Packages of Opportune Moments

Is there anything better than coming home from a long day at work and finding a package on the doorstep waiting for you?  Even if you were the one who ordered whatever it is, there is still a thrill in the arrival.

Last night was no different.  I received a package.  I knew it would be there, because I checked the tracking until it said "delivered."  As I sliced through the fiber tape and fought my way through the inflated air packaging bubble things that my son loves to stomp on (because they make the most satisfying BANG noise when the pop), I held my breath until I had in my hands the ultimate prize.

My brand new Canon Rebel T3 DSLR.

*sigh*

I have literally waited years to own one of these bad boys.  I have the Rebel TI SLR, which uses film.  I also have a Minolta and a Pentax K1000 (Japan), as well as my Dad's original Yashica, that doesn't work, but I will *never* get rid of.  I have relied on point and shoot digital cameras since my son was a baby to capture images, which got the job done, but isn't quite the same.  Trust me- you can tell the difference between a point and shoot picture and a DSLR picture. 

Now that I have one, my poor family will have no rest from the pop and flash of my camera.  And while they grumble and glower at me sometimes, they know that I am capturing our family history, seizing moments, that eventually, will be what's left of long and happy lives.  A visual documentation of laughter, stories, adventures, and all the varied emotions along the road. 

It was my Dad and Mack Hickey who taught me how to take pictures.  Mack Hickey was my art teacher in high school, who taught me about framing a shot, darkroom procedures, and all the other "professional" aspects of photography.  The one thing, above all others, that Mack taught me is that in order to be a successful photographer, you must view the world as if you were constantly looking through a camera lens, so that it becomes second nature to see the amazing shots.  Still, he cautioned, even the greatest photographer might only get 4 great shots out of 24.  It was all a gamble.



January 2012, right before sunset



But, my Dad taught me something different.  He told me just to snap pictures.  Not even to look through the viewfinder- just take the pictures and see what they become later.  You’ll get some plain, goofy, serious, out of focus, hastily posed……….but then you get the ones that completely capture the person and who they are.  This theory of photography works especially well in the digital age, when you can snap until the card is full.



Trail Running in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park

I use both these theories every day, in photography and in life.  Sometimes, a decision must be framed out and set-up just so.  Sometimes, the opportune moment comes around and things just happen.

Irish

Oh the smell of frying bacon.....

My One Weakness

Hard Worker

Glory in the Making

Glory in the Baking

The Grand Finale

The Recipe:

Bacon Cheddar Chive Scones (from King Arthur Flour)

2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur  Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Perfect Pastry Blend
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) cold  butter
1 cup (4 ounces) very coarsely grated or  diced cheddar cheese
1/3 cup (about 1/2 ounce) snipped fresh chives, or finely diced scallion tops (the  green part, 3/4 ounce)
1/2 pound bacon, cooked, cooled, and crumbled (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (7 ounces) heavy cream or whipping cream, or enough to make the dough cohesive 

(I used 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup skim milk)

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

1) Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

2) Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly, with some of the butter remaining in larger pieces.

3) Mix in the cheese, chives, and bacon until evenly distributed.

4) Add ¾ cup of the cream, stirring to combine. Try squeezing the dough together; if it’s crumbly and won’t hang together, or if there are crumbs remaining in the bottom of the bowl, add cream until the dough comes together. Transfer the shaggy dough to a well-floured work surface.

  
5) Pat the dough into a smooth 7" disk about ¾" thick. Transfer the disk to the prepared baking sheet.

6) Use a knife or bench knife to cut the disk into 8 wedges, spreading the wedges apart a bit on the pan.

7) Brush the scones with a bit of cream; this will help their crust brown.

8) Bake the scones for 22 to 24 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. Serve warm, or at room temperature. 

Enjoy!

Irish

Under Attack

They multiply when you aren't looking.

Birthday Blanket

When I turned 7, my Gramma made me my very own quilt.  I still have it- it has a puppy in the very middle, with pinwheels all around it.  My son now sleeps under it.  :)

His 6th birthday is in June and I started working on his own Birthday Blanket last month.  I know it's early, but I want to make sure I get it done in time.  I'm not a quilter, but I can knit, so I am making him a patchwork knit blanket.  I'm pretty much just making rows of different colored squares in a simple garter stitch.

