The Tapestry of Life

AUGUST! (life as a school photographer)

2016-08-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

Here it is . . . that time of year! Preparation for the coming school year and trying to squeeze the last bit of summer into a few short weeks. I have even seen on Facebook where some kidos have already started school. Wow!

I work for one of the largest school photography businesses in the States. And let me tell you, as a photographer, it can make you or break you. The up side ----- all those cute kids! From pre-k through high school, I get to interact with them, learn some cool stuff that they are into and see their personalities through those great smiles. The down side ----- 10-12 hours on my feet, many times in areas with no air conditioning and equipment that goes down because of the heat and humidity.

So, today, (I'm thinking I may do a couple of posts about "Picture Day") let me help you understand a little about what goes on on picture day.

#1. Your school decides the dates and times that they want pictures taken. It does not matter if it is a registration day or an in school photo day, the goal is to get every student's picture taken at that time. That means at a registration ( 4-12 hours) or a school day (6 hours), I may have to take 300- 600 pictures. For me, the goal is to get that great smile in 1 or 2 pictures of your child.
#2. Your school picks the program or picture packages that are offered. But don't worry, you are not locked in to buying a picture package. There are other options where you can purchase single pictures or a CD.
#3. You do not need to purchase a photo, however, you child does need to have their picture taken. Many schools now use student ID's for things such as lunch programs, library programs, and sporting events. These pictures are also used for yearbooks and classroom pictures and any files that your school may have on your child.
#4. If for some reason, your child misses the first photo day, your school will have a retake day. The retake day is sometime between the 4th week of school and the middle of November. Your school should have the retake day noted on the school calendar.

So that this is not an overwhelmingly long post . . . look for the next post "Registration Day".

Welcome to the new school year!

Good Monday Morning!

2016-07-18T10:36:00.000-05:00

How was your week-end? Did it fly by like mine did? I'm not even working and the days seem to pass by in a blink of an eye. Did you have projects going on or was it a time for family and fun?

Mine was a day of working and a day of relaxing. Saturday I started cleaning our side porch. I say started because it's only half way done. Usually every Spring I clean it, but it's been almost 3 years since it was last done. Two years ago there was so much going on with family and work. Last years I had surgery and then my Spring, Summer, and Fall were tied up with chemo treatments. I an grateful that my energy level has increased and I am able to do more things . . . just at a slower pace. I will be happy to sit out there in the early mornings, enjoying my coffee and hopefully some wildlife.

Sunday, hubby and I spent the afternoon watching movies on Amazon. Before I tell you what they were, let me stress, I enjoy movies of ALL kinds. I look at movies as entertainment, not as literal things that could happen. Of course, there are movies that are fashioned after "real life" experiences. I just feel for me, I try to take things with a grain of salt and enjoy the moment, with not too much thought put into it.

Movie #1
The first "MAD MAX"
It came out in 1979, produced by Warner Brothers
What were they thinking?? I have seen "Road Warrior" and "Thunder Dome", but I was in my early 20's then. I am in total awe that after the first movie, any more would be produced. And based on that movie, the lack of . . . so many things . . . I would have not believed that Mel Gibson would have made a career out of acting.

Movie #2 "A Walk in the Woods"
This movie was released in the summer of last year. Robert Redford and Nick Nolte are 2 older men who attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, some 2,000 miles long. It's lighthearted and you'll get a few chuckles out of it, but most of all the scenery is breathtaking.

Movie #3 "Terminator Genisys"
This movie was also released last summer. I have not seen all the "Terminator" movies, but I'm sure this one lived up to all the action of the previous ones. And YES, I'm sure Arnold will be back.

I hope you leave a comment and share a part of your week-end. Have a good week!

We have twins!

2016-07-16T13:35:00.000-05:00

We have lived in our home for a little over 12 years. It was a big change, moving from the Chicago suburbs to a rural setting in Wisconsin. Over the years we have enjoyed watching the wildlife that passes through our yard.

When we first moved here, we had dozens of deer walk through our yard daily. Then for some reason, for several years, there were no sightings at all. We would see evidence of a few passing through, footprints in snow and mud and occasionally tops missing from plants. But we never actually saw a deer.

Last year, we started seeing them again on a regular basis. A few times a week we would see them in the early evening, passing through the back corner of our lot. This year, we see them almost daily. We have several female yearlings, one who walks up my drive way several evenings during the week. And we have a mamma with one little fawn.

This morning when I went to make my coffee I looked out the window and thought I saw a mamma with twins. The babies were just inside the tree line and close together, so I wasn't sure if it was 1 or 2. I grabbed my camera and went quietly out the front door. I can get to the edge of the house without the deer seeing me and then I can step out behind some trees to get a little closer to them.

