The Reunion

A Day with the Son/Sun

Eli is a lot of things

athletic

funny

nice

good company

He's a McGuire

but he's also a Heusinkveld

I took him to the annual Heusinkveld Reunion

I always hated these as a kid

old people

most of them I didn't know

telling stories

most of them about people I didn't know

Eli at 11 years old was the youngest "Heusinkveld"

The Heusinkvelds are proud of their Dutch heritage

Proud and thankful that many many years ago

one family decided to immigrate to the USA

Every Heusinkveld in America is related

we have a book to prove it

I loved the day

Eli endured it

We talked baseball, ate chicken, and celebrated

our Heusinkveld connection

I will continue to expose the kids

to these "old people"

once in awhile

because even though they are old

and have different last names

they share a history

WhaT In TArnaTioN?!

A puddle and kids

in 

Speedos

"What in Tarnation?!"

I grew up on 

"What in Tarnation?!"

It was always used as an expletive

or a euphemism

for an expletive

When I hid the beer in the grill

(I was only 18)

"What in Tarnation?!"

When, as a college graduate

I quit the 9-5 job

with benefits

at Northwest Mortgage

to Waitress

at Chi Chi's 

"What in Tarnation?!"

When I joined the Peace Corps

"What in Tarnation?!"

The origin of "What in Tarnation?!"

A term used by those south of the Mason-Dixon line. 

Used to describe suprising or shocking situations 

(similiar usage as "what the f**k")

Such inventions as

 “heck,” 

“drat,” 

“darn,”

 “gosh,”

 “jiminy,”

 “gee-whiz”

 and “goldarn” 

were all devised to disguise exclamations 

that would have been considered 

shocking in polite society.

Today we could add

"frick"

"frickken"

to that list.

Any Others?

SQUASH BLOSSOM FARM

SQUASH BLOSSOM FARM

Click on the link above and watch a little video I put together

An Excellent Adventure

Very Cool People

Music

Gardens

Handmade Brick Hearth

Fresh baked Bread

Chickens

Eggs

Cows

Milk

calves

Art

An Artist

A Musician

A store so we can buy the cool stuff

Get Inspired

Two People took a dream and ran with it

You've gotta see what they are creating

Susan and Roger

My MeMOrY SuCKs

My Memory Sucks

That's why I take so many pictures
Because honestly
If I don't have a picture of it
It pretty much didn't happen
At least as far as my memory of the event is concerned

Here's a Dad Video taping his daughter
An amazing dancer
That memory will live on

My daughter is my memory
in many ways
She remembers dates
like nobodies business
She remembers where we sat
what we saw
what year it was

I wish she could remember to
pick up her bathroom
(that's probably not really a memory issue)

Life is about experiences
It's nice to remember them

Life is about little kids turning into big kids
It's nice to remember them being little

I depend on my camera
to capture what my mind
can't seem to do anymore

Remember
It's all we have
take a picture
draw a picture
write a picture
create a memory

StYLiZe YoUR CoNDITioN

You might as well look good

When you've got a medical condition

You try to make the best of it

You try to give it some style

I have an obvious medical condition

I wear corrective lenses

I decided about 15 years ago

That if I was going to wear glasses

I was going to wear art

So with that in mind

I vowed to change out the frames

every two years

Keep changing

Whaa laa!!

Medical Condition With Style

The challenge was

Buying the lenses

Where to go

I want 

'inspired eye wear'

I found my new store

Eye Q

funky

fun

fashionable

Subway level

If you find Carroll's Corn

Your just a skip away from

EyeQ

My neice wears an ankle brace 

with style

My neighbor wears a wig 

with style

When I broke my arm

Sling . . . with style

Need support walking?

Cane . . . with style

Alopecia?

Hat . . . with style

Drink Coffee?

mug. . . with style

We don't get to choose our

conditions in life

But we can choose how to wear them

Wear your condition with style

SAy iT In DiXiE CuPS . . . ThE NuNS DiD

I know what it says, but I don't get it

STAYING IN THE FIRE

I like that I don't get it

Because it makes me think

I now am spending time

Thinking, wondering, hypothesizing

I went out of my way

To take the picture

I took a detour home

To show my daughter

We spent time talking about what it might mean

These four simple words

spelled out in dixie cups

shoved into the links 

on a chain link fence

A fence owned by Nuns

The nuns of Assissi Heights

That brought a smile to our faces right there

Nuns

Shoving hundreds of cups

Into a chain link fence

Spelling out a phrase

To share with

The masses

In our imaginations

The nuns were wearing habits

In reality . . . . Not

The nuns are lucky to have a chain link fence

I wish I had one

Not to fence anything in or out

I just think its a great canvas

 for words

What words would you put

on your chain link fence today?

