The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box.
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Monday, December 31, 2012

Photo #366 2012


Attention!
Last post for this blog!
I'll be just using my 
Snappy Repartee blog from here on!

There will be photos, poetry, recipes 
and all sorts of quirky things that
appeal to me! 
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters
When I took this photo just a little bit ago, 
I immediately thought of J.D. Salinger's book.
One of my all time favorite authors.
Happy New Year to all!!!!
~~~~~~~

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Photo #365 2012

Obsessive

Life is all about change and I am
thinking about making some changes
in how I blog. I have had 3 blogs this
past year and I am considering just having one.
I'd still post photos and words plus recipes, poems etc.
 just not each on a daily basis and
I would still post every day on my one blog .
What is your opinion? Any suggestions?
Let me know what you think or have experienced....


Friday, December 28, 2012

Photo #363 2012

This gorgeous buck ambled up our sidewalk- he didn't
stay long- just long enough for me to take his picture! 
Columbian Black Tailed Deer
Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Photo #362 2012



Lucy explores Zanna's new board game



Not knowing the rules, Lucy assumes this is
her private tunnel! I'm just trying to flatten it out!
Thanks Zanna!!!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Photo #361 2012

My son Paul's Apple Pie
It has become a family tradition that we have
Apple Pie for dessert for Thanksgiving
and Christmas.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Photo #360 2012

My favorite Christmas Cards are personal photo cards...
I love watching kids grow up as the years go by...
and my friends humorous hi jinks in silly photos!
Merry Merry Christmas to all!!! 


Monday, December 24, 2012

Photo #359 2012

The wind blew so hard the last few days
that it created these huge snowdrifts.
This one is between our house and the garage...

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012

Photo #355 and 356 2012


Happy Birthday Dunsmuir Brewery Works! 


Dunsmuir Brewery celebrated their 3rd year of brewing
by having a birthday party!
Handmade pasta and good ales....nice combo!

I watched the spinach linguine being made -
then ate some....yum!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Photos #352 and 353 2012


It's winter now-no need to wait for Winter Solstice!
Note the little quail tracks...I heard them and saw their
tracks, but never saw them yesterday while out
shoveliing our very long driveway...

To see more tracks from yesterday go here:

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Photo #351 2012

Two of our favorite musicians!
Since moving  to Northern California we have had fun
discovering new places to go to and listen to music.
 Tom and Leslie are our absolute favorite musicians.
 Here's a link to their blog:

Friday, December 14, 2012

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Photo #349 2012

Our new shower
Complete with "shiatzu stones" on the floor.
Russell did all the tiling in our new bathroom.
To see the bathtub go here:

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Photo #347 and 348 2012


I stopped by a driveway to snap this cheery
Christmas decoration ......



And when I made a 180 degree turn
I saw this beautiful view.....

Monday, December 10, 2012

Photo #346 2012


Now that winter is upon us the deer have returned
to browse on the grass and Manzanita.
Fine with us!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Photo #341 2012


A peaceful dinner
After battling roof leaks for 10 days
Russell deserved a extra special dinner:

Garlic Spagetti
Green salad with oranges, walnuts and goat cheese
Freshly baked home made bread
and 
Apple Crisp for dessert.
If you haven't tried Garlic Spagetti go here:

Monday, December 3, 2012

Photo #337,338,339 2012

Doesn't everyone have a ladder 
as an accessory in their dining room ?

We have had torrential  rain and wind storms
for the last 2 weeks and several roof leaks
have developed because of this excessive wind and rain.
Hence the ladder in the dining room and outside.
Russell cut a 3" by 18" narrow piece out of the ceiling
so that the water wouldn't do any more damage
and would easily drip into the big ice chest we
had put below. Thank goodness we were home.


Russell is up on a ladder figuring out where 
the leak is originating. It's a clear dry day today
so he's using a hose to spray on different parts
of the roof while I stand in the dining room letting him
know when the water starts to drip inside.
What a way to spend a Sunday.....


At the end of the day Russell had temporarily patched
the roof and we were rewarded with this glorious sunset
on Mt Shasta. Mt Shasta has had approximately
200 inches of snow since all this weather began.
We have had wind gusts up to 70 mph and 
about 1.5 inches of rain every day. Whew.
Right now it's sunny but look at our forecast:
... High Wind Warning remains in effect from 4 am to 7 PM PST
Tuesday...
A High Wind Warning remains in effect from 4 am to 7 PM PST
