Camper

Kitchen Helper

True confession: As my retirement approached, I found myself feeling a little nervous about the fact that I was going to be keeping Campbell every day while her parents were at work. On the one hand, I was thrilled to have this special time with her, to have her all to myself. On the other hand, I remembered being the mother of a 4 year old. I was not the most patient mom around.

Since taking over Campbell's daycare responsibilities, I've realized more fully than I did before that there is a big difference between caring for a young child during daytime hours versus caring for a child 24/7. My patience isn't infinite by any means, but it's much more enduring than it was thirty years ago. It helps that Campbell has been a most delightful child to keep. She's bright, she's engaging, she's witty, she's fun, always ready for a new adventure.

And always eager to help. Which is where this photo comes in. Today while I was cooking the vegetable soup for our dinner, Campbell kept asking, "What can I do?" Well, of course a 4 year old child can't chop vegetables so finally I let her pour liquids in the soup pot and stir for me. As I watched her, I knew I wanted to capture this image, so I ran upstairs to grab my camera. (When will I learn to keep it by my side?) This is the moment I captured.

It may not be special to you but I assure you, it is plenty special to me. In a sense, it defines the roles I play now: Teacher, nurturer, companion, and always, grandmother.

Does it get any better than this?

Dotti

Walt Disney World Reflections

There are so many photos from Disney that I'd like to share with you but in an effort to keep from overwhelming you, I'll send them to you in storyboard form over the next few days as they come out of my Photoshop Elements program.

We ate at Tony's Restaurant our first evening at Disney. All you Lady and the Tramp fans know that Tony's is the restaurant where Lady and Tramp first "hooked" up so the Tony's at Disney, is of course, modeled after the restaurant in the movie. Not only was it huge fun, the food was actually very good ... this from a self-avowed critic of all Italian cuisine.

I was lucky enough to get some fun photos from that evening which you see in the storyboard above. Descriptions are as follows:

Upper left: Campbell playing in the fountain that was just a few feet from our table.

Upper right: The Lady and the Tramp statue that sits atop the fountain.

Middle right: Campbell and Krista eat spaghetti a la Lady and Tramp.

Bottom right: The actual fountain mentioned here.

Bottom left: Krista and Adam

Middle left: Tony's menu.

If there is a Walt Disney World trip in your future, I encourage you to include Tony's in your dining plans. It was not only a delicious experience but a charming one as well.

Dotti

PS - I'm posting today over at Focusing on Life. Stop by and say "hello"!

More Color Therapy

For a person who loves color, winter in Central Kentucky is a real challenge. The grey skies with cold temperatures create an unhappy scenario for me. Fortunately, a few years ago I discovered one way to beat the winter blahs: photography. In particular, photographing colorful things and what could be better than tulips from the supermarket.

Here I am with my latest exercise in color therapy. I’ve added some Kim Klassen textures to these photos. Textures are layers of artwork and designs added to the digital images in order to enhance the original photos, making them more artistic.

Since I happen to be taking Kim’s current class, Beyond Layers, the appearance of tulips in our home is a welcome happenstance. And since this week’s assignment is “less is more” I decided to have some fun.

 

The first bunch of tulips were these lovely yellow ones.

 

This is a lone, red tulip, well past its prime but still photogenic.

And finally, the tulips that I have in my work space.

Yes, I indulge myself in the winter, even in my work space, with flowers for color therapy and candles for light therapy. Spring with its color and sunshine can’t get here soon enough for me!

Dotti

 

Musing on 2011

One of my recent photo assignments for a Flickr group was to gather together some of my favorite photos from 2011.  Oh my goodness!  What a difficult task that proved to be!  I felt like somebody had asked me to choose which of my children was my favorite. Of course, I only have one child so that's not something I'll ever be confronted with but you get the point.  While my photos are not as precious as my family, many of them are special to me, some for pure artistry, others for warm memories.

As I tackled this task, I couldn't help but ruminate on the year just past.  It was a good year! There are so many fun memories tucked in my photo files.  Small wonder I back them up in three places! I can also look back and see how my work has improved . . . or not.  I certainly hope it's the former rather than the latter.

But, my oh my - where does the time go? It seems that days are long (though never long enough) and years are short.  Krista keeps remarking about how big Campbell is getting.  Even though that's to be expected, I understand exactly what she means. There was a time when I thought my little girl would never grow up.  But look at her now!  A mother of her own 4-year-old daughter. I'm glad she cherishes these wonderful early years with Campbell because once they're gone, they're gone.

But not one to be glum, I look forward to the many good times ahead.  Yes, Campbell is growing up way too fast but it is such an exciting journey.  How can our hearts and minds ever hold all the precious memories we're creating together?