Never Leave Home Without A Sharpie

Never leave home without a Sharpie

Oh sure it's fun to watch the game

But for the under 16 crowd

Its all about balls and autographs

We go to a lot of local ball games

We host a Honker's player

So of course that is a draw

We not only know the player's names

But we have one sleeping in a bed in our house

He's 21

So chances are he'll even drink our beer

At the ball park . . . .
We all have our idea of what we want from the outing
I want a Honker Red Beer and Sunflower Seeds
My husband will have the same
My son wants his glove, a sharpie, and permission
to hang out by the bull pen
waiting for fly balls
and if they don't come
he's hoping a friendly ball player
will toss a ball his way
My daughter wants to bring a friend

It's a ball game, but it's not complete
 Without the details of
What we have created of the event
Then it becomes a tradition

And
traditions hold
meaning
memories
and a history

ThE ChAlleNGe diDn'T StOp 'Em

Somethings deserve another look

Somethings make you smile

As I was driving down the street today

I passed these two fun loving dudes

going in the opposite direction

on a tandem bike

the guy in front had his feet up

they looked like they were having so much fun

I did a U-turn and drove down the street ahead of them

so I could get out of my car and take their picture

It is a quiet Sunday Morning

I yelled as they approached

"Can I Take Your Picture?"

"Sure"

so I clicked away

"Thanks Guys!"

"No, Thank you"

Upon further inspection of the shots I took

I realized this was truly a special ride

The second rider

in the bike helmet

is blind

and he's the power guy

pedaling

The front guy 

Is the eyes

 The brakes

The GPS

I love positive people

I love people who take an obstacle 

as a challenge

as an opportunity

Who says a blind guy can't ride a bike?

Not these two guys

If you know these men

Let me know who they are

I'd like to know more about their story

What obstacle/challenge have you turned

into an opportunity?

SpIT WaDS

I walked into the room and the spit wads started flying

I woke up

peace

made my bed

crisp white sheets

sunny morning light

quiet

I love this time of day

until . . . . 

I walked downstairs

and into the lives of my family

and then it started

SPIT WADS.......

"Mom . . . 

"You said you'd make pancakes for breakfast"

"I need help with my homework"

"I need to study my states and capitols"

"Where is my ball uniform"

"Do you know where my cap is"

"My sweater needs ironing" 

I don't mind helping with the needs of my children

But when those needs are presented to me

One after the other from both sides of the room

SPIT WADS

Splat

Boom

Whack

Aghhhh. . . . . please stop!!!

*Note - I am not a single parent

My husband was reading 

Drinking a cup of coffee

On the couch

ESPN on the TV

With no demands being made on him

How come?

He's a willing participant

Shelter from spitballs that's what I crave 

on mornings like these

often my 'spit wad shelter' is 

Dunn Brothers - North

all by myself

I love the coffee

I love the crowds of people

 the hustle and bustle

 the "peace"

It's peaceful because although

it's full of conversation and laughter and meetings

I am not responsible for any of it

I can choose to tune in or tune out at will

Where do you find shelter 

from the spit wads?

ARe YoU OnE OF THosE pEoPLe?!

"Horse People"

I am not one of these

But I hung around them for a few hours on Saturday

They ride horses

They love their horses

They know what to do around horses

So. . . why was I hanging in their crowd?

Well, I was asked to photograph

Horse things that look like letters of the alphabet

Since I own nothing that could pass as horse stuff

I ventured into new territory

Gold Mine!!!

I found lots of new letters for my collection

Met some great "horse people"

I know "photography people"

we have "photo speak"

I'm still learning, 

But I'm starting to understand more all the time

I am starting to feel like one of them

f-stop, aperature, high key lighting, soft box, stop down

fill light, post process, RAW, jpeg, shutter speed

 . . . sexy language huh?

I have a lot of "dog people" in my neighborhood

I guess in my family actually

I'm not one of them

I don't quite get the draw?

Dogs seem like a lot of work to me

responsibility

shedding

cost

they bark

they poop in the yard

they eat stuff, chew, wreck furniture

But to "Dog  People" 

It's worth it

I just don't get it

I'm just glad we have all these different people

because we need each other

I need 

"computer people"

I wish I had 

"cleaning people"

My husband is part of the

"concrete sequential people"

I love to hang with

"positive people"

I stay away from

"negative downer type folks"

Who are your people?

Who are the people you need?

Who are the people you don't get?

Who are the people you stay away from?

BeLOng

Somethings are just more fun with company

lots of company

masses

You get to belong to the club

the doers

who did it

Saturday was a club of kids that

committed to run a marathon

a half mile at a time

kids as young as kindergarteners

pretty cool

I like belonging 

I'm part of a book club

A photography association

They call themselves the Cornbelt Photographers Association

I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

and feel a connection to other RPCV's

We are a Honker Host Family

belonging is important

belonging can give you direction

motivation

support

belonging begins with a common ground

identify your common ground

hobbies

politics

interests

kids

schools

church 

neighborhoods

family

friends

experiences 

places you've lived 

travel 

jobs

 belong

Where do you belong?

IF itS GOnNa HaPpEN . . . ItS BeCAusE of ME

Hours?  Are you kidding me?!

Sometimes what you want takes hours to achieve

I know this

But not so obvious to a 10 year old

These flowers are merely set in there perspective places

A design potential

with good soil, water and love they'll prosper

but not before effort

not before a couple hours of work

The vision is in the head

the flowers are set in a potential design

the tools are ready and waiting

it starts with the vision

I envisioned a couple Adirondack  chairs

ok honestly I've been envisioning the adirondack chairs for years now

but I've been waiting for them

I've been waiting for them to appear

sometimes you just can't wait

I think I'll own a pair of adirondack chairs

before the weekend is over

but only because I am taking action

When hints don't work

you gotta make it happen

if it's gonna happen

just because it's important to you

doesn't mean it's important to others

So. . . what will you make happen this weekend?

SEizE ThE OpPOrTuNiTY

I miss too many opportunities

The baby bird picture above was an opportunity 

that fell in my lap

Last summer we replaced the deck boards

One at a time

We pulled up one particular board 

a robin nest with newly hatched babes

was sitting there

Get Your Camera!!!

"Click"

 opportunity captured

There are also the opportunities that I consciously let pass

regrettably

Those opportunities often involve a photo opportunity

I hate it when I don't recognize an opportunity

until it has passed

Like when family gets together

Like when friends get together

Some opportunities are unplanned and mean that I need 

To stop in my path or change course

Sometimes I'm just too lazy, late or self conscious

to do what it takes to get the picture

The thing is

when I pass up an opportunity

I may not get it back

the day will be different

It will never be what it was

I have become so much more aware of 

opportunities

Since I started shooting pictures

Life Opportunities

Opportunities take risk

Peace Corp

Marriage

Jobs

friendships

taking a stand

raising your hand

saying your piece

speaking your mind

starting a business

trying something new

helping a friend

helping a stranger

taking a class

investing money

spending money

be wise

be aware

look for opportunities

an opportunity passed 

is an opportunity missed

what opportunity have you missed, regrettably?

what opportunity have you seized?

for better or worse

ThE THouGhT wAs BEaUtiFUl . . . THe FloWErS NoT SO mUcH

Surprise!

I love you more each day

Thanks for all you do

Love Tim

That was what the card said.

The flowers were from the "right flower shop"

The flowers were from LeJardin

Problem was. . . 

The flowers didn't look like flowers from Le Jardin

WTF?

I have gotten flowers from Pat Heck's store for the last several years

And I am always Wowed

Yesterday I was not Wowed

Are the edges of the roses supposed to be browned?

The arrangement looked so . . . common

This is so not what I expect from Le Jardin

So, I made a phone call

Answering Machine

Hello, this is Le Jardin, please leave a message

"Pat, the surprise from Tim was wonderful"

"The flowers, not so wonderful"

"Are the edges of the flowers supposed to be brown?"

"Is the arrangement supposed to be so 'common'?"

Ok, I didn't really say that last line, but I was thinking it

Later in the evening

A personal call from Pat Heck

"I did not see the arrangement

My design assisstant put it together

Tracey, the edges are not supposed to be brown

Keep the arrangement you recieved

I'm sending you another"

The new arrangement came today

This is what I expect from LeJardin

Gorgeous, Fresh, a punch of Wow.

Thanks To my guy for showing me some love

Thanks to Pat for reminding me why she's my favorite flower shop

So WHat'S tHE StORy?

So do you ever just wonder  

"WTF?"

Shoes on an Electric wire?

Dead Body in the Woods?

The Salsa Guy Has a Following

Why don't I like the salsa?

People actually think repealing the seat belt law is a good thing

The Twins are in a major losing slump

Justin Morneau has that obnoxious mustachie thing

You just don't know what you'll come across

Every single day I think

"WTF?"

At least once

I am just in awe of what I see, hear or witness

Sometimes friends surprise me

Sometimes its strangers

Sometimes is large groups of people

I am in no way righteous

I am just an observer that is incredulous sometimes

Incredulous that I didn't realize other people

Lots of other people

Have  different values than I do on certain topics

different opinions

To all those people

bodies 

and shoes

I just want to say

"WTF?"

Or

"What's the story?  Tell me more."

