The 1900s house

I'm always fascinated by those shows on PBS where a whole family agrees to live life like they did back in the 1900s, or on the prairie, or in an English manor, or whatever. Because I? Am totally not into giving up my modern conveniences while at the same time being on display for all the world to see. I would be bitchy and pissed off and messy and have really bad hair and none of those are traits I care to share with the world.

That said, we had our own little "1900s moment" recently. My blog has been devoid of pictures of my cute kids because, as I noted back in February, our digital camera is on the fritz. We think it's still under warranty, and while we have been able to locate the receipt for every toaster and VCR we've ever owned, the receipt and dated extended warranty that we purchased with the camera are (naturally) no where to be found.

And because we are cheap, there is no way in hell we are paying to fix the camera when there is a good possibility that it's covered under warranty.

However, this raised a bit of an issue recently when I suddenly realized we had lots and lots of upcoming events that simply HAD to be captured on film including Easter, Loaf's birthday and a wedding shower for my sister-in-law. What to do? What to do?

Suddenly, I remembered that we had a perfectly good 35mm FILM camera stored in the attic. FILM? Do they even still sell film, I asked Mark, only half joking. After confirming in my local CVS that yes indeed film is still available for purchase, I tromped up into the attic the day before Easter to dust off what is now practically an antique.

And in about 15 seconds, I realized why digital photography has taken over the world and why my 35 mm has remained in the attic collecting dust since the day we arrived home from Best Buy with our new digital camera. Because film photography? Is a huge pain in the ass.

You have to keep your face pressed right up against this little bitty window in order to see what you're shooting and (WTF?) you can't see your picture instantly. Not only that, but every 25 pictures or so, you have to engage in this extremely annoying process known as "changing the film," which is a total photographic buzz kill. "Changing the film" typically seems to come at a particularly inconvenient time, such as when your child just begins smiling and doing all sorts of cute things.

Further, you then must send the film off to be processed, which costs money and takes several days. And lastly, when you eagerly, finally get your film back you will find that at least half of the pictures on the "film" are utterly, totally worthless - shots you would have deleted from your digital camera without a second thought.

So there it is, I am trapped in my own "1900s house hell" with my antiquated 35 mm camera, getting bitchier and more pissed off by the moment. (My hair is still good though because fortunately that other modern convenience known as "the hair dryer" seems to still be working just fine. Phew.)

Despite all this annoying stuff, I did manage to secure a few decent pictures of my girls on and around Easter (nearly 2 weeks ago now - GAH!) Here they are:

I call this shot, "If only I were a few inches taller, you could see my whole head"


Loaf in our hallway looking a bit disheveled


Egg hunt in our living room on Easter morning


That pink basket on the floor is Peanut's and yes, Loaf is taking eggs out of it. Moments after this shot was taken, there was a full-out Easter brawl.


The next two are from the egg hunt at my mother-in-law's house later that day. Note the clouds. And the coats. Ahh, spring in the Northeast.




Loaf sitting on my mother-in-law's piano on Easter.


Hopefully, someday, we'll be back in the year 2007 in regards to photography. At least when those people go on those PBS shows, they know there is an end in sight to the misery.