20th Project - August Do-Over

Now, that's more like it for August:

 

20th Project - August (Final Installment!?!)

Not what I would have expected for the August installment of this project (Happy Birthday Mel!), but we woke up to loud claps of thunder and torrential rain (I tend toward the dramatic here only because I *tried* to walk Lanie, who followed me out only because she was attached to the other end of the leash I was holding, but who thought I was an absolute moron for attempting to wade through the flood waters behind our building's back door and then walk around in it. The look on her face said, "Lady, you're batsh*t crazy if you think I'm going to get comfortable enough to *do* anything out here, but I'll follow you around until you take me back inside where it is safe and dry." Epic walk-fail.), and bits of flooded beach. The major storm has passed for now (it's going to be a long day like this, I think), so here's what our little beach looks like on this, the twelfth 20th of our life here in our little Home Sweet Schwab:

And here's a shot of the foggy-coated Lake for dramatic emphasis:

It's really hard to believe it's been twelve 20ths already. One week from today we celebrate one year in our first home. Time really does fly when you're having the craziest adventure of your lives... here's a quick summary of all 12 months of 20ths (and now I have to figure out what to do with this project...):

(September)

(October)

(November)

(December)

(January)

(February)

(March)

(April)

(May)

(June)

(July)

(August)

12 months in a minute. Incredible.

(You can view all of the photos from all 12/13 installments of the 20th Project by clicking here - there were several months with more than one photo as this project evolved.)

20th Project - July

Slightly tardy, but beautiful nonetheless. The beach is always so peaceful and calm after a storm. And in this case I'm referring to both a literal and figurative storm. We had some lively thunder and lightning overnight that (thankfully) brought down the temperature a bit, but it's also great to be home again with repaired floors, our furniture back in its place, and feeling like we can once again resume moving forward... Amazing to think next month's installment of this 20th Project will be the 12th. Unreal what's happened here in the last eleven months already.

Here's our beach this morning (technically the 23rd, not the 20th, but again, you'll forgive me!):

20th Project - June

Due to the current state of affairs at our abode, we were not here the morning of June 20th, so my photo is a false-20th, but beautiful nonetheless. And with things going the way they have been here lately, I haven't yet needed so badly a reminder of why we decided to live here.

Our view on the morning of June 22nd:

(how I wish that were a gull, and not a stupid flying rat pigeon)

20th Project - May (Part II: The Fog Returns)

It happened again! Exactly the same as yesterday -- beautiful weather in the morning, even better during the day, and then The Fog started rolling back in. Same drive home - same inability to see the lake, or any parts of buildings above the fifth floor.

Here's the same view as this morning, only at 7:00 in the evening:

(this is from a slightly different angle, just so I could be sure to capture the shore line)

(Is tomorrow really the end of days? I hope not, because we have so much more we want to do here in our house... and in our lives! Just in case -- we love you all!)

20th Project - May

It's been a while since we've had something to post. Between traveling and just needing a break from working on the place, we haven't had much to report. But we will soon, we promise!

In the meantime, it's already the 20th of May. Nine months in our home. We've had some strange non-spring spring weather this year in Chicago, including lots of chills and storms. Yesterday was a beautiful spring day in the morning. It warmed up and the sun was shining strongly by the afternoon. And then by the time we were coming home from work, the fog had rolled in and the temp had dropped. You could barely see the car in front of you on the Drive. And you definitely could not see the lake, even from our beach-side windows... which would have made for interesting photos this morning! But that's not the case. The fog has lifted and left a dreamy haze...

So here is our beautiful view on this, our ninth 20th in our Home Sweet Schwab:

20th Project - April

The beach is always at its best right after a big storm... have we really been here eight 20ths?

 

20th Project - March

Seven months... Here's our beach on this windy, gray Chicago day. Love the little waves.

 

20th Project - February

The six month mark! That's pretty crazy! On the sixth 20th since we've been in our own home, Dave was snowboarding in Wisconsin with his dear friend Troy, and I was celebrating the exciting upcoming nuptials of wonderful friends, Robyn and Dori, at a fabulous bachelorette weekend for the books in sunny Naples, Florida. Two pretty great reasons to miss the actual 20th. So for the second time in the past six months, we weren't home on the morning of our 20th Project. No problem -- in honor of our six months of home-ownership, here's today's view, as our sixth installment of the 20th Project (I took four photos that are almost the same, but they really came out beautifully, so here they are):

It still feels like magic that this is ours!!

20th Project - January

Today is the 20th of January, 2011. Our fifth month in our new home. And this is what the beach looked like this morning at first light:

(To run through all five months' 20ths, just click on the "20th Project" tag on the right...)

20th Project - December

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, we were going to be away on the 20th of December, and I wasn't sure how to approach this project... I ultimately decided just to take my photos upon our return from Israel (more on that later!), as opposed to "faking" a 20th post while abroad. To that end, after an odd night's sleep (thanks, jet lag), I awoke to a beautiful sunrise on our little snow-covered beach, and was pretty satisfied with my aforementioned decision. Evening was pretty, too. Here's our beach in the morning and at last light, on December 27 (Happy Birthday, Tia!), 2010:

20th Project - November

Took me an extra day to get this up... but it was because ED and I went to see Harry Potter last evening, so I didn't get home until later, and I chose to veg on the couch instead of get on the computer.

So for our third month's installment, here's what our beach looked like the morning of the 20th:

(i love the textures in the sky and water... reflective almost... it's best first thing in the morning)

...at near last-light:

(fuzzy = magical... trust me.)

...and at the very end of the day:

("last light" comes much earlier now... must try to remember that...)

I need some input as to how to approach next month's 20th Project. We're actually going to be in Israel on December 20. Do I photograph before I leave? Do I wait until we return? Do I skip a month because it won't be the 20th? Help!

20th Project - October

I forgot to post these yesterday - what with all my excitement over selecting "favorite" images from our Guatemala trip. I also have to move the 20th project to the second bedroom, because most mornings I wake up much earlier than Dave and the camera will annoy him. So... in hopes that this doesn't mess up the gallery wall with too much variation, here's first light, near-last light, and very last light of our beach, from our second bedroom, on 20 October 2010:

20th Project - First Installment

I have had this idea about a "gallery" wall - to utilize some piece of wall space that doesn't naturally lend itself to logical accessorizing, due to its size or angle, in a cool way. Design*Sponge sparked this idea for me over the summer, and when we bought the condo, I thought, I'll figure out some way to make that happen. Sure enough, we have a narrow piece of wall jutting just slightly into the living/dining area. It is the outside of the closet that contains our heater. I've decided to slowly gather the pieces that might someday cover it in gallery style. Since the view is the constant reminder of the brilliance of this move, I decided I'd try to capture it in photograph, twice a day, one day each month for a year, tracking the seasons and the cycle of this first year in our first home. I chose the 20th of the month, because September 20th was our first date, and I thought it would be sweet to document that date by some other means than a Thai food dinner. So, here's what our beach looked like from our bedroom, in the morning, and at last light, on September 20, 2010: