A picture is worth 1000 words but I still need words

Remember how I got a brand new camera for Christmas? I've used it a few times but I really need to play around with it on a more regular basis so I'm not so clumsy and one dimensional in my picture taking. The camera is bigger than the old toss-it-in-my-purse-and go camera I was using before so I have to think differently when it comes to taking pictures. I have a few very exciting 'things' coming up this spring that will provide excellent photo ops (oooh, mystery!) and I need to become more comfortable in using my camera before those 'things' get here. I like a little mystery on my blog...it's what keeps you reading, right?

Anyway, I've booked a lesson with a local camera guy. I told him I have a blog and enjoy using photos as a jumping off place for all my many words but that pictures are not currently the focal point. He says he can change that.

He can't.

I feel pretty confident in saying words will always be my thing. Pictures do however, help tell the story, and if I can take better pictures to go with the words then I'll be happy.

I noticed a link on Kathy's blog for a February photo challenge and thought I might give it a try. I'd love to do one of those year long picture a day challenges but I'm thinking a thirty day challenge might be the way to go for now. Actually its only 29 days since its February...I can do 29. Some days I may just pop the photo onto my blog and call it a day but I'm hoping there will also be days where a photo will lend itself to words. I think we can all agree I have a lot of those. This post kind of makes my point.

If you're interested in playing along you'll find the link with the photo prompts here. Today's prompt is 'your view today'. It only seems appropriate to post a photo of the view from my kitchen window. I probably take at least one picture a week of our back hillside as it is ever changing and full of life. Hubs and I have nicknamed it the DMZ because once you start looking its hard to peel your eyes away. The hill is steep and when we bought the house I wondered how I'd like that, but hubs and I agree it's our favorite thing about this place we call home.

The hillside changes with the seasons and we see the sky turn every shade of pink and orange when the sun rises over the mountain. There are birds of every size, shape, and variety from the most delicate of hummingbirds to the majestic hawk. My hawk as he is known here.

There are woodland creatures...rabbits and squirrels, chipmunks and groundhogs, even the dreaded possum. There are larger creatures too...a mama fox who makes her nest on the side hill and births a litter every spring. We love to watch the deer who regularly trek across the hill as they feast on the wild plants that grow there. And then of course we have the bear. There really is nothing quite like seeing a 4-500 pound bear stroll across your back yard. I haven't managed too many pictures since the sight of one tends to throw me into a tizzy but I'm determined to be calm, cool, and collected next time and get some better shots.

Okay, I said something about a picture. Here you go-my view on the first day of February which felt a little bit like the first day of April...

but still looked like February.

The End.

You're welcome.

A taxing Wednesday Hodgepodge Vol 64

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge...so glad you joined the party today. Be sure to add your link to the bottom of my post and then go visit the neighbors. After all, that's part of the fun! Here are my answers-

1. It's that most wonderful time of the year...tax season! Do you complete your own returns or farm that job out to the professionals?

If you told me I had to do my own return I'd probably curl up in a ball and cry. Just this week I submitted our UK return. No, we don't live in the UK...haven't lived there in almost three years in fact. Why yes, we do still have to file taxes there. Something to do with something, something or other blah blah blah. Good thing accountants are on hand, right?

Got that one in just in time to begin our US organizer. The tax fun just never ends around here. At least I only have to complete the organizer and thankfully someone else does the actual math.

As a side note-I'm not voting for anyone who thinks we need to pay more taxes. I could rant here but I'll refrain.

2. This next question comes from Kansas Bob....he posed it in response to something I asked in an earlier Wednesday post and I asked him if I could add it to the Hodgepodge someday. Today's the day....

Which do you think has changed you more-love or pain?

Love. Its made me brave and given me a safe place to land. I haven't had a lot of pain in my life.

3. Tangerine Tango has been named color of the year for 2012. Your thoughts? Would I find this color anywhere in your house? How about in your closet? If not, will you be adding this color to your life in someway in 2012? If you're not sure what tangerine tango looks like click here.

Personally I love the color and I do have a splash of tangerine in a painting in my guest room. The room itself is mostly neutrals with brown and tans in the bedding so the bright colors in the painting help give the room a lift. I wouldn't want it all over my house and don't think I'd do a wall this color but there is something about it that's energizing. You'd find it in my closet, mostly in the form of scarves, but I also have a couple of sweaters in this shade and they lift my mood when I wear them.

