The first challenge of the month was repetition and I figured what better way to show that than the red boys at their favorite perch. Between the repetition of the dogs, their pose, the steps, and the uprights for the railing I pretty much had it covered.
We pretty much find them on the steps every day. From there they can look out the windows and keep tabs on the yard. Judging by their alert expression they have spotted something. What it was I have no idea. Most likely it was a squirrel.
They do make going up and down the stairs a bit hazardous, but that is life with a couple of dachshunds underfoot. You always have to watch your step.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, August 09, 2012
Parenting On The Fly
Today was spent in the car, driving around and waiting. Mostly for Rebecca, but also for Jake, Nate, and the pantry.
At one point I had just dropped off Jake and was driving Rebecca to her indoor soccer game, and being indoor is very important here. As I was tooling along the highway it hit me, Rebecca had left her gear in the van from this mornings soccer camp at the field. She knew she had a game later and thought it made sense to leave it all in the car. I agreed after we fished out her water jug.
So yes Rebecca had her socks, shin-guards, and cleats on which would be fine and dandy for a rousing game of soccer. But...
She was to be playing indoors on artificial turf.
At a facility that had written in Four inch high letters on the doors "NO CLEATS."
Oops, we had forgotten her indoor soccer shoes and it was too late to go back and fetch them. The only other pairs of spare footwear in the car wee my Tevas and Max's rather battered sandals. To save the day we pulled into a shoe store that was conveniently on the way and got Rebecca a new pair of sneakers. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea until I told her that Nate wore his sneakers to his indoor lacrosse games. Molified she wore her new shoes and didn't look back.
Good thing I hadn't yet done the back to school shoe shopping.
At one point I had just dropped off Jake and was driving Rebecca to her indoor soccer game, and being indoor is very important here. As I was tooling along the highway it hit me, Rebecca had left her gear in the van from this mornings soccer camp at the field. She knew she had a game later and thought it made sense to leave it all in the car. I agreed after we fished out her water jug.
So yes Rebecca had her socks, shin-guards, and cleats on which would be fine and dandy for a rousing game of soccer. But...
She was to be playing indoors on artificial turf.
At a facility that had written in Four inch high letters on the doors "NO CLEATS."
Oops, we had forgotten her indoor soccer shoes and it was too late to go back and fetch them. The only other pairs of spare footwear in the car wee my Tevas and Max's rather battered sandals. To save the day we pulled into a shoe store that was conveniently on the way and got Rebecca a new pair of sneakers. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea until I told her that Nate wore his sneakers to his indoor lacrosse games. Molified she wore her new shoes and didn't look back.
Good thing I hadn't yet done the back to school shoe shopping.
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Artist of the Week: Fabulous
Rebecca is this week's artist due to her efforts to make the dogs a bit more fabulous. Which is an understandable goal when the only other female in your family is your mom.
Having three brothers is tough when you want to be a girly girl. She can do a mean sliding tackle in soccer, but she does it on an all girl team. As soon as it was possible she asked to be on a girl's team and left the co-ed teams behind. Now she is on the travel team and is eagerly awaiting her first tournament.
In the meantime she is making her world a bit more fabulous, one dog at a time.
I had trimmed the dogs nails today and jokingly referred to it as a pedicure. This got Rebecca's attention and she decided to go one better and asked if she could put nail polish on the dogs' nails. I could see no harm in this and gave her my blessing.
Dell was her first victim/client. She collected our nail polish and asked which one we should use. Blue ended up being picked for Dell. She hustled him outside and proceeded to paint his rear nails. Once she finished I held Dell in my lap as his front paws were painted. It's not very easy to see the blue, but it is there on all four paws.
Then it was John's turn.
Since Dell got the blue John got dark purple. Like his brother, John was very good-natured about the whole process. Heck Max found the smell far more objectionable than either Dell or John. Neither dog seemed to mind and did not try to lick the polish, an obvious concern with these two particular dogs.
In the end Rebecca was very pleased with her handiwork and declared John and Dell to be fabulous.
Having three brothers is tough when you want to be a girly girl. She can do a mean sliding tackle in soccer, but she does it on an all girl team. As soon as it was possible she asked to be on a girl's team and left the co-ed teams behind. Now she is on the travel team and is eagerly awaiting her first tournament.
In the meantime she is making her world a bit more fabulous, one dog at a time.
I had trimmed the dogs nails today and jokingly referred to it as a pedicure. This got Rebecca's attention and she decided to go one better and asked if she could put nail polish on the dogs' nails. I could see no harm in this and gave her my blessing.
Dell was her first victim/client. She collected our nail polish and asked which one we should use. Blue ended up being picked for Dell. She hustled him outside and proceeded to paint his rear nails. Once she finished I held Dell in my lap as his front paws were painted. It's not very easy to see the blue, but it is there on all four paws.
Then it was John's turn.
Since Dell got the blue John got dark purple. Like his brother, John was very good-natured about the whole process. Heck Max found the smell far more objectionable than either Dell or John. Neither dog seemed to mind and did not try to lick the polish, an obvious concern with these two particular dogs.
In the end Rebecca was very pleased with her handiwork and declared John and Dell to be fabulous.
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Baking With Julia- Berry Galette
No rest for the wicked this week. We had just finished the blueberry-nectarine pie (and I must say YUM) when lo and behold its time to whip up another baked good for Baking With Julia. This week's goody, Berry Galette, is in keeping with last week's with the use of all the delightful bounty of seasonable berries. For a full run down on the recipes check out Tomato Thymes in the Kitchen and The Kitchen Lioness.
The crust, or rather galette dough was a snap to make. I have made enough pie crusts now that as tempting as it is to handle the dough I know better than to do the bare minimum, as a result the crust was tender and flaky. The filling however... well I got all impetuous and squeezed in a bit of lemon juice. Oops, I like tart but this was a bit much. Fortunately it was nothing a bit of caster sugar sprinkled on top couldn't fix.
I think I liked the blueberry-nectarine pie a smidgen more, but this is an excellent and quick way to use up an excess of berries. Next time I just won't add the lemon juice.
The crust, or rather galette dough was a snap to make. I have made enough pie crusts now that as tempting as it is to handle the dough I know better than to do the bare minimum, as a result the crust was tender and flaky. The filling however... well I got all impetuous and squeezed in a bit of lemon juice. Oops, I like tart but this was a bit much. Fortunately it was nothing a bit of caster sugar sprinkled on top couldn't fix.
I think I liked the blueberry-nectarine pie a smidgen more, but this is an excellent and quick way to use up an excess of berries. Next time I just won't add the lemon juice.
Monday, August 06, 2012
A Better Way to Open and Pour Wine
Wholly impractical and completely absurd, but I absolutely love it. A brilliant piece of engineering that works in the most beautiful way.
Technically not steampunk, but close enough to warm my heart.
Technically not steampunk, but close enough to warm my heart.
Friday, August 03, 2012
Soccer Mom
So last weekend I was a lax mom, this week I was a soccer mom.
Max and Jacob were enrolled in a soccer camp, British Challenger to be precise. Of course since they are the oldest and youngest boys in the family they were in separate sections, Max in the morning and Jake in the evening. It's a great program and the site is just 25 minutes away so it really wasn't a hardship. It just meant I was essentially a full time soccer mom this week.
This picture was from today, the last day of camp. The assignment given out on Thursady was to bring in a flag of the county your team is representing (the camp's theme is world cup and the camper are divided up with each tea being a country ).
Clearly Brazil won the biggest flag category, but Max and one of his teammates won for most creative.
Which brings us to the dogs in the photo. Independently two families in team Israel decided to decorate their dogs. Thus the two king Charles Spaniels and Dell are in the picture. The coaches were utterly amazed and could not get over what we had done to our dogs.
So yes, it has all gone to the dogs.
Max and Jacob were enrolled in a soccer camp, British Challenger to be precise. Of course since they are the oldest and youngest boys in the family they were in separate sections, Max in the morning and Jake in the evening. It's a great program and the site is just 25 minutes away so it really wasn't a hardship. It just meant I was essentially a full time soccer mom this week.
This picture was from today, the last day of camp. The assignment given out on Thursady was to bring in a flag of the county your team is representing (the camp's theme is world cup and the camper are divided up with each tea being a country ).
Clearly Brazil won the biggest flag category, but Max and one of his teammates won for most creative.
