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

On the Waterfront

Is there anything nicer than being on the water?

I don't think so.  There always seems to be a breeze and views for days.

I love it.

Here we are on Lake Mendota in Madison.

Madison is an isthmus.

On one side is Lake Monona and on the other side is Lake Mendota.

We have lived here for sixteen years and I have never been out on the lakes.

Last weekend, Patrick's siblings thought it would be fun to rent a pontoon and go for a ride.

Something different for a change.  Such a good idea.

Fortunately two of the cousins knew how to drive a boat :o)

Thanks Hillary and Charlie!!

Katie borrowed her dad's glasses and forgot to put on sunscreen.

Her back is still hurting.  

I sat in the shade, ate Susan's popcorn and drank a Diet Dr. Pepper.

It was perfect.

Are you able to get out on the water very often?

I could never in a hundred summers get tired of this.

~Susan Branch

xoxo

Donna Elsie

Everything is new...

Hey friends,

I took off for San Francisco last week...
Spent Friday night with Emma and Carolyn (Em's roommate) and ate
very spicy Chinese food in Uptown.
My flight was cancelled and we worked very hard to get me to California at a reasonable time since I was not going to be there very long to begin with.
I lost five hours with Patrick....but we did our best to get there.

Patrick and I went to Half Moon Bay on the sunniest warmest day of the summer.

I am a weather charm in San Francisco.

I have been three times and every time it is sunny and warm on the coast.
NOT at all the norm.

We bummed around, ate at some nice places, and talked and talked.

Patrick scared me to death with his fast driving thru the winding hills.
In fact, I was too scared to meet him at work on Monday...so I just suck close to his apartment....and folded laundry, read and watched tv.

I have never seen such dry landscape.  It was otherworldly to me.

I found In n' Out.  

It's a California tradition.

It's not my very favorite....

but it was good enough to eat.

:oP

Tomorrow I take Katie to Milwaukee to look at the college and museum there.

Next week she is off to Wesleyan (Conn) for a visit and interview.

(She is staying with my niece in a nearby town!  So amazing to be able to call on family for help with this trip. I wish I could go along for so many reasons but it's not working out.  Thank you Christine!!!)

Lots going on.

No news on the job front.

I will sub if nothing else comes along.

I was able to watch the Harry and William documentary about their mother. (on HBO)

It's touching and so sweet.

Our rainy summer is half way over.  

How would you describe your summer in one word?

Love ya

Donna Elsie

a few of my favorite things...

I went to look at my Pinterest to see if there was some inspiration for a post.

I like looking at my pins.  Still.  I looked in my "beautiful" board.

One of the first things that caught my eye was this hair.

There was a time when I would have hated any boldly colored hair.

But gosh.  I've changed, I guess, because this is gorgeous to me now.

I just adore darling fonts and calligraphy.

Big fan.

This picture popped up in my Facebook feed today.  We were in Destin Florida for a wedding.  I just love the colors and calm, content faces.  

I have a real fondness for white rooms.  The whiter the better.  I think 75% of the rooms I have saved on Pinterest are white.

Flowers. Always flowers.  

And sweet words.

***********

Katie is home.  But she really did leave her heart in Brussels.  She has thought of almost nothing other than how to get back to Europe since Saturday night.

Oh how I wish money grew on trees.

Love and beauty and dreams coming true.

Encourage one another,

Donna

Thankful

“Thank you, dear God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.” 
~Garison Kieller


We I wake up tomorrow Katie will be on her way home.
She has LOVED being in Belgium.
I can't wait to hear all of the wonderful details tomorrow night.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Royal Watching.

I love Wimbledon.  And you know me...not just for the tennis.
I love to Royal watch.

The Duchess wore a darling dress and cute strappy shoes.  I think the straps around the ankles make a heel look so much cuter and not as stuffy.  I like this length hair too!  

Such a doll.

Here are Kate's siblings, Pippa and James.

Both look amazing.

