billieblog

Cabrito at La Tregua

2012-01-27T11:30:00.000-06:00

Ned has been wanting Cabrito. It is hard to find. Every once in a while we will hear of a restaurant in San Miguel that has cabrito on the menu but it is taken off of the menu or they close before we get there. We were talking about cabrito with some friends and they said they knew where we could get it. La Tregua on the old highway between Comonfort and Celaya. La Tregua has a couple of translations. The main one is "truce" but I found another translation of "respite." Maybe some truce was signed along this road but when I walked in and looked over the broad valley from the balcony, the word respite seemed more appropriate to me.

For some reason I thought it was going to be a little rustic restaurant. Wrong. It was a lovely place. There were attendants in the parking lot and lots of waiters in black pants and white shirts who were attentive. The menu was two pages long but we were only looking for the cabrito so I'm not even sure what else that was on the menu. My eyes focused on the Especialidades where there two listings for preparations of cabrito. We came for cabrito and it didn't take us very long to put in an order for four cabrito pastor.

The cabrito was delicious, the beer was icy cold, the waiters took good care of us and we sat on the balcony looking at this beautiful valley. The steeple of the church is in Soria and that village is another story for another time. We will definitely be going back to La Tregua and maybe the next time I'll read the menu and see what else they serve.

Another reason I love San Miguel.....adventures in the countryside.

A Little Night Music

2012-01-26T13:26:00.000-06:00

One of the many things I love about San Miguel is the opportunity to be entertained while you have dinner. This happens at so many restaurants but you have to be on the lookout for who is playing where. Things change, from Wednesdays to Fridays, from The Restaurant to Hecho en Mexico. Who is in town and who isn't. It could be a solo, a quartet, a band. The musicians could be gringos, Cubans, Mexicans or.....who knows what country. They could live in San Miguel or just be passing through. The music could be Spanish guitar, blues, jazz, rock or country and western. But what amazes me is the quality of music that can be heard. Seldom is there a cover charge although sometimes there is a minimum but a drink or two with dinner easily covers it.

Last night a group of us went to hear Billy Parker at Brasserie. He plays there on Wednesday nights. We sat through two sets and had a great dinner. It is a patio, relaxed and comfortable. An intimate space. We were close to Billy and I felt like he was singing just for me.

I do love living here.

The iPhone 4s Is Not Perfect

2012-01-25T09:58:00.000-06:00

This could be heresy to some Appleheads, but the iPhone 4s is not perfect. Before I got the iPhone I trolled around the net to see what problems people were reporting. The short life of the battery was the major one. I thought I could deal with that one because I wasn't out of the house or car for long periods of time where I was not able to recharge. There were a few other problems but it seemed more like early adapter problems and they were getting fixed.

But I've run into one with the camera. As you can probably guess I bought the iPhone as a iCamera/phone. So this one aggravates me especially since it seems to me it could be fixed with software. Here is the problem. If I shoot a vertical image and then send it from the Apple camera or the camera roll in email it will appear as sideways, a horizontal image, to the receiver on a computer although if they get it on an iPhone it will be vertical.

I've been searching for answers and solutions and found a long discussion on MacRumors forum. The reason that I think it is a software issue is if I take a vertical picture with the Camera+ app, it will remain in the vertical position. Also if I edit the picture in the camera roll, say use even a tiny crop, and send from the camera roll, it will remain vertical. This isn't a new problem. I don't know why Apple doesn't fix it.

Now, on a kind of positive note about Apple. A couple of weeks after I received the iPhone, I was no longer able to send a photograph in an email. We were still in Houston at the time. I figured it was just some setting I had changed and I would need to go back and do some reading and figure it out. See I always blame myself first! After we got to San Miguel, I read, I tinkered with settings and finally decided that it was beyond my abilities.

Email contact with Apple Support generated an email from them and gave me the option of setting up a time that they would call me or I could call them at this number. I called them. Lo and Behold! I got a representative on line whose first language was English. He worked with me for about 45 minutes and when we were not resolving the issue, he said he was going to put his supervisor on line. I didn't even ask to step up to the next level.

The supervisor tried various things including using several iPhones in their office to try to send an email with a photo attached via Yahoo email. After she couldn't get it to work either she told me that it had to be an Yahoo problem. Oh no! My first thought was that if Yahoo had a email system problem that kept iPhone users from sending photo attachments surely there would be discussions in forums and blogs. But Apple had been so helpful that I didn't know what else to do.

Have you ever tried to contact Yahoo? The Apple supervisor gave me a number that they use to contact Yahoo. This is good. I'll be able to contact Yahoo. Wrong! When I called the number I got the dread recording that if I had a problem I should go on-line to their Q&As and if I wanted to speak to a Yahoo representative they were all busy and there was a long line ahead of me. Basically, I could wait until hell freezes over before I get to speak to a person. I hung up. That was enough for one day.

But here is the most interesting thing about this story. The next day I tried to send a photograph attached to an email.....schoosh.....and it went. After three or four weeks of it not working, it worked. The iPhone email/photo has been working fine now for a week.

The photo above was shot at the Tuesday Tianguis and mostly processed in Snapseed.

Staying Young

2012-01-22T10:18:00.000-06:00

In the last couple of weeks I've been able to get back to yoga. I know from my experience that doing yoga gives me flexibility, balance and strength as well as a calmer mind. All of these advantages make me feel younger. The question becomes why don't I do it all the time even when we have to be in Houston. I can make a hundred excuses why I don't and I'm not going to list them all to you....too embarrassing.

This week this video has been flitting around on Facebook.........
95 year old Maia Helles a Russian born ballet dancer, who trained in Paris, shows us, by example, how she remains forever young. Shot in the idyllic, peaceful Fire Island, New York, where she has resided every summer since 1959, Julia Warr has captured, with a moving sound track by esteemed friend and composer Lola Perrin, the simple rhythms of her daily life which have kept her as fit and healthy as a forty year old.

In the video Maia Helles is seen moving gracefully through yoga poses and exercises. The wrinkles are there, the age spots, the gray hair but the body still has the strength and flexibility of someone much younger than her 95 years. None of us know how long we are going to live but for how ever long it might be I think I better give up my excuses and do my yoga practice daily.

See the video about Maia Helles here.

My heart is Happy

2012-01-11T16:46:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I wrote on Facebook that "My heart was at peace and my soul was singing." I also wrote that "The floor felt like cold silk on the bottom of my feet this morning."It seems like my senses are turned on when I am in San Miguel de Allende. I can almost be poetic. Sometimes when I'm away I forget that I feel so alive when I'm here. So tuned in to the color, the sounds, the architecture, the people. I'm glad to be home.

We arrived here late in the afternoon on Monday and by 6 PM we were having dinner with friends. Tuesday we went to the grocery store, picked up mail, ate fish tacos at the Palapa where we met more friends. I put a pot of cream of chicken and vegetable soup on to cook. Before dinner I visited Jose and he performed his magic so now I'm all gilded with a fresh haircut.

Today has been relaxed. I walked into town with the iCamera/Phone and the only thing of importance that I did was go to the wine store. I bought a case and a half of wine and they will deliver it tomorrow. I popped into a few stores and found a potential love seat for the office, found out about yoga class meeting times and also found some cute earrings that I may go back to buy.

All this is pretty mundane stuff but being here does make my heart happy.

Good Eats and Technology Challenges

2012-01-07T12:10:00.001-06:00

Oh my, did I ever have some delicious food last night at DaMarcos. This was one-half a duck so beautifully presented and so delicious. I'm still in the birthday mode and this was a dinner with some of the Houston family and friends. Every sip of wine and every bite of food was just perfect. I'm having so much fun with this birthday that I may have to have another party when we get back to San Miguel.

I made this photo with the iPhone. I'm still learning what it will do besides taking photos. This week I managed to get my calendar over to the iPhone but can't get it to sync back to the computer. Only God knows if I will get that figured out and then the next problem will be how to get it to sync to a second computer in San Miguel. I copied a CD and finally got it to sync to the iPhone. All of this should be simple but I keep finding that I'm having trouble because some little setting isn't turned on or off. After a "discussion" with Sprint I think I have the phone unlocked so that I can sign up with a carrier in Mexico on a pay as you go basis for while we are there. I'll find out for sure when I get there.

Isn't life an adventure?
........Especially in the Technology Age.

2012 - Happy New Year

2012-01-02T08:40:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year, 2012. This year I'm making the switch. when I talk about the year I'm not going to say two thousand twelve. I'm going to say twenty-twelve. I probably should have done that with twenty-ten but twenty-twelve really has a nice ring to it.

We stayed home on New Year's Eve. I admit that I was in bed and asleep by the time the new year rolled in but we had done our best for good luck in 2012. We ate black-eyed peas, a southern tradition, for prosperity and twelve grapes with good wishes attached for the Mexico tradition.

We had a wonderful Christmas with the boys and their families and Ned's sister's entire family including our newest addition, Baby Finn. And one of her sons brought a girl friend. This is the first one he has brought around so we are all wondering if she will be joining us for good. Ned's Aunt and cousin also joined us.

I worry so about my oyster stew for Christmas Eve but it turned out just fine although we barely had enough. I felt really good when Jack, Betsy's Dad, said the oyster stew was one of the reasons he came to Texas for Christmas. This year I had a little more attention from Mike and Betsy while I cooked it. I think they realize that they better learn how to do it 'cause I ain't getting any younger.

And speaking of younger.....I had a birthday on the 30th. What a shock this one was. At 75 I finally have to admit I'm a "senior." All the times when I've bought a senior ticket or taken advantage of a senior discount, I've felt a little like a fraud. I really wasn't THAT old. Well, I still don't feel it but this birthday makes it feel legit. I no longer have to feel guilty about saying, "Senior ticket, please."

We are headed in to 2012 with high hopes. Ned is feeling good. We will be taking a break in treatment and be able to head SOB for a few weeks. We are looking forward to being in our home, seeing our friends, and catching up on all the happenings in San Miguel.

Another photo made on my walk along Buffalo Bayou shot with the iPhone Instagram app. Give me some slack while I explore the iPhone. I don't think it ever going to substitute for my DSLR but it is fun. I'm learning about using some of the apps besides Hipstamatic and Instagram. And it will be a camera that is always with me. I think of it as a Camera/Phone instead of a Phone/Camera. Now I have to get it unlocked so I can use the Phone part when we are in San Miguel. Gotta get that done this week before we head South.

Christmas Crazy

2011-12-23T14:00:00.000-06:00

I thought that I had gotten past Christmas Crazy but I'm realizing that I can't help myself. I am on the holiday cooking list for:

Oyster Stew for 10 (or more) on Christmas Eve

4 Jalapeno Quiches on Christmas morning
Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, again for Christmas morning

Chocolate Cheese Cake and Creamed Onions for Christmas Dinner

That is enough....don't you think? It is really a lot of chopping and prepping and cleaning up. Fine! I can do it although the oyster stew always makes me nervous. I've tried to write down the recipe but when you start making it for 10 or more people it is a little nerve wracking. It is a lot of stirring and tasting and hoping that everyone will think it is as good as last year.

However, here is the deal. I don't think it will be Christmas if I don't make at least one recipe of Chocolate chip cookies, a batch of Pecan Sandies, an attempt at old fashioned Hershey's boiled fudge, and I want Cranberry Nut Bread too. I just can't help myself.

Now to get all of that done along with the other Christmas stuff, I'll end up Christmas Crazy but really happy and full of the spirit of Christmas.

Later in the day: This photograph? I can't leave the new iPhone alone. I'm trying out some of the photo apps. This one is the hipstamatic. You have several lenses and different films you can choose. This one is kind of grungy but colorful. This is the cranberry nut bread. I've also made a recipe of fudge but it looks like if I want to have any on Christmas Day, I'll have to make another batch. It keeps mysteriously disappearing.

Are You Done?

2011-12-20T20:57:00.000-06:00

Have you finished your shopping? We were out today. Traffic.....lots of traffic. Apparently a lot of people are still in the heat of it.

I took this picture a few days ago with the new iPhone. Can you tell I'm having fun?

An Early Christmas Present

2011-12-19T07:57:00.000-06:00

I got an early Christmas present . . . An iPhone. I've been talking about one for most of this year. Not because of the phone. I had a perfectly good cell phone. I wanted it for the camera and the photography apps. I know that is a ridiculous reason to get an iPhone so you don't have to tell me what I already know.

Here is the thing. I've been watching photography friends posting iPhone images on Facebook and looking at their websites where they are making marvelous art using the apps. I've listened to them talk about the iPhone always being with them so it was the camera they used most often. I've tried to avoid buying the phone by buying some of the small point and shoot cameras. Too much trouble to carry the cell phone AND the camera. But now I have it all in one tiny package and if I'm bored while I wait for something, I can always take a photograph into the apps and play.

I've had the iPhone for almost two weeks now and I'm addicted. Thank you, Santa.

The Memories Are Still There

2011-12-18T10:41:00.000-06:00

I know it has been a while since I've written but we have been busy. We managed to get in another trip to Port Aransas. Remember I started writing about my photography project in Port Aransas last March. I thought I'd get to go back sooner to work on it but other things interrupted. Nevertheless, it is still my project . . . and it still has a lot of work to be done. We tried to time our trip so that we would have good weather or at least weather good enough so I could shoot some of the things on my list.

Weather is a factor when you are working on a project that is outside but there are a lot of other factors as well. I was going to write something about them today but I read Howard Grill's blog entry from today, The Hardest Thing I Have Done Photographically. Howard listed all the things I was thinking about writing plus a few others. So now I don't need to write about all of them. Just go read Howard's entry.

This photograph was made on the walk to the beach from the place we went many times during the 70's and 80's with the kids. We would go down every summer for a week and rent a condo. The condos were a good walk to the beach over a plank walkway that was raised above a marshy area on the backside of the dunes. And then when you got to the dunes the path up the dunes was sand. I loved how the sparkling water appeared as you went up the dune and when you reached the crest you could look up and down the great expanse of beach. This is the first time we have gone to these condos since the 80's and walked this trail. It was such a strange feeling. The raised wooden planks have been replaced with a raised concrete walk that gradually gets buried in the shifting sand dunes. The condos are painted a different color. Some things have changed but the beach and the memories are still there.

Shopping Day

2011-12-01T20:37:00.001-06:00

Today I had a personal shopping day. I headed to the Galleria. I took the camera with me and made a few shots from the hip. If I would have brought my big "professional" looking camera to my eye, I would have had a security guard on me in no time. It would be easier to get what I want in the frame but on the other hand it is kind of fun to see what shows up while I'm walking through the store with my finger lightly on the camera ready to push the shutter while I'm looking the other way. I know it is silly but I feel a bit like I'm flirting with danger.

There were serious shoppers out today. Every place I went I saw women loading up the trunk of their car with their purchases. Oh, I did see one man at Costco. He was loading the trunk of his car with liquor and wine. I'm thinking some stuff about the division of labor between the sexes at Christmas time but I think I'll just let it go. Ho, Ho, Ho.

Do I Really Want to Make a Blurb Book?

2011-11-27T16:16:00.001-06:00

I've been doing one of the things I do best, Procrastinating. What I really want to do is make a Blurb book using some of my Holga images. So yesterday that was my plan for the day. But when I got into my digital files, I decided that the only way, absolutely the only way, for me to do this was to spend time adding keywords to the digital files. That way I could pull all of the Holga images up to look at them and decide which ones would go into the book. That took most of the day because I kept just peeping in a few other files just to see what they were.

That is how you are getting the image above. It was from February 26, 2007 and I was walking into town from the house in San Miguel . . . just shooting anything that caught my fancy. I don't think I ever did a thing with any of the images from that day but yesterday I had to stop and process this image. I liked the soft colors and the contrast of the yellow-green leaves. If I didn't do it right then, I might forget about it. That would be a shame. This image needed to be seen. Okay, so I processed it, even printed it. It makes a nice print. Now you are seeing it in the blog.

You see where this is leading . . . yes, you are right. Not one single image got dropped into Blurb's BookSmart template on Saturday.

Now it is Sunday and it is after 4:00 PM and still nothing has been dropped into a template. This morning I had to watch Sunday Morning News first thing. Then I needed to vacuum the floors and mop the kitchen and bathrooms. After that I felt so grimy I needed a shower. A friend stopped by to bring us some fresh produce from her garden. Then I needed a little nap.

What am I doing now? You got it. Writing a blog. Still not a single image has gone into the template for the book. I could write another whole blog on why I procrastinate. Oh wait, I think I've written about that before . . . here.

Rain

2011-11-26T10:30:00.001-06:00

This is another photograph from our quick stop at the abandoned gas station just south of San Antonio. I thought I'd post it because it is raining here in Houston today. Maybe later on I'll get out and take some rain photographs around Houston. But that depends on how hard it is raining and how many crazy shoppers/drivers are still out and about.

Right now I'm working on another job . . .cleaning house and washing clothes. Oh, I miss wonderful Juana who makes my life so much easier. I know, I know, I'm totally spoiled in Mexico but I love it.

After Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T09:57:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner but it started me thinking about the food we eat on that holiday. For most families, the menu doesn't vary that much from year to year. We want the "traditional" dishes cooked the same way year after year. Every once in a while, some new dish gets added but most of the time things stay the same. Do you eat those dishes the rest of the year?

Take turkey. I love turkey. I'd love to have turkey more often and when we had teenage boys in the house, I often roasted a turkey as the protein for a meal. I made a little turkey gravy but the rest of the meal would not be the traditional T'day dinner. That way we had at least one dinner, maybe two and I could make real turkey sandwiches for their school lunches. Now a turkey is too, too much for the two of us. So I savor each bite at Thanksgiving.

How about sweet potatoes. How often do you have them besides Thanksgiving? I like sweet potatoes so I'll prepare them a few times during the Fall and Winter when the potatoes are so big and sweet. But it isn't a vegetable that goes on my shopping list. Usually when I see a big pile of them in the store I'll think about including them in a meal. I should include them more often. They are full of good vitamins. Unfortunately I love them with lots of butter mashed into them.

Creamed onions. Might not be on your Thanksgiving menu but it is on ours. I love them but never make them during the year. They are a bit time consuming to prepare.....and once again there is the fat factor. Cream! But really there is only 1/3 cup of cream in 10 servings.

I have never made or eaten a pumpkin pie except during Thanksgiving or Christmas. I can't say I 'love' pumpkin pie but with whipped cream it is good. I use to feel like I needed to have at least a sliver of a slice of pumpkin pie just because. I don't think I've eaten even a sliver in at least 10 years. And speaking of pie, what about mincemeat pies. We always had them while Ned's Dad was alive. I ate mincemeat pies when I was a kid but somewhere in adulthood, I decided that I didn't really like them and there were too many other good desserts to eat to waste the calories on mincemeat pies. I seldom see recipes for mincemeat pies anymore.

As long as we are talking about pies, let's talk about pecan pie. A pecan pie is so easy to make except I have to tell you that yesterday I messed one up. I made a variation on pecan pie that was basically a regular southern pecan pie but it had a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in it. I'm blaming it all on my oven here in the apartment which has a fluctuating thermostat. It was too hot at first and had to cook too long to get the center done. So I threw together another plain pecan pie....sugar, Karo, eggs, butter, salt....and into the pie shell. Easy Peasy. But do I make them during the year? Very seldom. Why not? There is no reason a pecan pie has to be relegated to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I'm sure your family has some holiday menu items that are only served during the holidays or that used to be served but have kind of disappeared from the table as the older generation passes on. Tell me about them.

Catching Up to Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:25:00.000-06:00

I took this picture about two weeks ago, just south of San Antonio. Yes, we are back in Texas. Our drive from Laredo to Houston was in the rain. Much needed rain in South and Central Texas. There was some fall color in the grass and trees and the rain made it look soft and saturated. I must have seen a 500 images along the way but this location was the only place where I was able to stop and actually get out the camera. It was an abandoned gas station so I was able to stay dry while I got out of the car and got the camera together. I pulled my hoodie up, held the camera under my jacket until I pulled it out to shoot. Two shots and when I got back to the car I had to spend some time wiping down the camera and lens.

Our drive from San Miguel to Laredo was uneventful except after going though a check point where they had a gamma ray machine thing scanning the cars, we drove through and I was back up to about 70-75 miles an hour when I looked in the rear view mirror and a black military jeep with lights flashing was on my tail. I slowed down and they pulled up beside me and motioned me over. There were four Federales in full battle gear, armor, helmets, guns. One of them spoke a bit of English. While three of them were pounding on the tires and sides of the car, he wanted to see the car permit and my driver's license. He said something about the tires were high ???? don't know what that meant or if the gamma ray scanner had picked up something. At any rate he checked the VIN number and my Driver's license and gave them back to me and said thank you.

We stopped in Austin and picked Carly up. She was glad to see us and has fallen right back into her routine with us. We were a little worried because while she was with Son #3 and family, she was allowed to do things she isn't allowed to do here......like sleep in the bed with them. But the first night we were home, we were getting ready for bed and told her it was time for her to go to bed. She walked right into her crate and slept all night without a yip, whine, or bark.

We are settled back into the Houston routine. Ned has resumed his chemo treatments and is tolerating them pretty well. Today we will be with Ned's sister and family and Son #2. The table will be loaded with all the traditional Thanksgiving food. We will eat too much. Catch up on our talking. But most of all we will be thankful for being together and for all we have.

Photographing in the Cemetery Today

2011-11-02T19:24:00.002-05:00

For the last two days I've been going to the cemetery and photographing. It is the celebration for Day of the Dead. When I first started photographing this event, maybe twenty years ago it was unheard of in the USA. And if you told people about it, they seemed to think it was a very strange custom. Now it is, if not common in the States, at least most people know about it. I think it is such a wonderful custom. A time to remember loved ones.

It is always interesting to me to see who else is photographing in the cemetery and to see what kind of equipment they are carrying. There were two men with huge telephoto lenses on their DSLR's on top of tripods and another camera hanging from their shoulder. They were standing on the walk and trying to stay out of the way. It was really almost impossible to set up the tripod on the walk and if they went in among the graves it would be impossible. There are no walkways through the graves and it is difficult to find a place to put your feet much less a tripod.

As we came down the road to the cemetery I noticed a woman who was just standing to one side with her camera in her hand and scanning what was passing by. She was ready to bring her camera to her eye if something interested her. I saw her again as we were leaving. She had moved to a different location but still waiting for her "decisive moments." That is the way I like to shoot in the cemetery as well. I think you need to blend into the crowd, be mobile and make connections when you can. It is very chaotic riot of colors and people and difficult light.

It is hard for me to make a good photograph of the overall scene so I usually try to make images of bits and pieces and hope that the "set" of images tells the story. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to going through the last 10 years of shoots and make an album of what I think is my Best of Day of the Dead images. Or maybe I'll just spend my time making more images. That is the fun part.

Where Am I?

2011-11-01T20:37:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not Over the Rainbow with the Tinman and Dorothy but I am in a magical place . . . San Miguel de Allende. We flew in on Sunday so we were able to go to the Jardin Monday night to join the trick or treaters. I've written so many times about just hanging out in and around the Jardin at night and how it feeds my soul but I'm not the only one who fills that way. I think that is what continues to draw people not to just vacation in San Miguel but to want to live here.

I wish I would have had a tape recorder with me because right after we arrived in the Jardin we ran into D and T who were finishing dinner at a sidewalk cafe and taking it all in, and I do mean all, of the things that were going on in the Jardin. D started talking to me about all the things she was seeing and how this magic just couldn't be replicated. Her soul was being filled as well.

It was so much fun to see all the kids who could run on their own as well as the little guys with Mom and Dad. Most of the kids were having fun except for a few of the little guys who were kind of overwhelmed.

But I think this big kid was having the most fun of all handing out candy.

Jus' Mac

2011-10-27T16:40:00.001-05:00

This is a new family owned restaurant on Yale Street near downtown Houston. If you saw the restaurant, would you think of Macaroni and cheese or a burger? I would NOT think that this was a McDonalds and the owners of this new eatery never ever imagined that their new concept of a place that just serves a variety of mac and cheese dishes would ever be in competition to McDonalds. Big old McDonalds thinks so. They have sent them a letter telling them they can't use the name Jus' Mac. Read about it here.

Yesterday's Commerce #1

2011-10-26T15:53:00.001-05:00

I've gotten out a time or two to photograph around Houston. This image is from the area of Houston near downtown called the Heights. If you will look closely you can see that the Rose Motor Co. Inc. use to reside in this building. There are a lot of these old buildings in the inner-city of Houston. Don't know that this is a project but it gives me something to look for when I'm out and about. I'll call these yesterday's commerce #XX for now. We'll see where this goes.

Our Apartment

2011-10-23T11:47:00.000-05:00

We are living in a fairly large apartment complex. I think God had a hand in putting us here. This was the first apartment that we looked at. It is close to two of our sons, to the medical center, has security gates, the grounds are very well maintained and our apartment is on the ground floor. I don't worry about walking Carly around the complex at night. And we can walk to two grocery stores, a drug store and several restaurants....as least we can now that the weather isn't over 100 degrees everyday. The rooms are large and there is a lot of storage space.

By the way, what is it with storage space. It just seems to fill up on its own. The walk-in closet in the bedroom/office is almost full. The exceptions are the two walk-in closets in our bedroom. We have very few clothes in them. We always seem to come to Houston with clothes for two weeks or so and then end up staying for months. It takes keeping the washing machine and dryer busy on a regular basis but it is amazing how long you can go with just a few clothes. It is getting a little harder right now because of the change in seasons. I mean, really, one can't go on wearing white cropped pants after the first of September. If you are old enough and from the South I'm sure you know that RULE.

Another thing that we are really appreciating in our apartment complex is the staff. They pick up our garbage at our door four times a week. If something breaks, they can usually fix it the same day. Last night about 8:00 PM we realized that the AC wasn't working. This morning at 8:00 AM they were at the door to fix it. Now we are sitting cool and comfortable. In a private home, I'm sure we could not have gotten anyone out to fix it until Monday or later. And God knows what it would cost.

I've never wanted to live in an apartment complex. Too many people, loss of privacy, no yard. But after living wall-to-wall in our Mexican colonia with only a patio and terrace, where every neighbor knows when you come and go, I guess I feel a little differently about apartment living.

Lap Potato

2011-10-21T16:06:00.002-05:00

When Carly is allowed, she can be a couch potato but she would rather be like she is here, a Lap Potato. There is nothing in the world she likes better than jumping up in your lap, flopping over on her back and insisting that you rub her tummy.

When we came to Texas in August, we had to leave her in the kennel in San Miguel. Although, Peter's place isn't so much like a kennel as it is Doggie Camp. Peter has room to divide up the dogs everyday by size and give them outside space to run as a pack. Carly qualifies for the mid-size pack but she climbs the fence and joins the large-size pack.

I'll never forget the first time I took her to Peter's and he was showing me around. He pointed out a nice crate in his house and said that this would be Carly's crate at night. I told him he might have a problem because I was working on it but she wasn't crate trained. No, no, Peter told me, after one night he would not have a problem. Every evening at a certain time every dog came in and went to their crate for the night. I don't know how he did it but ever since she stayed that first time with Peter, when it is bedtime for us, she knows it is bedtime for her and she heads for her crate.

Once we realized that we were going to be in Texas for a while, we wanted to get her here as well. A few emails and some wonderful friends and we worked out a plan. One couple went to Peter's to get her to the Vet so she could be up to date on her shots and start heart worm medications. They kept her overnight and took her before the crack of dawn to meet up with her ride. The couple who was bringing her had a car that was already loaded down and there wasn't space for Carly so she sat in K's lap from San Miguel to San Antonio. Carly weighs 17 pounds, not too heavy but she sat in K's lap for 12 hours....now she is heavy.

My #3 son who lives in Austin drove to San Antonio and picked her up from K. Carly rode from San Antonio to Austin with her head in one of the grandson's lap. She stayed with them and their three dogs until the weekend when we met #3 half way between Austin and Houston and brought her home to Houston.

