Reserved for FBI

I love it when a weekly photographic challenge coincides with a photo I really like but have yet to use. I checked the theme over at Unique's Photo Challenge this morning and discovered it was "triangle". At first I was going to use a very cool old motel sign I found down in Florida -- the sign had a neon arrow and arrows have triangles at the end, right? -- but as I was looking through my photographs I remembered the FBI signs I took in Savannah in January. The captain and I were just out walking when we came across the local FBI digs on a back street.

I wanted the red in the sign to pop, but thought the background was just too bright and distracting. So here's a quickie tutorial on what I did in ps. I fiddled with the contrast, white levels and saturation on the entire photograph, while keeping my concentration just on the sign. After it was to my liking, I used the Magnetic Lasso Tool and outlined the sign, then selected Inverse. I then lowered the saturation dramatically, leaving just a touch of colour. It may look black-and-white at first glance, but I left a hint of green in the background. This method gave me exactly the effect I wanted.

As always, click on the image to see it larger.

Illustration Friday: Poise

I was glad this week to have some time to work on an entry for Illustration Friday, where the current topic of "poise" intrigued me. Back in February, on the day of the Academy Awards near the end of the month, we were driving around in Cocoa, Florida, and saw Marilyn sitting outside an antique shop, showing remarkable poise for having been plunked at the curb! As we were stopped for the traffic light I took several photographs; it was quite enjoyable creating the above IF entry with one of them. It was very tempting to go back to the antique store to find out how expensive the statue/mannequin was; wouldn't she look great sitting in the living room?

Lots of ghost signs

Inspire Me Thursday has an intriguing theme this week: ghost. While some will understandably think of the paranormal, not me ... I think of ghost signs. I love ghost signs -- the faded advertisements and signage of days gone by, spotted on the sides of old buildings. They are very hard to find here in Toronto, but when travelling in the U.S. I spot them frequently. Above are just some of the ones I found on our trip to Pittsburgh last year; the photos used above can all be found in my Pennsylvania set of images, where they are mostly in colour or sepia-toned. But for the above grouping, I went with a black-and-white theme. I really must do more non-colour work; it's so challenging.

I just realized the theme for Photo Theme for Thursday is buildings; how appropriate ... my montage, above, fits that theme too!

Cake, the photograph

So I go into the kitchen last night to cut myself a piece of chocolate cake, the cake I told you about yesterday. The one I refused to photograph. Shabby, I thought; poor thing tasted great but looked sad. And so I cut off a slice, plated it, and set the plate down beside my mug of tea. I look for a second or two, then grab the camera. What would it hurt, I thought, to just shoot a few photos and see what comes of it. The slice on the plate wasn't looking too dismal. And so I did, and you see the results above. One piece of chocolate cake, looking yummy if I do say so myself.

Kitchen creativity

I named my blog "eat write create" because I wanted this blog to reflect my creative passion for cooking as well as more obvious art forms. I believe that it's possible to be just as creative in a kitchen as in an art studio. And my attention to "eat" here on this blog is overdue; it's time for a post reflecting on some of my recent kitchen creativity.

Like yesterday. The captain was at work so I was left to fend for myself for dinner. First, I wanted a treat. Specifically, chocolate. I wanted chocolate and I didn't want to just munch on a chocolate bar. So a chocolate cake was soon in the oven and a chocolate frosting was underway. The cake recipe is HERE, in my online cookbook, while the frosting is a basic formula I'm happy to share: 1/2/3/4. This is a very forgiving method that you can alter to your needs. Basically, you need one stick of soft butter, two teaspoons of pure vanilla extract, three cups of icing sugar, sifted, and four tablespoons of a liquid.

Place the butter in a mixing bowl and beat it well with your mixer, then add about half of the icing sugar and the vanilla. Mix well. Add the liquid and, if you want chocolate frosting, as I did, 1/2 cup of dutch process cocoa (sift it first, cocoa is very lumpy). Beat well with the mixer and then add the rest of the icing sugar and now beat the heck out of it. If it's too thick, add a little more liquid and if it's too thin for your liking, add more sifted icing sugar. When I make chocolate frosting, I use two tablespoons of milk and two tablespoons of strong coffee for my liquid, but when making vanilla I just use milk. The most important thing to remember is just to make sure the icing sugar (and cocoa, if using) are sifted; nobody wants to eat icing with little lumps in it.

So dessert was taken care of, and I had a ribeye steak waiting for the grill pan (I'd rubbed that with some olive oil and seasoned it well with a smoky steak seasoning I bought at Penzeys). But what else to make? Since it was such a chilly day, I went with scalloped potatoes.

Scalloped potatoes and I go way back. Love to eat them, hate to make them. Well, I used to hate to make them. They were always a soggy mess, ugly to look at and weak in taste. But not anymore. I figured out the error of my ways and since the captain dislikes them -- a lot -- they are now a perfect dish for me to make for myself. The ingredients are items I just about always have on hand too: potatoes, onion, butter, salt, pepper, flour, milk and cheese. Easy peasy.

This recipe -- if you can even call it that, it's really just a method -- is very informal and I'm happy to share. I use a nine-inch square casserole dish (I have learned the hard way that it's important to use a shallow pan, not a deep one like a loaf pan) and I butter it to prevent sticking. I've used margarine to do this, butter, and even a cooking spray like Pam. They all work well.

Now for the details. Thinly slice three potatoes (peeled or not, your call); also, thinly slice half an onion. If you REALLY like onion in your scalloped potatoes, use the whole onion. Now you layer. In the bottom of the casserole dish, put one-third of the potato slices. Next, scatter one-third of the onion over the potato slices. Lightly salt and pepper the layer, then sprinkle one teaspoon of flour over the layer and then break up one teaspoon of butter into small bits and scatter these over the layer. Repeat, then repeat again. Heat up one cup of milk and then slowly pour this hot milk over the entire casserole. This was always my downfall when making scalloped potatoes: I always used to use too much milk, convinced the right amount wasn't enough. I've learned my lesson now. Trust me, one cup is enough. Now cover the dish with foil, place on a cookie sheet (in case it spills over; that doesn't happen to me now but I'd still rather be safe than sorry) and bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, discard the foil, and sprinkle over about one cup of shredded sharp cheddar. Less than one cup would be fine, more would be even better! Put back in the oven, uncovered now, and bake for another 45 minutes -- but check it after 30 minutes. If it's brown and bubbly and the potatoes are tender when you stick in a fork, you can take it out. Let sit for several minutes to settle before serving it. And if you have a large family or want to take this to a potluck, this doubles easily in a 13x9 pan.

So that was my dinner last night: steak, scalloped potatoes, chocolate cake. The captain took the leftover steak to work this evening, and I have a delightful dinner of leftovers for me too: salmon and scalloped potatoes. And cake, let's not forget the chocolate finale. No photo of the cake though. My apologies, but a photo just isn't going to happen. You see, I made a messy job of it, putting on the frosting, and it's a sad looking thing. Delicious though, thoroughly delicious.

Today, I have purple

This morning, it was dull and overcast. Cold. The captain and I set out for a local diner whose weekend specialty is homemade waffles, then we quickly stopped at the local butcher for a piece of salmon and the drugstore for some vitamins. While still too cool for my comfort, the grey had thankfully given way to sunshine by the time we arrived back home. And to my absolute delight, I spied purple in my front garden as soon as I got out of the car. Yes, so soon after my last post, as if they sensed I was anxiously awaiting their arrival: the crocus have returned! I muddied my jeans kneeling in the yard to take several photographs, but the work of a load of laundry is nothing compared to the joy these first flowers bring!

Spring has finally sprung!

Ah, the first day of spring! It's a joyous time.

The flowers you see here are not some miraculous spring beauties that have popped their heads up early. I'm not that lucky. It's a photograph I took last April, when my front garden was awash with purple. I love it when I see the first crocus in my garden and it just gets better as they become more plentiful.

It's chilly here in Toronto today but looking at this photo reminds me that the purple will soon be in my garden again.

I hope you and yours have a lovely weekend, the first of the new season. Do something outdoors!

The old diner

When you travel, you find the oddest things. Coming home earlier this month, we pulled off the highway in London, KY, for the night. Right beside the Comfort Suites that we had chosen, I spied a gorgeous, classic diner. It was right beside the hotel and, at first, I thought it was open, but a closer look made me realize that it was definitely closed. I took many photos and then asked the hotel's desk clerk about it. He told me it had been there a long time and had housed many restaurants, the most recent an asian buffet that closed several months ago due to a kitchen fire. The clock at the front of the diner obviously stopped working long ago; I think it's a great entry for this week's Photo Theme for Thursday challenge: time.

My first Macroday entry

There are many "art challenges" out there on the web and I've participated in several. Basically, for those not familiar with the concept, these are weekly themed artistic challenges -- you visit the site and if the theme inspires you at all, you post an entry (either on your blog or at a photo site like Flickr). One I've never contributed to -- until today, that is -- is the Macroday challenge. I love shooting macros but lately I've gotten away from it. But when I read this week's theme, Illustration, and saw that one of the suggestions as subject matter was a logo, I knew I had the perfect entry. Earlier this year I was playing around with shooting macros and photographed my mouse. As you can see, it's a Kensington mouse, complete with logo. Click on the image to see it larger than it appears above.

It's a wee thing, this mouse of mine, barely three inches long. And yes, it's pink. Part of the proceeds went to breast cancer research. It's more than two years old now and I must say, I use and abuse it. It's been a great little mouse but it does need replacing. I hope I can find another just like it.

Backyard beast

Two days ago I posted an entry for the weekly challenge, Photo Theme for Thursday. But I posted it on Wednesday, which was pretty bad timing. I'm a little more on the ball now...it's only Friday, just one day into this week's challenge, and my entry is posted. Yay for me.

