Author: -N-

So Much to Do!

And, of course, not enough time.

I admit, I love dawdling around and just following my inclinations.  I also like checking things of as Done! There are days when all I do is chores, none with any sense of pleasure; days when I am overwhelmed and cannot figure out where to begin.  This weekend, though, there are a lot of interesting things on the agenda beyond the usual chores of bills, laundry, housework.

One is the completion of a year-long project is in its last week.  Because of this, I have been busy doing all sorts of stuff, like editing HTML, playing with code in my haphazard way and getting it right (hooray!).  Another is one class is ready to launch into their externships, and a new class to begin in the classroom – always an exciting period.

With these two are nearing points of departure, doubtless, I will also find more things to swamp me, but I also will have more time to return to painting.  I have not written anything about it, much less done any, because I have been too busy to slow down.  Hobbies such as cooking or photography or knitting can be picked up for a minute or two, and put down as necessary, but painting requires a bit more focus, and it means quiet and solitude.  I also want to pull out my watercolor paper and reconsider painting in that medium.  Photography makes me want to see what I can do with light in painting.  “Suck” is the first word that comes to mind – but the allure is always there.

For fun, though, this week our little photography group met, and we did food.  How to light it.  How to make it sparkle.  How to choose positions and viewpoints and consideration of depth of field to emphasize the subject.  And how the hot lights make everything dry up!  Below are some of the images I took.

I like this one for its composition and cheery colors.

This one is simple in composition, and I like the bit of lace to the lower right corner of the photo and the bright white surrounding the rest of the cherries.

First shot at fresh papaya and blackberries – no glycerin or oil spray.  After about 10 minutes under the hot lights it looked pretty sad!

I like the perspective here, but see the mount under the left side?  That should not be in the photo!!

Papaya and berries sprayed with olive oil mist and drops of glycerin.  You should have seen it before . . .

Fresh salad, no glycerin or oil.

These are looking pretty tasty.

I just like this perspective of the salad.

Anyway, for our next class, the assignment is food, with both narrow and wide depths of field.  I think something for the Valentine season could be fun.  Our next meet will be outdoors at the local botanical garden, which will be wonderful for broad landscapes as well as plants of all kinds.

A Cold Night’s Soup

Brrr!  Although we are not digging out of miles of snow and ice, the cold snap is hitting us here where I live.  Frost on the windows in the morning and waking to a 55 degree house remind us (a bit!) how other people in other climes live.

Tonight, the idea of a salad left me feeling cold – ugh!  Soup sounded good, so soup for supper it became.  Leftovers and a few vegetables here and there, and this is what we have.

California Cold Night Soup

Olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped fine
3-5 minced cloves fresh garlic
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 zucchini, diced
5 tomatillos, diced
2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
Basil, oregano, ancho chili powder, pepper, salt
1 T tomato paste
1/2 c. Italian parsley, chopped
1 qt. low sodium chicken broth (like from Trader Joe’s)

Add 1-2 T oil to large kettle. Add onions and garlic; saute till it begins to caramelize a bit. Add the vegetables; continue to cook. Add herbs, tomato paste, parsley and chicken. Cook a bit longer, then add chicken broth. Simmer about 20 minutes.

Balance flavor with a bit of lemon juice to taste.

Serve with a garnish of parmesan cheese curls.

Another Pair of Socks

I made these socks ages ago, using Noro Kureyon sock yarn.  I, like many knitters, did not enjoy the knitting experience, but like the final product.  These are warm and toasty and very comfortable to wear, far more so than the yarn implies while knitting.

The tops of the socks are easily reproduced, if you are interested.  What I did was c/o 55 sts.  Pattern for cuff are the following two rows:  1)  k2, p 3 to end.  2) k all stitches.  Continue until 4″ or desired length reached.  Garter stitch 3 ridges (p 1 rnd, k 1 rnd, p 1 rnd, k1 rnd, p 1 rnd) and then continue until you are ready to begin heel.  Make the rest of the sock as you so wish.  My gauge was 6 sts / inch.  Note:  Do not expect a stretchy rib that will hug your ankle; I measured my ankle to give some room, but not much.

 

Customer Service

I died when I watched this!

From BoingBoing.net:

Belgium’s much-reviled phone company Mobistar was elaborately pranked by a program on VRT Belgium; the pranksters hid themselves in a steel container, which they had dropped directly in front of the gates of a large Mobistar office at 5AM. The container had a prominent customer service number printed on the side of it — a number which rang the pranksters inside the container — that was promptly called by a series of Mobistar employees who wanted to get the container moved off before 2,000 Mobistar employees reported for work and found the parking lot blocked off.

The pranksters proceed to put the Mobistar employees through a high-art comedic phone hell, disconnecting them, subjecting them to terrible hold music (performed live from within the container on a little synthesizer), gradually ratcheting the misery up in a Dante-worthy re-enactment of every terrible, awful mobile phone company experience.

The program was a huge hit in Belgium (be sure to watch it all the way through for the a killer punchline), and has been captioned in English for those of us in the anglosphere to enjoy.