2023 recap

Wow, another year gone. I think it was a good one, although I have a hard time wrapping my head around it, especially as my distance from the year increases. It feels like the kids grew up all of a sudden. We’re now known as “mom” and “dad” rather than “momma” and “daddy”, and I’m okay with that. I’ve always liked the idea of having older kids.

Veronica became a teenager. She is still involved with piano, voice, flute, and Girl Scouts. Her tastes have been changing rapidly, which is especially noticeable in the music she listens to. We all became immersed in Taylor Swift’s media empire and listened to her music constantly, with the two ladies of the house being lucky enough to attend her Eras Tour concert in Minneapolis. Veronica did some performing herself, jumping deep into musical theater with involvement in the following productions:

• Frozen Jr. (in the role of Hans)
• A Tale of Two Jacks (lead role)
• Beetlejuice / The Addams Family (summer camp)
• Legally Blonde Jr. (two-week summer camp)
• Junie B. Jones Jr. (with a named role that involved performing a solo on tabletop)
• A Christmas Carol (working tech)

Omri took some leaps forward too, having his first sleepovers and frequently playing video games with friends. His love of Roblox is immense. He also did his first overnight summer camp and participated in tennis three seasons of the year and cross-country skiing in the fourth. His piano teacher said he is her best student. And he is such a fun guy to hang out with.

For spring break, we did Disney World to the max, going to all four parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and the Animal Kingdom) and staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The Guardians of the Galaxy ride was everybody's favorite.

Our other big trip was to the island of Wrangell, Alaska (with one day spent in Seattle on the way up). R’s aunt and uncle live there and put us up for the week. The view from their deck was absolutely amazing, and we had quite a few adventures, most notably seeing bears catch salmon, a day-long boat ride to a glacier, and a flight in a small plane. It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

We made it back to the Winnipeg Folk Festival in July for the first time since the pandemic and also spent some time in a cabin at Camp du Nord in northern Minnesota at the end of August.

Then there was my weekend in NYC with Veronica, which was an experience I hold dear. We packed a lot into a couple of days, but seeing V’s favorite musical Moulin Rouge on Broadway was an absolute highlight (along with briefly meeting the lead actor at the stage door). I also enjoyed seeing the Edward Hopper exhibit at The Whitney Museum, which seemed like such a cool New York thing to do.

R and I had a couple of mini getaways too: one night at The Four Seasons in Minneapolis and two in Grand Marais at a lovely AirBnB with a view of Lake Superior. We saw Aoife O’Donovan in concert one night and Hamilton on stage on another.

R’s start-up company, Vocxi Health, has been keeping her busy, but she is doing some fantastic work as one of the founders and key players in its success. She holds a similar role in our family, handling most of the planning that goes into all of these trips and activities I am listing. And she still finds time for book club and continuing to be a Girl Scouts troop leader. I am very impressed by how she keeps all these plates spinning.

My work has been stressing me out a bit. It was my first full year of being in charge of a software development team who look to me for their assignments and to review all of their code. I try not to let it take over my life. I completed two video projects over the year. One is a promo for an annual concert, and the other is this silly little Cottage Cheese sketch that had roots in a dream. I’m sort of between bigger creative projects right now and am still spending some time studying film and writing about it. I put a lot of time into recording my thoughts on everything I watch over on Letterboxd.

There was more to the year too: Valley Fair, trips up north, a night in Philadelphia, two Twins games, holidays, birthdays. I'm getting tired just thinking about it all. These are certainly busy times. I am sure I'll be bored again one day, so I'm trying to make the most of this hectic life while it's happening... taking lots of photos, making lots of memories.

2022 recap

© Emily John Photography

I was feeling really reflective at the end of the year, but as usual I did not prioritize this blog entry high enough to write it during a time when it actually made sense.

Being too busy was kind of the theme for 2022. For R and I, there seemed to be an increased focus on our jobs. I don’t like to write too much about work here on the blog, but I moved up to a new role with more responsibility, something I wasn’t necessarily looking for, and the parts of life I am more interested in took a back seat. It’s hard to turn down opportunities, and I find myself wanting to take advantage of these prime money-earning years. R worked really hard on her spin-out company while maintaining her old job too. She was finally able to leave the old job at the end of the year and now officially works for the start-up. That has been exciting, and we are very curious to see where that leads in the next few years. All I can say is we are now the people who are stuck in the office (or basement, for me) working late on Friday afternoons.

... And thus, it was a slower year for my creative pursuits. I did make two Cottage Cheese videos and took a couple of 35mm film walks (which I call "going fishing" because I never know if I'll get any bites or if a big one will get away), but much of my creative energy went toward a concert video that wasn't even finalized until 2023 (I'll wait until the next recap before providing a link). Mostly, I’ve just been reviewing movies on Letterboxd, which gets me to think critically about the media I consume and is great practice for meeting some future writing goals of mine.

Our spring break was spent on the beautiful island of St. Lucia. R and V took a Memorial weekend trip to Santa Barbara. We all attended a family reunion in Colorado in June. We spent a week off screens at Camp Du Nord near the end of summer. R and I had some romantic weekends away in Red Wing and Willow River. I appreciate all the planning R does to make sure we all get away from the grind and see some of the world.

We attended concerts by three of my favorite bands: Beach House, Spoon, and The National.

Omri turned 8 and started tennis lessons. Both kids participated in cross-country skiing and began learning the piano. Veronica, 12, also started playing the flute and took a theater class at the Children's Theater which met two nights a week down in Minneapolis for most of the fall. It wasn’t worth driving home after dropping her off, so I just stayed down there and walked around the city, once in a while dropping in Spyhouse Coffee near the Minneapolis Institute of Art for an evening tea. It was not a bad situation, and it helped shaped my memory of the fall. And it was great that V got deeper into acting and bonded with kids having similar interests to her.

The month of December was particularly crazy for me. Aside from the usual Christmas season ongoings/shopping, I traveled to Philly for a work holiday party. Complicating matters, my Grandma passed away the same week. I delivered a eulogy at her funeral and drove back home in a snowstorm. I really appreciated Christmas vacation, even if it probably only boiled down to about one day when there wasn't much going on. I find myself yearning for more days like that--a quieter life. I want to watch movies, read novels, and take some long walks. That sounds like the perfect retirement to me.

Obviously, there were more things that happened over the year. My Four Peas blog should give you an idea, although I don't post as much there as I used to either. The kids don't want their photos taken all the time, and I've become more careful about what ones I share. This is part of them growing up, and I'm doing my best at respecting their wishes/privacy while still trying to document my family life. As difficult as the juggling of everything can be sometimes, I know that one day I will miss these days. It has been striking me lately just how fleeting the time with young kids really is.

Let's call this good for another year. Spoiler alert: 2023 is looking similar in many ways so far. For better or worse, time is flying by and without these records, there's no way I would remember what happened when.

2021 recap

© Emily John Photography

It is the end of October 2022 and I haven’t written about 2021 until now (I guess that is your a preview of how busy 2022 has been). It is important to me to have this record of our year out there, so I'm still posting it.

Sometimes it’s better to remodel a kitchen than move to a new house or to negotiate at your current job rather than switch to a new one. Sometimes all you need is right in front of you.

The kitchen thing was a huge deal for us from about February through May last year. In order to refinish the hardwood and paint the walls, we had to move EVERYTHING out of the main floor of the house. It all went into the garage or basement. It was almost like moving. We lived in the basement for a few months. Looking back, the experience had its positive notes. Maybe it brought us all a little closer together for a little while. But doing the dishes in our kitchenette with limited counter space is something I am happy to be done with.

I can’t write about my job situation here, but let’s just say I was at another crossroads in the fall, and I was rewarded for not making a bigger change. It just took some sleepless nights to get there.

The kids were active in skiing, soccer, and of course school. Veronica really got into manga and anime. She’s becoming an amazing artist, although she doesn’t share her drawings very widely. Omri continues to try new things and seems to enjoy anything that involves being around other people.

I’ve been stepping back from Moon Lake Multimedia work, only taking on 3 or 4 paid gigs over the year. I have been focusing more on my day job but also on pursuing some more personal creative projects in my spare time.

I had a photo accepted into the Minnesota State Fair’s fine arts exhibit, which felt really good. This was my second time getting in over six years of submitting photographs. The framed image was sold at the fair and somebody else contacted me to purchase a copy as well. It wasn’t a huge money-making proposition, but I appreciated the validation. It’s one of the biggest competitions in Minnesota and hundreds of thousands of people walk through that exhibit.

I was even more excited about my short film, “The Decisioneer,” making its debut at the Eagan Art Block film festival in September. I have complicated feelings about showing the film to others. It is not an easily appreciated or crowd-pleasing piece of work. I feel it is important to understand the constraints under which it was made, so I don’t like to show it without an introduction. There is something murky and challenging about it that appeals to me in the way watching old black-and-white foreign films does. By the way, I might blogging less, but I am writing on Letterboxd more.

Family trips from the year included Santa Barbara for spring break and our second week at Camp du Nord. I think we merged our anniversary with R's birthday and spent a night at the Hewing in Minneapolis, which was fun. In the fall we spent a night at a B&B in St. Paul. I'm glad to have a wife who prioritizes our relationship and finds these opportunities for the two of us to get away.

Honestly, the years are blurring together, so maybe I better just stop here. It's almost time to start on the next recap!

2020 recap

© Emily John Photography

When exactly did 2020 go wrong? I guess when the COVID-19 pandemic started, although maybe it was something that had been building in the background for much longer. Electing a corrupt leader into the office of president four years ago certainly didn’t help. He did not steer the county in a direction I thought we should go. At least we have someone taking the job now who my kids can look up to again and someone who admits the coronavirus is an actual problem. Trump was a disgrace to our country, and it is best we move on and perhaps learn to never elect a selfish jerk into the role again.

It was going to be a big year for us, and it still was to a degree. The important thing is that our families remained healthy and safe, with the exception of my aunt who passed away due to a heart issue. That came as a shock and led to a difficult time. On the other end of things, we gained two nephews in the year, although our interaction with them was unfortunately quite minimal.

Sorry for the pessimistic start to this recap! The funny thing is that I actually really like staying home and 2020 was certainly good for that. I did miss nights out with my wife and visiting family and friends, but I also love having a weekend at home with nothing on the calendar. If it wasn’t for the emotional/psychological toll on my immediate family (who are inherently more social people than I am) or the obvious devastation to others’ lives due to the virus, I wouldn’t have had a problem with taking a year off from some of the usual traditions and routines. With some increased responsibility at work, along with a fair amount of ongoing photo/video projects, I still kept plenty busy.

I have very little to complain about. My biggest obstacle was having to cope with having my family home with me on weekdays. Everyone was working/schooling from home for a large chunk of the year. We had to learn to function together and share the space. Maybe it was even good for us in some ways. For the record, I would take that over being entirely alone.

Thanks to R's careful planning, we made it to the Big Island of Hawaii in March, which was essentially part one of our 15th wedding anniversary. It was a family trip and we also brought Grandma Linda along with us, allowing R and I to get out on some hikes across fields of lava rock and hit some happy hours while shops shut down around us. We spent much of the trip worried about the swelling pandemic. Partially due to the time zone change but mostly due to worry, I would wake at 3:00 every morning and check the worsening news on my phone. It was quite an experience, one that felt like something out of a sci-fi movie. I wrote some more thoughts about it in our travel journal.

We were going to throw a party for R’s 40th birthday and that was canceled… or maybe postponed? We gave up trying to reschedule it until things settle.