LiFE Is A BaLL gAMe, YoU ARe the PiTCheR

All the eyes are on you

everyone is watching how you perform 

strike = good

ball = miss the target

hit = good if your defense can play it

home run = bad bad bad, ugh

grand slam = super bad, bummer

Metaphor for life

You are the pitcher

The ball is your actions

The batter is who or what you are interacting with

You want to throw strikes (do the right stuff)

You'll throw balls a lot - it's inevitable

Sometimes with the best intentions we just miss the target (foul)

If your actions take a hit you have to play it right

Be sincere, be honest and get the ball back in play 

(realign your actions)

A home run would mean your actions got away from you

The consequence is unacceptable

But you don't quit

A grand slam would be a major screw up

But you don't quit

Until the game has been played out 

And there is nothing left to do

Even at that point

You don't give up

There will be another batter

Another game

Learn from the previous batter

The previous game

AnD SoMETiMeS ItS FuN To BE DiFFerEnT

If it were his sister's tutu 

I don't think it would have held half the charm

But this is his dad's tutu

How many boys can claim that?

I had this tutu made for Tim to wear

In the spring dance recital

The dancing dad routine included a tutu this year

Halloween is an invitation

Theme parties

 Sports events have this same insanity

Dressing crazy

It's an opportunity to go outside of our norm

or maybe a socially acceptable opportunity to

comfortably dress like we'd like to more often

get silly

laugh

be someone else for a day

be yourself for a day

be creative

hunt, scrounge, plan

build and make

it's work sometimes

but it's fun almost all the time

I dare ya

when did you

when will you

dress crazy?

THe sMilE On HEr FaCe CovEReD UP thE DiScORd

The smile on her face covered up the discord

the hotel room thermostat malfunctioned

the temp during the night rose to 90 degrees

it couldn't be fixed

we changed rooms at 3am

we had 5 hours of sleep

and a fitful sweaty sleep at that

we were 2 hours from home

and 30 minutes until her solo

when she realized she didn't have

her lyrical dance shoes

another dancer loaned her shoes

its not the same

but they are shoes

they are lyrical shoes

they'll work

When she went on stage she danced like nobodies business

It's all in the practice

If you are ready and practiced and know your stuff

you can call upon it in times of stress

It's not faking it

It's making it

Being prepared and strong in what you do

Remembering why you do it

gets us through the hard times

the times when we feel like quitting and going home

But you know quitting and going home is not an option

Its not an option you want 

its not an option you'll choose

those ups and downs in life

prepare us for those ups and downs in life

DrEaMS

It's just a ball game and only a little league game at that

or is it?

In Eli's eyes this is his future

Actually his future has many possible directions

MLB, NHL, or policeman with his buddy Luca

He was recently considering being a chef

but decided that was boring

Cooking in my house is nothing like

Buddy in Cake Boss

It is exciting to dream

It is more exciting to watch dreams take place

dreams take risk, luck, and determination

My dreams:

teaching

Peace Corps

Speak a second Language

Travel and live abroad

Marry a great guy

Grad School for both Tim and I

My Words by Tracey business

Photography business (dream in progress stage)

Family trip to Europe in four years (we started a Euro account)

Now the dreams are in large part kid centered

Help the kids develop into great people

Support the kids in their dreams

whatever they may be

as often as they change

today those dreams

are:

professional sports

professional dancer

we'll see

the determination to reach the dream

has to come from within

the drive 

the courage

the dertermination

What are Your Dreams?

What are you doing to make it real?

THe WhEEl of the TRactoR

The wagon was full of corn

we sat on the pile of corn

Grandpa drove the tractor

Our Destination 

Greenleafton, MN

When we got there 

the corn got ground at the mill

We got a spring grove soda

orange was my favorite

Cherry Grove 

 another favorite place

Shuffleboard

grandpa even had a shuffleboard. . .  (court?)

in the attic of the hen house

Grandpa drove the tractor

I sat on his knee

we parked on the side of the field

Grandpa walked into the field to . . . 

pick weeds, rocks, look around??

 I looked long and hard at the tractor

I started the tractor 

I'd seen grandpa do it a hundred times

I just pushed the button

It started right up

then I didn't know what to do

Grandpa looked up from the field

walked over 

he wasn't happy

He told me to go back to the house

it was a half mile walk 

up that gravel road to the farm house

I'm sorry grandpa

I was 8

I loved my grandpa

I loved being at the farm

Grandpa's farm holds great memories for me

Lawrence Welk

Uno

Rootbeer floats

The chicken coop

Eggs

The barn

The smell of hay

The apple orchard

Getting water from the pump

The tin cup hanging from a wire hook

Grandma making homemade play dough

Juicy fruit gum

pink wintergreen mints

Memories, all of them

jogged today

by a picture of a tractor wheel

Look at something today

what does it bring back to you?