I have started to think of Wednesday as the beginning of my week. It was bound to happen.

We went out on Thursday night to see “T: An MBTA Musical” With a pre show dinner at The Field next door….

My man loves him a Guinness…

“T” (in a nutshell) was a musical about the shortcomings of Boston’s transit system. SO HILARIOUS!

I don’t ride the T that much so I don’t get let down by it as much as those who ride it everyday. However, on the way home from our date the T broke down. HA! how ironic… The doors wouldn’t open, then they wouldn’t close, then they shut it down and said we have no idea when it will be fixed so figure out another way to get where you need to go …

So we decided it was a fine night for a walk.  We walked from the Kendall to the Lechmere (20 min) and found it to be closed until December. So we hopped on a shuttle bus. We found it kinda funny but I can see where that would get old really quick if you had to rely on it for work.

I kinda got lucky with my in-laws…

J’s sister Julie came up to spend the fourth with us, fun time!

Yes, my dog has her lazy moments, usually only when it’s hot.

I wonder what makes people leave their shoes…

I like the Financial District on Sunday, empty. It’s what the zombie apocalypse would look like.

If it sounds like fun, there is a good chance 10,000 other people in the city are going to think it’s fun too.

In the case of fireworks 800,000 other people thought it would be fun. I tried but couldn’t capture the sheer number of people there, it was insane!

If you want a front row seat you have to go early in the morning and set up camp. Might be fun with the right group of people…

We decided Mexican food was a good fourth of July dinner… We didn’t even try to top our “all american” lunch.

Lucky dogs…

People waiting to get on the T… This isn’t even the closest stop to where we were.  We walked for about 45 minutes to avoid this craziness…

I bet there were about ten other T stops that were just as crowded.

Julie decided to stay an extra day since J had it off.

We headed up north… Always a good idea!

WHY?

Someone who actually thought this was a good idea is roaming around free out there. Probably driving a car… and voting!

My favorite store in Salem now has a sister store in Newburyport. What could be more perfect…

I always come across things that remind me of my girlfriends…

And this is why I had the scallops…

Happy Wednesday Loves!

 

 

I can spot a disco ball from a mile away.

Ya, I have no idea either…

The final for my very first photography class in college was “Theme”.  Apparently every photographer has one (the good ones anyway:)

Something they have to photograph every time they see it.

Something they love that evokes an emotional response.

Something that no matter what else is going on around them, they notice.

I used lamp posts. I love lamp posts but they did not end up being my true theme.

I wonder if anyone is still using the theme they picked in intro??

My true theme… old christmas lights. This kind.

I will make a book some day… 

We went to see the “Green Lantern” the other night. We haven’t been to a movie in months, very unusual.

I’m not the biggest fan of 3d. I don’t like the glasses and it makes the movie look soft. I find myself wanting to hit the unsharp mask tool.

We planned on the non 3d version but it was sold out when we got there. Boo!

And no matter what, the stupid yappy girl always sits with in ear shot of me. I find myself fantasizing about her getting splattered all over the pavement when she J walks outside the theater.

I miss my black leather chair I used to perch on just outside the projection room during my many years at the Roman. The only sound I heard was the perfect rhythm of the film going through the projector. And if anyone talked, I kicked them out…

God does such a better job of watering my garden than I do…

My broccoli plants have heads!!!

Wynn likes to lick the rain off plant leaves. She also likes to wander around smelling the flowers.

My little garden gnome…

I’m kinda impressed with this plant. It’s a house plant that got scraggly so I cut it all down to the roots and re-rooted the cuttings. I hoped if I was patient and kept it watered it would sprout from the roots, and it did. I’ll let it hang out outside for the summer, it seems happy.

I don’t photograph at night as much as I used to. Mostly because I’m not in Montana anymore and wandering around east Boston at night with camera equipment is not the smartest move. And it makes my husband nervous if he’s not there.

Sometimes I just have to…

It was just me and Wynn down by the water.
I felt at peace. A hard state of mind to find living in a city.

Happy Tuesday Loves!

I won’t be posting until Wednesday next week because of the fourth. Happy Independence Day everyone!!

Happy first day of summer!!!

I am trying to bang out this post so my little family and I can go do something worthy of the day.

Happy Birthday Sister! I love you more than words can say!

Every time I see a group of girlfriends it makes me miss mine so much I want to cry…

We headed to the Big Apple last week to visit Melissa, Tom and Anna who were in town for her brothers wedding.

I haven’t been there in ten years, it was a blast but I can wait another ten years before going again…

View from our hotel… not bad!

No one believes us that she’s a killer. Here she is trying to eat someone on the elevator.

