The Chocolate Cure

When it's February and below zero in New York City, make chocolate!

Boyhood

Occasionally, during a rare moment of stillness and absent of goofy faces, my son will let me take his portrait. Since boyhood is so fleeting, I try and do a window lit session from time to time, primarily for his yearly print album. Seeing how his features change over time and how his personality comes through in each image is such a joy - and hopefully will be his too one day as he looks back on these years. Of course, I also send copies to send to his grandmas, who are always happy to receive a recent photo of their grandson.

[Click images to view full scale]

 

Denim & Gold

This week I just wanted to take a photo of the boys, in their matching denim and gold sneakers, from what I consider to be an interesting perspective. Perhaps one day the boys will smile as they look back at this snapshot from their childhood.  

Denim & Gold

A Christmas Tradition

Every year around Christmas time my oldest son and I go to Grand Central to see the Lionel holiday train show, riding as many different subway trains as possible to get there. We arrived just as they opened this year and practically had the whole exhibit to ourselves. He ran in circles watching the trains go in and out of tunnels, over bridges and along the elevated tracks.

"There's the MetroNorth train! ... The 1 train! ... Look Mom! There's the Polar Express!"  

Right across from the train show is Zaro's bakery where we get our favorite New York classic - the black and white cookie. We always get the mini 2-pack to share before heading to our next destination, the real tracks of Grand Central.  

A very favorite things to do is go from track to track, finding out where the next train is going and when it is leaving. Will it take people to New Haven, Connecticut?  Upstate New York?

We hang around as a couple of trains pull into Grand Central, opening its doors and delivering its cheery passengers into the heart of the city. 

After watching the trains and strolling through the holiday market in the terminal, we head out onto 42nd street to begin making our way over to Rockefeller Center.  

Once there we brave the mighty crowds, but still manage to snag a prime view of the big tree and the skaters below. Even Santa was doing a few laps on the ice. 

Our last stop is Magnolia Bakery for some of their amazing hot chocolate topped with big homemade marshmallow squares. There's no better way to cap off our day. With tired feet and happy hearts, we wait for the D train to take us back up to Harlem.  

It's no secret that New York City does Christmas better than anywhere else.  And lucky for us, it happens to be the place we call home.    

  

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!  Wherever you are, may your season be merry and bright.

Happy Halloween

"KNOW YOURSELF.  ONLY THEN CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THE POWER YOU HAVE TO BRING CHANGE, NO MATTER HOW SMALL, TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU."  -  OPTIMUS PRIME, LEADER OF THE AUTOBOTS

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL YOU SENTIENTS!

Gone Daddy

It was 5 o'clock and Daddy had just left for work.  This little one went crying throughout the apartment, looking for him in every room. 

Four

 

“Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting.”

― Richard Paul Evans, The Gift

 

Happy Fourth Birthday Big Boy!  I'm always so grateful when I capture this smile.

Commitment

They started dating in 1949, when he was 16 and she was 15.

 They married on June 30th, 1956, when he was 22 and she was 21.

 All in all, they've been "going steady" for over 65 years.

My Dad, also lovingly known as "Pow Pow" by my oldest son, will turn eighty-one in just a few days.  But he's not just sitting idly around.  He and my mother, his one true and long time love, have been jet setting around the world for nearly 30 years and are presently on a trip to Easter Island.  

Happy birthday and happy travels to the greatest example of commitment I know.

Wind Chasers

“A kite is a victim you are sure of.

You love it because it pulls

gentle enough to call you master,

strong enough to call you fool;

because it lives

like a desperate trained falcon

in the high sweet air,

and you can always haul it down

to tame it in your drawer.

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A kite is a fish you have already caught

in a pool where no fish come,

so you play him carefully and long,

and hope he won't give up,

or the wind die down.

A kite is the last poem you've written

so you give it to the wind,

but you don't let it go

until someone finds you

something else to do.”

- Leonard Cohen, The Spice Box of Earth

Pre-Season

Goalie

The family spent a beautiful Saturday morning at Riverbank State Park playing soccer, basketball and baseball.  The biggest highlight was this one-handed, four finger dunk (Daddy got the assist!) in front of the Holcombe Rucker tournament players.    

Four Finger Dunk

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Classic Compositon: Rule of Thirds {Week 44}

Our August topic is Classic Rules of Composition. The Rule of Thirds is a traditional guideline for composing an image which divides the canvas into nine equal parts. In composing your image, placing a point of interest on an intersection point which measures one third from the side edge of the canvas or from the top or bottom edges, results in a more visually interesting image than with an alternate placement.

Below is a photo of my oldest son, still very much an amateur swimmer.  But security comes in all forms.  Sometimes it's as simple as an inflatable fish boat and a couple of water wings.

Happy Summer!

Click HERE to visit our collective blog site, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.  

Afloat



Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my husband, my best friend...the one who makes our two young boys laugh with abandon.   

And to all the involved, loving and patient fathers out there - you are helping make this world a better place.

We celebrate you today!