Dandy up...

Dandy up
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

Digging back thru the archives to come up with something for the blog... it's been grey and icky (although warm) around here for days now so I haven't really done any shooting... although from what I hear it's just gonna get worse... we've got a cold front coming in with some high winds and rain... rain... come on... I need some SNOW! Not much.. just enough to coat the ground... it's driving me nuts... I see pics from all over the country on Flickr.. snow in Oregon... snow in Montana.. snow in Colorado... snow in New York... hell.. snow in TEXAS... the pictures are all beautiful... but no... not even a flurry here... *sigh**... I may have to just stick to the night shots of Christmas decorations where you can't really see that there is no snow on the ground...

Thanksgiving musings...

Warm and cozy...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

I just realized I hadn't exactly blogged that much about our Thanksgiving celebration... well... Everyone behaved themselves!... nothing got broken (unlike in years past and I still don't have any knobs on my stove!)... the Stupid Little Angry Dog didn't bite anyone... no one got food poisening from tainted squash!... the bottle of Tums only made a partial trip around the table with the desserts!... and my shiney new plastic potato masher that a secret santa gave me last year for Christmas actually got used for a whole 3 minutes till it was given up for the previous years obligatory metal fork that always did a fine job anyway! HA! :)

A good time was had by all.. (I think).... and the game of "guess the word" (I wish I could remember the name of the game.. it's something like Taboo.. where you give the guesser clues till they say the particular word that you got) was a ton of fun.... in fact we're still laughing at some of the 'clues' that were given... a particular favorite... "it's a kind of doctor"... and the word was....

can you guess??

PACHYDERM... LOL... ok.. so the clue giver will remain nameless to protect the clueless...

Anyway... it was a great time...

Later...

Headin' for the Holiday...

Headin' for the Holiday...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

It was so lovely out there today we decided to put up the lights... and of course.. I needed something to try out some long exposures with the new camera on... I think I'm gonna add some white lights to the tree as well...

While I was stalking the little waterfall...

While I was stalking the little waterfall...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

My husband was stalking me!

I'm ready for my closeup...

I'm ready for my closeup...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

Graphically explaining the term "proud as a peacock"...

Covered Bridge Photoshopped

Covered Bridge Photoshopped
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

What a lucky path we took today... traveling the backroads of Western Mass up into Vermont we had no idea where we were half the time and yet somehow we ended up at this lovely Covered Bridge!

The Effects of Tryptophan on Stupid Little Angry Dogs...

The Effects of Tryptophan on Stupid Little Angry Dogs...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

I think Gretchen hit the wall...

Dad Thanksgiving 2006

Dad Thanksgiving 2006
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

The light was really low and he was wiggling around... but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of Dad... His expression is just Classic Dad! :)

One last ride on the Merry Go Round...

One last ride on the Merry Go Round...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

He was delicious! I had 2 of them going... they are mezmerising... I had a kitchen full of guests just watching them go around.. and around.. and around... Talk about "The Group of the Easily Amused!" HEH...

Happy Thanksgving everyone!

What now?

What now?
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

She stalked the elusive peppermint... captured it... dragged it into her sun-shiney spot in the kitchen... wrestled it out of it's wrapper... licked it twice... and then abandoned the carcass...

Finch

Finch
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

These guys have been around for the past couple of days but they are very shy, every time I move to grab the camera they bolt. They seem to be getting braver now tho and aren't skittering off as quickly, but they sure know I'm here!

Fun stuff...

Check it out...


I had to build a "save the date" Holiday party email newsletter invite for a client and was told "just make it simple and classy... What to do.. what to do... so I whipped out the camera.. the wine glass... the sparkly snowflakes.. and voila'... instant newsletter... it was nervewracking waiting for approval, but luckily they liked it and went with it... Yay! (if it looks a little funky it's cause I blanked out the identifable info - can't have any party crashers!) Cool stuff!

Later...

Cute Goat.. an oxymoron...