By far one of the worst meals I have had in years… I felt like I was eating cafeteria food. Even the mashed potatoes were fake…

You get what you pay for was certainly not the case. We should have had a hotdog on the corner…

End caps work for more than just protecting your lens…

I guess my sunblock is working, holy pale…

This was the wrong time of day to be photographing these, it was all the animals in the chinese zodiac. Way cool!

Apparently Peter (our wedding officiant) is a model for a cigar company…

Recycling at its finest…

Out of all the absent-minded photographers out there, do you think I’m the first one to use a lens strap as a belt…? Surely not.

Bring the 100-400, leave the belt.

LOVE this…guy? And I didn’t think I would get to see the statue of liberty on this trip.

If you’re going to deface public property, I say do it with flair!

She picked the color out herself…

Oh, sparkly…

I spy…

It was good to see a little piece of Montana on the east coast. See you in August!

I guess there was a hockey game going on…:)

Rockefeller Center…

I want a wall of slides for my house.

Almost home…

I am in love love love! with this show. “Big Ideas for a Small Planet” on the Sundance channel.

It’s on instant play on netflix at the moment. It’s whats right in the world…

To love me is to love my tree hugging ways!

We went back down to Pinot brothers to check out what Dierdre has sketched up for J. Girl has TALENT!

= a very disappointed puppy and a super pissed off me.

How do you explain to a dog that she can’t run free in her favorite off-the-leash spot because people suck…

Patio Saturday at Lynn’s…

Happy Tuesday/Solstice Loves!

 

We stopped off at this fantastic little sandwich shop on the way to meet J’s new tattoo artist. Most places when you say you want to split something (after being annoyed because the think their going to get jipped on the tip)  bring you an extra plate and a knife. Not these guys, they split everything in back including the pickle. I love it when places go above and beyond the norm. Ryan, our waiter was also great.  The atmosphere is comfortable with lots of natural light. All Star Sandwiches will be a frequent stop being the amount of time we are about to spend in east Cambridge.  Having a needle drug through your flesh makes you hungry for sandwiches… and coleslaw.

Oh my gosh am I jealous!!!! After several months of searching J found his tattoo gal, Deirdre.  You have to be choosy knowing their art is going to cover half your body. Plus your spending hours upon hours with this person its nice if they aren’t a complete shit-bag.

Stage one…

The Scooperbowl… I love ice cream, hate crowds. I know I now live in a city and have to get over that.

Next year we’ll just give them 20 dollars and go have gelato somewhere else.

Seeing stuff like this makes me CRAZY!!! How is it in this day and age they can’t figure out a better way to do things. You know if you offer all-you-can-eat ice cream, in summer you’re going to have 3/4 of the city show up.

It was for a good cause and I’m thankful for the effort.

I love Modern Millie up in Salem. They are open until eight on Thursdays so after I drop J off at his class I can go browse for an hour.

I tried to tie-dye a shirt using the water I boiled my beats in. Looks pretty here… didn’t turn out so well.

The sisters died… They fell off within 20 seconds of each other. I was so sad. They are still on my window sill, I don’t have the heart to throw them in the composter yet.

Another bloom sprouted about two weeks later with two more are on the way. I love growing orchids, it’s tricky.

I still have seedlings inside and will I’m sure for most of the summer. As long as they are alive I can’t get rid of them, even if they aren’t amounting to much.  My broccoli will be ready for a second planting late summer.  I would love to say I planned that.

They need to write a book 1001 ways to use Formaggio mozzarella balls. Not only is the mozzarella super tasty but the oil they come in can be used for everything. And because they come in oil, they last forever.

My first salad out of my garden.

My salad mix is doing great. My spinach sucks! I thought spinach was easy to grow…

Happy Tuesday Loves!

Daylight at night…

I have always loved storms. I get so excited when there’s a severe storm warning. Thunder that sets off car alarms is the best!

To my knowledge my family is the only one who makes macaroni salad this way. It’s the only one I like.

This amount will fill the largest tupperware bowl in the tower.  I make a huge batch because we always seem to go through it.

• 1/2 c to 1 c dried macaroni
• four cans of tuna (well drained)
• two cans black olives (sliced and drained)
• 6 celery stalks (chopped)
• two cans of peas (drained)
• three green onions (thats a me add in)
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne (me add in as well)
• 3/4 c mayo
• 2 tblsp milk

Cook the macaroni until al dente, drain and set aside. Mix last five ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl add all the canned ingredients and macaroni, dump sauce on top and gently stir with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Stir before serving.

Can you use the word decadent when describing hotdogs? My husband does… We eat bbq hotdogs A LOT in the summer. I won’t eat chicken unless it’s organic but I have no problem eating hotdogs. Yes, my delusions are selective.

