Scattered Thoughts . . .

A fter checking the weather forecast for the next 10 days, we decided that today would be the best day to be outside putting up our outside Christmas lights.   We started by trimming a couple of trees around the house.  Some of the branches were touching our roof after our last snowfall a few days ago so these needed to be cut back.  On the positive side, these branches were now available to be used to make a big wreath for our front door.  We make a large wreath every year out of the branches that need to be trimmed off the trees.  So, the first thing we did today was to cut some branches and make a wreath.  This is the most back-breaking work so I wanted to start with this and get it out of the way first.  My spinal injuries have been screaming since moving some snow the other day.  It's been keeping me up at night and I cannot get comfortable.  Well...  not even close to comfortable...  at rest, the pain is around a seven on the 10 point pain scale.   We don't use the front

W e did a photo shoot with Lukey and Kenzie at sunset last night.  At around 6:30 yesterday evening, we headed out for a nearby grassy field where I could put the setting sun behind them.  It worked out fairly well and the kids learned a little bit about the real difficulties of modeling.  The kids learned that good modeling is about knowing which angles and poses work well for you...  about knowing how to express a natural smile and not a forced plastic goofy smile...  about knowing which clothes make you look good...  it is about knowing what to do with your eyes, your hands, your feet, your chin, every part of your body.  What they learned is that modeling is not about simply being a beautiful, attractive person and just standing there but that modeling is actually a verb that requires a lot of knowledge, skills and abilities.   This was good practice for me too.  I haven't done any sort of photo shoot in about two years or more.  Shooting portraits with the sun behind your mode

Back around Labor Day, Lukey came over and we brought his trains outside to the backyard.  Gee's new office is in what was the train room so we currently lack the space in the house for running trains.  Besides, bringing these trains outdoors also provides nicer backgrounds and lighting for photos. This particular day was overcast and dark clouds were moving in very quickly but we figured we had an hour or two before the rain would start.  I was not feeling all that great on this day...  I was feeling lousy enough that I vividly remember feeling lousy on this day.  I had significant breathing problems, I was nauseated and holding back vomit, and I generally felt lousy.  I also had significant spinal pain that was probably adding to the breathing problems and nausea.  We still managed to get the trains up and running in the backyard for a little while though... One of the great things about bringing the trains outdoors is that I can capture some nice photos.  The lighting is realist

We've had a busy but nice Thanksgiving weekend!  First, since Sheila's cancer is foremost in our minds, let me start by writing a little bit about how Sheila is feeling. She is still getting fatigued rather easily but, overall and considering what she has been through over the past four months, she is feeling quite well. Actually, while I was making a wreath for our front door, yesterday Sheila went for a short jog/walk! Jogging quickly proved to still be a bit painful for her so she did more walking than jogging but she has been getting back into her normal routine little by little.  Sheila didn't need to do much this weekend but she wanted to be as engaged as possible, when possible and to feel as useful as possible, when possible. When she was fatigued, she sat down and relaxed. I'm fairly certain that if you ask her about the weekend, she'd say it was a really nice weekend rather than a brutally tiring weekend. Simply having the time and energy to socialize