Stretching out my birthday week

My friend from the days at Gem City Engineering took me out to lunch the week after my birthday.  I managed to stretch this birthday out to the max. :) He and I have birthdays about six months apart so we get together for some fish and chips at regular intervals.  

Watch Zoe try and figure out her puzzle toy…

 

I’ve always liked to contrast between the rose and the graffiti

I also like being able to see the one drop of water on one petal of the rose… ;)

RetroBlog 2005-09-28

A church in Dortmund Germany

I remember this was the first time I'd used a RAW image to pull details out of the shadows.  The tree had cast a deep shadow on the window.  So I edited it in post processing to even out the lighting.  I was happy with the results.  Back then, you had to do it all in special software on a computer.  These days, the editing software built into phones and tablets can handle tasks like this even with jpgs.  That handles about 98% of the post processing I need to do just fine. To me, the fun is getting the shot to look like you want it in the camera, not playing around with software after. ;)

RetroBlog 2005-09-28

Andy getting into his work…!

Notice that he's the one actually doing the work! You can tell he's a hard and undaunted worker!  His boss seems to appreciate him a great deal.

In this picture, they were contracting out the major digging work.  They've since added a mini excavator just like this one to their tool box so that opens their horizons a good bit!  Andy's looking forward to his chance to use it!

We got Zoe a couple puzzle toys to keep her busy…

She's been on restricted exercise while she fully heals from her second surgery.  So we got her some puzzle toys like this ball.  You can hide some kibble inside, and she has to figure out how to roll it around and get them to come out one by one.  It didn't take her long!

I’ve always liked the patterns created by multiple reflections.

This was a good example in my hotel room in Dortmund, Germany.  I think it was the NH Hotel.  Regardless, it made for a cool effect.  It was tricky to capture the shot and keep enough of me out of it to still be able to see down the mirror "tunnel". 

RetroBlog 2005-09-28

A Sunday evening stroll

I finished my day of sight seeing in Germany with a stroll through the town of Dortmund, where I was staying.  It was a quiet and pretty walk.  I hadn't had my Nikon D50 DSLR very long, and I was discovering that for the first time, I could get decent shots at night without having to use a tripod.  

The sign reads "Dortmund, The City".

RetroBlog 2005-09-25

Speaking of balisong knives…

I think half my collection has been used knives I buy from the boys when they offer a good deal.  It's usually when they're trying to save up money for the next cool drop. ;)

Here is the end result. Milwaukee Pack-Out to the rescue :)

Andy and I made an inverted jigsaw with a foot switch…

He's working on crafting a case for a few of his knives.  Using this method, it was easier to cut out the foam liner.  The foot stitch was something my dad made back in the mid seventies when working on RCS Christmas Bazar projects.  It still comes in handy sometimes. :) 

The inside was as amazing as the outside of the Cologne Cathedral…!

Here I just tried to capture a little bit of the height, the color, and the architecture!

RetroBlog 2005-09-25

Andy and my mom fixed me up with some organizers for my birthday!

Now my screws (bottom two on the stack), plumbing connectors (top left), wire nuts (top right), and heat-shrink(bottom one on the top right) are all ready to go!

Breakfast with the boys, Waynesville McD’s, two weeks ago.

There was of course, coffee, kendamas, and KPL (pivot lube for balisong butterfly knives).

I like my alliteration I created there… hahah.

There was so much beautiful stained glass artwork inside too!

The Cologne Cathedral was amazing inside and out.

RetroBlog 2005-09-25

It was impossible to really capture the scope of the Cologne Cathedral in one picture…

So, I tried to give you an idea of the size, scale and beauty in a few shots.  Look how small the ambulance and people look in comparison.  This shot is from the side.  The twin spires from yesterday's shot are to the left in this pic.

RetroBlog 2005-09-25

Zoe seems magically fixed!

