Inspired by Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Pastel/Soft Colors
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Soft pastel colors are few and far between this time of year…
However, springtime gave us sights such as this.
And I’m already looking forward to their return.
Tag: Photography
Holiday glow
Inspired by Frank at Dutch goes the Photo: Glow
…There are many choices, so feel free to push the boundaries and shoot for that glowing review!
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I wasn’t sure what to expect last night when I went to a local Festival of Trees fundraiser. I had not attended one of these events before, but I grabbed my camera – knowing there would be something glowing. Christmas trees, right?
What I found was the town hall filled with 52 fully decorated lit up Christmas trees – all being bid on in a silent auction format. Add your name to the list with a bid higher than the person before you. Highest bidder buys the tree. All proceeds went to a local nonprofit benefitting children in need.
The trees were decorated and donated by local community groups and businesses. Townspeople of all ages were in attendance checking out the trees. And, yes, taking pictures as well.
Needless to say, overhead lighting was minimal – to showcase the beautiful trees of course – and as a result many of my shots were not sharply focused. Or…I will more kindly describe them as soft focus.
However!
I did spot a glowing tree topper.
But my favorite glowing example was this…well…bride tree? I wish I had made a note of who came up with this rather creative way to trim a tree.
I don’t imagine it was one of the churches.
However, anything is possible…and it does give “The glowing bride” new meaning.
Simple pleasures
Inspired by V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #75: Satisfying
Take a moment for enjoyment, particularly the satisfying kind, and drop us a line to share.
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The morning sun.
A steaming mug of coffee.
The day’s newspaper.
Time.
There’s nothing like it – particularly when you are retired, nest emptied…with no place you have to go.
I remember visualizing this possibility years ago…back in the days of hectic mornings. Getting kids ready for school. Homework! Lunch money! Permission slips! Hat! Coat! Ready Set Go!
Getting myself ready for work. Both paid and unpaid. And out the door before 8 am. Breakfast eaten in gulps. That ever important coffee…waiting until I arrived at my office. To be sipped throughout the morning…lukewarm to cold.
Mornings are different now…
The most satisfying part of my day is the uninterrupted time I have to eat breakfast. While I…slowly and quietly…wake up. And honor the part of me that is NOT a morning person.
And then…the highlight: I can enjoy drinking my coffee while it’s hot. As I read the local newspaper. A real paper. Without feeling guilty when it takes an hour…or more.
I quickly scan…and choose what to read first.
Until I find something positive.
For a satisfying start to the day.
Wordless Wednesday
Abstract Afternoons
Inspired by Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #74: Abstract
Feel free to go beyond the traditional realistic image of an object, scene, or element. Take a photo of anything that catches your eye and allows you to express your artistic view of the world. You can also focus on details which are normally ignored and make your viewers use their imaginations.
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What do we have here?
Outside…one summer day, camera in hand…a glint of sun dancing across the surface as I catch it.
Or an afternoon spent inside…pouring over art for sale.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday – Insider
Inspired by Sunshine’s Macro Monday #20
I recently peeked inside my exploding Christmas Cactus…
and discovered one more bud ready to burst.
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Doors and Drawers
Inspired by Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Doors and Drawers
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One herb or spice per drawer…each a medicinal hope for ailing customers who entered this Vermont pharmacy…sometime in the early 1900s.
A piece of history on display at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.
Peaceful place
Inspired by Frank at Dutch goes the Photo: Peace
…share posts that evoke the sense of peace for you, in whatever form that might take.
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Several months ago, I discovered a small clearing in the woods in back of my condo building…which I often gravitate to when I am out for a walk.
Even though I can still hear the roar of the traffic from the nearby highway, it is my peaceful place. I often wish there was a place to sit.
Perhaps the coincidence traces back decades to when I used to spend afternoons out exploring the wooded area down the street with my friend Kathleen. Gathering rocks and leaves and the odd rusty nail in an old bucket. Or – alone – perched in a tree in my front yard, hidden from the world…as deep in thought as a 9 year old can be. I always felt a sense of belonging…and a sense of lightness being in the out-of-doors.
Although now there is no tree climbing…that sense of belonging continues.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: White
Inspired by Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: White
This summer I noticed a flowering bush so pale amidst glorious purples on either side, I decided it deserved a photo of its own. Overlooked, as it might often be, in such colorful surroundings.
I do not know what kind of flower/bush/plant this is, however I was intrigued by its seaweed appearance…even though it was flourishing on a Vermont hillside.
Can anyone solve the mystery?
Pie Tales
I’ll bring an apple pie!
A few weeks ago, our new friends who live down the hall invited us to share Thanksgiving dinner with them and their extended family. We were honored. Also grateful, as we were not going to be able to spend it with our adult children and their families.
It’s an unusual kind of apple pie...I warned my friend. The apples aren’t peeled. There’s no top crust… I also have to make it gluten free.
She was fine with whatever I wanted to make.
It is also huge…filling a lasagna pan.
At Thanksgiving, there is no such thing as moderation. Ever. Especially when it comes to pie. The turkey? The stuffing? And all the rest?
Just the path to pie.
In Thanksgivings past there were always at least 3 kinds of pie at my table…to go along with family shenanigans and card games (as shared in my 2018 Thanksgiving story). I miss all of it.
The most popular? “Hearty Apple Pie” – each slice 2 inches high by many inches wide.
Well, it has been a few years since I made this pie. After downsizing and moving and spending Thanksgivings by ourselves, there was no need to make one until now.
I still had the old family recipe.
As I assembled the ingredients yesterday, I thought…what could go wrong?
First step: substitute gluten free flour blend for the real thing. Press into the pan.
Doesn’t quite look the same, but should be fine in the end. It’s PIE after all.
Next step: Core the apples. Can’t mess that one up.
Next step: Slice apples in the food processor.
Um…the food processor doesn’t work. I tried a different outlet. Nope. My husband and I tried several variations of blades and positioning of the “pusher assembly” and the cover. Still nothing.
Find the directions!
A fuzzy memory rose to the top of my aging brain. This was the new(ish) food processor we had gotten about 10 years ago. It had replaced the nice simple one from 1978. Back when there were no complicated safety features. When it was your own fault if you stuck your finger in when the blade was running. Back when you popped the blade in, snapped on the cover (the only safety feature) – added the apples through the hole in the top…and voila! sliced or chopped results.
Much simpler.
Not anymore. The current small appliance companies are in the business of saving us from ourselves. Which, in many cases, is necessary. As it turned out, there were 3 different steps and clickings into place that I had to perform before even one apple could be sliced.
I was annoyed for 2 reasons. First that I had forgotten what to do and second, that it had become necessary to make devices so complicated that I had to remember this sequence in the first place. (probably a third reason as well – that I was turning into the old fart I never wanted to be…complaining about newfangled stuff…).
Anyway, after much huffing and puffing and locating the directions…success.
Next step: Mix with lots of yummy spices. No holding back here.
Next step: Transfer to the waiting piecrust.
(fyi: covered apples with brown sugar, almonds and dots of butter which look like cheese…but aren’t)
After baking: Extra Large Apple Pie ready to share.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
(where there’s no such thing as moderation)
Inspired by V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #74: Moderation
one letter UP ~ diary 2.0 