I enlarged and printed 30 of my photographs (of musicians and the Iron Range) and had them on display in a gallery at our church. I was looking forward to showing them off more at a well-attended Easter service, but church turned into a virtual thing before then. It was still fun to share them, but it also felt like a little bit of a waste. Maybe I’ll use the prints in another show one day.

The summer was better. We had Rachel watching the kids again. We saw family and went camping three times, including four nights in a cabin at Camp Du Nord. The kids played soccer. R and I celebrated part two our anniversary with a night in Minneapolis. Things felt pretty normal in the summer, which was a relief after a cooped up spring.

Fall started off feeling relatively normal too, at least with school. Omri has been able to attend in-person learning since then. Veronica switched to distance learning from the beginning of November until January. Her time at home went much better than it did in the spring. We were happy about paying private school tuition when it meant R and I could concentrate on our work and the kids could see their friends, get in-person instruction, etc.

Omri turned 6 and Veronica turned 10. Omri has been interested in space stuff (see our handmade Star Destroyer) and Veronica finally got her own digital device (an iPad). They are amazing kids, but I’ll be honest: the year in parenting was a tough one. 2020 took a toll on us.

I’m still working on my short film called “The Decisioneer.” Right now, I’m where I thought I would be on it a year ago. But it wasn’t just the pandemic that caused me to lose a year. Part of it was just getting too busy with other projects. There was a bit of a setback when the majority of the footage came back from development quite out of focus. I had to rethink it and not only come to terms with the imperfections but also kind of embrace them. I have a lot more to say about it, but I am going to save those thoughts for when the film is put out in the world. I am going to try to get it into some festivals first, and then I’m sure it will eventually surface online.

I edited two additional videos in the fall. These were done “for hire” and I’m happy with my work, but they also don’t quite feel like my own because they weren’t necessarily my design and I wasn’t involved in shooting (most of) the footage. I became plenty passionate about them, however, and gave up a fair amount of sleep to get them done on time on top of my regular schedule.

I also watched a good number of movies and wrote about every single one of them here. Getting back into arthouse and foreign films over the last few years has been truly rewarding for me. I love reading about them, listening to podcasts about them, and discussing them. They are to me what football must be to some other folks.

The year ended with a laid-back Christmas vacation. We made two cautious trips up north, but mostly we enjoyed time at home. We skated on a snowless Turtle Lake, built a gingerbread house, and played Mario Bros as a family. Those are some of the happy memories that make this all worth it.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but it feels like we have this virus on the run now. Vaccinations are being rolled out. Minnesota's case rate is decreasing. Let's hope the good news continues.

That’s all I’m going to do for this recap. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. As usual, you can keep tabs on us over at Four Peas in a Blog. I hit 2000 posts there last May! The older the kids get, the fewer the photos I will post of them, but I’d like to think things will keep going there to some degree for the foreseeable future.

2019 recap

When I look back at the early years of this blog and how much I used to write over the course of a year, it seems silly to try to summarize a year in a single post, but that's kind of where I am now. It is nice to have a condensed written record of the year, alongside the fuller visual record I keep at Four Peas in a Blog, so I'm going to keep these annual recap posts going, even if I always get to them a little late.

I've been feeling reflective lately. January is my month to play serious music, take a step away from major activity, look back, and look forward. Never mind that it is now the end of February and it's time to start making something of the current year.

Here's the biggest change 2019 brought me: I went back to full-time work in May. I was recruited by an old coworker to join a consulting firm based on Montreal. It was a difficult decision that I tried not to overthink. It started out as a "I'll just try it, earn a few bucks, and can always quit again" situation, but I should have known I'd get pulled in deeper. I already wrote something about it here and don't want to repeat myself too much.

Maybe I am meant to be a software developer. The new job is definitely challenging, but I feel more capable this time. Maybe my brain works better now that the kids are older and I'm getting more hours of sleep. The biggest downside to the new situation is having to travel for the job. I don't like leaving my family and hobbies behind for a work week at a time. The frequency hasn't been too often yet, but the threat of monthly trips hangs over me.

