For those who can’t quite put it together in your head,
I’ve done the tough work for you… with two panoramic shots!

And how the colors changed… about ten minutes later…

This morning’s sunrise was tough to capture in one photo,
so here’s four for you to put together in your mind.

Left.

Center.

Right.

More Right…

Another fun morning with more clouds than yesterday.
The sun never quite made it out, but it was fun to watch as it continued to try.

Then, as I pedaled home, you could actually feel the temperature dropping as the next cold wave began to move in.
Sure, my sweaty jersey didn’t help any either!

With today’s predicted warm-up, I’m pretty sure this frozen lakefront won’t look like this by the end of the day!

Thin ice… melting fast… and “floating” off of the rocks?!

With “holiday hectic” slowing down, and a sunny warm-up,
I figured it was a great chance to get out for an early morning ride.
It felt great to be back on the road… and one step closer to a normal routine.

Continuing a new post-Christmas tradition (for the second year now), I had a fun breakfast with metalsmiths Sarah Chapman & Pam Robinson. After eating far too much food, including pumpkin pancakes as an appetizer, we sat around, chatted, solved all the problems of the world and exchanged gifts. Sarah had other commitments, but Pam and I continued our new “tradition” with a double-feature movie. And we did good…. FOUR THUMBS UP!!!

After just seeing “Mary Poppins” onstage, it was fun for us to see “Saving Mr. Banks” which is all about Poppins author P.L. Travers and the ongoing struggle she had with Walt Disney in the making of the movie. I was more than pleasantly surprised by how good this movie was. So many insights into the roots of Mary Poppins, and how the author’s persanal life influenced so much of her work.

Our second movie was “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with Ben Stiller. It wasn’t quite as outlandish, spectacular or fantastical as I thought it was going to be from the previews. Instead, it was much more though-provoking and life-affirming in his many adventures… including a great performance by Sean Penn!

Great breakfast. Great friends. Great movies.
The tradition continues!!!

And on a slightly twisted side note…
In between movies, Pam and I spent some time at Barnes & Noble.
And I found it strange that on the day after Christmas, we would find ourselves in a book shop looking at a bookshelf of Christian Fiction… which in and of itself I find quite ironic… and somewhat redundant!!!

My parents have been keeping a secret from me.
So have my friends metalsmith Sarah Chapman & photographer Brad Pogatetz.
I’ve saw them both at the “One Of A Kind Show” and neither of them said anything.
I even asked my parents directly if they had bought anything at “One Of A Kind.”
I got a very non-committal & evasive answer… which should have been a clue!

When I got to my parents house late on Christmas Eve, I was ready to hit the bed. It had already been a long day, and a late night celebrating Christmas Eve with my parents & family friends. Not to mention the head cold I’ve been battling for a few days. I was done. Ready for bed. But my parents had another plan… and something they wanted me to see. Apparently, they had done “a little shopping” while they were at “One Of A Kind” and everyone was keeping the secret from me! Until now…

Yes, my parents have purchased an incredible photograph by Brad Pogatetz… one of “My Talented Friends.” There it is hanging… or “floating”… on their wall, in a white “art alcove” area on one of their walls. They even painted the surrounding wall in a beautiful brown color JUST for the photo!!!

We met Brad several years ago when he was my booth neighbor at “Art In The Barn.” I’ve loved his photography ever since. Two years ago, my parents surprised my with one of Brad’s photographs for a Christmas present. Imagine my surprise when I saw this huge, beautiful piece hanging in their house… a wonderful Christmas present for themselves!!!

Brad’s photographs are quite beautiful. The subject matter may be of deteriorating spaces and places long forgotten, but the composition and clarity if incredible. Every little detail is captured, drawing you right into the space. You can practically reach out and touch the paint peeling from the walls, scratch across the rusty metal, or splash in the stagnant pools of water. His printing process is brilliant, and many of the surfaces are gleaming & metallic. The rusty metal looks oh, so rusty. And you know I LOVE RUST!!! But one of the coolest things is how the photo seems to “move” as you look at it from side to side… as you can see from the photo below where I took it from an angle.

To see more photography by Brad Pogatetz, click here or the link in the right column.

And for the record… I call dibs!!!
Whenever my parents decide to “bequeath” anything – I GET THIS ONE!!!

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house…
I’m packing & prepping for tonight & tomorrow! And wishing all of you
a wonderful holiday filled with family & friends… and those special friends
you consider family. Merry Christmas to you & yours!!!

Getting ready for my Christmas at home with my family.
MOst of my presents are wrapped, by nbags are packed and I just finished making my hot fudge cheesecake I’m bringing with for Christmas Dinner. I hope I can wait that long… might look bad if I showed up and there were already a few bites missing. huh!?!