Snowflakes. . . AGAIN!!!!

It just seems we can't get away from this snow. Here it is, Spring has officially begun, we're about to leave March behind us and we're getting more snow. I do have to say though that they were big, fat, beautiful flakes. So I decided I was going to take advantage of the opportunity (I had to make it good somehow!) and take some shots in the snow. Since all of the people in my family are adults (no fun to take photographs of :-P) I borrowed a couple of my piano students when they came for their lessons. :-) Since they had to get home I only took a couple of each but they still turned out better than if it had been of one of us ugly boring adults! :-P 

(all SOOC)

Love her eyes in this one.

Had to try some B&W too.

Definitely made the snow worth it. Already thinking of ways to make them better next time. Can't wait to try my hand at it again.

Cross Country Photography

Last night I got home from a 9 day road trip. I had a wonderful time and tried to use it as an opportunity to get some unique photos. But, I had a hard time keeping the camera with me (we were pretty squished in the car, especially on the way back) so while I did get a few fun ones I also missed a few amazing ones. One specific one really killed me to miss...but I guess I will survive. lol So! Here are a few. :-)

I couldn't help but wonder how good this coffee/cappuccino was at .50 cents a cup...

I had this shot perfectly (a big, old, pretty building) and was about to snap it when the stupid semi got in my way! I still thought it was kind of neat though because the focus is still on the building in the background. :-P

One that actually worked. I love the neat little farms you pass as you drive down the interstate.

I couldn't decide which of these two I liked better...both are such different "angles".

Then of course I had to get a couple of animals. :-)

Thanks for coming with me! :-)

It's Snowing!!!

For the second time this Winter. Well, we have had a dusting or two as well but they do not count next to these "dumpings" we have had! I don't mind the snow...so long as I do not have to go out in it! It is so pretty! And this time it is the big, fat, fluffy snow flakes! Awesome!!! 

I didn't venture out past my porch. lol Therefore I did not get anything really amazing. But it still shows how much snow is coming down!

The house across the street...

and a couple "artistic" shots..if you want to call them that. :-P

*sigh* I can not believe it has already been a year since I last took some Winter shots. One year ago I went out with a dear friend who also loves photography and we got some pretty neat Winter shots. Snow, ice, frost. It was pretty. It has also been one year today since I saw said friend because she up and moved away. So thankful for cell phones and Facebook! :-)

"Family Portrait Session Takes it all out of Men in the Family"

Can't you just see the headlines? lol I can't put up the family photo for various reasons but I had to share this one of my brothers and dad. You would think they had just worked 12 hours or something and not had their picture taken. And! It was taken on Thanksgiving weekend so it's not like they had done much of anything but eat and sit anyway! :-P

 I hope neither of the boys read this...I might have to publish a retraction...

Soul Smothered Chicken

This is the recipe I recently tried out for the first time. It's not for us though. So as I type this...and look at the very true to life photos...it's cooking on the stove...and I'm smelling it...and my sister is asking if we'll get to take a bit... Oh the agony of cooking yummy meals for other people! Oh well. Rather than continue to go on and on about the hardships of smelling amazing food in the kitchen that you won't be indulging in yourself, I'll begin my timeline. 

First, set out the ingredients. Ok, I don't actually do this as a habit but for the sake of a picture I did. 

Then you brown the chicken on all sides...which I forgot to take a picture of. Yeah, I'm on the ball here. 

The already browned chicken.

Then you take the chicken out and saute the vegetables. 

(I did not know how amazing fresh garlic smells as you saute it! Wowza!)

Add some S&P to that and some flour then add the broth and drop the chicken back in. (So I'm not following the recipe to a "T"; but that's why I'm putting the recipe up too. So you can. :-) )

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or so and Presto! You have a delicious (Yes, we tasted it. What?!?! You wouldn't have???) chicken dinner in seconds! Well, unless you're cooking it and not reading it on a blog. :-)

Now comes the fun part.

 

Clean up. :-/

(For the full recipe check out my recipe blog, Sarah's Recipe Cards)

Hello, my name is Sarah.

It's been so long I wasn't sure if you'd remember who I was so I thought I'd start by introducing myself. My name is Sarah, I "own" this blog, I love photography (among many other things), and I blog from time to time. We have met before but it's been quite awhile. You'll remember me soon....hopefully. 

Anyway, as I've done my best by way of a short a sweet introduction I'll get on with my blog as if everything was normal. :-) It has been forever since I blogged last! I've been watching the months pass and with each one I thought, "There's goes another blogless month." Then tonight I spent a wonderful hour and a half chatting on the phone with a good friend and she even mentioned that it had been awhile. Then (that's a lot of "thens"...) I discovered tonight that our wireless connection was back up! So, here I am! :-) By way of a "quickie blog" I'm just going to share with you a few of the "ornamental" photographs I took on Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful day of just us. Cooked, and bantered, and teased all day then had our big dinner just before 8 PM. It was a very pleasant day all around. :-)

This is the tablecloth that my sister bought Mama and the center piece that I put together. It was the first year we had a centerpiece and it was a lot of fun. Hey, it's the little things that count, right? :-)

Here's the table just set before we piled it with food. 

An "artistic" shot of the table. 

And the table laden with our bounty. Not all of it though. We also had a side table full of goodies. 

So, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and loved ones and I hope this is the first of many more frequent blogs. :-)

Happy Fall!!!

It's my favorite season! The smell of baking apples is in the air and the sound of the leaves blowing through the neighborhood fills my ears. I love all of the colors and the smells of Fall should be available year round!

I feel the urge deep within me to wax poetic but being incapable of such things I will wax normal. :-) 

The small of apples that I spoke of aren't actually baking apples but apples on the stove. Last weekend we went on a short road trip and brought along some sliced apples. As expected, no one was interested in them and they weren't even touched. (We are apple lovers but sliced apples have been the snack of trips for years and we're...burnt out.) So yesterday, feeling industrious and a little like little Suzy homemaker, I decided I wasn't going to let the browned apples that now no one was going to eat go to waste. I was going to make applesauce. :-) Or at least something close to it. (Last Thanksgiving my Mom "accidentally" make applesauce when cooking the apples for our apple pie so I knew it couldn't be that hard :-) ) So I peeled and diced the slices and set them to simmering. They cooked along fine and were soon getting soft so I added the cinnamon, sugar, and brown sugar as well (as a little more water which I had been adding a little bit at a time). I kept a close eye on it...but not close enough. :-S Soon I realized I wasn't hearing the sounds of simmering apples anymore so I went in to check. I wasn't hearing such sounds because now I was burning caramelizing the apples. End of said "Suzy homemaker" project. But! Today is another day and we had some Red Delicious apples that I knew no one was going to eat (not our favorite kind) so..... "Suzy Homemake" attempts #2! :-D

As of right now they are still on one piece as is the bottom of the pan. :-) I've been jumping up every couple of minutes to stir and sometimes add a little more water.

On to another subject for a bit while we wait for the apples to finish. :-) Fall has been "threatening" for quite some time now but hasn't really "hit" our yard yet. Well this morning it did. I walked outside this morning and saw that our lawn was covered in leaves (from our neighbor's tree, I might add :-P). So much fun! So of course I had to go out and take a few pictures...but of what? Just the leaves? Okay, got a few of those...

Aha! The cat! :-) She makes a very good model. :-)

 

Back to the apples. They are so yummy!!!!! I think I'll put the recipe on my other blog. You'll have to give it a try! If nothing else, it will fill your house with wonderful Fall scents. :-) Happy Fall everybody!!!