Which brings us to the dogs in the photo. Independently two families in team Israel decided to decorate their dogs. Thus the two king Charles Spaniels and Dell are in the picture. The coaches were utterly amazed and could not get over what we had done to our dogs.
So yes, it has all gone to the dogs.
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Last Lax
This last weekend was Nate's final lacrosse tournament with his summer travel team. It took place in Hershey Pennsylvania and is dubbed "The Chocolatetown Shootout."
Originally we had planned to make this a family vacation, we would watch the games and then go to Hershey's amusement park.However it was not meant to be. Between the various commitments the kids had amassed and Larry having his own lacrosse tourney over in North Carolina it was turning into a quick trip for just Nate and me.
As you can see Hershey, PA is very proud of being the home to Hershey chocolate. The street lights are all shaped to look like wrapped and unwrapped kisses and even the main thoroughfare's road bed has a decidedly chocolatey coloration.
Now the tournament was spread over three fields in the neighboring towns. One very frustrating aspect of the fields was the complete lack of signage. Just a small curbside sign would have made the situation much clearer.
Boy, meanwhile, had a great time. He got to play petty much every position. Nate would swap lacrosse sticks which caused me to be very confused over which boy is mine. Luckily he had on his bright read socks and I could pick him out.
Originally we had planned to make this a family vacation, we would watch the games and then go to Hershey's amusement park.However it was not meant to be. Between the various commitments the kids had amassed and Larry having his own lacrosse tourney over in North Carolina it was turning into a quick trip for just Nate and me.
As you can see Hershey, PA is very proud of being the home to Hershey chocolate. The street lights are all shaped to look like wrapped and unwrapped kisses and even the main thoroughfare's road bed has a decidedly chocolatey coloration.
Now the tournament was spread over three fields in the neighboring towns. One very frustrating aspect of the fields was the complete lack of signage. Just a small curbside sign would have made the situation much clearer.
Boy, meanwhile, had a great time. He got to play petty much every position. Nate would swap lacrosse sticks which caused me to be very confused over which boy is mine. Luckily he had on his bright read socks and I could pick him out.
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Artist of the Week: Soccer Camp
This week's artist is Jacob for his performance at soccer camp.
The one thing Jacob truly misses is soccer. His schedule is full, dare I say overflowing, with all his commitments in marking band, pep band, show choir band, robotics, and chess. He would love to play for his school, but there is no way he can shoehorn it in to his packed days.
And so we enroll him in a week long soccer camp every summer.
The organization we use is Challenger Sport's British Soccer Camps. The style of play taught by the coaches meshes well with how Jacob plays soccer and it is just plain fun. Jake has show some very clear leadership skills during this session. Admittedly his biggest goal was to convince his team to select a country that would have a white jersey, the campers are divvy up into teams that are named after different countries. The kids are then to wear the color associated with the country's world cup uniform. Jacob got his team to agree to be South Korea and garnered the color white.
His soccer skills are also worth noting. Even though he only gets to play once a year, he can still give good game. Heck he even bowled over one of the coaches today. Coach Dave was equal parts stunned at being knocked down (I'm so out of shape, I'm getting knocked over!) and being highly amused.
I'm hoping I can find a young adult league for Jacob to play in next year. It'll do him good.
The one thing Jacob truly misses is soccer. His schedule is full, dare I say overflowing, with all his commitments in marking band, pep band, show choir band, robotics, and chess. He would love to play for his school, but there is no way he can shoehorn it in to his packed days.
And so we enroll him in a week long soccer camp every summer.
The organization we use is Challenger Sport's British Soccer Camps. The style of play taught by the coaches meshes well with how Jacob plays soccer and it is just plain fun. Jake has show some very clear leadership skills during this session. Admittedly his biggest goal was to convince his team to select a country that would have a white jersey, the campers are divvy up into teams that are named after different countries. The kids are then to wear the color associated with the country's world cup uniform. Jacob got his team to agree to be South Korea and garnered the color white.
His soccer skills are also worth noting. Even though he only gets to play once a year, he can still give good game. Heck he even bowled over one of the coaches today. Coach Dave was equal parts stunned at being knocked down (I'm so out of shape, I'm getting knocked over!) and being highly amused.
I'm hoping I can find a young adult league for Jacob to play in next year. It'll do him good.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Baking With Julia- Blueberry-Nectarine Pie
I was really on the fence about this pie. I'm not a fan of blueberry pie and nectarines don't exactly thrill me, but my husband thought it sounded good and I had already blown off the biscotti so here I am with a freshly baked blueberry-nectarine pie.
For the full recipe go to either That Skinny Chick can Bake! for a close read on the recipe or Manchego's Kitchen for a crumble variation. And as always check out Tuesdays With Dorie for the scoop on the whole Baking With Julia.
Anyhoo back to my pie.
The crust was pretty easy and came together without a hitch. I think I still prefer my all butter standby, but this one is good variation on the shortening and butter crust. In fact the only problem I had in making the pie was the mistaken belief that I had a lemon in the fridge. It brought the whole process to a halt until I could get my hands on one, thus the pie wasn't finished until 11:45 pm. However that didn't stop Jacob and I from having a late night slice.
Oh my is it tasty. The crust is very delicate and works well with the fruit filling. As for the filling, I ended up using an entire lemon's juice. I like my pies on the tart end of the scale and the lemon really brought out the flavors. I'm looking forward to having this for breakfast. As Jake said "It's pie, therefore it's good."
For the full recipe go to either That Skinny Chick can Bake! for a close read on the recipe or Manchego's Kitchen for a crumble variation. And as always check out Tuesdays With Dorie for the scoop on the whole Baking With Julia.
Anyhoo back to my pie.
The crust was pretty easy and came together without a hitch. I think I still prefer my all butter standby, but this one is good variation on the shortening and butter crust. In fact the only problem I had in making the pie was the mistaken belief that I had a lemon in the fridge. It brought the whole process to a halt until I could get my hands on one, thus the pie wasn't finished until 11:45 pm. However that didn't stop Jacob and I from having a late night slice.
Oh my is it tasty. The crust is very delicate and works well with the fruit filling. As for the filling, I ended up using an entire lemon's juice. I like my pies on the tart end of the scale and the lemon really brought out the flavors. I'm looking forward to having this for breakfast. As Jake said "It's pie, therefore it's good."
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Project MCP: Favorite Summer Activity
The fourth and final challenge from Project MCP for July is "Favorite Summer Activity."
This challenge was a no brainer for me. I love going to the beach and playing in the surf. I could spend hours playing in the waves. This picture of Max with his father I think shows this activity very well.
Even with his eyes tightly closed, Max is smiling away. I am so pleased that I got this shot. The froth of the surf, his head just barely above it all, and a strong arm from daddy makes a wonderful moment in time.
This to me is summer.
This challenge was a no brainer for me. I love going to the beach and playing in the surf. I could spend hours playing in the waves. This picture of Max with his father I think shows this activity very well.
Even with his eyes tightly closed, Max is smiling away. I am so pleased that I got this shot. The froth of the surf, his head just barely above it all, and a strong arm from daddy makes a wonderful moment in time.
This to me is summer.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Project MCP: Bokeh
Sort of.
The full title of the third challenge this month is "Try a new technique – Take a bokeh photo." Since I have already done bokeh I figured I would focus on the try a new technique.
And the technique is shooting through a tube.
It all came about by accident. Larry had shortened one of his lacrosse sticks and had cut off a good six inches. For whatever reason I picked up the tube and and looked through it. As I marveled at the effect a light went on I realized this would be a great tool to use with a camera.
I found the effect to be stunning. The object being photographed is a flower and I love the vibrant color and kaleidoscopic effect. I used the tube with my cell phone because the tube can completely encompass the lens.
I'm so glad I decided to look through the tube.
The full title of the third challenge this month is "Try a new technique – Take a bokeh photo." Since I have already done bokeh I figured I would focus on the try a new technique.
And the technique is shooting through a tube.
It all came about by accident. Larry had shortened one of his lacrosse sticks and had cut off a good six inches. For whatever reason I picked up the tube and and looked through it. As I marveled at the effect a light went on I realized this would be a great tool to use with a camera.
I found the effect to be stunning. The object being photographed is a flower and I love the vibrant color and kaleidoscopic effect. I used the tube with my cell phone because the tube can completely encompass the lens.
