The new blog

It has a name, paparazzi roxi and you can find it at here.

Click on over to see the latest photo and why it's called paparazzi Roxi. I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

The next thing

It's been a weird weekend because I didn't have to take a picture, or even think about what I would take a picture of. I still found myself thinking of what would be interesting to take a picture of and post. I know I want to continue posting photos of interesting things so I will start another photo blog, mostly because I think it is a bit odd to have a blog called "Roxi's 365" and have more than 365 on it. So I will continue to post photos of stuff I find interesting and post them.

The thing is, I've never been really clever with titles. If anyone has an idea, let me know. Sorry, there will be no prize for the winner, but there will be more photos and a link to the new blog.

365 Eleven Years

Eleven years ago we gave each other these rings and our time together has been an incredible ride I've never regretted. I thank God for the gift that Rich is to me, and I thank Rich that he married me; my husband, my support, my soft place to land. Deo gracias.

And yes, this is number 365 of a 365 picture a day for year project. A couple of people have asked what is next and I'm thinking of another photo blog, but probably not one a day. Maybe a week in review. Maybe a series on a theme. Maybe I'll take a break this weekend and maybe I'll find something to shoot. Some days getting the photo in was a chore, but always have a photo ready to post was indeed a discipline. Reflections on what I've learned through this process will have to wait a day or so.

Thank you Maria for the seed of the idea. Thank you Rich for putting up with all the shots. Thank you Ryan for suggesting the blog format. Thank you to everyone who told me they read it daily.

364 Riding through the Fountain

The PP&L Plaza in Allentown has fountain that is even with the sidewalk and squirts up through it with various heights and frequency. It's a bit of a dancing fountain which makes it interesting to ride a bike through. I am well aware of boys being drawn to puddles of water and what better fun than to actually ride through the fountain as the water squirts and dances.

363 Bikini Geese

Every time I drive to church I pass the house with appropriately dressed geese, one on each of the posts at the end of the driveway. They are always dressed in coordinating outfits and since we finally have the hazy, hot and humid summer weather the geese are dressed for the pool. She even has sunscreen so she won't burn!

362 Fountain

361 Something we should know?

Is this a special announcement? Another little Waldraff on the way? If so it is news to us.

Actually, our mailman has a history of delivering mail to the wrong address. This magazine belongs to a family on the next block. Whew!

360 Mints

359 Lemonade Stand

The Sunday School worked long on a hot day selling lemonade at a family yard sale to support Alex's Lemonade. Their hard work resulted in over $300 of by the cup donations to fight pediatric cancer. At the end of the sale they were rewarded with pool time to cool off after selling the refreshing lemonade.

358 Sam's Photo Adventure

Me by Sam

Sam by me.

This year's birthday present to Sam was a day of photography with me. We each had a camera and started our shoot at Monocacy Park. Then we stopped at Wawa to pick up lunch and headed down to Sand Island. After the shoot we came back to my house where we uploaded the pictures and created a book using Sam's photos of our adventure.

It was indeed a grand day out.

357 Lichens

356 Cameras

Rich was putting things back into the basement and showed me these two cameras. The one in the front was his grandfather's, the one in the back was his. We think they may still work.

355 Vacation Bible School

This year's theme is Science Sizzles and the boys (the class is all boys) have plenty of experiments to do and observe. In this one, food coloring was dropped in a dish of milk, then a drop of dish soap was added. The result, colors swirling round and round.

354 All in a Row

353 Our Dining Room

The finished project.

352 Old Tub

351 White Rose

This white rose has the most beautiful smell and blooms throughout the summer. The first bloom is usually the best because by this time the Japanese Beetles pick up the aroma and have feast before the rose is able to bloom. This year, however, I haven't seen signs of the beetles and I hope it was because we've had a cool, rainy summer and the beetles won't be coming 'round here no more.

350 Tuxedo Baseball

Tuxedos at a baseball game? It's AAA ball and there was a wedding at the park. I missed the pre-game wedding but to honor the event the team all wore tuxedo jerseys. The grounds crew wore tails and a red cummerbund with khaki shorts to drag the infield at the bottom of the 6th. Even the mascots dressed for the occasion with Ferrous in a Tuxedo shirt and FeFe in a red bridesmaid dress.

349 Bye-bye Beach

It is our last day of vacation at the shore. Time to pack it up and go home. Bye-bye, beach.

