We have a new addition to the family, Leo the Gecko Lizard is my son Noah’s newest pet, isn’t he cute? (We think it’s a ‘he’.)

We were taking some photos of Leo in the family room, locking Alice out via the French doors, she started pawing at the glass, wanting to get in.

I hope everyone had a nice break over the holiday season! Here are just a few images I took of Alice under the Christmas tree:

Holiday baking time! (Find Holiday baking from 2007 here, 2009 is here, 2010 baking here and here. Not sure why there’s no baking for 2008!)

Yummy Peppermint Chocolate bars, from a recipe printed in the Toronto Star years ago, plus Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies (find the recipe here):

Had to run out to Yonge Street to do an errand, captured some holiday lights/decorations:

Kris Kringle cookies and Easy S’mores Fudge (find the recipe here):

One more shot of the gift bags:

Quick blog posting, a few photos from a recent shopping trip to the Queen Street West neighbourhood:

A catch-up blog posting today.

A few weeks ago I was at the iPhone 4S launch at the Eaton Centre Apple Store, a few images:

My daughter celebrating her recent birthday:

My sister’s cat, Finnegan, came to visit for Thanksgiving dinner and Rebecca’s birthday celebration. Alice was not amused, but she tolerated the visit (they look very similar, and yet different, Alice has the fluffier face).

The last Halloween parade at my son’s primary school! And look at this cute puppy! She’s a cross between Bernese Mountain dog and a miniature poodle, called a Bernedoodle. And the last one is Maddy the poodle dressed up for the day:

Here are some images I captured Halloween night:

Apples were on the EatSavvy menu this month, enjoy!

Apple & Brie Stuffed Chicken Breasts:

Leek, Potato and Apple Soup:

Tuna and Apple Stuffed Pitas:

Pork Tenderloin with Sauteed Apples:

A few images from the last two weeks.

Adorable dog in my local park:

Trip downtown to the Eaton Centre and back:

Alice has a new cat toy:

This past Sunday was cool and wet, perfect day for baking. These Molasses Cookies were delicious:

I saw a great cat photograph on Google+ which motivated me to get out with my camera on Saturday, looking for cats out and about in the neighbourhood.

I met Denise, and just love her one orange paw, isn’t she adorable?:

This is James, he lives in the same house as Denise:

I also met a puppy (+ few more cat photos):

On Sunday Noah and I headed out to do some errands, at Whole Foods, in Yorkville, and then over to Yonge Street:

Kept it light, and just took my old Canon 5D and the Canon 50 f1.4 lens:

Captured a few shots of Alice on the back deck when we returned home:

A collection of nature photography images I’ve captured over the last few weeks.

(Equipment: Canon 1DMkIV with either the Canon 85 1.2L, Canon 100 f2.8 Macro or the Lensbaby Composer lens.)

This image was shot wide open with the Lensbaby composer:

This collection of images was captured with the Lensbaby Composer:

Discovered this hornet on my deck last Friday afternoon. Could tell he wasn’t long for this world, as he couldn’t fly:

The next morning I found him on the deck, he became my still-life subject for the weekend:

Whoa nelly! These cookies are super sweet and rich! I couldn’t even finish mine, but Noah was happy to finish mine up. My daughter, and a friend, grabbed a couple on the way out the door, will have to hear her consensus before I decide whether we’ll bake them again (I know it’s a thumbs up from my son, he wanted to eat another one!). (Recipe posted after the photos.)

(All of the following were shot with the Canon 1DMkIV and the lensbaby composer lens.)

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Place one scoop of dough on the top of an Oreo and once scoop underneath it. Use your (clean) hands to mold the dough around the Oreo so that there are no holes. Place on cookie sheet and repeat until you have used up all the cookie dough. (We found the dough too soft and sticky to use right after mixing, so refrigerated it for a while before making the first batch.)

Bake for 9 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

BTW, the images do not show how LARGE these cookies are. They really are three cookies in one, two chocolate chip cookies + the Oreo cookie. Enjoy!