First the funny…. I sent this picture of Zoe standing on her hind legs (left)  just days after her second surgery!  The boys said she looked like an astronaut with her Donut of Despair (kind of like a Cone of Shame, but way easier for her to deal with.)  So a few minutes later, the boys send back the picture on the right! Hahahaha.  Andy sketched this up on his iPad using GoodNotes!  We got a great laugh out of it and were also amazed at his ability to so quickly draw up a perfect cartoon.  Check out the detail in the patches!

The two of them worked on it together and Johnny finalized a version showing after she was launched into space!

Second, we are thankful for a happy answer to our (and all your) prayers for Zoe.  We were hesitant to put her through the follow up surgery, but God showed us that it was exactly what she needed and the right thing to do!  She seems to be instantly fixed back up to 100%. Thanks for you prayers and concern.  We're happy!

It’s fun that this is Andy’s favorite tape measure too…!

He sent me a picture of him being excited because he's found the perfect tape measure for his bag.  In the course of that conversation, he told me his all time favorite tape measure was the one I'd bought him for his tool box so many years ago.  I did that because it was my favorite too.  I remember trying to convince my dad and Julie's that auto-lock was the way to go!  They laughed and didn't quite believe me.  Funny thing is, after they died and I was going through their tools, what do you think ALL their tape measures were…. Auto-lock! And all Steve's were THIS exact model.

It's fun to share tools, their use, and our heritage with the boys.  Yesterday, Johnny proceeded to take apart and unclog the condensate drain on their air conditioner.  He used some of their tools and some of mine.  That was a fun and proud moment. :)

I had to walk to the other side of town to get this shot…

This is a BIG church.  The Cologne Cathedral is the world's tallest twin spire church and the third tallest church of any kind.  I couldn't get it all in one picture unless I walked to the other side of town!  At the time, I estimated it at 500 feet tall by counting the levels of the scaffold and then thinking about how many sections it would take to cover the full height.  These days, you can just look it up on Wikipedia… 515 feet!  I was close.

It was started around 1250 and not completed until around 1880!  An amazing sight and site for sure!

RetroBlog 2005-09-25

I’m off to Germany

When you travel to Europe, you usually end up with about half a day before you have to go to work (due to the flight schedules and the time zone changes).  If you can manage to stay awake, it gives you a little chance for sight-seeing.  I remembered that I wanted to see the Cologne Cathedral when I had seen it from the train on my previous trip… So I took a train over and figured I'd capture some shots.  I promised you I'd be back and share them with you. ;)

RetroBlog 2005-09-25

Andy has his own road now!

John street is up by the west Lakeside gate.  I didn't know Andy had a street here by home.  It's by the new buy-sell-trade Lego store in Kettering.

A golden break!

Andy and I were playing 8-ball.  I managed to sink the eight ball on the break for an instant win.  It's there in the bottom right side pocket.  You can JUST barely make it out.

I took my camera on a bike ride.

I was sure glad I did.  As I approached the Huffman dam, I was treated by this foggy sunrise scene!  Luckily, I had the right tools to capture it.  This was about the time the first iPhone came out, so always having a camera in your pocket wasn't a thing yet. ;)

RetroBlog 2005-09-22

First attempt at RAW photo shooting

I don't know why I remember that, but I was in the habit of walking in the parks near my work back in 2005.   My new camera could shoot RAW so I decided to try it out.  I liked the results. :)

A little distance contest

Here is the drill.  With your pistol at 25 yards, you have 15 seconds to make 10 shots.  I put all 10 in the preferred target area.  8 out of 10 scored the highest points and in 9.9 seconds.  :)

A rainbow across the street earlier in August

We never knew quite where we might find Andy snuggled up and sleeping… haha.

RetroBlog 2005-09-16

The boys adjusting their new cousin’s hat. :)

I'm not sure she is appreciating it at this moment, but the smiles and tenderness on their faces is cute.

RetroBlog 2005-09-14

Now Zoe has LOTS of screw loose…!