Cute Goat.. an oxymoron...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

I really hate goats... I think it started the day that I found the neighbors goat, who was tall enough to look me straight in the eye, outside on my front porch eating my Christmas decorations. My son used to complain about "Billy" all the time, that the goat used to chase him when he would go up and visit, I had never seen the goat before and had no idea how huge the damn thing was.. I was horrified when I saw the thing.. no wonder the kid was scared... and in hindsight.. maybe that bright red winter coat we bought the kid wasn't such a good idea... Anyway... this little guy was absolutely adorable.. but then he's a "Pygmy Goat".... the size of a small dog... and that pink and black nose... who could resist that?

Watch the birdie!

Add a new camera, with an awesome lens, throw a new bird feeder 10 inches outside your office window, add a liberal dose of sunflower seed, and there you go! Now if I can just get the Chickadees, the Blue Jays and OH.. I hope I hope I hope some Cardinals to start visiting as well!

Speaking in Tongues...

It's so hot...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

or... How I yelled "WHAT THE F*CK!" in Wendy's and didn't even realize it till my husband told me I did..

All I remember is we were sitting in the Wendy's in Palmer... enjoying.. (well.. kind of enjoying... afterall it was Wendys) a quick dinner before we picked up my husbands truck from the dealership. He had the BLT Salad... and I had the small Chili with fries...

As we sat eating and discussing Thanksgiving plans (or lack thereof) I was vaguely aware of a table of 3 teenagers at the table behind me, 2 girls and a guy... that is until the guy whipped out the obligatory snot rag and let loose with the biggest... longest.. juicest sounding snot blowing session I've ever had the displeasure to endure...

Well.. apparently I lost it... next thing I knew I heard Mr. 9 2 Bay say "Laura" and I realized I had spun around in my chair and was staring at the party of 3 and they were staring back at me... the guy looked a little sheepish and quickly stowed his snot rag in his pocket... I turned back around and said rather loudly "How rude"... and our meals continued...

So... we finished up our meal.. and as we got up to leave we passed the table of three.... one of the girls in a small snide voice said "bye bye now"... Not one to back down I then turned and asked "Do you even have a clue as to why I was staring at you?"... The usual snide remarks came from them... so I told them.. flat out.... "It was the HUGE wad of snot that your friend here blew into his napkin." The guy had made the mistake of saying "And I suppose you've never blown your nose in public?" (Heh.. he really had no clue who he was dealing with!)... "As a matter of fact, no I haven't!" I replied... "How nice for you." he said... my reply "NO.. I see it as how nice for the people AROUND me! I would never subject them to the sound of a giant wad of juicy snot hitting a tissue... it's gross.. it's disgusting... AND it's rude... and I CERTAINLY would never do it when other people are trying to EAT! Look it up on the internet under "Manners"..." and with that I turned and walked out the door...

Driving away with my husband he made the comment that he wishes he could have been sitting near them and cut a fart or something to illustrate how rude they were being... I made the comment... "You were the one trying to get me to not say anything to them... I was just getting ready to blow, when I heard you call my name so I stopped.." He then said "What do you mean you were just getting ready to say something... Laura... You yelled.. WHAT THE F*CK a the top of your lungs..."

I did???

Yes... you did...

Heh.... imagine that.... oops...

So it's probably a good thing he called my name and stopped me or that kid might be at his lawyers right now explaining how he wants to sue the crazy woman that launched herself across his table in Wendys... grabbed the snotty napkin out of his hand... and shoved it down his throat... while screaming incoherently at the top of her lungs something to the effect of... "Miss Manners said I could..."

Later...

With Love from Me...

With Love from Me...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

to my 50mm 1.8 lens! :)

The Raptor of Christmas...

or is that the Rapture of Christmas... heh...

