Christmas Tree Cone Forest

Today my wheelchair and I went to the Biltmore House in Asheville. Since I wasn't allowed to take pictures of their many Christmas trees . . . here are some cone forests instead:

Last year's forest + 2 new ones

A friend asked me to make her a forest, and I loved the way it came out!

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens Holiday Lights

My mom found a Groupon deal for tickets to the area's botanical gardens, all decked out in lights.

Pros:
-wheelchair friendly
-a photographer's dream place to take pictures of bokeh
-advanced tickets meant no waiting in long line
-it was between 68 and 70 degrees that evening! Not typical of a Carolina December
-they served popcorn and hot chocolate - two of my kid's favorite things

Cons:
-hard to find your child in the dark
-WAY TOO CROWDED. It's hard to maneuver a wheelchair around RUDE people who don't understand "excuse me." Especially in the dark. And trying to take pictures? I gave up.
-outdoor attraction = smokers
-long drive from Charlotte on dark back country roads. I thought we were lost at least twice.

Here are the pictures I did get:

Purple bokeh!

Blue bokeh!

B and my brother inside an installment . . . not sure if this was allowed, but everyone else was doing it!

Brycen whispered: " Look mommy, I look like the Grinch."

Brycen watching the train.

These pictures were all taken with my iPhone. I took some with my Nikon, but I haven't looked at them! Oh well. It was a fun but exhausting evening!

Christmas Card Picture

Last year, at 6:41pm on December 23rd, I took the above picture.

It is on my top 5 favorite pictures I have ever taken list.

I love his messy curls.

I love that he is drinking tea. He requested hot tea, probably peppermint flavored, a lot last year.

I love the slight blur to the photo.

And I love the blurry, dreamy, colorful bokeh in the background.

How on earth did I take this picture? Did I just happen to have my camera set at the right setting at the right time when Brycen actually was still for a moment??

How can I repeat this so it can be on this year's Christmas Card?? Because I am actually tempted to use this old picture, when he was inches smaller, pounds lighter, hair curlier. He had turned 3 just 4 days before. But who really would notice, his mug is mostly covered with a mug. (hee, hee).

No, I am going to figure this out. Here are my clues, using iPhoto information tab to help me:

-it was taken at night (hence the time stated above)
-the flash was not used
-the ISO was set to a standard 400
-The lens! I was using my 50mm lens!
-the f stop was 1.8 (I don't remember what that even means)

I never use a tripod, but it's possible I was balancing my camera on a stack of books. I also believe we had more lights on the tree last year. I am wondering how many other lights we had on in the room, I think the main source of lights was from the tree itself - all things I can change.

I also have a new problem this year - an overly curious kid. (I am done calling him a toddler - sniff, sniff). Every time I take out my Nikon he wants to play with it. And because I have let him in the past play with it, he doesn't deal well with no. There may be some bribery involved in achieving the perfect Christmas Card picture.

So, PATIENCE, bribery, 50mm lens, no flash, possible fake tripod, dark outside and barely lit inside, and maybe things will work!

p.s he's actually quite good at taking photos with my camera. I want to give him my old Nikon coolpix but I can't find the charger. And I should write a review about how horrible the v-tech camera for kids is. But seriously, I am proud of my little photographer!!

Lake Norman State Park and Things B Says

Last week my mom and I thought about driving up to the mountains and staying in Asheville. Two problems. Even though it was a weekday, we couldn't find a nice place to stay. I guess the foliage is breathtaking this year. But that didn't matter, because I had no interest in getting out of bed. I can just never predict when I will and won't have energy.

Finally, at about one in the afternoon, I rolled out of bed, put on some clothes, and we went to Lake Norman State Park to have a picnic. The park is actually very close to the same place we saw the balloons flyover (see last post). About 30-40 miles north of Charlotte. It was one of those perfect 70 degree days. 

Notice I didn't take a single LAKE picture.

I guess we didn't have to drive all the way to Asheville to see gorgeous leaf change. But man, do I need to do some Christmas shopping at the General Mast store there, so I know a small trip will be in our future.

Lately, when I have a good day between chemo treatments, it is a REALLY good day! Tip: Drinking water during chemo treatments is boring, but helps ridiculously.

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I am so bad at remembering what funny things three (almost 4) -year-old Brycen has said lately, but here are 2:

"Granny, I am not going to help you take around garbage cans anymore. I don't want to do that chore anymore. Because I have to wash my hands after, and I don't have time for washing my hands. But you better wash your hands, Granny."

"Potty mouth words are called potty words because we can only say them while going potty."

Poppy Field Photo Dump

If you drive down NC 58 and cross NC 24, you will see a bridge in your future. The bridge goes over the Inter-coastal Waterway and takes you to Emerald Isle, home of quaint towns, colorful beach houses and beautiful beaches. But wait!! Before you go over the bridge, note the flowers planted to the right! And note the very tiny turn off to park your car. 

Actually there are fields up near the intersection of 58 and 24 too, but they don't have the water for background setting. And I didn't know how to access those fields.

I wasn't really feeling that well, but we had to stop per my bucket list. I was too lazy to change lenses on my camera, but figured we would be back. I definitely wasn't in the mood for photos that involved me laying on my belly, or really, kneeling down at all. I kept thinking we would come back later.

We never made it back later - traffic leaving the island was insane on Memorial Day.

The state plants fields like this across North Carolina. I think the red poppies are planted to honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. Whether or not that is true, the state quickly changes the field to a new flower by mid-June. Here is more information.

I have such a hard time standing for long periods of time. I also get cold toes fast (weird chemo reaction) and I was wearing flip flops in the mud. Ooops. But at least I got enough photos to cross this off my bucket list!

I Stop for Colorful Photo Opps

Good news: CT scan showed no spreading
Bad news: Tumors on liver still are not shrinking.
Good news: Going to see a specialist about options, which my oncologist feels I have lots of.
Bad news: Not knowing the future treatment plan makes it really hard to plan things! And even knowing the plan is hard, because it could change at any given moment. Best to make plans and not be sad in the likely event they are cancelled.

More Lambs than Lions

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

~Charles Dickens

March has been kind. More lambs than lions.