I'm so glad I decided to look through the tube.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
White Mountains
It has been rather beachy here lately so I thought I would share some nice cool greens and blues from our trip up north.
It is the view from my cousin's house of New Hampshire's White Mountains. It really was an idyllic spot to spend our vacation time. I look forward to going there again.
It is the view from my cousin's house of New Hampshire's White Mountains. It really was an idyllic spot to spend our vacation time. I look forward to going there again.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Artist of the Week: Sand Castle
The artist, or rather artists, of the week are Jake, Nate, Max, and Rebecca. It was a real pleasure watching all four of them working so well together during our entire time on the beach. They were very happy to help each other build various structures in the resulting sprawling complexes they created.
In the top picture you can see all four working away with the Lost Pearl in the background. I couldn't resist taking this picture of the pirate party boat in the background. It gives the fortification a little more meaning.
In the next picture, featuring Miss Rebecca, there is a close up picture of one of the many bridges. The kids found the sand to be ideal for building all sorts of ambitious structures. No internal drift wood supports were needed. The sand was just wet enough to hold together and form almost any shape. They didn't need buckets of water to keep the structure from crumbling away. The biggest threat was stray toddlers (of which there were mercifully few with the notable except of two cuties that were well corralled by their doting father) and the advancing surf.
The kids were careful to erect the main body of their fort high enough on the wash to lessened the danger of advancing waves, but not where the sand was too dry to stick together.
In the third picture you can see Nate and Rebecca working on the details of the fort. They discovered that the sand could hold a squared edge and as a result they made small houses throughout the structure. Near Nate you can also see a few more of the bridges. Nate was the main bridge builder and was in fact the one to request documentation of their efforts.
Anyhoodle as you can see the whole thing did sprawl out over a large area. The beach wasn't terribly crowded, which may have been been due to the fact it was early in the day and rain clouds were sweeping in. Either way the kids could build to their hearts content until it was time to go.
Now at the water's edge Jake made a sturdy structure with dribble castles on top. He had help from his siblings to create what was initially a thick wall to repel the waves. Then it evolved into a squat tower. It got washed over a few times,but that didn't deter Jake. He would repair and replace as needed. Max was more than happy to help out with the connecting wall.
Max, in fact, was happy to help out wherever he was needed. His siblings would remain working in one area, while he bounced about.
Here is one final view. Again it is looking out towards the ocean, but as opposed to the top picture it is down by the tower. I like how the breaking wave gives a note of impending mayhem.
It was a good weekend at the beach.
I am particularly proud of how well the kids got along and even went so far as to invite others to join in on the fun. On Saturday (these pictures were all taken on Sunday) two boys roughly the age of Jake and Nate helped work on the day's sand castle. For a brief moment I had six children and all was good in the world.
In the top picture you can see all four working away with the Lost Pearl in the background. I couldn't resist taking this picture of the pirate party boat in the background. It gives the fortification a little more meaning.
In the next picture, featuring Miss Rebecca, there is a close up picture of one of the many bridges. The kids found the sand to be ideal for building all sorts of ambitious structures. No internal drift wood supports were needed. The sand was just wet enough to hold together and form almost any shape. They didn't need buckets of water to keep the structure from crumbling away. The biggest threat was stray toddlers (of which there were mercifully few with the notable except of two cuties that were well corralled by their doting father) and the advancing surf.
The kids were careful to erect the main body of their fort high enough on the wash to lessened the danger of advancing waves, but not where the sand was too dry to stick together.
In the third picture you can see Nate and Rebecca working on the details of the fort. They discovered that the sand could hold a squared edge and as a result they made small houses throughout the structure. Near Nate you can also see a few more of the bridges. Nate was the main bridge builder and was in fact the one to request documentation of their efforts.
Anyhoodle as you can see the whole thing did sprawl out over a large area. The beach wasn't terribly crowded, which may have been been due to the fact it was early in the day and rain clouds were sweeping in. Either way the kids could build to their hearts content until it was time to go.
Now at the water's edge Jake made a sturdy structure with dribble castles on top. He had help from his siblings to create what was initially a thick wall to repel the waves. Then it evolved into a squat tower. It got washed over a few times,but that didn't deter Jake. He would repair and replace as needed. Max was more than happy to help out with the connecting wall.
Max, in fact, was happy to help out wherever he was needed. His siblings would remain working in one area, while he bounced about.
Here is one final view. Again it is looking out towards the ocean, but as opposed to the top picture it is down by the tower. I like how the breaking wave gives a note of impending mayhem.
It was a good weekend at the beach.
I am particularly proud of how well the kids got along and even went so far as to invite others to join in on the fun. On Saturday (these pictures were all taken on Sunday) two boys roughly the age of Jake and Nate helped work on the day's sand castle. For a brief moment I had six children and all was good in the world.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Beach!
On the heels of our trip up north we had a quick weekend on the beach at Virginia Beach. The beaches aren't as pristine nor as empty as those found on on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, but Virginia Beach is a darn site closer and better suited for weekend getaways.
That said we had a very nice time.
The sand there is great for building castles and the kids did all three days we were there. They would make large fortifications with bridges, towers, and moats. Max would often do his own thing, but ultimately it would link up with the other structures. Nate and Rebecca would flit about adding touches here in there while Jake directed his siblings at one point to make a huge wall to protect his city from the pounding surf.
Speaking of pounding surf, on Friday it wasn't too bad. We broke out some of our boogie boards and had fun with the waves. That evening a storm rolled in and the surf was quite violent Saturday morning. The flags were flying at the lifeguard stations and as a result there was no body boarding and we had to keep close in. But that didn't stop us from playing in the water. As you can see Max was having a good old time flopping about in the waves.
Sunday morning the surf was just as strong, though the lifeguards were being a bit more lenient. We could us the boogie boards, but again we couldn't go very far out. Here you can see how impressive the waves could be. That is Larry's head peeking out of the wave.
We were sad to go on Sunday, but the rain did help chase us off the beach. It was a fun trip and even though hotel rooms were small (literally bedrooms) they were just fine since our main interest was being at the beach.
Oh and if you ever go to Virginia Beach I highly recommend Big Sam's Inlet Cafe and Raw Bar. Great food and service at a very good price. The place is tiny and you often have to wait, but we ere glad we dined there.
That said we had a very nice time.
The sand there is great for building castles and the kids did all three days we were there. They would make large fortifications with bridges, towers, and moats. Max would often do his own thing, but ultimately it would link up with the other structures. Nate and Rebecca would flit about adding touches here in there while Jake directed his siblings at one point to make a huge wall to protect his city from the pounding surf.
Speaking of pounding surf, on Friday it wasn't too bad. We broke out some of our boogie boards and had fun with the waves. That evening a storm rolled in and the surf was quite violent Saturday morning. The flags were flying at the lifeguard stations and as a result there was no body boarding and we had to keep close in. But that didn't stop us from playing in the water. As you can see Max was having a good old time flopping about in the waves.
Sunday morning the surf was just as strong, though the lifeguards were being a bit more lenient. We could us the boogie boards, but again we couldn't go very far out. Here you can see how impressive the waves could be. That is Larry's head peeking out of the wave.
We were sad to go on Sunday, but the rain did help chase us off the beach. It was a fun trip and even though hotel rooms were small (literally bedrooms) they were just fine since our main interest was being at the beach.
Oh and if you ever go to Virginia Beach I highly recommend Big Sam's Inlet Cafe and Raw Bar. Great food and service at a very good price. The place is tiny and you often have to wait, but we ere glad we dined there.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
My Little Mermaid
While her brothers were busy building forts, Rebecca and I decided to make a mermaid instead.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
White Mountains Sunrise
I think this picture of the sun rising over the White Mountains is my favorite one of our trip up north. Our bedroom faced east and we soon discovered exactly what it means to travel hundreds of miles north.
The sky would begin to lighten at 4:30 am, a rather unwelcome prospect at first. However, we soon adapted since it was so utterly quiet. After the second morning I realized I should bring my camera upstairs and try to take pictures. The eve of our last day I finally did and was rewarded with this spectacular picture of the White Mountains.
As I recall this was at about 5:30 when the sun peeked above the horizon. I was able to angle the camera just right to get the flare of its appearance. I think the big mountain with the two humps is either Moosilauke or Washington, my money is on Mooselauke.
