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I've posted these family shots before, but now that I have some other tools to work with, I decided to re-edit them while I still could.

These two characters are my nephews, Drake, on the left, and Frazier, on the right. Looking back at this shot, I realize just how much they've changed in the last 3 1/2 years. Frazier is now close to 6' tall, and Drake is probably taller than me. (Not hard to do at 5'3 1/2", lol, but he was a lot smaller here!)

Frazier's voice has changed, and is a deep baritone now. Drake still has the high pitched voice of a boy, but that won't be for long, either. They're growing up way too fast! I love them dearly, though, and am so proud that these fine, young men are related to me!

Btw, these are two of the four faces behind that raucous Christmas tree I posted with the Godzilla tree top! Crowleys are a bit nuts, but fun!

What do you get when you cross a Swedish-Puerto Rican with a Scot? My two beautiful nieces! If anything, they are even more beautiful than they were back in September of 2008, when this photo was taken! They are both as smart and talented as they are pretty, too.

Jess and Michelle were just little tykes when my brother, Shawn married their mom, Donna. It was his first marriage and her second. Shawn pretty much raised them, although their dad was always in the picture, and has been there for them.

Now that Shawn and Donna have divorced, life has created a breach between us, but I am still very proud of these two, lovely ladies!

I always thought I'd rescued Squeegee, since he was a stray, and I took him in and cared for him. His health problems would have made it impossible to live for more than a year longer had I not. The truth is, Squeegee actually rescued me right back!

I had my first migraine when I was seven years old. I can recall my mother having mentioned having a headache sometmes, and I didn't understand because I'd never had one. then, one fall day, it hit. I was outside playing, and all of a sudden, out of the blue, I had this terrible pain in my head. It didn't take much for me to realize this was probably what Mom was talking about. However, the sudden, hideous onslaught was different than what she experienced. Over time, they became a little more frequent, but not enough for me to realize why I was getting them. Back then, it was most likely a combination of hormones and cold fronts, and with each year, the headaches I had already begun to call migraines because of their intensity, were hitting enough for me to start expecting them.

When I was in Junior High School, I started singing solos. In High School, I recall riding on a school bus to a performance, and leaning my head up against the window because the coolness seemed to help. Eventually, almost nothing would. By early adulthood, they were frequent enough that I started carrying over the counter bottles of Vanquish or Excedrin in my purse. By then, I knew that light and sound and heat made them unbearable. In my thirties and forties they peaked to where it was almost constant, and I had been seeing a neurologist and taking anti-seizure meds to break the pain cycles.

In 1998, I met Squeegee. In January, 1999, I adopted him. Little did I know that this pretty, orange wonder had an ability that would help me way more than I ever helped him! Squeegee could sense when my headaches were coming on- usually in my sleep when I wouldn't realize until it was too late, and would be unable to function at all the following morning, missing work, church, and life. With his warnings- high pitched squeeks that would wake me out of the deepest sleep, especially since I'd been a very high soprano and pick up on high pitched noises like sirens, (or Squeegee :-) ) before most people do, I would be able to get up and take my meds, and often avoid being out of commission, and in agony for at least ten hours! His persistence was uncanny, and he would only stop squeeking when I would get up and take the medicine!

This morning, a cold front began to come through Central Florida. It wasn't a major one, but the pressure drop triggered a migraine, which these days, I don't have as often. Squeegee's been off his game a bit since he's an old boy now, but in true form, he began his squeeking while it was still dark, and stopped when I arose and took my meds. It took 6 Ibuprofen tablets, a cup of coffee, and over 9 hours to begin to feel normal, but without Squeegee, I wouldn't have been able to drive the thirty miles I had to go to get to work in Orange City this morning. As usual, my rescued kitty rescued me back.

Tonight I think Squeeks will get some extra tuna as a reward! This pic of him was taken some time ago, but Squeegee hasn't changed very much. He's a little raggier around the edges, but so am I. He's my precious boy, and I suppose we'll be rescuing each other for a little while longer.

My two, lovely nieces by marriage, Jessica and Michelle, were already blossoming into beautiful, young ladies in September, 2008, when this picture was taken.

Jess is the eldest, and is now married, and has her master's degree, and Michelle is studying nursing right now. I think these two are probably among the prettiest AND most intelligent and gifted people I know.

The girls grew up in front of a camera, as their father is one of the area's top bridal photographers, and they have learned the ins and outs of posing, and as you can see, do it well. I don't know if I've ever seen a bad photo of either of them! This one is one of my faves, and though I can't do what their dad can with a camera, I still think the shot came out pretty well!

Originally in color, and taken outdoors, (see below) I thought it might be more effective if it were monochromatic. I used Picnik's Boost feature to intensify the contrasts and depth of tone, and Doodle, which is the airbrush tool, to remove some facial imperfections that came through, like shine, and a tiny bit of acne. I also used it to re-sculpt the contours of the faces when I'd lost some detail in removing the flaws. Nothing was done to the eyes or teeth. These girls have great smiles! More than that, I am very proud of them for the women they've become.

Jessica was five when I started to get to know her, and Michelle was two. My brother and their mom had been friends, and we all went to the same church. Their parents broke up, and eventually my brother and their mom fell in love and were married. I sang at their wedding, and the girls were the flower girls. It's hard to believe so much time has gone by, and they're old enough to have children of their own!

Though Shawn and Donna are no longer married, I still consider the girls my nieces, and always will.

This looks like a studio shot, but it's not. Jessica and Drake, my eldest niece and youngest nephew, were actually outdoors. It was a difficult day for some of the people who had congregated, since this was my former sister-in-law's grandmother's funeral. (The kids' great grandmother.) While the adults were struggling with grief, the kids were doing their best to keep it light, especially for the sake of the younger ones.

The day I took this pic, I took quite a few others, too. I felt mixed emotions over how the kids seemed to be having a good time at what was one of the hardest days of their mom's life. I found it disrespectful, and yet was drawn to the childlike joy, despite that fact. I guess no one really wants to be unhappy, and children find a way to avoid it unashamedly. Though Jessica was by that time a young woman, there was still enough of a child in her to overrule the adult, and enough of an adult to reach out to her baby brother to console him with love and let him be happy.

Only three months later, my own mother passed away. At her memorial, there were tears- mostly mine. Afterwards, though, life went on, and I was caught up in another mixture of deep sorrow and brief moments of hillarity, as the comics among us came out to play, and like children, managed to turn the corners of my mouth up repeatedly. Unlike a child, though, the somberness, whether from grief or a feeling of the way things SHOULD be, overcame each smile, and I was angry at myself for having laughed! How funny we human beings are. We are always in opposition to ourselves, it seems.

This will always be one of my favorite photos of these two, though. It says what is in the heart of the young....hope. It takes time to learn to wallow in your own melancholy, and it's actually very beautiful to see how they haven't arrived at that unpleasant place quite yet. Sorrow, like death, comes soon enough. There is a Psalm about this, and it says, (my own paraphrase,) You (God) will turn my tears into joy for me, and cast off the clothes that I'd wear to show my grief. You will strengthen and support me with singing and dancing, and replace the pain of this world with delight in You! That's my take on it, anyway, and I guess sometimes you just have to go through some of the tough places to get it. In other words, God will make those who trust Him respond like children full of joy. Not a bad prospect, at that!