Team-Up Thursday

Week 26 Theme - Silhouette

Gini's on the left; mine on the right.

As soon as I saw the theme for this week, I knew I would be digging into the archives to use a picture I’d taken years ago.  Mine is a shot from York Beach, Maine, from a house we used to rent for a week in the summer with Dennis’ family.  I’d woken up early one morning, and saw the most amazing light outside.  I snuck out into the yard and captured this shot.  It’s one of my all-time favorites, and I think the one that really sparked my interest in photography.

As for my sister’s shot, I think it epitomizes everything that a silhouette should be.  When I think of the old hand-cut silhouettes, I’m always amazed at how clearly you can make out the subject.  In Gini’s picture, there’s no mistaking whose silhouette that is.  Well, for those of us who know her, I guess.  It’s my beautiful niece, Hannah – I’d know those eyelashes anywhere. 

Team-Up Thursday

Week 25 Theme – Where You Live

Gini’s on the left; mine on the right.

Two different shots of Longmeadow. Gini’s is of the Community House, the place where so many things happen in this town – voting, pancake breakfasts, social events – even a surprise baby shower for one Miss Gabriella Egan. Town Hall. (Why don't you look a bit closer, dummy.) And mine is…well, our house. Funny that with all the different architectural styles in town, both our pictures are focused on colonial brick structures. Even more interesting is how we both focused on 5 windows and a door of said structures. Hmmm….

I interpreted this theme quite narrowly, as you can see. I thought about trying to capture the character of this town, but I just couldn’t come up with one picture that I thought would do it justice. I wasn’t thrilled with my shot when I originally took it, but looking at it now, I see that it reflects the essence of why we bought this house.

Dennis and I always wanted a brick colonial with white trim and black shutters. And, we knew we wanted to end up in Longmeadow. This town is a throw-back of sorts, a sleepy little town where family life is central to everything. There is little industry, lots of history, mature trees throughout, and an enviable “network of sidewalks”. We looked at a number of homes, of all different architectural styles, but none quite hit the mark. Then one Sunday, I was scouring the “Homes for Sale” section of the classifieds and came across a tiny 3-line listing for an open house that afternoon, a house For Sale by Owner, with no picture, but in our price range. Dennis was studying furiously for his second bar exam, so I decided to venture out on my own to check it out.

Well, the minute I turned down our road I knew I was home. Our road is lined with huge trees, with the majority of homes being brick colonials. As I approached #10, my heart was practically leaping out of my chest. I called Dennis at home and told him “You have to come meet me here NOW.” As I said, he was studying furiously, so he was in no place to be dropping everything and running out to look at a house. He told me to come home and we could take a ride back later to see inside. So home I went, a bit dejected if I’m honest, and waited patiently for him to get to a good stopping point. As soon as he did, we headed back to the open house, and did a walkthrough of the house that lasted 5 minutes tops. The owner was chatting with other folks while we were there, so we didn’t even get a chance to talk to him. We got back in the car, and both agreed that this was the house for us. We went home, Dennis called the owner, and promptly made a full-price offer. The owner told him he’d already gotten a full-price offer, so he’d take ours into consideration as well. When Dennis hung up, I was devastated. We talked it over quickly, and agreed (well, kind of!) to call him back and offer him more money and a quick close date. I just knew this was where we were meant to be, and I couldn’t let it slip away from us. I mean, come on, it’s a brick colonial with white trim and black shutters, in Longmeadow. Seriously.

So, long story even longer, they accepted our offer and we moved in at the end of March, 2006. And we’ve loved it ever since. Admittedly, it’s smaller than we’d like (or really need) it to be, we’ve found some crazy handiwork here and there courtesy of the previous owner, and we have a wish-list a mile long of projects we’d like to tackle. But, this is home for us, and I wouldn’t trade it, or the life that we’ve built in it, for anything in the world.

Team-Up Thursday

Week 23 Theme - Water

Gini’s on the top, mine on the bottom.

Funny that we both ended up using pool shots this week.  Funny in that Gini is always around a pool and I seldom am.  And funny that my sister thinks she was predictable this week, and yet I opened her email just like every week - wondering what she’d chosen to do with the theme.  Go ahead…say it…DUH!

I like this combination and the way it depicts both work and fun.  In the top you have my niece, Hannah, who swims competitively (and is damn good at it, to boot!), skillfully working her way through the water.  In the bottom, you have Matthew and Dennis, just in it for the sheer fun of it.  I love looking at the difference in their facial expressions – Hannah so driven and focused, and Matthew so playful and giddy with anticipation.  I especially love seeing how similar Matthew and Dennis’ expressions are – the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree!