Project MCP: Low Light

low light, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

With the shorter days and the sun hanging lower on the horizon, this week's Project MCP challenge was low light.

I took this picture of John this morning. I saw him napping in a patch of sun and realized this was my picture. I was able to fetch my camera without to much disturbance and fire off a few shots from a discrete distance.

When I took this particular photo I knew this was the one. The focus is a bit off, but the composition more than makes up for the slight blur around John's head. Other than a bit of sharping, this is what I saw in the viewfinder. No cropping or fooling around with the contrast. I'm rather pleased how the picture came out.

Huntin' Season

Be careful out there, because deer are equal opportunity hunters.

Artist of the Week: Superior

At Attention, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This week's artist is Jake, or Jacob as he prefers to be called now, and his high school marching band. After a few years of a dry spell they earned the much desired "superior" rating at the state level assessment, which is a very big deal.

The band has been working very hard and this is the best show I have seen. During their first assessment this year they just missed the superior rating by half a point. Inspired, the band redoubled their efforts and were able to pull it off at their last competition of the year.

It's been a good year for the marching band and if they are able to garner another superior rating with orchestra this winter they will be a State of Virginia Honor Band. So keep of the good work, you have done something to brag about.

Go Vote

I voted, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Well I've done my civic duty.There was an actual line thus year and I was voter 1,100 and something, a new record for me. Normally the voter total is much lower when I meander out mid morning.

So go and vote. I don't care who you vote for, just do it.

The God by Konstantin Bronzit

Wonderful animation of an all too familiar situation. I found this over on Films Short and in the brief film write up we learn it was created in 2004 by a Russian animator who later on created an Oscar nominated film in 2009.

Whose Bed?

Whose Bed, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Nate has been wanting the dogs to sleep with him for quite some time, a few months ago we relented.

I'm still not overly thrilled, at some point something will get chewed, but there has been an unexpected bonus. Max is more inclined to stay in bed when the dogs are in the room with him (he and Nate share a room).

As you can see the dogs are usually with Nate. I got this picture in the morning when Nate was sleeping in. The dogs had been fed and let out and had returned to their favored sleeping spot. Poor Nate has barely any room on the bed. That, however, is the price you pay when the dogs are on your bed.

Cold

Cold, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The temperature has taken quite a dip lately and it has been downright cold the past few mornings. It is supposed to be warming up, but I don't know. Either way the warm weather is clearly over.

And I like that.

Happy Halloween!

Herobrine and the Senorita, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I hope y'all had a happy Halloween, I know we did. Earlier in the week it was a bit dicey whether or not it would happen, what with Sandy and all. But we got lucky, it was just a glancing blow so our neighborhood has power and it was a fine, if a bit chilly, night for trick or treating.

Rebecca chose an easy costume to identify, a lovely little señorita. It was a challenge to find her something that wasn't... trashy. I really dislike the prevalence of "ho-wear" that is currently the fashion for all girls. Since Rebecca is not into the princess scene it was hard finding something she liked. Even Rebecca was disconcerted by the outfits available.

Max's is a bit more obscure. He is the non-existent character Herobrine from Minecraft (if you want to give the links a miss- Minecraft is a computer game where you can build almost anything with blocks and Herobrine is a person). I was able to download a pdf of the box head wrap created by Thisguyisme (warning on the camera work, it is not an easy video to watch, but the pdf files are outstanding) on youtube and tweak it just a bit to fit the box we had. Herobrine is just a Steve with white eyes, so I had to strip out the blue eyes in the files, but the rest was perfect.

Nate carving, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

As for the pumpkins this year, I only got six. I made sure to get them early so as to avoid last year's lack of pumpkin debacle. I didn't get more as Halloween approached because of that pesky Sandy. Halloween wasn't a sure thing and I didn't want to waste money on a boatload of pumpkins if it wasn't happening. Though the 2 for $5 pumpkins at Walmart on Saturday were certainly tempting.

Today was carving day and each kid got to pick out and design a pumpkin. Rebecca wanted a fiery unicorn, Jacob the Starfox logo, Max wanted a Creeper (a weird exploding creature from Minecraft), and Nate wanted to make the Aperture logo from Portal. As you can see Nate even carved his pumpkin and I must say he did a bang up job. As for the remaining two pumpkins I did a fairly traditional one and Cthulhu. All in all a rather nerdy set of pumpkins.

Pup and Pumpkins

pup and pumpkins, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

We weathered Sandy just fine. Central Virginia had, at worst, a glancing blow. We had rain, rain, and yet more rain. The promised high winds never really materialized and as a result there was no massive power outages or road blockages.

