Food Issues - at least that's what I'm calling it

So, I don't like to eat food that I have to touch. I don't like when I'm done eating and I've washed my hands and they still smell like whatever it is that I just ate. Does that happen to you? I remember being a kid and my mom would take us to the Dairy Queen for ice cream. Mmmm, I do miss a good Oreo Blizzard. It was (and I believe might still be) the one thing my mom can not say "no" to, ice cream that is. I pretty much always ordered my cone in a cup with a spoon instead of, well, upright in just the cone. When I eat burritos, I'll use a fork and knife. Pizza the same thing, fork and knife. I'm not a big potato chip / tortilla chip eater so every once in awhile that doesn't bother me. I'm not really a cake fan, but if I'm eating cake I prefer a slice to a cupcake. Cinnamon rolls = fork and knife. (Is it weird to you that I'm writing fork and knife as opposed to knife and fork? I just realized it sounds odd in my head when I type it. I think when I speak those two words together, knife comes first. But, I digress.) Hmm, candy bars. I don't really eat those all that often, but I do make sure to only unwrap the part that I would be biting off making sure to hold the remainder by the wrapper. Toast! I eat toast with my hands. Maybe there's a correlation with the garlic bread - if its bread based - eat with fingers. Now that I type that out, how do the cinnamon rolls fit into that? They don't all that well is the answer.

And, in that light, I'm not much of a sandwich person. Oh, yes, occassionally the odd sandwich satisfies, but, I'd much rather have something else. That includes burgers too. So, it seems that 'bread' theory doesn't fly or hold water or any other idiom.

I don't think its a germ issue. I don't think its a sanitary issue, although that could be part of it. Whater it is, I'm glad I don't live in Morocco or any other country where eating with your hands is a daily thing. Garlic bread. I don't mind eating garlic bread with my hands. I mean, how else are you really going to eat it anyway. I took this photo of a co-worker's desk. She wanted some pictures for her new facebook account. I liked the way it turned out. Especially the liquid in the cup with the ice.

238 - Toxic Beauty

Yes, its that time of year again. I'm officially at work - which is where I can take these pics of Mt. Hood - as the sun is rising. As you well know, I love the Mt. Hood shots. I love the clouds that sweep over the top, I love the shadows and the soft sky. It just calls to me.

237 - Summer Bliss

I have these shoes.

In two colors.

Black and brown.

I've been wearing them all summer.

They are fabulously comfortable.

They are super cute.

I might have a shoe fetish.

Just Watched: The Village Barber Shop

Fun film. Mister thought it was good albeit a bit on the slow side. I agreed completely. John Ratzenberger, of Cheers fame (Cliff), struggles with the loss of his wife and then his business partner. Along comes a spitfire with a need for stability and let the healing begin.

Shelly Cole isn't someone I'm familiar with, but she is cute and funny and believable. I think she really made this film for me.

235 - Self Portrait

... of a sort.

236 or maybe just a bonus shot

I took this this morning. I realize you are probably tired of my sunflowers by now, but, they are blooming and the sky is blue and I just love them. I made it my desktop. I love the angle and the bright yellow and orange with just a tinge of offsetting brilliant blue.

I think I'm actually behind one photo. Need to check my camera for yesterday. Anyway!! This is possibly my 365 for today, or maybe its just a bonus shot.

It made my day. I'm hoping it makes you, at the very least, smile.

233 & 234

We were camping over the weekend at Indian Mary. Its an annual trip with my brother and friends. Lovely, lovely time. Hope to spend more time next year.

Just Watched: Once

This film was recommended by a couple of my friends. I liked it. Mister could have done without it.

Its a Guy meets Girl movie. Both are musicians. Their story is told through their song writing and singing and recording.

I read somewhere that the actors wrote and performed the songs themselves. Interesting, thought provoking, bleak and uplifting all at once. I would recommend this to anyone who likes music and love stories.

232 - Sunflower

Happy Friday to all.

231 - Sunflower

I decided to stick with a theme for the week - Sunflowers.

228 - Sunflower, 229 -Sunflower & 230 (you guessed it) Sunflower

The sunflowers I planted on my deck at the office are finally blooming. They have had a tough year with the late summer, very little sun so far, birds sitting on the buds and breaking them off so the stalk has to start all over again, no rain, super heat over the weekend and me not here to water them, etc. Its been a comedy of errors - of a sort.

You know I love them!

I'm photographing them most days in an effort to get a few good shots. Here's the result this week, so far.

This last one made me happy.

227 - Spaces

226 - It all comes together

Reflecting back over an evening by looking through photos on your camera can be great fun. I had my camera sitting on the table at a 40th birthday party on Saturday evening and everyone at the table felt comfortable enough to pick it up and take pics. I love when that happens. I love that everyone sees different things at a party, and in life, and I really like seeing Life through other people's eyes. I might (well, actually quite often) feel as though my way is the very best way of seeing and/or doing things. But, really, really-really, who am I to think I could decide those things for another person. What is perfect and right and just for me has no real bearing on what is the right thing for anyone else. I try in earnest to not be a judgemental person. I am sure I fail often without even realizing it, but I try to keep it in my mind. Even if I don't understand or "get" why someone would do or think or say something, doesn't mean its not the right thing for them. Anyway, I hope some of that made sense. I like to remind myself of these things I feel are important (to me) and seeing all the pics on my camera that I didn't take was a nice reminder of that. I hope your weekend was super and if you had a birthday over the weekend that it was super-fantastic!