The sky would begin to lighten at 4:30 am, a rather unwelcome prospect at first. However, we soon adapted since it was so utterly quiet. After the second morning I realized I should bring my camera upstairs and try to take pictures. The eve of our last day I finally did and was rewarded with this spectacular picture of the White Mountains.
As I recall this was at about 5:30 when the sun peeked above the horizon. I was able to angle the camera just right to get the flare of its appearance. I think the big mountain with the two humps is either Moosilauke or Washington, my money is on Mooselauke.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Artist of the Week: Edward Hopper
This week's artist is Nate, captured here swimming in my favorite childhood swimming hole. We got to visit it while seeing my mom this summer. The spot had changed a bit, most likely from the unbelievable flooding Vermont experienced from hurricane Irene last year, but it was still recognizable and very much swimmable.
Nate was dubious at first as we visited each of the areas along the river, for the most part it is fairly shallow. However, at the spot we did settle on the river does a few sharp turns and had scoured out a much deeper riverbed. Coupled with a sandy beach it was a perfect place to while away a few hours.
Which brings me to this week's art.
This past year Nate took a semester long course in art and one of the many projects he did was to select an artist, write a short paragraph, and then recreate one of the artist's works. Nate picked Edward Hopper (who is most famous for Nighthawks) and the oil painting "The Long Leg."
Nate considered painting his version, but I urged him to try pastels instead. It would be a more forgiving medium to use and would work well with the subject matter. That was the sum total of my input on the project. Nate id a nice job capturing the image and I rather like how it came out as did his teacher.
Nate was dubious at first as we visited each of the areas along the river, for the most part it is fairly shallow. However, at the spot we did settle on the river does a few sharp turns and had scoured out a much deeper riverbed. Coupled with a sandy beach it was a perfect place to while away a few hours.
Which brings me to this week's art.
This past year Nate took a semester long course in art and one of the many projects he did was to select an artist, write a short paragraph, and then recreate one of the artist's works. Nate picked Edward Hopper (who is most famous for Nighthawks) and the oil painting "The Long Leg."
Nate considered painting his version, but I urged him to try pastels instead. It would be a more forgiving medium to use and would work well with the subject matter. That was the sum total of my input on the project. Nate id a nice job capturing the image and I rather like how it came out as did his teacher.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Baking With Julia- Semolina Bread
Between being out of town and not being a fan of biscotti, it was easy giving the hazelnut biscotti a miss; bread, however, is never to be missed. This week's challenge was Semolina Bread and you can find the recipe at this week's two hosts: Keep it Luce and The Way to My Family's Heart.
I picked up the semolina flour this weekend in preparation for today's baking, so it was pretty much a done deal in my mind that I would be making bread when Jake asked when I was next going to bake bread. He loved the Irish Soda Bread and the White Loaves and was hoping to get me to bake either of them. I reminded him that I make challah on Fridays, but... as he pointed out, we pretty much inhale it during dinner. He wanted something to snack on.
Therefore I have a very happy boy in the house when I told him about the loaf I just made. Jake practically sprinted over to the counter to cut himself a slice or two. Judging by the contented sounds he was making the bread hit the spot. I liked it as well. It has a nice crust with a bit of chew to the bread. The loaf is actually far flatter in real life, next time I'll do a better job in shaping the loaf.
I picked up the semolina flour this weekend in preparation for today's baking, so it was pretty much a done deal in my mind that I would be making bread when Jake asked when I was next going to bake bread. He loved the Irish Soda Bread and the White Loaves and was hoping to get me to bake either of them. I reminded him that I make challah on Fridays, but... as he pointed out, we pretty much inhale it during dinner. He wanted something to snack on.
Therefore I have a very happy boy in the house when I told him about the loaf I just made. Jake practically sprinted over to the counter to cut himself a slice or two. Judging by the contented sounds he was making the bread hit the spot. I liked it as well. It has a nice crust with a bit of chew to the bread. The loaf is actually far flatter in real life, next time I'll do a better job in shaping the loaf.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Fun - We're Not Young (Yahoo!'s SketchY Parody)
I like the original song, We are Young, by the group Fun. But this Parody is wonderful. The original was written from the viewpoint of twenty somethings and the parody is from the thirty something perspective, meanwhile I sit here in my mid-forties and find all the angst hilarious.
Happily I have been declared not old by Max. He feels that you have to be in your seventies to be considered old. That gives me quite a bit more time to be young and foolish.
Happily I have been declared not old by Max. He feels that you have to be in your seventies to be considered old. That gives me quite a bit more time to be young and foolish.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
The Clog Pontiff
While up North my mom had me go to her storage locker and figure what I could take back home to Virginia. I had, mistakenly, thought that I had long since emptied her home of all my keepsakes. However during the big clean out of her old place a collection of boxes labeled with my name were found up in the loft in the garage. I had been oblivious to their existance and I was curious as to what they held.
The first box I pulled was heavy and a cursory inspection reveled two pairs of wooden clogs, a toy horse pulling cart, and miscellaneous rocks and/or fossils. This was clearly my junk so I pulled it out the box to load into the van.
The next box in the stack, clearly labeled "Sarah's odds and ends" contained... sheets. It looked like a box has been reused from a previous moved and the label had never been updated. At that point I declared one box was enough to stuff in the van and called it a day.
So now we have two pairs of clogs in the house, much to the children's delight. Max and Rebecca periodically clomp about the house and a rediscover how loud wooden shoes on hardwood floors. Fortunately the clogs are not particularly comfortable and fairly quickly the noise stops with an end result of the clogs being scattered about the house.
Which brings me to the rather odd pictures in this post.
While sitting on the couch the other day with John at my feet I picked up one the errant clogs and thought it would make a pretty good hat for a dachshund. John patiently endured having a wooden shoe balanced on this head with a red silk cord tying it on. I thought it was hilarious and got somebody to fetch me my camera.
The top picture clear shows what was going on, but the bottom one is the best. The angle of the picture is such that the shoe looks like one of the pope's hats. Combined with John's expression and you get the Clog Pontiff.
The first box I pulled was heavy and a cursory inspection reveled two pairs of wooden clogs, a toy horse pulling cart, and miscellaneous rocks and/or fossils. This was clearly my junk so I pulled it out the box to load into the van.
The next box in the stack, clearly labeled "Sarah's odds and ends" contained... sheets. It looked like a box has been reused from a previous moved and the label had never been updated. At that point I declared one box was enough to stuff in the van and called it a day.
So now we have two pairs of clogs in the house, much to the children's delight. Max and Rebecca periodically clomp about the house and a rediscover how loud wooden shoes on hardwood floors. Fortunately the clogs are not particularly comfortable and fairly quickly the noise stops with an end result of the clogs being scattered about the house.
Which brings me to the rather odd pictures in this post.
While sitting on the couch the other day with John at my feet I picked up one the errant clogs and thought it would make a pretty good hat for a dachshund. John patiently endured having a wooden shoe balanced on this head with a red silk cord tying it on. I thought it was hilarious and got somebody to fetch me my camera.
The top picture clear shows what was going on, but the bottom one is the best. The angle of the picture is such that the shoe looks like one of the pope's hats. Combined with John's expression and you get the Clog Pontiff.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Project MCP: Red, White, and Blue
And a big happy 75th birthday to Krispy Kreme.
July's second challenge for Proct MCP was "Red, White, and Blue." I wasn't sure how I was goingto do it since I missed both fireworks and my subdivisions little parade held every Fourth of July. I could just stage something, but I was hoping to do better than that.
Meanwhile today was Krispy Kreme's 75th birthday. It celebrate the dough nut shops were offering for every dozen dounghnuts purchased a second dozen of original glazed could be had for 75¢. When I pulled up at 9ish the drive through line was wrapped all the way around the building and even extended out on the street. Doughnut loving Richmond was out in full force.
As I slowly edged into the parking lot a space freed up and I was able to park. The line was no better inside, but at least I was no longer wasting gas while the car's engine endlessly idled. As I waited and waited I called home (with no luck) to see if there were any requests, took a picture of the doughnut production line, and posted said picture on Facebook. Eventually it was my turn and I picked out and assortment of chocolate iced doughnuts, plain, with sprinkles and custard filled. That pretty much covers what ever special request that the kids would have made if they had ever answered the phone.
Anyhoo, as I stared at the case awaiting my turn I noticed the chocolate iced with sprinkles had red, white, and blue sprinkles.
Woot! I had my red, white, and blue picture.