John, however, did have to deal with window blockages. The final step of my hurricane preparations was to bring in the pumpkins. I didn't want them smashed before they were even carved, so in they came. I set them just inside the door, no way was I going to lug them through the house to the garage.

And thus I got this lovely shot of one of the red boys by the pumpkins.

L'Ultimo Pistolero ( The Last Gunfighter)

A sci-fi spaghetti western, check it out.

Eleven

blown out, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This weekend we were able to sneak in Max's birthday party before the bottom dropped out and everybody started panicking about Sandy.

All Max wanted was to go to Waffle House and have some friends sleepover. We keep the guest list small and Max got just what he wanted. Since Waffle House is jammed in the morning we decided to go for dinner. Larry and Jacob were unable to attend (pesky high school football game that marching band would be at) which made us a group of seven. We couldn't all fit in one booth, so Max and his three guests got a table while Nate Rebecca, and I sat at the counter nearby. The boys were very well behaved and really enjoyed being at their own table.

fire turtle, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Then it was back to the house to have Max's standard cake, a turtle shaped battle field with a war on top. This year he wanted a tank, which is the blobby green thing with the Cheerio gun. The boys then spent the rest of the evening tearing around the house whilst shoot each other with Nerf type guns. A wonderful time was had by all, even the big guys joined in the fun for a bit.

I'm glad Sandy wasn't able to mess up Max's party.

Project MCP: Spooky

Webbed, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The final challenge for this month is "spooky," a fitting subject for the close of October.

I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do until this morning. It was damp and misty morning with the sky  brooding grey in advance of the upcoming "frankenstorm." Hooray, moody weather was just what I needed.

On the morning dog walk I kept an eye out for spooky subject matter. About halfway along I noticed little spiderwebs in the grass. Perfect, the webs had trapped some of the mist and were clearly visible. I resolved to search my own yard once I was back home.

Weaver, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I love the top picture, with the dark tress in the background it looks downright menacing. I had to mist the web a bit with a spray bottle to accentuate the web. It had dried out and was only faintly visible.

The bottom picture, however, is my favorite. The soccer goal netting in the background really adds to the composition. I had a hard time selecting pictures and in the end I decided both were worthy for submission.

Not Right in the Head

 It's meme time!

I decided to take a rather simplistic right brain/ left brain quiz and here is the result:

Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz The higher of these two numbers below indicates which side of your brain has dominance in your life. Realising your right brain/left brain tendancy will help you interact with and to understand others. Left Brain Dominance: (11) Right Brain Dominance: (7) Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz

Nothing terribly shocking here, I live on the slightly more logical side of the street. But! I am not completely there. As I said it is a simplistic test, though one question really resonated with me, the whole "If I forgot someone's name, I'd go through the alphabet until I remembered it" fits me to a tee. While the finding things was only a partial yes, I'm big on color. I can find anything (even if it is not mine and I didn't lose it) if I know what color I'm looking for.

I've shamelessly stolen the quiz from Diane.

Artist of the Week: Got Game

Nate, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Nate is this week's artist because he's got game.

Nate is a natural athlete and as a result he does well in most sports. Right now he is currently involved with a travel lacrosse team. Since it is not lacrosse season the team does not have any regular games. However they do go to various tournaments in the area.

A week and a half ago there was a tourney up in Richmond. Nate's team was scheduled to play on Sunday, the idea being that it would be just a one day event for each age group. Then we got a call. It turned out the age group that Nate used to be in would not have a goalie, could Nate fill in? Their games would be Saturday, so the two teams had no scheduling conflicts. We asked Nate and he was game.

Poor guy was wiped out Saturday, he was in the whole time and played very hard. He also played well as a borrowed goalie and his team won their age group! Sunday, however, was a different story. Nate did his best, but the sheer amount of playing time from both days wore him down. Even though his team did not win their age group, he did a good job. By the time Nate got home he was utterly exhausted. It took him two days to recover. That'll be the last time he plays for two teams in one tournament.

Dog Shaming

bad dogs, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Dog Shaming is my new favorite website.

The idea is that your dog has committed some sin, you make a sign describing what happened, and take a picture of the dog with said sign. The result is quite often hilarious.

I found out about it from a dachshund owning friend. There is a rather dubious pride in the dachshund community in preponderance of dachshunds on the site, partially due to the site's owner having dachshunds. But the real reason is because dachshunds are awful dogs that get into all sorts of mischief (and yet we love them).

I whipped up this picture of the red boys and submitted it to the site. So far it hasn't appeared, but the website is transitioning to another platform and it may have gotten lost in the shuffle. I'll try again after the dust settles.

And yes, John really did eat the floor of the shed. He was trying to get to the critter underneath.

Destiny

Sometimes Destiny is not to be trifled with. A wonderfully paced short film from the Bellecour School of Art, France. Watch it all the way to the end.

Riding High

Pony girl, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Today was a beautiful day and Rebecca and I got to enjoy it. I had a meeting with my dog club and I decided to take advantage of the fact that a friend who has horses was just 5 miles further out. Rebecca and I grabbed our riding gear and tossed it in the van before heading on out.

We were done with the meeting in short order and  were out the door for a little fun. Unfortunately our friend couldn't stay, she had plans, but we were welcome to take the pony out.

I showed Rebecca how to properly groom a horse, which seemed to take forever in her mind. However, when I pointed out the small stone in the hoof she realized I had a point. Then it was out to the ring for a bit of a ride. They pony has a very sweet temperament so Rebecca could ride bareback with just a halter. I like the idea of her starting this way so she can get a true feel for how to sit.

Rebecca was very comfortable riding at a walk and was ready for more. I led the pony into a trot and soon Rebecca was able to manage all on her own. If fact she did so well she accidentally managed to get the pony into a canter. It was a shocking development for Rebecca and she quickly slowed the pony down. I explained what happened and Rebecca regained her composure and was brave enough to canter a few more times. It was, I think, an exhilarating day for my girl.

When Rebecca was finished I had her ride just a bit more at a walk as a sort of "cool down." It wasn't totally necessary, but it is a good idea to instill in her now. I want her to think about the needs of her ride and not just herself. Then it was a quick rub down with a further inspection of the feet and the pony was returned to its field.

It was a wonderful way to spend part of beautiful fall afternoon.

Project MCP: Favorite Fall Activity

morning walk, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

There are lots of things I like to do in the fall, but I think my favorite is the morning dog walk. I love heading out in the brisk fall air and the walk seems to be a bit easier. The sun sits lower now and seems softer, no longer the cruel mistress of summer.

The colors are more vivid with the added bonus of little splashes of color here and there from new plantings and fall foliage. And if I'm lucky there is the smell of freshly turned earth when people have their lawns aerated. Later on I get to smell the fragrant smoke as fireplaces get pressed into service.

Everyday there is something new on the walk as we transition from one season to the next and that makes for a great walk.

Yay Slippers!

I love the weather we are having now, low seventies during the day and falling down to the mid forties at night. The brisk mornings are far more pleasurable than the swampy sauna that we greet me each morning in the summer. The best part is that I get to wear slippers again.

I had a lovely purple pair that Larry got me, oh about two years ago. Unfortunately the dogs liked them as well and ate one. I couldn't find the same pair again, but I did find an acceptable replacement at Kohl's. So now I get to curl up each morning with my feet in a cozy pair of slippers.

Hooray for fall and the attendant lower temps and hooray for slippers!

Sunbow

sunbow, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Things are a little topsy-turvy this week, but I promise I'll soon be back to my regularly scheduled programing.

Anyhoodle this morning I saw the most remarkable sight, an honest to goodness sunbow. I have never seen one before, so I am very glad I looked up and noticed what was happening in the morning sky.

It formed a perfect circle around the sun with a fair amount of color. I did not have my camera with me, as I was escorting Max and Rebecca to the bus stop and from there heading out for my long walk with the dogs. I decided to chance waiting the thirty minutes and getting my camera after returning home, I could then take pictures without two dogs tugging on their leashes. The sunbow had clearly faded as he high misty cloud was burning off, but you can see a trace of it there in the picture.

This was an amazing sight and I hope to see it again.

Project MCP: Fall Leaves

nibbled, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The third Project MCP photography challenge for October was "Fall Leaves."

Now back in Vermont this would be a snap, a friend of mine from high school has been posting on Facebook wonderful shots of fall foliage. However I'm in central Virginia and I can't magically transport myself up north. I have to wait for the far more subdued palate that nature uses around here later on in the season (we are roughly three weeks behind). Add in the dreary wet weather I haven't been able to do much until now.

Autumn, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The first two pictures I took during Rebecca's soccer practice. It was late afternoon and the sun was at just the right angle to add a wonderful luminosity to the leaves. I sent Rebecca on ahead so  could slowly meander over to her practice field, taking pictures without an impatient 11 year old by my side.

Of the two I think the second one is my favorite. I like how I got the picture depth just right, the focus is just on the spray of leaves in the foreground. The other picture captured interesting details in the leaf, you can see a small area where insects have nibbled away leaving a filigree of veins.

I am so glad I remembered to grab my camera on my way out the door. The weather is perfect and I got an inkling this morning during the dog walk that I should keep my camera handy.

fallen, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The final picture here is from that walk this morning. I stuffed my cell phone in my pocket just in case Nate, who was home sick, needed to know where I was. He never did call, but I did use my phone to take this picture. The contrast of the bright orange leaf on the black road really caught my eye. I also like the shadow cast by the leaf and the slight curl to the edge. The picture is far from perfect, but considering it's from my basic smart phone it is pretty darn good.

All three are straight out of the camera with the very tiny exception of the image rotation of the middle picture. No cropping, sharpening, or color correction was needed. I was able to compose my shots in the viewfinder and present them as is.

Happy Birthday Times Two

Cookies, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Today is Max and Rebecca's 11th birthday. To celebrate I baked a batch of sugar cookies for Max's class and a batch and a half of cupcakes for Rebecca's class to be eaten at lunchtime. Right now their respective classrooms are thirty plus students apiece, hence the batch and a half cupcakes. It worked out that I gave treats to at least half of the entire fifth grade today. I could have handed out even more (it was so hard passing by a few of my favorites), but I had to draw the line somewhere.

The large class sizes are, fortunately, coming to an end soon. The school was able to convince the school to allow them to hire an additional fifth grade teacher. Luckily my two don't have to move, but I wouldn't protest too much if they did. The end result will be a smaller class sizes all around.

Cupcakes, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

As for the treats, well there was much fist pumping when I arrived in the cafeteria  laden with all my baked goods. I gave out the cookies to Max's class first and amazingly only one got dropped. I had a several extras, four to be exact, so nobody was left out. Then it was time for the rather gooey cupcakes for Rebecca's table. One child declined, I think chocolate was not her thing, so she got a cookie instead.

The whole thing was a rousing success and I had enough cupcakes leftover to bring home for us to enjoy after dinner. The official birthday parties will be held in the next couple of weeks.

Sunset on a Busy Weekend

sunset, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Between band, soccer, and lacrosse I logged a lot of miles this weekend.

It all started with a game Friday night. Rebecca's team was invited to be ball girls for the VCU women's match up. The girls were stationed along the edge of the field, each one in charge of a soccer ball. If a ball went out of bounds the nearest ball girl would hand her ball to the player and then chase down the errant ball. It got very cold, but the girls remained cheerful and had a grand time noshing on popcorn during halftime.

Then on Saturday it was soccer games for the dynamic duo, lacrosse tourney for Nate, and a band competition for Jacob. I did soccer duty while Larry dropped off Jacob and took Nate. It was a long day with Jacob's bus arriving an hour later than originally scheduled.

Today I was very thankful that it was not our turn for the Sunday school carpool, I happily  pushed Max and Rebecca out the  door at 8:30 and enjoyed a few hours of piece and quiet. Larry meanwhile took Nate to day two of lacrosse before heading out for a game of his own. It was up to me to collect Nate, which I did after Rebecca's rare Sunday afternoon game.

Everybody had a good time, but I think they will be glad this busy weekend is over when they head back to school.

Sideways

Beth Ahabah, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Last Sunday I was kicking around Beth Ahabah, at loose ends waiting for the bell to ring. I was waiting for Max and Rebecca to finish up their classwork at Hebrew school before whisking them off to Rebecca's soccer game.

I have passed by this view dozens of times, but never really noticed until now. It is a rather different view of the front edifice via a very oblique angle. When I truly saw the view it stopped me in my tracks. I dug out my cell phone and I think got a fairly decent shot.

Plaited

plaited, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Rebecca had soccer practice today and the big question before I take her is pony tail or braid. After years of battling she has realized that long, loosely  flowing hair and soccer do not mix. So now she tolerates the brushing out and gathering up of her tresses.

Which brings us back to the question: braid or pony tail?

Today she wanted three braids in a braid or, as I called it, a mega-braid.

This was a first for her and once I started it dawned on her that this would be an even longer process than normal. She fidgeted for a bit, but soon settled as each braid was made.The end result I thought was quite pretty and I took a few pictures so she could see my handy work. I think she agrees since she didn't immediately pull it all out once we were back home.

Artist of the Week: Voice

flower child, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Rebecca is this week's artist.

I took this picture of her, at her behest, waaay back in July. Max wanted pictures of him hiding in the tall grass. With his blond hair and the dried tops of the grasses, he quickly faded from view. It was a very easy assignment. Rebecca however wanted to be seen, just on her terms. Her request was a picture of her "behind a flower." So with a daisy in hand she found a spot to her liking and kneeled in the grass with her flower.

Her picture this week is not so much about visuals, but about voice. She had to illustrate the importance of a writer's voice.

voice, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I found the illustration while sorting through her school work. Tomorrow is recycling day and I wanted to pull as much unimportant pieces of paper as possible. I love the quizzical cat in the left hand picture. The dog, on the other hand, seems to have no issue with its legless state. Both pictures are very cute and are a fun way to illustrate the importance of voice.

Boy and His Dog

Boy and his Dog, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Nate loves the dogs and is inevitably in some way with them. He'll set up a comfy spot on a chair next to him, he"ll be down on the floor rolling about, or call them up to join him when it"s bedtime.

In this picture he was beneath my chair with John. I thought they looked cute together and grabbed my camera for a couple of blind shots. I was just holding out my camera and guessing where to point the lens. Apparently I had a good idea of where they were and got this rather thoughtful moment as they gaze into each other's eyes.

The Feynman Series - Beauty

Richard Feynman on beauty and science.

What to Do with Key Limes

key lime cheesecake, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I've blogged about key lime cheesecake before, but dang... this one came out so pretty. I just had to share.

The cheesecake came about for two reasons, my in-laws were visiting for the weekend and I had picked up a bag of key limes. It was a toss up between cheesecake or pie and the cheesecake won out. I ended up calling Larry at work and had him pick. It was just as good as I remembered and was a huge hit with all those over the age of thirty in the house.

Project MCP: Cozy

cozy, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Cozy is the second challenge for October and I think this picture fills the bill very nicely.

I wasn't quite sure how I was going to portray cozy, since the heat has come back here in Virginia. I know it's far cooler now than a month ago, but after a week or so of mid 70s, 80 plus is too hot. The one saving grace is that it cools down substantially each night, so it is a bit chill in the morning. As a result, Rebecca could be found the other morning wrapped up in a cozy blanket while not getting ready for school.

Project MCP: Shadows

Sun Dappled Dachshunds, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The first Challenge for October was shadows which proved to be a bit tricky this week. The weather has been stuck on warm (dare I say hot), gloomy and rather damp. Which has made for foggy mornings and not a whole lot of sunshine for making shadows.

I did, however, get this picture of the red boys out in the woods. I like the play of light and dark on their bright red coats. It was just happenstance their positioning being so perfectly bracketed by the branch coming off of the log I was sitting on. It makes for an interesting composition.

Artist of the Week: Still Reading

Max and Dell, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

It's been about a year since I last bragged about Max's reading skills and I'm happy to report he is still going strong.

We just got his interim report card today and he has so far garnered an A in reading. Not bad for a kid in first grade who could barely read, who is now in 5th grade he is very happily reading The Hobbit.

I'm so grateful for his first grade teacher that recognized it was more of a case of boredom, nothing she could offer at his reading level interested him. She found us an excellent tutor and over the summer before 2nd grade she was able to get him moving. It was money and time well spent.

Baking With Julia- Whole Wheat Loaves

Mmmm toast, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Now I was supposed to bake this last month, but it never happened. I was going to bake today's bread, Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin loaves, however I didn't have all the ingredients and I felt too crappy to go out and buy them plus the dough needed to rest overnight. So instead of doing the whole wheat for the last week of October (the official make-up week) I swapped the two to fit my schedule.

Whew.

Not lets get down to brass tacks. Whole Wheat Loaves was scheduled for Sept.18th over at Tuesdays with Dorie or as I call it Baking with Julia, the two hosts were Veggie Nums Nums and The Family That Bakes Together. Both have full rundowns on the whole wheat loaves recipe.

I, like so many others, never did find the malt extract and used molasses in its staid. The resultant bread was still very tasty. Jake and Rebecca thought it was very good and far, far better than any store bought whole wheat. My picture doesn't do it justice, partially because it doesn't have the beautiful tall crown other bakers achieved. I was using large loaf pans the the dough got a bit lost in them. It did rise and produce a wonderfully chewy bread with a proper crust, it just should have been in a smaller pan. I think this will get me to go out and buy some proper bread pans. I will absolutely give this bread another try.

Sweater

Love the song, love the video. From the Belgian band Willow.

The Unexpected

John and Dell, like all dogs, have different barks for different events or things. The soft whine when they want to be fed, big blustery barks when deer are espied on the lawn, the bark-bark-bark when chasing squirrels, and so on. I can pretty much guess what is going on by the type of bark I hear.

Today I got to hear the "Oh my gosh what is this I want to get it but I'm not sure if it's safe" bark from John while I was puttering about. It didn't quite sound like "I've found a snake" so I wasn't in a big hurry to pull on my boots and tromp down into the woods and find out what all the fuss was about. Eventually I made my way to John with a leash in hand since I wasn't too keen on having to carry a squirming 28 lb mass of dachshund back to the house.

turtles, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

It wasn't too hard to find John and I was happy to see that it was not a snake. It was in fact a couple of Eastern Box turtles and, well, they were very busy. First priority was to leash John, who emboldened by my presence to charge at the turtles. Once I had the dog under control I took stock of the situation. I was very glad I had my phone stuck in my pocket so I could capture for all the world to see what one friend called "a very private moment."

