Jetsons R Us

Do you remember watching the Jetsons (TV or movie) and thinking how you really didn’t want someone to be able to  see you when you were on the phone?

We discovered webcam when our kids got it and our new laptop had a camera. So on my  recent trip to Toronto with our daughter and children, it was really fun to be able to call GPop at home with the webcam.   We could show him our room, just by turning the computer around.  Very strange, but cool.

And yes, I still think  it is generally better not to be seen on the phone, especially first thing in the morning!!  My daughter and granddaughter, however, look great!

Frozen Falls

What an amazing day…headed for Toronto with my daughter, Angela and her children.  We stopped at Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side…it was so powerful and beautiful and very very cold!!  You could feel the power of the falls even  with so much ice on everything. The rainbow was he best.

On to the Four Seasons.

More from Toronto tomorrow.

Stroller Strides

So here we are enjoying those few days of springlike temperatures and looking forward to the cherry blossoms next month. I just found out from one of my clients, it also means a birthday…for her business, Stroller Strides. Jennifer Lungren, a certified fitness instructor, celebrates five years of helping local moms get in shape with her great mommy baby workout routines.
No more feeling like you can’t work out because what will you do with the children. You can just bring them and get them into the act.
If you need proof it works, check out how great Jennifer looked last spring, with her two daughters and brand new baby Jack in the stroller, during an early morning portrait session by the cherry blossoms. ( We had just finished and  Dad  was headed to his office  and were headed to the car.)
So happy birthday, Stroller Strides! For more information, log onto www.strollerstrides.com or contact Jennifer at jlungren@strollerstrides.net.
Meanwhile, stay warm.  Spring is coming.

We Are One

Free concert, themed “We Are One”,   at the Lincoln Memorial, celebrating the Inauguration. Come and bring a few hundred thousand of your closest friends.   OK.
The concert starts at 2:30. Realizing this is also dress rehearsal for Inaugural security, I arrive at 10:00 am, camera in hand.
The Capitol is beautifully dressed, draped in red, white and blue. Thousands are already there, families and tour groups, photographing the preparations and heading slowly toward the Lincoln, at the other end of the Mall.
You know me, I wander, admiring the city and collecting images of details  that catch my eye.  Next stop, the White House, looking normal on one side and hidden by parade viewing stands on the other.
I follow the incredible flow of the crowd toward the Lincoln. Kind of  a parade of our own. The sidewalks are jammed with people, and lined with vendors offering what has been called Obamabelia.  Shirts, pins, calendars, dolls, bookmarks, posters, it’s all there. (My personal favorite, the green shirt with O’Bama and a shamrock.)

It offers a kind of window shopping while the lines move slowly, but what I notice most are the smiles. Everyone is smiling at each other. Everyone. No pushing or complaining, just a steady streaming toward the security tents, and smiles.
Inside the security area, I am amazed the sheer number of people, and the easygoing atmosphere. Crowds stream by, and hardly notice as three Marine One helicopters  circle overhead.  I can’t make out who is inside, but they seem to be taking a photograph.
I get pretty close to the front, but discover that with the Jumbotrons and on-stage cameras the view is better farther back, so back I go. We do The Wave to keep warm.

As the concert starts, lines of soldiers quietly step in and say,” this area is closed. No moving closer to the stage.”   Concert goers walk up and say, “I am just meeting my friends.”   The soldier smiles and shakes his head.
The concert is fun, with James Taylor getting a nice sing along going, with ‘Shower the People you Love with Love’  but Garth Brooks really fires things up with ‘American Pie ‘and ‘Shout.’
Tens of thousands are thronged outside the security area, jammed in trees and enjoying the show from the tv screens. They sing along and smile. The President Elect comes to the podium and crowd erupts in wild applause. As the final song begins, the crowd surges toward the metro.
The streets are still jammed, still loaded with vendors, and the crowds are still smiling.  I have a quote from Mother Teresa;
“Peace begins with a smile.”
Perhaps We Are One, after all.

Who knew there would be marching bands?

Well, it seemed that  spending a little time at the National Gallery soaking up inspiration would be a great way to begin the year. I headed down early on Sunday morning, bringing Snickerdoodle (my camera, for those who haven’t met him) along for the  fun.

I was a little early for the Gallery, so I started at   the Smithsonian Castle.   The building is amazing and the gardens are beautiful, even in winter.   After I wandered through the Castle, I headed for the Mall, when I heard the marching bands.  I had stumbled onto the dress rehearsal for the inauguration parade.  It was great fun to watch and applaud. There is simply nothing like some rousing John Phillip Sousa  to start your day.

They were practicing the swearing in at the Capitol,  raising the colors and rehearsing all the moves.  Quite impressive, especially since I don’t believe I’ll be up close and personal on the 20th.

The National Gallery is always inspirational.  I’ll do another post soon, showing some classic images along with contemporary ones of my great clients…  real examples

of your family becoming personal works of art.

Meanwhile, stay warm and if you live in DC, good luck getting around  next week!

The Future is Here

When I was a kid, I watched The Jetsons.  It was all so amazing.   I truly believed that by the year 2000, we would be there.  Flying cars,  robots, video phones, the whole futuristic life.  Nine years ago, it  still seemed so far away.