4. Are you a collector? What do you collect and does it get admired, used, and/or dusted regularly?

I collect pottery which I've written about on my blog before. You can see some of it pictured here. Another small thing I quietly collect are sheep. The only people who buy these for me are my hubs and my girls. There's a story behind how this got started but I'm not going to share. Essentially, they only mean something if they're from my family so I don't tell people I collect them because you know how that goes...all of a sudden you're inundated with all things sheep. My girls put two super cute things in my stocking this year. These are measuring cups-

and this is soap-

The black one smells like licorice and the white one like vanilla- love!

5. February is National Heart Month...besides a green salad what is one heart healthy dish you like to prepare?

One of my favorites would be fish grilled in a foil packet with lemon juice, thyme, oregano and some veggies-usually onion, zucchini, and red pepper. So easy and delicious!

6. When was the last time you had car trouble?

Coincidentally you will find me sitting in the dealership on this Wednesday Hodgepodge morning. There's a lovely waiting area with fresh coffee, comfy chairs, a zen like atmosphere and free wifi. Its almost like home.

Nothing major is wrong (knock on wood!), just an annoying light on the dash that keeps blinking saying my tire pressure is low, which its not so likely a sensor needs replacing.

Ha-listen to me sound like I know what I'm talking about.

As long as they've got the car they're also checking out my key/doors because every now and then when I hit the unlock button only the driver's door unlocks. Since this is something intermittent they'll probably have to take the door off. Or not. I have no idea. Which is why I'm here. As a bonus they wash the car before I leave the lot and that makes me happy.

7. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Is that a good trend?

I'm always pretty demanding of myself. I expect a lot from me. Sometimes I let myself down but I forgive myself and repeat my favorite verse...

" The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

That bold emphasis is mine but its worth emphasizing.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Do they have beefsteak dinners in your part of the country or is that a Northern NJ phenomenon? I haven't seen them other places we've lived but when we moved back here we'd notice signs from various fundraising groups advertising beefsteak dinners. We didn't know exactly what they were until two Christmases ago when friends invited us to their home and he promised to make an authentic beefsteak dinner. Essentially it's filet of beef that is marinated in olive oil, garlic, and some seasonings for several hours then slow roasted to a rare or medium rare state. Vegetarians look away.

Next its sliced and heated in a pan of melted butter and then served on white bread. Yes it has to be white bread. Firm healthy wheat bread doesn't soak up all the wonderful juices like old fashioned white bread does.

Pretend we didn't read question # 5.

Hubs has talked about that meal ever since and this past Saturday those same friends caved to his pressure and invited us over for another beefsteak dinner. I was kind of afraid it wouldn't live up to the memory, but rest assured it did not disappoint.

And yes, my random thought is about a meal.

Happy Wednesday!

Questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 64

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. You know the drill (if you don't click the HP link on my sidebar)...come back tomorrow and share your answers with fellow internets. Everyone's welcome to join the party!

1. It's that most wonderful time of the year...tax season! Do you complete your own returns or farm that job out to the professionals?

2. This next question comes from Kansas Bob...he posed it in his response to something I asked in an earlier Wednesday post and I asked him if I could add it to the Hodgepodge some day. Today's the day....

Which do you think has changed you more-love or pain?

3. Tangerine Tango has been named color of the year for 2012. Your thoughts? Would I find this color anywhere in your house? How about in your closet? If not, will you be adding this color to your life in some way in 2012? If you're not sure what tangerine tango looks like click here.

4. Are you a collector? What do you collect and does it get admired, used, and/or dusted regularly?

5. February is National Heart Month...besides a green salad what is one tasty heart healthy dish you like to prepare?

6. When was the last time you had car trouble?

7. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Is that a good trend?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Happy Trails

As you may have noticed, my hubs has been doing a lot of traveling recently. Big trips. Long trips. In fact he has been away three out of four weeks this month. Missed two full weekends at home. Yes, technically he can make up those 'lost weekends' sometime during the year but let's be honest...he probably won't. Oh maybe a day or two but he has vacation to use plus, when you're away from your office for two weeks you kinda need to get back to the office. Which is where he is this week. yay!

Although hubs has traveled for work all of our married life this month has been way more than the norm. While its exhausting on many levels he enjoys interacting with people in countries around the world and handles all the coming and going better than most. It sounds exotic to some people and often times I guess it is. Here's a dinner he had last week in Mexico City-

Those are grasshoppers on that taco.

Mmmm?

All this to say that in spite of his around the world travels, at heart he's still a Tennessee boy who likes nothing better than a walk in the woods with his best girl and his dog. We don't live far from a stretch of the Appalachian Trail and we've been wanting to hike the bit that's nearby.

