Weeks 23-27/52

(Disclaimer: this post has lots of pictures, and is therefore very long.)

Oh, Project 52. You just never end. And you keep going even when I am too busy to care about you.

Oh well. Here is the first of a couple of catch ups, because I know you have all been waiting on tenterhooks for these pictures.

Week 23

Theme: Enchantment

Dear old, blue and white, turn-of-the-century building that we used to live by. You are derelict and uncared for, and you seem to have some nasty bug infestations, but you are beautiful, and I love you. And I wish that I could buy you since you just came on the market.

I love old, charming, grand houses, and I love daydreaming about getting a decrepit house like this one (which incidentally used to belong to George Taylor Jr) and gutting the whole thing (or Evan gutting the whole thing) and redoing it all in a mix of traditional and contemporary styles. And while I am dreaming,  I want a pony. Sigh. Maybe one day.

Others from week 23:

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Week 24

Theme: Make It Tasty

OK, I am actually really proud of this picture. I used my Lensbaby and the macro filter kit, and I rigged up a pseudo-studio with some books, some white paper, and the light from our kitchen window--the first time I have tried anything like that. It was also the first time that I have really attempted food photography. I love the macro filter kit, but using it is difficult since I don't have a tripod, and getting enough light in the camera that is handheld requires that I have the lowest F/stop possible (to enable the shutter speed to be fast... no motion blur), and therefore the smallest depth of field and the smallest focusing area. As you can see from the cereal pieces the area of focus that I was working with was about a centimetre. Getting enough light in was important because I a) didn't have an extra light source, and b) because I really wanted the cereal to be light and whimsical. Anyway, this is what I ended up with. That, and a couple of kids who thought the idea of stealing cereal pieces that I was trying to focus on was hilarious. 

Can I also just say that stacking minute Chex pieces is a lot more difficult than it might seem. The stacks always seemed to fall over just when I was about to take the picture. Grumble, grumble.

I think I am going to print this and put it up in Lena's room.

Others from week 24:

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Week 25

Theme: Craving

This theme was a theme that was appropriate for me that week. Summer means a lot of things, but it especially means good old English strawberries and cream. Or, as it was in our household, Eton Mess. Which is what I was craving right then and there. So this was heaven-sent... I could finally justify getting all the ingredients because the Project 52 people made me.

Eton Mess is divine. And easy. Here's the recipe:

Plain/vanilla meringues, lots of them. (Don't both making them unless you are a saint. Just buy them.)

Heavy cream, not from a can, lots of it.

Frozen or fresh mixed berries, lots of them.

(You will need lots of them because everyone will want to have multiple servings.)

Whip the cream. Crush the meringues. Add the meringues to the cream. Add the berries to the cream. Stir gently. Eat right away.

There is no set ratio for the ingredients by the way, just more or less equal parts is usually what I do. The meringues make everything sweet, so do not add sugar. Oh, and I wasn't kidding about eating right away. If you don't, the meringues go soggy and goopy. It still tastes wonderful, but you just don't get the meringue texture.

Anyway, I thought I would be clever and 'deconstruct' the Eton Mess for the pictures, but then I realized that it just looked like a plain old berry meringue, which it most certainly was not. So thats why there are the two pictures. Again.

Also, food photography is really hard.

Others from week 25:

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Week 26

Theme: Hidden Object

Not very creative here... just some mushrooms I found camped out under a tree trunk. Do I need to explain further? No, I think not.

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Week 27

Theme: Nature's Finest

Now, this is the kind of theme that I just hate, and mainly because it is embroiled in semantics. What exactly does "Nature's finest" mean? Because searching for Nature's absolute finest thing would take forever. And then it is totally debatable, because it is based on perception. So, we are back to square one. The theme really should have been "something that you think is really cool from nature", but that just doesn't sounds as spiffy. It really bugs me that I 'had to' title this "Nature's Finest", because I don't think it is Nature's finest. Do I like forget-me-nots? Yes. Was it kind of cool to come across patches of these flowers on our hike? Yes. Do I like the bokeh in this picture? Yes. But do I think it's Nature's finest? Um, no, not so much. But, the picture. I took it, and got over myself and submitted it. Actually,I prefer some of the others ones I took, now that I think on it.

Others from week 27:

And that's it for now. I promise the next post will not be nearly as long.

Battle Creek Falls

A few weeks ago in May, spring briefly made an appearance. We decided to make the most of the nicer weather and take a short hike/walk (that we had previously trekked two years ago) to Battle Creek Falls.

It was significant for a number of reasons, but especially because this was the first trip where Oliver walked on his own instead of being carried. He even carried his own backpack like his sister--all at once awesome (because he can do it himself without our help) and terrible (because he can do it himself without our help... mothers know what I mean).

So now for the obligatory pictures.

Oliver carrying his backpack.

Don't they just look adorable?

I even made it, and Evan didn't have to hold my hand(!) although I did have to stand in the water to get close enough for this shot. Walking in dust with wet shoes = gross.

Lena accidentally dropped her apple and it rolled down the hill into the water. I picked it up and returned it only to find Oliver had 'accidentally' dropped his, too, and then Lena 'accidentally' followed suit. They thought it was hilarious. This is me telling them off... I love how they are just laughing at me.

