Summer in Utah 2013

There is Beauty All Around

I think this is my discouragement BLOG. Or perhaps the honesty blog? Years ago, after Roxcy died, I got a call one day from my Mormon Bishop. He asked how I was doing. I gave him the universal answer, "I am fine." 

He said, "You are not fine. I want your honest answer."

After that I began writing in my journal my Daily "HA", my honest answer.How I really felt. The answers I would not usually share with anyone else. My HA, because HaHaHa.... I had forgotten how to laugh. How to feel. Happiness for me had become a fleeting thing.

We say, "How are you?" And most of the time, we do not want to know the other person's aches and pains, we do not want the truth. By habit we answer, "I am fine, thank you."

On July 11, 2011, the day SUBMAN was sentence, the only thing I remember Jeddy saying is that he wanted to see his mom smile again. He wanted to see me laugh. The powers that be, would that be God? Must have laughed at that moment? Since then, I have continued to be hit by a steady stream of life events that are not happy ones.

I am so tired. I just want to stop trying. To stop fighting. I don't want to be strong. I just want to find peace and joy.

If I could do anything all the time I would take pictures. So, here is a recent picture. Byron in Hawaii sent me one of his back-up cameras. Thank You Byron. You are a life saver.

Foto Restoration

While in Utah I photgraphed an old foto album belonging to my great grandmother Ariadne Tranquilla Huffacre Gardner. It has been a year, but I have not completed processing the photos from the album. These are only a few of the images there. 

One of my photography specialties is photo restoration. If you have old pictures that need restoration, please, contact me at gardner@unm.edu for a quote. I will do restoration work for free IF the pictures are of my own ancestors.

 I am not sure who these people are. If you recognize them, please, contact me. The background is the back of the album. The side by side fotos are the before and after. The album is in very poor condition, so i decided not to pull the fotos from their pages.

 This is a foto of Joseph Smith Gardner and his beautiful bride Ariadne Huffacre. 
I blogged about this foto here.

 My father believes this is a foto of one of Ariadne's sisters with her husband. 

I just love that hat.

 Jane Park Gardner, one of Archibald Gardner's wives.

I do not know who this woman is. Again, if you recognize her, please, contact me.

March 2013 Spring Break trip to Utah

While in Utah for Spring Break, I didn't take a lot of pictures. The highlight for El Jay was going shooting with PapaJoe.

I love this foto of Jeddy. It is perfect for his Senior Foto Album.

 Just having fun with the silly foto.

  We always go Thrift Store Shopping while in Utah--we do it here too, but.....

Jeddy found this awesome vintage tux jacket.

On our way home we stopped in Provo to see Jeddy's paternal grandfather, Heinz. 

He passed away a month or so later.

Team Work

For my capstone class in Strategic Communications we worked as a team to create an advertizing/marketing campaign. This is my team and these young adults are the BEST. Truly. I was amazed by them and would hire any of them to work for me without hesitation.  

I was the team photographer.

A Few Favorites From 2013

I'll come back and post individual shoots, but here are a few favorites thru the month of May. I'll tell the stories that go with the pictures when I post the sessions. For now, enjoy.