When we lived in NJ 20 years ago we used to take our little girls to the trail. Are they just too adorable or what?! Course we never got too far because somebody always conked out en route to the top, but we tried.

Sigh.

Back to present day...it was cool yesterday but also bright and sunny so we took advantage of that and hit the trail. As we were pulling out of our driveway we saw these vultures on our neighbors rock.

I know they're part of that whole circle of life thing but I gotta say I'm not a fan. I was hoping their presence wasn't some kind of omen. Who thinks I've watched The Jungle Book a few too many times?

To access the wooded portion of the trail you first have to cross a large open field. As we started across we heard gunfire and decided we should see where it was coming from. Wouldn't want to accidentally be mistaken for a deer now, would we?

Turns out it was a local gun club holding a 'frozen toes' event in the next field over. They were shooting at targets so we relaxed. We chatted with them for a few minutes and I think hubs would have been happy to hang out there all day but we had a mountain to climb. Literally.

One thing you should know about Northern NJ-its rocky.

Very rocky.

The trail thru here is also rocky.

And steep.

And my knees are not what they were at 30, that's for sure, but I persevered...

We made a couple of stops on the way to the top...

Someone needed a break.

And we needed to take a cheesy picture.

Everybody needed to check out the beautiful views...

Totally worth the jello legs.

And spending a day outdoors with this guy?

aka the mountain goat....

...still makes me happy.

Accidental Winter Camping

The questions on my blog yesterday sparked this memory. The Hodgepodge is its own form of therapy because I'm pretty sure this is a memory I'd successfully blocked.

Way back when, I was a girl scout leader for Daughter2's troop. Once upon a time we attended a camp out on a gorgeous warm spring day and although we were booked into a cabin for sleeping, the girls clambered to switch to the platform tents instead. Me, being the great outdoors woman that I am, said okay. It was April and we were in shorts all day long. The sun was shining and some of the girls even got their feet wet in the river.

Flash forward a few hours to dinner. We ate with some of the other troops in a central location and as we were eating the weather began to change. We decided to gather up our belongings and head back to our tents which involved a bit of a hike in the suddenly deep, dark, scary and slightly wet woods. Now that darkness had settled in the girls were terrified unhappy at the thought of being spread out into several tents so we piled everyone together into just two. There weren't enough cots so I, being the great outdoors woman that I am, said I'd sleep on the floor because I can stand anything for one night.

Or so I thought.

The rain that started off as a sprinkle had suddenly turned into a downpour and it was lightning in that spooky, Friday the 13th sort of way. Next came the winds. I can honestly say I have never in my life been outdoors in winds like these.

Have you ever slept in a platform tent? For those of you who aren't in the know, the tent is tied to the platform all the way round, but there's still a gap of several inches where a little bit of light gets in and a whole lot of wind. At one point I seriously thought the tent was going to lift off the ground ala Dorothy in Oz.

It felt like we'd been in our sleeping bags for hours when a couple of the girls awoke and were sniffling, aka sobbing. My co-leader and I said reassuring things like, ' Just close your eyes and before you know it, morning will be here.' One of the girls asked me what time it was and I made the gargantuan mistake of looking at my watch. I replied, 'Almost morning-try to go back to sleep'. The other leader said she knew better than to ask for the precise time since she figured if it really was almost morning I'd have said it.

It was 11:55.

Not even midnight.

Oh dear.

One mom had taken her daughter to the car to sleep early on in the evening. We should all have done the same but have you ever been so cold you can't even entertain the idea of moving even when you know you should? Pretty sure that's how people die in the woods.

I slept that night wearing every article of clothing I'd brought with me. I tucked my knees all the way up to my chest and pulled my fleece over them and shivered and prayed. When I woke up I was literally frozen in that position. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to unfold my legs. I told my co-leader that I had never in my life been that cold and we both said the air had that same feeling it gets when it snows. It was the middle of April and had been 85 degrees the day before so no way did it snow.

We peeked outside.

Hello white winter in April while I'm sleeping on the floor of a platform tent in hurricane force winds. We learned later that there were tornadoes spotted in our county. It was kind of like The Perfect Storm except we weren't at sea and of course there was no George Clooney.

I bet right now you're wishing I'd been your daughter's troop leader.

And I don't know how much time you've spent with tween girls but wet, tired, hungry, and frozen does not a happy camper make. Pun intended.

Everyone involved in this little weekend still speaks to me.

Just sayin'.

I'm not sure they've ever camped again but we are still friends. Nothing bonds you to someone quite like a shared near death experience.

