Happy Halloween...

I used to love Halloween. Helping my kids find costumes, hosting parties for teenagers, passing out treats to decked out kiddies. Now, not so much. Last year alone, we had 600+ persons (kids, older kids, and some adults) ringing my doorbell, chanting trick or treat. That is a heck of a lot of candy! Maybe, I'm becoming a Halloween Scrooge?!! I have decided to take a spooky approach this year!

So "oooooooooooooooo" Happy Halloween!

MK Challenge... Something you cannot live without...

We have so many things that we think we cannot live without. Houses, cars, clothing, jewelry, indulgences, television, computers, cell phones, ipods, the list goes on and on. Presented with the challenge of something you cannot live without, one cannot help but attach sentimental value to our possessions. As I looked around my home for something to photograph that I simply could not live without, my eye and my heart caught two things. As I opened the glass door of my 1909 Secretary Cabinet, where I put many treasures, I reached with my left hand for a book. My left hand ring finger banded in a gold ring. A symbolic trinket, uniting love and committment between me and a wonderful man. Signifying, at this point, 31 years together. Good times, bad times, laughter and tears. One important thing that has held us together for so long is our faith. Faith in God, faith in eternity, faith in each other. My wedding ring is resting upon my grandfather's scriptures. The book from my cabinet. I remember my grandpa reading his scriptures daily. He had a great testimony and represented his faith in good manner. I was given his scriptures after his death. This leather-bound book has his handwritten notes in the margins, his crooked lines marking passages that were important to him. I hold the book to my face, I can smell his cologne very faintly. My grandparents were married almost 75 years. What better things to surround our lives than gems that preserve our emotions.

Saturday Morning...

Today, it is raining. It is thundering. I have super ripe bananas. Today is a good day to make banana bread. Now, I haven't made banana bread for quite a while. So much fat in that oil. Too much for the heart healthy cooking we have adopted at our house. Then I found a healthier banana bread recipe via a link from the Pioneer Woman site. This recipe is from the Kitchen Runway. Super easy to make the batter, smells absolutely wonderful baking... it tastes great. Very moist, very banana tasting. I will definately make this again. It is heart healthy, low in fat, and yummy. Perfect for a rainy Saturday.

Here is the link for the recipe - http://kitchenrunway.com/banana-bread-easy-healthier/

Learning Diptych...

I am learning to do my very own diptych. I have been posting pics to the MK Challenge Diptych and it is so much fun. I love finding photographs that go together. Last July, Jerry and I went to Denver for some baseball games - Cubs vs Rockies. It was so fun to visit Coors Field. I just love getting away for a few days with my honey!

New Snack???

My friend Mark is on a quest... perhaps my Utah City Girl upbringing has brought on this mission of his - to bring me hillbilly or red-neck culture. He is always sending me pictures of red-neck things, like sofa's in the yard, or cooler mailboxes. Maybe, he is trying to even the score, since I tell him of Utah peculiarities. The latest advocacy is a snack of sorts.... Texas Pete Hot Sauce (direct from Ohio) and Pork Rinds. I am willing to try just about anything new, so I dug in, so to speak. I like the hot sauce. Better than Tabasco. But the Pork Rinds ... not so much. I will stick to corn chips or Doritos.

MK Challenge ~ Vintage

I am one who fills my home with vintage items. I love finding them, collecting them, displaying them. Why this obsession with things of the past - are they made better (probably yes), is it romantic to dream about the past (absolutely yes). I wonder about the history of my finds. A victrola - did a young couple play music while they danced in each other's arms? A secretary cabinet - did a family display books and trinkets, did a woman, at the pull down desk, write a love letter to her man while he was away, perhaps at war? A 1940 Royal Typewriter - my husband found at the D.I. for $2.00. I wonder who used this and for what? Maybe it was used long into the night by those infamous writers of the 40's - Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, or John Steinbeck. Was it used by a young journalist? Will we ever know the exact history of these wonderful treasures? We can only dream of what took place surrounding these objects of curiosity.

Highway 50...

Why do you think they call in the loneliest highway in America?? This is where it starts...

Feathers...

Feathers... soft, quiet, unique. I love a good feather pillow - actually the best is one for my head, and one under my knees, cushioning the bend. They make the most delightful padding to rest my head upon. Jerry, on the other hand prefers a flat foam, somewhat hard pillow. Oh, the simple differences discovered in marital bliss.

MK Challenge ~ Quiet

It's funny - I thought this challenge would be easy, and it turned out to actually be one of the most vexing of all the challenges. Quiet is neither soft nor silent, it is not rest or relax. Quiet is not necessarily peaceful. Quiet is something you don't hear, but could hear. Unlike the young mothers of the MK duo, I experience quiet every day. My house is quiet when I walk through the door. My car is quiet while I drive. You see, my days have moments so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I miss the excited chatter and giggles of children, running through the door and through the house. I miss a house full of teenagers, laughing, turning their music too loud. While this empty nest of mine is often enjoyable; at last a minute to myself, the longing for something less than quiet is all to present.

Little Mace ....

I seriously had so much fun this weekend. My photog daughter, Kourt, let me hang out with her while she shot some fam pics of my niece's family. I took these fun shots of Mace. He is so cute and just over one years old. He is so photogenic! These are some favs. Thanks Kourt for letting me come.

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head...

Enjoying a night of rain and mist. You get such interesting photos in the rain, leaving the aperture wide open. I love photographing different textures. There is always something that needs it's picture taken.

MK Challenge - Favorite Indulgence...

Oh, no... I have so many indulgences, it is hard to choose. But this challenge did make me take stock of myself, and look at the indulgences I have. Purses, cheesecake, getting my hair done, etc. I chose this indulgence for two reasons - 1. Buying a lipstick makes me feel good. A secret little treat just for me (at least I don't think Jerry borrows these). 2. They are so girly, creamy, colorful and fun to photograph.

But, who am I trying to kid - my super, duper real indulgence is:

Need I say more!!!

Honey Crisp...

OK, I love apples. I eat one or two every single day. My very, very favorite are Honey Crisp. They magically appear about mid-September and you can usually get them through October. They are also magically de...lish. Crisp, juicy. OK, I get it, I blog about mudane stuff. But, I did make a committment to blog. So, you get my apple ramblings. But just look how yummy they look. Don't you want one now??