It is a bit of a relief to not feel the need to make money from photography, but that doesn't mean I stopped entirely (and it doesn't mean I don't like making some extra hobby money from it). I fit in 16 professional photography gigs and one video gig in 2019. A few of them were done without pay and all the money I did make went back into new equipment or various software subscriptions. (And some of it went into funding my short film--more on that in a minute). It's not easy to keep up the side hustle along with a demanding full-time job, so I can't promise I will continue it as a business. I probably need to get better at saying no to new opportunities.

I also dug deeper into shooting on 35mm film. This has probably become my favorite division of my hobby. It trains me to keep my eyes peeled for worthy photos and to really consider my subject before snapping away. The element of surprise in the results and the lack of editing required makes the process a joy. I added some of my film photos to a new page at my Moon Lake Multimedia website. Please check them out and, in fact, click around the rest of the site too to see a sample of what I've been up to.

My interests in analog formats culminated in the production of a short narrative film known as "The Decisioneer." I shot it with the help of a cinematographer and it remains in post-production status at this point. You should be hearing more about it in 2020.

Rather than logging the movies I watch on Twitter and later recapping on this blog, I started an account at Letterboxd. It's very satisfying to write a little something about everything I watch. It gets me to think critically and to commit each experience to memory. I am still focused on watching mostly art house and foreign cinema.

I turned 40.

My lovely wife, R, had a busy year too. Her team at work has been in talks to spin out as their own start-up company. The process has been very drawn out and R is not even sure if she will be included, but they would be foolish to not have her on board. They are developing a cancer detection device that she is quite passionate about. Her commitment to its success is undeniable. She's a hard working woman and she proved it again by doing the YWCA Women's Triathlon for her third time last summer. She keeps extra busy as a Girl Scout leader, keeping up with her book club, and, of course, by being a great mom.

Veronica acted in two plays with the Lakeshore Players group in 2019. She even had the lead part in the one in the spring! I was so proud of her. She also sang in two choirs (one at church and one at school) and joined a Lego Robotics club and  the cross-country ski team. She's been loving reading (ask her about The Land of Stories series) and has quite the artistic spirit. Her drawing abilities have taken a leap forward in the last year, and I am in awe of some of her clever video ideas.

Omri joined the ski team as well and also did gymnastics last winter. He played soccer over the summer and again in the fall. I've been really impressed with his hard work at school. He seems to legitimately enjoy learning about reading and math and all the practical work they do in his classroom. I'm really proud of that guy and how well he's handling full days away from home. He is a people person and seems to make friends easily. I'm not sure where he got those skills!

Oh yeah--both kids have become obsessed with video games.

We hired a nanny for the summer, which, I think we have determined, is well worth the extra expense. It was so great to have a break from rushing the kids out the door in the mornings. I'm a firm believer in them having some downtime over the summer, and not having to pack their lunches gives me the chance to enjoy the bright summer mornings with a jog or a walk to Caribou.

As far as family vacations go, we went to Santa Barbara, Winnipeg Folk Fest, and back to California for a quick visit to two Disney parks. R and I got away for an anniversary weekend in Stillwater as well as two nights in Montreal for my company's Christmas party. We went on a few family camping trips too.

I'd say it was a good year. There was a lot of life happening and memories being made. It's hard to believe that one day the kids will move out and we'll be retired. In some ways it sounds like such a relief, but I'm sure we'll miss these busy days too.

I hope your 2020 is off to a great start!

Filming today

We will be shooting two of the six scenes from my new short film this afternoon. These are the two I'm the most nervous about, but this is also the most effort I've ever put into pre-production, so I am hoping for the best!

2018 recap

2018 might have been the best year of my life. I know that sounds like a hyperbole, but look at it:

Everyone was healthy. I try not to take that for granted.