When I was able to get a good look at the area I could only see an adult deer. Since I was there, I might as well take a picture. As I went to lift up my camera, the doe, who was chewing on a bush stopped and looked my way.

I thought, awe great, she's going to take off! But instead, she started walking back towards me.

I was afraid she would take off running if she got a good look at me, so I just stood still until she started off into the woods. As, I go to snap a photo, she looks my way again.

Then off into the woods she goes. I go into the house and look out my kitchen window. Her she comes, out of the woods and back down my neighbors fence line.

About an hour later, my husband and I are in the kitchen. I am telling him that I thought I saw a deer with twins out in the yard this morning. We glance out the window and guess who is there. Two little fawns. Again I grab my camera.

I didn't see a mamma with them, hopefully she's somewhere close.

Returning back to normal . . .

2016-07-04T11:40:00.002-05:00

Over the past couple of months I have wanted to post things, but life keeps getting in the way.
Finally, at least for awhile, things might calm down a bit and I can concentrate on making posts
a habit.
For the last month, our sweet little "Biggie" has been visiting. He is our youngest grandchild, 3 almost 4 yeas old. He lives on the west coast. We live in the mid-west.

He and his Mother lived with us his first year of life and then lived again with us for several months
just before he turned 2. His Father is in the Army and had been stationed out of the country. As a result, he is very attached to his "Poppy Pop Pop" (hubby). This past year "Biggie" has been here 3 times, a month at a time. And, that whole month is all about him.
Only the basic necessities get done. Laundry, meals, grass mowed, (because he likes to ride the mower) and almost everything else is what he wants to do. At this time (3 years old) that really isn't much. Just being out doors, picking berries, eating berries, playing with a foam airplane, taking walks and shooting "stomp rockets" are high on the list.

Our hearts break a little when he leaves and the house is pretty much silent, but the memories are wonderful and we plan for the next visit.

Thematic Photographic 374 - Lightbulbs

2016-06-25T10:55:00.000-05:00

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. ~Aaron Rose

Virginia Beach - Hampton underwater tunnel.

Joining Cari @ Written Inc with this weeks Thematic Photographic theme on Lightbulbs.

An "old dog" learns new tricks.

2016-04-07T13:40:00.000-05:00

You know, as we get older, we get set more and more in our ways. Of course, this is pretty much true of everyone. Oh sure, there are those people who decide that on their 80th birthday, they want to jump out of a plane or go white water rafting, but for the most part; they are not the norm.
Take my husband for example. He knows a lot about technology. He has built his own computer, several times. He has built his own car engine. He tinkers with everything. Things like "Geocaching" intrigue him. However, he HATES his cell phone! Yes . . . HATES!
Several years ago we got rid of our "land line". Why have a home phone when the important people in your life call you on your cell phone? Until recently, my husband's cell phone had been one of those old text and call flip phones. Then, the battery was not staying charged and I was changing carriers, so he decided to upgrade his phone. ( I think the bigger reason to upgrade was to receive pictures of our grandson, but who am I to question things. . .) Welcome to the 21st century!
I'm sure you know how it is when you get a new phone. You have to learn things all over again. ( Let me insert here that he hated his old phone too.) It's been a couple of months, and to be honest, he really doesn't use his phone that much . . . so how could he possibly be learning how it works? He's not! He doesn't even really know how to answer it.
BUT . . . probably, to continue to evade using his cell phone, hubby has discovered the convenient process of restaurant online ordering. In the past, I have always been the person to call or order food online. Hubby would go and pick it up. That all changed when I went out of town in February. When I got home hubby was excited and eager to tell me that while I was gone, he got online and ordered food. Almost every week since then he has order food.
The "new trick " may not be astounding to others, but to the "old dog " it's a major accomplishment.

Wishing for Spring

2016-03-21T21:01:00.000-05:00

Over the past few days I have jealously peeked in on your blogs. I am jealous of the sunshine and beautiful flowers that you are showing. The part of the country that I live in has yet to show that side of Spring. We have had high Spring winds and grey, rainy cloud coverage for days. Yesterday, we started out with sunshine, but alas, it was soon taken over by those puffy grey blue clouds.

Today was sunny, minus the Spring warmth. However, I took a quick trip to my local plant nursery. Only the green house and store front are open. There are very few plants, but what is there is full of color.

There were many green plants, that in the coming weeks will mature and establish flowers. And there were loads and loads of garden decorations and garden tools in amazing colors. So, for now, I am satisfied with my flower fix. Now I can wait for my tulips and daffodils to emerge. At least I'm trying to.

