Storytime Family Photo Shoot, with a cookie to go…

My wonderful “assistant for the day” Katy and I had a photo shoot with the most adorable family last week.  We went for a walk, read books, and ate the most delicious chocolate chip cookies EVER!  This family was such a pleasure to photograph, I could have shot them all afternoon… but then… they got the cookies out.   A girl just can’t hold her camera and savor her chocolate chip cookie at the same time!

Baby Jovie is definitely a girl after my own heart!

Thanks for being so wonderful guys!          

P.S.   What kind of chocolate did you use in those cookies???

P.P.S.   Did I mention I liked ’em?

I Love Hats, always have.

My mom has been busy creating with wool.  Purses, hats, baby shoes… first she crochets them, then she felts them…  and finally, I drool over them.  well, not directly over them… that’d be kinda gross.

She’s not exactly proficient on the world wide web, so I’m going to hook her up with an etsy account and create her a business card in exchange for this pair of beauties.  Jack Frost… bring it on!

Considering Lilies

          Our Little Kinsmen
           ~Emily Dickinson~

         Our little kinsmen after rain
         In plenty may be seen,
         A pink and pulpy multitude
         The tepid ground upon;

         A needless life it seemed to me
         Until a little bird
         As to a hospitality
         Advanced and breakfasted.

         As I of he, and God of me,
          I pondered, may have judged,
         And left the little angleworm
         With modesties enlarged.

Sips, Sprinkles, and Sweet Company

“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!” 

                                                          ~Amanda Bradley

The Little Things

Just pausing a moment to make a list of the little things that make life so enjoyable these days…

The rich colors of the autumn palate.
Walking along roads scattered with colorful, fallen, autumn leaves.
The way an October sunset paints the landscape in a deceptively warm glow.
Fresh sheets that have been misted with the light fragrance of lavender water.
The soft tickle of warm breath on my ear as *Goldie Locks shares a secret with me.
Quiet intensity of ten little eyes peering through the pages of a basketful of new library books.
Listening to the boys read off their list of Boggle words after the sand has completed its tour through the hour  glass.
The smell of his neck on a Sunday afternoon when I nestle in beside him on the couch.
Sipping hot coco from the bleachers while watching *History Buff’s football game.
The vase of fragrant flowers greeting me from the windowsill at my kitchen sink.
The pleading of my children to read on, “Just one more chapter, mom, please!”
The dancing of leaves on the windy gusts of the season’s first storm.
Cooking with fresh herbs from the herb garden.
Warm, fuzzy new socks.

 *Goldie Locks – youngest child,  History Buff – eldest child

Honey… mouthwatering

We recently harvested our first season’s honey, with the help of our good friends Neris, Wendy, and girls.  It was a fine excuse to get together and enjoy a lovely afternoon!

The first step in harvesting honey is to prepare yourself some nice, thick smoke (as seen coming from the smoker in the picture below.)  As you can imagine, removing frames of honeycomb from the hive tends to upset the little worker bees within, and if you’re not carefull you just might get yourself stung!   Smoke helps to disorient the bees, thus making it easier to make off with their summer’s work before they have enough time to get mad.   

Mmmmmm Mmmmmm, would you look at that!

Some of the bees will have to be physically brushed away from the honeycomb, now those are some loyal girls I tell ya!

Some people use an extracting machine which spins the frames within a big drum until the honey is extracted and ready to pour into jars.  We, on the other hand, ended up extracting our honey the old fashioned way – scraping it out with a spoon, wax and all.

We scraped the honey into a fine mesh bag, which we then hung from the side of a big pot to drain for a couple of days. 

Eventually the honey drains into the pan and we’re left with a bag of wax and several jars of liquid gold.  Mmmmmm Mmmmmm good.

The color of the honey is determined by what is in bloom at the time of production.  The honey above is most likely a product of the Japanese Knotweed which has been in bloom most recently.  There was also a variety of light colored honey in the hive from earlier in the season, most likely made from the blackberry blossoms and clover of early summer.

She Writes

She’s amazing.  She writes historical fiction and she’s brilliant.  She speaks with conviction.  She’s Ironman’s cousin.  She lives clear across the continent, and when we get to spend time together, it’s never enough!

She’s working toward getting her books published so we thought it would be fun to do a professional photo shoot while she was in town.  Here are a few random ones of several that I took.  She’s photogenic; she’s got a lot to choose from!

 

Absolutely stunning…

 

A Mock-Up of the Fertile Crescent

We’re studying ancient history this year, and we’ve enjoyed our brief look at the Egyptians, Sumerians, and Assyrians.  We met with Wendy and her girls last week for a history activity day, and as usual, our afternoon was packed with fun! 

We were out to build a working model of the Nile River/Fertile Crescent.

First we formed a river from clay.

Then we lined the river banks with fertile soil, and sprinkled an outer layer of sand.  Next, we planted seed in the fertile soil, as the ancient Egyptian farmers did, and then stuck in a little red pyramid for aesthetic reasons.

Finally,  it was time for the annual rising of the Nile, so we filled the river until it’s banks overflowed, watering our seed. 

Finally, we feasted on succulent fruits most likely enjoyed by the ancient Egyptians.  Yum!

And a few days later we found that our river banks were fertile indeed!

A Fun Gift Idea

I recently had someone request a gift certificate for a newborn photo session to give as a baby shower gift.  I had a lot of fun designing one for her:

                                                                                                                                                 ~ F R O N T ~

                                                                                                                                                 ~ B A C K ~

and I know that I’ll have even more fun honoring it, because taking pictures of newborn babies is one of my favorite things to do!

I thought that the gift certificate was such a fun idea that I’m offering them up as an option to anyone that may want to give them as Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, babyshower gifts, etc.   Check out my website www.candidreflections.net to see prices for photo sessions, email me if you’re interested, and I’d be happy to personalize a gift certificate for you!

Butterscotch Zucchini Bread, oh baby!

We’ve been harvesting some monstrous zucchini from our garden this year!   Thus, we’ve been eating lots and lots of this scrumptious bread.

 As potato salad is to summer, so Butterscotch Zucchini Bread is to autumn.  

As sure as the turning of the leaves on the trees every autumn, so shall the pages in my recipe book turn… to this delightful concoction:

Butterscotch Zucchini Bread
As found at www.cdkitchen.com

   3 eggs
   1 cup oil
   2 teaspoons vanilla
   2 cups sugar
   2 cups grated zucchini
   2 cups flour
   1 teaspoon baking soda
   1 teaspoon salt
   1 teaspoon cinnamon
   ½ teaspoon ginger
   ½ teaspoon nutmeg
   ¼ teaspoon baking powder
   ½ cup rolled oats
   1 package (3.4 oz) butterscotch *instant pudding mix            (*amended later to add instant)

   Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  In separate bowl, mix wet ingredients.
   Stir both mixtures together and then pour into 2 greased and floured bread pans (8×4)
   Bake at 350 for about one hour.

If you haven’t had a slice for yourself, you don’t know what you’re missing!