Tuesday, December 05, 2006

surprising Grandma with cardboard Christmas cut-outs


My mom was on a trip and before it got too cold or snowy my kids, on the left, and my sister and I decided to tie up these Christmas wooden cut-outs. My Mom always thinks this kind of thing is neat. I think she likes the idea of all of us taking the time out to surprise her. My sister is in the second shot, but Ally poked her head in just in the nic of time.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Thursday, November 30, 2006

My Sister Saves Everything

So I walk into my sister's kitchen and these three are there with these old outdated sunglasses on. My sister, Kim, on the left, saved every pair of sunglasses that ever came her way or anyone elses way, for the past 30 years. I love the pair she has on and the one on my daughter, Ally, completely covers her face. My son, Matthew picked ones from the 70's.

I don't know...I'm so different than her. I lose every pair of sunglasses that cross my path. Oh, I also sit on a lot of them. Most sunglasses of mine have a life expectancy of about 2-3 days. Once I lost a pair within an hour.

My sister would say, "I'm not surprised."

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Monday, November 13, 2006

Friday, November 03, 2006

if...


If I were mayor, I'd invite everyone to have free boat trips on the river and free balloon rides over the city. I'd let the elderly in residential homes wander free.

-Jane Birkin

Monday, October 09, 2006

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

classy like that...


Here is Marisol, Ofelia, and Paul. We all met at our favorite spot for lunch. Pizza Hut. All you can eat pizza with an all you can eat salad bar. We are classy like that.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Friday, September 15, 2006

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Friday, September 08, 2006

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Monday, September 04, 2006

The unknown weed



This weed is impossible to identify. It comes around every year, growing alongside and in corn fields. Here is a great site for identifying weeds, unfortunately, I had no luck. It sure is an interesting species though. It's actually covered with hair. Crazy.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

St. Francis of Assisi


My sister and I gave this statue of St. Francis to my Mom at my brother's memorial about 8 years ago. It has weathered nicely. The statue sits between two ponds where wild geese and ducks waddle around him.

a skiff ride to the island

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Racine, Wisconsin

Music Instruction


Every year in Racine, Wisconsin they have a public art theme. This year was, you guessed it, birds. One year it was bears, another dogs, etc. The art is placed all around the downtown area with the sculptures going to a fundraising auction.

Here is my friend, Andrew, giving this bird some music instruction. He was our favorite.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Waiting sailboats


There wasn't a lick of wind today in Waukegan and the sailboats rocked gently in their slips waiting for the wind.

Antioch, Illinois


Antioch, Illinois is a just south of the Illinois/Wisconsin border and has a great variety of fun old time restaurants and a cool movie theater. It's pretty much a "small town USA snapshot."

Friday, August 04, 2006

No need to be camera shy girls

From left to right is my daughter Ally, Jean, Holly and my oldest daughter Sylvia. We all went to an excellent authentic Italian restaurant in downtown Milwaukee.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Catchin' some perch...


So Brendan, Juan and I were hiking down the pier in Waukegan, it's like, oh, 150 degrees or it felt like it. The sun was blasting its heat on the top of our heads and as we walked by these two kids, Juan nonchalantly asks, "Catch anything?" They answer, "Yeah."
And for some reason, we keep walking, we all didn't listen for their answer. They were fishing so close to the shore and docks (see in background) that I personally wouldn't think any fish would come that far in and in warmer water. So the one red-haired boy yells at us, "I said Yeah!" and all three of us come to a dead halt, back-up and, of course we are all over these kids, "How many did you get?" "Where are they?" and up they pull a string of fish. "Cool, we all say." "That's great!" "Good job!" "Who's going to clean them?" "Are you going to eat them tonight?" (We all love kids).

This is one of the greatest shots I ever took. I wish I could of got a release. I could of sent it into the local paper. Don't they look happy and proud? It's a day in the life of an American boy.

By the way, I started a part-time job so I won't be posting every day anymore. So anyone who is linked to me and pulls me off because I'm not posting a picture a day-I won't cry.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Catching some lunch by Lake Michigan

On the left is my friend Juan (pronounced Ha-Juan to all Hispanics) and on the right, Brendan who is going to Graduate school in the fall to study Urban Planning. He has worked with the homeless population in Waukegan for the past year and before that was a social worker in Boston. He's smart and has a dry sense of humor. Juan is a also a case manager and is never without a joke or smile. He comes from Waukegan and has 13 bothers and sisters. His family was one of the first in Waukegan to immigrate from Puerto Rico. As we drive back to work Brendan and I are always indundated with murderous facts pertaining to various houses-"There was a murder in that house, and that one had a..." (details always follow). Today on our way back, as we were going down a street he told a gruesome tale of his cousin, who was riding his bike out into the road and not paying attention. He got hit sideways by a semi truck. You can probably imagine the gruesome details here, but Juan also said that this cousin was also his only friend as a child. Juan was a chubby kid who loved food and hated bathing. I threw in, "and you didn't brush your teeth, right?" he responds with a quick, "What for?!" So he was a smelly fat kid with bad breath and like Juan said, his cousin accepted him and was his friend. Juan said he cried so hard and so loud at the funeral his Mom made him leave.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Daucus Crota

Known also as Queen Anne's Lace, Wild Carrot, or Bird's Nest.

The common carrot was developed from an Asiatic form of this wild flower. The crushed leaves have a carrot odor and the roots have a carrot taste, though they are very tough. All of this led to its other common name, "wild carrot."

Typically, Queen Anne's lace is found in dry fields and along roadsides. It can grow to heights of five feet. The white flowering flat-topped umbel of the Queen Anne's lace makes it easy to spot.

This information taken directly from: http://www.all-creatures.org

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

a haiku about shoes

shoes hang over line
under the blue and white sky
dangling there still

Monday, July 17, 2006

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

A Haiku about Dino


Dinosaur at night
Dinosaur with handles white
Green dino at night