The kids are at fun, easier ages.

I didn't have a traditional job to report to. The work I did, as a parent and as a photographer, I was passionate about. A sample of my professional work can be seen here.

R received a promotion at Boston Scientific. She's doing some important, exciting work there with medical devices. I'm proud of her.

I had enough free time to watch movies, read books, and exercise.

R and I got out on some dates, including fancy dinners, cool concerts, and even a weekend in Duluth.

We were able to travel as a family to California, Colorado, and northern Minnesota.

I maintained some creative outlets in addition to my paid gigs. We made a few more Cottage Cheese videos. We started the Old Red Car channel. I returned to film photography as a hobby. And, as usual, I took a bunch of personal photos for the Four Peas blog.

My little brother got married. The kids and I were able to participate in the wedding. My best-man speech went smoothly :-).

I can't list everything that happened over the year. For some reason the little moments--like when the four of us were stuck at home during the April snow storm... or Omri falling asleep on me daily during the bus ride home from Girl Scout camp... or seeing Veronica perform in a play... or discovering photographic gold during a solo walk through Sparta--are what stand out the most.

It's easy to look back fondly with a faded memory, but there really was something to 2018. We found a good balance. Unfortunately it probably won't last forever, but maybe we need less fortunate times once in a while to accentuate the good ones. I look forward to seeing what a new year holds!

Movies viewed in 2018

I had another wonderfully entertaining year of movie watching in 2018. My absolute favorite first-time watches were A Brighter Summer Day, The Double Life of Veronique, and Andrei Rublev. My least favorite was Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. I posted brief, initial reactions to most of these movies on my Twitter account, if you'd like to look back and read more.

—January
The Rules of the Game (1939)
The Witch (2015)
Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Ikiru (1952)
Silence (2016)
Vertigo (1958) - rewatch

—Feb
The Red Shoes (1948)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1982) - rewatch
A Ghost Story (2017)
The Innocents (1961)
Tampopo (1985)

—March
Get Out (2017)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Coco (2017)
The Silence (1963)
Woman in the Dunes (1964)

—April
Certified Copy (2010)
The Florida Project (2017)
Mother! (2017)
Andrei Rublev (1966)
Dunkirk (2017)

—May
Yi Yi (2000)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
It (2017)
Dead Man (1995)
Stranger Things season 2 (2017)

—June
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Under the Skin (2013)

—July
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
The Double Life of Veronique (1991) - 3 times
Phantom Thread (2017)
The Shape of Water (2017)
Mishima: a Life in Four Chapters (1985)

—August
Good Time (2017)

—September
A Brighter Summer Day (1991) - twice
Persona (1966) - rewatch
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

—October
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Throne of Blood (1957)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
The Thing (1982)

—November
Hausu (1977)
The Sandlot (1993) - rewatch
Late Spring (1949)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) - rewatch
Andrei Rublev (1966) - rewatch
Lady Bird (2017)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) - rewatch
Ratatouille (2007)
Badlands (1973)

—December
Close-up (1990)
A Quiet Place (2018)
Roma (2018)
First Reformed (2018)
Monsters Inc (2001)

2017 recap

Whoops. 2018 is half done and I haven't posted about 2017 yet. We just keep fast-forwarding into the future.

I think the big take-away from the year was that I fully quit my job in July. Working part-time was a good deal for me, but it also felt like it was holding me back from doing something I'm more passionate about. Now I have a coworker now who tells me, "Omri and Daddy, together again!" I'm extremely lucky to see so much of my sweet boy and more of my darling girl, especially during her summer vacations.

Speaking of vacations, we traveled to Puerto Rico with a Disney cruise back to the mainland in 2017. Here are the photos.

My creative energy these days gets directed to my new business. See www.MoonLakeMultimedia.com for a taste of my recent work.

There was obviously a lot more to the year. You can see more detail on Four Peas. Otherwise, I'll just plan to write a lengthier update early next year!

Done and done.