while i was away

Not that I went anywhere, and I certainly have not done anything visually interesting. I've stayed in, gone to a second rate "bluegrass" festival, explored the halls of my places of employment in early and late hours, and celebrated a certain someone's birthday.

The Beast was a creature I would not know

Having too many days off in a row makes me anxious. On one hand, it gives me time to get things done, but on the other, it gives me far too much time to think about things. Today I made an official step in making some changes- big changes- in my life, but now I'm terrified. I had been miserable in Chicago for so long, so I decided to make little changes and now I'm doing great, but I forged ahead with other life plans. And now I'm just left second guessing myself and making excuses. Needless to say, my stress level has been crazy (threat level: close to an utter freak-out), but thankfully I have some OJ to keep me healthy and my babushka to keep me calm.

covered in snow and ice

There's something very comforting about snow on the ground, don't you think?

mt. carmel

Not a very impressive grave for such an impressive man, don't you think?

The Italian Bride- story has it, Julia died at age 29, but her mother claimed that her daughter would come talk to her and told her she wasn't dead. After a few years of torment, the mother dug up her daughter, only to find that she had not decomposed at all. Her skin was still soft and cheeks were rosy. This picture was taken and placed on the grave.

Co-workers Mike and Stacy and I made the trek out to Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, IL. It was quite a place; a Roman Catholic cemetery with a very heavy Italian influence. Most graves were in Italian, as well as photos placed permanently on the headstones. Of course we picked the day where it was 15 degrees outside, and towards the end, it started snowing. Heavily. Mike looked like a fluffy snowman once we got back to the car. Also, I took far too many photos, so if you're interested, you can see the rest of the set here.

memories in 35mm format

shop mama

Lindsey spent the day dusting and cleaning the store while wearing an apron. She looked like a cute little shop mama.

good luck, good luck

and night has always pushed out day

12:34am.

all that i have are these bones

it's a rough wild world

12 january

#73, towards clark

wildwood

Yeah, another day at home, sick in bed. But thankfully I had this wonderful book to keep me entertained. Sent by the even more wonderful Catherine as a Christmas gift; you're the best BFF.