There is a little Italian restaurant two minutes from our house. It’s our “I don’t feel like cooking” place.  I think there’s maybe four people who work there. The owner is the only waiter, he sits and visits while writing your order down. It’s everything you want a neighborhood spot to be…

I photographed two more babies and a couple of love birds this past weekend. So fun!

My garden is growing…

I replanted my basil today, my first planting got a little to cold one night.

Peppers got moved into their big pots.

Marigolds… My mom says they keep aphids off your tomato plants. They look beautiful too!

Orange and green belong together.

Happy Tuesday Loves!

 

The sun came out…

 

My plants have doubled in size and I can no longer use my skin as a reflector. Summer is here!

I’m not the biggest fan of hot weather but I do love sunshine!

It has now gotten hot enough that we can no longer walk during the day, It takes forever if we do. Wynn will lay down somewhere in the shade and not move.

 

We fired up the grill this week…

We are never going back to store bought beef. My brother-in-law knows his cow!

Spinach and goat cheese salad:

• fresh spinach
• goat cheese
• candied walnuts or pecans (heat 1/8 cup honey  and 1/2 tsp cayenne for 15 seconds in the microwave, pour over 2 c nuts and stir until coated.  Spread nuts on cookie sheet and broil until the honey is bubbling. Take out and cool. You don’t need 2 c for this recipe but they keep pretty good in the fridge and they’re a good snack.
• 1 granny smith apple (peeled)
• raspberries
• some sorta vinaigrette dressing.  I make mine, I have to make some more soon so I will pay attention and actually write down my recipe.

Movie night:  Zombieland and Gostbusters    WIN WIN!

Still a kid…

What a lucky girl I am…

Her favorite toy is ribbon.

Flies fly around in circles under my living room light. I wonder if it’s a portal to another dimension…? Very strange.

Quesadillas are one of my go-to foods.

My latest favorite: PepperJack, spinach and green onions.

For the first time in my life I am settled. I will always feel I’m too far from friends and family, but Boston is my new home.

I have my garden and I’m going back to work. Two things I couldn’t seem to swing without two feet planted.

I photographed my first portrait in… a long time. To say I am rusty is an understatement, I loved every moment.

To quote the man who loves quotes… “Photography is hard, why would you want to do something that everyone can do” -AP

Happy Tuesday out there…

 

Another week of grey and rain.

Friday was beautiful. I was cooking a feast so I did not get outside to enjoy it. So in my mind the whole week was a wash weather wise.

My poor Montana is under water so I shouldn’t bitch.

My sweet sweet Aleeshia… This was just such a perfect ray of sunshine in my gloomy week.

I love surprise flowers at my door for no reason.

I made jerky with my Montana beef.

Asian style marinade

• 2 tblsp shredded ginger
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 c honey
• black pepper
• 3 tsp allspice
• heaping tblsp of red chili garlic sauce.
• 1/8 c green onions

Put everything in a gallon sized freezer bag, smoosh it around and let it sit for around 24 hrs in the fridge. Smoosh (it’s the only word I can think of) a couple times in that 24 hr period so the marinade is evenly saturated.

If you really want my whole process, let me know.

I recommend  looking online til you find what works for your situation. Oven vs dehydrator etc.

I wanted to cook a turkey before the summer heat set in. It turned into a full blown pre-rapture Thanksgiving for ten. No one says no to turkey dinner, especially when Thanksgiving is seven months away

What better way to spend your last night before five months of hellfire and brimstone… and locusts.

I cooked the best and most beautiful turkey of my life! I wanted to try a little different turkey dinner this time. I always cook it the same way, with the same sides… Yawn.

I brined my turkey for the first time ever (never again will I not). Pure heaven! Not only did the turkey taste better but everything I made with the turkey and drippings, had way way more flavor.

I abandoned my beloved stovetop for homemade, it was fabulous! Better than stovetop? mmmmm I don’t know.

And I didn’t photograph any of the food! Lame… I’m sure I will cook another one before Thanksgiving.

It really was a wonderful evening, with the most excellent of friends.

Ya, this is my balsamic reduction. Thats what happens when you have one too many things cooking, literally.

If hard taffy and black tar heroine had a baby, this is what It would look like.

I burn myself more than the average human, I’m convinced of it. This is one of four from Rapture Thanksgiving.

I would have been uber ticked if my last peaceful minutes would have been spent listening to these circus animals. From about 5:45 on I had to listen to their super intelligent, LOUD yammering… from the parking lot of the church no less. I’m not God and I try not to judge, but these fools were going nowhere at 6:00.