The theme this week is "broken" and I think this ol' junker definitely qualifies. As the captain and I drove around on our last day in Florida, March 1st, I spied this blue beast in someone's rear yard as we drove past. Dear man, he turned our van around, waited for traffic to clear and then, because there really wasn't a shoulder on this back road, stopped almost completely on the street so I could get my photos. Luckily, there wasn't much traffic. I'm a fast shooter when needed, so I quickly took several photographs and then off we went. I don't know what type of car this is...so if anyone knows, please enlighten me.

Old stained glass

I am awfully late, but I have an entry for this week's Photo Theme for Thursday challenge. Yes, I know it's already Wednesday. Like I said, I'm late.

The theme is "Window or Door" and this resonates with me. I have a lot of architectural photographs that fit this theme and even have an entire set on my Flickr account entitled "doors & windows". But I've gone with something new. This photo was taken in Florida, on Merritt Island, at the historic St Luke's Episcopal Church and Cemetery.

Speaking of my Flickr account, please have a look at it if you haven't visited in a bit -- I have a lot of photos up from our Florida getaway I hope you see something you like!

Settling back in to routine

How quickly the old routine settles back in! How odd that you can be away for weeks and yet it only takes a few days for everything to be back to normal. I did make a small change here on the blog; regulars will notice that the background here is now white. I think it shows off the photos better than the previous colour (the violet/grey colour that is still the overall background shade). Let me know if you don't like it. The white, I mean. Not the blog :-)

Regular routines include grocery shopping and it was a bit of an eye-opener to return to our local store of choice, Loblaws. While down in Florida we do a lot of grocery shopping at Publix, one of my favourite grocery store chains. So the comparison was inevitable and Loblaws definitely comes out on the losing end. At Publix, when you check out, you are offered a choice of paper or plastic (and there is a bin out front where you can drop off plastic bags for recycling). Not so at Loblaws. Not only is there no choice between paper or plastic but you are charged a nickle for each bag you need. It would be nice if perhaps you were refunded a nickle for each bag you brought from home to reuse but, oh no. The mindset is to be punitive rather than rewarding.

At many Loblaws locations, you bag your own groceries. At Publix, there are cashiers and baggers. Yes, two people working each cash. And no "self-serve, scan-your-own" aisles either. The cashier rings your products through, the bagger bags them and -- get this -- asks if you need help getting your groceries to your car. If you don't want to lift a heavy case of water into your car -- or you're physically unable, as many seniors are -- they'll do it for you, with a smile. And they refuse a tip for their help.

A huge difference between Loblaws and Publix is found at the deli. At our local Loblaws, the deli people are sullen and often ignore customers. At each and every Publix we shopped at while away, the deli staff were cheerful and helpful. Nothing is precut; rather, your cold cuts and cheese are cut to your order. First, they shave off the end slice and dispose of it, in case it's at all dry (that's what they told us when we asked). Next, they shave off a slice and offer it up to you as a taste, to make sure it's what you want. You do not have to ask for this, they just do it. And then they slice off what you ordered, they don't try to pad the order by slicing extra and charging you for it. I hate asking for a certain amount and getting way more than I ordered. One time, the person helping us cut a wee bit too much -- he put the extra on a sheet of wax paper and gave it to us to munch on. Imagine. And after all this service, they still keep their prices reasonable.

4,282

As I write this, I am sitting back home in my living room, enjoying a cup of tea. We crossed over the Windsor/Detroit Ambassador Bridge yesterday morning and by late yesterday afternoon, we were in our driveway, unloading the van. We unpacked very little after that, we simply got everything inside the house, headed to a local diner for dinner and then couch-potatoed for the evening in front of the television.

And now I'm trying to wrap my head around all the tasks now waiting to be accomplished. Returning home from a vacation, especially one that lasted for six entire weeks, has its own set of challenges. Groceries to buy, bills to pay, DVR'd television shows to watch, suitcases to be unpacked. A bit of laundry to do.

And there's another challenge, another task to tackle. While we were away, I took a lot of photographs. Um, a LOT. Four thousand, two hundred and eighty-two. 4,282! I almost can't believe it. Almost. I never went anywhere without a camera so I can't claim to be completely surprised. So much artwork now waiting to be created! What a pleasant task to tackle.

Georgia snow...man

Here we are, on the road again. But instead of hitting the highway Sunday morning, we had a lovely bonus day at the condo. The owners contacted us to tell us the March tenants were going to be late so we could stay an extra day if we wished. It was a wonderful surprise.

But all good things run their course and Monday morning (yesterday) we loaded the van and headed north. And earlier than expected, the north caught up with us. We stopped for the night yesterday in Macon, Georgia, and at dinner, I noticed snow outside the restaurant. I was positive I was wrong but, sure enough, it was snow. And it was soooo cold. In Macon! We were there back in January and it wasn't as cold. This morning we headed up to Tucker, Georgia (outside of Atlanta), to check out a restaurant we saw on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and the captain and I were shocked at what we saw. Snow. Snow, everywhere. As we drove around the town before stopping for an early lunch, I spied the snowman (above). It's not a sight I ever thought I would see in Georgia.