SMOOTH

Smooth Smoothie - peach banana with vanilla.

Smooth

Always grateful when the blog theme can be tied up easily into something that I love.  We took Terri and Rosie out for their first frozen custard.  English Toffee, butterscotch and vanilla.  Smooth and creamy.  Absolutely delicious.

Smells

It's always fun when you tell your visitors about your photo project and they are totally willing to pose for you.  Here are Rosie and Terri smelling the clementines.  Our snack half way around Caumsett State Park.

SMELLS

Like a fall morning - pumpkin pie, cinnamon,  hot coffee, maple syrup...

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer
1 c. milk
1 c. heavy whipping cream
4 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
4 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk milk, cream, pumpkin, syrup, cinnamon and pumpkin spice together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until steamy. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Use a strainer to transfer the cream mixture into a container. Let it cool and store in the refrigerator.
from www.whatmegansmaking.com

 

Small

All the tiny little choking hazards that Charlotte keeps as toys.  No time for chat.  Got our lovely visitors waiting for me at the dinner table... they came all the way from Australia.

SMALL

Yesterday I was on a road I have never been on and saw BONSAI in big letters on the sign. Today, I took a ride over there. There were 4 greenhouses filled with bonsai yet no one was there. There was a radio playing on a Spanish station as if someone just walked away. There were bins of soil and racks of tools and a whole greenhouse filled with shipping supplies.  I called around but the place was deserted. A bit creepy really. Many, many different types of bonsai. Some flowering, some that looked like palm trees. Some had little figurines at the base; some twisted trucks, others straight. But all of them small. Check out www.bonsaiboy.com

Slowly

I work in an office full of women.  We celebrated a birthday today with massive cupcakes.  Everyone decided that we should absolutely cut the cupcakes into quarters because they were far too big.  At the meeting everyone politely took a quarter of a cupcake.  Then the tray got left in the hallway and slowly but surely all the other pieces started to disappear.  Pretty sure the average consumption ended up being one full cupcake per person...

SLOWLY

This house is slowly disappearing under the weight of the choking vines, to eventually become part of the woods.

Slow

Different day... same idea (kind of).  Was feeling slow myself on this theme.

SLOW

Stopped at the local pet store today and found this lovely. There were many turtles swimming in a tank but when I was up close to the glass, they were not slow at all. But this one; this one didn't move. This is a tortoise and about the size of a softball.

Slick

Didn't like this theme at all.  I just need to copy and paste what Kim wrote.  In the end I just took this at bed time - Annabelle with slick wet hair. 

SLICK

I kept going back to the list to see if this theme had magically changed to something I could sink my teeth into. I hit a photographic creative wall today (is there such a thing?) I also left it very late in the day. Onto tomorrow...

Slam on the brakes

Couldn't believe it when I saw Kim's picture.  Insane.  Even the composition is the same.  But I must admit I do kind of like the duckling sign best!  Isn't it cute??  A great reason to slam on the brakes!

SLAM ON THE BRAKES

Sky High

After a day at work I found myself at the playground.  This is a silhouette of Charlotte swinging sky high.  I love the crazy hair!

SKY HIGH

I'm pretty certain everyone felt sky high after the CBTF Walk. Incredible day with incredible people.

SIZZLING HOT

I had this elaborate set up including my iron skillet on the BBQ with a measuring cup of water to get drips and the steam. But I ran out of daylight and the pictures were pathetic. So this was my grill just before I put the pork tenderloin on it. Better than a poke in the eye. (I let it cool down because 500* was way too 'sizzling hot'.

Sizzling Hot

We try to eat together as a family most nights (assuming we are all home) but everyone has their own level of spice tolerance.  So now I prepare the food on the bland side and Seb doctors up his food with these.  In the background are the sizzling hot and bright red electric rings of the burner. I miss having a gas stove.

SIX

Six

Annabelle checks the mail at Number Six.

Simple/Minimalism

This is the extent of my festive Fall decorations... keeping it real simple.

SIMPLE/MINIMALISM

Michael says that although this picture is simple, the weird addition of the rainbow on the bottom left, makes it so there is nothing simple about it.

Silhouette

I was really struggling to get a silhouette picture outside so I came inside, held this little sculpture up to the ceiling light and snapped a picture.  Sometimes when you are in a funk you just need to stop for a minute and try something else.

SILHOUETTE

An abandoned Osprey nest - until next year...

SHINY

The short life of a chocolate bar wrapped in shiny silver foil.

Shiny

When Seb saw the theme was "shiny" he politely suggested (hinted?) that maybe I polish the silver.  Ha ha.  Fat chance.  Anyway, here is the shiny compost bin we use.

SHARP

Sharp

Now that I think about it I probably should have given this picture a really sharp focus and I should have chosen a saw that wasn't rusty.  Thinking isn't very sharp today.

Shapes in Nature

At the start of the year I wrote down every theme onto each day of the calendar.  So every night before I go to bed I check the next theme and start coming up with ideas.  I wasn't completely sure how to tackle this theme but here's the problem - I had written down "Shades in Nature" which I didn't understand.   I finally thought I was really rather clever coming up with this picture because it shows different shades of green and shows part of the leaves in the shade.  But then I logged on and saw Kim had already posted and realized that the theme was actually "Shapes in Nature."  First fail of the year.  Not bad after 260 days I guess...