And so it came to be that Krispy Kreme saved my bacon with Project MCP.
July's second challenge for Proct MCP was "Red, White, and Blue." I wasn't sure how I was goingto do it since I missed both fireworks and my subdivisions little parade held every Fourth of July. I could just stage something, but I was hoping to do better than that.
Meanwhile today was Krispy Kreme's 75th birthday. It celebrate the dough nut shops were offering for every dozen dounghnuts purchased a second dozen of original glazed could be had for 75¢. When I pulled up at 9ish the drive through line was wrapped all the way around the building and even extended out on the street. Doughnut loving Richmond was out in full force.
As I slowly edged into the parking lot a space freed up and I was able to park. The line was no better inside, but at least I was no longer wasting gas while the car's engine endlessly idled. As I waited and waited I called home (with no luck) to see if there were any requests, took a picture of the doughnut production line, and posted said picture on Facebook. Eventually it was my turn and I picked out and assortment of chocolate iced doughnuts, plain, with sprinkles and custard filled. That pretty much covers what ever special request that the kids would have made if they had ever answered the phone.
Anyhoo, as I stared at the case awaiting my turn I noticed the chocolate iced with sprinkles had red, white, and blue sprinkles.
Woot! I had my red, white, and blue picture.
And so it came to be that Krispy Kreme saved my bacon with Project MCP.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Chippy
My cousin's house is partially built into the hill. I say partially because instead of the house being set in the hill there is actually a very narrow yard, maybe five feet and a retaining wall made of field stone outside the back door.
I remember looking out the door one morning when I espied this fellow in the midst of it's morning ablutions. It sat there for a bit, cleaning its fur while perched on the wall until I got a little too close. It then darted along the wall, with me slowly in pursuit, occasionally pausing to see what I was doing. I got this picture just before it disappeared into the wall.
I know my mother in law does not like chipmunks, or at least the one plaguing for flower beds, but I always liked them.
I remember looking out the door one morning when I espied this fellow in the midst of it's morning ablutions. It sat there for a bit, cleaning its fur while perched on the wall until I got a little too close. It then darted along the wall, with me slowly in pursuit, occasionally pausing to see what I was doing. I got this picture just before it disappeared into the wall.
I know my mother in law does not like chipmunks, or at least the one plaguing for flower beds, but I always liked them.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Artist of the Week: Cartoon, Cartoon
This week's artist is Rebecca. I took this picture of her when we went up North to visit family.
My mom has moved to an independent /assisted living facility and no longer has a house that can hold us all, but my cousin has a house nearby. He has graciously allowed us to use his second home in Vermont when we visit my mom. It's an old farmhouse situated on a hill north of where my my lives (it is where we went sledding last winter). It's in a gorgeous area and the kids explored the field surrounding the house. I miss her old house, but it looks like my cousin's place will work out very nicely.
Anyhoodle, enough about where we were last week.
I was tossing out various bits of detritus about the house when Rebecca espied a small white board. She asked if she could have it. She had a dry erase set of markers from school, but no way to use them. I let her take the board and promptly put the whole thing out of my mind.
A few days later she showed me the red image on the left. It is a rather accurate picture of the character Mark Chang from the cartoon "Fairly Odd Parents" on Nickelodeon. Rebecca asked for me to take picture and once it was taken she happily wiped clean the white board. A few days later she followed up with another cartoon character, Jake the dog from the Cartoon Network's "Adventure Time." And once again she did a bang up job. She certainly did not need to write down Jake's name.
Rebecca has developed quite an eye for copying cartoon characters.
My mom has moved to an independent /assisted living facility and no longer has a house that can hold us all, but my cousin has a house nearby. He has graciously allowed us to use his second home in Vermont when we visit my mom. It's an old farmhouse situated on a hill north of where my my lives (it is where we went sledding last winter). It's in a gorgeous area and the kids explored the field surrounding the house. I miss her old house, but it looks like my cousin's place will work out very nicely.
Anyhoodle, enough about where we were last week.
I was tossing out various bits of detritus about the house when Rebecca espied a small white board. She asked if she could have it. She had a dry erase set of markers from school, but no way to use them. I let her take the board and promptly put the whole thing out of my mind.
A few days later she showed me the red image on the left. It is a rather accurate picture of the character Mark Chang from the cartoon "Fairly Odd Parents" on Nickelodeon. Rebecca asked for me to take picture and once it was taken she happily wiped clean the white board. A few days later she followed up with another cartoon character, Jake the dog from the Cartoon Network's "Adventure Time." And once again she did a bang up job. She certainly did not need to write down Jake's name.
Rebecca has developed quite an eye for copying cartoon characters.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Watermelon Warrior
Almost exactly a year ago Max snagged a quarter of a watermelon rind and declared it as a good hat. It could only be improved if it was a half a rind instead of a measly quarter.
Yesterday Max finally got his wish, a full half rind helmet.
It wasn't easy scooping out the watermelon, but I kept at it. It was the first watermelon I wasn't bringing to a pot luck or picnic that I could dedicate to the cause. I closely scraped the rind and we left it out in the sun to dry it out a bit. So of course it was been cloudy the past day and a half. But it is wearable and I might try drying it in the oven for a bit.
Max is very pleased with his new helmet and has worn it a few times already. The rest of us are enjoying the mangled chunks of watermelon that are in the fridge. A big win all around.
Yesterday Max finally got his wish, a full half rind helmet.
It wasn't easy scooping out the watermelon, but I kept at it. It was the first watermelon I wasn't bringing to a pot luck or picnic that I could dedicate to the cause. I closely scraped the rind and we left it out in the sun to dry it out a bit. So of course it was been cloudy the past day and a half. But it is wearable and I might try drying it in the oven for a bit.
Max is very pleased with his new helmet and has worn it a few times already. The rest of us are enjoying the mangled chunks of watermelon that are in the fridge. A big win all around.
Monday, July 09, 2012
Nature's Fireworks
We fully intended to go watch fireworks this year. The plan was to see the show over Lake Morey in Vermont. We would spent the afternoon swimming and head to the house we were staying in for a quick dinner. The fireworks would be a nice capper to a lovely day.
Mother nature, however, had her own plan. As the afternoon wore on thunderheads piled up in the western sky. A few heavy rumbles of thunder chased us out of the water and to the car. I was hopeful that the storm would quickly roll through, but that was not the case. We watched the clouds roil and mas as we ate dinner. The storm hit at about 7:30 and kept on rumbling. By 9 it was clear that we would not be going out.
I was a bit disappointed, but not overly so. Driving back on unfamiliar dirt roads late at night is not exactly fun. Particularly when a third of the passengers are a bit storm phobic. So I settled of filming some the storm after it had moved east of us (pretty much over Lake Morey).
There is no audio as the storm was a fair distance off and my camera can be obnoxiously noisy during quite scenes.
Mother nature, however, had her own plan. As the afternoon wore on thunderheads piled up in the western sky. A few heavy rumbles of thunder chased us out of the water and to the car. I was hopeful that the storm would quickly roll through, but that was not the case. We watched the clouds roil and mas as we ate dinner. The storm hit at about 7:30 and kept on rumbling. By 9 it was clear that we would not be going out.
I was a bit disappointed, but not overly so. Driving back on unfamiliar dirt roads late at night is not exactly fun. Particularly when a third of the passengers are a bit storm phobic. So I settled of filming some the storm after it had moved east of us (pretty much over Lake Morey).
There is no audio as the storm was a fair distance off and my camera can be obnoxiously noisy during quite scenes.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Nana and the Kids
Or what I was doing last week.
We did our annual summer trek up North last week to visit family and get away from the special joy of Virgina in the summer. I'm happy to say that we were successful on both fronts.
Vermont was wonderful, low 80s during the day and mid-50s at night. We even missed the massive thunderstorms since we left Friday morning. Saturday I called a neighbor and she checked the house and said it was fine. Sadly our vacation had to come to an end and we had to return to the blast furnace that is Virginia .
We did our annual summer trek up North last week to visit family and get away from the special joy of Virgina in the summer. I'm happy to say that we were successful on both fronts.
Vermont was wonderful, low 80s during the day and mid-50s at night. We even missed the massive thunderstorms since we left Friday morning. Saturday I called a neighbor and she checked the house and said it was fine. Sadly our vacation had to come to an end and we had to return to the blast furnace that is Virginia .
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Project MCP: Refresh
The final challenge for this month was "Refresh."