Tuesday.
* Winds: south 40 to 60 mph with gusts to 70 mph.
* Timing: strong winds will develop early Tuesday morning and
continue through Tuesday evening.
* Locations include: the southern Shasta Valley including Weed
and much of Interstate 5.
* Impacts... driving will become difficult... especially for high
profile vehicles. Loose items may be picked up by the wind
and become dangerous projectiles. Tree damage and power
outages are possible.
* For a detailed view of the hazard area... visit
http://www.Wrh.NOAA.Gov/wrh/whv/?Wfo=mfr
YIKES
 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Photo #335 and 336




Sunny days lead to great shadows!




Merry Christmas shoppping everyone!
Today we'll go to our local Craft Fair
 and I hope to do all my shopping there-
 Here's to shopping local and supporting local businesses
instead of corporations that import from China.
That's been my mantra now for about 10 years.

For more Shadow Shot Sunday images go here:

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Photo #333

Sheer lunacy
It's a full moon tonight.......
and I knew it even without looking out the window.
 There is a lot of rather peculiar behaviors going on out there.
Watch out for those drivers!   

Monday, November 26, 2012

Photo #327, 328, 329, 330, 331 and 332

Please note that all these fine photos are
by our good friend Ted McGrath of
Vancouver BC
Thanks Ted!!!!



It's time to celebrate a 50th Wedding Anniversary!!


First we had to blow up balloons
and put on our conehead hats!


Then have a little parade up to Bob and Judy's room!


I think we surprised Judy and Bob!


Besides balloons and party hats
we had a nice little cake for Bob and Judy!


The happy couple!
Congratulations !!!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

What's up with Google?

Tarnation and Frustration

Has anyone else encountered this annoying message
from Blogger. I have moved a ton of files off of Picasa
and I still get this message.

"Whoops! You're out of space. You are currently using 100% of your 1 GB quota for photos. Upgrade storage
Photos are stored in your Picasa Web Albums account and are included in your 1 GB free quota for photos. Additional storage you purchase is shared between several Google products and is in addition to your free quota. Learn more"

Is this Googles way of telling me "Happy Thanksgiving"???
Am I going to have to move to Word Press?
If any of you have a suggestion please comment!
Thanks!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Photo #326 2012


The only time I draw is when we are on vacation.
Perhaps I should pretend to be on vacation while at home.

Once I have finished them- I give them away.
This one I gave to Augustina-the one above to Antonio.
They both work here in Zihuatanejo.
They both make a living on the beach.
Every year now when I see Augustina she says
"Is that my drawing you are making?"
My answer is "If you want it-you got it"
Now this one- Russell wanted me to keep.
So I gave it to him!
He works hard on the beach also-
holding down all those little grains of sand.
Silly little drawings that entertain me.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Photo #324 2012

Winter is coming.....time for soup!
Nothing is better than a bowl of warm hearty soup
to take winter's icy chill out of your bones and
put a smile on your face! Here's a delicious recipe for
Curried Butternut Squash Soup
(many thanks to the Silver Palate Cookbook)
Serves 4-6
4 tbl sweet butter    2 cups finely chopped onion 
4-5 tsp curry powder   2 medium size butternut squash(3# appx)  
2 apples peeled cored and diced   3 cups chicken or veggie stock
1 cup apple juice   salt and pepper to taste 
1 shredded unpeeled but cored Granny Smith apple for garnish
~~~
1. melt butter add onions,curry powder and cook covered over low heat
until onions are tender about 20-25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile peel squash using veg peeler, scrape out seeds and chop squash.
3. Once onions are tender, pour in stock, add squash and apples and bring  to a
boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered until squash and apples are very
tender - appx 20-25 minutes.
4. Using an immersion blender blend soup until smooth. Or strain solids and
 process with food mill or food processor until smooth adding 1 cup of stock .
Return blended and processed mixture to pot with remaining stock.. 
5. After processing add apple juice to blended soup in pot and  season 
to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer briefly and serve immediately with
shredded apple as garnish .  
 YUM. ENJOY.
~~~~~~

For other Six Word Saturdays go here:
or for other Shadow Shot Sundays go here:


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Photo #321 and 322 2012


Being a beach vendor in Mexico is a hard job-
it's hot, the clothing is heavy to carry and
these days there are not too many customers
on the beach. I bought a tablecloth and two dresses
from this very nice and hard working woman.


It's laundry day back at home with lots of
our Mexico clothes to wash! I always dry our
cotton clothing on the rack- easier on the clothes
and saves money in electricity.