Personal | biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

Oct 30

Happy Halloween!

Happy (almost) Halloween! I cannot believe how quickly the time is flying by that it is already time for Halloween! Victory was a butterfly last year and a ladybug the year before, and, this year, she is a little lioness. She looks adorable in her costume, shown below. The color of Victory’s fur coordinates well with this costume! (Looking back, via the links above, you can see how much Victory has physically changed and blossomed from one Halloween to the next). Tomorrow night, she is going to help pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters and show off her costume along with her carved pumpkin masterpieces, with the assistance of Doug, of course! So far, the weather looks good on Halloween!

Earlier this month at the time of Victory’s birthday, we took Victory to the pumpkin patch, an annual tradition! She had a great time! We still could only find one pumpkin patch located in Delaware, after looking in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, that would permit a furry family member to come along! We had fun, Victory had fun, and the weather was just gorgeous! A few images from our annual trip to the pumpkin patch are shown below.

Doug is carving our pumpkins this year for Halloween so stay tuned on Instagram! Enjoy the photos below! Also, here are links to pumpkins carved by Doug last year, two years ago year and the three years ago!

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween!

Oct 28

Around Here: October

Well, it is officially fall, our favorite time of the year! We are enjoying the cooler temperatures and foliage. Below are some items that have occurred around here in October, our favorite month of the year! We can hardly believe this month of October is coming to an end. It is always a fun and fully packed month each year!

-continuing to work steadily on my long-term photography project; I am almost done drafting the draft the copy for my project; and I continue to work on the remaining final images to finish to complete the project, which I plan to finish next year.

-finished all of the photo shoots for my long-term photography project, over 150 photo shoots over the past three years.

-continue to prepare filings with the U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

-finished culling and editing our images from our vacation!

-finished reading this book — an excellent read, and I will share more about this great book! I am still making my way through the stack of books on my nightstand.

-we celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary!

-we celebrated Victory’s birthday!

-we visited the pumpkin patch, an annual tradition, to pick out our pumpkins! (A few images from our trip to the pumpkin patch are shown below.)

-we are ready to celebrate Halloween — Victory looks so adorable in her costume! Doug has figured out our pumpkin theme, as he carves our pumpkin each Halloween, which takes him nearly a day to carve with the help of a Dremel — that is what you call dedication! Doug is going to attempt to carve two pumpkins this year, time permitting. I am sure Victory will supervise!

-my sister came to visit us.

-burning fall-scented candles all over the house!

-enjoying opening the windows and waking up to the crisp fall air in the mornings.

-enjoying cooler evenings and walks together outside, breathing in the crisper air, a welcome change!

-enjoying time together on the deck, while the weather is still nice.

-enjoying date nights with Doug!

-enjoying my yoga class, and recently learned about Doga — I would love to take a Doga class!

-started the second season of The Affair.

-started the second season of Fargo.

-started the first season of Orphan Black.

-giving our fur girl her monthly bath — Victory is getting better about bath time, but it still takes both Doug and I to bathe Victory! Victory’s fur feels so smooth and silky after her bath and brush out!

-just about finished our annual Pawliday card!

-almost done framing my images for the house — my new deadline is Christmas to finish, as this project it taking quite awhile to complete.

-continuing to make more progress on our ever-growing to do list!

Happy Wednesday!

Oct 23

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Victory: Photography Project — 74

Beginning in January 2014, I started a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog this year! My goal is to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories, while capturing moments of our everyday.

My sister came to visit recently from Michigan! We had a nice weekend together. I wish that we were able to see each other more often. We enjoyed time together in D.C., where we went to the National Zoo and the Mall. (Victory could not go inside at the National Zoo, so Doug and I took turns.) The pandas were great! We cannot wait to see the baby panda when he is on display. You can view the pandas at the National Zoo via the panda cam here.

Victory was a trooper, and she looked adorable in her new Orvis coat! She walked the Mall like a pro, especially on the way back! We also went to one of our favorite restaurants together along with attending a Halloween party together! It was nice to see my sister and spend time together. A few images from our weekend are shown below.

Have a great weekend! I have my final photo shoot this weekend for my long-term photography project that I have been working on for quite some time!

Happy Friday!

Oct 21

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A Change of Scenery: Rejuvenation

During vacation, I took a break from everything, which I do not practice often enough. What I noticed is that I really needed a break from my work and the usual routine — we were so ready for our vacation. I felt a bit drained and depleted, to be honest. I also noticed that the intentional break gave me space to think about other things that had been pushed to the back burner as well as time to reflect on the projects that I am currently working on. Most of all, I felt free. After taking this long break during vacation, I felt more rejuvenated and, upon our return, I have been able to dive into work with a new perspective. A change of scenery really does wonders. Therefore, I highly recommend taking intentional and frequent breaks to enrich your work and the creative process. (Please note that breaks do not have to be in the form of a vacation.) Also, I often find that a problem that I am working on in my work becomes more clear after I have stepped away, even for a short period of time, and I am then able to come back with a fresh perspective. A Change of Scenery = Rejuvenation.

