My cousin Jamie is collecting recipes for a family cookbook. Mosker suggested I submit my recipe for minestrone. To that end I made some this weekend so I could make notes. Of course, I can't have homemade soup without fresh homemade bread so I made some of that as well. Oh man...it really hit the spot! (See Jamie, I'm really working on it.)
Ray came back to town after finishing his Army OCS training, fetched his wife, his dogs, and his household goods from mom's place, then drove across country to Oklahoma which is where he is now stationed.
While he was here he bought my truck. After buying it from me he learned the place he rented the moving van from wouldn't let him trailer the truck for the trip so he asked mom to drive it cross country and deliver it for him. Then, Dominique volunteered to help drive, so she flew out from the midwest on very, very short notice.
We didn't tell the youngster that her favorite auntie was coming to play Wii with her (her uncle promised but didn't have time), but set it up as a big surprise. She was thrilled! And, she got to play the new Wii Fit Plus (which she gives a big thumbs up).
Mom's next door neighbor was kind enough to keep an eye on her house, but her dog spent the week here. My cat Zorro has finally ventured out from my bedroom, but poor old Solo won't even come out from under the bed. I think my dog Bina enjoyed the dog company this week but she's never been much for playing so I suspect she doesn't know what to make of young and playful Brighton. The youngster has been glad to have Brighton here but she's ready for her gramma to come back because she misses her.
I did get one iPhone picture (and a video) from Dominique when they stopped at the Grand Canyon. I've never been there, maybe I should think about changing that.
I need to pack Brighton's gear into the car, get her settled back at home, and then go collect mom from the airport.
Mosker's plane touched down last night and she stepped outside the terminal - gasp! - without needing to wear a coat.
Mom got a new puppy last week. I thought she would post pictures but she didn't so here's a picture of the very sweet little doggie.
I made my last batch of almond roca for the season. Once again I'm thrilled to be done with that task.
Gifts are all wrapped and accounted for. I'm confident the youngster will be thrilled. Mostly she and I are just happy to have the whole family together again for the holiday.
When Carl selected one of Mosker's images for the R.I.P. II contest it got me thinking about the photo again. There's something innocent about it, yet there is also something sinister. I decided to play around and see if I could use innocent objects, yet create a dark image. Then I spoke with Mosker about it and we brainstormed, tossing ideas back and forth. We concluded that we are both going to see what we come up with. We've agreed that nothing is off limits, including the choice of color versus black and white, image manipulation (including special effects). 
I'm still toying with composition and haven't yet decided if I want to stay in color (might be harder to pull off the mood) or switch to black and white. Here's what I have to show for today's efforts.
My friend Scott sent me this image...but there was no accompanying explanation. Someone was not amused. And where does one get five axes? Did this happen outside a hardware store?
Hope you had a great day. The family is getting large enough that I may need to look into getting a buffet table for outdoor eating...the table was pretty loaded down once we got the food out there (but oh-so-yummy with crepes, quiche, sandwiches and more). Did I mention the weather was perfect today?
My brother Ray (AKA Feckless Ramblings) is another year older. Today he is (redacted) years old. Happy Birthday Ray!
I decided to take my youngster down to Sacramento to visit the railroad museum. I also invited my mother, and she volunteered to drive so the three of us went. Lighting conditions were tricky and I'm still getting used to the quirks of the digital camera so I'll just show you this engine as a sample of what can be found in this awesome museum which is filled with engines, rail cars, pullmans, you name it. The youngster enjoyed herself. We took a few steps down the boardwalk and had lunch at a terrific Mexican restaurant which had excellent guacamole and salsa.
The weather forecast was for rain, but as you can see we lucked out and missed that.
While I realize that the cars parked on the street tell a different story than the sepia tone suggests, this is the old part of Sacramento which retains much of it's gold-rush architecture.
My mother also agreed to take on a room for the Barbie house and finished months ago. Naughty me for not posting the pictures earlier. (Thank you Mummy.) I asked for a mural and that the paint be consistent with the furniture. Turned out great!
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