Good Monday morning!

2016-03-07T11:27:00.000-06:00

When I awoke this morning the sun was shinning brightly. Now, it's kind of cloudy. The thermometer says it's about 55 degrees f. out. Last Thursday and Friday nights it snowed. Not much, just enough to cover the ground. The snow is almost all gone now. There are just a few piles where it was shoveled and not in direct sunlight. Tomorrow and Wednesday we are suppose to have rain.

As I sit looking out over my front yard, I'm enjoying my morning coffee. I'm so grateful to be able to drink coffee again. It's strange that we may not realize how much we enjoy something until we can't have it. For about 5 months , while going through chemotherapy, I couldn't drink coffee. One reason was because I had to watch my caffeine intake. The other reason was because it made everything I ate or drank run right through me. I still have to be careful of how much caffeine I have, but at least for now, I still get to enjoy my coffee.

My new blog is about my journey with cancer. You can find it here.

Enjoy your Monday!

Starting a new blog

2016-03-02T11:27:00.001-06:00

Today I started a new blog. It's some insight on what I have been going through. I decided to put everything together in one place to make it easier to find and read. Take a look here.
Vicki

Thematic Photographic 367 - Data

2016-03-01T16:19:00.000-06:00

I have been away from blogging for a couple of years. Several things played into this happening and over the next few weeks I will be posting things that will give you some insight as to why. Being able to return to my blog took some work. I tried to get back several times over the past couple of years and always had a problems viewing my blog. Finally, I was able to see my blog long enough to realize that a WIDGET, which used a barcode was outdated. Thus my "theme" for my THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC post on DATA hosted by Carmi Levy at "Written Inc".

This week's the theme is ~DATA~

My view right now is, many others had the same thought that I had when I saw that theme was DATA. To tell the truth, it wasn't a very good thought. Not that it was a bad thought , but more a "What??" "Data??" hmmmm. I was looking forward to posting.

After really thinking about it, I realized that we are so use to all the data in our lives, that we really don't think about it. Yes, I said ALL . . . we use data everyday, several times a day.

We use these cute little things called "barcodes" on almost everything we purchase. A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data relating to the object to which it is attached.

For us, it scans the price of a product we are buying. For the retailer, it provides so much more data. Things like, how many of these items are bought (is this a popular item for the retailer to provide?)and how many are still in inventory.

It track's items that we send to others at a convenient low price. And allows us to know when the item has reached it destination..

They can also help us save money. No more wadded up coupons in your purse or pocket.

Of course, barcodes are used on so many more things, Driver's licenses, credit cards, library cards, employment and school identification cards, medical wrist bands as well as entertainment wrist bands and much , much more. Yes, it's true! We live in a world FULL of data.

Don't forget to visit "Written Inc" to see more posts on Data.

Time marches on . . .

2016-02-28T13:19:00.000-06:00

It has been such a long time!

It's hard to believe that my last post was almost 3 years ago. I have viewed several other blogs and see that it is the same for some others. As life is slowing down for me, I am trying to get back into a blogging frame of mind. Hope to see and hear from you!

Vicki

Good Morning ... well... almost afternoon ...

2013-06-02T11:46:00.001-05:00

I know ... I know... It's been months since I have posted. Life has been busy. Life has been changing. I know I have said it before ... I hope, now that things aren't quite so hectic, I can post on a regular basis. Hopefully, you will leave lots of comments ... even just to say "Hello" is a great encouragement to me.
Hope to hear from you soon!
~Vicki~

~ Soft Light~Thematic Photographic 232

2013-01-31T13:44:00.000-06:00

Soft Light is the theme of the week!
Over atWritten Inc., Carmi has given us the challenge to show off our photos of "Soft Light".
Of course those photos are all relative to what we consider "Soft Light " to be.

Here are some examples of my thoughts on the subject.
My sweet Biggie

Monday ~Jan. 28,2013

Wednesday ~ Jan. 30, 2013

Dec. 2012 TSO concert

Archive ~ July 2011

To see more "Soft Light" photos, head on over to Written Inc :)

Your thoughts and comments are wanted ...

2013-01-26T19:40:00.000-06:00

Question of the week ~

2 women strike up a conversation in a coffee shop.
While chatting, they discover that they have many things in common. ~
They live in the same area of the country.
They are about the same age.
They are both semi-retired.
They are both on vacation
The differences ~
1 is married.
1 is semi- self employed.
1 obviously fusses over her appearance.
1 has short (really short)hair, 1 has mid -length hair.

After 30 minutes of chatting 1 woman asks the other if she is going through chemo.

