indian summer...

wow, a stretch of hot~humid days.
yesterday a record high of like 87 and
today another warm one~80, i think.
just not used to these hot october days.
i'm certainly not going to complain at all.
and there i go again talking about the weather!

here's all the craig kids (5 in all) and our spouses
preparing to dig into my mom's birthday cake.
can you spot kindra? she's barely showing...HA!
and she is barely showing her baby bump too!
(sorry pete..i just got the top of your head)



and here's the grandkids...minus g who was at
her boyfriend's homecoming dance @ wayzata.
check out owen...he's blowing out my mom's candles.
if you click on this image and make it larger you
can see the burning wicks and one wick still has a flame!



and the birthday girl!



check this out...after their final inspection
on the deck was complete, mike & kindra popped
a panel of rungs out of the railing and in it's
place they popped in a slide for owen! made my
mom CRAZY!!!









i have a seminar this evening put on by graphi sutdio.
tomorrow evening is a tcppa function on preparing
prints for competition. i have a month to pick as many
as 5 16x20's out and submit them.then tuesday in a PUG meeting.

have a blessed sunday.
call someone you haven't talked to in a while! :)

happy birthday mom!

today my mom is celebrating another birthday.
we are going to head over to mike & kindra's
later today for cake and ice cream as they
have graciously offered up their home as the
birthday place today. they also have a new
deck that they have recently completed so i
think they would like us all to see that too!

here's mom with june & garrick last thanksgiving.




and summer in anne & pete's pool! raaar!



she's coming over today for me to work my magic
with her hair. not that it needs magic.
just a gift from me to my mom...i love you mom!

last night mike and kindra brought owen over
for a cut then paid me with punch pizza!



LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, punch pizza!! so does owen!











thanks gang, for a nummy dinner.
see you later today for cake.
and owen, don't forget about the airplanes
next weekend! ;)

jennifer.....watch it! anne might send you
a oak tree in holland for some fall color!!~

elena, a new photographer friend who i have yet
to meet, is going to join in on our PUG group
this tuesday! she's wanted to come but just
hasn't. i'm really excited to meet her.
say "hi" to michael!

Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center

Meet President & CEO of the
Urban Ventures Leadership Foundation, Art Erickson



well, the big evening was a huge success!
this was truly a night to remember!
the grand opening of the colin powell youth
leadership center and cristo rey~jesuit high school.
i worked it like a wedding...getting ready,
details, ceremony, reception, formals.
after the local media had some time with
General Powell, i stepped in and soon
after rode the elevator down with he, his wife
and staff...pretty cool. sorry, really cool!



we hung out in a holding area and then on
to greet some students currently enrolled there
then we popped outside and I jockeyed for
position amongst the media and guests for
the ribbon cutting (which was actually a
puzzle assembly). many folks that i'm certain
you'll recognize were in attendance like
minneapolis mayor, r.t. rybak



minnesota governor, tim pawlenty



general powell's wife, alma, spoke on behalf of
"america's promise"





a vip reception was in place on the 3rd floor where
jacquie called a play on how she was going to go and
introduce herself to colin powell and i was to quick
get a photo! nice covert ops, huh!? so stealth! ;)



some of the students were there serving up
citykid java coffee and they were hilarious!
bryant would not let me have his t-shirt!
so i gave him a business card and told him to
contact me when he had one available! thanks bryant!



now it was time to head into the gymnasium.
this 4-full court gym had been transformed
from basketball to ballroom. it was done so
elegantly and love filled, complete with a
giant, colorful stage with larger than life images
(compliments of white house custom colour! my lab!)
but even more impressively...shot by my very good
friend, jacquie boyer, who is also a board
member for urban ventures.

after everyone was seated we were all treated
to one of the most amazing singing voices i've
ever had the privilege of being in the presence of.
wintley phipps has this james earl jones voice and
when he sings you can see angels!

he was born in trinidad & tobago and is an ordained,
7th day adventist minister. he spoke of a young (26 or so)
woman that came up to him after a concert where he
was performing and she said that she felt compelled
to come and introduce herself and that he looked like
someone she could talk to...they spoke and prayed
together about her direction in life and where God was
to lead her...that young woman? was oprah winfrey.





colin powell took the stage again and spoke
of the spark that is in these kids eyes and how it
is our responsibility to make sure it stays there!



i am most certain that this is not the last event
that i will cover for urban ventures.
thank you jenifer siegle of urban ventures and
thank you jacquie, my friend. i am so proud of you!

God bless this organization and all who come in contact
with it...this can begin to change the world.

(oh, and lastly a shout out to prom catering out of oakdale, mn.
they served 1300 people hot salmon & filet mignon!
an amazing job!)

thymes sale...

