Will Knit For Beer

The Lehigh Valley Brew Fest and the New York Sheep and Wool Festival were on the same weekend this year. Lucky for me, I got to do both. Hopefully I can find a Sleeping Festival in the near future because I am lacking in that department. Enjoy!

Insert funny goat sound here

Gnome Homes

 Will Knit For Beer from Jill Greenwood on Vimeo. Music: "Sick Of Myself" by Matthew Sweet

Jill

I've Erased The Last Seven Titles

Must be the age . . .

Ten years ago, I never used the words:

• blog
• texting
• curriculum based assessment
• service learning
• Facebook
• Flickr
• merino
• K2tog, SSK, yo (well, maybe a variation on that one)
• high speed Internet
• HD

Twenty years ago, I never knew that:

• my bachelor's degree would be useless
• having an empty nest would be okay (or that I would even have a need for that term)
• being married to the same person for almost 20 years is doable
• I would live so far away from my family
• I might get back in contact with friends from high school
• meeting people from the Internet isn't always a set-up for involuntary organ donation

Thirty years ago, I never worried about:

• wrinkles
• terrorism
• the economy
• how many students would be on the autistic spectrum
• whether or not my children were okay
• my students and their high stakes testing
• my husband every time he leaves for a long flight
• if I would move away from Indiana

BAM . . . week one

Forty-one years ago, it all began.

- Jill

Waiting For My Face To Return To Normal

I chipped a tooth a year ago pulling a needle through a rather tight button (I know, Mom . . . you didn't spend all that money on braces for me to use my teeth as a pliers). So today, I had the front bonded, and now I am waiting to head into work for the second half of my day. The only problem? The novocaine is really messing with the left side of my face. I don't have cavities and have only had novocaine once when I was 12 . . . so this is really freaking me out.

So I'm distracting myself with some photos from our really quick trip to Philadelphia to see the Girls this weekend . . . and focusing on Brew Fest.

- Jill

Jordan at Ted's

Shelby at the Franklin Fountain

Olive (who hasn't changed a bit)

Pretty much how we live . . . and I kind of like it like that

Our 10.10.10

I'm about to be honest in the next sentence.  Don't get mad at me or think I'm a horrible mother.  But...

I've been finding that photographing my family is getting a little boring.  This doesn't mean I find my family boring.  Not at all.  Cooper's dances moves are nothing short of fantastic.  Becks talks in silly voices whenever he's playing with his Star Wars characters.  I just mean that shooting my family constantly all day long isn't as fun any more.  Sometimes even shooting a few frames isn't even fun.  I have hundreds of photos of them flashing a grin.  I've captured tons of frames of them doing ordinary things.  They still produce a million camera worthy shots.  I just don't feel the need to snap the shutter with them in my focus.  Maybe it's time to travel to another home.  Just to visit.  I can't walk out on the family.  How would they do the laundry?

But I miss that photography excitement in my house.  So on 10.10.10, I wanted to see if I could fall back into that pattern.  Snap all day long.  Create moments when it isn't technically a photo-worthy moment.  See what happens.  So I kept the camera close & never put the lens cap on.  We had a normal day.  It was actually pretty boring.  We didn't run into any celebrities.  We didn't see a rainbow or visit a gorgeous pumpkin patch which we totally should have.  We just went shopping, wrestled, had ice cream for lunch, had a nap melt-down (he won & then I won), did the dishes twice, dinner, & bedtime.  Nothing fantastic.  Just ordinary junk.  But what I learned was that the right song mixed with a frozen moment can make ordinary look pretty darn beautiful.

10.10.10 from Erika Ray on Vimeo.

-Erika
"Better Together"-Jack Johnsom & Paula Fuga
All frames are in order from our day.

101010

Go on & shoot something today.  And then share it. 

We started early.  I should probably feed my children before I let them hold the lens cap. 

Find more info here.

-erika

"It's Friday & I'm in Love" The Sun by Tip Top

I can't stop looking at these photos & I can't stop searching for this light.  While we were driving, it was so bright Jill was hoping that it was a green light.  It was & we arrived safely.  When you shoot into, it actually hurt & blinded you.  But it was worth the pain.

I can't bring myself to toss the blurry ones.

Or the ones that were accidental misfires & had to be rescued in ACR.

I want to hang out on this street & just hope the sun comes back.  It's a good pay-off for looking like a creepy homeless woman muttering about the sun.

Here's a slideshow from our Flickr Meet-up.  Next time, I'm going to do a better job of capturing everyone. We were supposed to do a larger walk with more friends before dinner, but it was raining. Next time...

Flickr Meet-up from Erika Ray on Vimeo.

Thanks, Xanthe for the tip!  This should be a shared "It's Friday & I'm in Love" post because I can't stop watching her video.  Can't stop.

Grateful because...

these women appreciate a good picture.
these women think it's funny to talk about fake sun flare.
these women know how to make Fart Putty explode.
these women don't flinch when you call said Fart Putty, "Pussy Putty."
these women know what to do when you're mobbed by co-eds.
these women know how to rock sun flare out of their asses.
these women love their families.
these women travel to meet their friends.
these women don't make first meetings awkward.
these women are already talking about the next time we walk.
these women feel like I've known them for a long time.
these women don't mind sharing their secrets.
these women don't mind dirty drinking glasses or don't mind cleaning them.
these women like wine & beer.
these women can't stop staring at Beyonce's thighs.
these women talk to strangers online & fly to their homes.
these women talk to strangers on campus & ask to take their picture.
these women are my friends.

-oxoxo
Erika.