Susan's 366 Project: Day 1840: Photo week

Rushing into school yesterday morning, I encountered the parent of several of the kids involved in the musical. He has contributed to set construction while his wife is running the buffet, so they've contributed tons of time. I stopped to visit and he said, "Feels like a full-time job, doesn't it?" Indeed. We were so busy again that I forgot to write an entry at mid week.

There was a ferocious nor'easter that swept up the coast and cast several feet of snow all over the state, closing most schools. Fredonia and our partner schools closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we did not have to travel for backpacking classes on Wednesday. We were permitted to have a full rehearsal that night and Thursday so I got a lot of great shots. There are still a few surprises for the kids coming up this week that will give the show an even greater impact.

I spent a lot of time this week preparing a letter and photo release form for the photos I want to include in the book. I went back through five years of Quest photos and picked out 100. Then I narrowed again and began addressing envelopes to distribute to the kids. I wish so much I had thought to distribute a general photo release years ago! It's taken lots of time to correct that error. I also reached out to some of the young adults on Facebook, explained the project and asked their permission. The response has been very gratifying! They are so excited to read the book.

While I was at it, I began considering photos for the cover and then designed a few options. I'm not an artist, but I have many artist friends. Several of them looked over my designs today at Penelope at offered valuable advice. The publisher has cover professionals, but I want to have a concept developed before hand.

My sister arrived Wednesday night to work on her new house. We had such a great time together and I am incredibly happy to have her in town more often. She worked twelve hours a day and I gave what time I could. I managed to paint both the dining and living room while she worked on the kitchen and bathroom sprinting from project to project. She'll be back at the end of April, while we are backpacking, of course.