Carly is a good traveler and can adapt to whatever is happening especially when she can be a lap potato

Peeling Paint

2011-10-20T09:41:00.000-05:00

What is it about peeling paint that attracts photographers? I don't know but I doubt if any photographer could have passed up this door.

Last Sunday I went on the home tour in Eastwood. Remember about two years ago I made an e-book of the houses there. It is a neighborhood that is almost 100 years old. In addition to getting to see some of the homes I also got to go into the old Cage Elementary School, a four-room, two-story, brick school built in 1910. It has not been used as a school in over 20 years although the school district has used it for storage during that time. One of the unique things about the school is that the ground floor was a stable where the kids left their horses during the school day. Now the school is probably 10 minutes from downtown Houston but 100 years ago it was out in the country.

The school is boarded up and in bad shape with areas on the second floor where it is not safe to walk. There are foundation problems that have been modified with bracing but doubtfully a permanent fix. Of course I had my camera with me and started to photograph an area with a bit of peeling paint. I told the guide/docent that I loved photographing peeling paint. He told me that if I wanted peeling paint to follow him. This is the door to the girl's bathroom down on the first floor by the stables. I could have spent the next hour just photographing this small three stall bathroom with paint peeling from every surface except the plumbing fixtures. I would have needed a tripod and time. I didn't have a tripod with me and the docent wasn't allowed to leave anyone unsupervised in the building. But now that I know the peeling paint is there maybe I can find a way to get permission to go in again.

The community around the school is trying to find a way to save and renovate the school. I hope that they can do it

Remission

2011-10-19T16:53:00.000-05:00

Good News from Houston. Ned had scans done last week and we are celebrating. His cancer is in remission. I think the Oncologist was almost skipping when he came into the exam room to tell us about the report. While this is wonderful news, Ned will continue treatment at least until the end of the year.

It was amazing to watch him improve. It seemed like there was no change until after his fifth infusion and then I started noticing things getting better. Last week the family gave him a birthday party and while he might not have been a party animal, he was mingling and having a great time. Today is his actual birthday and we are going out to eat.

Since last year when he lost most of his hair from chemo and radiation he has kept it clipped close. I love it. He looks very handsome and very stylish. Here you have Gary, son #2, giving him a haircut in our apartment kitchen.

Many thanks to all of you who have sent good thoughts and prayers this way via the blog comments or email.

Fight Cancer

2011-10-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since I've written anything in my blog. I hope I have not lost all my readers.

Some days it seems like the past three months have flown by and other times the three months seem like forever. Ned's lung cancer is back again and new treatments are underway. The time has been taken up with tests, radiation, doctors and chemo treatments. The good news is that he isn't in pain now. The bad news is chemo therapy is a bitch. At any rate, I think we have things sorted out and I'll be able to write in the blog from time to time.

We are so fortunate to be in Houston and have first-rate medical care. Even more important we are surrounded by family and friends and comforted by emails and phone calls by those who are not close by.

The fight continues.

Time for Solo Foto Book Month - 2011

2011-07-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

Today, July 1, starts the time frame for Solo Foto Book Month for 2011. During the next 62 days you can pick any contiguous 31 days and shoot enough images to have 35 or so for a book, prepare the images, write the text, design the layout and publish a PDF book. What do you get for this herculian effort? Nada. Just the satisfaction of making a book. Of course, while doing the book you learn a lot.

I've done SoFoBoMo for two years. I've signed up for this year but once again travel plans are falling during the two months, July 1 to August 31, that you have to choose your 31 contiguous days. But what is even worse for me is that I don't really have an idea for the project that I'm excited about that can be finished in a 31 day period.

What to do? What to do?

If you want to know more about SoFoBoMo, here is a link to their website.

Clean Sheets

2011-06-29T10:06:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know you are looking at an unmade bed and the title is Clean Sheets. I like clean sheets and while this bed is unmade the sheets are clean. Oh it is so delicious to slip into a bed where the sheets have just been changed. I grew up in a house where the beds were stripped and the sheets were washed every week. That is the way I have run my house too. I thought that everyone changed their sheets every week.

My assumption must be wrong. Recently I've seen a commercial on television for a laundry detergent that starts off telling you that a survey showed that some 30% of Canadians did not change their sheets even once every thirty days. EEeuuu! Therefore you should use their detergent because it was the best at getting body oils and dirt out of the sheets. I have some Canadian friends and I think that they change their sheets every week. I don't know who the 30% are who don't but I hope they mend their ways.

Chocolate Cream Pie

2011-06-28T09:39:00.001-05:00

I can't begin to tell you how long it has been since I had Chocolate Cream Pie. Probably since I last made it and that was a long, long time ago. My mother made great cream pies. . . . chocolate, coconut, and banana pies covered in perfect meringues. Although I wasn't good with a pie crust, I'd still try to make them. Mine were not bad but they were not as good as Mom's. I guess I quit making pies as my boys got older. One pie lasted one day. A cake would usually last at least two days. To me making pies was harder than making cakes and the pie was eaten in one day. So along about the time the youngest was five, I stopped making pies.

Sometimes a restaurant has chocolate pie but these days if it is a chocolate cream pie it is covered in whipped cream and it is gigantic. If I was thinking of a little dessert after dinner, just seeing the huge slab of pie on the plate was enough to make me turn it down.

This Sunday it was different. We went to La Mansion de Montitlan for comida. Dessert was included. There were choices for dessert but I chose the "Homemade Chocolate Pie." What you see above is what they served. Just the right size, a beautiful meringue and creamy chocolate pie. Not dark chocolate. Just the perfect chocolate like my Mom made. With every bite images flashed through my mind of dinner tables and who at the table when we ate chocolate cream pie. Funny how foods from your childhood can do that.

I went looking for a chocolate pie recipe similar to the one Mom made and this is about as close as I came. The reason I chose this one is that it was the only one that used cocoa and flour and that is what I remember her using. And it was one of the few chocolate pies with a meringue topping. I'll probably have to try to make it . . . after I find out how to adjust the meringue for this altitude.

The Saturday Organic Market

2011-06-26T17:14:00.000-05:00

San Miguel has a lot of Foodies as well as people concerned about the quality of the food they eat. Several of our restaurants source local produce and cheeses. So where there is demand . . . Yep, supply will follow. Several farms around San Miguel have started to raise organic produce. I'm sure the restaurants have arrangements with some of the growers but what about the rest of us. Now you need to get the demand and supply together. There are a couple of small markets that specialize in organic foods or local cheeses. But we also have a Saturday Organic Market not too far from our house. It is on the back 40 of the Rosewood Hotel property. The market is really more than just organic produce.

When you enter one of the first things you see are tables and chairs under some shade trees. And the first thing you smell are tortillas on griddles and pottery pots of all sizes filled with tinga, chicken in green mole, razas with egg, lamb stew, chorizo and egg and even more pots. Are you hungry yet? Thirsty? There is coffee in a pot or fruit juices of beautiful colors standing in big glass jars. Go get what you want to eat and sit down at one of the tables. If you haven't already seen a friend or two, I bet you will before you leave the table.

After eating a few tacos or quesadillas you can stroll through the rest of the market. You will find skin care products made of distillations of certain cactus, chocolate, homemade breads, empanadas, sweet rolls, donuts, medicines made from nature's produce, handmade shawls, rugs and aprons. And, of course, you will find the freshest organic produce that is available that day.

San Antonio Festival

2011-06-19T18:05:00.000-05:00

This weekend is the Festival for our Colonia Church. Yesterday I walked over to the church and sat while parishioners came in to pray. The church was loaded with flowers. It was peaceful.

Today the inside of the church may look the same but outside is anything but peaceful. There are castillos being loaded, bands playing, and the plaza in front of the church is packed with families, food stands and people dressed in costumes for the Locos Parade which began right after the outside Mass. The Locos Parade has grown so much in the last 13 or 14 years that we have been going to it. Now it starts way out Ancha de San Antonio and winds it way through town. It looks to me like one-fourth of the town is in the parade and the other three-fourths of the town are lined up on the streets to watch and try to catch candy that is thrown to the crowd. In some ways you might say it is a family Mardi Gras.

If you want to see some more pictures of the Locos click here.

That Orangey-Red Flower

2011-06-18T12:57:00.000-05:00

The other day someone asked me about the orange flower in the post about The Luck of the Draw. It is a Crocosmia. This is one that I photographed in my garden in Houston in 2003. I started with just a few crocosmia and they took off. I love flowers that naturalized and come back every year. I wonder if I could get a pot of crocosmia growing up on the terrace.

The bulbs are very tiny. It should be too hard to do. Can you recomment a bulb smuggler?

What Are You Reading?

2011-06-17T11:15:00.001-05:00

I'm currently reading another of Jean Auel's series. This is her most recent one, The Land of Painted Caves. Since I bought the Kindle last Fall, I've been a Reader (definitely in caps.) It is just so easy to carry it with me, pick it up and put it down. At the beginning of the year I set myself a goal of reading 50 books. I'm at 26 and working on the 27th book. It is June 17th so I should make the goal. But it isn't so much about making any goal at all as much as it is just enjoying reading. I started the list to help me keep track of what I had read but counting and goals are the American way.

Over in the right hand side bar you will find Goodreads and it lists most of the books I've read and how I rated them. I don't know why all of them aren't listed and it isn't important enough to me to try to figure it out. Not many books get my Five-Star rating and sometimes I'm surprised at a book that does. There are two war novels listed in the Five-Star reads....that really surprised me. A Four-Star rating probably means that I couldn't put the book down until I finished it but a Five-Star means that it lingered around long after I finished it.

Here is my Five-Star list for the first half of 2011:

Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
Room by Emma Donoghue
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Matterhorn, A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes

What are you reading?

Luck of the Draw

2011-06-16T08:15:00.001-05:00

I love to have flowers in the house but especially when we are having friends over. Well, this evening we have friends coming so I bought flowers. They are so much cheaper here than in the States but they aren't free.

As I was walking home with the flowers I thought about how much they cost and what our maid is earning today. I felt a little guilty at my good fortune to be able to buy flowers and not have to worry about feeding a family tonight.

I wonder if Carlos Slim ever thinks about things like that.

Just the Highlights

2011-06-14T20:55:00.000-05:00

I sent this image to some photographer friends. One of them asked me what kind of birds these were. I'm not a birder so I didn't know anything except I photographed these two birds in Port Aransas. My friend asked an expert. So now I can tell you that these are Black Neck Stilts in the marshy flats just after dawn.

If you have been wondering why I haven't posted anything to the blog, all I can tell you is that nothing exciting has happened and I haven't been in the mood. But all is good at our house.

I'm back to going to yoga twice a week.

The nights have cooled off but still no rain. I'm sleeping better in the cool air but really beginning to worry about the rain. Here it is the middle of June and no sign of rain.

We have been going to the Tuesday Tianguis. The sandia has been delicious. So have the shrimp. One night we had friends over and sat in the patio peeling boiled shrimp and eating until we were stuffed. Today the figs looked wonderful. So wonderful I bought too many. They don't keep. I've got a lot of figs to eat.

We have gone into the centro on the weekends and enjoyed walking around the Jardin. I love seeing all the Mexican families enjoying their town.

I thought I had a printer problem but it was user error. I don't want to talk about it!

I'm very happy with the new housekeeper. It was a bit rocky at first but she wants the job and is a fast learner. Now she has a pretty nice routine worked out so that I always feel like the house is clean.

I've been working with about eight images that I shot in Port Aransas. I could use up a box of paper just messing with the tint of the black and white image. One day I think I've nailed it and then the next day I look at it and start over again. Seems like a minor thing....but not to me. The tint can change the emotion, the interpretation of the image.

Last week we bought another fish friend for Calico. Calico has grown...a lot. The new fish is too big for her to eat but she is trying to chase Blacktail, the new fish, away from the food at feeding time.

There have been a lot of fireworks. Not just on the weekends but during the week as well. Just when we figure out what the event is, the fireworks slide into another event. We aren't keeping up with it all as well as we use to.

See, I told you nothing exciting was going on......
But it is a good life.

I've Had It!

2011-06-02T17:14:00.000-05:00

I'm not quiting blogging. I can still put up with the roof dogs. I still like the bells and fireworks (most of the time.) I know I'll make it until the rainy season this year. So what brings on "I've had it." Cobblestones. That is right, cobblestones.

We got back to San Miguel about two weeks ago and yesterday while walking into town two times I realized that I've got my legs back. My ankles are limber, my legs are moving well in the hip sockets, and my feet and legs have readjusted to walking on the hard surfaces. The altitude isn't bothering me going up hill, at least not too much, but what is bothering me are the cobblestones. Oh, I can walk on them but I've finally admitted to myself that they are not the charming aspect of this colonial town that I once thought they were. While they are still charming to look at, they aren't charming to walk on. It is like some little aggravation that you ignore and ignore but then one day it hits you.....POW.....just like that. Enough already.

I don't want to walk on cobblestones. The sidewalks are better even if they are two feet wide (sometime 18" wide) and uneven but unfortunately there are places in the Mexican colonias where there are no sidewalks. As you can see from this picture with my house at the top of the street, I can't avoid ever again walking on cobblestones in San Miguel but I'm going to choose the sidewalk route when I can even if it means having to go a little further.

The Weekend

2011-05-30T09:00:00.021-05:00

We decided to go out to eat Friday night. I'd been thinking pasta might be nice since we had not eaten pasta in a while. And to add to the niceness one of our favorite pasta restaurants has moved and advertised that they have air conditioning. We could see the new space and be COOL. With all our trips back to Houston we had not eaten there for a long time but when they opened the original restaurant their pasta was really good and good pasta doesn't happen all the time in San Miguel. I should have taken pause when someone we were with on Thursday night asked if we thought there were any good pasta places in San Miguel. I said this restaurant. He indicated that he didn't like their pasta.

