A collection of digital wonders and some other stuff
Yesterday my uncle Judd passed away. He was 90 years old.
Almost every year, for as long as I can remember, our family gets together on the first of July to watch the Canada Day parade. Afterward, it was our tradition to enjoy a delicious potluck meal at my aunt Lois’ and uncle Judd’s place.
Despite Judd getting on in years, he kept his wits about him right to the end, and I always enjoyed chatting with him. He will be missed by many.
Ahoy, it is International Talk Like a Pirate Day and that swashbuckling sister of mine has posted a photo of her adorable little pirate—I would deserve to walk the plank if I didn’t mention it.
Arrgh, check out the jolly catchlights.
I’ve been spending some time with my family in Medicine Hat over the last week. While I was here, we received some very bad news. A cousin of mine, Michael Scoville, passed away last Friday at the age of 26 years old.
Of all my cousin’s, I hung out with Mike more than any other. We lived in the same city for most of our lives and were pretty much the same age. We never went to the same school at the same time for very long but I was always amazed at how many people knew Mike all over the city.
Growing up we had our share of fighting between us but within the last ten years, or so, we made up and I enjoyed running into him at his parents house on the many occasions when they would invite us all over for dinner. It’s sad that he’s gone.
Sometime in the early hours of the morning, my sister phoned my mom to let her know the new baby is on the way. Still no word if it’s a girl or a boy but we’re all very excited. I’m off to Edmonton to meet the newest member of the family.
Update: It’s a boy! Eric Robert was born Sunday, June 4th, 2006 weighing in at 9lbs 9oz and measured 22 inches tall. I’m so excited for their family.
Here he is, about 6 and a half hours old. He was pretty quiet and very tired. He did wake up for awhile and check out the people around him.
Seeing as he was such a big baby, I’m sure Jackie is glad she didn’t have to wait a day longer. I can’t wait until he gets older, it will be so cute when he is big enough to play with Ryker.
My sister, Jackie Hutchinson, is a photographer in Drayton Valley Okotoks, Alberta. She still gets up to Drayton Valley for special occasions.
This is a screen capture of the new website I put together for her. It’s a work in progress as she develops her portfolio, but so far she already has some really nice shots online.
Update: Here’s a screenshot of the newest iteration of her site (as of September 2009). I’m blown away by how great of a photographer she’s become.
Check out jackiehutch.com to see more of her amazing photography.
Jackie and family have moved to Okotoks, Alberta.
Two weekends ago I went to one of my cousin’s wedding reception in Raymond. I had a great time visiting with my extended family. I particularly like to joke around with my Dad’s brothers and it’s always a good time whenever they get together.
It looks like the family will be headed back to Raymond for the funeral of another cousin this Friday. It’s such a stark contrast in seeing everyone at a happy event such as a wedding compared with such a sad one.
Cheryl1 was my oldest cousin, and as such I didn’t know her that well. As for how she died, I’m not too sure of the details. I understand she was in the hospital and not doing too well for a couple weeks now but other than that I don’t know much.
I’m heading off to Drayton Valley (a small town just west of Edmonton) to visit my sister and her family for the long weekend.
It’s Remembrance Day tomorrow so as a special treat here is a photo of my Grandpa Scoville’s war medals.
He served in the Canadian Navy during World War II primarily posted to convoy escorts and submarine hunting. He had plenty of war stories, but I was either too little or wasn’t around when they were being shared.
One particularly interesting story was when he snuck onto a German warship that was docked at a neutral port and stole the Captain’s alarm clock. He felt so guilty about what a stupid thing it was to do that (I think) he eventually gave the clock away just to keep from reminding himself about that adventure. Somebody on his ship stole it from him.
For those of you more interested in cartoon / viking / battle of the bands type war, check out Jason Forrest’s animated video for ‘War Photographer’.
My sister has started her own photography business. I created a flash based site to show-off a few of her photos. Here it is, http://jackiehutchinson.com.
The photo below is an example of her excellent work. It’s one she took the other day of her son Ryker.
The family reunion is pretty much over. Jackie, Glen, and Ryker have headed down to California for Glen’s brother’s wedding and most of the other relatives have also left. Today I’m off to Waterton with my parents, my cousin Spencer, and his family. We all had a great time at the waterslides, eating some great food, and personally I had a lot of fun taking pictures.