My Father

This is my Dad. He is now 75 young years. As a kid, I remember my father being a stern man with rules we had to follow.  I was only made to "get in the bathroom" twice but I remember that well. He and my mother owned their own business growing up and I have such fond memories of that place. When I was 16, my parents went bankrupt because of the big name pharmacies running the mom and pop ones out of business. Most of my peers had a car of there own but it was not till I was 17 that I got one. It was a blue 4 door Toyota Corona. I do not remember the year it was but it was mine even though it would not go over 45 MPG and I had to beat the starter with a large stick in order to get it started.  It wasn't until my 20's that I finally asked my father for a car and I was told promptly "Sorry but I cannot do that right now." My parents were extremely generous people. They did for me and my brothers probably way too much. I fully admit that at one point I took advantage of that because I knew my parents would bail me out. For some reason though, my conscience eventually got to me, thank God, and I paid my parents back, not only with money but with gratitude. Now that I am married with a family of my own, my dad is in need of my help now. My mother died in 2007 and my dad did not take her death very well. About a year after her death, Roy and I started seeing dad do and say some things that were out of his character. As it progressed, I knew what was going on with him. My dad had developed dementia. I have had to watch a very sharp man just deteriorate before my eyes and it is very heartbreaking. He has become a very fragile soul. I cannot imagine the hell this man is going through in his own mind. My pain does not matter at all compared to his pain. I can see it in his face. This disease is brutal to an individual. It takes their mind and scrambles it like an egg. It makes them believe things that are not true and creates things that never happen. For example, to add to his pain of knowing his wife is dead, this disease has made him think one of his son's is dead. The look of joy when I tell him, "Dad Jeff just moved to Atlanta, he is not dead." is priceless. I keep having to remind myself that there is some shred of this man left but sometimes I do not see my Dad anymore, I see that DAMNED disease. My husband and I are doing our best to pay it forward to him. I know he deserves that. He gave me life and sheltered me and I owe it back to him to see that he gets the best he can have in his final years on this earth. I love you Dad with all my heart. XOXO

First Experience

We embarked on a trip with our camper. It is the first long trip towing it and it has been interesting so far.  We got into Tallahassee and it started raining so hard we had to pull over because we could no see 2 feet in front of us. We got to our hotel and let the kids swim. We decided to go get something to eat but it is kind of hard to pull a camper into a normal restaurant.  Fortunately, there was a little dive (so I thought at the time) next to our hotel.  We walked over and I honestly thought I was walking into a place that was kind of like Denny's. I figured we were going to get food fit enough to just fill our bellies. I got the surprise of the year. This place was quaint and pleasing. The environment was classic and the decor was dated a little but classic also. Roy had a blackened mahi that was out of this world and I had garlic blackened shrimp that was so good.  I had some of Roy's mahi and dipped it in the sauce that my shrimp were in and it was unbelievable. I just cannot believe we have not found this place before.  We have been coming to Tallahassee because my mother is from here and even though she is gone now I feel the need to stop to pay tribute to her. It just makes me feel close to her. I was so impressed with the food and the service (his name was Richard and request him if you go there) that I decided to talk to the manager about his food and offer my services as a food photographer.  It would be such an adventure to do this and I hope when we come back in July that I will have the opportunity to grant him some fine shots of their food. If you ever visit look this place up and go have this wonderful and joyful party in your mouth.

Food Photography

I took a class a few months back called Printing.  I decides to try my hand at food photography.  I found that I loved it and wanted to explore more.  I was fortunate to have a professor that was making a living in food photography.  Some of his clients are Kraft an Miller.  I went to his web site and was so intrigued and fascinated. I now have a girl that does cakes and she wants me to take her pictures in order for her to furthur her business.  I am enjoying it because I know I have the talent to make the food look mouth watering and delicious. I also know that there is so much ore to discover and am venturing in the fine art of food.

Birthdays

I love birthdays. I think they need to be celebrated no matter what age. In this chaotic world we live in we are all lucky to be here. I just took shots for Emma. It was her 5th birthday and she is the daughter of a very good friend of mine, Annie. I think Emma has now learned nott o smile for me too. The other birthday I shot was for Savannah and it is her 1st birthday. She is a precious little girl and her mother is a friend of mine also. I had a great time watching each of these little girls enjoy their parties and the people around them. There mothers went to great lengths to make it as special as it could be for them. It bring back memeories of my childhood and having birthday parties in my backyard. We did not have many places like there are today to go have parties so we did them at home but my mother made them all special. Just a note to say that we all need to make days as special as we can for ourselves as well as others. Have a blessed day.

Kathryn Saunders Stinson

Kathryn Saunders Stinson, better known as Kitt. My mother was 8 years old when her sister was born into a family with many problems. Kitt was raised by my mom because her parents were fighting many personal battles. A battle that later in life both my mother and my aunt would fight themselves. I remember both of them telling me stories of the things that they witnessed. It is amazing that either one of them could smile after what they had gone through.

There are so many memories I have of my Aunt Kitt that make me smile. I looked forward to going up to visit in Nashville because it was a house filled with LOVE. We would gather in Mexico Beach and it would become a house filled with the same love. I also remember the laughter.

My aunt was a person who would care about others before herself. She would actually take on others peoples pain as her own. She lived in her own private blackness but would make sure the people around her were surrounded with love, joy, fun, and laughter. My kids loved this woman and asked me every time they had a break from school if we could go visit Aunt Kitt. I am so glad they got a chance to know her.

My mother and my aunt are back together again. I like to think that when my aunt succumbed to her darkness, the light that shined on her was God's and my mothers. I can see her grabbing both their hands and being led to where she is happy and filled with joy. The blackness in her life and heart no more. She and mom are now able to be truly happy and eat oysters whenever they like and they can both truly enjoy the sounds of the ocean.

Kitt

It has been a while. I am in a great deal of pain as I write this because on Friday March 9, 2012, my favorite aunt, Kitt Stinson, suddenly died. She has had a long battle but she is finally home. I know my mother grabbed her and welcomed her with open arms. I had many things in common with my aunt. We had a love of the beach. It is like a second home with us both enjoyed the majesty that is Mexico Beach, Florida. I remember growing up watching my mother, father, Aunt Kitt and Uncle Paul relaxing by laying for hours in the sun while we were at the beach for vacations. I remember the canasta games and most of all the laughter that went on. It is not the same since my mother died and I know it will feel the same way for my cousins Tommy, Kat, and Neil. My uncle is devestated by her death as is her children. They are going to go through a range of emotions. Anger, frustration, and laughter will be some of them. As time passes, it will get easier and they will remember the good times the most with her.

Update

It has been a long time since I got something on here. I have been taking classes and busy with the kids. I did shoot a wedding and I had so much fun doing it. I did for a friend mine and she was very grateful for it. It gave me shots for my portfolio so I did not mind. Thanksgiving is near and I am preparing to cook for that. Not ready for Christmas at all but I guess I need to prepare for that too. I guess it is ironic that I chose today to post since today is Veteran's Day. My hubby is in the Air Force and is at work right now getting ready for a HUGE inspection. Hopefully he will be able to take some time off soon. He deserves it. Well until next time I recommend seeing the movie "Despicable Me" when it comes out. Very cute.