I dwell in Possibility
A fairer house than Prose,
More numerous of windows,
Superior of doors.Of chambers, as the cedars —
Impregnable of eye;
And for an everlasting roof
The gables of the sky.Of visitors — the fairest —
For occupation — this —
The spreading wide my narrow hands
To gather Paradise.—Emily Dickinson
I had my doubts (and fears) that the waterproof bag would work. But I took the plunge (or rather my phone did) and tried it anyway. The phone was unharmed but the experiment was kind of a flop. Mostly because the screen was impossible to see, not only because it was underwater and in a thick plastic bag but also because of the bright summer sun. That meant I was shooting blind. I got some cute pool shots with splashing water but the underwater pictures were just a bit too random. Next time…
…because in the summertime, water balloons are so much more fun than “air” balloons. (That’s wasn’t too much of a stretch, was it? We didn’t make it to the pool so I couldn’t get the shot that I thought of yesterday. Oh well, maybe tomorrow!)
It was a beautiful, sunny day — not too hot, not too cool, just about right. Then, something in the air changed. The sun was still shining, and the temperature didn’t seem much higher, but a rise in humidity made the air oppressive.
Bridget turned sixteen today. (She’s always been sweet.)
Catherine’s new lenses came in yesterday so today we went to the mall to get them put into her frames. That meant we had about an hour to wander through the mall. Since Catherine was blind without her glasses we eventually found our way to Starbucks and just sat on the couch and drank coffee. At least until Danny decided he had had enough of sitting still and wanted to go see more of the sites.
The pattern on the tires is a kind of zigzag…right?
Henry and Sam worked most of the day to build Fort Ruffing in the backyard (with raw materials we removed from the basement). By early evening, Henry and Stella were holed up in the fort, prepared for whatever Sam and Jack would hurl their way.
I almost didn’t take my camera to the park. I almost didn’t decide to practice panning. I almost forgot to try setting the focus to “continuous.” I am so glad that I decided against all those “almosts” because I love this shot! The way the light falls right on his face and the way his eyes are closed and mouth open, laughing and of course all that motion. This is Luke, age 4 1/2.
Alex spent his summer taking biology and chemistry at a local university. He’s had it with work and wants some time to play but he is very diligent about getting his studying done.
This is Bridget and Henry working on gutting the mold room. They, along with Luke, Sam, and friends Jonathan, Evan, Tally, Abby, and Jordanna have been incredibly helpful with our latest renovation project. I hope I’m paying them well enough for all of their hard work. None have complained.
Things aren’t pretty around here. I spent much of the day removing drywall screws and insulation from the mold room (in a normal world, it would be called a living room). This is a shot of the back wall, which will be getting completely replaced, because of all the water (read: mold) and ant damage. It’s just another step in the very long climb to a house that’s more than just basic shelter (if you’d like a peek at some the previous steps, you can get one here).