Happy Wednesday!

Oct 16

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Sisters: Wedding Day

With both of our wedding anniversaries this month, it made me think about my wedding day and my sister’s wedding day and the importance of sisterhood. I read a quote by an unknown author that summarizes sisterhood perfectly, and I mentioned this quote in my toast at my sister’s wedding. “A sister is a gift to a heart. A friend to the spirit. A golden thread to the meaning of life.” I am grateful to have my sister, Kassie, a thoughtful and genuine person, and one of the few people I have known my entire life and shares each other’s past. Below we are pictured together on each of our wedding days — exactly six years and one week apart along with a childhood photo, similar pose, circa 1980s!

My sister and brother-in-law are visiting us from Michigan for a long weekend!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Oct 14

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Victory: A Birthday Celebration — 4 years!

This past Monday, October 12, 2015, marked two years since we adopted our dear little Victory! We decided to make October 12 Victory’s birthday — the day we went to Michigan and adopted our sweet fur girl. (We also took the same approach with Biscuit’s birthday.) Victory was likely one to two years old when we adopted her, per the Michigan Sheltie Rescue.

This year, for Victory’s birthday, we did a pink themed birthday! (Last year, we did a rainbow themed birthday for Victory!) We purchased some fun pink themed decorations, candles, balloons, party hat, and new pink sweater for Victory in honor of her birthday! Victory also enjoyed some pork chops and chicken in lieu of birthday cake, which she gobbled down in no time flat! Victory looked absolutely adorable on her birthday! She had a fun birthday, a fun long weekend, and she enjoyed being over fed along with a birthday dinner in downtown Baltimore at one of our favorite pizza places! Most of all, I am grateful for Victory’s patience and cooperation. I believe Victory and I have an unspoken partnership when it comes to the camera and photographing her. Victory enjoys being photographed and she makes my job so much easier due to her participation, patience, and cooperation! We are so lucky to have our little Victory!

For Victory’s birthday, we gave her a new pink sweater; a new Orvis coat; and a new outdoor Orvis bed for our deck — she now has two Orvis outdoor beds (and three Orvis indoor beds) for our two outdoor spaces! She loves to lounge outside on the deck! Additionally, her Grandma and Grandpa in Michigan (my parents) gave her a card and a gift card to the pet store! Victory can now pick out some new toys and treats, etc.! Thank you! Victory loved all of her gifts! Below are some fun images of Victory on her birthday! Enjoy! (You can view Victory’s birthday from last year here!) Happy Wednesday!

Oct 13

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Seven Years In

Not only did we celebrate Victory’s Birthday this weekend, we also celebrated our seven-year wedding anniversary! It is difficult to believe seven years ago around this time we were getting married! Additionally, in September, while we were in Quebec on vacation, we celebrated eleven years together since our first date!

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, and with the beautiful weather over the weekend, we went to Delaware along with our fur girl! The weather on our anniversary reminded us of the day we got married — it was beautiful with the sun shinning and warm temperatures. While in Delaware, we went to the pumpkin patch, an annual tradition. Doug and Victory picked out two large pumpkins to carve on Halloween! We only know of one pumpkin patch where Victory can come along, and it happens to be in Delaware. We also celebrated with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants! We had a really nice long weekend together!

Seven years ago we promised a life intertwined together forever. I cannot imagine my life without you. I admire your character, steadfast patience, and your kindness that you show to everyone. Most of all, you are my very best friend. You are the greatest gift of my life, and each day spent with you is truly a gift. I love you and I am so honored to be your partner in life. I cannot wait to see what our life looks like in another seven years! Happy Anniversary!

Oct 9

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Photographs: Vacationing in Quebec City

We went to Quebec City in September this year, and I have finally had time to finish culling and editing the images from our vacation, our second vacation with our dear, Victory! You can view the snapshot of our vacation here, which I posted upon our return from Quebec City! (You can also view our vacation last year to Montreal, Quebec here.)

We started our vacation In Manchester, Vermont. We took Victory to Mount Equinox, and the views were just beautiful and it was so peaceful. We also previously took Biscuit to Mount Equinox, and we thought a lot about our dear Biscuit. We still miss him very much. We also took Victory to the Orvis Flagship Store where Victory had fun picking out and trying out the Orvis dog beds along with trying on her new Orvis coat! We also went to the Vermont Country Store, where I got some goodies and Victory walked around with Doug! We also visited Robert Frost’s home.