One thing is for sure, I'm glad my camera is never far from my side.  I probably have at least 15,000 pictures on my hard drives, I've made a dozen or more photo books, I've printed and framed many of our favorites.  And there's a reason for all of this: I want to preserve as many of our precious family memories as I can.  This is my legacy to my daughter and granddaughter.

Dotti

Winter Color

What do you do in the winter for color therapy? I buy flowers at the grocery store and bring them home not only to adorn our house but because they are great to photograph. And tulips are just about the best thing in the world to photograph indoors during the cold and grey of winter. They're great to photograph outdoors in the spring, too, but that's another post.

I've said for years the thing that bothers me most about winter is not the cold (although I don't like it) but the absence of color and sun. Thus far this winter, we've had an abundance of sunshine, moderate temperatures and no snow but, of course, there's no promise how long that will last! Typically our winters are full of grey skies. So a few years ago I began the practice of importing color into our house with supermarket flowers.

During the winter, the late afternoon sun shining through our kitchen window is mesmerizing. The angle and the light are magical. When there are flowers sitting on the kitchen table (which is often), I can't overcome the temptation to grab the camera and snap the shutter. Again and again. This afternoon I was inspired to do a light study with my tulips.

That's my prescription for winter color therapy. What about you? What do you do to infuse some color into your life in winter?

Dotti

Life is Awesome

It's funny, I hadn't read Mom's last post until just now when I got on to throw up this quick reflection but somehow they dovetail nicely since mine also focuses - a little - on a single word: Awesome.

My day job is a bit unconventional.  I run a national leadership development program so in addition to at times mundane program management, I am tasked with keeping in touch with and engaging our program alumni.  Part of doing that is seeking to keep them inspired and guiding them on a continuing journey of self-improvement.  So, I regularly find myself on not so mundane websites like TED seeking inspiration.  While on one of those searches this morning I came across this video that absolutely wowed me. It struck a chord personally and, was a great fit for my professional self as well.

On the personal side - my holiday break was one of mixed emotions. While I enjoy the actual tasks of my job, it is located 53 miles from our house and necessitates two hours on the road daily to commute.  That didn't bother me much when I started six years ago, then I had Campbell and the older she gets the harder losing that time gets. I had a rare job prospect in the little town we live in just before Christmas and was one of two finalists for the position.  Unfortunately I got word on Dec. 22 that I did not get the job.  I was devastated.  I had dreams of a "normal" life being home when my child woke-up in the morning, being able to help do her hair before school, saving a TON of money on gas . . . . I called my Mom sobbing, she immediately rushed over to help me calm down and to reassure Campbell that her Mommy was no crazier than she'd ever been and that everything would be okay.

At first I thought the timing of the news was the worst possible - right before Christmas.  Those first 24 hours or so I struggled to be the least bit festive as my child anticpated Christmas morning.  But then I sat in church on Christmas Eve and watched my baby color with her Daddy (because neither had any interest in the service going on around them).  Our church's candlelight Christmas Eve service has always been one of my favorite nights of the year and I spent that hour thankful for the pew full of loved ones I had around me and finding a new sense of peace with my station in life. The next morning we were all treated to the huge smiles and ectatic jumping for joy of a delighted Campbell who found out she was going to Disney World.  It turns out the timing for that bad news was actually perfect.

 

(Campbell upon realizing she is Disney bound)

All of these recent feelings and events were brought to mind as I watched the "Awesome video" and I sit here reveling in how truly lucky I am.  I still have to drive two hours a day and that still stinks.  But I have a decent paying job and one that I enjoy doing.  I have an amazing husband who never complains about being stuck with 90% of the parenting duties and shuttling to/from school, etc. And now, Campbell is spending her time away from me with Dotdot instead of in a daycare environment and she is already flourishing (she can read 17 words now, thank you very much!).  Plus, in 27 days we're going to Disney World!  

My life's not too shabby . . . . in fact, it's pretty awesome!

(Now to teach Daddy how to do Campbell's hair before real school starts next fall!  A little girl can't go to kindergarten with bed head!)

2012 - Renew

There's a new trend that's been emerging the past few years on the internet, one that I heard about this time last year but didn't pay much heed to. To be honest, I thought it was hokey. The idea is that instead of making resolutions (which I don't do either) you choose a word to guide you through the year on a journey to personal growth. It just didn't resonate with me.

But life is funny. I was doing some mindless shopping while on our family vacation in June when I came across a little pile of small, polished, enamel stones inscribed with words. I looked at them, read them, fingered them, walked away, came back. There was one word in particular that seemed to call me: INSPIRE. On a whim, I bought it. When I got home, I placed it near my computer where it still sits. My idea was that it would remind me to try to inspire others (particularly Campbell) to be all that they can be, to find the joy in life. But I think the stone has done more to inspire me then it has propelled me to inspire others. I've used it a number of times in photos over the past months.