This is Oliver drawing in the dirt a la Toothless/Night Fury in "How to Train Your Dragon" (Mummy, look! I am Toothless-the-dragon! I'm drawing in the dirt!). Below is a clip from YouTube with the corresponding scene, and here is a link to a slightly more legal but not animated synopsis of the clip Ollie was enacting. (Slightly off-topic... that movie is awesome, and our whole family loves it. That particular scene is magical and makes me want a pet dragon. Also, I think it rivals Disney's ability to tug at heartstrings. End tangent.)

My favourite picture of the day.

And these are some of the other pictures I took, one of which I used for the Project 52.

The end.

Weeks 14-18/52

Where are weeks 12 and 13? They got lost. In papers and homework and midterms and finals. Oh well. I will do them, and I have reasoned that it was justified to miss them. And just to put things in perspective, I usually take a good few hundred pictures a month, but over the last month or so of the semester I barely took 10. Combined. (And don't even get me started on what my house looked like during that period.) Oh, and I missed week 15, too. Ugh, maybe I am more behind than I thought.

Anyway, here are the photos.

Week 14

Theme: Fusion

The theme was in honor of MCP Actions new action for Photoshop called Fusion. (As a side note, some of the examples on the fusion link I think are over-processed and fake-looking, especially the ones with photoshopped sunlight. I am pretty sure we will all look back at those types of photos in 5 or 6 years and wonder what on earth the photographer's were thinking. Sure, it is fashionable, but so was grunge.) MCP Actions did have a free Mini Fusion set to download, so I edited this picture with that. It basically warmed it up a bit. But I suppose the picture is representative of "fusion", too, with Spring and Winter colliding. I was very disappointed to wake up to the blossom tree outside our bedroom window sagging under the weight of all the snow. Partly because it meant we had to drive in it. Now the blossoms are gone, but the snow keeps coming. Something is wrong here...

Week 15

Theme: What Other's Think of You...

This was a dumb theme. So, I had no problem skipping it over studying. I don't know what other people think of me, mainly because I spend the majority of my life trying not to interact with anyone other than my immediate family. Plus, I don't think you can ever truly know what other people think because perception is influenced by knowledge, lack thereof, and understanding. We can't ever be separated from what we know, and everything gained from others becomes warped to fit in with our own understanding of how things work. So really, the assignment should have been "what you think of yourself" or "what you pretend to be... go on, you know we are talking to you... this is your moment for self-glorification", because there was a LOT of that that week.

Week 16

Theme: Furry Friends

I think they are running out of ideas for good themes, and I think I am going to start coming up with my own. Nevertheless this is our furry friend. And I kind of love that her thumbprints are uneven because she has to raise her eyebrows to look sideways.

Week 17

Theme: Princess for a Day

Oh, the royal wedding. Forgive me for my lack of enthusiasm. I did NOT watch the wedding, and it was refreshing. By the way, I am convinced that Americans are secretly more fond of the British royal family than the British are. FAR more favorable press on the wedding over here than there. And it was nice to ignore it all. So, Lena did not get dressed up in a princess dress or a crown, and I am pretty sure that Ollie was the only boy photographed for the week. The photo was staged, but he did voluntarily put Lena's headband on himself earlier in the day, and was happily wearing it around the house, although lamenting not being able to go to the park because of the rain. I will have to share some of the others because I think they are funny.

Week 18

Theme: First Thing in the Morning

I plucked up the courage and ditched the theme this week. And it was awesome. Because I didn't have to force myself out of bed in the morning to catch the dawn or the best light (and after a semester of early morning classes every-freaking-day, that was very welcome thank you very much). This was taken in the evening on our hike to Battle Creek Falls (more on that later). I don't know what these bushes are, but there was practically nothing else growing apart from some straggly grass and these little yellow pom-poms. They were really pretty. Up close at least. From the trail they just kind of looked like brown flowers. I love the trio of branches and the yellow bokeh.

Week 19 coming soon.

Time flies when you're having... fun?

Quick(ish) update:

We are still alive.

I have been back at school since May. Full-time.

I will be mostly done with my degree by the time Evan graduates. I will have completed all my major credits.

I wish I had been as dedicated to my school-work last time around as this time.

Evan is still in school and will graduate in April. Full-time. Plus work.

Did I mention Evan is The Man and taking 22 credits this semester?

And next.

And we are both doing capstone classes next semester, too. Crazy? Why, yes.

We got a dog. Her name is Lulu. She is a 3 year old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. With a puppy brain.

The kids love the dog.

Oliver turned two.

Evan turned 26.

Alena turned 16.

Oliver joined the circus.

We saw Aunty Hayley in CA in August.

The kids got 'bikes'. And love them.

Potty training is complete. (The grand finale was last night as Oliver wandered into my room and proudly announced, "Mummy, I did poops!" at which point I had visions of poop trails on my carpet. But actually it was in the toilet. Alhamdulillah.)

We went camping. Twice.

We went hiking. A lot.

And saw four moose.

We beached.

And parked.

Yes, that is our dog jumping up onto the slide. And, yes, she loves going down them, too.

And I ran a 5k in this:

Then overnight it went from this:

To this:

Ah, well. C'est la vie.

On with finals!