225 - Shadow

Ok, last one for the week.

224 - Diamonds and Rust

Diamonds and Rust - Joan Baez - how do you not love that?! I was out on the deck of my office the other morning. There are some metal sculptures out there and they are all rusted up - by design, so its ok. Joan Baez' Diamonds and Rust flooded my brain and I couldn't get her out of my head (and truth be told, Judas Priest also). So, I went out, put my ring down and tried to find a good angle. The unfortuante part about all this is that it has now been a day (or so) and I still have Joan Baez (and Judas Priest) running through my head. They are both on YouTube, by the way. I've listened to them both in the last 36 hours.

Just Watched: Brokeback Mountain

I know, I'm, as per usual, a bit late to the game. I had some down time recently and realized I could stream this film from Netflix. I really liked this movie. I was taken aback by the epic love story. The scenery was amazing.

I am having a difficult time getting past the tragedy that is fear and bigotry in humans. I think we are all guilty to some degree at varying times in our lives.

Still makes me sad.

221 and we're walking; 222 over the top; and 223 August morning

So what did I just way a few days ago, that I planned to stay caught up. I guess that was a ridiculous thing to think I could do. I was walking the other day, with my camera, and I see this couple with their dog and the guy has on these amazing green shoes and they are starting to cross the street and the light has changed, well, I think it had changed a while ago and they dashed off across the street anyway and I can't believe I caught the motion as well as I did. Yes, very long run-on sentence. I'm ok with that. I just adore the way the dog is poised, just at the beginning of his burst to try, in vain - he is on a leash - to catch up with his man. Walking on the waterfront as 'they' take down the tents from the Bite over the weekend. Nothing spectacular, but, was the most interesting, in my opinion, photo I took that day. And, this morning. Its August for Heaven's sake. Cool and a bit dreary. I am not really complaining because this is really where my body temperature likes to be, but I also wouldn't mind a few more weeks of sunshine. Just to stockpile a bit for the winter months.

And a short (we'll see when I get done typing it all out) postscript: When I make mashed potatoes, I make them (probably) unlike most people. As you know, Mister and I don't do dairy, so I can't really add in sour cream, or cream cheese, or cream or any other form of creamy-goodness that most people (maybe) think of when they think of mashed potatoes. That said, I think that my mashed potatoes (which never quite turn out the same each time) are pretty darned good. So, my most recent version is: Cut up a pound-ish of potatoes, 3, 4 or 5 (depending on my mood) carrots and enough veggie broth to cover them, oh about half way and put it all in a pot. Boil/steam them until tender throughout, but not falling apart. I then drain the veggies and place them back into the warm pot in which I cooked them and put them back on the same warm burner that I've not turned off. I add Lawry's seasoned salt, black pepper and parsley every time. If I have it, I'll add in chopped up cilantro and/or chopped steamed kale. Then mash to your heart's content stopping when they are the consistency you like. Mister and I like our mashers pretty stiff. I'll just add some warmed up veggie (or chicken or whatever) broth if I want the mixture to be 'creamier'. Normally, I keep them stiff. Anyway, that's my current masher recipe, as it were. The point of my story is, that I make sure I always have leftovers because my current favorite breakfast is to take a small saute pan and spray it lightly with oil, add in about 1/4 cup of those mashers and let them warm up. When they are warmed, I add 1/2 cup egg beaters (or whatever egg you are using of choice, I'm kind of stuck on a low calorie egg substitute right now, no judgement please) and then just cook until the eggs are done. Its a bit of Heaven.

What's your favorite breakfast these days?

214 - 220 - Catching up

I've been a bit out of touch. Had some personal stuff going on, nothing terribly important, but no energy for posting. I'm hoping all my down time will be the end of a not so fabulous era and now the beginning of a new and more pleasant time. That's my plan anyway. So, here are the catch up pics. Just stuff around the yard and neighborhood since that is the only place I've been for a week. Let me tell you, its not easy taking a new pic each day when your vista is limited to your yard (oh, and the neighbor lady's yard too). I've not been cooking at all. My biggest fascination of late, I think it started a couple weeks ago, is that I add three or four carrots to the potatoes as I steam/boil them. Then mash the whole thing. It was Mister's idea one day since we have about one million carrots from our CSA and he can't eat them raw. Its terribly delicious and makes the mashers a bit more healthy. Beta carotene, you know.

I especially like this black eyed susan. They are so pretty and weird looking, all at the same time.

How are you?

211 Honeysuckle; 212 Daisy; 213 Waypoint/Cairn

Yet again, I could not decide which photo I liked better for the day, so, dyptich was the perfect solution. Honeysuckle.

Ok, another of the elusive daisy. They are just so photogenic.

This is a little cairn I built in our yard. I built it from stones Mister picked up on the beach in Forks, Washington a couple months ago. He was there for a small family reunion. I didn't go, work took precedence. He seemed to have much fun and the photos he took were fun too.

210 - white flower

Mister and I were wandering around the yard, and the neighbor's yard - we do that sometimes. Its ok though, the neighbor is Mister's mom. I'm taking my usual photos of the daisies, trying desperately for some new angle on them and Mister says, "Hey, here's a little white flower." Agh! I fell in love with this little beauty. Its delicate and soft and feminine and I took just several pics, all of which I really liked. The above came in first place for my day 210, but the below is also one that I really like. There are a few others too, I might post them at some point. I just have to remember to do it.