Aug 31. So many feels.

Happy 7th birthday Asher!  

May you grow and grow and grow....

as tall as Michael Jordan.

Diana's White Garden at Kensington Palace.

A sweet tribute.  

Her boys live on and honor her with their service to others.

Palm trees in London?

******

"We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t earth, and it ain’t even the stars . . . everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you’d be surprised how people are always losing hold of it. There’s something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.” 

Thornton Wilder

“Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners... Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking... and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths...and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.” 

― Thornton Wilder, Our Town

Love you

Mean it

Donna Elsie

Especially cute.

Katie and I went to the farmer's market on the Capital Square.  It's a good one.

At each of the four corners are gardens.  Three are flowers gardens,  one is a vegetable garden.

The veggie garden is always my favorite.  This year they planted sunflowers.  

Especially cute!

Katie had a hankering for Stella's Spicy Cheese Bread.

STELLA!!!!!

People love this stuff.  It has hot pepper flakes on it and in it...and I can't eat it cause I have this weird thing with my tongue.  

But this was a yummy batch.  Lots of mozzarella cheese.  I picked at the cheesy parts.

And died when I got a spicy seed by accident.

The Blue Angels were in Chicago for the Air and Water Show on the weekend we went down to visit Emma.  Look how good she looks!  Emma loves the Blue Angels as much as I do.  

We went to Montrose Harbor to watch them on Saturday.  It was fun...but the jets were pretty far away.  We prefer them RIGHT OVER OUR HEADS!

Sunday we were taking pictures downtown and left near the time the Raptor would fly...and not too far off from the Blue Angels show.  So I decided we had to stalk them.

We ate at Shake Shack on Michigan Ave and Emma remembered there was a bar with a view upstairs.  It's called Cindy's.  We marched right up there to see what we could see.  While the view of the park was wonderful....we only saw the Raptor once.  We were just a little bit too far south.

We left and I was determined to see the Blue Angels close up.  So we drove down the little road just behind the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It was a SLOW drive and we missed a great parking spot by five seconds....BUT we stopped and parked in a no parking spot and put the flashers on just in time for the show.  The jets flew overhead low and loud a few times before we were told to move!  But that was okay.  We headed to find some ice cream for Katie and had a great thrill as two jets flew right over us!!!  WOOHOO!!!

I love this picture.

Encourage one another,

Donna

And that's a wrap.

I love taking beautiful pictures of people, of places, of things...

 I have, sadly, decided it's too stressful to continue taking pictures professionally.

So I have started saying "no, I'm sorry, I can't."

My last Senior, besides Katie, is Lady Cranley's daughter.
(She is Lady Cranley because Patrick can NOT remember her name.)
I took Lady Cranely's son's pictures a few years ago and she was so easy to work with...
easy going and appreciative...
and her daughter is a sweetie....so I said yes...but I knew this would be the last one.

Here are a few pictures of Julianna....
and following are some pictures I shot of Katie in Chicago.

What a lovely girl.  Doesn't she look like she is from a different time?

people coming

Katie likes the sideways backpack shots.  I do too.

The last picture is one of my faves.

We almost forgot the lions in front of the Art Institute in Chicago....

When I  remembered it was 1:00.

The worst time to take pictures.

But I like the pictures despite the huge blown out areas.

We may take a few more in other locations...or not.

Her pictures are due in a few weeks for the yearbook.

fini

Hey not fini.

When I first signed up for professional printing I had to check the kinds of pictures I would be taking.

I checked children, families, head shots,

and there was a box for Seniors...

and I thought, well....I'll be happy to take pictures of old people.

So I checked that box too.

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

I'm still here.

So much has been going on...and I am so tired that when I walk in the door all I can do is sit on the couch.
And I forget to post on the blog.

I can add photos to Instagram and Facebook and tweet out stupid things on Twitter from said couch.

But I know it's not the same as the blog.

Katie's visit to Wesleyan was perfect.  She loved the campus. She liked the other students she met on the tour.  Her interview went great! It was a fantastic experience.

She loved staying with Christine and Delaney and Emma and their doggies!
My nephew Peter drove Katie to Wesleyan for her interview and my brother Jim and his wife Tilde came in for a very nice dinner!  She was so loved and taken care of...it was a very special thing.

All the flights went were on time and all connections were made.

To be honest this was my only worry.

When Patrick was 17 he flew to Philadelphia by himself to try out for Jeopardy,  his plane was cancelled in Detroit on the way home.  This was before cell phones.  So he called collect from a phone booth in Detroit with the news.
He managed to get a hotel room and a flight the following day.
What a fright.  I didn't want this to happen to Katie.

Her first solo trip was fantastic thanks to wonderful family and traveling mercies.

****



Then a few weeks ago my brother-in-law Paulie was given a great honor by the Marinette Wi fire department!  He became an Honorary Fireman!

Paulie started going to the fire dept when he was a little guy.
He has been going for over 50 years!  He loves the men at the fire dept.
He loves the Coke machine.  To this day, when Paulie goes out of town...he calls the men and lets them know he will be out of service.

We are so proud of Paul and we are so proud of the Marinette Fire Dept.

Paul was given a real helmet!  It was super exciting!

He signed the wall with all the other firefighters.

And then.

He got to pick a what truck he wanted to ride home on!!!

Proud.  Happy. Paul.

Summer is flying by.

I have done my final photoshoot. 

We chased the Blue Angels around Chicago.

And we have a few more tricks up our sleeve before Sept arrives.

But I'll tell you about the pics and the planes...

next time.

love you

mean it

donna elsie

What if you watched these movies?

August is here...
Katie is visiting Wesleyan University in Conn.
She loves it.  It is a perfect fit for her.
Even more perfect if she gets accepted.
Her east coast Glyman family has been taking the best care of her. I am so grateful.
Christine, Emma and Delaney and Katie will go to Mystic ( a town on the ocean) today!
They will have nice weather for it...
It is currently 55 degrees here in Wisconsin.
I don't mind that for a day or two in the summer,
it's refreshing.  And I love opening the window and sleeping with fresh air
after a long spell of being all closed up.

Do you need a movie to watch?

Here are two that come to mind that I like a lot.

One I've never mentioned before and an older favorite.

A very sweet romantic comedy.

I have a little crush on Zoe Kazan.  (She is also in this summer's The Big Sick.

You know, the one I was watching when I spilled all that popcorn butter on myself.)

Yeah.  I want popcorn now.

Anyway.  There is something about What if... that makes me keep watching it.

I think I've seen it four times in a year.

The music is sweet...I think that might be part of it.

And a few weeks ago I MADE Emma and her roommate watch ON GOLDEN POND with me.

This movie is hilarious to me and sweet and touching.  I love it.

I remember making the kids all watch it with us...and Patrick Jr. said,

why are we watching this?

Maybe you have to be over 50.

Maybe you have to be married to a beloved  "old poop".

I'm not exactly sure...

but this movie speaks to me like no other.

Watch On Golden Pond.  

Tell me what you think.

And watch What if... too!

Love ya.

Donna Elsie