They arrived in this Land Rover.

Perfectly English.  

Diana at one of her first.  I can tell by the dress.

William and his lovely Mum.

Love Diana's short hair and neat red dress.

Do you think this was on purpose?

I do

This is a newly released photo of Diana.  Her secretary (or lady in waiting or something) wrote a book and included some never before seen photos.

I love it.

I have approx. ten books on Diana and Charles and the boys....

I subscribed to Majesty Magazine for years....

So a new picture is pretty cool...and special.

Hi Diana.

Miss you.

Mean it.

Happy Royal Watching all you Anglophiles!

Donna Elsie

Excitement is overrated

Early evening at Lake Wingra.

****

Katie is well and happy in Belgium.

They had a wonderful sunny day of sight seeing on Sunday and met with a representative from Sweden today.  Katie LOVES it.  It is all so beautiful.

Thank you for your prayers for her.

If you would like, please add our family to your unspoken requests.

(I can't remember the way I'm suppose to say that.)

Thank you.

Big hugs.

Love

Donna

Off to Belgium

Off she goes....

Please bring strange things. 
Please come bringing new things. 
Let very old things come into your hands.
Let what you do not know come into your eyes.
Let desert sand harden your feet.
Let the arch of your feet be the mountains.
Let the paths of your fingertips be your maps
and the ways you go be the lines on your palms.
Let there be deep snow in your inbreathing
and your outbreath be the shining of ice.
May your mouth contain the shapes of strange words.
May you smell food cooking you have not eaten.
May the spring of a foreign river be your navel.
May your soul be at home where there are no houses.
Walk carefully, well loved one,
walk mindfully, well loved one,
walk fearlessly, well loved one.
Return with us, return to us, 
be always coming home.

- Ursula LeGuin

Love you dear child.

careful

mindful

old things

new things

Love you

Mean it.

Mom

A lake visit is always so nice.

July 

John Updike

Bang-bang! Ka-boom!

 We celebrate Our national Independence date,

 The Fourth, with Firecrackers

 and The marching of The Legion Band.

 America: It makes us think

 Of hot dogs, fries, and Coke to drink.

 The shade is hot

 The little ants Are busy,

 but Poor Fido pants.

 And Tabby dozes

 In a pool 

Of fur she sheds 

To keep her cool.

What makes sitting by a lake so lovely?

We found a shady spot in the grass at Lake Wingra.

We brought pop, sandwiches and a wrap, peanuts and a seven layer bar.

The fancier food was picked up at Collectivo coffee on Monroe.

The weather was perfection.

It was peaceful, relaxed and pretty.

Such a nice day.

Encourage one another,

Donna

Instead...

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, 

with liberty and justice for all."

I know many do not feel the pledge of allegiance is for all...and so they will not recite it or stand.

But as I stood to pledge every day at school this year...

I thought of it this way.

I will pledge to seek liberty and justice for all.

I will pledge to desire that for all people.

I will pledge my heart to unity and liberty and justice for all.

It is a statement of intent to me.

It is my starting place.

I will not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

There is too much good.

XOXO

Donna Elsie

Encourage one another

So I was thinking...what do I write about?
I kinda forgot what I gabbed about all the time.

Oh how I wish I could tell school stories.
But it's unwise.
I wouldn't want someone blogging about what Katie did in school. (except me)
No matter how interesting or amusing.

So I reminded myself that my "mission" is to encourage and to add to the beauty.

Katie is going to Brussels Belgium in a week.
We are trying to figure out what camera she should bring.
Cause I need pictures.
Most of her time will be spend meeting with representatives from the EU.
She is most interested in meeting the folks from Sweden.
They will take a day trip to Bruges.  There she will seek out the Michelangelo of Madonna and Child.

 Bruges Madonna by Michelangelo 1504

(Church of our Lady)

1883 Vincent van Gogh (Dutch; 1853-90) ~ Bulb Fields


Have any of you been to Belgium?


Encourage one another,
Donna