The new place was lovely although including us there were only two tables occupied. Tablecloths and cloth napkins, nice glassware AND the AC was working. The wine was a nice Malbec. The salad was crisp and well plated. The pastas....not so good. I had a fusilli and sausage that was very over salted. Ned had a pomodoro sauce that was so watered down that it was a watery red/orange liquid with nary a sign of a tomato piece floating around. Not as thick or red as tomato soup, more like a tomato water. And unfortunately his spaghetti was overcooked as well. We did enjoy the ambience, each other's company and the AC but the food was overpriced for what it was. If they had delivered good pasta fine but they did not.

When we left the restaurant we walked around a bit. Every restaurant that we peeked into was empty or had only one or two tables occupied. Gringo tourist territory and they are few and far between in town. But the centro was alive and well. The Mexicans love their town. There is some International/Cultural program going on in the town and on stage in front of the Parroquia was a folk dance troupe from Russia or some Slavic country. There was a wedding about to emerge from the church. The benches in the Jardin were loaded with people and of course, the young people were parading around, talking with their friends or watching the break/robot dancing in the gazebo. Little children were pulling toys or holding balloons. The marachis were gathering. The food stands were set up and people were lining up to buy corn, hotdogs, hamburguesa or ice cream. The Mexicans were going to eat under the trees in the cooling evening light and a lot more cheaply than we had. It was a busy Friday night.

Saturday, I decided that it had been too long since I had an Artist Date. It is one of the suggestions from the book The Artist's Way. Take yourself on a date and do something to replenish your creative well. I went to the Fabrica out on Calzada de Aurora. The Fabrica was originally a factory. It is a huge building and back in 2004 they were remodeling it for shops. It has ended up being something of a design center with a lot art galleries and studios. But while it was being remodeled I went a couple of times to photograph the space. I called them my "Green Shoots" because everything in the place was some shade of green from a dreary gray green to a turquoise. Both of the images in this blog were part of the Green Shoots.

I walked back to the centro and stopped at the carnicería and bought a filete de res for our dinner. Another stop at the vegetable stand outside of Espinos and I had fresh corn for boiling and a cucumber to add to a tomato salad and then back home. The first beef we have had in a while. I cooked it at a high heat for about 30 minutes and then let it stand tented for about the same amount of time for the juices to settle back into the meat. It was medium-to-medium-rare, tender and delicious. A nice dinner.

Today a little clothes washing and a lot of laziness. Pretty good weekend.

Our Botanical Garden

2011-05-26T16:45:00.001-05:00

These two images were made with the Holga camera in "El Charco de Ingenio" Botanical Garden in September, 2002. Many people, both gringo and Mexican, loved to walk in the Garden. It was a favorite tourist destination. There is a charity that raises money to protect and improve the Garden.

This week 50 of the 67 hectares of the Garden burned. The fire was on the North side of the canyon which preserved most of the area that had been developed with paths and buildings. But scattered through the Garden are many unique or very old specimens of plants and Cacti. This is a beautiful ecological reserve and also can be considered a historical site for the ruins of aqueducts and water works from the past that can be seen there. Here in San Miguel the newspapers reported the fire as an enviromental disaster.

Re-entry

2011-05-25T13:49:00.003-05:00

We are back in San Miguel de Allende. We arrived last Friday but I just haven't been in the mood for updating the blog. It is so hot it just kind of sucks out any initiative to do anything. We are usually gone during this time of year but it didn't work out that way this year. It is so dry and hot. Some friends of ours who live near the Canyon said that it was on fire yesterday. I'm hoping the rainy season starts early in June.

It didn't take long for San Miguel to welcome us back. There were some fireworks on Friday night but Saturday night there were major fireworks and bells. They seemed to be on a schedule from one church to another then back again. They didn't bother Carly until the neighborhood church did their round of fireworks around 6:00 AM. Now they were loud. It was like they were in our street. She cried a bit so we let her out of her crate and on the bed. The next night she tried the crying again at 6. This time there were no fireworks but who can blame her for giving it a try. This time Ned just told her to be quiet. She settled down again until it was time to get up.

All of the roosters and chickens are still here, crowing and clucking but now a turkey's gobble has been added to the bird symphony. So far I haven't figured where the turkey lives. . .to our right or to our left.

I went to the San Juan mercado. My chicken lady was still there. I have walked into town. It is hard to get a cardio workout with the walking because you keep seeing friends and you just have to stop and talk. And so the social schedule has started again. Cocktails one night, lunch with a girlfriend, and a comida one day next week. We had friends over for shrimp, just boiled shrimp and we sat at the patio table and peeled shrimp, ate and talked.

Most of our meals have been simple grilled chicken and salad and/or grilled vegetables. It is just too hot to heat up the kitchen with cooking and too hot to have much of an appetite. Today I walked out Ancha de San Antonio/Celaya to Queso Luna. I needed some Kalamata olives and as long as I was there I popped into Maple bakery for a couple of rolls to go with our dinner tonight. It it going to be a Romaine lettuce, celery, olive, shrimp salad with a light French Vinargette dressing. While at Queso Luna I noticed that they are selling the Brianna salad dressings. They are my favorites, especially the blush wine dressing. I pay about $3 for them in the States. Here they were selling them for 72 pesos....maybe $6.50 US. My first thought was NO I'm not going to spend that much for a bottle of dressing. But you know I didn't have to cart it down and if I don't have it and I really, really want it . . . who knows. Just might do it for a special treat.

We are home and re-entry wasn't difficult at all (except for the heat.)

PS, The picture of the chickens was shot in 2004. I thought about them as I wrote about the chickens. Now with my new Lightroom setup, it is so easy to go look for an image, work it, save it for the net and there it is on the blog.

And a thanks to Jennifer for a heads up on the price of the salad dressing. 72 pesos not 720 pesos. What would I do without friends!

Getting Ready to Move On

2011-05-17T10:38:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that we have been in Houston for seven weeks but then I look at what we have accomplished and we have been busy. Lots of medical tests, lots of doctor visits, two eye surgeries (one for Ned and one for me), boy sitting with Jack and Will, seeing Dexter and Maxwell and getting to hear Maxwell's rock band, some shopping, and dinners with friends.

In addition I've completed the move to Adobe Lightroom, transferred 550 GB's of photo files to three external hard drives so now I have a working, a backup and an archive of the 550 GB's. This means that I can take all of my photo files with me on one external HD between SMA and Houston. None of this is quite as simple as it "reads." There were bumps along the way but I'm glad the job is done.

And the other big accomplishment while we were in Texas was spending some time in Port Aransas and figuring out that my idea for a project tying the Mercer Logs in with my photographs could work. It will just take time and a lot of work and a bit of help from some people in Port Aransas. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about the project.

Now it is time to get the apartment straightened, stuff that is going to San Miguel organized. Before long we will be back to living on Mexican Time.

Taking Care of the Flock

2011-05-13T13:32:00.001-05:00

We have been taking care of two of our grandsons. Even though they are big kids, 15 and 11 (almost 12) it is a big job . . . even intense at times . . . because everything is compressed into before and after school. They go in different directions, have different eating schedules, and a maze of carpools. Their Mom wrote me out a schedule before she left. It was two pages long and then it had addendums of emails and phone calls as schedules changed because of the weather. Betsy has said that she NEEDS her phone with a calendar to keep up with the constant changes. She is right. Anyone doing this parenting job needs the latest technology and a degree in Logistics.

So far, we have managed to get the boys out of bed, fed, carpooled, homework done and back in bed for three days. No problems. But I think they have been on their best behavior for us.

The image was made in Port Aransas in a wild life refuge in the marshes near the Intercoastal Waterway. I got up at 6:30 AM and headed to the refuge. For a while I was the only one there. I knew that if I were really there to photograph the birds like a serious wildlife photographer I needed a tripod and flash but I didn't bring that along. I just wanted to see what it was like. The morning was gray and very windy but that didn't keep me from playing with different settings on the camera. I think this is the only one I like out of about 50 images I shot. But one out of 50 isn't a bad average for me.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T09:21:00.000-05:00

I had a really special Mother's Day. The Houston Mercer's gathered at Mike and Betsy's and the Mercer "men" made brunch for Betsy and me. Of course, this was under the direction and supervision of Chef Gary. Although there were a few moments of excitement like an exploding Pyrex bowl and the grandsons learning to separate the yolk and white of the egg, I can't begin to tell you how much fun it was to watch the cooking lesson. Except there was a point where Betsy and I went to the Den because we wanted to jump in and save a Teflon wok and wipe up some spills as they occurred.

Besides the Eggs Benedict and fruit, we also had roasted finger potatoes and zucchini, walnut cranberry bread, assorted cheeses, orange juice and coffee.

Doug and family went camping for Mother's Day but I had a phone call from them. I'm so proud of all my "boys" and their families. That should be satisfaction enough for a Mother but throw in a great brunch with Eggs Benedict and it was a wonderful day.

The Mercer Logs

2011-05-06T09:57:00.001-05:00

The Mercer Logs were written by some of Ned's ancestors who settled Mustang Island back in the 1850's. The Mercer men where pilots who brought ships out in the Gulf of Mexico in and out of ports like Corpus Christi and Rockport. The water wasn't deep and the channels were constantly shifting. A pilot who knew the waterways was needed.

Each day's entry starts and ends with the weather, "The day begins with wind N.N.E. . . . So ends this day with wind E.N.E." But in between the beginning and ending of each day, there were notations of which ships came in and out and the recording of life on Mustang Island.

Friday, February 3, 1871
This day begins with the wind N.E. good breeze, pleasant. Tom and Ned went to farming. Harnessed Lion and Lep and went to harrowing. Clubb and Roberts arrived from Rockport. All hands followed Clubb's whisky jug home. Had several drinks., took dinner at Clubb's. So played hell with our plowing business. Had to turn the oxen out. . . . So ends the day. Winds E. light.

These logs have been held in the family until recently when they were turned over to the Port Aransas Preservation and Historical Association (PAPHA.) The logs that have survived cover a period from 1866 to 1877. The PAPHA has had the logs treated for archival preservation and stored in a secure vault. They are now in the process of transcribing copies of the logs.

Back in 1990's I looked at microfiche copies of some of the logs in the Corpus Christi Library. Both sides of paper had been written on and the ink had bled through pages. They were very difficult to read. I was fortunate enough to find in the Library a carbon paper transcription of a period of about 18 months in the 1871-1872 time frame. I retyped the transcription because the carbon paper was difficult to read as well and I gave copies to our sons.

I love reading the logs and thinking about the lives they lived. So before we went to Port Aransas last month, I went through the logs and made notes about places and things that I wanted to look for. We had wonderful visits with some members of the PAPHA who shared more information with us as did some of the families of other early settlers. So if you haven't already figured it out, I am starting a long term project that ties in with the Mercer logs.

The image above was made in a garden in Port Aransas.

Salt Cedar

2011-05-04T11:00:00.001-05:00

Last week while we were in Port Aransas, I was looking at the vegetation. There are not a lot of big trees on the island although just a few miles away on the mainland around Rockport and Fulton you start to find beautiful old wind-twisted hardwoods. I saw some pictures of PortA from about 1900 to 1930 and from the town facing the Gulf of Mexico there were not any trees, just sand dunes. Ned remembers just sand dunes and more sand dunes when he went there as a boy.

While I was in a part of town that is on the backside of the dunes, I think it is what they call Old Town, there was quite a bit of vegetation. Along one road I spotted several of these trees. After finding out that they were called Salt Cedar, I looked them up on the web. Salt Cedar or tamarisk (tamarix ramosissima) was introduced to the USA from Eurasia in the 1820's and now they have become an invasive plant across much of the USA.

When I was looking at them I thought that these were good trees and would help stablize the sandy soil but the bad side of them is that they hog the land, kill off the native plants and they can drink 200 gallons of water a day.

In the Mercer Logs they write about planting cedar slips along the North end of the field. Most probably they were planting salt cedar in the 1870's. But who knew that they were going to turn out to be nusiance. I wonder if this salt cedar is a decendant from one of the trees the Mercers planted.

I'll write another blog soon and tell you about the Mercer Logs.

The Beach

2011-05-02T08:49:00.000-05:00

We have been to Port Aransas, Texas. We have a long connection to PortA. Ned's family were some of the early settlers on Mustang Island. Ned's Dad was born on the island. Ned went there in the summers when he was a kid and we took our boys there while they were growing up. So many wonderful memories of spending the day on the beach, going to the harbor to buy seafood to cook for dinner, wiener roasts in the evenings. What could be better than long lazy days reading, walking the beach, picking up shells, watching the boys on boogie boards and eating good seafood.

We haven't been there for a while, actually a long while so we rented a little efficiency place at The Laughing Horse Lodge and off we went. PortA has changed. They have widened the streets, enlarged the grocery store, and opened seafood markets. There are wonderful birding and wild life preserves and the beaches have designated driving and parking areas. There is a museum about PortA history and we are going to help pull together the Mercer family tree since the first Mercers settled there in the 1850's.

We stopped at the Aransas-Corpus Christi Pilots office. Since Ned's Dad and Grandfather were pilots on the Houston Ship Channel and the early Mercer settlers at PortA were pilots who guided the ships in the Gulf into ports in that area, we thought it might be fun to meet a current pilot.

Here is where the story gets good. The dispatcher that we talked with at the office put us in touch with Captain "Ned" Teller. Captain Teller is from one of the old families on the island and he is a history buff about PortA.

He invited us to his home and when we got there, he went to get his Mother who was 90 years old but looked 70. She walked in and started talking about my Ned's mother's family. They were from Houston and we knew that all four of the "girls" in the Ricks family had not spent time in PortA when they were young women. We were so confused.

Well, it turns out that when she was about 14 she spent time in the Heights neighborhood in Houston and she became friends with the four Ricks girls. She remembered all their names and places they went together. And she met Ned's Dad, also named Ned. He was courting Ned's Mom. She thought he was so nice and she liked the name Ned and so after she married a man from PortA and started a family that is what she named her second son and he ends up being a ship pilot.

I hope you could follow this convoluted story. I think it is amazing that all of those threads could have come back together last week. It truly is a small, small world.

