tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9839884553559500062024-11-05T21:56:02.193-05:00Musings about art, food, cooking, gardening, life, photography travel, and, most importantly, living as well as you can.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-83142340044469374452014-02-07T11:52:00.000-05:002014-02-07T16:03:25.028-05:00

My grandmother Marie in her Easter Sunday finest - the broad front porch -- with the all-important porch glider -- behind. Last year, my cousin Tim sent me a wonderful gift -- a CD of old family photos that he had scanned.  It was an absolutely delightful and thoughtful thing to do.  Looking through the photos brought back a flood of childhood memories.   At the time, I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-88267527487563621302013-09-11T11:03:00.000-04:002013-09-11T11:03:28.872-04:00

Once again, we are empty nesters.  Our over-achieving roller coaster that is our daughter has taken off, spreading her wings towards parts north (150 miles to be exact) as she prepares to enter her first year of medical school.  Once again, I am at loose ends -- adrift as I try to figure out how to handle the empty, now oh so quiet room across the hall . Empty room, hole in my heart

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-69592521431842931042013-02-08T09:05:00.002-05:002013-02-08T09:35:21.170-05:00

                                    Look at this face. It's a happy face... A playful face... This smiling face dreams of squirrels, rabbits, cookies,  squeaky toys, a well thrown tennis ball -- and rides in the car.  It is face full of joy -- and mischief. It's the mischief I want to

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-91964493910043205582012-11-22T11:13:00.001-05:002012-11-22T11:13:06.675-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Doubt these will be on anyone's table today. I think wild turkeys are beautiful! Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-44585690565604186172012-05-10T13:33:00.001-04:002012-05-11T06:28:55.093-04:00

Late last summer, I bought a rhubarb plant at the flea market. I have no idea what variety it was -- I picked it up on a whim.  I've tried to plant rhubarb before, with no luck.  By no luck, I mean absolutely no luck.  Bare roots, established plants, seeds -- you name it, I've tried it.  Failure and rhubarb have become synonymous in my gardening lexicon. But, surrounded by

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-63081472943423764662012-04-08T09:23:00.000-04:002012-11-22T17:57:34.248-05:00

Spring is here -- a little too early perhaps -- but here none-the-less.  On this early Easter morning, I'm strolling down memory lane... When I was a child my mother believed Easter called for the best attire possible. She made new grass green matching lined wool Easter suits for my sister and I.  My sister and I are four years apart -- a world of age to a child, an instant in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-36757535805271543092011-01-21T07:15:00.005-05:002011-01-22T07:03:36.137-05:00

Lentil Soup topped with melted Swiss Cheese - in this case a reduced fat Lorraine. I've been cranking out a lot of soup lately - partly because it's so darn cold, and partly because Dave is a soup junkie. If you give him an option, during the winter months, he'll pick soup first. If you ask him for suggestions as to what he'd like for dinner, he pops up with soup as first choice - invariably.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-87264666927417778252011-01-17T11:32:00.007-05:002011-01-19T06:27:42.107-05:00

BBQ, Barbecue,  Que, Q -- whatever you call it, we, Dave and I,  spend an inordinate amount of time seeking and savoring it.  Que seems to be one of the common threads that weaves its way through our travels. We seek it out.  We hunt it down.  We go way out of our way because of the signs.  It is the signs -- perched perilously on the sides of  mountains and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-22855636403421823652011-01-16T08:44:00.005-05:002011-01-16T09:06:57.291-05:00

My Freecycled garden table, painted the same cabbage green as my no-tills. In all this snow and gloom, dreaming of my garden is what keeps me sane.  The thoughts of buying and starting seeds, building new garden beds while protecting the ones I have,  and playing with my most recently purchased gardening toys puts a smile on my face and keeps the winter blahs at bay. This week, for

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-82008997636646542392011-01-10T10:56:00.012-05:002011-01-11T04:43:00.894-05:00

I've not made it a secret lately that, this winter, I've been under the weather quite a bit.  That being said (no point beating it to death here), I've been making and eating a lot of soup.  Believe it or not I have another pot of soup on the stove as I write this (Lentil Soup -- about which I will probably write tomorrow). It's a good thing Dave loves soup so much  -- 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-17379544591976750252011-01-07T18:26:00.003-05:002011-01-19T06:19:27.983-05:00

Recently, I took a trip to The National Air Force Museum in Fairborn, Ohio.  I hadn't planned on doing any photography.  I just wanted to spend the day with my family and look at all the airplanes.  Truth be told, I'm a bit of an aviation nut. I suppose I come by it honestly. My father was an aviation nut.  He dragged me to every airshow he could find. Some of my best

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-46085980409020792622011-01-06T13:09:00.004-05:002011-01-12T08:58:48.325-05:00

Winter really takes it out of me.  Since Thanksgiving, I've been dancing with every virus and bacteria out there that can make your life miserable.  Sick of being sick -- that's what I am.  Flu shot be dammed.  I've spent so much time in bed my memory foam mattress has lost it's memory.  There's a permanent hollow shaped just like me in the spot where I recline. One

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-55008714135313341392010-12-23T13:00:00.003-05:002011-01-19T06:02:50.009-05:00