SHAPES IN NATURE

This spider's web was magnificent. Its right outside my backdoor and she has been in the center all morning. There are rectangles and circles, even an 'X'. I think if you click on the picture you can see it bigger.

SHADES OF GREY

 

Weathered, grey stairs at the Bellport Yacht Club.

Shades of grey

If I had taken a picture this morning I could have captured the clouds at 6am in their various threatening shades of grey. By the time I left work though it was sunny sunny sunny skies.  These are the big grey stones that surround our flowerbeds.

SEVEN

Today we visited our dear friends out in East Marion. We stopped for a quick takeaway lunch and ate at the beach. These seagulls would have loved Charlotte's leftover french fries!

Seven

Seven french fries left behind (these were Charlotte's I swear).  The corona, however, was all mine.  I have had a long week and I am working this weekend so I didn't put much effort into this.  I have a book to read... off for an early night with My Berlin Kitchen.

Self-Portrait

Have you ever wanted to literally devour a book?  This book arrived on my doorstep TODAY!  It's the first book I have ever pre-ordered on Amazon and it's not just any old book.  This book is going to be the most loved and tattered literary piece to adorn my bookshelf for years to come.  THIS BOOK was written by my friend.  MY FRIEND.  When I opened up the package I spontaneously burst into tears. She started writing a food blog years and years ago.  I read it from day one and was obsessed.  I checked for new posts on an almost hourly basis.  She even mentioned Charlotte's birth on one post! I am truly amazed at her accomplishment and cannot WAIT to start reading.  Congrats Loopy Loo xoxo

SELF-PORTRAIT

Not. fun. I have been dreading this theme since I saw the list.
I wanted to represent me. Its morning, I'm outside, I'm wearing blue and have my favorite Harry Potter book. And Maggie is inches from my feet, out of the frame.
If nothing else, I learned how to use the self-timer on the camera.

Seeds

Worst photo ever but I have a good story.  I didn't want to make a trip to the garden store just to take a picture of seeds but in the end I had good reason to go there.
Yesterday afternoon a neighbour's dog chased our cat up our driveway, around the house, through the poison ivy and mountain laurel, and down the slippery hill that people can't access. I didn't think anything of it until I called him at the end of the day to come back in the house.  He didn't come.  I tried hour after hour calling his name to no avail.  I searched through the wooded area with a flash light (have you seen Blair Witch Project?).  I didn't sleep a wink.  Finally, at daybreak, I called his name and he answered.  I ventured through the ivy and down the slippery hill trying to find him and finally there he was ...25 feet up a tree.  In the end our neighbour (the very one with the dog) came over at 6.30am with a 24ft ladder. She willingly walked right through the poison ivy, and helped me prop up a very long ladder while Seb bravely climbed up.  I swear she actually CHEERED when Nelson started heading towards Seb. Somehow we accomplished this insane rescue mission (Seb has a few scratch marks for proof).

So in the end I made it to the garden store to get a gift for the neighbor.  I'm really tired.

SEEDS

Sunflower seeds.

Seaside

After the school day was over I drove down the road to the local beach with the girls.  It was so pretty out - the sun came out, the water was as still as could be and hundreds of (future olympic?) rowers were out training!!

SEASIDE

This is the beach down the block from our house.  I took a picture today at 1pm of a different seaside. Then ran out after dinner tonight and got this. The sky was beautiful in pinks and blues; the water very calm. I have learned so much from this blog but the most important thing I have learned is: lighting is everything. Lighting can change a nice picture into an extraordinary one.
Technically this is not seaside - its bay side but I couldn't get to a sea or an ocean today.

Seafood

Luckily I am a very good customer at Northport Fish & Lobster so it didn't feel THAT weird dashing in (with about two spare minutes on my way home to pick up Charlotte at the bus stop ) and saying "I don't need any fish today but do you mind if I take some photos?"  I love them at this fish place.  The first time we bought live lobsters they told us exactly how to cook them AND threw in a couple of lobster crackers on the house. Now I never buy my seafood anywhere else... even when it is on sale.

SEAFOOD

Grilled shrimp with Old Bay.

School

It's the weekend so we went nowhere near a school.  Instead we have plenty of school supplies at home.  As you can tell by the state of this table... we are big on art projects in this house.

SCHOOL

A tiny schoolhouse in Bellport from 1858 that I pass everyday. My bike ride has opened up a whole new world of photos for me.

SCATTERED

Scattered

I've been so scatterbrained recently that I spent part of the morning paying overdue bills.  Urgh.  Meanwhile Seb built a garden shed... hence the scattered screwnails.

Sandy

Nothing beats finishing a work day by putting on some flip flops and feeling the sand between your toes.  Happy Friday.

SANDY

At the beach, near my house.

Rural

I wish I didn't have such a long commute.  But since I do have a long commute I am glad I get to drive past farms and vineyards, flower stalls and signs for fresh baked pies.  Rural? yup.

RURAL