Easter

2011-04-25T09:02:00.000-05:00

Easter was a quiet day for us. Although I still managed to overcook a key lime pie. I put the pie in the oven, checked the time and thought, I have 30 minutes. So I went to do some more research on the computer for a project. Poof! One hour later I thought about the pie. So that one went in the garbage and I went to the store to get the ingredients for another key lime pie. This time while I waited for the pie to cook, I did a bit of ironing. No way I'll get so distracted by ironing that I'll forget about the pie.

We went to Mike and Betsy's for Easter dinner. She made a wonderful dinner of lamb chops, peas, baby carrots and roasted potatoes but it wasn't just lamb chops, peas, carrots and potatoes. She added a special touch to each dish. The weather was so nice that we sat outside on the terrace. It is such a blessing to have a meal with the family. Just wish Doug and Susan and their boys could have been with us.

In case you are wondering, going around the table from the guy in the shorts, Mike, Gary, Ned, Will, Jack (who probably grew 1/4 inch while we were having dinner) and the marvelous cook, Betsy.

I Missed Good Friday

2011-04-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I kept thinking about Good Friday in San Miguel. I was missing not just Good Friday but all the San Miguel rituals around Easter. Yes, it is Easter here too but about all that exists to remind you of Easter are colored Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies. Oh, and grocery store advertisments about food for Sunday.

Since I wasn't there to photograph the procession in Colonia San Antonio for Good Friday, I started looking back through my files at what I had photographed in prior years. When I got to 2007, I stopped. I had almost 100 images from that Good Friday and none of them had been processed. I don't know what happened that year but for some reason they have just been sitting there. I worked on them in Lightroom and put some of them in a gallery if you'd like to go see them.

Unsocialized

2011-04-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

Unsocialized.....that is the name of this rock band of four home schoolers. This past weekend we drove to Dripping Springs to hear the band play at the Founder's Day Festival. On the drums, my grandson Maxwell.

The band was great. The shooting conditions were not. I knew I wanted to get some tight head shots and so I took my 70-200mm lens. That was the right lens but the band was in the shade of the tent and behind them was the white limestone building, bright sky and portapotties. All in all, it turned out okay. By the way, if you want to hear the band check them out here or follow them on Facebook here. They are getting more and more gigs.....so it isn't just a grandmother bragging.

It is a big festival with a chili cookoff, carnival, lots of food and stuff for sale. After walking around the carnival with the kids after their set, we headed out West to Johnson City where Amanda Smith has her photography gallery, ASmith Gallery because I wanted to see my friend Amanda and I'd never gotten to see her gallery. It is really a beautiful gallery.

We had Carly with us because we didn't have anywhere to leave her overnight. She did fine at the Festival and fine at the Gallery but like us she was tired, hungry and thirsty so we headed back to Austin. Austin has a number of dog friendly places to eat so we chose Freddie's Place that has a big eating area outside under magnificent oak trees. We found a table and sat down. When the waiter bought our drinks, he also brought Carly a pan of water.

It was about 5 PM when we checked into the motel. Carly curled up in a corner and went to sleep. I think she may have raised her head a few times but we woke her up for her evening walk. That was it, she was down for the night. The traveling just wore her out. Us also.

Viernes de Dolores

2011-04-15T09:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight I will be missing Viernes de Dolores in my Colonia in San Miguel. Many homes will build an altar around an image of the Virgen and they will open their door to those who would like to share this night. The night commemorates the sorrow of Mary but you can not visit these altars without remembering the sorrow of all mothers who have lived through losing a child, even a grown child, or having to watch them stray off the right path.

If you wish you can read more about this beautiful night. I've blogged about Viernes de Dolores before here and here and here.

This image was made last year. I had just made another image of this altar without any people in it. Then I saw the shoe on the left and the little boy walked into the right-hand side. I hit the shutter button. What I had not seen until I downloaded the file was the little face looking under the curtain on the left. At first I thought that the image without the boy was the best of the two but one of the things that photographers find is that it is a good thing to give some time between making images and choosing and finishing images. Now I think this is the better image. I've printed this image large on 17x22 paper. You really see a lot more in the print than you do on the monitor.

Crossing the Border One More Time

2011-04-06T11:15:00.007-05:00

Yes, we made the border crossing at Laredo one more time by car. Other than seeing a lot of military convoys headed South and Federal Police convoys headed North all was quiet. Don't misunderstand. Just because we didn't see any bodies piled up on the highway doesn't mean that everything is safe in Nuevo Laredo. Yet, there was a big softball game going on as we drove by parks along the river. The Ford car dealership and other businesses were open. I always wonder how I could live in a war zone or endure what the people in Japan are living through. Would I be a survivor? Someone who could go on day after day under the stress of such living conditions? I hope I never have to find out.

So many times we have waited to cross the border but this time we sailed right on to the bridge and waited for about three cars to clear out in front of us. A long day of driving but an easy border crossing.

This is the first time we have made the trip with Carly. She is a good traveler. Once the car is moving she curls up in the back seat and sleeps except when she is braced on the armrest between the seats and looking out the front window.

Dexter Is Six

2011-04-05T10:26:00.000-05:00

Dexter the youngest grandson was six years old on April 1 and we were able to celebrate with him. His other grandmother also came for the celebration. After opening presents we went to his favorite restaurant IM Thai. He told Ned to order the Pad Thai because it was the "greatest."

The award for the best picture of Dexter on his birthday goes to his Mom, Susan. On Facebook his Dad wrote, "It is amazing what you can order through the mail these days." Problem is, with this company there is no return policy. No, we wouldn't return him. He is so full of life, so funny and sometimes a bit difficult. But hey, in many ways he is like his Dad and his Dad grew up to be a pretty wonderful man.

Why Did You Photograph This?

2011-03-28T10:33:00.010-05:00

I made this image when we went to Pozos for Kate McKenna's show at Galeria 6. The small blue vase was sitting on a sunny yellow bench with the light streaming in from a window to the back right. So why did I photograph it?

This week I had a friend look at a stack of photographys that I have printed large and I'll take back them to Texas when we go so I'll have some recent work to show friends. She asked questions like . . . . Why did you photograph this? Did you know that this was going to be in the photograph? What are thinking about when you are making photographs? I think some artist are really good at answering questions like this. I can give an answer that talks about the form, the light, the color or whatever, but that doesn't answer the question except in art speak for the observer.

Andy Ilachinsky in his blog Tao of Photography writes about these very questions in the entry, Experiential "Flow" in Photography. He writes, "I am often asked, 'What do you think about when you do photography?' To which I typically respond with something like, 'the less the better'."

My answer to my friend was that actually I was just responding on an emotional level. Yes, sometimes I may make a number of images of the same thing but it is about an emotional conversation with the object. My rather feeble explanation included something about how you are not really thinking about every move you make when driving a car, it is just happening and you are responding. Ilachinsky's explanation about being the "Flow" is a much more thoughtful essay about the process.

1524

2011-03-27T13:25:00.000-05:00

This post makes the 1524th post to Billieblog since March 2005 when I created it. I can't believe that I could have found 1524 things to blog about or that I am starting on the 7th year of blogging. Blogging has been good to me. I've met a lot of wonderful people through the blog. Some of them only through cyber-space but I've met an amazing number of them face to face. Still when I introduce myself to someone and they ask, "Are you Billieblog?" I'm all flustered and surprised.

So here is a cheer to another year of blogging.

The New Look

2011-03-26T13:04:00.000-05:00

We have had this house for nine years. We bought it as a second home with a plan to rent it out while we were not here. And so, the house was furnished with that in mind. The icapali sofa and chair in the living room looked nice and kind of rustic but once we were living here full time we found it wasn't comfortable for sitting through a movie or settling in to read a book for the afternoon.

I started looking for furniture. There were requirements. The living room is small and the furniture could not be too large. Neither one of us likes the sofas and chairs that are so deep that they are kind of loungers instead of chairs. The colors had to go with the current color scheme. I was willing to pay a reasonable price but not more than I would pay for a sofa and chairs in the USA. None of these seem too difficult but all of them together have been a formidable chore. I hate to tell you but I've been looking for just the right thing for about four years and never could find all the criteria at one time.

Last week we walked into a store that I've checked out many times before and there it was. We did measurements and came home to be sure. I called a couple of friends for their advice. One wondered about the color of the couch.....same thing I'd worried about. But Babs who had been a decorator in her previous life, told me the color would work. So we bought a small sofa and two chairs and we love them! Carly isn't so sure about the new furniture since she isn't allowed to get on it.

You know how it is though, now that I have the new furniture, I need to change a few things around, add one or two new lamps, find some new piece for the coffee table. It is always something!

100 Days

2011-03-23T10:21:00.005-05:00

100 Days until Solo Foto Book Month 2011 (SoFoBoMo 2011). Seems like I just finished SoFoBoMo for 2010. For new readers who haven't struggled with me though making a PDF book in 31 days and you are wondering what SoFoBoMo is all about, click here. If you want to take a look back, I've written a lot blog entries about SoFoBoMo. Here are the books I have completed for SoFoBoMo:
2009: Eastwood Today
2010: New Orleans, Two Nights and Three Days

Basically SoFoBoMo is making a book with at least 35 images in a 31 day contiguous period. This year the rolling time frame is July 1 to August 31. You do the photography, edit, design and finish your book in 31 days. Any one can commit to making a book. There is no competition, no prizes, no winners except from the standpoint that you feel like a winner when your finish you book.

I signed up to do SoFoBoMo this year about a month ago and then I started wondering what in the heck the book would be about this time. All of a sudden this week two ideas popped into my head. It is really funny how when you need something your brain is open to find the information. One of them really has me excited but I need to do some more research before I know if it will work for SoFoBoMo. But even if it will not fit in the time frame for SoFoBoMo it is a project that I want to do anyway. The second idea is one that I want to start photographing right now. I don't want to wait until July. So who knows what will happen in the next 100 days, some other ideas might show up as well. I'm energized and excited.

If you are a photographer and you could use a challenge or a Whack on the Side of the Head, think about signing up for SoFoBoMo 2011. I'm not going to tell you it is easy but you'll have a great time.

Night in Colonia San Antonio #2. The image above is another I shot from the terrace on the night of the full moon. You know you have the camera and the tripod set up and you have to do something while you are waiting for that moon to break the top of the mountains.

Night in Colonia San Antonio #1

2011-03-22T09:22:00.001-05:00

The apartment across the street from us. I made this image while I was waiting for the full moon to come up the other night.

Threes

2011-03-21T09:09:00.001-05:00

Last week I visited with someone here in San Miguel who told me about a photographer that he heard speak about composition and the rule of thirds. I've also heard that when you have a "group" of things you should have an uneven number. Now these are good things to know about, but it isn't a good thing to let them rule your photographic life. And actually I never think about them when I'm photographing. I'm just working to make what I see through the view finder into a pleasing composition.

I photographed these children at a fund raiser for Feed The Hungry. I write about FTH often in my blog. It is such a wonderful organization that feeds over 4000 kids every school day. Kids that probably would go hungry otherwise. I hope that you will click on this link and go read some more about FTH and maybe even donate.

These children are from a very poor rancho, Los Ricos de Abajo. Very few of them are able to continue school after the sixth grade and they are not required to by law. The reason they don't go on to school is because the families can not afford the $200+ that continuing school will cost. Most of these darling boys will go to work with their Fathers when they are about 12 as bricklayers or whatever it is that Dad does. And the girls....well before too long they will marry and start families. But in this rancho, FTH volunteers provide some basic English classes for about 3 months every year and sponsor scholarships for the kids who want to continue on to Secundaria or middle school. This video on U-Tube will give you an overview of what is happening at Los Ricos.

Last year and this year, the children danced as part of the entertainment during the annual FTH fund raiser. This year it was waltzs in white. You may be wondering where these children came up with all the white clothes....confirmation outfits borrowed and passed down in families. Not all of them fit perfectly but every child looked adorable. And you may be wondering about the girl's beautifully styled hair. I do not know how it is done but Mexican women can style hair and they love to get dressed in their best for events....even in the ranchos.

If you would like to help feed children, you will find how to make a donation on the FTH website and if you would like to help with the Los Ricos Scholarship Fund, please make that note with your donation. Personally, I feel so blessed that I am able to photograph these children from time to time and to help out at the school with the Library.

Sometime the best photographs follow the rules about threes and thirds and sometimes they don't. The only really important thing . . . Is it a good image?

Super Full Moon

2011-03-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

I'm sure that there are millions of shots of the moon last night since it was the fullest it has been in 20 years. This one is one of mine of the moon coming up over the mountains of San Miguel de Allende. I don't have the right equipment for moon shots. This was the most I could get out of my longest lens. I guess it is the thrill of the "hunt" that keeps me taking these moon shots.

My New Pot

2011-03-18T11:44:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about making some flan so when Cristina Potter who writes the wonderful Mexico Cooks! blog put up her recipe for a coconut and orange flan, that really made me want to make not just any flan, but her flan. Cristina writes that you do not have to use a flanera like the pan above that has a cover that you can clamp down but I felt like I wanted to be authentic. I wanted a flanera.

I've been looking for one and finally found one this week at Soriana. Now I just have to find the cream of coconut and a little fresh coconut to grate over the top. Hopefully before too long I'll be posting a picture of my Coconut and Orange Flan.

Keeping My Fingers Crossed

2011-03-16T10:07:00.001-05:00

Colorful picture but a little frightening? It is part of a mask that hangs in the portico. Those could have been my eyes the last week or ten days. My maid came one day and then she didn't come back again. She didn't say she was unhappy, or she was quiting or anything. When she left on a Monday, we smiled at each other and she walked out the door. But she did not come back on Wednesday. Then we find out that she isn't coming back again.

That triggered the "eyes" like a deer in the headlights. It isn't a question of whether or not I can keep this house. I can't! I can keep the apartment in Houston clean but not this Mexican house. I need help in San Miguel! There are two terraces and a patio that needs to be swept three or four times a week because they are part of the living space. The house is open and there is always dust. It means sweeping and mopping every week and in some rooms several times a week. I "could do it" but I'm going to use age as an excuse to not do it all by myself.

