My Grandma

 So I titled this blog, "My Grandma", which is obviously 100% true, but I can't keep her all to myself. Because after having 6 daughters of her own, she is also the Grandmother to my sister, Laura and my cousins, Mason, Midge, Bonnie, Jeffrey, Christi, Jenn, Jason, Travis, Meg, Jeremie, Melissa, Jaimie, Jess and Willie- 16 of us in all!! 

I know those folks are anxiously awaiting a glimpse of this lovely lady's photo shoot so without further adieu, allow my to introduce the Grand Matriarch of our family, Florence Mason. Just look at her face as she gazes at the family portrait we took a few years ago--All of us are here because of this lovely lady.

How about I begin by telling you a little bit about her. Anyone who knows her will be able to vouch for her own love of taking photos. I remember well, her talking about "fill flash" and "back lighting" while trying to capture photos of anyone and everyone. Guess I know where some of my love for photography came from!

She is also an avid crossword puzzler. I remember when I was about 6, the age when girls start imitating the adults and wanting to act "grown-up", I started clipping out crosswords from the newspaper and carrying them around in a dress up purse. I don't even think I could spell yet- but I was a puzzler- just like Grandma. Oh and by the way, I clipped coupons too and carried life savers in my purse just like the ones Grandpa would sneak to me during church.

How cute is she???!!

Another one of my Grandmother's claims to fame is her handwriting. Perfect, beautiful, lacy script- it makes even her grocery list look fancy and important.

For anyone who missed me talking about it a few weeks ago, this photo shoot was a gift to my Grandmother, from my parents. My mom knew she, and the rest of the family, would love to have a few nice photos of herself, so she gave her a gift certificate as a Christmas gift. What a fantastic idea!!

And while I knew it was easy enough to hop on over to her house and take a killer portrait (like this one)

(or this one)

I also knew that if I didn't have something for her to "do", she would have quite enough after only a few clicks of the shutter. I was right! The "Oh I think that's enough pictures, don't you?!" and "You take so many pictures, how many are you going to take?" started in after only a few minutes of shooting.

So to distract her a bit, and because I knew it would just be fun and beautiful, I dragged out some old photos for her to look at and talk about....did I mention she's a "talker" :)

So I then agreed, we had taken enough. "That's a wrap!" The model did a terrific job and while she didn't admit it, I think she really enjoyed having her picture taken, and I loved doing it!

So after the photo shoot was done, in true Grandma fashion, she suggested an afternoon "happy hour" ...if the mutual love for photography wasn't enough- this is proof I'm not adopted!! 

Cheers!! And yes, you MUST clink glasses!

As side note to my family: I will add extra photos that didn't make it into this blog to my facebook album. Enjoy!