Greetings from grandeur

02/02/2015 Nichole 1 Comment

It's a hike up to the Diana statue at the Biltmore Estate, but the view is worth it. — It’s a hike up to the Diana statue, but the view is worth it.

There are a lot of things that I find a little creepy about Biltmore. Like this vaguely menacing statue, for example.

I’ve been having some anxiety issues these last few weeks, so I was apprehensive about last week’s 52Frames “Greetings From” theme. I usually don’t have a problem getting to our regularly scheduled activities when the ol’ anxiety is acting up, but going out just for the sake of going out isn’t something that’s high on my To Do list. (To be fair: It rarely ever is. The anxiety just enhances my desire to stay home.)

I was pretty sure “Greetings From” wasn’t short for “Greetings From your living room, where you’ve been holing up whenever possible,” though, so I figured I’d need to get my act together and leave the house.

There was only one day last week that I had any time to go out in search of a picture. Thursday was chilly and overcast, and it turned out to be a perfect day for me to go to the Biltmore Estate. I nearly had the place to myself!

I couldn't resist a "Downton Abbey" shot. — I couldn’t resist a “Downton Abbey” shot.

I’ve been to Biltmore a few times before, but I’d never made the hike up to the Diana statue that sits above the estate. I decided I’d start there this time, and it was worth the effort. (I was out of breath by the time I got to the top. It isn’t really a super-difficult walk; I’m just very out of shape.) There was no one else up there, and it was chilly and quiet and so peaceful. It was just what I needed.

They don’t let you take pictures inside the house, so I just spent about an hour walking around the grounds. I only saw about 15 other people the whole time I was there, which is pretty unusual considering it’s one of the top destinations in the area. I guess cold Thursdays in late January aren’t their peak days.

In the end, my favorite picture of the day was the only one I took on my phone. I was walking back to my car, and I turned around and liked what the sky was doing so I snapped a quick shot. The house is such a mammoth thing, and I really like how the sky minimizes its size in the picture. It’s still an enormous structure (not to mention a reminder that there are some insanely wealthy people in this world), but it’s always important to keep things in perspective.

52frames, week 5: greetings from "Greetings from the Biltmore Estate" — 52frames, week 5: greetings from
“Greetings from the Biltmore Estate”

Kids are weird, Sports

Overheard at my house during Katy Perry’s halftime performance

02/01/2015 Nichole

Pete: “What is that?!?”

Me: “That’s Katy Perry riding a giant metal tiger.”

Pete: “What? This is supposed to be football. Where’d that all go?”

Me: “This is halftime.”

Pete: “Oh. This is a weird halftime. Does that tiger even roar? Oh, I guess it does. Is that a chessboard? What is this?”

Rockford, walking through the door: “What is that? She looks like she’s wearing taped-on flames. Is that Lenny Kravitz? This is weird.”

* * * * *

Rockford: “Land shark!”

Pete: “What is this?”

Rockford: “This must be her hit about summertime.”

* * * * *

Pete: “What is she lip-synching to?”

* * * * *

Poppy: “Why is she wearing that?”

Rockford: “Because she wrote a song about the beach? I don’t know.”

* * * * *

Poppy: “How could someone fit all this into a halftime show? Ha! Look at those people dancing.”

* * * * *

Poppy: “Did she say ‘Tri-state area’?”

Pete: “Or maybe she said ‘Give me a nacho!’ “

Bandwagons, Photos

This is where I’d put a clever compliment/complement joke if I could think of one

01/27/2015 Nichole 1 Comment

cwheel This week’s 52frames theme was Complementary Colors, meaning the photo was meant to contain hues that are opposites on the color wheel. I was up to my eyeballs in old wallpaper last week, it was gray and rainy, and Rockford was still out of town. I am not going to pretend that I didn’t phone it in this week.

I noticed that the lilies Rockford had ordered for me had a little bit of burgundy in them that matched perfectly with their green leaves, so I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures and called it a day.

52frames, week 4: complementary colors "Tabletop lily" — 52frames, week 4: complementary colors
“Rockford was in Japan and all I got were some lilies. (And chocolates and an Oregon Trail print. He’s a good husband.)”

This week’s theme has me a little stumped. I’m going to have to go outside to find my subject, but it’s supposed to be cold and rainy all this week, too! I may just have to grab an umbrella and — in the immortal words of Tim Gunn — make it work.