365 Project - Day 181 - "Ollies"

June 30, 2011 - "Ollies"

My son is outside... practicing his Ollies on his Tony Hawk skateboard.

Life is good!

* * *

365 Project - Day 180 - "Wire-less"

June 29, 2011 - "Wire-less"

I'm finally wire-less!

This afternoon the Cardiac Monitor came off. Now we wait for results.

In the meantime, I've got to find a way to get all of this adhesive residue off of my skin!

* * *

365 Project - Day 179 - "Cardiac (My Day)"

June 28, 2011 - "Cardiac (My Day)"

A long... exhausting day.

Cardiac CT Scan. Heart-rate too high... so it took three IV doses of Lopressor to slow my heart enough for the test. A test which should only take 15-minutes took almost an hour to complete.

Weakness... Dizziness...

Nitroglycerin... making my tongue tingle.

Leave radiology and head up to cardiology for a Holter. Shave... Wires... Tape... Instructions.

Now I feel "bionic". I've got wires attached to me until tomorrow afternoon... as this little box records every heartbeat.

Tired...

Worn-out...

Itchy...

Frustrated.

Thinking of a year ago... and where I was.

Thinking of a year from now... and where I'll be.

I'll be sitting on a rooftop in the Camp de' Fiori in Rome... sipping an espresso... or a glass of wine. The following day will be the Festa di San Pietro e Paolo... and we'll celebrate before leaving Roma and heading to Napoli.

And I'll be far, far away from wires and tests.

* * *

365 Project - Day 178 - "The Drive Home"

June 27, 2011 - "The Drive Home"

Driving home after a wonderful dinner... and a bit of 'exploring' around Candlewood Lake.

Life is good!

* * *

365 Project - Day 177 - "Sexy Shoes"

June 26, 2011 - "Sexy Shoes"

A close-up of my wife's sexy new shoes.

Life is Gooooood!

* * *

365 Project - Day 176 - "Rolling on Shabbos"

June 25, 2011 - "Rolling on Shabbos"

A bit of a lazy day today.

Our daughter is at an all-day birthday party... so we decided to take our son out for some Duck Pin Bowling and a root beer.

Life IS Good!

* * *

365 Project - Day 175 - "Chard and Aphid"

June 24, 2011 - "Chard and Aphid"

We got a delivery of fresh produce from a local farm today.

VERY fresh produce.

So fresh that the Chard still had a 'little friend' clinging to it!

Can you find him?

* * *

365 Project - Day 174 - "Teenager"

June 23, 2011 - "Teenager"

Yep... It's official... She's a teenager now!

* * *

365 Project - Day 173 - "13"

June 22, 2011 - "13"

My daughter officially becomes a teenager this week.

I feel old!

* * *

365 Project - Day 172 - "Dead Camera"

June 21, 2011 - "Dead Camera"

My D-SLR (My main camera - a Canon EOS 40D) died this past weekend.

Well, maybe "died" is a strong word. Basically everything works except the sensor... so it's going to have to be sent to Canon for service.

But it's going to have to wait a while. My top priority is to purchase a Leica next month. Then I'll worry about servicing the 40D.

So for now it "sleeps" in one of my camera bags... along with it's cables and accessories.

Waiting.

* * *

365 Project - Day 171 - "Blu"

June 20, 2011 - "Blu"

Not really feeling like photographing today...

In fact, I'm feeling kind of blue.

So... there it is, I guess.

* * *

365 Project - Day 170 - "2910"

June 19, 2011 - "2910"

The view straight out of our hotel room...

The Courtyard Marriott on 53rd and 3rd in Manhattan...

29th floor...

Room 2910.

* * *

365 Project - Day 169 - "Tuf"

June 18, 2011 - "Tuf"

She saw me take her picture... and gave me a look that seemed to say "I'll kick your ass!". Then she smiled and continued walking away...

* * *

365 Project - Day 168 - "Dead Eye"

June 17, 2011 - "Dead Eye"

I feel dead today.

Tomorrow we're waking up early and heading to NYC. "Mermaid Parade" in Coney Island... then a bit of wandering around Manhattan... hotel, midtown... maybe brunch at the Life Café on Sunday before heading home to spend Father's Day with my kids.

To be honest... I'm not really looking forward to it... the NYC part, I mean. I kind of want to not "have to" do anything. I kind of want to just get lost for the day... and recover from being dead. But that's not the way it works... so I'll go with the flow and see what happens.

* * *

365 Project - Day 167 - "Purple Afternoon"

June 16, 2011 - "Purple Afternoon"

A purple bloom for a purple afternoon.

I'm not quite sure what that means... but, there it is!

* * *

365 Project - Day 166 - "A-Rod"

June 15, 2011 - "A-Rod"

Tonight we went to our very first Major League Baseball game - the Texas Rangers at the New York Yankees.