Believe it or not.. even tho you've been getting a ton of pics here on the blog lately it hasn't been easy... my Flickr account hasn't been linking up with the blog all that well.. it seems I spend more time typing and re-typing the same entries, only to have the publishing of it fail... pain in the butt... Oh fickle internet.. how you make me crazy... but.. have you noticed how much the net has infiltrated our lives... no one ever calls me anymore... they just email... or if they want to know what's up with me, they just logon and read all about it in here... it's a complete takeover.. I can't remember the last 'large' purchase that I made that wasn't over the net... or at least researched to death on the net before I even left the house... It's even making for interesting reading of the news... take this headline for instance from todays cnn.com..

"Dam plans jeopardize Amazon"

I read that headline and thought.. OH MY GOD... I can't LIVE without Amazon.com.... where am I gonna get my next piece of photo equipment... my printer ink... my cds.... and man... Christmas is coming... (see the Christmas Raptor up there!).... turns out they were talking about an actual Dam... on the Amazon RIVER.... DOH!... and WHEW!!!... What a relief! Well.. that's ok then... go ahead and mess the largest river in world... and cause some more global warming... and destroy a whole gigantic eco-system... but damn..... don't mess with my online shopping...

Later...

The Chipster...

Watch for the Chipster in the Springfield Sunday Republican this week (Amherst/Northampton edition)!

I tell you it's typical... this happened the last time I got a new camera... rain.. rain... rain for days... *sigh... I tell you tho.. if this weather pattern keeps up we're gonna get slammed with snow this year... Think about it.. it rained pretty much every saturday in August and Sept... I know.. cause I was out at the farmers' market getting soaked and fighting to keep my cards dry... I suppose tho.. snow isn't bad... it's a darn site prettier than the brown that has developed outside now that the leaves are gone... We can't complain about the temperature anyway... it's been amazingly warm lately... lovely...

Etsy.... well.. they finally finished the new Etsy interface so my store is back up and running... YEAH... now I've just got to get my Christmas stuff up there... What? You haven't seen my Etsy store yet? What are you waiting for?? It's here... ... and btw.. if your a crafter/artisan/photographer... I highly recommend them... very easy to use and understand... their fee's are very reasonable... and the new site is lovely! Anyway...

Later...

Santa with Wreath

Santa with Wreath
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

Another for Christmas... This one looks absolutely adorable on an ivory colored card... It took around 3 hours to get these done... and that includes the shopping at the Dollar Store... light setup... picture taking... editing.. printing and assembling... Amazing how quickly it goes when you've got a solid idea of what you want to shoot before you even head out the door to pick up the supplies..

Santa with a funky background

Santa with a funky background
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

Yup.. shootin' some Christmas already... I've got to run to the Orchard and restock today so I figured I'd bring some Christmas along with me. I'm rather pleased with how they all turned out...

Perhaps the coolest bathroom ever...

Perhaps the coolest bathroom ever...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

I wonder if the Steaming Tender in Palmer has a problem with customers wandering off to use the facilities only to return an hour and half later... the upper part of the walls are covered in these antique photographs... hundreds of them... they are all gorgous.. I could have spent all day in the loo...

Dad

Dad
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

My parents stopped up for a visit to my messy messy house today... YEAH!...

Mom

Mom
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

My parents stopped up for a visit to my messy messy house today... YEAH!...

It's just leaves and sticks...

It's just leaves and sticks...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

but man.. I love it... this lens is quickly becoming my new best friend... now I just have to get my husband to sit still for some portraits for me... woohoo!

It's here.. It's here.. It's FINALLY here!!

It's here.. It's here.. It's FINALLY here!!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

Yeah... after spending a painful week and half waiting for Amazon to ship it..... then days tracking it thru Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Connecticutt vis UPS, it's finally here in my hot little hands... now I just have to figure out how to use it... OY....

Later...

Yoda...

Yoda...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

What else are you gonna shoot with a brand new camera! HEH...

CNN Newsflash!

See... I'm nuts...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

Thank goodness for CNN newsflashes.. or I may have never known... Britney Spears has filed for divorce! WOW.. imagine if I had missed that bit of oh-so-important news... the horror! But good old CNN.com made sure I was kept informed with their bright red banner across the top of their site with all the important news items that you just can't function properly without...

