Shar's first daughter and husband. They did not even know they were being photographed.

Eslinger reunion

We just returned from a tri-annual family reunion.

It was Shar’s mother’s family and there are a bunch of them.

I was the official photographer. It has been a long time since I was a real photographer, but the task felt quite natural. I took my Canon and it’s single prime lens along with a card reader, a MacBook Air and a 1T backup drive. I might have had a Canon (though I preferred Leica’s!) in the old days, but this was a different deal. I took about 600 pictures during the three day time. One of the Cousins was also shooting and I downloaded her card onto my MacBook. I asked someone to take pictures at an event I could not attend and the pictures were emailed to me!
Wow.

Somehow it came back for me to stick my camera in someone’s face and say “I am the photographer, and I am going to take your picture.” Usually by then I had 2 or 3 frames all in the can as we used to say. If someone objected and said: “No you won’t.” I would counter with: “Yes I will” and by then I probably had a good photograph of him/her. I would say that I am sneaky enough to get the picture with or without their cooperation, but that I would get better results if they cooperated.

Shar has a lot of cousins, and I think she knows them all, and I am getting to know them better, and a few of them by name.

It was good. In the past Shar has been one of those people who make it all happen. It was good for her to sit back and see someone else take the responsibility and the heat!

It was good.

Put some air in that front tire and we can go camping.

The teardrop trailer I made about ten years ago. She has taken a lot of weather since then, sitting in the rain for long periods of rain.
The outside is pretty bad, but plans are to rebuild her this fall.
BTW, she might look small but she has a queen sized bed inside.

leaving

Once a long time ago I went to visit a daughter. It might have been that I was going through daughters town on my way somewhere else. Apparently I did not tell daughter about my plans.

I walked in the door and daughter says: “Where’s Mom?” That was when Mom was still working and could not get away. 

“I left her.” I said.

Without missing a heart beat she answered: “Sure you did.” 

Of course I did not really really leave her.

Well tonight I might say the same thing about Shar. 

I might say that she was leaving me and in a tiny way I would be right. But like my leaving Miriam, it isn’t what it might seem!

After her heart attack Shar's medical people wanted her to do a sleep test, as well as grueling therapy. So tonight she leaves me in a few minutes and spends the night in a sleep center. Not sure how one might sleep in a "center" but she has tomorrow off from her rehab, so she can sleep all day if she wishes.
It's been a while since I slept alone!

I am trying to figure out a way to make new materials look very old.
No success so far!

How . . .

People often ask:"How are you and Shar doing?"
They are sort of asking for good news, but seem to be fishing for some really interesting.
"We fight all the time." I reply.
Their entire attention is mine now.
"We have terrible fights. We can't agree on what to name our children."
They know they have been had.

ps In case you might not know: I am a grandfather of a 32 year old, Shar has 40 some great grand kids. Having babies is a real long shot at this age.

This spring I painted out "new 1993 house."
The color is the same as for my "clean" studio.
Now to do landscape! There were overgrown shrubs and trees next to the house and they are all gone and it is really empty.

June already

It has been a long time.
I wrote on this blog about 7 months ago.
Often I am overwhelmed with missing my sweet Miriam. Lady Shar is about as opposite from Miriam as two women could be, and it is good. We will be married 2 years the first of November.
Getting married at this age is a bit different than it was when we were 19 or 20.
Easier in some ways.
Harder in others.
But dull only once in a while.
A lot has happened, and yet nothing has happened.
Shar had a major heart attack in March.
She lost half of her heart so now she is going to rehab to strengthen that heart muscle.
She is doing OK, but she tires easily.
Me? I muddle along. Sometimes getting a lot of work done sometimes not so much.
The garden is in and doing well.
It is a new garden 1200 feet or so. The land hasn't been farmed for 25 or 30 years.
The weeds did well during that time!
Now we have a "War of the Weeds" going on.
All is not perfect, but it is good.