I'm Here!

I'm here---and look who was here to greet me when I stepped off the plane!



Yesterday, I flew to South Carolina to spend some time with Jana and Rob.   I hadn't seen her since Christmas (and even longer since I'd seen Rob), so this trip was long overdue for both of us.  My plane was slightly delayed, but not terrible---just long enough that we were both really hungry when I arrived.  We headed to Salsarita's for lunch.  Yum!



The weather was perfect---blue skies, temperatures in the low 80's---so we thought it was a great time to explore downtown Greenville.   I remembered from Callie's college visits that Main Street was a really neat location, but it has progressed even more since that time, with fun shops, great restaurants and modern buildings.



The Falls Park area was just beautiful!





The flowers were in full bloom and people were enjoying being outdoors.


We walked along the pathways near Reedy Falls and stopped in many of the art studios and shops.







The sidewalks of Main Street are inhabited by mice----Main Street Mice.   Visitors enjoy spotting them tucked into nooks and crannies along the path.





There were also lots of statues





And quotes built into the sidewalks.



We concluded our Greenville visit with a stop in Mast General Store.   The selection of outdoor clothing, supplies and nostalgic toys was so fun to browse.   I also loved the selection of old fashion candy---a bag of cinnamon bears might have made its way into my shopping bag.



Last night, we made pizzas and watched a movie with Rob.   We have plenty of project ahead of us this week, but yesterday was a great time to just relax and enjoy being together.

Celebrating Joy

Today we celebrated Joy.  



After MANY years in the school system, my good friend and coworker is retiring, so our department threw a little party for her.



I designed the invitations and then prepared a great photo book for the guests to sign as they arrived.  Unfortunately, FedEx (NOT my favorite company right now) lost the book.   They claim to have left it on my front porch, but it obviously was not left here, so I spent much of the day Friday and Saturday trying to track it down.  By Saturday afternoon, it became clear that I needed to develop a "Plan B".  I sent all the photos to be developed, shopped for a few supplies and then spent last night assembling a book with Danette.  The final product was pretty great and Joy really loved it, but I am still hoping to at least get reimbursed for the missing book.



In between pictures and scrapbook paper, I managed to put together my food for the party, too.



I used a recipe that I'd sampled at a recent Pampered Chef party---Quesadilla Bites with Nectarine Salsa.





It is an easy recipe, although a little time-consuming when you quadruple the measurements.   But they turned out nicely and were quite yummy.



We had lots of other great food, too.



There were tons of people that came to honor Joy and it was really fun to visit with some people that I had not seen in a very long time.





We even managed to get a photo of the group that used to teach  together at Caddo Exceptional School.

Walk This Way

Last summer, I began preparing to lay a brick pathway in the back yard.   I carefully dug out dirt, lay landscape fabric and then  spread crushed rock and paver sand.   My plans were to lay the bricks when I returned from our family vacation to Yosemite.  Well, needless to say, that never happened.  Ever since (for the last 11 months), it has been left incomplete, with weeds sprouting up all over the place and the once level area, quickly changed into a yucky, overgrown mess.



 But, that's all changing!  Last week, I ordered 1,000 paver bricks ---that's right, 1000!--and a bunch of sand.  Gina's husband, David, has set to work creating a new brick pathway beside the deck on his days off.









I decided to enlarge the original vision since that area is such an awkward shape. Here's where we are right now--a huge improvement already!!  The next step is to wrap it around the deck and then I'll add a flowerbed on the other side.



While David worked on the pathway, I worked on my herb garden, adding some cilantro, tomato plants and more basil.

;



As I moved some old paver stones to create a little bird bath, I found this little guy underneath. I think that I scared him so badly that he played "possum" while I took a picture.

Geauxcicles to Geaux

Ahhhhhh, the first day of Summer vacation is the best day of the whole season!!   After sleeping late, and taking care of some stuff around the house, I went to take Callie to lunch.  She agreed to pose for a few photos for my class before we left (will work for food??) and was very patient as I tried to complete all the required steps.





Later in the afternoon, I picked up Katie and Megan and headed to Norton Art Gallery for a few more pictures.



Neither of them had ever been there before and we all totally enjoyed being outdoors, wandering the meandering paths.



Katie is quite shy, but I was so glad that she wanted to go with me today.



There were lots of giggles and a bit of sibling mischief, but they are quite close and it was fun to see them together.







This is my favorite picture----at one point we paused for a few minutes and I decided to take a few shots of Megan as she sat on the iron bench.  Then, out of the corner of my eye, I realized that Katie had donned an elaborate dinosaur mask/headdress that she'd brought in her tote bag.   I think this shot captures their two personalities perfectly!




I've been wanting to try out the Geauxcicles shop near my house since it opened in the fall and this seemed like the perfect time.  We were running out of time, so we got our popsicles to "geaux".
Katie chose "Chocolate Wave",



Megan picked "Sublime"



and I had "Strawberry Chance".



They were so yummy!!!

Snapshots Update

I am in week 6 of my photography class, Snapshots of Good Life, and my head is swimming a bit from all the information:   exposure triangle, exposure compensation, focus, f-stops, depth of field, ISO, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, back lighting, indirect lighting, side lighting, reflectors, gray cards  . . .   I could go on and on.    But, to say I've been enjoying this class would be a gross understatement!  I have LOVED it!   Karen Russell is an amazing photographer and teacher and everything is so well organized.

There are still two weeks left and I know it will take months and years of practice to become adept at the techniques I've been learning, but even at this point, I can see my skills improving.

This morning, I needed a cooperative human subject to photograph for my latest assignment.  My friend, Gina's daughter, Megan offered to help out, so I brought her home with me after Souper Saturday deliveries.   She is so cute and was so patient with me as I changed settings, walked around her, turned her around and checked my screen.  Naturally, there were some photos that were not very good, but it seems like the percentage of those is becoming smaller, so that's good news!   Here are a few of my favorites (shot in my backyard and unedited---which is in itself a huge accomplishment):

Cooking School

You've probably heard me say it before (more than once, I imagine)----"It's not that I CAN'T cook, it's that I don't really like to cook.".  I love to bake, but cooking dinner on a regular basis for just me---not going to happen.   However, in the summer, all that changes.  I love to grill!   So last night ,with about an hour between appointments, I decided to grill a quick little pizza for supper.    All the ingredients were already in my refrigerator, so I loaded up a tray and headed outside.  After spraying the whole wheat tortilla, I placed it on the grill to brown, closed the cover and proceeded to water the herb garden.



Uh-oh.  You see, there lies my biggest mistake in cooking--I get busy doing something else.   It only took about 60 seconds before I smelled smoke and threw down the hose and yanked up the grill cover (I shouldn't have covered it anyway since that part only takes 2-3 minutes).



Yep, burned to a crisp.



After putting out the flames and letting it cool a minute, I put it where Emmi could reach it.   Frankly, even she was not sure she wanted it.



I started over--this time with much more success this time.



As you can see, Emmi's palate is not quite as discerning as my own.  She gobbled the whole thing up.    (and so did I)