I don’t have a robot yet, not even a Roomba vacuum,  and my personal helicopter is not parked  in my driveway, but I did have my first video phone call tonight.

Our oldest, Matthew,  travels for business, and  he got a webcam so he can say goodnight to the kids when he is away.  John got a new computer this Christmas, with a built in webcam, so tonight, when Jill called to tell Matthew goodnight, first they called us.  Even though we just saw the grandkids at Christmas, it was a delight to ’see’ them again so  soon.  Rachel even sang the entire Notre Dame Fight Song for us.  It was pretty darn cool.  Now to get our daughter to get a webcam next….

Living in this area, you see painted portraits hanging in almost every public building.  We are used to seeing history portrayed this way, but did you realize that many of these portraits we actually painted in Europe and sent over to family members here in “The Colonies”  as a way for family members to keep in touch?

It took George Washington a full day  just to ride from Mount Vernon to Alexandria…a 20 minute drive today.  In a time when travel was so  time consuming and often treacherous, sending a p0rtrait was a much safer way to ’see’ one another.

Photography made it  much more simple…just hold very very still for a minute or so, instead of hours of sitting for painter.  I look at old photographic portraits  at antique shows and flea markets, taken at the turn of the last century, and wonder about their lives.

Who were these people, who believed it was important to take the  time and expense to  have their portrait made?  Who did they send it to?    I think  about the year 2109…who will  look at the portraits I create this year, and wonder about the lives of my clients.

Now it all seems so simple.  Upload a photograph and email it anywhere in the world in seconds.  However, be sure to have those printed portraits too…with your names and dates on the back…to carry your story into the future.

Meanwhile, set up that video camera and call your parents.  We’ll love to see your smiling faces.  Pretty Jetsons, don’t you think?

Visiting Santa in Alexandria

Many thanks to our wonderful clients who joined us at Monday’s Child last Saturday after the Scottish Walk to visit Santa.

He was delighted to see everyone and hear your Christmas wishes.  Even my camera, Snickerdoodle, got to talk to Santa….he wants a new computer and a little brother…

We’ll see…

If you haven’t seen the boat parade on the river, be sure to see it next year.

John and I were pretty cold, but it was worth it.  Merry Christmas.

Portrait of the Photographer

Usually I am the one creating the portraits. After all, that is what I do.

But every once in a while, I get one made of me. (For those of you who have asked, my husband, John, took the one of me on my website.)

However, the other night, I received a very special one. Ellie, a lovely young client, created a portrait of me, photographing her family in front of their house. ( I am one one on the left) She truly is an artist, with a very distinctive signature.

So thank you, Ellie, for my wonderful portrait. It is hanging in my office.

Scottish Walk and Ho Ho Ho

I just can’t believe we are halfway through November already, but the chilly weather confirms it. I am looking forward to another holiday season, with sincere hopes for Peace on Earth.

Meanwhile, back in Alexandria, if you have never experienced our Scottish Walk, you are really missing something special. On Saturday, December 6, the annual holiday kick off begins with the Scottish Walk Parade in Old Town at 10:30 am. The costumes are wonderful and it is a great way to kick off the season. Check out Alexandria’s website, http://visitalexandriava.com/ for more information about the weekend.

After the parade, come visit us at to Monday’s Child, at 218 N. Lee St. (www.mondayschildofalexandria.com) Melinda and I are saying thank you to our wonderful clients by having Santa drop in at the store from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm. He is looking forward to meeting all our great little friends, and having a portrait taken with them.

Be sure to call Melinda at Monday’s Child ahead of time (703-548-3505) for a reservation, so you do not have to wait in line. See you on December 6!

Where DO I get those cookies?

OK, I know all my wonderful clients love their portraits, but I still detect a gleam in your eyes when I show up with those cookie bags!  I wish I could take credit for baking them, but sadly, that is not the case.  So where do I get those cookies?

My first stop every morning is Best Buns Bakery  (www.greatamericanrestaurants.com/bestbuns/) in Shirlington Village, right next to the Carlyle Grand Restaurant in Arlington, VA.  I discovered Best Buns when we first moved here five years ago, and lived in Shirlington.   Now I drive instead of walk, but it is still a great  way to start the day.

When you walk in, the smell of fresh baked bread  envelopes  you, but it truly is the staff that warms your heart.  How wonderful to walk into a place where they know me, and the question isn’t what do you want, but simply how many?  And do I need doggie treats as well?  And of course,  my Starbucks.

I was recently invited to go in the back and see how these cookies are made.  Sylvia mixed up a batch, with the toffee and chocolate pieces , butter and eggs and all the wonderful natural flavors you taste in each bite.  FIdel put the trays loaded with cookies into a walk-in oven, where the trays rotate during cooking, so everything bakes evenly.  I have never seen an oven like it.

Christina loads the cookies on a tray for the display case, and next thing you know, they are at your house. just the thing for an afternoon treat.  Many thanks to Carlos and the crew for allowing me ‘backstage’ and for bringing an extra smile to my clients.  Say, “Cookies

” !