September 3, Raw Oyster Bar

focal length: 23 mm
shutter speed: 1/40
aperture: f/3.8
ISO: 400
exposure bias: 0
flash: not fired
location: Buddy’s Restaurant, Annapolis, MD

Tonight, I’m partying at my place. We’re having our first Bunco of the year and perhaps – and sadly so – our last Bunco as a group ever.

As I told the ladies a couple of weeks ago, change is the only thing that guaranteed in life. But for tonight – cheers!

America’s Treasure

There are homecomings. And then there are homecomings. I’ve watched my friend Neighbor Laura go through the gamut  of emotions when it comes her son Tim. When he graduated from college she was so proud. On the day he was commissioned an officer in the Army, she beamed. On the day he left for Germany, she waved him off and smiled. On the day he went to Afghanistan she cried.

But he’s home, if only for a little rest and relaxation. And we all were excited and and we all cried.

As we welcomed him home, one thing kept going through my mind.

This is truly America’s treasure. Truly.

These bright handsome young men can be said to fight for an administration, a policy or a even a country.

But they what they truly fight for is their fellow man.

Against the forces of evil.

It’s the bigness of it that got me.

And my heart hurt for him mama. Because I too have a son. And I would want him home and away from danger.

Welcome home Tim.

I’m A Fig Thief

I have been in fig heaven for the last few weeks. Figs tarts have dominated our diet. I’ve eaten them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, dinner and midnight snack. However, figs are not free. In the sense that I don’t have to pay for them, they are free. But for some reason, I continue to do things that are embarrassing so I pay with a bruised ego.

Then I turn around and the tell the world about it.

Anyway…

My friend Neighbor Corinne has a couple of fig trees (bushes?) in her yard. Last year I went to her home to pick some and I fell in love with the fresh fruit. This year was another banner year. They were beautiful.

So one early morning, the dog and I dropped the girls off for their field hockey practice and I drove to the beach. On the way home, I stopped and picked a few figs from the tree in her front yard.

I told her after the fact and she was very sweet about it. In fact she said I should go to her back yard because they were bigger. So without ado, the next early morning, the dog and I took another trip to her house and I helped myself to the tree in her backyard.

Fig tarts, here I come.

I told her afterward and she seemed okay with the fact that I was skulking around her house at 6:30 in the morning.

So now I’m thinking it’s not her fig tree. It’s mine. It’s there to satisfy my fig fetish.

Last weekend, I did it again. I dropped the girls off for their field hockey practice (those poor girls) and the dog and I made our way to Neighbor Corinne’s home to skulk. The dog started to protest about being left in the car.

“Shhhh…,” I said, “You’ll wake them up.”

Needless to say, I should have listened to the dog. I think she was saying “Don’t do it, don’t do it.” A part of me still feels like a thief even though in my mind, my tree was at their house. It’s that little voice in your head that you should always listen to.

Later that day, I logged into facebook to tell her I was at her house. Only to find that another friend of hers had schedule to go the next day to pick figs. I read the message over and over again…eeekkk, the figs were gone.

I debated in my head what to do. The easiest thing was to not say anything. But that would have guaranteed a lifetime of guilt and sleepless nights being visited by the Ghost of the Fig Bushes. Scrooge has nothing on me when it comes to a guilty conscience.

So I wrote – “ummm…ladies…I’m so sorry but I picked a few this morning. I just came on to tell Corinne and I saw this. Yikes, I wish I checked earlier. I promise to let you know BEFORE I come next time Corinne. I feel badly. There are still quite a few left by the way. Oh man…”

Something’s just not right me with.

I saw Neighbor Corinne the next day and she gave me a hug which made me feel so much better. I reciprocated by giving her a couple pieces of fig tart.

I will post the fig tart recipe after I’ve healed my bruised ego.

By the way, months ago Neighbor Corinne gave us a planting from her fig tree. It was a short little guy but now has grown to about three feet tall. We planted it in our a yard a couple of weeks ago and it’s doing fantastic. I hope it will bear fruit next year, and Neighbor Corinne will never again have to worry about the fig thief.

This is my very public apology.

Team Up Thursday ~ Selective Focus

This is Kristina’s photo for this week’s Team Up Thursday theme – Selective Focus. I really like her interpretation of it very much. I see the woods, and the broken tree but I’m focused on the litter symbolically lying next to it. I think that photojournalistically (word check?), that it hits the nail on the head.

I had a difficult time with the theme because I couldn’t get the camera to focus correctly. Instead, I got selective focus by using TRA’s POS Action. I guess it’s better than nothing.

