…and later…

I really wanted to take more photos when I went home.

(And by home I mean the place I left over 20 years ago.)

I wanted to take some formal and some posed photos.

But things kept happening.

Like, I had the awfulest time sleeping because Iris had the awfulest time sleeping.

So I didn’t get around to taking half the photos I dreamed up.

Actually, I didn’t get around to taking any photos I dreamed up.

Here’s an old photo of Mom & Dad that I really like a lot:

Okay, so I can critique it:

The composition should be vertical instead of horizontal and I don’t like the shadow on Dad’s face.

Maybe it’s just proof that any old photo of one’s folks together is better than no photo at all.

Who knows?

But I really like it.

I wanted Mom & Dad to pose together sorta the same,

tho without Cate,

as she now lives in Napa, CA and was unable to come home for the weekend.

Instead, I took some photos of Dad sitting on Mom’s lap.

Okay, so I can critique them:

I don’t like the frame surrounding Dad’s head or the background business.

I didn’t want to crop it tightly, because I like how Dad is sitting on Mom’s lap.

My camera lens it wide angle, so it accentuates the longness of Dad’s long legs.

But I really like the photos. A lot

Maybe it’s just proof that any old photo of one’s folks together is better than no photo at all.

Who knows?

Ari and Mom (a.k.a. Grandma) went to the regional market and found a nice plump little toddler.

They put her in their basket and brought her home.

Later, Dad (a.k.a. Gramps) was found sleeping.

He probably thinks he looks old in this photo, but I love it.

I love him, too.

He is 71.

When Iris was seven months old,

her favorite game to play with Papa when he came home was Taste the Name Tag.

The rules were simple, but the game could last quite a while.

These days, their games are more complex.

“Mousse!” says Iris, then commands her father (in French)

to lie on his back and hand her the little LED light.

She proceeds to examine his nombril

in order to extract the copious amounts of mousse

that form after a day’s hard work sitting in front of a computer wearing a white T-shirt.

For any of you who are wondering if this mousse is the same as

(1) the sweet fluffy chocolatey stuff commonly served as a dessert

or

(2) the lightly scented hair product used by some people with hair on their heads

the answer is yes,

both.

The first one is my favorite.

Now I just take out the blocks and straps and mats occasionally.