It was an awesome night! The new Yankee Stadium is amazingly beautiful, and we had incredible seats - in the Delta Suite behind home plate.

I got hit in the arm with a foul-ball in the first inning. The ball smacked my right arm... then hit the ground. Some jerk in the row behind us dove for it and took it, which sucked. BUT Holly bought me a ball after the game, to "commemorate the occasion".

Regardless, the Yankees destroyed the Rangers, 12-4... and we all had a great time!

Our only complaint on the night? The hot dogs sucked! They were luke-warm at best... kind of dry... very flavorless! BUT, the fries were great... and the Brownie Sundaes were out of this world!

Life is good!

* * *

365 Project - Day 165 - "Vintage Spots"

June 14, 2011 - "Vintage Spots"

Looking in a vintage white glass bowl with black polkadots - which belonged to my Aunt Pat, and was a favorite of hers.

* * *

365 Project - Day 164 - "Preparing"

June 13, 2011 - "Preparing"

The journey is a year away... but I'm already preparing!

(lifeisgood!)

* * *

365 Project - Day 163 - "Ciabatta"

June 12, 2011 - "Ciabatta"

Ciabatta is my favorite bread... by far! I could eat it every day... morning, noon and night!

* * *

365 Project - Day 162 - "Fiore"

June 11, 2011 - "Fiore"

A pink bloom on The Green downtown.

* * *

365 Project - Day 161 - "Crema"

June 10, 2011 - "Crema"

I really love my espresso machine!

* * *

365 Project - Day 160 - "Captured"

June 09, 2011 - "Captured"

I see you.

I capture you.

You're mine now.

Forever.

* * *

365 Project - Day 159 - "Garlic"

June 08, 2011 - "Garlic"

Well... sort of.

This photo is the result of me sitting at the kitchen table, playing around with the white net sleeve that our garlic bulbs came in... against the background of a shiny blue folder.

In other words: This is what happens when I'm bored and in need of a photo!

(lifeisgood)

* * *

365 Project - Day 158 - "Shred"

June 07, 2011 - "Shred"

I'm at The Home Depot, picking up replacement parts for a toilet that refuses to flush. My daughter points to a pile of metal shavings on a machine used to cut lengths of pipe... and says "Hey dad, take a picture of this!"

I look at the pile of shredded metal... and, thinking it pretty much sums up how I've been feeling lately - start snapping away.

Time to go home and fix that damn toilet!

* * *

365 Project - Day 157 - "Biopsy"

June 06, 2011 - "Biopsy"

I spent the majority of the day today at Danbury Hospital for my liver biopsy.

I was nervous as hell... but thankfully the entire staff was amazing... and kept me calm and comfortable.

As they wheeled me away, Holly leaned over to give me a goodbye kiss... and to tell me that she loves me. I replied "Don't use the fireplace in the den because I haven't fixed the flue yet."

As I disappeared down the hallway, Holly asked "What am I going to tell the kids?"... to which I replied "Tell them I'm going fishing."

I don't remember much after that... just a few scenes here and there, before I woke-up, rather suddenly - in the recovery room... tired, stiff and very, VERY thirsty.

No pain... so far. Just some soreness and a little discomfort... but I'm supposed to take it easy for a few days, and not lift anything for a week or so.

Hopefully the results will be in later this week... then we'll know whether there's any damage or scarring to the liver - and my doctor can take it from there.

For now I'm just relaxing... loading up on episodes of "House Hunters" on HGTV... and playing with my new espresso machine.

Life is good!

* * *

365 Project - Day 156 - "NO DOGS HERE"

June 05, 2011 - "NO DOGS HERE"

Wandering around the side-streets and back-roads of Danbury this morning, we come across this scene.

Perfect!

* * *

365 Project - Day 155 - "Ziggy Bundle"

June 04, 2011 - "Ziggy Bundle"

Things seemed quiet around the house today. There was an uncanny lack of cat activity. Ziggy was nowhere to be found. I looked... and looked... and looked... and finally found him, curled up in a bundle in a corner of the bay window... hiding his face with his leg. A little Ziggy Bundle in the window.

* * *

365 Project - Day 154 - "Grating"

June 03, 2011 - "Grating"

Another late night. Over six-dozen photos taken today... but none seem right.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

* * *

365 Project - Day 153 - "The Blonde in the Box"

June 02, 2011 - "The Blonde in the Box"

I keep a blonde in a large trunk in the bedroom...

... just in case.

* * *

365 Project - Day 152 - "Drained"

June 01, 2011 - "Drained"

I'm so sick of blood tests! I've had so much blood drawn over the last few weeks... I feel like the life is being sucked right out of my body!

* * *