random – Page 10 – This Old House 2

Hipstamatic

I am not a techno-geek. No… if I can figure out how to turn it on and turn it off, we’re golden. Right now I’m talking about my iPhone. Which I love beyond the good sense I possess. Most of the time.

So.. there’s this APP on the thing which someone in the blogosphere was raving about. I managed to find it on my phone and I actually figured out how to use it. It’s so easy, a Cave Man could use this application.

Anyway… I walked around the farm in this lovely heatwave
and snapped some hipstamatic pics.

If you have an iPhone, I highly recommend it.
It’s just fun to see how they turn out.

If you shake the phone,
the camera picks the flash and shutter setting at random

and you get what you get.

This is what I got.

Maybe Kate sat here….

Look what I found at a vintage shop in Westbrook, called Not Just A Crock.

I fell in love with the chipped light blue chair

with brown velvet and embroidery.

I was told it came from the beach cottage right next to Kate’s

in Fenwick, Old Saybrook. The cottage’s family of many decades was moving

and there was age-old furniture throughout the house that no one wanted.

This chair was among them.

Just think!.. this was Ms. Hepburn’s

neighbor for many years!

Maybe she DID sit here….

This pillow came with it.. it smells of musty old beach cottage.

I sanded down the flaking paint and cleaned it up just a bit.

I think I like it just the way it is.

The Other Andrea

Remember the post “My Other Self”? Andrea joined in the fun today and her other self is awesome!!… check it out here..

Speechless.

Stormy Night

5pm…

Frankly speaking

I think I got it from my grandmother Elsie… the deep affection for a good hot dog. The flames were fanned by the fact that the best hot dogs in the world were located in the state of my origin. If you’ve never had one, put it on your bucket list…. a NYC hot dog, straight from the vendors cart. Never mind that the water those dogs are boiling in looks like they got it straight out of the harbor – those dogs are awesome.

Oh, I know they’re pretty much made out of crap, but there are regulations afterall…

According to an article by Peggy Trowbridge Filippone of About.com, Frankfurter content is regulated by law in the United States. Traditional hot dogs are made of beef, pork, veal, chicken or turkey. They are available with or without skins and may contain up to 30 percent fat and 10 percent added water. For vegetarians, there are tofu hot dogs. (ick. That’s not a dog)

Hot Dog Terms Regulated by Law

• Beef or all-beef: Contains only beef with no soybean protein or dry milk solid fillers added.

• Kosher: All-beef, usually heavily seasoned with garlic.

• Meat: A mixture of pork and beef, usually 40 percent pork and 60 percent beef with no fillers.

• Frankfurter: May contain up to 3.5 percent fillers and made from a combination of meats.

Hot Dog Style Glossary

• Chicago dogs: Yellow mustard, dark green relish, chopped raw onions, tomato slices, celery salt and a poppy seed bun.

• Kansas City dogs: Sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese on a sesame seed bun.

• New York City dogs: Steamed saurkraut, onions and pale yellow mustard sauce. See second photo.

• Coney Island dogs: Topped with a spicy meat mixture.

• Southern slaw dogs: Served with coleslaw on top.

• Corn dogs: Placed on a stick, dipped in corn bread batter, and deep-fried.

• Tex-Mex dogs: Topped with salsa, Monterey Jack cheese, and chopped jalapenos.

• Pigs in a Blanket: Wrapped in pastry and baked.

• Baltimore Frizzled: Split and deep-fried. ( I didn’t find a good picture of that)

What ticks me off is, my blood pressure has been on the rise (what? am I that old?? No!!!)…and someone told me a variety of stupid symptoms I’ve put up with over the years may have to do with a gluten allergy. So I’m trying to get sodium and glutens out of my diet. Guess what’s the number one offender… GASP….

My beloved hotdog.

That’s just ticking me off…. It’s the little things, you know.

You’re craving a hot dog right now, aren’t ya?

Dear Blogger –

I love you dearly, I do…

But lately our relationship has been strained

and it has a lot to do with your fickle performance.

Can you please clear up the comments issue

so I have a voice again on my friends blogs?

Thanks ever so much –

Is anyone else having comment issues on blogger?

It’s been a week! Did you figure out how to resolve it, if so?

Click Class

This is what we’re doing for the next few Fridays at this old house…

Professional Photographer Tim Gannon has agreed to

give us a four session class on how to get more

out of our digital cameras.

(read that as how to actually USE THE SETTINGS on our digital cameras)

Joey and Lynn listening intently…

F.Stop – Shutter Speed – Aperture – ISO

TV mode – CA mode – Program Mode

Manual Focus – Auto Focus – Zoom Lens – Macro Lens

JPEG – GIF – TIFF – RAW

Pixels – megabites – gigabites

Light sensitivity – underexposed – overexposed

Dorothy, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore….

The one where she’s really random….

Can you believe these guys? They’ll be ready to fly the coop soon!

This is my favorite chicken… Dorothy

She is the wisest, calmest, friendliest chicken of the girls

and she’ll be the biggest – a Black Jersey Giant

Ask me how much I love peonies…

And this color combo in the patio pots…..

Glorious weather here today…

Can’t stop thinking of all those people who have lost their homes

and loved ones in that series of tornadoes…

The destruction is just devastating to see, let alone live..

and I’m not even gonna post a picture of that hideous

Casey A*thony trial.

If the story she is spewing isn’t true…

and I doubt it is, for she has lied a thousand times..

..then she is just pure evil.

I hate knowing people are capable of

inflicting this level of horror on each other.

ENOUGH said.

Of Beauty and Bouncy Balls

I’ve known this young woman and her family for quite a few years now.. her Dad was my sons soccer coach, her brother is one of my sons BF’s … her parents are just awesome, dedicated folks and we’ve been glad to know them. SHE is a sweetheart – beautiful inside and out, although she would shy away from any of this praise.

Once upon a time, when the kids were younger and dating meant you were “going out” but you didn’t really talk to each other much, if at all, although notes were passed back and forth and flowers were bought on Valentines Day…. my son and this beauty were a couple. What does that mean when you’re 12 or 13? Not much in the grand scheme of things. But I have a picture that represents the joy and innocence of that age. She and he are in it….. I love this photo.. it captures what I wish we could all conjure up now and then… pure, uncluttered joy.

I was asked to take pictures of her and her new beau (not so new really – I believe a year or so together) for prom this past weekend, and she just took my breath away. What a beauty, as if she even knows it. Her guy is handsome, to say the very least.

Even though they are still very young… there is an ease between them that shows even on film. Ofcourse there is much ahead of them… the remainder of HS, college and plans for the future. They always say the odds of HS sweethearts lasting are slim, but I’ve known a few. I am thrilled to have captured these moments for them….and strangely enough, for me.