Photography – This Old House 2

From a distance

I took some shots of the moon at 5:30 a.m. this morning, almost full, incredible orangey peach hues.. all three of these shots taken in the same 60 second window, just different settings on the camera.

As I stood out in the cool morning air gazing at this gorgeous moon, I thought of all the other people around the world who look up and admire the very same. We live in such a beautiful, miraculous place in a myriad of ways. Why we can’t all get along at least in the most basic sense of the word so that we each live in comfort and harmony is heartbreaking. It’s absolutely possible, totally obtainable.. we just can’t get out of our own way to get there.

I love this song, performed by Bette Midler… In these turbulent times it’s more fitting than ever…

From a Distance

From a distance the world looks blue and green

And the snow capped mountains white

From a distance the ocean meets the stream

And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It’s the voice of hope
It’s the voice of peace
It’s the voice of every man

From a distance we all have enough
And no one is in need
And there are no guns, no bombs and no disease
No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of hope
Playing songs of peace
They are the songs of every man

God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance

From a distance you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
What all this fightings for

Till soon, friends…

Winterscape

We woke up to about 4 inches of beautiful fluffy white snow and clear skies. By Tuesday, the temps will hit 60 degrees. T’is true what they say about New England weather… don’t like it? wait a few minutes…. it’ll change…

My little southern peach, Sally,

with her little twisted legs absolutely loves the snow…

Here and There

Well, darn it, winter is still being wintery ’round here, go figure… We got more snow yesterday and temps were in the teens this morning… just a few inches of the white stuff.

Sadie the hen took two steps outside, took a good luck around, said Oh, Hell No…. and strutted right back inside the hen house where the cozy coop heater is keeping the flock warm. Star, peering out from behind her, took the hint and jumped back up on the roost without placing a mere toe in the snow.

That’s kinda what I’ve been doing every time I attempt to catch a little of the news. Try as I may, I can’t ignore the twilight zone that currently occupies the White House. It’s like trying to look away from a bad accident, you’re just compelled to look back upon it as if you’re not convinced this is really what it appears to be. Wow, by absolutely anyone’s standards, I don’t care who you are or on what side of the proverbial isle you stand, or if you stand in the middle of the isle, outside in the hall, up in the attic, down in the basement or way out in the backyard with your head in the sand… this is all so bizarre.

Onward.

I’ve been playing with my new camera lens and eventually got a few moon shots I’m pretty happy with… one was an evening shot without a tripod so there is blur from the slight motion of holding up a camera with a really big lens…

And a few days later – this morning at 7 a.m., a moonset over the hill behind the barn… The tripod makes a huge difference when you’re trying to capture clarity… see the craters below? Amazing when you think of the distance between me and that moon, what a camera can do?

Meanwhile, down at Stella by the sea, another photographer who catches some beautiful landscape shots on the shoreline took this awesome photo in our cove… that’s one hardy clammer right there at very low tide.

Speaking of the cottage and cove – On one particularly cold afternoon I made this sea glass tree to hang on the wall down at the cottage. It was surprisingly easy to put together, the simple materials not expensive at all, and I love sea glass displayed in a way you can see all the pieces. When the natural light hits this piece, the sea.and.salt tumbled glass looks beautiful. If you’ve got sea glass you’d like to create something with, Pinterest, that great time suck, has tons of ideas.

It’s superbowl time! Do you have a favorite? I’m a Patriots fan.. they have many many fans, and just as many haters, funny thing. I had a football boyfriend in HS and our team back in the day was incredible – our senior year was a shut out season and in a burrough of NY, there’s a lot of talent. Currently one of our schoolmates has just been taken on by the Giants as a defensive coach. I went to every single game wearing one of the BF’s ratty old jerseys, cheering like no one’s business in the stands with my friends. It’s how I came to truly understand and love the game itself, except for the violence in those tackles. Yes I know, there isn’t one without the other, truth.

Here’s a recipe I’m making tomorrow, it’s always a hit and great superbowl fare if you’re serving it up. Easy to put together too, we can all use some -easy-, no?

Pillsbury Antipasto Squares… recipe HERE.

Go Pats! Let’s hope the commercials are not political and just plain fun or inspirational. We could all use a little of that…

Have a good weekend, all –

Winterizing

The Mr. took this week off – gave the crew some much needed R & R – although with yesterday’s little snow fall they were back out in force shoveling and plowing – with frigid temps making layers necessary. Oh, do I know that woe – barn chores are not fun by any standards at 6 degrees F. I’ve been chiseling out ice buckets for days and the manure is frozen to the ground in the paddocks. Bleh.

When the Mr. actually takes a week off, I see a glimpse of what “retirement” will look like for him. And me. This man of mine has to be doing something almost all the time, and if he’s not doing something he’s wondering what I’m doing and what I could be doing in a more organized fashion *sigh. I’m sure I’m not alone in this dilemna… ah, but that for another day.

In between snow chores we’ve been doing some much needed clean up – moved some furniture around, cleaned out some drawers and I packed away Christmas (yes I did that already – I decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving and for me, once the holiday is done, it’s done). Our bedroom decor needed a lift, so I switched out some pictures and bought a new throw blanket and a few new pillows to put on the bed – the effect with just a few simple changes was warm and uplifting without breaking the bank. If you’re feeling a little stuck-in-a-rut during these cold winter months, take a look around your home space – declutter (!) where you can, add a little color, rearrange the furniture if that’s practical, give it a fresh perspective and you will feel refreshed yourself.

We got hooked on Game of Thrones this week too, crazy thing. It’s a little alarming, the binge watching that we’ve been doing… but we truly had NO IDEA how addictive the series can be! Have you been watching? I believe they are on season 8 this coming year. I hadn’t paid any attention to it, as we aren’t big on TV unless it’s a great series, and this particular series at first glance looked like it was all about raw nudity, vulgarity and hideous violence. Nudity doesn’t offend me but there’s an awful lot of it paired with violence, which I really hate. So I didn’t invest in watching… until this vacation week when the temps kept us in more than out. So many nuggets of wisdom, so many great actors, truly! I’m glad we figured that out.

Cold weather makes me crave comfort foods – like this Turkey chili I threw together yesterday in the big pot, my favorite pot of all, a le Crueset with many sauces, stews and soups under it’s proverbial belt. The cookware is expensive, but it’s worth saving up for a piece or two because it does such a good job with the cooking.

I don’t have a recipe to share with you – but I can tell you what I threw in the pot.

I browned ground turkey in a bit of olive oil in the pot first, then added diced onions until translucent. Then I threw in a large can of crushed tomatoes and a large can of diced tomatoes. I rinsed and drained a can of dark red kidney beans and a can of light red kidney beans and threw those in. I diced celery, added it to the mixture along with shredded carrots, and then added the spices – Chili powder, Cayene powder, two gloves garlic minced, Cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper – all to taste. The whole mixture simmered for hours on the stove – Then I served it with shredded cheddar melted in, and then sprinkled on top with a blob of sour cream for garnish. Delicious! and a big comfort on a very cold evening.

Below is a simple desert, easy to make and delicious – It was a big hit on Christmas Day – I first saw it on another blog and thought – hmm, let’s give it a go – Thank you, Raven, for the idea.

My Christmas gift from the Mr. was a super zoom lens for my Canon – These pictures were taken from the warmth and comfort of my house because it’s too darn cold to take the good camera out in the tundra. Thankfully I have a bird feeder not far from the kitchen window and was able to get these shots from that very spot, even through dirty windows 🙂