Until this point, neither chemo nor cancer has been part of the conversation.

Was this rude?
What are your thoughts?

~Multiples~ Thematic Photographic 230

2013-01-16T23:44:00.000-06:00

Thematic Photographic 230

Multiples is the theme that Carmi has given us for this week. Now I bet you are wondering ... why am I several days behind in my posts. I would LOVE to be the first one to post on Carmi's themes, but, I am trying to post new, fresh, recent photos. It's so easy to fall back and dig through things that you have already taken. But, as a photographer, I think it is important to keep shooting. No matter if it's with your camera phone, your little "point and shoot" or your better, Digital SLR.

Today, I went to one of my favorite Antique/ Collection stores. Here are some of the multiples that I found.
~ Old Bottles ~

~ Glass Door Knobs~

~ Glass Lamp Shades~

~ Brass Door Knobs ~

~ Yarn ~

~ Old Radios ~

~Dolls ~

To see more posts on the theme of Multiples head on over to Written Inc . Better yet, why not join in and show off some of your multiples.

Phone a Friend Friday

2013-01-16T22:58:00.001-06:00

This week has turned out to be busier than I thought it was going to be. But, I wanted to get this posted before Friday got here again. I bet you're wondering ... Did I make that phone call on Friday? The answer is No ... sadly, not on Friday. I knew my week-end was going to be busy and I had to get some things done. So, my call was made on Saturday.

Every other week-end (pretty much), my 2 daughter's and grandchildren come visiting. They're here ... they're not here... they're back ... watching movies, playing games, eating ... it is a constant flurry of activity. This past Saturday however, they got up, went to a Hockey game and then went snowboarding. There were several hours of quiet. Which was good because 1&1/2 of them, I was on the phone.

I spent a good portion of Saturday morning talking to my M-I-L. It's been several months since I have seen her or talked to her. Next month she will be 81. She has 7 children, 10 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren, most of them live within an hour of her. She goes to the Y 3 times a week and out to lunch at least 2 times a week. So, as you can tell, her social calendar is not lacking.
It was good to chat. It was good to catch her at home. It was good to catch up.

Who did you call? Of course, you don't have to talk for hours ... but sometimes you do.

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge | Best Face of 2012

2013-01-08T11:51:00.001-06:00

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge | Best Face of 2012

Have you ever checked out http://www.iheartfaces.com/ ? If not, you are missing some great photo's. Also, you get information on how to use your camera to produce great photos and you get to see what other photographers are up to. It's a great site to gain info from. Just about every week, there is a challenge. This week's challenge is:

Best Face of 2012

This is my entry.

I didn't take too many people "shots" last year. But, this one of my grandson, is one of my favorites. He's at that age where he gives you that goofy, pasted on smile. Here, you can see he is tired after an afternoon of swimming.

Go to

to see all the other wonderful faces that have been submitted for this challenge.

Phone A Friend Friday

2013-01-04T19:51:00.000-06:00

Today was my first "Phone a Friend Friday" I bet you're wondering how it went. Well ... I dialed MC's phone number ... and I got her answering machine. That's ok, it's Holiday time, her children live out of state. For all I know she could be basking in the warm, Florida sunshine at her daughter's home. So, I left a message.

Next, I called my Aunt I. Uncle G said she was out taking her morning walk. BUT ... about an hour later she called me back. We only talked about 15 minutes, but it was good to hear her voice. Aunt I is a cancer survivor. She has been in remission for about 5 years. Her voice was strong (She is in her 70's) and it's nice to know she is able to still get around fairly easily and is staying active and healthy.

Did you call a friend today? Why not share if you did.
~Vicki~

Faves of the Year Thematic Photographic 228

2013-01-04T19:28:00.001-06:00

This week, Carmi has given us the challenge of picking our favorite photos (that we have taken) from 2012. Much easier said than done.

Here are mine:

To view more "Faves" of the Year go to

Written Inc

Happy 2013!!

2013-01-02T12:13:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know I'm a day late, but hey ... I made an attempt to wish you are bright new start.

The last 5-6 months have been super busy, with all sorts of changes in our lives. And, while there will be many more changes in the year ahead, I have decided that I need to make a conscious effort to blog.
There are many times that I want to blog something, but then things happen and I feel the post is not relative at a later date, so it doesn't get posted. Sound familiar to anyone else?

For my first post of the New Year (I have been reading through posts), I too have a couple of "resolutions", if you want to call them that. It seems, that even in blogging, weight loss is a "big" resolution, and yes, while I could probably loose a few pounds, that's not my resolution. Of course, I will try to eat healthier and be more active, but shouldn't we always try to do that?