Once back inside, with a now very sulky dog, I looked up the mating habits of the Eastern Box Turtle. It turns out that the breeding season lasts from April to October, with the eggs lain late in the season overwintering in the underground nests. Who knew dog ownership could be so educational.

Project MCP: Fall Colors

Fall Colors, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The final September challenge for Project MCP was to photograph a fall color scheme, which is a rather tricky assignment down here in the south. I have found flashes of color, but for the most part the foliage is stuck in late summer mode. Lucky for me the stores pay no heed to the weather and start putting out the fall decorations at the beginning of the month.

For today's photo I roamed the aisles of my local Walmart with my camera in one hand as I shopped. I took pictures of pretty fall themed kitchen towels, various centerpieces, mums in bloom, and so on. Frankly I was amazed that my photography garnered no comment from the staff.

The winner for this week's picture was this pretty flower arrangement. I found it just as I was finishing my shopping in the produce section and was ready to check out. The colors are just right, they are truly evocative of fall. Thank you Walmart for being so helpful this week.

End of Season

End of Season, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

There has been a bit of snap in the morning air the past week or so. For a brief bit we had some honest to goodness fall weather, however the temperatures have been steadily creeping up. But the damage has been done.

My tomatoes have that leggy and unkempt look that the tail end of the growing season brings. They are, obviously, still producing fruit and we are nowhere near the first frost. The fruit is still very flavorful and tempting as ever. An aspect that was much to my consternation yesterday whilst I was fasting for Yom Kippur.

I'll keep on watering and enjoying the fruits of my labors until the first frost. Miserable as these plants look, they still have a goodly amount of life in them.

Artist of the Week: My Friend the Novelist

This week Meryl gets the nod as artist of the week.

She has always been a writer and this past year she bit the bullet and finished her first novel, Darkness Rising the first book of The Catmage Chronicles. This alone would garner AotW status, but she did far more than write a book, Meryl has also decided to self-publish and the amount of work involved is unreal.

Meryl commissioned a stunning cover from the award winning cover artist Julie Dillion. Contracted a cover designer and spent a fair amount of time hashing out the look of her book. The formatting, editing, proof reading, and... I could go on and on with all the steps needed to put out a quality book were managed by Meryl.

In short it is a monumental undertaking to publish your own book and have it look as good, if not better than, as the books put out by the major publishing houses. So give it a look, there are two places you can go to get a sneak a peek. On Facebook there is The Catemage Chronicles page and Meryl's brand spanking new writing blog This writing Life. Meryl is in the homestretch and will taking the final step soon to publish.

Yom Kippur

Tonight marks the start of Yom Kippur. For those that celebrate, may your fast be easy.

Josh Nelson on the electric Saz Kol Nidre - Yom Kippur 5772

Police K9 Bite Demo

Saturday my club participated in a combination "AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day" and "Meet the Breeds." This meant I spent a good four hours manning a table that had a wealth of information about dachshunds with Dell in my lap. John did not get to come along because, honestly, he's a total butthead around strange dogs.

In addition to dachshunds there were Bouvier des Flanders, Afghans, American Staffordshire Terriers (love those blocky heads, very loving and smart dogs), Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers (the living decoy, they lure the ducks to shore with their playful antics-seriously), and Havana Silk Dogs(a new one to me, very cute). A couple of vet clinics were there including a microchip clinic. Dell got to go through the agility course and was amply rewarded with cheese and hot dogs making this the best day ever in his mind. To me however, the best part was the Hanover Sheriffs K-9 unit demonstration. The dog had laser like focus and you could see it was having a great time. The bite work looks very scary and lord knows the dog could inflict serious damage, but the training was done such the bite work was just a huge game of tug-o-war for the dog.

Here is a video I took of the demo. It's not the best quality, I was testing out my cell phone, and the dog was so darkly colored it disappears into the background, but you get an idea of what was happening.

Huntin' Dogs

Huntin' Dogs, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

It's a bit hard to see, but the red boys got a camouflage treatment today.

I'm not sure how it all came about, but Nate asked today if he could paint the dogs in camouflage. A decidedly odd request, I however could see no harm in it. My only condition was that Nate would use colored hairspray and do the whole thing outside.

A few minutes later Nate had a can of green and a can of black hairspray. He did the dogs separately out on the deck and after 20 minutes we had two dogs painted in woodland camo. Just writing about this made me think of this old cartoon from World War I. The formerly red boys were, like the horse, less than enthused about their new color scheme and found a lovely pile of deer poop to roll in.

