Holidays, birthdays and art shows

I am constantly amazed at technology. Take blogs for instance. Who would have thought 10 years ago that a little journal-esque application would bring together people from all over the world like it has? I admit it, I'm guilty. I have spent many an afternoon checking up on the goings-on of friends, family and people I don't know. I love it and I'm glad to be a part of it. It gives me a voice that I might not have otherwise had and allows me to share my work with all of you out there in cyberspace. What about you? What does your blog do for you? I love to read other blogs so leave me a comment with your link and I'll pop over and say "HI".

Now onto the stuff. First, we had a lovely holiday. My mother-in-law came in from Tucson to spend the week with us. She likes to earn what she calls "good mother-in-law" points so she does a lot of cleaning and babysitting. (No complaints here!) Thanksgiving plans consisted of dinner with good friends, Ron and Marcia, and their kids/grandkids (13 of us total). But emergency eye surgery for Ron's detached retina put a hold on our plans. So we stayed home, ate leftover Chinese food, played games and watched a movie. It was so much fun that we hardly missed the big dinner. The most important thing to us was that Ron was okay. Although still recovering in the hospital, they convinced us to go ahead with dinner so the following afternoon we celebrated the holiday without them. We had great fun with their kids and, thankfully, Ron's surgery went well so he was back home after a couple days.

I celebrated my 39th birthday on the 25th. We actually celebrated a little early so my mother-in-law could be here. Tradition at our house dictates that you get to pick out your cake so the kiddos and I headed to the bakery. With their help I picked a marble cake with violet-blue flowers. It's fun to see the kids so excited over cake. Don't you wish you could get that excited over something as simple as cake? LOL. Our good friend, Donny, came over to share in the festivities as well. I got a pair of slippers, which I desperately need now that we're back in the Midwest, and warm jammies to match. And I got a new chair (to match my new desk) for my office. Oh, and I filled the must-own-new-shoes gap with a new pair of leather boots :) Happy birthday to me!

Finally, to round off the week and this post, something very unexpected and exciting...my photographs that I submitted to the gallery SOLD! *insert beaming ear to ear grin here* The opening was a HUGE success and not just because I sold both pieces! It was wall to wall people with a line out the door (such a great sight to see in our fair city). It was so successful, in fact, that Art Youngstown is able to extend the show another day and will have gallery hours 12-8 Saturday, December 1st. It's obvious that an art presence is needed in our downtown permanently. I was flattered to be asked by the organizers to submit more (four more to be exact) for the show on Saturday AND again for the show in February. I received a lot of great feedback from people including, much to my surprise, the art director from YSU. I am just blown away by all this!

Huge thank yous to my family for all your support and to my friend, Deb, who loves being right! ;-)

Hope everything is well in your neck of the woods.

Cheers,
Jaci

BTW...With the help of my hubby I'm going to be making some changes to the blog very soon so be on the lookout :)



I called this one "Broken Door" and it was the first to go. It's a door from the old factory my dad worked at when I was a kid.


Recognize anything on that wall? Yup, "Babies" is mine. Apparently this one started quite a discussion amongst some folks. I took it at the Oak Hill Cemetery a few weeks back. Someone asked what inspired this picture and it was simply that I thought it was sad that someone had to endure more than one loss.



That red dot means that it's SOLD! Thanks to my hubby who had the wherewithal to whip out his cell phone and capture this for posterity.

There's news to share

OK, I've been teasing you for a while now about some exciting news I have. Many of you thought I was pregnant again but I can assure you, it's not that LOL! I am getting closer to sharing this with you, I promise. I'm just waiting for a few more things to fall into place and then you'll know. Until then, I do have a bit of good news...a local gallery that just opened downtown called Art Youngstown is having their inaugural exhibition on the 23rd and two of my photographs will be in it. I'm very excited about it but, honestly, it does feels a little odd to me as I've never really thought of myself as an "artist". This statement got me scolded from my friend, Deb, who insists that my photographs are indeed art and I need to change my mindset. (I hope she's being honest 'cuz she's getting one of the pieces! LOL!) Anyway, I plan on grabbing some photos of my work hanging in the gallery so I'll be sure to share them when I do. Imagine, my photos in a real gallery! Who'd have thunk it?

Cheers,
Jaci

The visit is over

Once again we had a wonderful time with the CO Clarks. It was the perfect time for a visit as the leaves had just started to change color a few weeks earlier and everything was in full Fall bloom. Except for the first day which was rainy, we had lovely weather too. Not too cold but nice and crisp. It was also the first time they'd seen our new house so it was fun to see their reaction.