Off the top of my head, I have 2 resolutions, that may, later in the year become MEME's. Both of them have to do with relationships. As time goes on, it seems our fast paced lives keep us from having relationships with others who could enrich our lives. We don't ~~take~~ make the time for those relationships.

My resolutions:
1. Phone a Friend Friday.

Almost everyone has a cell phone. Most cell plan's give you a certain amount of minutes that you are not charged (because it's built into the plan) to make calls. A call doesn't need to be hours long, 10-15 minutes is long enough to say "Hi, how's it going? I wanted you to know I was thinking about you."
Wouldn't you love to receive a call like that?

2. Mail a letter Monday.

Now, let me , clarify. I am defiantly not a letter writer,(I can hardly post on my blog) but I can send a card with a few words on it,
AND, I know people (my 95yr old Grandmother) who don't use a computer or text on their phone.
Doesn't a piece of mail that is not asking you to buy something or pay something, somehow brighten your day?

So, here's to the New Year, and changes, and relationships, and enrichment!
~Vicki~

A Merry Christmas Adam to All!

2012-12-23T09:56:00.000-06:00

I'm not certain if I will be able to post over the next couple of days, so I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all my blogging friends a Merry Christmas.

For me, the later half of this year has gone by fast. There have been many changes in my family, lots f hustle and bustle. Hopefully, soon, I can get back to blogging.

~Vicki~

Good (Sunday) Morning!

2012-11-18T11:01:00.001-06:00

What a beautiful day!
Here it is November 18th. The sun is shinning. The temperature is suppose to be about 55 out today. Not bad for the upper mid-west. All this week the weather is suppose to be mild.

What's weather like?
~Vicki~

It's almost over!

2012-10-28T10:58:00.001-05:00

Do I sound a bit excited? After all I LOVE my job! BUT ... this Fall Season has been L-O-N-G and busy. All this time, (since the first week of August) I have pretty much worked 5 days a week, unless I requested a day off. I'm not complaining, but usually by October I'm down to 4 or 3 days a week. Because of Teacher Conferences, I only worked 2 days this past week. The week ahead I work 3 days.

Setting up cameras for registration.

There is so much to catch up on! Including blogging. So ... come back ... leave comments! I have missed you!

FYI

2012-10-07T11:31:00.000-05:00

First ... let me ask ... Why are there always those people who are pests and hanging around to irritate you? Of course ... I'm not talking about you. The person I am speaking of is someone who posts as "ANONYMOUS". Over the past week this person ... has probably tried ... at least 100 times to leave a post om my blog. REALLY??? I assume they tried so many times because they could not see anything showing up. There is a very good reason for that. My settings were set to where if you post as "ANONYMOUS", I am the only person who can see it. So, trying to get people who view my blog to buy your "knock off drugs" is a futile attempt on your part. However, after blowing up my email mail box, I am now only accepting comments from members of my blog. My apologies to other people who also post as "ANONYMOUS" and have things of value to say.
~Vicki~

Yesterday ... I almost posted ...

2012-10-01T20:02:00.002-05:00

That this week looked like it would be a sweet, smooth, almost laid back week for work. Ha! How things quickly change.

Today was easy, breezy ... close to home... took me longer to set up and take down than it did to take photos. Actually, I was done taking photos by my posted start time. Packed up and was walking at the door at 9:45am.

Looking at my paperwork for tomorrow, there was no arrival time, no start time, no set up instructions. Hmmm ... asked my boss about it and she set off to find the info I needed. Well ... not really. What she found out was the job has been moved to another date. Now I am doing a job that includes 27 classes of
Kindergartner's through 2nd grader's.

Bump!

So much for smooth.

The Tapestry of Life

AUGUST! (life as a school photographer)

Good Monday Morning!

We have twins!

Returning back to normal . . .

Thematic Photographic 374 - Lightbulbs

An "old dog" learns new tricks.

Wishing for Spring

Good Monday morning!

Starting a new blog

Thematic Photographic 367 - Data

Time marches on . . .

Good Morning ... well... almost afternoon ...

~ Soft Light~Thematic Photographic 232

Your thoughts and comments are wanted ...

~Multiples~ Thematic Photographic 230

Phone a Friend Friday

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge | Best Face of 2012

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge | Best Face of 2012

Best Face of 2012

Phone A Friend Friday

~~Faves of the Year ~~ Thematic Photographic 228

Happy 2013!!

A Merry Christmas Adam to All!

Good (Sunday) Morning!

It's almost over!

FYI

Yesterday ... I almost posted ...

Faves of the Year Thematic Photographic 228