348 Beach Reads

Some people come to the shore to sit on the beach. Rich's sister Judy is one. Everyday she's up and out the door, sitting on the beach knitting. While the beach is nice, Rich and I find that getting ready to sit on the beach negates any benefits of being on the beach. Instead of sitting on the beach for 4 hours, we walk down the beach in the evening. I know it sounds incredibly romantic, but it really has a practical side; few people and no sunscreen. What do I do all day where we're at the shore? I read. A lot. I had started two of these books before we left home. The rest I read in the past week.

347 Making Music: The Page Turn

I have several beautifully executed shots of Rich in the process of writing music. There is the view of him writing in the notebook. There are views of him playing from the front and from side, close in and from a distance. In this one, I caught his expression as the ceiling fan created enough of a draft to turn the page, as if a ghost did it. The focus is on the page, and not on Rich, but his expression is too good to pass up for the picture of the day.

346 Hibiscus along the fence

345 Aloha, Daphne

At 7 feet Daphne greets everyone who enters the beach house. Aloha, Daphne, and welcome to Avalon.

344 Skillet Dinner

Chicken, onion, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, salsa and seasonings layered with tortillas and cheese. Yum.

343 Amanda & John

Our niece Amanda and her finance John. Their wedding is October 3.

342 Hosta Flower and Bud

341 Knitting

Not my work, my sister-in-law's. Judy always has knitting at the shore, and works on her knitting at the beach. My Grandma Falkner taught me to knit and with some review I can still cast on, knit and pearl. I'd rather make quilt tops. It takes less time than knitting.

340 Spinning Wool

339 Mia

338 Happy 4th of July!

Don't you just love the glasses? They are special 3-D glasses to watch fireworks.

337 Sunflower

336 Tigger

He sits at the bottom of the bedroom stairs. Always happy, and quite content.

335 Turkey Cheddar Sandwich Bread

Turkey, roasted peppers, corn, cheddar cheese and parsley all rolled into bread dough. Once it's done proofing it will be baked then sold. If I'm lucky I might be able to buy one tomorrow at the farmers market.

334 Three Petals

333 Mini Apples

I got the mug in Minneapolis 20 years ago and the mini-apple at Wegmans last week.

332 Sam's Recital

Today was Sam's first piano recital and he's been taking lessons for a couple of months. He played three songs with his teacher accompanying. Way to go Sam!

331 Yvonne in the Garden

330 Rocker

329 Sometimes They Think We're Sisters

At one time or another Alison and Cheryl have been referred to as my sisters. This is rather interesting since I grew up in Wisconsin with two brothers. Alison (left) is an only child who grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania, and Cheryl (center), who grew up in Syracuse, is the only one of us that actually has a sister. It is rare that the three of us are in the same place at the same time since Cheryl lives in Syracuse and I see her two or three times a year. Today Cheryl and I dropped by Alison at work just to take this picture.

Both Alison and Cheryl are dear friends of mine and they are also the mothers of Sam and Sofie.

P.S. Thank you Sam, for pushing the button to take this picture.

328 Hidey-Hole

" In the hidey-hole under the hedge behind my house I hiked my skirt, and hugged my knees.
Each bony knob fit in the cup of one palm,
and my chin fit between them."

From the poem, "Knees" by Cheryl Gatling

327 Fire Trucks

326 Shrodinger's Newspaper 2

325 Girl in the Grass

"The girls on the sidelines pick handfuls of grass.

They throw it at each other, and they laugh."

From the poem, "September 15, 2009" by Cheryl Gatling

324 Fire Fighter

I'm taking another photography class and this week's field trip was to Allentown's Central Firehouse.

323 Summer Feet

I have always loved going barefoot. Growing up the shoes went off as soon as the weather got warm in May but Grandma Falkner had a rule for me. I could barefoot when the temperature was above 70 for 7 days in a row. 

322 Bread of Life

321 Chocolaty Goodness

320 Red Wine

What do pastors do at the end of a long afternoon on retreat. Well, in Easton we have a little happy hour.

It did taste good. Thank you, Bruce!

319 New Bathroom

Odd, I suppose, to have a picture of a bathroom. But it is the new one in the basement and the plumber just finished hooking everything up. It is a small room, and I am proud of the tile work I did. A mirror, shelf, and towel bar and the room will be complete.

318 Grilled Garlic & Tomatoes