My New Passion

I’m sorry.

Don’t feel like I’ve not paid attention to you.

I haven’t.

There’s only so much time in the day…

You all know that.

Something happened along the way and it’s stolen my total attention.

It happened so fast!

I started a food blog and didn’t anticipate it taking off.

Really taking off.

Wow!

It’s been quite a ride.

and ride I will…

so I will be closing down this blog in the near future and would love to have you join me in my new blog.

You’ll get great recipes, my musings and I’ve added a page for my photos.

I even include the ‘pups’ in my posts….

how could I not?

They’re always watching me.

So follow me over to A Kitchen Muse…I’m still the same…this time with recipes!

Why do you laugh?

It’s been a challenging week with the rain, the heat and the flooding.

I refuse to complain for as I write this post I’m watching about the famine in Somalia…and it breaks my heart.

It breaks my heart….

as I throw food out every week and there is someone out there who could thrive on it.

All whining aside, I did have a moment this morning as I was feeling sorry for myself…so absorbed in the issues of the moment.

I was taking a piece of mail outside and I found this little dragonfly posing for me on a planter post.

STOP!

Hold that pose….

allow me to go inside and grab my camera….

He granted me that right as I grabbed my camera only to be surprised by the condensation building up on my lens which made it impossible to take a photo.

OH WAIT!

Wrong lens!

Let me go inside and get the right lens to shoot you…

Really, I’m coming…

DANG!

condensation again on my lens coming from the air conditioning to the humidity of outside…

Could you…

Would you….

mind waiting a bit longer?

I really want to take a picture of you….

You laugh!

Why do you laugh?

You laugh because I’m trying to calm down and I’m afraid you’ll fly away…

and you know you won’t….

You laugh because I look like a damn fool with my foggy lenses…

But you stay and you laugh…

A Study in Strawberries

You probably think that I’m going to throw a recipe out at you, don’t you?

Nah…if you want recipes, go to my other blog which admittedly is where I’ve been spending most of my blog time.

Sorry!

It’s my new passion!

But so is perfecting my photography skills….

This post is about conquering what you don’t know.

Today, I had a breakthrough in understanding something that I thought I knew, but really didn’t.

Confused?

Well so was I.

It is about hurdling the obstacle….

The obstacle for me was really understanding the basics of photography and my camera.

Oh sure, I’ve been lucky.  I’ve heard from many of you as to how much you love my photography.

But I have been lucky.

I have the eye but needed to conquer the technology of dslr camera.

Lucky….

and lazy….

Food photography is different with it’s own set of challenges and if  I even wanted to be decent at it…

I need to take time to learn from the experts.

I bought the book – From Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardin…

and I’m going to take lessons from a respected former colleague of mine.

He told me that I have the right brain part of it down – I just need to engage the left brain.

Engaging the left brain is so difficult for me.

This afternoon I took several hours, put my camera on the tripod and shut off the automatic settings. I was frustrated….almost threw the camera in the lake…

but persevered.

Something clicked.

I got it.

Sorta….but it’s a step forward….

I love a challenge!

Never stop learning.

Flowers of Sun

Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.

-Confucius

Life is good…but busy…

large family…large demands…

two sets of aging parents…

watching their lives unfold…

and doing what you can to prop them up.

That’s when we need flowers of sun.

Happy Summer.

My Favorite Things

The month of June has been a whirlwind. So many wonderful things swirling around my life that it’s been difficult to stop and appreciate everything.

Tonight I had the opportunity as I went back through my photos. The month of June started with my birthday and a new lens for my camera.

I shot and I shot…and I realized that I started taking pictures of my favorite things.

Tonight I share some of them.

It all started with a birthday card from my 86 year old Dad who had taken the time to find a card to describe me. Now keep in mind that my Dad never had this responsibility. It was always my Mom who would buy the card, address the card and make sure we got it in time. Since my Mom has had dementia, my dear Dad (who’s plate is already full) took the time to send me this card. I had to chuckle when he wrote in it “thanks for helping me with Mom and thanks for keeping me from going nuts”…

I will save this card forever.

Finally the rainy weather broke and we were free to engage in our favorite summer past times…like fishing…or in my case, watching my man fish.

