Monday, November 30, 2009

Richmond & Short Pump, Virginia
Richmond


Meeting Dance


Point ...



... counterpoint ...



... syncopation.


Short Pump
Daily Grind



People practicing "The sin of doing absolutely nothing ... for a life worth living" — subject for the Coffee and Conversation group at the Daily Grind this evening.
Photographs taken with a Leica M8


Sunday, November 29, 2009

Short Pump & Midlothian, Virginia
Short Pump
Copperas Creek



Sadie says goodbye to her buddy Casey. He and Sherianne leave this morning to return to Memphis. One winter holiday down and the advent of another begins.


Cambridge Church



The next holiday is a less than three weeks away. Don lights some of the candles that decorate Cambridge church for Christmas.



The first Advent candle is lit. Another will be lit each Sunday the four weeks preceding Christmas. A fifth will be lit Christmas Day.



Pastor Jay Smith explains the different symbols on the Christmas tree to the children of the church.



The Tusing women — left to right: Terry and her daughters, Megan and Hannah — explain the meaning of the nativity scene symbolizing the birth of Christ.



Al Hodges delivers the sermon this morning. He and his wife served as missionaries in Africa for 23 years.



I love Harriet's hair. 


Midlothian



Grandnieces Olivia, left, and Angel, right, watch Christmas lights come on and the inflatable Santa Claus and Snowman come to life with their friend Morgan, center.



Angel proudly sports a red bandaid to cover her scratched nose.


Copperas Creek


Christmas lights begin to appear on houses along Copperas Creek.
Photographs taken with a Leica M8


Saturday, November 28, 2009

Short Pump & Richmond, Virginia
Short Pump



Early morning at the Daily Grind. Alyona, a young photographer whose blog I follow, waits while her father ...



... Paul, right, conducts his Saturday drawing class. Sandy, one of his students, is at left.



For the last day our daughter Sherianne, above, and her husband Casey are here we plan to meander through Short Pump and old town Richmond.



First stop is at the new REI store in Short Pump where Keith, above, showed us through the kayaks. I've been a member of the coop since the early 1970s. It is great to have a store nearby again.

Down the way at Jake & Friends, the new Life is Good store in Short Pump, Sadie — yes, another Sadie — demonstrates one of the products while giving me a wary eye.


Richmond
Shocco Bottom




Heather of Fountain Books — my favorite bookstore in town — introduced me to Manhood for Amateurs, a signed, first edition collection of essays by Michael Chabon. I always find something interesting every time I go in there. She also introduced me to Indie Bound, a new iPhone app for independent bookstores.



Casey, left, reads from Dear Old Love: Anonymous Notes to Former Crushes, Sweethearts, Husbands, Wives, & Ones That Got Away to Dianne, center, and Sherianne, right, outside the Fountain Bookstore where he just purchased it. It's hilarious.



Sherianne examines an amber ring in an antique in Shoccoa Bottom, looking for insects among its inclusions.



In Richmond you are never far from history. The page from an 1865 issue of Harpers Weekly displayed in the antique store illustrates Richmond citizens lining up to vote soon after the end of the Civil War. The event took place not too far from where it hangs. It is fascinating the number of Black faces in the crowd, men and women who weeks before had been slaves.




A heavy table moves through the main floor of For the Walls, a store that carries interesting furniture and accessories from across the world.



Our final stop is at Su Casa for dinner. A the table next to us 14-month-old Bradley enjoys Mexican food with his parents and grandparents. He is a friendly little guy who knows no strangers.
Photographs taken with a Leica M8


Friday, November 27, 2009

Short Pump & Williamsburg, Virginia
Short Pump
Copperas Creek




Several days of wind and rain leave fall leaves decorating a skylight.


Williamsburg



Casey, left, and Sherianne, behind, Christmas shopping in Williamsburg at the outlet mall. The Back Friday crowds were not as overwhelming as expected.


There are always interesting sights on these trips ... like hightop sneakers, the first I have ever seen.


Three friendly clerks are found at the Bass Outlet store: Terrell, Elisha and Kathryn. Say hello to them when you stop in.


Short Pump



Sadie kisses up to Casey, one of her favorite people, during an evening spent before a fire,  ...



... while Dianne, left, and Sherianne, right, look through 100 year-old family photographs. They found several good looking guys they are descended from as well as some who were pretty funny.
Photographs taken with a Leica M8


Thursday, November 26, 2009

Short Pump, Virginia
Thanksgiving
on
Copperas Creek



Casey makes final preparations to put the turkey in the oven. He loves to cook and is preparing a wonderful meal.



With Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on television in the background — and later a series of football games — Toby finds the crease where he hopes to spend the day.



Sadie waits at the door for guests to arrive.



Guest have arrived, everything is out of the oven, prayers have been said, thanksgiving for all the good things of the past year acknowledged, and the meal begins. Left to right: Casey (son-in-law), Sherianne (daughter), Keith (second cousin), Michael (cousin and Keith's father) and Dianne. My empty plate says it's time to put down the camera and join the celebration.
Photographs taken with a Leica M8


Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Short Pump, Virginia
Thanksgiving Eve
on
Copperas Creek


Mother and daughter work on dishes for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner. Dianne's look, left, and Sherianne's laugh, right, is about me photographing Dianne in her casuals. 


Ingredients for a chocolat tort go into the pot and are ...



... stirred toward perfection by Sherianne ... 



... while Casey sleeps off a 13 hour drive yesterday and multiple trips to the market today.



Sadie reflected in the fireplace doors of a waning fire.
Photographs taken with a Leica M8


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Short Pump, Virginia
Copperas Creek

All the stuff Dianne needed to store for work is now gone and we are setting up our study again. I was told this photo hung above the editor's desk at the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., for a couple of decades. Now it hangs in our study.
Photograph copied with a Leica M8




Monday, November 23, 2009

Short Pump, Virginia



Shannon comes to the Daily Grind this evening with her parents for the Coffee and Conversation discussion group.



Rayme prepares a light meal for the group in the kitchen of the Grind.
Photographs taken with a Leica M8



Sunday, November 22, 2009

Short Pump, Virginia
Cambridge Church



It is a busy day at Cambridge church. Win Davis, left, pastor to young adults and youth and Jay Smith, pastor of the church, pray before the beginning of the Sunday morning worship service. 



Win prepares to baptize Paige ...



... just after baptizing her sister Jordan.



Pastor Smith demonstrates a point during the children's message. The cup in his hand can't fulfill its purpose when it's turned upside down. The same can be said for our lives ...



... he then delivers a morning message to the entire congregation.



It is now evening and Farris awaits his baptism during a youth-oriented worship service ...



... Win blesses him before he enters the water.


Young adults lead the 6:33 p.m. service  which ...



... includes contemporary praise music and ...



... communion.
Photographs taken with a Leica M8