Thank you CNN... What would I do without you?

The Accessories...

The Accessories...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

So.. I got the nifty 50... 3 filters... a 2 gig cf card... and my Rebel XTi is somewhere around Pennsylvania and won't be delivered till tomorrow... Their making me nuts!

Their trying to make me crazy...

So yesterday I received the CF card for the new camera... From looking at the UPS tracking, today I'll get the prime lens for the new camera... I just have to wait till (approx.) Thursday for the camera itself... *sigh... it should be illegal to send the accessories before you send the main item... although I can only imagine how crazy it would make me to have the camera and no CF card to record the images... so I guess it could be worse...

OH.. and I ran to Honey Bee Orchard yesterday to change up my card display only to find the manager Jody just about in tears. Scary news, the farmhouse that the Orchard owns and uses to house it's workers burned to the ground Sunday nite... Scary stuff, I guess a couple of the guys tried to climb in and get some of their stuff and almost didn't make it back out.. Luckily tho, everyone did make it out safely but the house was a total loss and now the owners of the Orchard are going nuts and threatening to shut down the store completely in a few weeks... For Jody's sake I hope not! Either way tho, she's an awesome manager and I'm sure she'll land on her feet with a new job... For now tho, the updates to my card rack are on hold until the owners get a handle on things and decide what they wanna do.

Later...

Frosted Clover

Frosted Clover
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

It may be lovely, but it's freakin' freezing!

Red Berry Basket

Red Berry Basket
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

A handful of berries, an old basket, a bit o time in Photoshop and voila'... A Country Classic!

My first Etsy sale!

Chickadee
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

That's right. The Etsy site I mentioned below is working.. awesome.. so far (and it's only been a couple of days mind you) I've made 2 sales and I'm negotiating a 3rd and 4th! YEAH! How awesome is that? I'm lovin' it... mainly because I have a set of new toys to pay for... yup.. MORE camera equipment.. well.. ok.. a whole NEW camera... and an extra prime lens... and filters... and a CF card... and.. and... LOL... Now if i can just wait the almost 2 weeks to get it... damn you Amazon Free Shipping... I'm way to Yankee to pay for something when there is a free option, so instead of taking the paid (read that as 'quicklier') shipping... I had to take their offer of the free shipping... which basically means "You'll get your freakin' camera when we're good and ready." OY... OH well... something to look forward to eh? So what am I getting? The Canon Rebel XTi... a dreamy 10 megapixel dslr with the kit lens and the extra lens is the totally awesome 50mm 1.8 for those lovely depth of field conditions! Hot Stuff!!

Man... 2 weeks to wait... I'm not gonna make it...

Later...

Etsy Feature...

Etsy Feature...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

Look.. it's my Red Boat... on a whim I opened an etsy store more out of curiousity than anything after seeing Linda's Manymuses references to her store... Just to try it out I only uploaded 2 items the other nite... and lo and behold.. there's one of them as a featured item right on the front page... WOOHOO... not sure how long it'll last but the front page is www.etsy.com or you can go directly to my store at bayroadphoto.etsy.com

It's a dark and windy night....

It's a dark and windy night....
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura.

Ok.. it was.. this pic is actually from a couple days ago... I'm running a bit behind with the pics... not that I'm not taking them, I'm just not finding time to download and process them... Things have picked up around here... not only my spirits, but work wise... My client decided to pick up my contract afterall... Yeah! So it's back to work as usual...

Mr. 9 2 Bay is winging his way toward home as I type... after his 2nd trip to Nebraska this month (with an Ohio daytrip thrown in there as well) so soon the Stupid Little Angry Dog will be MUCH happier.. She just drives me insane when 'Daddy' is gone like this...

OH... and maybe the best news of the week... fresh sheets and blankies on the bed... *sigh** is there anything nicer?? I can't wait to toddle off to my nice clean bed! It's the best medicine in the world... If I had the energy I'd do daily laundry of sheets and blankets...

Later....