Day 225- Uncle Matt

Our kids don’t get to spend too much time together- so having a full house is a time for Caitlin’s boys to get to know their Uncle Matt.  Conveniently, Uncle Matt has a new minivan, which we were able to use to make the trip over to Petaluma for the Rapunzel Reunion. We had a great day- connecting with good friends, their kids (who were in the original baby class where we all met), and the grandchildren.

I took a zillion photos, and I like this one of Henry chilling on his uncle’s lap.  He fell asleep in this position a few minutes later.

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Day 224- Rice Salad

The recipe for Cold Rice Salad was given to me by my friend, Kathryn (the one with the backyard vineyard!), years ago after she brought me some to eat at school one day. It became a tradition that, after one of us would make the salad for our family, we would bring the leftovers to school to share.  Cold Rice Salad is one of those dishes that you either LOVE or don’t want to even try.  It has something to do with the marinated artichokes that are a dominant ingredient.  In our family, my son-in-law and I are passionate about this recipe- the others, well, not so much.

Tomorrow we are attending a reunion of the Rapunzel families (with children and grandchildren)- and bringing Cold Rice Salad.  Caitlin is making it today, although she will most likely not be eating it.

f/3.2, 1/125, ISO 2000, 35mm

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Day 223- Mint Chip- Yum!

We had a special outing today- to the Build-a Bear Workshop where Miles chose a lop-eared bunny, not a bear, to build.  Mommy and Henry were out shopping, and we met them later for ice cream, where I snapped this photo.

f/3.2, 1/320, ISO 200, 35mm

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Day 222- Food for the BIrds

Sadly, we haven’t had any pets for a few years, and Miles is used to feeding his two golden retrievers at home.  So, his pet feeding job at Grandma and Papa’s house is now putting out birdseed for the birds that come to our yard. He is very careful and precise with this new responsibility.

f/3.5, 1/800, ISO 800, 35mm (ISO set high, because I had been shooting in the house and forgot to change it!)

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Day 221- Sand! And a little drama. . .

Lonnie, Miles, and I had a late afternoon playground outing today.  After trying out the slide, swings, and climbing equipment, Miles settled into the sandbox for a half hour of digging and imaginative play.

When it was time to leave, I was concentrating so much on getting Miles to the car safely that – now get ready for this- I forgot the camera.

Yes, I left it at the park.

We drove away and left it. My D7000. Left it.

A few blocks away- I realized. We drove back, and I RAN to the bench where we were sitting.

And it was still there.

I am still getting over it.

f/2.8, 1/1250, ISO 200, 35mm

For my friend, Nevin: Yes,  I was using the 35mm lens- and 2.8 was probably not the best aperture choice.  I was using aperture priority.

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Day 217- Goop!

When I was a little girl, my mother cooked very plain meals- meat, potatoes, canned vegetable, sometimes jello.  My mother learned to cook a new exotic dish when I was about ten. There was some event going on, maybe at church or in one of her women’s groups, and her task was to make taglierini in her huge electric roaster.  We got the leftovers- WOW!  It was so different and so delicious!

You have to realize that at this point I had never even had spaghetti- even Kraft mac and cheese came later in my life.   I had my first slice of pizza and my first taco when I was away at college. So you have to realize what a big deal this was- taglierini!

It was basically hamburger and onion and tomato soup (not sauce)- with the addition of canned corn and canned mushrooms- and hunks of cheddar cheese melted into it.  It was supposed to be served with noodles- but we never had it that way.  The crowning touch was baking powder biscuits placed on top! Oh my!

My mother explained to me that it was just goop- and that’s what we called it from then on.  I served it to my own children without mushrooms but WITH pasta- and eventually changed from tomato soup to tomato sauce. I made it for Miles when I was in Wyoming last year waiting for the new baby to be born.  He loved it- and wanted it for breakfast the next day.

My grandbabies will be arriving any moment- so the goop is cooking!

 

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Day 216- In the Vineyard

My friends Kathryn and Scott’s backyard vineyard is the subject of today’s photo.  They have spent several years growing these fabulous vines which are producing magnificent pinot noir grapes- and soon- wine!

f/5.6, 1/80, ISO 400, 200mm

I shot many photos of their gorgeous backyard and I plan on editing more sometime soon.  I’m a little busy, because tomorrow my grandbabies arrive!!!

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Day 215- On the way to Target

On the way to Target today, I stopped by the Vallejo library and waterfront area to take photos.  It was about one o’clock in the afternoon- horrible light! I was intrigued by a torpedo on display in front of the library.  I don’t know the history, so it is a mystery to me. I used sepia processing and added a texture to compensate for the harsh lighting.

f/5, 1/400, ISO 250, 52mm

BTW, although I am staying away from flowers today, you may notice that I shot the end of the torpedo that is rather flower-shaped.

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Day 214- Down by the Water

It was a beautiful day down by the water- a little breezy, but beautiful just the same.  My friend, Barbara suggested the marina for a photo shoot and accompanied me for a quick walkabout while I snapped a few photos.

It is Texture Tuesday, so I worked in Photoshop today. I applied a few textures- hmmmmm….   Then I added a black and white layer to increase contrast- I liked what it did to the water.  But then I kept looking at that bright blue technicolor sky- didn’t like it.  After looking at my very complicated layers palette and the resulting image, I decided I really didn’t like this photo with texture- at least the way I was doing it.

So I started over in Aperture 3- did a simple edit, desaturated the sky a bit and am calling it done.  Textures will have to wait for another day. . .

f/14, 1/640, ISO250, 24mm

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Day 213- White Oleander

It’s Macro Monday again- and I’m back inside the box.

Since just about every other flower in our garden has been on the blog, I chose the lowly white oleander (sometimes known in California as “freeway flowers”) for today’s shot.

 

 

 

f/16, 1/60, ISO 1000, 85mm

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Day 212- Chipotle Abstract

I didn’t take any photos today until we stopped at Chipotle tonight for a quick dinner.  The reflection on the table in the corner provided me with my photo for the day- snip, snap, snout, this tale’s told out!

f/5, 1/200, ISO 1600, 75mm

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Day 211- Beside the box . . .

Lonnie and I spent a wonderful day at a retreat in the Santa Cruz mountains. In between all the activities, I ran around like a madwoman- OK, a serene, enlightened madwoman, but a madwoman nonetheless- trying to capture our beautiful surroundings.

I don’t think that I am far enough along in my photography to limit myself to a certain style, but, beyond grandchildren, I see closeups and flowers (and closeups OF flowers) as what I am drawn to. I vowed to step out of the box today- photographing interesting lighting and angles and patterns- and some wide angle shots.. I was determined today to not shoot flowers, but gave in eventually with the promise to myself to not post them.

I photographed shadows and stairs and reflections and the undersides of patio umbrellas- and several wide angle shots. I looked at all of them (except the flowers- I didn’t want to tempt myself), and chose the one I like the best, which happens to be the last picture I took.

So- these are weeds, not flowers. And they are backlit- so I did get interesting lighting.

Out of the box- but standing right beside the box . . .

f/5.3, 1/500, ISO 200, 95mm

Melinda4 Comments