Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Winter Day in the Kitchen

An inside joke

Washing the dishes

It never hurts to have the Blessed Mother on your kitchen windowsill. Even if your window is dirty. Or maybe especially if your window is dirty.



The kids love this glass bee from Monticello.



The heart of my home.



Concentrating on the task at hand





A fit of giggles




I can't see you. I will not acknowledge you.

Grocery store flowers



Yes, her eyes really are that blue. And that ginormous.



Today was a gray day by all accounts -- full of snow showers and fraught with worried phone calls to and from school.

Even chipper Sally was feeling low, so I did what stay home moms are privileged to do: I made my own schedule and I packed it with a whole lot of nothing but being with the little ones.

After I put Bun in for a nap, I grabbed my camera and just started snapping away. I took 236 pictures without leaving the kitchen.

Sally is our elusive child when it comes to pictures. Just as there is sure to be a camera hog in every family, there is often the opposite, the child who refuses to be photographed. That's my Sal. It explains why our family photo for the church directory looks like we stood Sally up in front of a firing squad. All she needed was a little blindfold to complete the look.

Although, to be honest, she hardly looks out of place. The whole family looks deranged in our church directory photo. I'm sure that directory, when it arrives, will be a sweet way to invite other parishioners to contact us.

Out of respect for her abiding loathing of all things photographically staged, I got down on her level, got as tight a shot as my lens would allow, and just started clicking away.

I feel I should mention, in a testament to her iron will, that she only faced the camera about six times out of a hundred. It's a little like photographing lions in the wild: you need to remain still and preferably out of sight in their natural habitat. Candid is the way you must go with Sally.

I also found myself taking pictures of little bits and bobs of my kitchen; those little pieces of my life that make me happy to be home, in my own nest, after a day away.

All this snap-happiness did lift my spirits, but I still find myself making lists for all the things I plan to do in the spring and summer. It makes me able to bear dinginess of "the Febs," as I call them.

What about you? How do you beat the Febs? What are you looking forward to this spring?


And if you live in a place where spring comes earlier -- Val, MamaK, Nutmeg, Nicole -- enjoy a sunny day for me. I know from experience that you'll be sweating it (pun so intended) in August.





















14 comments:

  1. Oh I just love that little girl!!!

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  2. I know what you mean about the long winter months. I've been on the computer A LOT!! I can't wait for spring, so I can start planning for and start planting some flowers, we may even start a garden this year.
    Your little girl is adorable! And you're absolutely right about being candid when you want pic's!!

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  3. What gorgeous eyes!

    I am pretty sick of winter myself. And we are enjoying an arctic blast today, into which, because I have an appointment I've already canceled four times, we are going to have to venture...

    Yuck...

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  4. I'm fascinated by the blue eyes.

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  5. my baby boy just very recently started smiling for pics. I take SO many and hope for one with a smile.

    I am really looking forward to spring and yesterday took baby boy to a toy store and just let him wander and look without rushing him.

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  6. Those eyes are heart-stoppingly beautiful.

    You're right, we will be sweating it out in August, but I do my best to be cheerful about it because I really do hate winter. I feel for you as you try to just make it through the gray days.

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  7. What a beautiful little girl... and (I know I'm just repeating here) but... THOSE EYES!
    Gorgeous.

    I think of all of my Northern bloggy friends often these days, as y'all battle the winter cold and gray days.

    If I could send some sunshine your way, I most certainly would.

    Blessings...

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  8. Anonymous11:18 AM

    Oreos help with the "febs" of course, you end up regretting them in March, or more accurately June.
    Seriously, I do the same thing you do - hang with the kids and be silly. No greater cure for the blues than the smile of a child. So, here's to our Kids: for the sanity and insanity they bring to our lives. What would we do without them?
    Mirabella MOM

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  9. What gorgeous blue eyes!

    The "febs" here in SoCal have started with 70° weather, so I'm not much help in that department. Just revel in the fact that you are a much, much stronger and heartier person than I, and that I would simply keel over and die if I had to face an iced-over anything.

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  10. I'm with the commenter above - the summers may be hot, but I couldn't imagine or probably survive winters up in your neck of the woods.

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  11. Um, it's like, 42 degrees out there tonight!!! and that's not even counting the wind chill- yes, there's even WIND tonight. We had to wear a jacket! Over long sleeves! I can not WAIT for Spring to spring around here!!

    And yes, I'm agreeing with the other sunny weather folks... I'd much rather sweat and prepare for hurricanes than deal with winter coats and gloves and boots and hats... and driving through slush.

    so, for the Febs... I'm going on memory here, but it seems to me like an inside beach party livened things up. You know, dig out the shorts and tees, crank up the heat, turn on ALL the lights, picnic on your towels in the living room with some kind of beach movie playing and drink some lime beer!! or, um, lemonade with the kids...

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  12. What wonderful pictures! Just beautiful. Of course it helps to have beautiful subjects.

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  13. Oh, those beautiful blue eyes! For a girl who doesn't want to be photographed, she makes a beautiful picture!

    I can't help you with the Febs...got a case of them myself that I can't seem to shake!

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  14. That Sally is just too cute!

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