It's the climb....

I've finally received my long awaited copy of

Country Samplers 2010 Home Tour.

Why have I been so anxious?

Well, as many of you know my home is in the issue and my friend Sandy's home is too.

Sandy got her copy first. After checking my mail and not finding my copy I high tailed it to Sandy's house to take a gander.

Aw, the surreal life!

How strange, seeing ones home in print in a magazine I've been ogling for years.

I must say it is pretty....um...well....awsome!

I'm getting off title.

Why the climb?

Isn't that what life is about?

I know it is for me.

To quote a line or two from Billy Ray's baby Miley's big hit...

" Ain't about how fast I get there"

" Ain't about what's waiting on the other side "

" It's the climb"

Below is a post some of you may have already read. It was posted on my web site back in June of 2009, the day after my Country Sampler shoot.

I thought I would re-post it here on blogger,

it's about the climb....

my favorite part of my Country Sampler experience!

****************************************************

Well, all the lights and cameras that for a brief time filled the rooms of my home along with all the worries and frazzled nerves, are but a memory.
The photographers arrived in Waynesburg early Monday morning, Sandy's house was first.
I had to go meet them, put faces to the voices I had heard on the phone over the course of several months.
I had no idea what to expect. .....
Would I see a fancy car sporting a Country Sampler logo on it's side parked in Sandy's drive filled with props?
I headed east on Lisbon Street.
As Sandy's drive comes in to view I see a simple red SUV, Virginia plates,random letters...letters I later learn are the first initials of each of the Schmidt's pets.
No logo. Props, only a few.
I go inside and meet Esther and Franklin Schmidt, two of the sweetest, down to earth, humble, and the most intelligent people I have met to date.
I hung around to watch one room be shot.
To get an idea of what my future would hold and how much "staging'' would be done.
I quickly learned it wasn't about "staging" but about making a room work in order to get the shot.
Getting just one shot right could take almost an hour.
I wish I could have stayed and watched the Reynolds entire shoot, but I had to head home and....
CLEAN!
I woke early the morning of my shot and decided to make nuts rolls and a pot of coffee for the Schmidt's.
I had told myself and others that I wasn't cooking.
To much work.
How do you pick a food everyone likes?
So much for talk.
Anyway, time to get myself ready.
Let's back up a minute,back to my arrival at Sandy's house and seeing her dressed in.....
Gray top, white capri's.
You see, that is exactly what I had picked out and set aside to wear the day of my shoot.
So, there I stand in front of my closet, with that age old question , what to wear? Nothing would do, but.....
Gray top, white capri's!
The Schmidt's arrived at my house around 9:30 am, unloaded, and went right to work.
My kitchen was first. the only props used in my home were a
a few simple flowers, some of those coming from my flower beds, and the rolls I made. Props first, snack later!
I was right there watching, helping and commenting on each shot being taken. Control freak? Yeah.
The photographs that Franklin captured were breathtaking. Shot from angles with lighting casting beautiful shadows that created a calm stillness.
Work of a true artist.
There was only one shot that I wasn't completely happy with; it was my bed room. Yet, it is still a wonderful shot.
There was a sampler I had hanging over my bed that looked wrong through the cameras eye. We had to find a replacement.
The day had been long and we were all tried, so we settled on a wreath.
I could have found something more primitive.
The shoot had come to an end, time to pack away all the equipment, and say our good byes.
As I sit here and reflect on this journey that started with a simple e-mail from a sweet lady introducing herself,telling me she had discovered photos of my home while web surfing and asking if she could send photos of my home to the editor of Country Sampler and ending with hugs, kind words, tears and new friendships. I wouldn't change a thing...............
Even that darn wreath!