What I've Been Up To, Mostly

- Gearing up for my fifth year in a job I barely tolerate. On a bright note, it occurred to me that I'm putting in maybe 30 hours a week, and getting away with it. But I spend about two hours a day on the road, which eats up any gain.

- Adjusting to an empty nest. If you don't count my college son coming home every weekend, or babysitting for friends, or extra people occasionally for dinner.

- Senior portrait photography. I'm constantly comparing myself to the professionals with their $5000 Nikon cameras and their full versions of Photoshop, and of course I come up short. But I don't really do too badly with what I have, I guess, and the bonus is that it's a creative outlet. Here are a couple of samples:

Photo, No Words

Favorite Photos from the Weekend

My youngest son, Cord, went to his first high school prom last night. Earlier in the week we'd dashed to the nearest tuxedo rental place at nearly the last minute, where a tailor asked him to fill in a form with his name and address. None of my sons have ever cared about their handwriting, and Cord's C's look like L's. So when the young girl at the computer later entered the order for Cord's tuxedo, he became Lord [last name]. We laughed about it at the time, and the girl made no effort to change it.

When I went to pick up the tuxedo on Friday, I used my best British accent when I asked for Lord [last name]'s tuxedo.

Here is milord (on the left) and his friends:



Since the light yesterday evening was so beautiful (overcast after a rain), I came home and shot some photos of my middle son and his girlfriend. This is a favorite - a shot I copied from a photo my niece did of a couple and their John Deere tractor.

Roses With Gaudy-an Blur

I'm puzzled over this whole Photoshop thing.