Craig & Grace's blog

Halloween 2011

October 31, 2011 5:00 PM

This year we decided to decorate the house for our (hopeful) trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood. We also attend a Halloween costume contest every year, that a couple of friends of ours host at their Brooklyn restaurant. We had plans to start much earlier, but again time seemed to slip by and we had to come up with something a few days prior to the event. I thought we came up with a pretty original idea and execution - and apparently the judges did too, as we took home first place! Below is what we did.. can you guess what we are? Humpty Dumpty Halloween Costume

Southeast Asia Trip

October 26, 2011 2:01 AM

Grace and I had a great trip to SE Asia last month-- visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. We saw a lot of awesome cities, but my favorite was probably Luang Prabang in Laos. Myanmar (aka Burmar) was definitely a close second. Here are some photo selects from the trip. If you can't see the photos below, click here to view the set on my flickr account.

Solo Gallery Show

February 26, 2011 12:16 AM

I was recently the featured artist at a Brooklyn restaurant, where I presented some new mixed media drawings I have been doing. I haven't had the time to get all the pieces photographed and posted yet, but you can see some of them by visiting studiomak.com.

Overall, the show was a pretty big success - in my opinion. I managed to get 13 pieces ready, sold 10 of them and managed to lock down a few new commissioned projects.

VIP Tour Of Sony Pictures

July 31, 2010 6:15 PM

During our recent visit out west, we were able to meet up with Adam before our flight home for a tour of the Sony Pictures lot. It's a very cool place and Adam is big man on campus (as expected) with his own studio golf cart.

If you are unable to view the above slideshow, you can also view them all and download/print any if you go to my photo set on flickr.com at the following URL: flickr.com/crtvmak.

A Renewal In California

July 27, 2010 3:13 PM

For those of you who made it (and those who couldn't), here are some of my photos I snapped during Mom and Gerry's vow renewal party.

If you are unable to view the above slideshow, you can also view them all and download/print any if you go to my photo set on flickr.com at the following URL: flickr.com/crtvmak.

Beautiful Time Lapse Video

March 9, 2010 2:59 AM

This is a really great time lapse video titled "The White Mountain" from Vimeo.com. Shot at Mauna Kea, Hawai'i. View on Google Maps

2009 Holiday Gift Exchange

November 27, 2009 7:30 PM

With Christmas on it's way - I figured this would be a great spot to open up the communication for the Holiday Gift Exchange Game to be held at Mom & Gerry's this year. For those of you able to make it out to California, it sounds like it will be a big group (with some new additions) for Christmas - which should make the exchange game really fun.

Last year (I think) the price limit was $50/gift, so I propose we keep the maximum amount to spend there. Of course, you don't NEED to spend that much - it is just a limit so no one goes overboard.

In addition to the large group for Christmas Day, Mom is planning to have immediate family only for Christmas Eve (or sometime around there) and the question on the table is if we should do a second family only gift exchange game. Maybe this game the limit is set lower ($25-30) so no one feels obligated to spend too much - but we get a second night of fun. Thoughts?

/craig_mckinney/_includes/_carousel/xmas-gift-game-2008.txt

Bonus! While cleaning off some old files, I found this set of photos taken during last years digital gift exchange - when Grace and I got stuck in New York an extra couple days trying to get to Dad's place. Maybe it will serve as some inspiration for this year's game.

Robin Williams on the Tonight Show

October 30, 2009 3:16 AM

I flipped through and saw Robin Williams on the Tonight Show the other night, promoting a new movie. I had to snap a few pics (of the TV, yes) to see if anyone else notices a strong resemblance to a certain family member. Anyone?

Dennis McKinney for State Treasurer

October 29, 2009 6:16 PM

Grace ran across this quote today, regarding candidates for Governor of Kansas: "...stated he will not run in 2010, and Dennis McKinney, the former state House minority leader who became state treasurer in January, said he is likely to run for re-election to his current position." Read full story

San Diego Visit

September 5, 2009 2:52 PM

After Adam & Rachel's wedding, we took a week off and headed south to visit San Diego. It was a very relaxing and fun trip down south - if you haven't been, I highly recommend making a trip of it.