See more TUT photos at Melody A. and Megan’s.

September 2, The Color Blind

I met this man last weekend and I was instantly fascinated by him. Although there were others around, my camera kept turning again and again to him. He made room for me on the back of a tobacco wagon and we rode together to the next field to harvest.

I can safely say that we don’t have anything in common but the bond of humanity was strong between us.

I found it difficult to edit his dark skin, shiny from sweat. I worked on it long and hard because I wanted to do him justice. Because of that, I can’t remember all of my steps, but the next time I photograph a very dark skinned black person in the middle of the blazing sunny afternoon in a tobacco field, I’ll know what to do.

September 1, Into The Distance

There must be something working in the universe today. Take a look at Tracey Clark’s photo.

The dog is not a regular Labrador type of retriever. She’ shy and small in the big world.

I put a vignette on the photo but masked out the top part and just made the water darker.

This is not wordless but I’m posting for Wordless Wednesday anyway.

A Thought Or Two About Eggs

I am a big fan of the egg. Cheese omelets were the only source of protein for the boy it seems. I know I seem obsessed with the boy’s eating habits but unless one has a uber picky eater, one doesn’t know the troubles I’m seen…

I know the boy has grown to be a big strapping young man. I will say this without any pride whatsoever; it is and will always be my biggest accomplishment in life. Because had it not been for the little egg, I swear the boy would be emaciated.

So it was very disconcerting when last month when eggs were being recalled left and right. To tell you the truth, I haven’t bought any eggs since then. It’s probably alright, America has the most sophisticated and trustworthy food system in the world. And there are many wonderful local producers. And I’m sure all the bad eggs (hehehe) have already been recalled. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, you should see the markets in Algeria. Do I sound like I’m trying to talk myself into this?

Anyway, anyone eating eggs now? Did anyone stop eating eggs for a while? Am I the only one?

If you reassure me that the danger has passed, I have the perfect recipe to try…

August 31, Summer’s Last Hurrah

Texture is from Shadowhouse Creations GM6.

There was no rhyme or reason for choosing this particular texture. The image was a little bit over-exposed so I suppose I wanted something to darken it. I like the edges and as you can see, I over extended it past the image a little bit.

This image to me is a little bit of summer and a little bit of fall…

Liz Printz Chesapeake Bay Sea Glass Jewelry

I admit I fall in love very easily. Over the course the last almost 20 years, I’ve fallen in and out of love with furniture, jewelry, plates, and anything that is old and from the specific country in which we were residing at the time. I know I have a problem and the only cure for it is – lack of funds.

Which was the reason why I didn’t buy everything on this stand. This is a little display at the local boutique called J Pink which I frequented a couple of months ago. I don’t trust myself to go back. The artist who was there that day specialized in jewelry made from claimed sea glass from the Chesapeake Bay. I loved the story, I loved reclamation of the environment and I loved the jewelry.

However, because a major piece was at the time out of my price range – darn budget – I only purchased a couple of little pendants. I then put the pendants on a chain I already had. Each one is unique and none is the same, I love that too. They were about $20 a piece.

I cannot stop thinking about the little necklace made of blue sea glass – probably some kind of beer bottle. See the dark green? It was probably a Heineken bottle. Though I detest the littering of the bay, I am happy that someone has the creativity and talent to create something this beautiful out of someone else’s carelessness. I looked all over the internet for Liz Printz and I finally found where she will be selling her wares next. I may just make the trip down there…

Don’t tell the husband ok?

August 30, Ruddy & Handsome

1. Duplicate layer – blending mode soft light, reduce opacity
2. Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Brightness Contrast  – increased brightness
3. Masked out the boy
4. Still not quite right so I ran MCP Action – Magic Fill Light
5. And even after all of that, I ran TRA’s Pool Party – reduce opacity
6. Added a vignette. I used TRA’s Burn Out but there’s a plethora of them out there.

The boy said last week over dinner, “Mama, I have something to ask…”

I looked at him expectantly.

“Nah, forget it.”

“No, ask, go ahead.”

“No, forget it.”

The husband said, “Well now you really need to say it.”

The boy, “It’s weird to ask you dad.”

“Okay…”

I said, “Go ahead bud, really.”

“Ok, am I cute?”

We stared at him. I wasn’t trying to parse my answer, since he obviously is cute, I was trying to choose my words carefully.

I said, “Yes, you are very cute. Why do you ask?”

He said, “Girls are treating me differently.”

The husband said, “You are very handsome.”

The boy, “See, I told you it would be weird to ask you.”

Not weird at all.

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