 I'm knitting on size 15 needles with Lion Brand Homespun yarn in any color I can find it in.  It's a very soft yarn that is (more importantly) machine washable and dryable!

The weather here has been extraordinary for January, so we were able to go for a walk on Monday down the hill to our neighbor, which is a giant cattle farm.  The owner is leasing it out to an outfit from Texas- apparently the drought has gotten bad enough that he chose to truck his hundreds of livestock to the green hills of East Tennessee.  We couldn't be happier with the change- the hired hands are nice enough to let us wander in and out of the barns and even introduced us to the orphaned calves, who ate right out of A's little hands, much to his delight. 

On the walk back home, we found two magnificent treasures:  a tiny bird's nest and a green glass Coke bottle.  The nest has been added to our collection, while the coke bottle is soaking to get the gunk out.

This Spring, I may invest in some beehives.  I've been interested in them for awhile and have made a new friend who keeps bees and is teaching a class about them this Spring, which is open to any who want to attend.  You can find out more at My Barefoot Farm.  It's towards the bottom of the blog entry, but she's going to cover all the bases of beekeeping.  I, for one, am really excited to attend!! 

We have a local beekeeping club here, called the Clinch Valley Beekeepers Association that I've seen at some of the local festivals.  They always bring some good honey and a displayable hive with them, which was a big hit with us.

That's all for now- I'll be attempting to write a little more frequently than I have been.  

Todays' quote: 

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."   ~Morrie Schwartz~

Irish

Smart Mama, Dumb Phone

With the upswing of social networking, e-mail, texting, and smartphones, it is possible to stay fully connected almost anywhere you go.  I don't know what the exact statistics are, but most people I know that have cell phones own a "Smart" phone, such as the Blackberry, Droid, iPhone, Android, etc, etc.  I had a Blackberry for a while, until its untimely demise and replaced it with a Droid.  I was plugged in.  Constantly.  If the phone dinged, pinged, or buzzed, I had to check it.  The little green flashing light, indicating some form of message, was like Odysseus' sirens, calling me insistently.

On top of this, it cost money.  At the time, it was $30/ month.  Not much until you start adding it all up.  Cost of the phone, cost of the data plan, and then there is the cost of the time taken away from your real life.  Those minutes when you aren't really paying attention to your family or your surroundings add up.  What seems like a few minutes will add up into hours and then days, depending on your usage habits.  This was pointed out to me in sharp relief when I spent a week at Cape Cod with my son, my sisters and their families.  While I was there, I made it a point to leave my phone behind 90% of the time.  If we went to town, I took it, but that was it.  I took pictures with my regular digital camera.  One of my sisters, who considers me a techno-geek of sorts, was constantly caught off-guard when she would ask me to look something up, call someone, etc and I would reply that my phone was back at the cottage.  The first time, her mouth dropped open and she was speechless. 

So, I went low-tech and used my "upgrade" to get a DumbPhone.  The fanciest thing about this particular phone is that it has a QWERTY keyboard to make texting a little bit easier and a small camera, which takes mediocre photos.  I must admit that the transition was odd.  I missed the nice camera and ability to e-mail photos the most of all the features.  The lack of having everyone's updates, tweets, and comments was almost a relief.  The only statuses I needed to worry about were mine and my son's. 

It surprised me that my friends had the most difficulty in my choice to "upgrade" to a low-tech status.  My nights are no longer disturbed with the dinging of my phone and I find messages waiting for me about how much I miss out on with my "non-internet phone." 

In reality, I am not missing out on all that much.  I am gaining time with my son, who is growing up WAY too fast.  I am out in the yard, helping to build a treehouse.  I am in the garage, fixing the chain on his bike again.  I am making dinner, while he sings the Christmas songs they have been learning at school.  (Voice like his mother- sounds like an angel when he sings.)

So, consider this, especially right now, during the busiest time of the year, which is supposed to be all about family, not phones.  Be present in the moment.  Enjoy the glow of the family around the table.  Technology has its place and it can be a useful tool to bring those together who are far apart, especially with military deployments. But when the phone dings or bings or buzzes, ask yourself which matters more at that moment- the e-mail/text message/ FB alert that just came in, or being in the moment.