Here are some photos from the trip, with captions/descriptions following.
/craig_mckinney/_includes/_carousel/san-diego-0509.txt 1. Hotel we stayed at for the first two days, just north of San Diego.
2. Lounging in our private sun room.
3. Grace checking out the ocean view.
4. Getting a coffee across the street.
5. Dinner at the hotel restaurant, facing the ocean.
6. Grace's eye through the peephole.
7. This loan seagull hit the jackpot.
8. Sandy feets.
9. Rooftop resaurant/lounge at the second hotel, downtown San Diego.
10. City view from the roof.
11. Seaport Village
12. Grace loves the ducks.
13. More sitting, please.
14. Tugboat as seen through a view finder.
15. GOcar rental.
16. Air space museum, via GOcar.
17. "Look, no feet."
18. Street cam.
19. A historic church.
20. Zipping around town.

Los Angeles Station Fire Timelapse

August 31, 2009 10:11 PM

A viewer submitted this amazing video (sped up) of the fires north of Los Angeles.

How's everyone on the west coast doing?

Delicious Garlic Cheddar Loaf

July 25, 2009 5:45 AM

As we were making pasta a few weeks ago, I decided we could use some fresh garlic bread to go with it - but we didn't have any bread. So, I dug through the cabinets and came up with a plan to make some. The result was this delicious Garlic Cheddar Cheese Loaf.

I took one tube of Pillsbury Biscuts and covered the base of an oven safe pan. Next, I mixed some minced garlic with a little butter and spread it over the biscut layer. Then, I took some shredded cheddar cheese (and a little shredded italian cheese) and put down a layer of cheese over the buttered biscuts. Finally, I took a second tube of Pillsbury Biscuts and created a top layer. Bake it at 350 for 20 mins (roughly following the Pillsbury instructions) and enjoy!

Meet Doug's new brother, Rob

April 12, 2009 9:30 PM

With Charlie gone, Doug has been pretty lonely and constantly looking around the house for where Chuck may be hiding. So, we decided to contact the woman who works at the agency where we adopted Doug from and see if they had any new kittens we could go look at. As it turned out, they did have new kittens and were having an adoption event yesterday afternoon. We headed over and found this cute guy in need of a home. We named him Rob.

24 hours later, I wouldn't say Doug and Rob are best buddies yet but they are warming up to each other. I'm sure it won't be long before they are napping together like Charlie and Doug used to do.

Wedding Photo Album Video

April 12, 2009 9:00 PM

Just short of our one year anniversary, I have finished our wedding album.

Here is a slideshow version of it for everyone to check out.

Click here to view a larger video.

Charlie, 1996-2009

April 6, 2009 3:28 PM

As many of you know, Charlie was recently diagnosed as diabetic and we have been giving him insulin shots (twice daily) to help manage his blood sugar.

Early Sunday morning, Charlie had a seizure which caused his blood pressure and pulse to drop dramatically and his brain to swell, sending him into shock almost immediately. I got him to a Vet Emergency Room soon after, where they managed to calm the following minor seizures and stabilize him enough that his pulse and blood pressure numbers were returning to normal.

After 24 hours of treatment, his condition plateaued reveling the permanent symptoms of severe brain damage. We put him to rest this afternoon.

Born on a small farm in Pella, then moving from Chariton to a balcony-apartment in Des Moines, Des Moines to a gallery in Milwaukee, and finally retiring to a condo in Brooklyn - Charlie has been an irreplaceable part of my life for 13 years. Grace, Doug and I will miss him dearly.

*top right: video of Doug giving Charlie a shoulder rub while he slept
**below: photo collage of Charlie (some with Doug) over the last two years