This isn't my favorite picture from our visit over to the rivah, but computationally I think it brings to mind the idea of refresh the most. It was taken early on during our visit, before all the shenanigans with the swim noodles started. Max and Nate are enjoying the refreshing coolness of the pool after our long ride to our friends house on the Rappahannock.
As I said this wasn't my favorite picture from that day, those can be found in my previous post. What I do like are how he cement edging of the pool and the river's surface are almost the same shade of gray. The sparkling blue water of the pool is neatly bracketed by he gray. The flowers, meanwhile, add nice discrete splashes of color.
Amazingly this picture was taken using my new smartphone. I could do a better crop to adhere to the rule of thirds, but I would lose too much of the blue in the sky. Thus the picture stands as is, all I did was lighten the picture just a smidgen. Cell phone picture technology has come a long, long way.
This isn't my favorite picture from our visit over to the rivah, but computationally I think it brings to mind the idea of refresh the most. It was taken early on during our visit, before all the shenanigans with the swim noodles started. Max and Nate are enjoying the refreshing coolness of the pool after our long ride to our friends house on the Rappahannock.
As I said this wasn't my favorite picture from that day, those can be found in my previous post. What I do like are how he cement edging of the pool and the river's surface are almost the same shade of gray. The sparkling blue water of the pool is neatly bracketed by he gray. The flowers, meanwhile, add nice discrete splashes of color.
Amazingly this picture was taken using my new smartphone. I could do a better crop to adhere to the rule of thirds, but I would lose too much of the blue in the sky. Thus the picture stands as is, all I did was lighten the picture just a smidgen. Cell phone picture technology has come a long, long way.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Artist of the Week: Fountain
This week the whole crew is Artist of the week, mostly because I don't know who got the original idea and I don't have the patience to listen to all the arguing if I ask the kids.
But I do know it was either Jake or Nate that started the whole fountain business. There are water jets at either end of the pool and we brought with us our hollow swim noodles. Somebody (or bodies) noticed that the noodles hole fitted very nicely over the jets. With a little bit of effort the water could be forced out through the length of the noodle, as demonstrated here by Jacob.
Nate and Max wanted in on the action and they teamed upat first on the other end of the pool. Since it was the deep end it was a bit tricky and required one person to keep the noodle in place and a second to direct the flow. They ultimately moved down to the shallow end where it was much easier. They had a blast working together and spraying their siblings.
At one point they had quite a battle going on with the pool floats (the green floating mats) being used as barriers. The kids even draped a mat over themselves and sprayed out from beneath. I got a few pictures, but the cell phone didn't do a good job in capturing what was going on.
Anyhoo, they all had fun and even Rebecca got to man the hose.
I particularly like this shot since I have all four kids in the picture and the fountain is arcing up and over Nate and Max. It was a pretty neat effect and I'm glad I had at least my cell phone's camera. I had forgotten our "real" camera, but I wasn't too worried being stuck with just a cell phone. It takes surprisingly good pictures, it's main failing is the lack of optical zoom.
But I do know it was either Jake or Nate that started the whole fountain business. There are water jets at either end of the pool and we brought with us our hollow swim noodles. Somebody (or bodies) noticed that the noodles hole fitted very nicely over the jets. With a little bit of effort the water could be forced out through the length of the noodle, as demonstrated here by Jacob.
Nate and Max wanted in on the action and they teamed upat first on the other end of the pool. Since it was the deep end it was a bit tricky and required one person to keep the noodle in place and a second to direct the flow. They ultimately moved down to the shallow end where it was much easier. They had a blast working together and spraying their siblings.
At one point they had quite a battle going on with the pool floats (the green floating mats) being used as barriers. The kids even draped a mat over themselves and sprayed out from beneath. I got a few pictures, but the cell phone didn't do a good job in capturing what was going on.
Anyhoo, they all had fun and even Rebecca got to man the hose.
I particularly like this shot since I have all four kids in the picture and the fountain is arcing up and over Nate and Max. It was a pretty neat effect and I'm glad I had at least my cell phone's camera. I had forgotten our "real" camera, but I wasn't too worried being stuck with just a cell phone. It takes surprisingly good pictures, it's main failing is the lack of optical zoom.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Happy Surprises
I am more than happy to share my camera with the kids, as long as they follow the main rule "thou shalt not touch the lens." Ever.
For the most part they ignore the camera or ask me to take pictures for them. Recently Rebecca has started to pick up the camera and as a result there are often quite a few surprises when I download pictures from the camera.
This rather blurred picture of Nate was one such surprise. He was zooming about on his bike and Rebecca decided to take his picture. She was not terribly pleased with the result, but I like it.
Nate is a study of motion, the only time he sits still is when he is lost in a book. He is constantly moving about and this picture perfectly captures the blurred motion that is Nate. The frame barely contains him. I'm glad Rebecca took this picture and I particularly grateful for the fact she hasn't figured out how to delete photos.
Sometimes mistakes can be good.
For the most part they ignore the camera or ask me to take pictures for them. Recently Rebecca has started to pick up the camera and as a result there are often quite a few surprises when I download pictures from the camera.
This rather blurred picture of Nate was one such surprise. He was zooming about on his bike and Rebecca decided to take his picture. She was not terribly pleased with the result, but I like it.
Nate is a study of motion, the only time he sits still is when he is lost in a book. He is constantly moving about and this picture perfectly captures the blurred motion that is Nate. The frame barely contains him. I'm glad Rebecca took this picture and I particularly grateful for the fact she hasn't figured out how to delete photos.
Sometimes mistakes can be good.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Elvis: The Lonely Hunter Of Circle Beach
This short film was the Tropfest NY 2012 Third Prize winner. I don't want to give anything away, all I can say is that it is an interesting example of a natural history film.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Down By The Rivah
Today we went to visit a friend that has a house on the Rappahannock. It's an idyllic spot with commanding views of the river, or rather rivah, and a swimming pool.
Shortly after we arrived Jake set himself overlooking the water with his book. He soon abandoned reading and joined his siblings in the pool. I can certainly understand his first choice, because it was a wonderful place to read a book on a summer's day.
Shortly after we arrived Jake set himself overlooking the water with his book. He soon abandoned reading and joined his siblings in the pool. I can certainly understand his first choice, because it was a wonderful place to read a book on a summer's day.
Friday, June 22, 2012
MCP Project 12: Candid
This week's challenge was to snap a candid photo. I got this one of Max as we did our now daily bike ride down to the pool.
It is full on summer down here in Virginia and is hotter than blazes. The pool hasn't warmed up to bath temp, yet, and is as cool and lovely when we jump in. I grabbed my camera on the way out of the house with the idea of taking a few shots at the pool and then, as we started riding along, I thought about how it would be neat to take some shots on the way.
So I fished out my camera from my backpack as we stopped at the intersection. I was following Max and blindly pointed the camera in his direction. This picture was right before we reached the pool. I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I got the framing just right, no cropping was needed.
It is full on summer down here in Virginia and is hotter than blazes. The pool hasn't warmed up to bath temp, yet, and is as cool and lovely when we jump in. I grabbed my camera on the way out of the house with the idea of taking a few shots at the pool and then, as we started riding along, I thought about how it would be neat to take some shots on the way.
So I fished out my camera from my backpack as we stopped at the intersection. I was following Max and blindly pointed the camera in his direction. This picture was right before we reached the pool. I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I got the framing just right, no cropping was needed.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Portal and Pools
So far summer break has been going pretty smoothly. We have spent a fair amount of time at the pool with the added bonus of biking to and from is now viewed as a good thing. Last year we got our driveway paved which lead to a burst of proficiency in bike riding on the part of the dynamic duo. Previous years it was an ordeal to get them to haul out the bikes, now they sprint ahead in their newly realized freedom.
As for the Portal end of this post, I finally finished off the original game and then whipped through the second. In my opinion, Portal is one of the best games ever. It is very forgiving of my less than stellar gaming skills (skillz- I do not have them) and poses a good mental challenge. I was a bit sad when I came to the end of the game last night (the gaming explains the lack of posting yesterday), but I still have the challenge maps left to futz around. I highly recommend the games and you must do the first one appreciate and understand the second.