The week was filled with Boogle, Balderdash and Pente. Whenever the Clarks visit there are games to be had! I LOVE that about them. Hubby and I also had a chance to finally celebrate our 9th anniversary. We ducked out for an overnighter coupled with dinner and a movie. Our favorite Crab place was unfortunately closed. We should have done better "homework" but we were so excited at the thought of getting away for a night we made a quick exit before anyone could change their minds! LOL! So instead, we went to our favorite Mexican joint, the Cancun Restaurant. The last time we were there was with our good friends, Don Yallech, Mark Thomae and Bob Fitzer. We also went to see Across the Universe. This is a seriously, visually-interesting movie. I'd love to see it again because I feel like while watching one thing, I missed another.

We dropped the CO Clarks back at the airport on the 30th then scurried around trying to get ready for Halloween. Ridley decided she wanted to be a witch and I found the cutest costume for her! Unfortunately, it was WAY too long and needed to be hemmed. Sewing is not a strong suit for me but I managed to add some big ol' basting stitches and made it work. Boston went as Harry Potter and was the hit of the neighborhood. Everyone recognized who he was. He had the glasses, wand and even a scar. We took the kids out for the first hour of trick-or-treating then returned home to pass out candy. The line of kids was pretty slow at first but as soon as the sun started to set they came in droves. Cars were parked down the street for blocks and kids came from all directions! We ended up going through eight bags of candy!

What a fun night and fun visit! Can't wait to do it again. Here's a few pictures from the week.

Cheers,
Jaci


Bean's feet.


Having a snuggle with Grams.


It's Harry Potter and his witch friend, Hermione.


EXPECTO PATRONUM!

Can you be a witch with such a sweet face?

Dear Blog, it's picture day

Photography has been on my mind for as long as I can remember. I got my first camera when I was eight and never looked back. Throughout my life I have done a lot of things but there have only been a handful that I've actually done well. Photography is one of them. With that in mind I've recently decided to make photography a priority. For me this means that I will dedicate "X" amount of hours a week (my goal is at least 4) to just getting out there and taking pictures. I'm hoping that the commitment to actually using my camera for things other than snapshots of the kiddos will not only help me to take better pictures but also get me better acquainted with my new equipment.
For my first picture day I ventured into one of the oldest cemeteries in town, Oak Hill Cemetery. It's literally built into the side of a hill and it's beautiful! My hubby and I wandered around for about 45 minutes or so and snapped away. The oldest date we could find was 1785. That's pretty old. We also found the names of some of the famous people from our town. You know, the ones that have streets names after them.
We also went to the old factory that my dad worked at when I was kid, GF (General Fireproofing.) They filed for bankruptcy in 1989 and closed the plant. It was a hard time for my dad as he was only a few years from retirement. Over the years, the plant had been a source of employment for my dad, my grandfather and three of my aunts (who worked in the office.) It was sad on many levels to see it go. It's even sadder to see it now, completely run down. All the windows are broken out, the doors have been ripped from their hinges and it's rusted through and through. I does make for interesting photos though.
On the way to the cemetery we found these HUGE tractors that were parked in what we thought was a vacant lot. When I say HUGE I mean huge like the tires were as tall as me and I'm 5' 10"! They obviously hadn't been used in years as there were plants and flowers growing on them and were totally rusted out. I popped out of the car to snap off some pics and about 5 minutes into it I found myself answering to a man in a big, ol' pickup truck asking, "Can I help you with something?" "Um, no thanks. I'm just taking a few pictures." Apparently that was enough for him 'cuz he just said "OK" and drove away.
The morning was great fun and I got lots of fun shots! Can't wait to do it again next weekend.

Cheers,
Jaci

BTW...If you want to see more of the details be sure to click on the photo.


This gnarly, old tractor made for a great shot.


We found this run-down house while driving around the south side.

This is part of GF, the plant my dad used to work at. It's completely grown over and run down but there's so much beauty to be had in it.


Some people pay BIG money to have this finish painted on cabinets/doors/etc. It's gorgeous!

This little structure stands directly across from the plant. Apparently, if there was ever a fire this is where the hose would come from.


This is one of my favorites from the day.

Here you can see the rolling hills the cemetery is built on. Oh and if you look closely you see my hubby too.
This beautiful tree just jumped out at me. Man, I forgot what Ohio autumns are like!