 

Fast forward to December 2011, Christmas Day, to be exact. I hadn't given any thought to choosing a word for 2012, in fact, I was still working on "Inspire" since I'd only had it for six months. But the "word gods" had other ideas.

While hanging around on Christmas morning, camera in hand, of course, I spotted Krista's coffee mug. Because I find mugs an interesting subject to photograph, I snapped  a few shots. It wasn't until later in the day when I was downloading my photos that I spotted the word on the mug: RENEW.

My heart beat a little quicker and my mind started working. Renew. That's exactly where I considered myself to be at this time in my life as I enter the retirement phase of my life story. December 28 was my last day "at work". I would become a stay-at-home person after more than 26 years, I would become primary daycare provider for Campbell when she was not at school and her parents were not at work, and I would become a "photographer". This was indeed a time of renewal for me.

And so, my word for 2012 found me. It inspired (ah! there's that word again!) me to write a prompt about words for our Flickr photo group and it propelled me to take a year-long online course, One Little Word. This is all new territory for me but the skeptic in me is being hushed and I find myself eagerly joining my photography pals in exploring the word renew and the possibilities that it might bring to me in 2012.

What about you? Do you make resolutions or do you choose a word each year to inspire you through your journey?

 Dotti

Happy New Year!!!

All of us here at Camper wish all of you

the happiest of new years.

Krista, Campbell and Dotti

Sea Change Ahead

After 26 plus years in my job at a small liberal arts college, I have retired. Today was my final day. I've pondered this day seriously for the past year and early in August, after I'd decided on the date, I informed my supervisor of my decision. For the past five months, I've been preparing myself mentally and emotionally for this day.

How would I feel when I walked out of my office, out of the building where I'd worked 14 of my 26 years? The building I'd played such a key role in designing and furnishing? The office that was built to my needs and specifications? How would it feel to turn all that over to somebody else?

I was surprisingly dry-eyed, no doubt due in part to the fact that there were only two other people there working with me today, one the person I've been training to replace me and the other was the only person still in our department who was working there when I started my career at the college in 1985.

In my heart and in my head, I've known that I was ready for this moment but before I departed that space where I'd spent so many hours, I snapped a few shots to hold in my memory and to share with you.

The  scene before me every time I entered the door of my office.

The beautiful face that greeted me the last few months every time I turned on my computer and countless times throughout the day.

The  view as I sat in my chair, often looking at pictures of my family. I kept a lot of photos in my office. Not only did they inspire me and calm me, they reminded me of who I am and what's important on those all too frequent occasions when the stress of work seemed overwhelming.

And finally, the window behind my computer monitor that I've looked out of thousands of times to watch the scene below unfold. Today it was deserted because of Christmas break but often it was filled with college students running to and fro.

My daughter and son-in-law graduated from this college. Maybe someday their daughter will attend this college, and again, maybe not. I spent more than 26 years of my life here buying things and designing interior spaces in every single building on this campus. I'm proud of my work. I'm grateful for the many good people I've worked with on campus and off, colleagues from other schools.

But, I'm ready for the next chapter. There's a life outside Centre College waiting for me. A life spent providing quality daycare for my granddaughter. There are countless photos out there to be taken. So much to learn to help me be a better photographer, a better artist. There are so many places out there yet to be visited with my husband, daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law.

Yes ... I'm ready.

Dotti

Christmas + 2

The  long-awaited Christmas celebration is now history. We had a wonderful Christmas weekend and hope you did, too. The day after brings some welcome quiet and tranquility. Since our festivities begin with Christmas Eve -- church, Christmas Eve Tea, and "magic" family pictures -- we have two special days to celebrate and share with one another.

These are cranberry orange scones that have become a staple on our menu which is patterned after a High British Tea. Krista tells me this is her favorite holiday tradition. It takes a bit of preparation but it is something we all enjoy, complete with a pretty table and lots of candlelight.

Following the tea, we take family photos using the tripod and self-timer on the camera. This year we decided to have some fun with mustaches. Needless to say, there were giggles all around. As always, the best part of every holiday is just hanging out with each other.

Finally, a thought to leave with you as we approach the new year. I know that once the Christmas festivities are complete, I feel the need for renewal. The week between Christmas and New Year's is the perfect time for it. I don't look back at New Year's as much as I look forward ... forward to the adventures ahead.

How about you? What adventures does 2012 have in store for you? I have several things lined up which you'll be hearing about on these pages so ...

More to come ...

Dotti