Lately I’ve been hit with a deluge of old family photos. There are the Wright Family photos we found out on Samish Island. We shipped eleven boxes of albums and photos back to the east coast. Then there are the Taylor Family photos – thirteen organized and labeled albums. Throw in all of the photos I’ve taken in pre-digital days, and the number of images is astounding. I would really like to convert all of these to some sort of a digital format, but it is a mountain of a task. For the past several days I’ve been working on workflow and equipment to make the job go as smoothly as possible. Here’s what I’ve learned…
Category: Family
We have just finished our first week on Samish Island in Washington State. We had made plans last spring to come up here when Laura’s summer research ended and spend some time working on her mom’s house. It’s a chance to relax and recharge, but also to take care of some family business. So far the weather has been spectacular, and has been a welcome break from the sweltering heat of South Carolina.
As I mentioned in the previous post, the past several weeks got away from me. The July 4th weekend was a blur, and the weekends on either side weren’t much better. It seems that we had far too much going on, and not enough time for blogging. So, I’ve decided to hit a few highlights.
So far I’ve documented my paddling trips over spring break – all both of them. We did some other things, too, like take a few midday escapes out to the local beaches on Hutchinson Island. Dealing with an Alzheimer’s patient can be a challenge. We took an occasional escape in the middle of the day while the home help was there. Usually this was to run errands for groceries or other items needed for the house, but a couple of times we were able to get out for some time for ourselves.
Been a busy couple of weeks. One of those weeks was a spring break trip to Florida where I got absolutely no writing nor blogging done. Here’s a quite wrap up of our spring break…
Several weeks ago my nephew Chip invited me to a day of kites and drones at Legacy Park in Greenville. I meant to write about it at the time, but things crept up on me, and when I stumbled on the photos I had to put that to rights.
It was going to be a beautiful Sunday morning. We made arrangements to meet at Legacy Park, located in a new planned development between Woodruff Road and Verdae Boulevard. Chip and I had our drones, and I had tossed in several kites, just in case. Chip’s wife, Anna, and their kids Olivia and Ethan would round out our crew.
We have built up several New Years traditions over the years. If we’re at home, we have a fondue dinner on the Eve while watching the year roll in. The morning rings in with a breakfast casserole and mimosas. We watch the Rose Parade (per instructions from the Californian in the household) while taking down the Christmas tree, and have nachos while watching the Rose Bowl Game.
That’s a normal year. However, the past couple of years have been anything but normal. Last year I started the year by myself as Laura had to be with her mom. I took the opportunity to watch the sun rise from the highest point in South Carolina, Sassafras Mountain. This year I was in Florida for New Year for the first time ever. Since I had missed my usual Winter Solstice Sunrise paddle, I decided to do a First Light paddle.
It’s hard to believe that Christmas has rolled around again. Earlier in the week we made the trek down to Laura’s sister’s house in Florida so that we could spend the holiday with Amy and their mother. It was hot, but so far we’ve had a good time.
I have distinct memories of Christmas parades when I was growing up in Laurens County. Parade units would assemble on Fleming Street and march around the square. We would usually take up our spots on the corner in front of the old Winn Dixie. The smells of cigarette smoke entwined with sugary cotton candy pervaded the air. I remember the vendors – piles of inflatable crap, some related to Christmas, and some not. These came only with the aforementioned cotton candy, as well as other goodies such as candied apples.
So, with these memories, Laura and I headed out to meet Chip and Anna to enjoy watching the Greenville Christmas Parade with their little ones.