My friend Rindy sent this to me.  I love learning about the origins of language, especially colloquialisms, and am passing it along. It's a bit lengthy but interesting, at least to a language nut like me. Forgive the somewhat colorful phrase here and there... Where Did The Phrase Piss Poor Come From? They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot &

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-24640885721711018052010-12-19T14:30:00.003-05:002011-01-12T08:52:03.294-05:00

Cold and foggy makes for a beautiful morning It's Sunday and I must confess.  I often spend my Sunday mornings at Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, Ohio.  It's quiet then. My husband calls this time on Sunday mornings The Heathen Hour.  No crowds -- especially this time of year.  Most people are in church or in bed. It's fun because all the produce managers

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-1850702611893730222010-12-12T09:34:00.001-05:002011-01-12T08:51:17.029-05:00

Overstating the obvious, as usual.  But I decided to load up a pix that gives a pretty good idea of what it's like around here today... enjoy! Neighbor's barn... ©Equimage® Media

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-36839181752167811192010-12-02T12:45:00.004-05:002011-01-16T08:50:39.712-05:00

Last week I had the opportunity to watch HRH Prince Charles' gorgeous environmental movie Harmony. It was a visual delight and an inspiration.  Harmony made me feel as though I'm not just one little guy banging  my head against a wall of indifference in my concern for the earth.  There are others out there, many of whom have greater resources than I and whom one wouldn't think

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-33814764523839978382010-10-15T21:03:00.005-04:002011-01-16T08:55:54.842-05:00

Contrary to a lick-happy little white dog's opinion, not all things called cones are created just to torment him. Some  provide pleasure. During the height of Summer, I received a nice cone flower plant from a gal on Freecycle®. Freecycle® is a treasure trove of freebie plants.  I bet I snagged 15 or so this past summer. Fruit of my watering-the-freebie-labor... When I picked the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-79769020961475939302010-10-15T13:44:00.013-04:002011-01-16T08:55:13.335-05:00

The kind of thing I shoot when I'm working... For the past three weeks the 2010 World Equestrian Games kept me hopping. In my other life, I'm and equine photographer and writer - someone who concentrates on the equine industry as their photographic and journalistic specialty. Obscure to be true. So for the past three weeks I've worn my other hat exclusively.  I've shot over 6000 frames and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-79107081080951689212010-09-28T10:58:00.003-04:002011-01-12T08:47:57.685-05:00

I've been away - forced into exile - intellectual and creative exile. I've been wandering, lo these many days,  in the barren, lonely desert of a no man's land called:  No Computer. Having a glass of water dumped on one's Mac is not a very healthy thing for the electronic storehouse of one's life's work. It could drive you to drink. The memories. The stuff. The hundreds of gigs of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-15544696716981566792010-09-21T10:00:00.001-04:002011-01-12T08:47:18.787-05:00

IIn light of the fall potato harvest fast approaching, I decided to repost this recipe for the glorious potato -- and the best potato pancake you've ever tasted.  Also, my big laptop is in the shop with most of my images on it.  That means that I was bad and didn't back-up my Mac.  So, I'm forced to use my old powerbook which is slow and has a much older operating system on it.&

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-9432431656047289292010-09-15T14:29:00.003-04:002011-01-12T08:46:23.340-05:00

The days grow shorter.  The sun rides lower in the southern sky. No more birdsong cacophony in the morning.  All that breaks autumn's silence is the chirping of a multitude of crickets - more background noise than nature's song.  No more cicadas droning on... Summer is past. It's time to harvest the last of the summer garden.  Time to finish off the beans. I picked last of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-71091478721274009572010-09-10T20:54:00.001-04:002011-01-12T08:45:33.967-05:00

Here in land of sticky summers it's been hot -- hot, dry, and insect-laden. We haven't eaten outside much. Haven't had many bonfires nor done many of the things we so look forward to during the dead of winter when the snow is two feet deep.  We did float around the pool a fair amount, which definitely helped with the heat. But not much grilling. The Barge The pool makes our icky mid-west

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-27062635138786964852010-09-08T13:01:00.018-04:002011-01-12T08:44:37.365-05:00

With all the High Fructose Corn Syrup rants out there, it's hard to know what to do.  I believe the research that says that HFCS does not provide sweetness satiety to the human brain.  When people doubt this, especially those who knew me as a child, I like to remind them that never was there enough pecan pie to satisfy me!  And, pecan pie is LOADED with corn syrup. 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-56246967936651226812010-08-25T17:42:00.001-04:002010-08-25T17:44:24.318-04:00

Sometimes I just want to curl up and hole up, escape.  But a few days at the beach is out of the question.Too much going on.  Too little time.  Too many commitments.  Too long a list.  Too full a plate.  Just much too much. So, when things get a little overwhelming, I just shut down for a morning hour or two and take it easy - at least mentally -- with a tiny

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983988455355950006.post-46247228450540784712010-08-25T08:02:00.004-04:002011-01-12T08:40:53.558-05:00

It's been a long hot summer and I've been neglecting my literary responsibilities in favor of gardening, sweating, swimming, sweating, canning and preserving, sweating, watering and watering and watering my black-spot-ridden heirloom tomato plants.  Suffice it to say that summer has been long and hot. My only excuse is that I decided to take some time off from writing in favor of reading --

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0