I have found someone who started yesterday. We know some other members of her family who work for friends. They are all wonderful people so I'm hoping that Juana is going to work out although she does not have a lot of experience in taking care of gringo houses. She needs the work, seems eager to learn and willing to do it my way. So I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Decision About Lightroom 3

2011-03-10T12:35:00.000-06:00

After quite a bit of study I'm going to include LightRoom 3 in my workflow. I was looking at the software primarily as a way to manage my digital image files but I found a wonderful resource that helped me understand a lot more about Lightroom. George Jardine has put together two on-line video series, one set of 16 videos on the Library Module and the other set of 15 on the Develop Module. The cost is $24.95 for each series. George is an amazing instructor who can keep the details moving along and make it interesting. And the best part of it is, I can go back as many times as I want so that I can review any one of the videos in the series as many times as I want to.

There is also a Print Module in Lightroom that blows me away. I don't know anyway to describe it except to say that it is comprehensive and it is elegant.

At this point I still need Photoshop to do some image processing chores but it is easy to take an image over to Photoshop, do my thing, and then bring it back to Lightroom to manage the image file and to print through the Print Module. There are still a lot of things I need to work out for my own personal workflow but I am going to include Lightroom.

The image above was made in Pozos. We went over one Saturday with a friend. Right after we got out of the car, I stopped to make this image. My friend said he was interested in what I might shoot since I was a serious photographer....or something to that effect. Actually, I think he was wondering why I stopped to photograph these leaves of the agave plant.

Our Lord of the Conquest

2011-03-06T10:28:00.001-06:00

El Señor de la Conquista . . . . One of the things that facinate me about Mexico is how religion, culture, history and government are mixed. The first Friday in March is what I consider an example but I'm not going to try to explain it because I can't quite figure it out myself. It is one of those things that I recognize as being very different from the USA but it would take a lot of time and study to begin to understand.

Friday the streets filled up with concheros or dancers in elaborate costumes that are inspired by the civilizations that the 16th century Spaniards conquered and converted to Christianity. My friend Jim Quinn made a movie that will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

By the time we went in to the centro about dusk there were at least two dance troups on each side of the jardin. The roar of the drums was enough to deafen you and maybe even get your heartbeat out of kelter. If you have been to a drumming, multiply that by eight and you will have an idea of what was happening.

At some time during the day each group of the concheros had banners and altars that they carried into the church to be blessed and to also honor El Señor. While I love the excitement of the dances and the costumes, these altars and crosses amaze the puritan in me. The sky had changed from dusk to dark when I made this picture of a cross right outside the entry to the Parroquia.

An Adventure in Queretaro - The Rest of the Story

2011-03-05T12:56:00.000-06:00

Way back on January 21st. I wrote about taking my printer to Queretaro to be repaired. I said that I had confidence in Ingeniero Carlos Velasco who told us that he would have the problem with the printer diagnosed in a few days and then would have it repaired a week after that. Nancy commented on the blog.....
I love your story, Billie, and you're right, we all have those kind of experiences... but I will never stop shaking my head and laughing, as it is just the way things are here! I really hope that it is repaired on the timeline you gave, most of my situations like this involve the dreaded "fifteen days.....!"

I knew deep down, Nancy was right. While I did have confidence in Ingeniero, I didn't really have confidence in the time line. The printer was gone for almost six weeks. So here is the rest of the story.

After one week we called to check on the printer. Ingeniero said that he had put in a new motor for paper feed but the printer still wasn't working and he was still checking it out. Another week went by and Ned called again. Ingeniero said he was waiting on some "diagnostics" to be sent from DF. The next week Ingeniero said he had taken the printer to DF to be repaired. Another week and Ingeniero told us that the problem was in the "works." We don't know what that means but we know what it costs. Ingeniero said that it had been delayed so much that we were going to get a discount on the repair. We said okay get it repaired. He first said that he would have the printer back in Queretaro the next Friday. When we called to be sure the printer was there, he said that Epson in DF would send the printer back to our house in San Miguel. Okay. At least that is some good news. We will not have to drive over to Queretaro to pick it up.

We waited Monday and Tuesday and on Wednesday finally got a tracking number. The printer had been sent from DF to San Luis Potosi and the tracking number indicated that the printer was scheduled for delivery on the next Tuesday. Saturday we were not home but when we checked the tracking number we saw that they tried to deliver it on Saturday. Now the website said we had to come pick up the package. Ned talked to Ingeniero and he said he would get it straightened out. On Monday the printer finally came home.

I was a little concerned about the printer traveling around Mexico. I kept the box it came in and when we took it to Ingeniero it was very carefully repacked in the box. He said we should take the box home with us so I'm wondering how the printer is taking all these road trips in a secure manner. When the printer finally came home, I was going to take a picture of the packaging the printer came in but while I was making lunch Ned started unpacking it. It was NOT in a box. At least not a box as you would normally think of a box. It was wrapped in pieces of corrugated boxes and secured with metal strapping. The package kind of looked like a huge corrugated log....no markings "This Side Up" or "Fragile." There was at least three huge garbage bags of shredded paper all around the printer which thankfully was wrapped in shrinkwrap so all the dust and bits of paper could not get into the "works" of the printer.

The printer is working but it was another Mexican adventure.

A Little Lightroom 3 Practice

2011-03-02T20:22:00.000-06:00

This is an old digital image from about three years ago just before Easter. I didn't do anything with the image after I made it but today I was practicing with the controls in Lightroom 3 and looking for an image to work with. These boys are so full of themselves that the image just jumped out at me. Wonder what they look like today.

Cafe Muro

2011-02-26T11:26:00.000-06:00

We have been trying some new restaurants. Cafe Muro at Loreta 10B is a keeper. In fact we are going back again soon. The decor is warm and cozy and the Front of the House, the host, is charming.

There were four of us and we all tried something different. No one had a complaint about their food especially me. I ordered a chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms and cheese napped in a chocolate sauce. Don't think mole just because I said chocolate sauce. Don't think sweet either. It was a wonderful light sauce and just perfect with the stuffed chicken breast.

I could write a lot more about this restaurant but I don't think I could do it any better than the Don Day In SMA blog did it. So click on the link and after you read his review, I'm sure I'll be seeing you in Cafe Muro one of these days.

Cafe Muro is open from 9-4:30 for breakfast and comida. They are closed on Wednesday.

Cañada de la Virgen

2011-02-23T10:23:00.001-06:00

Last week we had the opportunity to go to Cañada de la Virgen a newly opened archaeology site near San Miguel. The parking area isn't too far off the old highway to Guanajuato. You buy your tickets there and then are transported by bus to the trail where you walk up hill about 1/2 mile to the ruins. The views from the bus and from the walk are stunning even now during the dry season. The hills are cut by several canyons and the rock formations are beautiful.

The archaeologists who worked on the dig were surprised to find that the ceremonial site dates from 540 to 1050 BCE. This site is different from most other sites in Mexico in that it is oriented to the path of the sun. There are four complexes that have been uncovered. The site is layed out with paths and plantings of native plants with name tags. There are signs in both English and Spanish that explain the structures and some information about the cultures who used the site. The signage was good but no substitute for a knowledgeable guide who can give you a much broader picture of the culture and site and even compare it to today.

This site reminded me of Tingambato which is between Uruapan and Patzcauro. It was also a ceremonial site but it flourished between 450 to 900 ACE. It too has a stepped pyramid and several lower plazas that surround it. The main pyramid at Tingambato is about 8 meters tall while the Canada de la Virgen is 15 meters tall. I tried to find some more information about Tingambato to see if it was also oriented to the sun but I found very little information.

If you go to Cañada de la Virgen, get there when it opens, especially now when it is getting hotter in the middle of the day. Wear a hat and good walking shoes and be able to walk uphill for about 1/2 mile. They say it is 1/2 mile but it seemed longer! Take water. And enjoy another great spot in San Miguel.

Baking Bread - Easy Oat Bread

2011-02-20T21:04:00.000-06:00

Nope, I haven't stopped baking kneadless bread. Since we came back to San Miguel, I've made several loaves but they were from recipes that I had made before so I didn't blog about them. This last week.....a new recipe....Easy Oat Bread from Nancy Baggett's book Kneadlessly Simple. It was easy to make but you do have to do a bit of coordinating with the bread's rising schedule and your own schedule. The bread has some leeway on rising times. I end up counting backward to figure the time I need to stir the ingredients together. Right now the house is still fairly cool so I need all of the rising time but in another couple of months in San Miguel's hot season, I'm sure that I can reduce the rise times. This recipe made two nice loaves and here you can see one in the last rise and almost ready to pop in the oven.

The next time we are back in Texas, I'm going to get another oven thermometer because I think mine is just a bit off. My gas oven is well insulated and will hold a temperature but it is a little tricky to get it set right on 375 degrees or what ever it is that I need. These two loaves were just a little over-cooked. I was going by the bake time in the recipe and I should have been watching so I could take them out just a little sooner.

I had thought that the bread would have had more of an oaty taste but the only oat taste that I got was from the oats garnished on the crust. Still it made great sandwiches and toast.

The Keepers

2011-02-19T13:31:00.001-06:00

One of the hardest things about photography is editing. I might have shot 50 or 60 or even more images on a day or subject but not of all of them will be keepers. Actually most of the time none of them are keepers. The first edit is pretty easy. The ones that don't work are obvious but then the going gets a little harder. Does this angle or exposure work better than this one or this one? Okay now I might be down to 10 of the 60 but if I'm honest with myself I'm still judging the images on what I want them to be or how I felt when I pressed the shutter button not what they actually are. Now comes the hard part.

I found how much editing images can be one of the best learning experiences for a photographer the first time I had to edit a large project that I had worked on for several years for a show at a gallery. It was painful at times to admit that although I could remember every detail of the environment and making the image that it really didn't work or it didn't add anything to the show.

So far this year, I've made three images that I will take the time and make a large print of each one. Somehow until I decide to commit to making a large print, I haven't made the final edit. But sometimes even that isn't the final edit. What seems good when I make the print may end up weaker over time.

I know you have seen a couple of these images in a earlier blog but I thought I'd post the three all together. I can't wait to get my printer back and see if these hold up printed on 17x22 paper. And if you are wondering, I am going to tell you the rest of the story about the printer being repaired but so far that story doesn't have an ending.

Carly Got A Haircut

2011-02-18T17:03:00.002-06:00

Carly is not going to be nominated for the best dogster category of the Academy Awards. She is afraid of the camera. Any time I put the camera up to my eye she tucks her tail and acts as if she is in trouble. You can see that nervous look she is giving me.

I was trying to get a photo of her new haircut. She was clipped and I do mean clipped. I asked for her fur to be left about 3/4 inch long. It didn't work out that way. It is less than 1/2 inch long. I've asked in inches. I've asked in centimeters. I held my fingers just so far apart to show them how long. So far nothing I've tried with any groomer we have used here for Taylor or Carly has worked. They do it like they want to do it.

We thought she was gaining weight and we were thinking about putting her on a diet. But this haircut saved her. She wasn't a little butterball after all. She was just fluffy. Now she is skinny. I may have to go buy her a jacket because it is cold here during the night and we don't have central heat.

In general the haircut was bad enough but they trimmed about 5 inches along her tail by her butt so now we have this tail that looks like a feather duster, handle and feathers. Most of the cut she can take but her beautiful fluffy tail.....she knows it isn't right so rather than let me take a picture of it, she is going to tuck it under and sit on it.

Today's Tianguis

2011-02-08T18:13:00.000-06:00

Never a Dull Moment

2011-02-07T21:24:00.000-06:00

My the time flies. There have been stories I could have written for the blog but other stuff just took first place.

A week ago was the Chili Cook Off. I was great fun. As you can see lots of people came out. San Miguel is staying right abreast of the rest of the world because we had a flash mob dance during the afternoon. There was lots of music, dancing, food and of course the opportunity to taste many pots of chili and charro beans. The Cook Off was held on the grounds of the Real de Minas Hotel and for me the biggest surprise of the day was all the families who had spread blankets to sit on but spent most of their time chasing toddlers. I knew we had some gringo families here but really had no idea that we had so many with tiny children and besides the gringo couples there were a lot of families where Mom or Dad was Mexican. So if you have thought about coming to Mexico to live with your toddlers, come on down. You'll find plenty of other young families.

Also last week as I mentioned in the previous post, Candelaria opened. All the paths in Parque Juarez are loaded with flower vendors. It is so beautiful. You are bound to run into friends there who are either out to buy or just taking a walk among the beautiful flowers and plants.

One day a week I'm helping in the library that was started in Los Ricos out in the campo in conjunction with the English classes that are sponsored by Feed The Hungry. I've done this for several years and it is really fun to see the kids as they move through the elementary grades.

We went to the Tuesday Tianguis and then stopped for comida. Dinner out one night with the teachers and spouses from Los Ricos. Date night. Cooked dinner for friends. There is all the regular shopping and picking up mail. I finished one book and started another. And of course, I still have my photography work to do. There is never a dull moment!

Evaluation of Adobe Lightroom

2011-01-30T20:34:00.000-06:00

I sometimes have people ask me what image editing program they should buy. I often recommend that they look first at Adobe's Lightroom and if that doesn't suit their needs then I'd recommend Adobe Photoshop. Lightroom is about 1/3 the cost of Photoshop. I have a lot of photography friends who tell me that they are using Lightroom almost exclusively for their image editing. I'm told that Lightroom is superior to Photoshop in managing a image library. I've got lots of photos and I surely could use help in managing these files, edits, and backups.

So from time to time I look at the latest version of Lightroom. I've downloaded a trial copy and this afternoon when we came in from Parque Juarez where the plant and flower show for Candelaria has just opened I downloaded the files I had shot via Lightroom. I have Scott Kelby's book, Lightroom 3 book for digital photographers and so I have referred to it to do the tasks I wanted to do. I'm trying to keep an open mind until I decide if Lightroom really offers me advantages over the workflow I've developed in Photoshop. The jury is still out.

This was the first image I shot when we walked into Parque Juarez. I like patterns. I converted it to black and white to better show the patterns. I think with a little work it could make a good large print but wouldn't it make a mind-blowing jig-saw puzzle?