As you can imagine they didn't stay in woodland camo for very long. The dogs postively reeked and were soon herded off to the bath. Silly dogs.

Project MCP: Signs of Fall

The first turning, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The third Project MCP challenge for September is "signs of fall."

I had a few ideas on what to shoot, but never really got a chance this week. Between Rosh Hashana and various people being sick I was unable to get out much with my camera. However the signs of fall did find me in the shape of a tree branch practically smacking me in the face.

I was escorting the dynamic duo to their respective soccer practices (conveniently located on the same field) when I had to duck past this branch. I didn't think much of it until the bright scarlet leaves caught my eye.

Eureka!

I had found my signs of fall.

Fun With Science

What a recipe for fun- liquid nitrogen, a tightly closed bottle, and 1,500 ping pong balls. This gives the Mentos and Diet Coke stuff a run for the money. Hat tip to the lovely Laura at Fetch My Flying Monkeys.

Talk Like a Pirate, Now With Doughnuts!

two pirates, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Today was my favorite nonsensical holiday, "Talk like a pirate day."

This year I found out that Krispy Kreme doughnuts would give you a free glazed doughnut if you spoke like a pirate, a full dozen if you were in full pirate gear.

Whoa, a full dozen if you dressed as a pirate. I could totally get into that. Even Rebecca was interested, but when I told her to ask Max if she could borrow his costume Max said that he wanted to dress up as well.

Even better was the fact that today the kids have a fencing lesson and the club is a scant two miles from our nearest Krispy Kreme. Nothing like a little swashbuckling to get you in the mood for a pirate adventure.

The line of course was long, but it was a jolly crowd that was pretty evenly split between pirates and landlubbers. Rebecca was initially horrified that Max and I were going out in public as pirates. However once she got inside she realized how much fun it could be. She told me next year she wanted to dress up.

And yes we got two dozen doughnuts for absolutely nothing. Arrr!

Project MCP: Teaching

Pregame coaching, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The second September challenge is teach/teaching and really isn't coaching a type of teaching?

I snagged this photo with my cell last weekend. The team had just finished warming up and were in a pre-game huddle with their coach. They were being given finial instructions on how to play with, I'm sure, field positioning.

This certainly isn't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about teaching, but I think it works. I am still amazed with some of the images my smartphone can take. It is far from the best piece of equipment, yet with a good eye and careful positioning I can get some surprisingly good images. This one is literally straight out of the phone, all I did was rename it and uploaded onto my computer and then to Flickr.

L'Shana Tova!

Happy New Year!

Baking With Julia- Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake

Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Here is my very belated Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake that was supposed to be for Sept. 4th Baking with Julia challenge and err...  the month is half over and I have next week's challenge just two days away.

Well it's better late than never and it turned out to be the perfect treat to bring to tonight's oneg (links leads to a nice description) for Rosh Hashanah. Nuts and fruits are always a good choice for the new year. For a complete rundown on the recipe head on over to The Little French Bakery and The Double Trouble Kitchen (Yay fellow mom of twins!).

The whole thing wasn't too hard to make, my only stumbling block was not having a 10 pan and I decided it wasn't worth worrying about it not being quite big enough. My 9 inch pan was able to hold most of the batter and the resultant cake was just ducky. I had a fair amount of excess streusel (gee that could be related to the undersized pan- ya think) that I ended up scattering around the cake on its serving platter. I thought it was delicious and it was a hit at the oneg. The cake was light and moist with a lovely tang from the lemon juice. I might try it without almonds, otherwise this one is definitely a keeper.

Rather Vermontish

Max, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The weather has been glorious this week, upper 70s and minimal humidity. Just like the summers I know and love in Vermont.

So it has been rather annoying that I have been under the weather this week. I'm much better now, two days in bed did a world of good, but I'm still not hitting all cylinders. Hopefully I'll be able to do the full dog walk tomorrow. The pups have been forced to settle with just a short two block walk the past two days.

As for the rest of the gang, soccer and band having been going full bore, Nate has been doing some fitness training related to lacrosse, and Larry has been enjoying the fact that he is not coaching. After 10 years he has had enough. He wants to be able to go to all the kids games, not just the one he is coaching.

Life does not stop around here, even if you are sick.

Artist of the Week: Community in Unexpected Places

This week's artist is the rather snarky, crude, and irreverent bunch found over at Regretsy (warning seriously rude language and gross imagery). The site was founded by April Winchell, aka Helen Killer and the daughter of Paul Winchell, as a place to show the bizarre and grotesque that can be found on Etsy. Some of the finds are hilarious, quite a few are head scratching, and some are so magnificent in their weirdness April has to buy them.