As for the Portal end of this post, I finally finished off the original game and then whipped through the second. In my opinion, Portal is one of the best games ever. It is very forgiving of my less than stellar gaming skills (skillz- I do not have them) and poses a good mental challenge. I was a bit sad when I came to the end of the game last night (the gaming explains the lack of posting yesterday), but I still have the challenge maps left to futz around. I highly recommend the games and you must do the first one appreciate and understand the second.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Baking With Julia- French Strawberry Cake
The second baking challenge this month was French Strawberry Cake. As always there are two hosts and you can check then out at Sophia's Sweets and Think, Love, Sleep, Dine Recipes For Life to get the full run down on the cake.
Since I was planning to take the cake to a congregational pot luck I increased the batter by another half. I felt that the 8" cake pan specified in the recipe would yield too small a cake. My 9" pan was just right for all the batter and I was able to cut the resultant cake into three layers.
A few of my fellow baking compatriots felt the cake was two dry. I, however, had a lovely cake that was not at all dry. Of course my electing not to drain the strawberries and then drizzling the juices over the two lower layers may have been a factor. My finished cake was absolutely luscious and I found it to be one of the better variations on strawberry shortcake cakes. I was not alone in my opinion, it was a big hit at the potluck and was the first dessert to disappear.
I will definitely be making this cake again
Since I was planning to take the cake to a congregational pot luck I increased the batter by another half. I felt that the 8" cake pan specified in the recipe would yield too small a cake. My 9" pan was just right for all the batter and I was able to cut the resultant cake into three layers.
A few of my fellow baking compatriots felt the cake was two dry. I, however, had a lovely cake that was not at all dry. Of course my electing not to drain the strawberries and then drizzling the juices over the two lower layers may have been a factor. My finished cake was absolutely luscious and I found it to be one of the better variations on strawberry shortcake cakes. I was not alone in my opinion, it was a big hit at the potluck and was the first dessert to disappear.
I will definitely be making this cake again
Monday, June 18, 2012
Awesome HD Slinky Slow-Mo
The first minute and a half are mesmerizing. The rest of the video attempts to explain why the slinky behaves the way it does.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Happy Father's Day to the Man
The man of my heart, who is a great dad and a dang good goalie to boot.
Larry spent the weekend with Nate at a lacrosse tournament that Nate's team had entered. Toting all of Nate's gear and making sure Nate was on time, at the right place with all his equipment. No mean feat considering they were far from home. Then, when is was all over, Larry went directly to his game north of Richmond .
A very busy weekend, but not an usual one, for a such a good dad on his day.
Larry spent the weekend with Nate at a lacrosse tournament that Nate's team had entered. Toting all of Nate's gear and making sure Nate was on time, at the right place with all his equipment. No mean feat considering they were far from home. Then, when is was all over, Larry went directly to his game north of Richmond .
A very busy weekend, but not an usual one, for a such a good dad on his day.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Project MCP: Night Time
This week's Project MCP challenge was take a shot at night., which worked out pretty well for me.
The sparklers were the result of Meryl finishing for novel and wanting to celebrate the happy event. I love how this sparkler picture turned out.
By using the flash I got a nice quick shutter speed and the background turned velvety black, a nice trick considering it wasn't full dark. The spirals of smoke add a nice dimension with the bright sparks flying off the end. I did zero processing, this shot is straight out of the camera.
All in all it's a pretty nifty shot.
The sparklers were the result of Meryl finishing for novel and wanting to celebrate the happy event. I love how this sparkler picture turned out.
By using the flash I got a nice quick shutter speed and the background turned velvety black, a nice trick considering it wasn't full dark. The spirals of smoke add a nice dimension with the bright sparks flying off the end. I did zero processing, this shot is straight out of the camera.
All in all it's a pretty nifty shot.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Just One More Day
Friday is the last day of school and we are so very, very ready. We haven't broken out the sparklers, but are ready to go to the neighborhood pool party. The school bus drops the elementary school age kids off at the entrance and the parents greet them with all sorts of treats and pizza.
It's a great way to kick off the summer.
It's a great way to kick off the summer.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Artist of the Week: Novelist
This week's artist is my very good friend Meryl.
Last Saturday, as she publicly announced on her blog, she officially became a novelist. And judging by Max's reaction to her manuscript, a pretty good one at that.
She came by our house on Sunday bearing her 297 page and 85,000 word manuscript. It's a hefty stack of paper and Max ploughed through it all and declared it good. Which is high praise indeed since he is one of the pickiest readers I know. He'll ditch a book with nary a second thought if he finds it boring or just doesn't like some aspect of the subject. Easily half the books I pick out for him from the library get cast aside.
As for the sparklers in the picture, well Meryl felt like celebrating and had a bag full of sparklers in her car. It was a perfect night and we had a ton of fun lighting them up in the driveway.
Last Saturday, as she publicly announced on her blog, she officially became a novelist. And judging by Max's reaction to her manuscript, a pretty good one at that.
She came by our house on Sunday bearing her 297 page and 85,000 word manuscript. It's a hefty stack of paper and Max ploughed through it all and declared it good. Which is high praise indeed since he is one of the pickiest readers I know. He'll ditch a book with nary a second thought if he finds it boring or just doesn't like some aspect of the subject. Easily half the books I pick out for him from the library get cast aside.
As for the sparklers in the picture, well Meryl felt like celebrating and had a bag full of sparklers in her car. It was a perfect night and we had a ton of fun lighting them up in the driveway.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
A Train Near Magdeburg
I stumbled upon an article when I was looking at the 40 most powerful photographs ever taken.
I love looking at classic images and for the most port they were stunning. But one was a bit odd and stood out. Its format was different, clearly lifted out of a type written article. I pursued the link provided and learned of the fascinating story behind the image.
A Train Near Magdeburg tells part of the story of 743rd Tank Battalion and the 30th Infantry Division's liberation of 2,500 Jews that had been crammed aboard a death train and abandoned on a siding after meandering across Germany. It's a powerful story with additional links at the end that are well worth following. The article is the result of one small high school's teacher's efforts on the importance of studying history. His Web Log is Teaching History Matters.
Go and read.
I love looking at classic images and for the most port they were stunning. But one was a bit odd and stood out. Its format was different, clearly lifted out of a type written article. I pursued the link provided and learned of the fascinating story behind the image.
A Train Near Magdeburg tells part of the story of 743rd Tank Battalion and the 30th Infantry Division's liberation of 2,500 Jews that had been crammed aboard a death train and abandoned on a siding after meandering across Germany. It's a powerful story with additional links at the end that are well worth following. The article is the result of one small high school's teacher's efforts on the importance of studying history. His Web Log is Teaching History Matters.
Go and read.
Monday, June 11, 2012
TOOL INSECTS THE METAL
Yes, I'm addicted to stop motion animation. But you have to admit this one is short and sweet with a bonus stop motion making of the stop motion.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
In Praise of the B Movie
Last night I was surfing channels while chatting on the phone with Meryl about her just completed novel (and I must add a big Woot here) and I stumbled upon Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, or as I like to think of it Mega Stupid with Crocawesome.
It is a truly awful movie.
It shamelessly reuses sets from its predecessor Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, has endless stock footage, beyond bad dialogue, and some of the worst CGI I have seen in decades. Heck the earlier Godzillia movies had better production values. It is a classic direct to DVD release.
And yet I loved it.
Meryl and I howled over the wooden acting and bad direction. It is classified as Action/Horror, but it really is a comedy. One person in the comments in the trailer ripped into some of the many inaccuracies and my reaction was simply "Dude it's Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, what did you expect." I love a movie that wallows in its trashiness and this movie is a prime example. Nate was appalled by the hot mess the movie is, but did ultimately see the humor. The earlier movie, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, is a better film, but I love this one too for all its cheesy glory. And even better, it has Urkel all grown up.
It is a truly awful movie.
It shamelessly reuses sets from its predecessor Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, has endless stock footage, beyond bad dialogue, and some of the worst CGI I have seen in decades. Heck the earlier Godzillia movies had better production values. It is a classic direct to DVD release.
And yet I loved it.
Meryl and I howled over the wooden acting and bad direction. It is classified as Action/Horror, but it really is a comedy. One person in the comments in the trailer ripped into some of the many inaccuracies and my reaction was simply "Dude it's Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, what did you expect." I love a movie that wallows in its trashiness and this movie is a prime example. Nate was appalled by the hot mess the movie is, but did ultimately see the humor. The earlier movie, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, is a better film, but I love this one too for all its cheesy glory. And even better, it has Urkel all grown up.