Back to Photography

2011-01-28T12:56:00.001-06:00

One of things this blog is about is photography but sometimes I have several posts without a photograph. It is time for a photograph.

This week I was playing with some older image files and changed them from color to black and white in Photoshop. It is really quite amazing how much control you have in making this transition. I feel fortunate that I have many years in a traditional darkroom making black and white prints. I think it really helps to make the transition from the color file to black and white.

My Kindle and Me

2011-01-27T15:53:00.000-06:00

I gotta tell you, I love my Kindle. I bought it about the middle of September and I read 28 books on it before the end of 2010. This year I'm off to a good start. I've read five books in January and I might finish another one before the end of the month. Over near the end of the sidebar I've added a link for the books I've read in 2011. Not that I think you readers are that interested but I did it because I'm like a school kid keeping track of how many books she reads for a grand prize at the end of the year. But it really isn't so much the number of books I read as it is looking at the list and remembering the stories and the pleasure they brought me.

Being able to get a book in less than a minute is mind boggling to me. If I hear about a book I want to read, I can get it. Click! Click! BAM! It is in the Kindle ready to be opened. I don't have to wait for the mail to be delivered to the border and then for the mail service to bring it to San Miguel. I don't have to wait until we make the next trip back to the States. I love instant gratification, I don't care who says that anticipation makes the thing or event more appreciated. I really, really appreciate NOW!

The other thing that I love about the Kindle is all those books are in this one tiny instrument. I doubt that I would have read so many books in the last 4-1/2 months if I would have had to deal with the transportation and storage of the books. I ran out of bookshelves in this house some time ago. Now books are being stacked and I've got to go through and get rid of something to keep the house from overflowing. I can not imagine where I would put even 1/2 of the books I've read but they are not a problem on the Kindle.

Something else I have to tell you, the Kindle is great in bed. And waiting in doctor's offices. And in the car. And on an airplane. And while you are stirring a roux. And sitting on the patio in the sun. And.........you Kindle owners can probably add some more places.

I thought I might tell you which one of the books I read in January that I liked best but I couldn't decide on one. So I'll tell you that I really like three of them for different reasons and I'll let you go to Amazon to check them out. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.

An Adventure in Queretaro

2011-01-21T11:09:00.000-06:00

Every gringo who lives in San Miguel, or Matzalan, or Merida or......wherever in Mexico, has one or probably more of these stories but the stories always make me laugh and think, yes, I am in a different culture. Not just because it happened but also because of my response to the situation. In the States I'd get all demanding and outraged but here, at first I get frustrated and then polite and then totally proud of myself for having gotten through it. I'm also thankful that I have Ned along because he is always calm and polite. If he goes through my frustrated/outraged stage I don't think anyone knows it. Me, I'm like an open book. The Mexicans probably know I am not a happy camper. But I'm getting ahead of the story........

I had a paper jam in my printer and after clearing it I started getting a message that read, Service Call Error 1224. I found out on line that the error had to do with the paperfeed mechanisms being out of synch. I couldn't fix it. On October 13, 2010 I sent a Customer Care request to Epson in Mexico City asking where I could find a authorized repair center for the 3880 Professional Wide Format printer. On November 19 (over a month later) they answered and told me that ALL of the authorized repair sites were on their website. The list had not been there the month before. Yea! I started down the alphabetical listing and there was one in Queretaro which is about 40 miles away from us.

Ned called them this week. He was prepared to do the call in Spanish but he asked if someone spoke English. Yes! So he told them the problem and he made sure to tell them that this was one of the professional wide-format printers. Yes, they could fix it. He asked for directions. The person he was talking with said just a minute and passed the call on to another person who gave him very detailed directions IN ENGLISH.

So yesterday with the detailed directions in hand and also our map of Queretaro we headed out with the printer. Everything was working perfectly...exit the freeway, be in the middle lane not the left-hand lane, don't turn until the second bridge, turn at the Pemex. Oops, immediately after we turned at the Pemex we were in the right lane of a one way street and the repair place was on the left so we couldn't turn in. This is always bad news. The way the streets are laid out here it is not possible to "circle the block" and come around again. Some 10 or 15 minutes later we were finally able to circle back to the front of the shop and parked the car.

We walked in and told the man at the front desk that we had a Epson 3880 to be repaired. He told us in Spanish that they did not repair the professional printers. We asked him if anyone spoke English. He said, no. No? But Ned had talked to two people who spoke good English. We check with him that the number Ned called was the number of the shop. Si. But no one speaks English here? No.

This is when my frustration and outrage begin to show up. Not Ned. He keeps talking and he finds out that there is another shop in town that handles the professional printers. Ned gets him to draw a map and even go look up the phone number for us. So off we go again.

Just forget about the two people who spoke English on the phone with Ned. We will never know the answer to that one.

We are able to drive directly to the new place without having to "circle back around." As soon as we start to tell them the number of the printer, 38..., they complete the number 80. The man who is helping us is smiling and shaking his head, Si, they can repair the 3880. He goes with Ned to get it out of the car. This printer weighs about 45 pounds and is roughly 20x30x17, plus it is in a box that allows for it to be packed with styrofoam buffers. It is large and awkard to carry. But no problem for this man. He puts it on his shoulder and comes up a tall spiral staircase with it. Amazing!

About this time the Director General, Engineer Carlos Velasco, comes into the shop. In Mexico engineers are addressed as we would a doctor in the States. Ingeniero Velasco. He speaks some English, so we have one of those English/Spanish conversations with him. I have confidence in Ingeniero Velasco. We leave the printer.

When we get home I go back to Epson's website to the alphabetical list of all the authorized inkjet repair places in Mexico. Sure enough, Ingeniero Velasco's company is listed but it is near the bottom of the list since the name starts with an S. There is no way of knowing which of the companies in Queretaro would be authorized to repair the professional printers. We had called to ask the first one and been told Si.

Now if all goes well, in a few days I will get an email from Ingeniero Velasco telling me what is wrong with the printer and what it will cost. A week later it will be repaired. But as all of you who live in Mexico know, this may be only the first half of this adventure.

Do Blue Skies Inspire Cooking?

2011-01-13T10:23:00.001-06:00

Blue skies of San Miguel. This is such a beautiful time of the year. The sky is so, so blue. Seldom any clouds. The days are warm and the nights chilly. No wonder we get so many people from the North at this time of the year. And what is really nice is that they aren't tourists who breeze in for a few days and then out. They come and stay until the end of March or April or maybe even May. This is great because we have time to build long term friendships.

When we picked up the mail I had three Fine Cooking magazines waiting for me. One was the Thanksgiving issue, another Christmas but the last one was the February-March issue with some cold weather recipes like several one-pot dinners and eight recipes for meatloaf. There are some good variations on these two staple recipes, especially for the meatloaf. Some combinations that I might not have thought about.

Last night I didn't follow one of the recipes for a one pot dinner but they did inspire me to cook one. I had a big chicken so I used the thighs, legs and wings. Seasoned it, browned it in my enameled cast iron pot, then added some minced celery, maybe two ribs of celery. I added mushrooms, carrots, slivers of garlic and some small onions I quartered since you can't find boiler onions here. Then a cup of white wine, a cup of chicken stock and some water to get enough liquid. Also added some rubbed sage and of course, salt and pepper. Put the top on the pot and put it in the oven at 300 degrees for a slow cook. I would have cooked it on top of the stove but I can't adjust my stove low enough for a low simmer. I served it with some couscous left over from the night before.

This issue of Fine Cooking also includes a 30-minute menu for a Special Valentine Supper. Oh, it is so enticing. I love lobster and the recipe is for a Vodka-steamed lobster with tomato-thyme butter sauce. Vodka lobster for Valentine. I love that image so I'm thinking I might have to try Vodka-steamed shrimp since I do not think I'll find a tank of lobster sitting in any market or grocery store in San Miguel.

I don't know why, but I love to cook in San Miguel. In the last two days I have made banana nut bread, red snapper in a puttanesca sauce, carrot soup and the chicken-in-a-pot. Today, I think I'll actually follow a recipe for shrimp with rice noodles. It has a bit of an Asian flare to it. Also, it is time to get back to bread making. This afternoon I'm planning to start a recipe for a no-knead bread of some kind.

Maybe the blue skies of San Miguel inspire me. Or maybe I like the shopping and searching in lots of tiendas to find the ingredients. Or maybe I like having to use my creativity to come up recipes that work here. Or maybe I just like to cook.

Haves and Have Nots

2011-01-09T13:18:00.001-06:00

So now we are home and I'm thinking about all the stuff we don't have here.
We don't have central heat when it is cold.
We don't have air-conditioning when it is hot.
We don't have a disposal.
We don't have purified water piped through the house.
We don't have a dishwasher.
We don't have a garage to park the car and have to use a parking lot about three blocks away.

Here is some stuff we do have.
Five or more dogs who are sometimes on the roof next door and like to bark at any thing that passes by.
Roosters in cages on the other side or the house who crow whenever they want to.
Fireworks on a regular basis, even during the middle of the night.
Church bells that ring frequently, very frequently.
Trucks that go up and down the street with loud speakers blaring.
Young people who play the radios loudly in their parked cars while they hang-out around it.
Very uneven sidewalks or sometimes no sidewalks just cobblestone streets.

By now are you wondering what I'm trying to tell you. I'm just saying that San Miguel isn't for anyone who thinks that they couldn't live with or without these things. I know it probably sounds perverse but these are some of the things that I love about living here.

Carrying Baggage

2011-01-08T17:15:00.000-06:00

We are back in San Miguel. After a flight of a little over two hours, we still had another one and a-half hour van ride to our house. It is always interesting to meet who is on the van. Sometimes it might be someone you know or who lives here full-time but usually it is visitors. This time we had a couple who had rented a house for 10 weeks and another lady who comes from Oregon every year to stay for three months. The couple who were staying for 10 weeks must have a full social calendar because they had at least four huge suitcases and then some smaller bags.

It made me giggle because we basically have been in Houston for four months with so few clothes that we brought most of them back in our two small bags that could go overhead if we had wanted to put them there, a brief case and a backpack. Somehow we managed to be dressed for everyday during that four months and even for a few special occasions. Probably not as fashionable as this couple but the travel was easier.

This week it didn't look like the airlines were inforcing baggage rules. One lady in front of us had an overhead bag, a stuffed clothes bag, a shopping bag in the overhead and then a huge purse. It was all she could do to get down the aisle of the plane. I think I saw her in the baggage area pulling two gigantic suitcases off the luggage conveyor. I wonder if she had to pay for the extra checked bag and for being over the weight limit for both of those huge bags. She was only one example. There were others who got on the plane with an overhead bag plus more than a briefcase or purse.

I don't want to have to hassle with that much stuff and I do resent being hit and shoved with their stuff as the baggage overloaders try to get on and off the airplane.

Oh, and speaking about flying, we didn't get a pat-down or have to go through the x-ray machine when we went through security. We did see people going through the x-ray machine but I didn't see anyone getting a pat-down. People seemed to be moving through security just fine although it is a hassle to take out computers and take off belts, coats and shoes.

Flying just isn't glamorous anymore.

Another Year, Another Birthday

2010-12-30T09:55:00.000-06:00

The end of the year always brings around some reflection on what has happened and what we want for the next year. I get a double whammy because I also have a birthday at the end of the year....today not on New Year's Eve....but that is basically one and the same so far as reflecting back on the year.

What a year 2010 has turned out to be. We spent almost as much time in Houston as we did in San Miguel not out of choice but out of necessity. Way too much of that time was spent in hospitals and doctor's offices. So we are looking forward to 2011. We will head back to San Miguel a week from today and that is where we plan to stay except for short "vacations" back to the USA to see family. Of course we will have to fly in a time or two for medical check-ups but those trips should be very short.

My list of wishes for 2011 is short and simple....well maybe not simple. I want good health for both of us. If we have that then all the other things that I might put on a New Year's resolution list can happen.

Ned's cancer is in remission although the doctor wants him to take one more chemo treatment before we leave next week. Then it will take him three or four weeks to come out of chemo fatigue and brain fog but at least he will be recuperating in San Miguel where he wants to be. In February his hair will start growing back and by March, he will be the same handsome devil I married. Oh, I forgot to mention that we had another wedding anniversary this week.

The picture at the top is of Doug, Son #3, and Ned. Which reminds me, we had a great Christmas with the family. If you like looking at family snapshots, you can check out my family Christmas snaps here.

I'm going to wrap up this rambling blog entry and go treat myself to a birthday mani-pedi and then on to see the movie, The King's Speech. I think we are going to stay in and have lobster tails for dinner. Nice birthday!

To all my Readers, I wish you a healthy and happy 2011.

Night Lights #17

2010-12-22T11:20:00.001-06:00

I am not through with the Christmas lights. There are still more places, lots of places, on my list. Son #1 has said he wants to take me to see some huge light displays that are choreographed for sequences of several minutes. And I'd still like to get to the neighborhoods in Southeast Houston where Ned and I grew up. What surprises me is that I have only seen one nativity scene and I saw it in the daylight so I've got to get back there at night and see if it is lit so I can get you a photograph.

Breakfast or Brunch

2010-12-21T20:14:00.000-06:00

CBS Sunday Morning News is one of my favorite programs so I was watching when a couple of Sunday's ago, they ran this segment, Breakfast or Brunch, narrated by Mo Rocca. All of a sudden I was off of the couch. Rocca was not talking about some New York City restaurants. He was talking about Houston. Not just Houston but my old neighborhood, the neighborhood where I grew up and where we bought our first home. He was talking about breakfast at the Tel-Wink Grill. It had been 40+ years since I had eaten at the Tel-Wink but so many memories came back.....going there with the kids when they were small or with some other families after church on Sunday night.....the booths, the pies, the milk shakes, the burgers. You know, the basic food groups.

Then the segment compared a diner breakfast to brunch at The Backstreet Cafe. Another restaurant that I know and love but it is upscale food. I don't have any photographs from The Backstreet Cafe although we did eat there one night last weekend. The food and the drinks were definitely a bit more refined than at the Tel-Wink but that bit of video had awakened my curiosity after all of these years about the Tel-Wink. Today we went there with friends for breakfast.

