18 posts tagged “family”

East Family House

Each time I walk the historic tree lined paths of the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, the photographer in me takes over and my heart pounds with excitement. From the craftsmanship of the Shaker's furniture to the pegboard wrapped halls that tell their story, the village is an absolute dream to photograph.

This past Saturday we spent the day wandering through the village with Jon's family. This was the fifth time I've visited these historic buildings, yet I still found myself awestruck by the interior of the Shaker homes. The way the shadows and light play on every surface is stunning and I can't help but leave the village with a smile and a handful of favorite photographs.

Last year's spring was halted by an unexpected snow storm, we lost all of the beauty and color that the season brings but this year everything has gone off without a hitch. Its stunning and each day I watch things change in absolute awe, I cannot believe I've lived my whole life without spring. This past autumn my grandmother and mother came up from Florida and spent the week with me, which lead to a day in my garden planting tulips.

I've spent these past couple of months watching my tulips grow, inch by inch and brighter by the day. They are just as gorgeous as I had imagined. Each week I give my mother and grandmother an update on the tulips progress and they seem to get a real joy out of the commonality we all share in gardening. I'm so lucky to be able to share something so special with my family.

Tulips in Spring

I received a panicked phone call from my mother yesterday about how I absolutely had to ship the dvds out to members of our family, who will not be attending our Christmas, early so that they can get them as gifts by Christmas Day. All this at the request of my Grandmother. Well, I can't let my grandmom down so I've had to put the dvd production into double overtime. Lucky my boss is just that awesome and has let me bring in my laptop and burn dvds all day while I'm at work, its been a lifesaver.

The Case Design

- Add thumbnail photos to the menu.
- Burn 15 dvd label designs.
- Burn actual movies to disc, 46 copies.
- Have cover printed and insert in all cases.
- Ship a set of dvds to 4 family members

I'm thrilled that its starting to come together so nicely.

I'm already worn out on this DVD project and I've realized that I have tackled way more than one person can handle in such a short amount of time. I have 9 days to complete everything and I don't think its going to happen.

Here is the rundown of whats left and the time needed to complete it:

- Create and add a soundtrack for 130 minutes of video. (1 hour)
- Design and Print 23 DVD sleeve inserts (3 hours)
- Lightscribe Burn Cover on 46 DVDs (1 hour per dvd, a total of 70 hours)
- Burn movies onto 46 DVDs (15 min per dvd, 11.5 hours)

Thats a total of 85 hours. Lets say I spend 3 hours a night for the next 7 days and 12 hours on the weekend, that would be 30 hours I have available to do this work. Which is not even half the time I need. Sigh. I'm not sure what to do, I may even have to bring my laptop down with me on vacation and complete it in Florida when I'm supposed to be relaxing and vising friends and family. My only other option is to bring it into work with me and do all of the burning at that time, just switch disks in and out all day, I'm goign to have to check with my boss on that one, but its the only way I'll ever be able to finish in time.

DVD Menu

I've started a huge project, I am taking old family film footage from the 1950's and 60's that had been converted to VHS in the early nineties and converting it to DVD format, breaking hours of footage into chapters, re-arranging, adding a soundtrack and custom menu.

I have never created a DVD before, I do however have experience with video editing so I'm blindly learning new dvd software and so far I'm pleased with the results. I'm thrilled with the menu I've designed and I'm sure my family will be just as happy with the final product.

While watching hours of footage I came across a clip that I just adore. I thought, its so much like my grandfather to want to pull his seven young kids around with his car. I smiled, missing him and his carefree ways, until the car pulls up to the camera and reveals... its Grandmom who is driving. A hilarious shock!

This is last weekend I have with my mom, the snowbird, she drives south for the winter and home to the gulf coast of Florida for five months out of the year. I still count myself lucky to have her for the rest of the year here in Kentucky with me and though I welcome the break, in a months time I'm really going to miss her. So this weekend will be spent with three generations of mothers and daughter because my grandmother has flown in to visit too. The agenda for the next couple of days covers the gamut; trips to the lakes, fall foliage views, small town festivals, antique markets, and planting tulips for next spring.

Pop's Portrait

2 comments

Last night I was able to give my grandmother a quick tour of our new home, she was oohs and aahhs with even a few tears as she noticed a cherished portrait of my grandpop, who had passed earlier this year. I still get teary-eyed thinking of him and I know this trip is a hard one for her because he had wanted so very much to live in Kentucky. They had spent quite a lot of time visiting us here and planning a move in the year before his passing, he just never made it. This weekend three generations of women will spread his ashes under a sweet sycamore, we will will cry, hug and exchange memories of the man we had all loved who is always in our hearts and now finally has his home in Kentucky.

With the loss of family we realize how very special our time with eachother is. When Monday comes my mother and grandmother will begin their two week trip home to the Florida shore, stopping to see family and friends along the way. A memorable journey for the two of them and a farewell from me until we see each other again in the spring.