The vet surgeon thought we might like to keep her hardware they removed.  Now we have a few bucks of titanium. Some of this must have been bothering Zoe because she already seems way more like her old self again!  In fact, she's so happy and full of energy that the doggy downers she's on to keep her quite for healing don't seem to be having ANY effect, haha!

Happy surprise

I am just walking in the door from my trip, Zoe is only three days post surgery and THIS is how she greets me!  She's standing on both of her hind legs and jumping all around happy to see me.  THAT's a good improvement.  It gives us solid hope we did the right thing.

Susan finally let us welcome a girl into the family!

Here I am getting to meet Emily for the first time.

RetroBlog 2005-09-14

Here are the boys “helping” their grampy build a cabinet… haha

I caught up from my trips and the reunion enough that I am back to some retro blogging for you to enjoy.

RetroBlog 2005-09-13

This swooping swirl was cool too

Enjoying the drive home

My trip eventually came to an and I headed home.  There were some storms along the way that made for some epic cloud formations.  I liked this one against the sunset!

My colleague really liked all the moss growing here.

 

Hiking through the Sipsey Wilderness a couple weeks ago.

This was just one of the many serene sights along the way.

This was the destination for our 2 1/2 mile hike

 We found this alcove with a small waterfall while we were hiking the Sipsey Wilderness in Bankhead National Forest.  I liked the color caused by the mineral formations in the rocks.

This is from the broadleaf Magnolia tree.

They are exclusive to the Alabama area.

Speaking of pilot…

I was following a Tesla in full auto-pilot.  Also the same colleague.  He let me drive it after we played with the airplane the night before.  We decided to take an early morning hike for a mini play hard event before I had to leave town for my next meeting.  These were the winding forest roads on the way to Bankhead National Forest.  :)

One of my colleagues is an acrobatic pilot…

He spun his plane up so I could see how it all worked.  He was all ready to take me flying, but it was getting late.  I was a little nervous about going upside down too… ;)

Now it was finally time to eat

So I headed to find a seat.  I had catfish and onion rings.  Yum!

I decided to take a walk around while waiting for dinner.

It was HOT! My watch said the temperature was 91º and that it felt like 110º

I traveled to Alabama and Georgia recently.

This is where I met one of my colleagues for dinner.  It was called Hard Dock. It made a pretty scene for dinner and pictures. :)  

Well, it’s time for Zoe to have her follow-up surgery.

This is still a couple weeks ago since I am behind on my blog.  But you may know, her one leg has still been bothering her so we had her checked out.  There are a couple areas where the hardware they used to stabilize her bones could be bothering her.  At this point, they can take that stuff out, so they suggested it might help.  We are hopeful it will help, but it's not a sure thing.  Everyone kept us and Zoe in their prayers. ❤️

I am off on a road trip the same morning, so Julie will take drop her off.  Of course, Zoe was being as cute as she could be beforehand.

Andy’s log that he chucks or chops at each reunion. :)

You can see the fresh "damage" from this year on the left. 

After four days, I think we sufficiently wore out Zoe…

It was really fun to have her along for the whole weekend.  There seemed to be a constant "line" of people waiting to hold, walk, or pet her.  She loves everybody and everybody seems to love her.  Here she's taking her daily sun nap.  She tends to find a sunny spot and lay out in the yard for an hour or so most days if she can.  In this shot, we were packing up so she decided to catch a few quick sunbeams.

Typical Andy…

It was nice to have some bonus girls along!  Hannah gets points for brining all her own camping gear and joining right in with us all in sleeping outdoors, battling the bugs, and eating over a fire.

We had four days of reunion fun, so you should too. ;)

This was actually the evening of the third night, Saturday.  The cousins joined in some card games and music all to the glow of a camp light. 

I liked the color of the lights as Danny put his 7x7 Rubik’s Cube back together.

I love seeing the kids all enjoying each other and their cousins.

It's fun to see my mom loving it too.  Here we are enjoying reunion tradition of ice cream after dinner while the sun sets.