It was a strange experience. It looked like the Tel-Wink with an addition built on the back. Same booths, same ceramic coffee mugs, the same counter, different but the same waitresses, lots of the same things on the menu. But something was just different. I wondered if the Tel-Wink was different and I was the same or if the Tel-Wink was the same and I was different. I've since heard that they are in a different building just across the street from where they were. At any rate they served a hearty breakfast and I mean hearty. I haven't been hungry all day.

It was good to see such a humble Houston diner get recognition on national TV but out of all the diners that serve breakfast in Houston, how did Mo Rocca find the Tel-Wink Grill?

Night Lights #16

2010-12-20T11:00:00.010-06:00

Another contemporary home decorated with restraint. A wreath on the door and the plastic-sack luminary lights. I love the simplicity. It goes with the house. I wonder who the architect was for this house. It pays homage to the front porch but it isn't a copy of a house from the 1920's. I'd like to meet the owners.

Why Photographs Work

2010-12-19T11:19:00.000-06:00

The full title of this book by George Barr is Why Photographs Work: 52 Great Images: Who Made Them, What Makes Them Special and Why. And one of my images is in the book! In the book Barr writes about what makes the photograph work and then the photographer writes about the making of the image. This is followed by a biography of the photographer.

While the book is about photography as art, it isn't written in art-speak. "This book is for any photographer who wants to make beautiful photographs. And it is for anyone--photographer or viewer--who wants to understand why some photographs stand out from all the others."

I am very fortunate to be in this book with some photographers who I have admired over the years, or bought their books or been in one of their workshops. Some of the photographers I didn't know until now. Barr wasn't just looking for well-known photographers. He was looking for great images. But from looking at the biographies of the photographers, all of them are serious image makers who have something to say.

So how did this happen? I found Barr's blog a number of years ago. We exchanged comments. He looked at some images that I have on line and when he was ready to do this book, he remembered the work. So, while some scary things can happen on the Internet, some pretty amazingly good things can happen as well.

Hey, you still have time to buy Why Photographs Work and get it before Christmas. Buy two, one for someone and one for yourself.

Outside My Door

2010-12-18T16:06:00.000-06:00

A little change of pace from the Christmas lights.

Houston doesn't have a lot of Fall color but this afternoon while I was walking Carly I noticed that the crape myrtles still have some leaves and they looked like flames in the bright sunlight. This tree was right outside our apartment door. My heart was filled with joy to see this brief moment of beauty. The sun isn't shining on them now and their color is dulled. In another day or so they will be gone but that one instant in time was precious.

I'm making myself a promise to look for and cherish more of those special moments whether it is with the natural world around me or with my family and friends. And also, capture them with the camera.

Night Lights #15

2010-12-16T13:57:00.000-06:00

Merry Modern Minimal or Christmas Contemporary.....whatever you want to call this house. The lights are actually red, green and white but the camera just sees them as the lightest light source in the frame. I like the way one-half is red and warm and the other half is blue and cold.

Night Lights #14

2010-12-15T21:15:00.000-06:00

Frosty, the snowman. Trust me, there is no snow on the ground. I don't know how Frosty can look so cheerful in 60-70 degrees.

Night Lights #13

2010-12-14T11:19:00.000-06:00

WOW! This month is going by fast and I still have lots of Night Lights I want to photograph. Sometimes when we go out I see places I want to photograph but something about the light isn't right....like they don't have the lights turned on. Here at the River Oaks Shopping Center....the lights were on.

Today Ned is taking his last Chemo treatment and in spite of all the damage from radiation and chemo he is doing really well. The issue that remains is eating. You never know what might taste good to him. Sometimes even mentioning a food will sound unappetizing to him. Sometimes he thinks something will be good but it doesn't taste good when he starts to eat it. Two things that are his fallback foods are Ensure and canned soups but not all canned soups.

Last year when he took chemo, it was pork that he couldn't abide. This year it is bread. Some of his favorite vegetables, even green salads, have dropped off his list for now as well. However, I know the secret to his stomach on chemo. If he hasn't eaten very well for a day or so, I'll prepare some kind of fried meat, mashed potatoes,cream gravy, and green beans....the fried diet....and he will eat. Maybe even two helpings. He surprised me by eating cold boiled shrimp for lunch one day and pecan pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast another day.

We have good reports from a couple of his doctors. The last MRI showed no signs of tumor. As soon as we can get away after Christmas, we will be back in San Miguel ready to roll.

Night Lights #12

2010-12-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

This house was shot in the Old Sixth Ward. The house just glowed with warmth and Christmas cheer.

Night Lights #11

2010-12-12T10:19:00.000-06:00

As we drove down a street looking for Christmas lights in Eastwood, I caught just a glimpse of this house on a side street, glowing from the blue icicle lights hanging from the eaves. So strange looking like a blue glow from a space ship in a 1960 science-fiction movie. We circled around the block so I could photograph it.

Night Lights #10

2010-12-11T14:00:00.000-06:00

Last night we went to Eastwood, the neighborhood where we own a lot....just in case we want to build another house someday. I thought that we would see more Christmas lights up than we did. Maybe there will be more after this weekend. Between the weird colors and the high contrast, these images are hard to process. And just when I think I have them okay, I bring them into Blogger and they change again.

Night Lights #9

2010-12-10T12:09:00.000-06:00

Wells Fargo Plaza, Houston, Texas

Night Lights #8

2010-12-09T08:01:00.000-06:00

Rockefeller Center doesn't have anything on Houston. Houston has it's own giant tree in front of City Hall.

And while Rockefeller Center has a skating rink in front of their tree, we have a reflection pond. Houston's Christmas ice skating rink is located somewhere else. It is a marvel to me that they can keep ice on that rink since during this time of the year, Houston can have 40 degree weather one day and the next it could be 80 degrees.

Night Lights #7

2010-12-08T11:05:00.000-06:00

Another decorated house in the Heights.

Night Lights #6

2010-12-07T17:06:00.000-06:00

We are doing a little decorating for the Holidays and I'm having so much fun because I have to figure out something different to use. We got rid of all our Christmas decorations when we moved to San Miguel full time. There were ornaments that the kids had made, ornaments that had been given to us from relatives, so much stuff that it took at least a seven foot tree to get them all on. So when we were downsizing, we told our sons, come get any of the decorations you want and they did.

There were a few exceptions. I had about five or six manger scenes that I had collected. None of them were antiques or anything like that but I loved them. I kept all of them. Then I had some blown glass balls that #2 had given me and they are so beautiful and I love them so much I couldn't get rid of them. I also had a wooden tree that I attached them to rather than letting them get lost on the tree. All of that was packed and stored.

We got them out of storage and we bought a little four foot tree. That is when the fun started. All of the accessories I used to decorate before were gone so we made a couple of trips to the crafts store and would you believe that they were already putting the Christmas floral stuff and ribbons on sale at 60% off. Where before I kept doing the same things over and over, now I could start all over and do something new. Much smaller scale of decorating but I had a great time.

Night Lights #5

2010-12-06T11:05:00.021-06:00

This is newly refurbished Kirby Drive just off the corner of Richmond. The city widened the street, put in more turn lanes. I'm not sure who added all the trees along the street, the city or a business district but it looks really nice. Especially with the lights on the trees.

I've been thinking about the blog entry, Night Lights #4 of the store window and you know what I miss? I miss the store windows that were full of toys and Christmas villages and trains that ran through the scene. I certainly remember them when I was a kid and, of course, no Christmas was complete until we had taken the sons to see Foley's Christmas windows and had driven through a neighborhood that had gone all out with their Christmas lights. All this nostalgia makes me want to see The Christmas Story movie again because that was really Christmas.

What will my grandsons remember about Christmas when they are old geezers? It won't be going downtown to see the most amazingly decorated Christmas windows. What a shame.

I Don't Believe This

2010-12-05T13:43:00.003-06:00

I found this graph on the blog The Home Is Where The Books Are. I don't believe this graph. I mean it would be nice to think that I was so special that I was one of only 1% of readers that reads books out outside of the Harry Potter and Twilight series. I could believe that 34% of people are not recreational readers but the rest of the numbers.....don't believe them. If this was the case how would bookstores stay in business? How could the Kindle or other e-readers be such a hit? I know that many of you blog readers are also bloggers as well and readers of books. What do you think about these numbers?

Night Lights #4

2010-12-03T10:26:00.000-06:00

A little change of pace on the Night Light series but it is still about Christmas lights and decorations.

Last night I got Ned to go along with me as my Security Officer. When we were getting ready to leave Carly did her bouncy run through the house that says, "I wanta go, I wanta go. Take me." So we took her along too. I had seen some Christmas lights at a couple of strip shopping centers or Business Districts. I thought I'd feel better with someone watching my backside as I stood looking and adjusting my camera and tripod. Besides when I get in the flow, I really lose track of what is going on around me. We actually only hit a couple of locations but I came away with about 36 digital files, seven of which I processed and three of them are maybe keepers. Three out of 36....that is pretty good for me, especially if even one does turn out to be a keeper.

I kept expecting the shopping centers Security Officers to come up and tell me I couldn't photograph there so I stayed on the public sidewalk. However I had spotted this window and like the way it looked so I had been planning how I wanted to shoot it. Just before we left I walked from the sidewalk to right in front of the window. Plopped the tripod down, shot three exposures and picked up the tripod and walked to the car.

I had thought about how I would handle it if someone did tell us we could not photograph at the shopping centers. No one ever hassled us. I was almost disappointed.

Night Lights #3

2010-12-01T10:17:00.000-06:00

While we are here in Houston I am trying to see as many movies as I can. Particularly those that might be in the running for some category of the Academy Awards. I saw Secretariat which was panned by a lot of the critics as being a "Feel Good" movie. What is the matter with being a "Feel Good" movie if it is also a good story, well acted, good photography, wonderful time-piece sets and wardrobe? I don't get it. Does a movie have to be on the darkside to be an Academy Award movie?

Another movie I saw was The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, from the last book in Stieg Larsson's trilogy. I saw the first movie, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but missed the second one. And, of course, I've read all three books. These movies were made in Sweden and so you have English subtitles. I thought the two movies that I saw were good and kept to the storyline of the books. They felt gritty and raw like the books. I liked them, so of course, the critics panned them. Now Hollywood is going to re-make them. Can Hollywood make them better? Time will tell.

Last night good friends invited us for dinner. They had made a new soup recipe and had bought some tamales from a vendor that they wanted to check out. Simple dinner but we could not have enjoyed it more if it were five-courses. Just goes to remind me that it is the company not the necessarily the food that makes a good evening.

Another Night Lights image at the top. This one is also from the Heights. I'm having a hard time with these images. They look okay in Photoshop or if I view them from one of the Windows image programs but when I add them to Blogspot or Facebook they become darker. They were made in the dark and I want them dark not daylight but I don't want them as dark as Blogspot and Facebook are making them. I'm having to go back and adjust my files. Still they aren't quite right but I hope you enjoy my Night Lights series.

Night Lights #2

2010-11-29T21:44:00.000-06:00

I'm changing the title of this series from "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" to "Night Lights." Photographing houses decorated for Christmas certainly isn't a new idea but it is a convenient idea for me just now. So you will be seeing Christmas lights in Houston for the next month.

Tonight I drove over to an area of Houston called The Heights. It is an old neighborhood that has for the most part been taken care of over the years. There was one street where a number of houses had lights strung way up into gigantic oak trees with tails of lights hanging down. The neighbors must have hired equipment to hang the lights or maybe one of the neighbors owns the company. At any rate it was very striking to see the lights soaring into the sky and looping down again.

I went to a meeting of some photography friends who gather once a month to talk about what they are working on, photography books, essays, exhibits or videos they have seen. They always inspire me.

It Is Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas #1

2010-11-28T12:18:00.000-06:00

Mike and Betsy's house.

Golden Creamed Onions

2010-11-24T12:53:00.000-06:00

This colander holds five pounds of cleaned boiler onions all ready to be cooked tomorrow. But I'm worried about having enough so I've sent Ned back to the store for two more pounds. I know this may look like a lot but they cook down. Not as bad as spinach but they definitely don't expand like beans. These are nice ones although some are almost as small as pearl onions. Pearl and boiler onions are not cheap. In fact you can spend as much on them as you do on the turkey but what the heck.....it is for Thanksgiving!

I'll be making Golden Creamed Onions for Thanksgiving from a recipe I took out of Gourmet magazine back in 1986. I made them that Thanksgiving and they caught on with the family....even the extended family. They are really a pain to prepare because they take so much time to clean. Actually they take quite a while to cook as well and you need a really large skillet because you are suppose to cook them in one layer so they can caramelize. I think I gave my huge skillet to Betsy when we moved to SMA so I've sent Ned over to borrow it. If it is not there then I'll be cooking them in batches.

Now a suggestion about cleaning them. This recipe says to blanch them for 2 minutes. It depends on the size. If I have boiler onions that are like small meatballs, then I may blanch for 3 minutes and I don't start timing until the water comes back to a boil. I use a small knife to cut off the root end but you only want to cut off a little bit of the root end because if you cut too much off they will come apart during the cooking. I like them to stay whole. And I use scissors then to snip off the leaf end...just a little not too much.

The recipe for Golden Creamed Onions

3 pounds (about 50) small white onions, blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes, drained and peeled.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (I like to add brown sugar. I think it adds to the caramelized taste)
2/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves (I don't think I add this much....I just put it in until it looks right)

In a deep skillet large enough to hold the onions in one layer combine the onions, the butter, the sugar, the salt, and enough water to cover the onions by 1/2 inch, bring the water to a boil, and boil the onions until the liquid is almost evaporated. Cook the onions over moderate heat, swirling the skillet, until they turn golden and begin to brown. Add the cream, bring the liquid to a boil, and boil the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened slightly. Season and mixture with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley.

The onion mixture may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated in a skillet over moderately low heat, stirring until it is hot. (I prefer to make it up to the point of adding the cream, chill and then reheat in a skillet and add the cream closer to serving time.)

Serves 10