Bertrand Photo Shoot For New Book

Rebekah and I spent the bulk of the last two weekends "helping" Bertrand the Mouse create backdrops and costumes for a very special new book - and then we shot it all yesterday, too.

Or as Daniel said, we spent many, many, many hours "doing arts and crafts."

The kitchen was full of our supplies.

My bedroom was full of our supplies.

The hall was full of baskets of laundry.

Poor Faith hid under the bed during the shooting (the lighting was best in my room, especially once we utilized the closet and bathroom lights, too). so I moved to her food and water to her (which she ignored).

Bertrand loved the "making" of the backdrops but was less enthused about the "picture-taking."

He complained that his costumes were too hot (nice try, he wore the main one two days in a row last year at a 100-degree event), that it was taking too long, that he was bored, that he had to pee, that he was thirsty, that he was hungry etc. - and the irony of consistently repeating, "Say cheese!" over and over for many retakes was not lost on him.

Since this is an extra-special Bertrand book, I'm not divulging its topic or subject matter right now.

But I will share five outtakes that barely hint at the work involved and the (overall) fun we had.

Happy Monday!

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Play Day

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Play Day

Yesterday, I did something I rarely do. I took nearly an entire day off.

A few weeks ago, my mother mentioned something regarding the river walk in Naperville. I nodded politely, and she noticed, perplexed. So, I told her I’ve never been to Naperville, which is about forty-minutes from home.

Stunned silence from my mother, than a shocked, “What?”

I reminded her I spent the first half of my adult life broke and raising six home-schooled children, so our activities were family-oriented (with other families in the same boat) and very creative.

Then I spent several years working from home delivering newspapers and writing) as a single parent. I remarried eleven years ago, but still work many, many hours from home, generally seven days a week. Plus, I’m still home-schooling two teens. My world opens from the computer screen out.

Because my fiftieth birthday fell on a Friday (warehouse day), we delayed the official celebration for two days. Our pastor baked a raspberry cheesecake, and Rebekah baked a piano-shaped cake.

My old asthmatic, but power-walking, lungs blew out all fifty candles to a giant cloud of choking smoke. Then I retreated to the attic and deadlines. Rebekah brought a slice of cake to me. I ate it while I typed.

So my seventy-five-year old mother decided to celebrate my half-century mark with a day in Naperville for a nice lunch, a walk by the river, and the browsing in shops.

I ate chocolate, flipped through books, got some ducks going by quacking at them, and added a crayon picture of bryony vines to a bulletin board of children’s art in a spice shop.

While driving back, my husband Ron called and told us to go straight home; he had already cleaned the warehouse. Christopher had made dinner. Then while I was checking mail, Daniel did all the chores. All that was left was shower and bed.

The best part, is that my sister and her youngest daughter joined us for the day and booked me for another day next week off BEFORE we said our good-byes. We’re going back on Wednesday for a day at Naperville’s beach-like pool area.

My sister is smart, too. She not only asked me while I was there, she had confirmed it by email by the time I was online, before I could schedule interviews and stories for Wednesday.

It’s been so long since I’ve been swimming (and I LOVE the water), that I don’t even own a swimsuit, so my sister’s checking to see if she has anything in my size. I feel SO relaxed right now, I might do this again once or twice in the next fifty years.