A Giant of a Wednesday Hodgepodge Vol 63

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge...come join the party! Answer the questions on your own blog or fb page then add your link to the end of my post so friends can visit. Here are my answers to this week's questions-

1. The NFL playoffs were held this past weekend and this year's Superbowl will feature the New York Giants versus The New England Patriots. How do you define 'patriot'?

A person who whole heartedly loves his/her country and demonstrates that support in word and deed.

2. What's something in your life right now that feels like a 'giant'?

Sorting out the details regarding daughter2's living/working/grad school arrangement for next year. In this case, next year begins the first week of May when we will need to move her personal belongings along with some furniture (not yet purchased) to an off campus apartment (not yet located) with a roommate (not yet confirmed) while she begins the job hunt and takes a couple of grad classes beginning in June. Thankfully Daughter2 is on top of things and is the one reminding me about deadlines and payments. fyi-when you have kids in uni, and especially kids wrapping up uni, there are always payments.

3. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to being 18?

Skinny, suntanned, and nervously excited at living away from home in a college dorm. Trying hard to stay true to myself. Only getting that wrong sometimes. Loving the taste of independence. Most of the time.

4. Coconut-mashed potatoes-vanilla ice cream-mayonnaise...which white food would be the hardest to give up?

Coconut is one of my most favorite flavors so I'd have a hard time with that one. Since mashed potatoes aren't on my diet I've essentially quit eating them which is a crying shame because truly they are a near perfect food in my book but whatever. I eat them only at the holidays. Course if I came to your house and you served them I'd use that as an excuse to indulge too.

I'd probably miss vanilla ice cream the least, not because I don't like it but because ice cream isn't something I crave. Mayonnaise is tricky. I love mayonnaise even though I dole it out like its gold since its related to the mashed potato in terms of my diet. Who besides me thinks I've overthought this question? Who besides me is now craving a piping hot serving of mashed potatoes?

5. Describe an incident or a day you remember as being the coldest you've ever experienced.

Two things popped into my head and y'all are not surprised I'm going to share them both are you? Actually, I started typing out the details to one of these incidents and decided its a blog post all its own so I'm sharing that one tomorrow. Suffice it to say it involves camping...there was sun, sleet, wind, rain, hail, snow and a tornado. Did I mention I was camping? And was responsible for a group of girls? You know you're curious....come back tomorrow. Don't you hate it when bloggers do that? In my defense, it's more words than you have time to read here today.

The other 'coldest ever' day for me was standing atop the platform of the Aiguille du Midi in the French Alps. It sits high above the village of Chamonix and we were there the week after Christmas in 2007. We were bundled up in all our ski gear and warm boots but it was positively frigid.

To get there you ride a cable car up the literal side of a mountain, over a glacier, and up and up into the clouds until you feel like maybe there isn't enough oxygen in that cable car for you and the 69 peeps jammed in there with you. At least that's how I was feeling.

If you look very very closely at the picture you can just make out the speck that is the cable car.

You step out of the cable car and into a tunnel and from there out into the ice cold, and I do mean ice.cold.air.

The views are stunning, some of the most incredible I've ever seen. We lived to tell about it so that's good.

6. You're hosting a brunch....what's your favorite dish to prepare and serve?

If it's more of a breakfast then I love to make a sausage and egg casserole. If I want it to feel more like a lunchy brunch then I'll make a hot chicken salad, also delish. I am a huge fan of brunch.

7. How do you combat negative thinking?

I blast music.

Seriously, just ask my girls. They still talk about the time they got in my car and as I turned the ignition they nearly went thru the sunroof. The music may have been a tad loud. I must have been doing some serious attitude adjusting that day.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My hubs brought me home a really unique and thoughtful gift from Korea...

It's a hand carved stamp with my name written in English and Korean. It came with a little ink pad and carrying case.

The carving on the outside of the stamp is The Lord's Prayer, written in Korean.

Thanks hubs! Go-mah-woa/고마워

Questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 63

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Don't forget to come back tomorrow so you can link answers with all your friends and neighbors. See you there~

1. The NFL playoffs were held this past weekend and this year's Superbowl lineup will feature The New York Giants versus The New England Patriots. How do you define 'patriot'?

2. What's something in your life right now that feels like a 'giant'?

3. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to being 18?

4. Coconut-mashed potatoes-vanilla ice cream-mayonnaise...which white food would be the hardest to give up?

5. Describe an incident or a day you remember as the coldest you've ever experienced?

6. You're hosting a brunch...what's your favorite dish to prepare and serve?

7. How do you combat negative thinking?

8. Insert your own random thought here.