I took my new lens around my house capturing the things I collect…like the glass flowers blown at a glass museum which began my next chapter into art.

or the piece of mixed media art that I purchased from the artist that I showcased in my one year gig of being a gallery owner…

I love art and my home is filled with whimsical creations of the artists I cross paths with.

And then there’s our grandkids….can it get any better?

Every moment with them is joy….such joy.

This antique rocking horse reminds me of where we’ve been and dreams that didn’t quite come to fruition. This rocking horse was salvaged post-Katrina while we still had a house in Mississippi.

Then there was vacation in which we rented a home in the Laurel Highlands and opened it up to our friends. I’m so blessed with the dear friends that grace our life through good times and bad.

The day we came home from vacation, we came home to a house filled with all my daughters being home for the first time together in a year…

and it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L

I had a party for the family with the girls in town…

which cemented how wonderful it is…

family and sisters…

and cousins….

and children…

and grandchildren…

and parents….

Sometimes it’s overwhelming…

all these favorite things….

how do you care for all of them?

and suddenly you realize…

they’re taking care of you.

New Toy

Happy birthday to me!

My present was a new lens for my camera!

It’s the new Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens and it dances circles around the lenses I had.

It offers great depth of field and is gentle in low light situations…

And I’m not really sure of all it’s capabilities yet…

All I know is that I like what I’m seeing…

It’s a PEACH of a lens!

Before the Storm

Last night, we were sitting out on the deck enjoying the last rays of sunshine watching the dark clouds coming towards us.

Polly didn’t care. She just wanted to be petted. It’s all about her.

Riley is a different story. Always on alert and watching out for us.

Mr. O is the grand protector and never lets his guard down.

And so it was until the raindrops and hail forced us to go inside…

Little Surprises

Gone are the days of 5 year plans, quarterly reports and revenue projections. I’ve let go of projecting and planning my life. I’m working on taking it life as what it gives me today.

For someone like me, that’s not always easy. I need a plan – a goal – something to achieve…or so I thought.
The more I let go, the more life is surprising me with moments of joy.

For example, after being an empty nester for almost eight years – my youngest daughter moves in with us so she can go to grad school.

We had the extra room and I need the help around the house…it works…and suddenly everyone’s smiling.

The dogs wait outside her door in the morning so she can take them on their ‘power’ walk.

My cooking blog has taken off like crazy. I was featured twice three times this week – once on Foodgawker.com and then today on Tastespotting.com and as of writing this post on Tasteologie.com, both all very reputable and difficult to get on sites! I’m honored and humbled at the same time.

I need to follow the energy…

Today I was out hunting for props for future recipes and photos.

At Tuesday Morning, I found this delightful little chintz cups…

Oh do I have something magical planned for them!

Stay tuned and visit my other blog for the magic!

Hanging in There

It’s been so dreary. I’ve captured this beauty yesterday and I swear the look in his eyes reflects what I feel.

We need sunshine…

and spring…

and frivolities that spring brings.

It’s been crazy here. His Dad has been in the hospital;  my Mom has had a doctor’s appointment every week for the last month; my youngest daughter moved in with us for a while and….

my new cooking blog is taking away all my writing attention!

I’m going to switch this blog up a bit and use it as a vehicle to share my photos. Thanks to all of you who have given me positive feedback on my photography, I am inspired to do more and want to share it with you.

So come back for more! I’ll try to post one a week….leave comments….

and send me some love!

and SUNSHINE!

Lovely Moments

Life has been a bit melancholy around here these days. We had a lovely Easter celebration and in spite of my two daughters not being able to be in town, we celebrated that my Mother is still with us. My sisters and I celebrated each other as we have tag teamed together in managing Mom’s care keeping life filled with dignity and assisted my Father’s role as caretaker.

I am melancholy today for my husband is working with his siblings in deciding to move his  parents to an assisted living facility. They will have to say goodbye to their home of sixty years. It makes me sad.

So today, I pause and look around my home and appreciate the lovely moments.

The doilies that my Mother made while she waited for my Dad to come home from work. Today they are more precious than ever.

My orchids were boasting with blossoms and color…

I just needed to pause…

and enjoy the lovely moment…

for it passes by so quickly…

Even my wilted tulips had something to say to me…

I wish you lovely moments today. Don’t let them pass you by.