The title seems to be a contradiction of terms, doesn't it? It truly isn't that, however, and its purpose is to remind us of something very important. If you are like I was for too many years, you bring out the camera for special occasions only. That is when you remember to take your photographs . . . when a holiday, birthday, or a few other festive times come along.
Try to get into the habit of snapping photographs of the "everyday" and even mundane things that go on in your household each day. What may seem too ordinary to snap a photo of now may be exactly the perfect event to spark some wonderful memories in the future.
Keep your camera stored in a place where you will have easy access to it. Think of the future and things that will make you and your children smile ten or twenty years from now. If Johnny insists on eating cold cereal every single morning in his fuzzy turtle slippers, snap a picture of him with the bowl and fuzzy feet. If little Kate falls asleep every night using the German Shepherd as a pillow on the sofa, capture it on film or digital camera.
There are so many things to make memories with! Does your family spend time playing board games or doing jigsaw puzzles? Take photographs of children playing with their favorite toys and by all means, don't wait for Christmas to do that. Capture guests who come to visit in a photograph and take pictures of any dinner parties or other parties you host either for adults or for children.
These photos may end up being stored on the computer, on disk, in photo albums, or in scrapbooks, but no matter what becomes of them, you will be glad that you have them sometime in the future. It is a good idea to print duplicates or order duplicates if someone else is developing traditional film for you. Store the second set of prints in a place other than the same home for safe keeping. You may also consider opening an account with an online email service that offers large storage space (i.e. Google's email option called gmail) and store some of your best and favorite photos there.
Other things to snap photographs of (although there are countless possibilities and you will come up with many of your own!) include:
-- Any household chores the children perform
-- Children with their favorite books
-- Your spouse or partner cooking a special dinner (make note of what he or she was cooking!)
-- Some of your family's favorite activities
-- Any firsts that occur from first steps to first solid food to first Halloween, etc. (everything that is new for a child in the family)
-- Visitors and neighbors who stop by
-- The family eating a favorite meal or snack
-- Washing the dog, or dressing him up!
-- Watching a sunset from outside or from the window
-- Playing in the rain, snow, or pile of leaves
Don't forget to make notes on the backs of printed or developed pictures about what it is that was going on if that is not obvious from seeing the picture. Write down names of people who aren't in the immediate family and jot down the date on the photo. This becomes easier on computer-stored pictures, of course, because they are already dated.
You will be glad that special "everyday" photos were added to the usual snaps of holidays, birthdays, sports participation, vacations, school plays, and family reunions.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Thursday, November 03, 2005
The National Christmas Tree and Model Train
For many people of any age, a Christmas tree just doesn't seem complete without a model train display running around its base. America's National Christmas Tree in Washington DC is no exception and for more than a decade now has had a train chugging along tracks at the base of the tree.
This year, 2005, will be the 82nd year that a tree has been lit and designated as the "National Tree." Lighting will occur at 5 p.m. on December 1st. The tree is found near the White House on the Ellipse. This year will offer entertainment of Ricky Skaggs, Maya Angelou, the United States Navy Band, CeCe Winans, VOENA Children's A Capella Choir, Dale Kristien, Merlin Olsen, and Brad Oscar.
If you plan to attend the opening ceremony for the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, be advised that security will be as tight as with any other gathering in the city. You will need a ticket (given out at the visitor pavilion at the Ellipse. The tickets are free and are being handed out on November 5th starting at 8 a.m.) Keep in mind that the tickets are only for the opening ceremony with the dignitaries present and you will not need a ticket to simply go by to see the display at some other time.
Some other things to remember about security: Do not carry a backpack or duffle bag and do not carry any large container such as a cooler. Do not carry or allow children to carry real or replica ammunition or knives, etc. of any kind. Laser lights are not allowed. If you need to carry something like a diaper bag or use a stroller, it is permitted, but be prepared for a search of things like this. Oh, and one other thing is that you will need to use public transportation such as the metro because there is simply very little parking available this close to the White House.
So back to the model train display! Aristo Craft Trains from New Jersey came up with the idea eleven years ago (actually one of their managers, Mr. Frank) and they decided that if other trees looked unfinished without the model train, so did the National Christmas Tree. The National Park Service allowed it to happen and with the help of a model train club in the area, Mr. Frank built and operated that first display.
The train display will run in 2005 from the opening night ceremony right through to December 30. The display will run in all kinds of weather and it can be seen from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Volunteers help to clean the tracks and prepare the trains each year so that the train display can continue to make visitors young and old alike smile when visiting the National Christmas Tree.
One other thing to look for when visiting the model train display is the "Pathway of Peace" which is another Washington tradition for more than 50 years now. Around the large National tree, you will find 56 smaller trees that are also decorated. They represent the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and America's five territories.
This year, 2005, will be the 82nd year that a tree has been lit and designated as the "National Tree." Lighting will occur at 5 p.m. on December 1st. The tree is found near the White House on the Ellipse. This year will offer entertainment of Ricky Skaggs, Maya Angelou, the United States Navy Band, CeCe Winans, VOENA Children's A Capella Choir, Dale Kristien, Merlin Olsen, and Brad Oscar.
If you plan to attend the opening ceremony for the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, be advised that security will be as tight as with any other gathering in the city. You will need a ticket (given out at the visitor pavilion at the Ellipse. The tickets are free and are being handed out on November 5th starting at 8 a.m.) Keep in mind that the tickets are only for the opening ceremony with the dignitaries present and you will not need a ticket to simply go by to see the display at some other time.
