the year.

Boy, did I wish I had a tripod after I looked closely at these shots.

 I do love this one, though: a puff of powdery snow being blown off the mountain, high above me.

Banff: Frozen Lake Ice Skating

"WHAT am I about to do?"

So I thought to myself.  Because ice skating is not my sport.

This beautiful lake freezes every winter, and the hotel clears part of it for the ice skating.

And they build this enchanting ice castle on the ice.  You can skate in and around it.

So we went skating one afternoon.  Nathan was much more of a natural than I was.

 Of course, I didn't get a shot the moment he fell. ;)

But, in his defense, the lake ice is not entirely smooth.

Another Lake Louise adventure.

Banff: Dog Sledding

The last time I posted about our anniversary trip to Banff was way back in early January, and the trip actually took place in December, so I think it's safe to say that I'm a bit behind on this thread!  In an attempt to catch up on these long belated posts (will I ever get to Christmas?), here's the next installment on Banff: Dog Sledding!

When we went to Lake Louise for our honeymoon, we hiked canyons and around the lake, we watched ice climbers on a frozen waterfall, we rode on a gondola up a mountain, and more.  But dog sledding was the thing we thought was the most fun.  It's a unique experience for Texans.  Plus, the dogs are just so darn cool. 

Ten years later, dog sledding was just as cool.  Or, more accurately, it was frigid.  I think the temperature was around -5F that morning, but the air is so dry in Banff that it really is not uncomfortable if you wear enough layers.  Well, okay, my fingers and toes got pretty darn cold after a while, but they warmed back up nicely.  It was worth being a little cold to enjoy such a fun excursion.  Nathan and I picked up these mufflers before our trip, and we were really thankful for them on a couple of occasions--I have to tell you, when you get into that sled behind the dogs and start moving at 15mph on a day when it's -5F and there's snow being kicked up in your face, well, although you may not be terribly uncomfortable, you do start to be grateful that the only part of your face that's exposed is your eyes.

The dogs are wonderfully sweet and full of personality.  Some of them are shy, some are wild and goofy, and all of them are eager to get on their way.

Definitely, part of the pleasure of dog sledding is getting to hang out with the dogs a little.

The dogs that run the sleds are bred and trained for it, and it is their life's love.  While they're waiting, they yip and pull and cry, and when they're being harnessed, the din escalates with their excitement.

Even though they can't go anywhere, they pull and strain, yip and holler.

And then, when the brake is loosed:

silence.

It's so interesting to see them run.  They dip their mouths and take bitefuls of snow to stay hydrated and cool off without missing a step.  Each member of the team has a clear job, based on their personalities, age & experience, etc.  They clearly love to run and are good at it.  They're the elite athletes of the dog world, bred for their sport rather than for looks.  This particular team of dogs runs long Alaskan races in winter when they're not tugging little tourists back and forth across the Continental Divide. 

Speaking of which...

We got out at the Great Divide and wandered a bit, taking some photos.  My face looks so cold in this one!  Like it was a strain to smile!  Ha!

On the way back, we were each allowed to drive alongside the owner for a while.  We'd stand on one runner while she stood on the other, agreeing to stomp on the brake if she fell off, and she'd do the same for us.  :) 

Check out the eyes on that puppy.

It was super fun, y'all, and Nathan and I would recommend it if you ever get the chance!