Open Windows, Food Shoot, and Other News Fresh From the Farm

Inside: Enjoying life with my windows wide open, making my food look good, and my mini staycation.

Enjoying Life with my Windows Wide Open

Mid to late July gave us a stretch of miserable–albeit typical–summer weather with high 90s and a few low 100s sprinkled in for good measure. I’m not a fan. (Though I have plenty of them running in my house this time of year!) High temps mean extra watering and monitoring of fragile plants, avoiding the use of my oven, higher cooling bills, and closed windows. And not only closed windows, but blinds down on the south side. No looking out into the pasture, lost in thought. No listening to birds singing at dawn or the nightly serenade of cicadas. No fresh breeze with the hint of some delicate flower. My connection to nature is relegated to short morning bursts when the sun is young in the sky and hasn’t yet turned mean.

But here comes August–normally brutal–but decidedly charming this year. Nothing hot or dry about it–so far. I say that cautiously. Almost whispering it. I know how fickle summer in Missouri can be.

Meanwhile I will enjoy my breezes and bird songs, insect sounds and sweet-scented air, and the view of the good green Earth I know simply as home.

Making my Food Look Good

This past weekend I got my first lesson in photography (which means “painting with light,” by the way) and discovered firsthand what it’s like when the subject doesn’t say cheese–because it is cheese. Welcome to the world of food photography! My daughter Emily, who is a talented photographer, dropped by to take pictures for future recipe posts, warning me ahead of time that I should prepare to learn.

And I did, sort of.

I learned that food photography takes a lot of prep work–both from a cooking standpoint as well as staging.

I learned that it’s a messy process. Be prepared for lots of dishes and, in my case, moving furniture.

I learned that it’s fun to snack on props.

And I learned I have so much to learn!

So stay tuned as my skills will grow (hopefully) and the pictures on this blog will look better and better.

My Mini Staycation

So Hubs has a week off starting Tuesday. Me, not so much. (We’ll call it a light week for me.) Sure, I make my own hours, but as most women will agree, job aside, there are meals to fix, dishes to wash, floors to sweep, and laundry to fold. As I’ve said to my spouse before, “When is my day off?” (I say it lightheartedly and with a smile these days.) But what Hubs doesn’t know yet is that I will be defrosting a lot of meat for barbecuing–his domain.

No special plans at this point. A meal out, maybe. A movie, if there is something worth seeing on the big screen. Relaxation, plenty of coffee, good conversation. Staycations can be a good thing.

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Way to Go, Birds!