Boreal Witch

My friend, Sarah, insists that using a digital camera manually is so easy. All of the settings seemed so intimidating to me: Aperture, ISO, flash or not...WHAT AM I DOING???

Full auto, always full auto.

Recently, I realized that using a camera manually could not possibly be the hardest thing I've ever done. For Goddess sake, I traveled half-way around the world to Israel, got my Master's degree, had two babies without pain medication, and climbed the Golden Staircase. Surely I could figure out my camera's settings.

For the past few weeks, I've been experimenting. These are my favorite (or best) pictures of the bunch.

Arthur had a ticket to the Pioneer Park train that expired over Labor Day weekend. Since we hadn't spent a lot of time at Pioneer Park this summer, we went for a ride on the train and a chance to play at the park before it got too cold. Here are my two little monkeys waiting in line for the Pioneer Park train. Balin was not into the picture-taking and after a while, Arthur wasn't all that excited about it either. The background isn't the nicest, but the expressions on the boys' faces are fun and they seem to be having a good time...sort of.


The one on the left is a new favorite pictures. The feel of movement, his natural smile, and the fun background. The composition of the picture is nice, too - very well-balanced. He looks like he's springing into action!


The one on the right is of my boys. Balin was ready to take off running, and Arthur put a protective arm around Balin to prevent him from fleeing. The colors are beautiful and the boys' expressions are priceless. 

The barrel in these photos is actually what inspired me to take these two pictures. We set Balin on the barrel, hoping he would sit quietly without squirming. He did, but it was quite obvious he didn't want to be there. After Arthur saw how much "fun" Balin was having on the barrel, he wanted to sit up there and get his picture taken, too. He even has a semi-natural smile going on (a rarity for him!).  

If I had taken the time to crop this picture, I think it would be a pretty good one. The light post on the left is distracting, and contrasts too sharply with the antique "feel" of the surrounding objects. I like the penetrating look Arthur is giving the camera. The composition isn't as nice as some of the other pictures, but I think I like it more for the subject than I do the background.


Although the picture on the left appears to be really nice, I did not have the shutter speed set correctly, so one of Balin's hands is blurry. He was signing "all done" because he wanted to play. I'm going to be so sad when he outgrows this little blue coat.

The one on the right was another "accident." We were walking through Creamer's Field and I snapped an over-the-shoulder shot of Balin. This was the result.



Arthur has a certain fondness for bridges. If he had a list of his favorite things, bridges would be in the top four, along with excavators, dump trucks, and pipes. I made him get on the side of the bridge, so he looks a little lost (cranky?) in this picture. The red jacket is a lovely touch.  The picture on the right is him running across the bridge. I also encountered the same problem with shutter speed in this picture as I did with the one of Balin. If you look at Arthur's feet, they are blurry. Still, the composition and color are excellent. It's one of my favorites.

I plan on practicing this winter, too...I think I may have found a new hobby!

Blessed be.

I've been setting little goals for myself over the last year. For instance, I've been trying to be more mindful of how much water or electricity I use. I now consistently take a three-minute shower. I thought I would miss a five or six-minute shower, but I don't.

A more serious issue for me, though, is kinds of cleaning products I use. It all started when I found a book at Gulliver's about making your own cleaning agents. (You can find information about it here.) I've made many of the cleaners in this book and have so far loved every single one of them. I spend a fraction of the cost of traditional cleansers and soaps because most of these recipes have vinegar and lemon juice in them - both of which I can find in bulk at Sam's Club for less than $10. Total. These two items last for six months - at least - and make gallons and gallons of cleaning solutions. Since then, I've gradually tried to rid the house of harsh chemicals and synthetic cleaners.

I've even stopped buying hand soap. I make my own now. I put it in a small plastic jar with one of those foaming dispensers and keep it next to my kitchen sink. It is awesome. I found the recipe online and while you can use it in a regular soap dispenser, it works much better if it's in a foaming one. I know you all are dying to get the recipe, so here it is!

All-natural Foaming Hand Soap
1 cup water
1/4 cup Castile soap
1 tsp. almond, hemp, or jojoba oil
10 drops essential oil of your choice

Since making my own cleaners and limiting my showers to three minutes were going so well, I now have another small goal: to use reusable feminine hygiene products. (Yeah, some may scoff and say that this is too much information, but hey, this is my blog - I'll write about whatever I want!)

I am now in the process of turning some old cloth diapers into inserts for pads. They work great and I don't feel like I'm contributing to the destruction of the ozone or rainforest or arctic sea ice. I've finished half of them and will be finishing the other half after the Women's Bazaar in early November, when I finally have a little more time for personal projects.

Do your part! Find something you can do to cut down on waste and do it!

Blessed be.

It's that time of year again!

...Didn't I say that about blueberry picking? Potatoes and blueberries go hand in hand, really. One does both of those activities in the fall...

In any case, it's potato time!

I felt like it took forever for the potatoes to be ready. I thought for sure they would be ready Labor Day weekend. A quick drive to the fields determined that they needed a bit more time. Finally, we got the call and raced to the potato fields.

The boys stood transfixed by the potato digger. When the tractor and plow dug up a row of potatoes Arthur, Robinson, and I got to work. Balin contented himself with playing in the dirt.

Last year, we picked 150 lbs. of potatoes. Sadly, I'd guess that about 50 lbs. went bad before we could process them (we stored them in the arctic entry and they froze). This year we were much more judicious in our potato selection. We chose small and medium potatoes and avoided potatoes with cracks or scars. We also bought 100 lbs., which turned out to be perfect. It also helped that we bought four additional dehydrator trays so we were able to dehydrate twice as many hash browns at one time.

In the end, we canned 21 cans of potatoes, dehydrated 3 gallon-sized bags of hash browns, and froze 6 quart-sized containers of mashed potatoes. We had about 30 lbs. of potatoes left, so I created this soup to eat up some of the extra potatoes. Sadly, it's not a meal I can freeze, but it's so good, I promise there won't be any leftovers.

Enjoy!

On the Menu: Creamy Potato Soup
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1/2 onion
3 large potatoes
3 tbs. butter
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups water + 1 bullion cube or 1 cup broth + 1 1/2 cups water
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste


Garnishes (opt): green onions, bacon, sour cream, cheddar cheese

1. Melt butter in a large pot. Saute chopped celery, carrot, onion, and potatoes until onions are transparent, about 5 minutes.

 2. Add flour to pot and coat vegetables thoroughly. Add water and bullion cube or water and broth and stir well. Bring to a boil and simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. The liquid in the pot will thicken.

3. Pour vegetables and liquid into a blender and blend well. You may need to blend in batches. Return the puree to the large pot and add milk. Heat through, then serve with garnishes.

Blessed be.

Dear Arthur,

Today you begin an incredible journey.

You start school.

Today you start learning about respect toward your peers, words, new games and songs. You will develop a strong foundation and scholastic excellence. You will begin to become a boy and am no longer my baby.

I am tearing up as I write this, not because I miss the baby that you were, but because I am anxious to see the boy (and then the man) that you will become. I am tearing up because you have taught me so much and I hope that I have taught you a few things, too. I am tearing up because I am so full of love for you that I can't articulate it. I need to show it.

Learn a lot. Be brave. Have a great year. I will always be waiting for you when you get out of school to give you a hug and ask you how class was.

Love, Mommy

Blessed be.