Friday, June 08, 2012
Strange Requests
Actual conversation with Max at bedtime tonight
"Mom, could you wake me up at 7 am tomorrow (Saturday)?"
"No."
Max is taken aback and asks why.
"Because tomorrow is Saturday and I'm not planning waking myself up a 7 much less you."
"Oh, that's right and very reasonable. Night mom."
"Night sweetie."
"Mom, could you wake me up at 7 am tomorrow (Saturday)?"
"No."
Max is taken aback and asks why.
"Because tomorrow is Saturday and I'm not planning waking myself up a 7 much less you."
"Oh, that's right and very reasonable. Night mom."
"Night sweetie."
Thursday, June 07, 2012
6 Days and Counting
Just 6 days are left in the school year.
6 more days of prodding people awake, organizing lunches, and pushing them out the door.
This also means just 6 more days of quiet and the computer all to myself.
I'm looking forward to the end of school.
Sort of.
6 more days of prodding people awake, organizing lunches, and pushing them out the door.
This also means just 6 more days of quiet and the computer all to myself.
I'm looking forward to the end of school.
Sort of.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Artist of the Week: Perseverance
This week's artist is Max. It is, however, not about his latest domino block creation. Instead it's about what it takes to make is creation.
Max spends a fair amount of time messing about with the dominoes. We have the jumbo sized ones which are better for building, but not by much. The tiles are still slippery to the touch and all too easily slide about. So it's not too surprising when something collapses. A dog could brush by or a sibling clomps along at the wrong moment. Occasionally Max himself triggers the fall when being a bit too eager to place something on top of his newly created tower.
Amazingly he doesn't get angry.
Oh he does get mad. I'm not trying to make him out as a saint. He just blurts out something like a quick "No (fill in the blank with the appropriate name)!", glares at the offender for the briefest of moments, and then moves on.
No drama, no demands for the wrong to be righted, just a calm acceptance.
Then he buckles down and builds something even better. Which is exactly what happened here.
He tried to place a figure on top and the tower collapsed. There was a stunned moment and that was it. Max then gathered up the dominoes and tried again. Half way through the second tower he announced that this one was a much better construction, but he still wasn't going to add the figure. He decided that maybe that wasn't the best idea.
Smart boy.
Max spends a fair amount of time messing about with the dominoes. We have the jumbo sized ones which are better for building, but not by much. The tiles are still slippery to the touch and all too easily slide about. So it's not too surprising when something collapses. A dog could brush by or a sibling clomps along at the wrong moment. Occasionally Max himself triggers the fall when being a bit too eager to place something on top of his newly created tower.
Amazingly he doesn't get angry.
Oh he does get mad. I'm not trying to make him out as a saint. He just blurts out something like a quick "No (fill in the blank with the appropriate name)!", glares at the offender for the briefest of moments, and then moves on.
No drama, no demands for the wrong to be righted, just a calm acceptance.
Then he buckles down and builds something even better. Which is exactly what happened here.
He tried to place a figure on top and the tower collapsed. There was a stunned moment and that was it. Max then gathered up the dominoes and tried again. Half way through the second tower he announced that this one was a much better construction, but he still wasn't going to add the figure. He decided that maybe that wasn't the best idea.
Smart boy.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Baking With Julia- Oasis Naan
This week's adventure in Baking with Julia was Oasis Naan. For a full run down on this week's recipe check out the hosts at Always Add More Butter (I love that blog's name!) and Of Cabbages and King Cakes.
I love Middle Eastern flat bread so I was very happy to see this Tuesday's recipe. Before making my naan I checked out the P & Q post to see if there were any tips and/or problems and I'm glad I did. Numerous people noted that the dough will puff out quite a bit when baking and you can not over dock (pierce the bread with a fork). I took the advice to heart and really went to town with my fork. And I'm happy to say it worked.
The bread smelled heavenly with the ground cumin. I decided to make my curried chicken as the entree with the idea of having the naan along side. Larry and thought the bread was delicious and used it to mop up the extra curry sauce on our plates. The bread chewy without being hard and was such a nice addition to the meal.
Mm, mm good.
The kids were less than thrilled. Thy did not care for the savory bread. I think next time I'll make little pizzas for them utilizing the recipe for naan sans the green ones and pepper.
I love Middle Eastern flat bread so I was very happy to see this Tuesday's recipe. Before making my naan I checked out the P & Q post to see if there were any tips and/or problems and I'm glad I did. Numerous people noted that the dough will puff out quite a bit when baking and you can not over dock (pierce the bread with a fork). I took the advice to heart and really went to town with my fork. And I'm happy to say it worked.
The bread smelled heavenly with the ground cumin. I decided to make my curried chicken as the entree with the idea of having the naan along side. Larry and thought the bread was delicious and used it to mop up the extra curry sauce on our plates. The bread chewy without being hard and was such a nice addition to the meal.
Mm, mm good.
The kids were less than thrilled. Thy did not care for the savory bread. I think next time I'll make little pizzas for them utilizing the recipe for naan sans the green ones and pepper.
Monday, June 04, 2012
Sunday, June 03, 2012
A Vermont Kind of Day
Today was just the kind of day that made me think of Vermont.
It just barely hit the low 80's with a bit of breeze and not a bit of the dreaded high humidity of the South. In a word it was Perfection.
Yes, it was a bit cool to go to the pool, but it was perfect to spend the day out on the deck reading. The allergens that are my bugaboo where done and the mosquitoes are not quite so prevalent. I love this kind of weather and it is one of the things I miss from Northern New England.
Soon enough the hammer will come down and it will be the normal hot and sticky Virginian summer. But for now I'll savor this blissfully cool weather.
It just barely hit the low 80's with a bit of breeze and not a bit of the dreaded high humidity of the South. In a word it was Perfection.
Yes, it was a bit cool to go to the pool, but it was perfect to spend the day out on the deck reading. The allergens that are my bugaboo where done and the mosquitoes are not quite so prevalent. I love this kind of weather and it is one of the things I miss from Northern New England.
Soon enough the hammer will come down and it will be the normal hot and sticky Virginian summer. But for now I'll savor this blissfully cool weather.
Friday, June 01, 2012
A Wee Bit of Weather
I found out today during my post bus morning walk with fellow stay at home parents that we were due for some weather. Fairly severe weather, along the lines of hail and strong winds. Which was news to me and a bit disconcerting since I had two events for this evening.
The first one was the informal "Becca's beirgarten" in my neighbor's backyard. If they are around and it is nice outside, neighbors are invited to stop by and visit. The second event was a bit of a cookout being held before services at my temple. So as you can see bad weather would pretty much put the kibosh on my whole evening's goal not to cook dinner.
At around 3 the first store blew in and dumped a ton of rain with an incredible clap of thunder. I was out doing errands and had just beat the rain. I was in my van when it all hit. Visibility was nil so I ended up entertaining myself by texting and calling friends until conditions improved. After about 15 minutes the rain stopped and I was able to carry on with my errands. By the time I got home Larry was already there, getting Nate together for his lacrosse tourney. I asked my husband if he had gotten caught in the storm. Not only was his answer a yes, but he went on to tell me he was in his car when it hailed..
Fortunately that seemed to mark the end of the storm.
The weather did look a bit dicey as the afternoon changed to evening, but nothing much happened. I was able to enjoy both events and, even better in my opinion, I got the night off from cooking dinner.
The first one was the informal "Becca's beirgarten" in my neighbor's backyard. If they are around and it is nice outside, neighbors are invited to stop by and visit. The second event was a bit of a cookout being held before services at my temple. So as you can see bad weather would pretty much put the kibosh on my whole evening's goal not to cook dinner.
At around 3 the first store blew in and dumped a ton of rain with an incredible clap of thunder. I was out doing errands and had just beat the rain. I was in my van when it all hit. Visibility was nil so I ended up entertaining myself by texting and calling friends until conditions improved. After about 15 minutes the rain stopped and I was able to carry on with my errands. By the time I got home Larry was already there, getting Nate together for his lacrosse tourney. I asked my husband if he had gotten caught in the storm. Not only was his answer a yes, but he went on to tell me he was in his car when it hailed..
Fortunately that seemed to mark the end of the storm.
The weather did look a bit dicey as the afternoon changed to evening, but nothing much happened. I was able to enjoy both events and, even better in my opinion, I got the night off from cooking dinner.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)