Some other things to remember about security: Do not carry a backpack or duffle bag and do not carry any large container such as a cooler. Do not carry or allow children to carry real or replica ammunition or knives, etc. of any kind. Laser lights are not allowed. If you need to carry something like a diaper bag or use a stroller, it is permitted, but be prepared for a search of things like this. Oh, and one other thing is that you will need to use public transportation such as the metro because there is simply very little parking available this close to the White House.
So back to the model train display! Aristo Craft Trains from New Jersey came up with the idea eleven years ago (actually one of their managers, Mr. Frank) and they decided that if other trees looked unfinished without the model train, so did the National Christmas Tree. The National Park Service allowed it to happen and with the help of a model train club in the area, Mr. Frank built and operated that first display.
The train display will run in 2005 from the opening night ceremony right through to December 30. The display will run in all kinds of weather and it can be seen from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Volunteers help to clean the tracks and prepare the trains each year so that the train display can continue to make visitors young and old alike smile when visiting the National Christmas Tree.
One other thing to look for when visiting the model train display is the "Pathway of Peace" which is another Washington tradition for more than 50 years now. Around the large National tree, you will find 56 smaller trees that are also decorated. They represent the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and America's five territories.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Save Time Sharing your Digital Prints
By Christina VanGinkel
It seems like the more things that are created to make our lives easier, to provide us with more free time, the more complicated the management of that time becomes. Look at all of the wonderful things we can do with photographs thanks to all the new advancements on the digital front. With cameras and accessories that allow us to take, review, choose, and print all in a matter of minutes, we should be sharing our snapshots with family and friends every time we fill the memory card. The only problem is that for most of us, once we take all those wonderful shots and upload them to our computer, that is about as far as we go with them. They sit there, languishing away, waiting for us to find the time to select the best, to print a few, let alone even use them in a few projects such as scrapbooks, or to adorn a favorite t-shirt.
Someone did think of this, and created a solution that actually will save us time! Several online companies, such as Shutterfly, allow you to simply upload all your latest photographs to their server, and from there family and friends can browse at their own leisure, download favorites, even have them professionally printed or turned into a number of different products such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, puzzles, even business cards!
All you have to do to begin the whole process is to send out, via email, invitations to those people you wish to have access to your online folders. Shutterfly has made the whole process simple enough for even a novice to do, and other online sites I previewed seemed to have just as simple a sign up process. After that, simply upload your pictures, and each time you do an announcement is sent to everyone on your list. They can then visit at their leisure. The best part of Shutterfly is that those people you invite to view do not have to be members of Shutterfly to access the folders, so it is just as easy and quick for them. Just think, never again will you have to listen to your in-laws ask you when is the next time you are going to send pictures of the kids. They can print all the photographs their heart's desire! Moreover, Shutterfly has even added a very unique feature that makes it fun for everyone viewing. They have added a cool tool that allows family and friend, or yourself, to add comments to each picture individually. No more worrying that someone will not 'get' a picture. Just add a note to it so everyone knows just what is so special about the picture. This feature also works great for those you think you might come back to yourself later and use in a scrapbook. Take a moment to jot down your thoughts or impressions so when you finally find the time to work on your scrapbook, you will have a few gentle reminders of why that photo was so special in the first place!
It seems like the more things that are created to make our lives easier, to provide us with more free time, the more complicated the management of that time becomes. Look at all of the wonderful things we can do with photographs thanks to all the new advancements on the digital front. With cameras and accessories that allow us to take, review, choose, and print all in a matter of minutes, we should be sharing our snapshots with family and friends every time we fill the memory card. The only problem is that for most of us, once we take all those wonderful shots and upload them to our computer, that is about as far as we go with them. They sit there, languishing away, waiting for us to find the time to select the best, to print a few, let alone even use them in a few projects such as scrapbooks, or to adorn a favorite t-shirt.
Someone did think of this, and created a solution that actually will save us time! Several online companies, such as Shutterfly, allow you to simply upload all your latest photographs to their server, and from there family and friends can browse at their own leisure, download favorites, even have them professionally printed or turned into a number of different products such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, puzzles, even business cards!
All you have to do to begin the whole process is to send out, via email, invitations to those people you wish to have access to your online folders. Shutterfly has made the whole process simple enough for even a novice to do, and other online sites I previewed seemed to have just as simple a sign up process. After that, simply upload your pictures, and each time you do an announcement is sent to everyone on your list. They can then visit at their leisure. The best part of Shutterfly is that those people you invite to view do not have to be members of Shutterfly to access the folders, so it is just as easy and quick for them. Just think, never again will you have to listen to your in-laws ask you when is the next time you are going to send pictures of the kids. They can print all the photographs their heart's desire! Moreover, Shutterfly has even added a very unique feature that makes it fun for everyone viewing. They have added a cool tool that allows family and friend, or yourself, to add comments to each picture individually. No more worrying that someone will not 'get' a picture. Just add a note to it so everyone knows just what is so special about the picture. This feature also works great for those you think you might come back to yourself later and use in a scrapbook. Take a moment to jot down your thoughts or impressions so when you finally find the time to work on your scrapbook, you will have a few gentle reminders of why that photo was so special in the first place!
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