A rather loose-knit community of self proclaimed "Fat Jealous Losers" (a reference to one Etsian's inability to take a joke) has grown in the comments and forums. Occasionally one of the FJL will put out a request to the community to create something special. A large number of the community are talented crafters, some a part of Etsy, and they always rise to the occasion. A very special request was made earlier this year for a TARDIS shaped ceramic urn. It turned out that Tashi's husband was dying of an incurable brain tumor and he was a huge fan of Dr Who.

The outpouring that followed was unbelieveble.

There was a huge number of offers to create the urn. Others tracked down the actors of the show to sign a card for Kevin. All sorts of gifts and kind actions made their way to the very young and recently wed couple.

Kevin passed away yesterday and here was the final message posted by April from them.

So not all of the internet is cold and dark. Amidst the snark there is a warm and loving place. Hats off to you, you fat jealous losers.

Sept. 11th

4th of July, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

A bit of sweetness for a sad day.

Alimation

Continuing on with NIAFPHFPPW I give you a little eye candy in video form. Alimation from Alexandre DUBOSC on Vimeo.

For Laura

cake, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I'm sick and completely unable to us my brain. I was literally confused by a ringing phone today. So hooray for memes and being able to phone it in.

Laura of "Fetch My Flying Monkeys" has declared it “National Irritate a Food Pic Hater Food Pic Posting Week” or NIAFPHFPPW . Since I'm all about food blogging I had already decided to join in.

Today's picture is of a cake Rebecca and I made for her end of soccer party way back in May. I'm don't know why it was never posted, but I do remember it being delicious.

Project MCP: Back to School

First day of school, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I took this picture on Thursday morning when the kids were getting on the bus for the first time this school year. It's pretty much a given that this would be my answer to this week's photo challenge for Project MCP "back to school."

I could have opted for a picture of the vast (really with four kids in school I'm not kidding about the quantity) piles of school supplies in our dining room. But it's boring and a bit depressing looking at all that stuff. A picture of a bright and cheerful yellow school bus with a line of freshly scrubbed kids marching in is a much better image.

Watermelon Butterfly

watermelon butterfly, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I found this picture from a few weeks ago on my hard drive. I don't know why I never posted it before, but now I have.

I love this particular species of butterfly, the velvety black wings with the bright blue spots make a striking combination. This particular fellow is a bit battered, but still able to fly.

Originally there were three butterflies, however they fluttered away by the time I came back with the camera. I'm glad I was able to capture this one. It took several tries before I got a picture with the wings down/open. Thank you butterfly for staying put.

Artist of the Week: Narnia

orca head, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This week's artist is not an orca, but instead Rebecca. The orca was Rebecca's gift to herself during her tournament last weekend. She has a fair amount of allowance saved up and when she espied this rather large Beanie Ball she decided she had to have it. The toy is rather absurd and she knows it. I'm not sure who noticed that the toy looks like it is Rebecca's head, but I am thankful it was pointed out and I got a picture.

Anyhoo this is not about large spherical toothed whales, but about art created by the girls that love them.

Narnia, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

We have been tossing out last years school detritus when I came across a bundle of Rebecca's graded papers. Inside was a lovely book report on "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe." The report itself has many, many charming illustrations depicting scenes within the book, but they are intertwined with the text and in pencil.

Rebecca did a lovely job and certainly earned her 100%.

In Which I Am Irked

Updated!

Dear County School Board,

Because of your last minute change of policy on Thursday in regards to medications specifically exempted last year, I have to go to the school to insure my son gets his much needed enzymes.

What really irks me is the required signed Dr.'s orders that I found out were needed on Friday at around 3. The Friday before a holiday weekend with the expectation of the clinic receiving them Tuesday morning.

Let me repeat that. I need to get signed paperwork from the CF clinic in Richmond, which has at best a two day turn around and shuts down at 4:00 pm, the next business day- sorry next business morning.

Oh yes and if I had asked for the form a week and a half ago in order to insure it would be done in a timely fashion I would have been told it was not necessary, enzymes are not a controlled substance. Fortunately I am available, I feel sorry for those who can't take time off.

I do not blame the school, the clinic, nor the people at the CF clinic, they are all lovely and very helpful.

Thank you so very much.

PS And thank you for maintaining the tradition of torpedoing the county wide school system website the week before school starts.  Why you have to overhaul it (and change urls) every year is a mystery to me. At least this time there is a temporary redirect site.

The very, very nice people at the CF clinic were able to send it off before noon. I seriously owe those people cookies.

Last Day of Summer

Somehow I feel this is fitting as I tenderly shove my brood out the door and back to school. Courtesy of my mother in law.