I’m still here… Even though I was 99.99999% sure it was all crap, I sill wondered. That’s just me.

I have discovered this week that Shepherds Pie is the perfect dish to finish off left over mashed potatoes and gravy.

I got a new lens today and I am soooo EXCITED!!!!! Thats why it’s almost midnight and I’m just now finishing this, I had to play.

Happy Tuesday out there, I’m glad you’re all still here.

 

Good thing a picture is worth a thousand words. I’m not feeling very descriptive.

Be gone grey days! You’re pissing me and my plants off.

 

My husband took me on a great date last week…

The Chihuly exhibit…  BAD ASS!

Like most art, something you just need to see with your own eyes to fully appreciate.

They are in between hangings in the photography wing, sad.

I found a couple…

I’m just so so in love with this painting… I want a print for my house.

 

I love my sister!!!!

El natural beef from Montana. Be jealous…

Hairless cats make me smile…

Happy  Tuesday…

It’s a glorious feeling when you find yourself turning into your mother, and realize it’s not such a bad thing….

I had to dig and dig to find one picture of me with my mom. I found one with my godmother as well.

Every flower I see reminds me of her.

I can hear her voice “oh, I love grape hyacinths!” Or the heavenly look on her face when she buries her nose in lilacs.

Every chance I get I “stop and smell the roses”  just like my mom.

These little lovelies I got at Costco.

I always have enough to put in about four different spots. I love fresh flowers in my house.

Ah, lilacs… With one stiff I’m catapulted back to late spring days at my grandma’s house. My sister and I pushing each other up and down the lilac lined sidewalks in an old rusty wheelbarrow.

Rhubarb anything is my favorite!

Another thing that reminds me of my grandma. She made the best rhubarb crisp!

I’m always dissapointed when people insist on putting strawberries with it. Strawberries and rhubarb are wonderful all on their own without each other.

So what do I do, I put strawberries in my crisp (I blame J). I thought I could use a bit less sugar if I added them.

Anyway…. Ya, I still don’t like strawberries with my rhubarb. Bring on the sugar, it’s worth it!

So I found a random pair of shoes in the middle of the sidewalk the other day. They didn’t look accidentally dropped or thrown out, it was as if someone just walked out of them. Probably some drunk girl who was having a hard enough time walking without the added instability. I found them a welcome break from flowers.

Our cinco de mayo fare… I’m happy to announce you can freeze guacamole! Came out of the freezer prefect.

I also found a package of chili in there that I mixed with a little pepper jack.

The chips are cut up tortillas that I bake in the oven. Way better (and healthier) than the crumbly bag of mess you get in the store.

Oh yes, and the margaritas… I hate the already made green ooze that resembles the water in Chernobyl in 1986.

I am still not to the point of writing the recipe down here, it ends up wonderful but I have no idea how I get there.

Next week I will deliver… I promise to write it down step by step.

I took my new bag out for a spin. My first handmade sewing project since junior high home ec.

Looks good from this angle. If you get close, it looks like a kindergardener made it. It works great though…

It’s big enough for the few things I want to carry with me, plus two extra lenses. My camera slings over and fits right inside still around my neck.  It’s so comfy and doesn’t break my back unlike that 200 dollar thing sitting in my office collecting dust. I will tweak my next one a bit.

All and all, just what I wanted… in avocado green corduroy.

Salem, where disco balls hang from trees. It’s just the greatest town.

My bean

Happy Tuesday!

Happy May Day! Two days late.

I have this vivid memory of making May Baskets out of salmon colored paper, (that we seemed to have endless supplies of) filling them with licorice and pixie stix, among other sweets and dropping them off on the door steps of my girlfriends and childhood crush Ryan Osterman.

I have a deep appreciation for seemingly forgotten holidays.

Happy 19 to my favorite set of twins…

This week is kinda all Wynn. I got a ton done but I didn’t photograph much.

One of my great joys in life is listening to her howl.

So this guy was hanging out in my house (full body shiver).  I found it squished between the tray and my broccoli seedling.

I have no idea how he got that way but he now has about 20 percent fewer legs because of the situation.

I gave him a little pep talk about overcoming adversity, hopefully he forgives me.

Holy Magnolia Tree!

This will be so full of green in a few months you won’t be able to see anything.

The people who live in this house grow fantastic basil, the leaves are the size of my fist. I must learn their secret…

Stevie hangs out in the same dog park as Wynn. He is by far the most active bulldog I have ever been around.

I want to take him home with me.

Yum, beets.

We had some friends over for a May Day celebration…. Chinese takeout and Munchkin Booty.

Happy Tuesday!