(this tree is down the block from my friend gerri's house.
it's soo beautiful!!)

ever been to the thymes sale?
this will be my 3rd with nicki, it's so much fun.
they sell all their over runs and all sorts of stuff
for super cheap! they used to hold it it the CW
building in north east minneapolis but it's full
of condos now...really cool loft condos!! :)
now it's held a couple of blocks away and runs
though saturday (just a 3 day event).

the first year we came out with SACKS of stuff!
as we walked to the car i said "we smell good!"
just being in the warehouse walking around
your clothes just pick up all the scents.
it was (as nicki's mum would say) "GO-juss!"
(oh, that's "gorgeous" with a british accent! ;)
anyway, she's coming over around 9:30 and we
are going to head out and see how long it takes
us to get there with the 35w bridge out and all.

then it's downtown for the big ribbon cutting at
the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center!

notable is the fact that megnan & randy clay's
wedding album arrived at my door yesterday.
i'm going to meet her at 7:30 tomorrow morning
when she gets off work at the hospital.
(i know, ugh, right?) i mean her not me.
she works in labor and delivery!
oh, and the album looks awesome, i can't wait
for her to see it! she's seen the online
version but when you actually get to hold it
in your hands and flip through it, it's really
soooo much more fun! see you tomorrow morning megnan!

postponing the portrait party with kindra's friends.
if it's nice out, i may head to the park tomorrow anyway.


have a blessed day! another beauty of a day!

sun returns!

GORGEOUS day!
but then compared to yesterday, really....
ANYthing would be an improvement, right?
i was tempted to go out with my camera
to capture the beauty that rain can bring
but i couldn't get outside...hair and tons
of busy work. then when i could, it was dark
it gets dark much too early these days...
and that's when you know that fall is really
here and winter isn't far behind. zoinx!

moving on...'cuz people always say that all
we talk about in minnesota is the weather!

so, check this out...
my sister found this and i think it's pretty
cool so i made my own map. pretty dull really.
i guess i just find places i like and keep
going back...you should try this.
what's in your passport?

tonight i am meeting jenifer siegle with
urban ventures. she's going to give me a
tour of the new building before the big
ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow night.
it's the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center.
I'm so honored to be selected to photograph
this event! (not to mention, excited!)

have a great day!

harvey's scramble...

what was supposed to be a really beautiful
day started out cool and cloudy. everyone
kept saying "hey! what happened to sunny & 70?"
and "where's the sun?" well, i finally made
an appearance around 3 but no one was really
complaining. they all wanted to be there,
on the course, having fun and raising money
for the carver fire & rescue department.





here's our gracious hostesses with the mostesses~
laura & her sister...



here's jacqi & mike, laurie & tim (my brother)



here's gary's 4some...



jello shots anyone!??











happy birthday, honey!



3 more holes to go!! 18 under. still didn't win!



dave (aka mississippi dave) on the left
says he's going to quit smoking! hmmmmm.
oh, yea, i almost forgot yesterday marked the
first day of minnesota's no smoking law.
no more smoking indoors in public places.
yay!!! it's going to be so nice!

more of my birthday boy..



me, dave tessman & mississippi dave...



tim with his parade buddy~sheriff larry...



thanks dave, for allowing this crazy group of
people come out and goof around on your course!
everyone had a great time!



got home, opened a bottle of wine and built
a fire and chilled for a bit...hope you had
a fun day gary!

(thanks for the card dean & lois!)

on the doorstep, when i got home, was my
city kid java package!!! yum!
i'm enjoying a delicious cup right now!



"it's all good"!! :)

happy birthday, gary!

today is gary's birthday and he is going
to be doing what he loves....golf.
the rain has ended, the skies are clearing
and it is going to be 70...happy birthday
alright, what a gift!
he's playing in an annual tourney to raise
money for the hard working folks at carver's
fire & rescue (largely volunteer).
i'll see him tonight, dinner tomorrow and
perhaps another night at a hotel~i have
2 more to use up by the end of the year.
and the gift of a clean house is coming!

say, did any of you take this survey yet?
i just received it this morning. click here
and fill it out. no one is looking over your
shoulder...just answer as honestly as you can.
i was surprised to find hilary dead last.
i mean, i wasn't really, but when you really
get into the meat of the survey...it might
surprise you who rises to the top.
pretty cool, just takes a few minutes.

okay, i wasn't going to do this but now i am.
the other day i met kiki & owen at a park
near their home and brought along my camera.
i got some sweet shots of some of their
friends and, without names, i want to post
them here for them to see...











and a couple more of owen...





i love my new 1.4 lens! can you tell?

i'm thinking about throwing an outdoor portrait
party this fall...portraits at a discount for
groups. interested? e-mail me.

sorry...one more thing....paris