Daily archives "April 18, 2006"

My Easter Weekend

I rarely take any real time off. I go home at night, eat, sleep and all that. But time off is like 2-3 days of doing not much of anything. But this past weekend was just that… a few days off to kind of relax and enjoy family and have some fun.

Diana’s mom lives in Robesonia, PA… near Reading. The state capital is just 45 minutes west and Philadelphia about an hour and a half east/southeast. We left straight from the studio on Friday night, hoping to get in and get a good night’s sleep. That’s exactly what happened, except for the sleeping part. Sometimes you just aren’t comfortable in a bed that isn’t your own.

The dogs weathered the 150 minute trip pretty well. They liked that we put down the huge doggy pillow in the back of the car, along with a chew bone and a rope toy. Admittedly, though, they were just as happy to get there.

Jack, our Scottish Terrier. He’s 4.

Diana’s friend Elaine visited from nearby Frystown, bringing Diana a beautiful new spinning wheel to use for her yarn-spinning, at which she has become quite adept. The conversation and good times that ensued lasted well into the late afternoon. That night Dawna (mother in law) made a big pot of spaghetti and meat sauce… everyone ate. Cameron wore a good portion of it, but enjoyed it anyway. Diana’s sister Joyce came up from her nearby home (a block away) to have dinner with us and watch some TV. They left when the yawning started. 🙂

Joyce and Cameron played with the dogs in the backyard. Benny is the wheaten Scotty you see and Bagel is the Basset/Beagle mix in the center, along with Jack.

Sunday morning came with cooler weather and a beautiful bright sunshine that just says “Easter Morning.” We were all anticipating Cameron’s easter egg quest and as soon as Joyce and Bruce (Joyce’s husband) arrived, we got to the goodies. Cameron had a LOT of Easter baskets. This kid was in chocolate heaven. But the real fun came after he was quite content that he had baskets, candy, new toys and stuff to play with.

NOW it was time to go outside for the easter egg hunt.

With only a little help from the seven adults there, Cameron found all twelve of the dyed eggs and four plastic eggs with MORE chocolate goodies inside.

Mike (Cameron’s daddy) helps him recover an egg from the tree.

After a wonderful dinner of ham, potatoes, brocolli, asparagus, and rolls, we were all wondering why we felt like we did at Thanksgiving; full, ready for a nap and feeling hungry an hour later. Unlike Thanksgiving, though, there was no football. So while Bruce and Mike found a baseball game on, Cameron was outside watching for trains, exploring Dawna’s gardens and chasing the doggies around – among other things.

The dogs frolicked in the backyard on Sunday.

When he went inside and demanded Bambi, we were happy to oblige – well, they were happy anyway. I was throwing the ball for Oreo (our Sheltie).

But the movie was soon less important because of something that distracted Cameron. We all snacked on some very sinful cake combinations that Dawna had gotten at the local store. Coffee complemented the desserts and we were once again stuffed. I think Cameron missed out since he was napping. But, he played awhile longer after he got up before Jess and Mike had to head back to West Virginia, since Mike had to be at work later that evening.

Diana and I stayed on, I worked on crossword puzzles and Diana read. It was quiet and peaceful and I felt really relaxed.

Monday morning we got up and got our things together to head back home. After a quick breakfast and gathering up of the dogs, we started the trek. We made a couple of stops along the way, Benny barfed in the back of the car, and we got home in one piece.

Now, back to work. 🙂

Tony

Happy Retreat

On April 14, I had the privilege of taking some publication photos for Valley Homes and Style at the Happy Retreat home of Bill Gavin in Charles Town. You don’t get to go into many homes with so much history, but Bill was happy to share that the home’s wings were built by Mr. Charles Washington (brother of George Washington), and that the main home may have originally been built as well, but had since been razed and rebuilt in the early 1800’s by another owner of the home. With 12 foot ceilings in the main floor and eight foot ceilings in the upper floors, you can imagine I was enjoying the view.

One of my favorite rooms was the original dining room.

This exterior view would have been nicer if the weather had cooperated a little more. But I wasn’t complaining too much.

Lastly a view in the living room(s) area. Originally the living room you can see on the other side of this picture was the dining area for guests. As with most early homes, the kitchen was not inside the house. The existing dining room was for family and close friends. Today, the room you can see the most of is used as a living area and the room beyond, for which there is a sliding door, is used as a reading room. Opened to their full volume, 20-30 people can mingle easily.

You can see more images of the home in the upcoming issue of Valley Homes and Style. The history alone is going to make you long for more.

Tony

Six straight softball games

Starting Wednesday, April 5 and running through Saturday, April 8 there were four softball games that I called. Okay, so I was “scheduled.” The game on April 8 was rained out. I didn’t mind. I had a lot of stuff at the studio to do.

I also had games on Monday, April 10 (Goretti) and Tuesday, April 11 (Martinsburg). Diana came with me on Monday and ran the scoreboard. We had a great time, laughing at all the silly stuff that happens at ballgames.

One of these days I’m going to put my umpire hat back into the ring. ‘Nuff said.

Tony

Bill & Susha’s Birthday

Another of our friends, Kim, called just prior to the end of March and said that her husband and daughter were having a birthday party (complete suprise to Bill, by the way) on April 8 at the old Shepherdstown Train Station. They wanted pictures, but not the bother of taking them on their own. So she hired me to come take some shots.

After a tea party for the kids, Susha ran the show and decided it was time to open presents.

After that was no longer as much fun, she decided it was time to go outside for awhile and climb nearby rocks with the rest of the kids.

By the time she was done, all were exhausted. Kim was delighted with the photos.

Little Raegin

This girl and I have a long-standing interest in her photos. Her mother, our dear friend Frani has been coming to us for pictures of Raegin for nearly seven years. Dance pictures mostly, but also other events, sports, and school functions.

This picture was taken for a dance contest that Raegin, 16, is entering. She’s small, so I call her little Raegin. She has other names, I’m sure. But she’s sweet and smiles a lot, so I stick with little. 🙂

From the Woods

From April 5, 2006

Bev and Pete D’Amour are real estate people. Bev’s been doing this for quite awhile and Pete is something of a newcomer. They wanted headshots, then something a little unusual for Pete’s article in an upcoming magazine. I obliged both requests, and we discussed more pictures out at The Woods Resort west of Hedgesville.

Great folks, Bev and Pete. I look forward to working with them more in the near future.