December was a month of both delights and disappointments. The first week of the month coincided with finals week for winter term, and, as it turns out, I landed with a 3.75 for the term. My A&P grade was actually dead even at 80%; just barely a B. This was, of course, the class that had me tearing my meager hair out and driving everyone insane. I did't improve my grade on record, but I did't overwrite it with a lower one either, which would have been pretty bad....
That Friday, the 9th, our friends Bob and Fara Grim threw quite a nice holiday party, allowing us to get out of the house and meet some fascinating people. There were even a couple of kids there to join us for the Christmas boats and to ham it up in front of the camera - they actually got into the habit of thinking up a new trick every few minutes and shouting for my attention with a cry of "Hey mister!"
The following Wednesday, the 13th, found us with a rather uplifting discovery, as we sallied forth in search of crafting supplies for Christmas. As it turns out, someone had decided to decorate an evergreen by the 500 exit to 205. It was really quite a touching thought for someone to have put in place, and it even stayed intact for the remainder of the season, apparently invulnerable to the effects of random holiday jerks.
We went to visit with Eden's grandma Vivan that friday, the 15th, both to put up her tree, and to abuse said tree, just a bit, for the purpose of taking pictures of a few of Eden's origami ornaments in place.
The girls decided to experiment a bit with uniforms for Fairy Floss, leading to Eden whipping up some charming pink Santa hats. Our friend Vash took a moment to pose in one when we went to visit for a few card games, and also showed off his new Jayne hat that Eden had made for him for Christmas. Of course, the girls looked cute in the hats too!
Another new project and photo opportunity arose when the girls built a gingerbread house this year. Fortunately, I was able to set up a few shots before pieces started "mysteriously" disappearing from the structure.
Christmas was again a rather wonderful week long event this year, allowing us to celebrate with just our small family in Vancouver on the 24th, then with the full Scheans clan down at grandma Vivians on the 25th. Unfortunately, while I was feeling relatively ok in the morning, allowing me to take advantage of an unprecedented clear view of Mt. Hood over the river, epic migraine pretty much checked me out for the duration of the festivities, and the camera stayed holstered for the duration.
Eden and I headed to the airport, and on to Minnesota early on the 26th, letting us join the Byram clan at Bugbee in time to celebrate my mother's bithday.
The 27th proved to be a bit of a mixed bag, in that I managed to persuade Sue to drop me off just outside of town instead of driving all the way back to Bugbee - I got a few interesting HDR setups done that I've only recently finished processing. Unfortunately, the horrible migraines that have been plaguing me reared up and left me cowering down in our loaner bedroom in the evening, instead of joining in with the rest of the group in swapping stories and playing board games.
The kids were eager to play in front of the camera, and had a great time posing whenever they got the chance. I had a lot of fun getting some dynamic photos of everyone outside, having had a year to brush up on my action techniques since last time. Of course, the luge from last year had melted, but that sure as heck didn't stop the family from building a bigger and better course this year.
Eden and I happened across a colony of feral cats living on the grounds by the garbage burn pile in the afternoon of the 28th. Despire the squalor of their living environment, and the horribly chilly weather, the cats seemed to be surviving pretty well. They made rather wonderful (and soulful) photo subjects - honestly the shots I came home with could easily grab PETA a ton of money.
We left Bugbee late on the morning of the 29th, but not before taking a few runs on the resurrected luge, and taking a few more shots of the sledders. Eden's fingerless gloves had caused just a bit of lust from the girls, so she decided to knit up 3 more sets (she's just incredibly fast at this stuff) and present them just before we left. Needless to say, the gifts went over quite well.
We stopped at Tim's house on the way through St. Cloud and even got a chance to visit his ice fishing hut, which was quite a new experience. Dad had originally planned on making dinner for the family once we arrived in Duluth, but challenges in the kitchen led to a decision to have dinner at the Clyde ironworks instead. While the food and the service were a bit shaky, I found the experience to be quite fascinating, as the had dozens of pictures from when the foundry was working decades ago - given the photographic technology of the time, some of the pictures were just flat out amazing.
The next two days were a strange mix of agony and delight. We got the chance to visit with my grandma Snow, and Eden got to play over at the Yarn Barn again (I swear, I think she'd go to Minnesota for that experience alone), but my migraine cycle just kept amping up more and more, peaking with me zonked almost out of my mind, clutching an icepack to my forehead rather desperately while trying to eat at least a little of the delightful New Years repast that Betsy and Jerry had put together. Needless to say, I don't think it made the best impression on our hosts.
No comments:
Post a Comment