We stopped in Montreal on our way to Quebec City, and where we went to the Orange Julep! The Orange Julep has the world’s best orange juice ever!

We made it to our lake house that we rented for several weeks on the Saint Lawrence River, just outside of Quebec City. The views were beautiful and we witnessed many lovely sunsets each night! Victory loved being by the water! We also enjoyed many long walks together each day. And, we ate way too much ice cream, which was delicious — the best ever!

We also visited the vineyards located on an island not too far from where we stayed. It was very pretty with a real French-country feel. The iced cider and fire cider are very popular, as there were many apple orchards located on the island!

We went to Quebec City multiple times. On our first visit to Quebec City, we even met a native sheltie named Choco! We ate outside with Victory in Quebec City and the food was absolutely delicious! We also walked all over the city, saw the main sites, and did some shopping.

Most of all, we are grateful for our time away together. We enjoyed spending time together; getting away; having a break; having a change of scenery; and having days where we had no plans and were able to take each day as it came! Everyone was nice in Quebec City and the pace of everything was much slower than we are accustomed to, which is refreshing! Enjoy a few images from our vacation, shown below!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend! We are looking forward to this weekend! The weather is supposed to be beautiful and we are celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary; and we are also celebrating Victory’s birthday! We cannot believe that our fur girl has been with us for two years on Monday already! The time is flying by and we are trying to savor it! (You can view Victory’s birthday from last year here!)

Vermont

Quebec and Quebec City

Sep 30

Photo Book: Engagement

When I recently made our wedding photo books, I also made a photo book of my sister’s engagement images to commemorate her first wedding anniversary, which is this weekend! I took these engagement images during the fall of 2013 when we traveled to Michigan to adopt our fur girl, Victory!

The images in this photo book are printed on matte art paper, mostly containing color images, with thick boarders surrounding each image. (You can view the inside of a sample book here.) Each image is printed on the right side and a blank page appears on the left side. This way, the viewer can focus on one image at a time.

I am pleased with the way this photo book turned out from Artifact Uprising — and my sister and brother-in-law loved it! I am a strong proponent of making my images tangible, which creates wonderful family heirlooms and joy!

Happy Anniversary, Kassie and Jason! See you soon!

Sep 28

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Around Here: September

Well, it is officially fall, our favorite time of the year! Below are some items that have occurred around here in September, a fun month, as we took our vacation during this time!

-continuing to work steadily on my project; I am about half way through drafting the draft the copy for my project; and I continue to work on the final images.

-continue to prepare filings with the U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

-we has a great vacation together. It was very nice to have a break from the normal routine along with some much needed rest. We loved Vermont and Quebec, and we had many adventures together that we will cherish always.

-we loved taking Victory to Mount Equinox, where her brother, Biscuit, also visited.

-editing images from our vacation.

-finished reading this book — a great read!

-finished reading this book — a good read!

-started reading this book — so far, an excellent read!

-on our drive home from Quebec, Doug and I listened to and finished the entire Serial Podcast, an interesting podcast. It made our time in the car pass more quickly! Next up is the Limetown Podcast!

-this was the best ice cream that we have ever had, even beating out Cow’s!

-we ate far too many Tim Horton’s pastries while we were on vacation!

-we took Victory to Pups in the Park this weekend — it was fun and Victory liked it, too!

-we got Victory’s gifts for her birthday, which is quickly approaching!

-we purchased Victory’s Halloween costume — it is just darling — and I can’t wait to share!

-Doug is working on the theme for this year’s pumpkin, an annual tradition!

-loved using the Ergo Performance Carrier on vacation — Victory absolutely loved it! Here is Doug wearing the Ergo on vacation; and here is me wearing the Ergo on vacation!

-Victory is gaining confidence. She is barking a little more in the evenings, prior to bedtime. We had three barks in one night, a record! She has started to follow me all around the house, which is a new development. She even likes to go out on the deck by herself, while keeping an eye on the neighborhood! She loved being with us during vacation and she seems to be getting more confident with each passing day!

-burning fall-scented candles all over the house!

-enjoying opening the windows and waking up to the crisp fall air in the mornings.

-enjoying cooler evenings and walks together outside, breathing in the crisper air, a welcome change from the humidity!

-enjoying the return to yoga after missing several weeks of class.

-enjoyed the first season of the original Danish/Swedish version of The Bridge.

-started the series, The Hand of God, on Amazon Prime, and so far it is really good.

-beginning to think about our annual Pawliday card!

-working on finishing framing my images for the house — I am almost finished — this project has taken a lot of time and dedication to finish!

-continuing to make more progress on our ever-growing to do list!

Happy Monday!