Miscellaneous

Olives, Chorizo, Tomatoes, and Stilton

When I got home this evening, I knew that Cathy was going to work a bit late. Since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I wanted something to tide me over until she got home and we’d have dinner. So, I made myself a plate of antipasti. In this case, it was not a traditional Italian antipasti. There were Kalamata olives (from Grece), chorizo with smoked paprika (from Spain), small tomatoes (which I guess is traditionally Italian, although, of course, they come from South America originally), and a few slices of Stilton (from England). Traditional or not, it was just what I wanted.

Morcela Caseira, Eggs, and Goat Cheese

I know this won’t look in the least appetizing to many of you, but this, to me, is just about as good as breakfast gets, particularly when paired with a strong cup of tea with a drop of cream. I have labeled the picture with morcela caseira to spare those of you who would be put off by the term “blood sausage.” For those of you afraid of blood sausage, let me say that there is blood sausage and then there is blood sausage. Personally, I like most of them, but this is probably my very favorite. Find a Portuguese or Brazilian market and give it a try. That’s where I get it.

Musical Instruments

Cathy and I drove Dorothy back to Richmond this evening, having a longish drive down but clear sailing coming back. It’s amazing how even a few short slow stretches seem to make the drive feel worse than it actually is. Of course, in this case, it was over three hours one way and less than two the other. Anyway, I took a few pictures while we were in Richmond before getting back in the car to come home. This is one wall of Dorothy’s apartment, shared with six other women. I think there must be some music coming from this place from time to time. I’d love to stay and hear it, but tonight wasn’t the night.

Frozen Peas

I was fixing dinner and thought about taking pictures of what I was making. Food pictures can be somewhat cliché but then, sometimes, that’s all I think of to take pictures of some days. When I got the peas out of the freezer, I thought, may that would be slightly less cliché. Peas are one of my favorite vegetables (not speaking botanically, of course, where they are seeds, not stems or leaves). They are also nearly as good when frozen as when fresh, so make one of the easiest vegetables to buy a lot of and have on hand for any occasion. I always try to have peas, Lima beans, and edemame in my freezer at all times.

Colored Pencils

After a busy weekend in Richmond, today was relatively quiet, photography-wise. I didn’t get out of my office except for meetings and didn’t have much opportunity to take pictures. This evening I was looking around for things to photograph and I came across these colored pencils, tied into a bundle with a rubber band. I don’t suppose it’s the most original photograph I’ve taken and I’m not really terribly excited about it, but it’s a picture. The colors are nice, I think, and I like the texture that the sharpener leaves on the conical ends of the pencils.

By the way, I’m posting this on November 22, 12 days after it was taken. Sorry for getting so far behind in my postings but I’ve just taken photos off my camera through today and will do my best to get caught up this week.

Dorothy, Cathy, and Emily Celebrate Autumn

We had a nice day in Richmond today. Part of the morning was spent at a “Friends of the Library” book sale where each bought a few books. Then we went to the Jefferson Hotel to enjoy its beautiful lobby. After lunch, bought at Nick’s International Foods we went to Hollywood Cemetery. We saw the graves of two presidents among many others (people are dying to get in there) but we also enjoyed the fall color throughout the grounds.

Antique Store, Richmond

Cathy and I went down to Richmond today to spend the weekend with Dorothy. Let’s call it Parents’s Weekend. It wad First Friday and we enjoyed walking through many of the galleries on Broad Street and seeing the sometimes bizarre things that people have created. There are some talented people. Then there are those wo maybe shouldn’t quit their day jobs, unless making those things is their day job.

Later we went up to Carytown, another part of the city, and happened to go into a little antique or curio shop. I didn’t realize it when I was taking this picture but it’s a self portrait.

Cathy and Her Zinnias

Earlier in the year the county cut down an oak tree (nearly dead) that belonged to them because they had planted it in the right-of-way back when the neighborhood was built. Around the stump, Cathy planted zinnias and marigolds and they did really well this year, blooming brightly all summer. Late last week we got a note to call someone at the county about the stump. They were going to come grind it down and he wanted us to know because it would pretty much be the end of the flowers. They showed up this morning but before they took everything out, I got a few pictures of Cathy with her flowers.

Cherry Tomatoes

I know you are probably expecting pictures of kids dressed up for Halloween for today’s picture but I don’t have any. We had 49 trick-or-treaters come this evening but I didn’t take any pictures as I didn’t (to my knowledge, anyway) know any of them. They were mostly older kids although some may have been in fourth or fifth grade. So, this is a picture of the tomatoes that I cooked for the omelet I made Cathy for dinner. Tomatoes, spinish, and cheese. I pretty good combination.

Various Vinegars

I happened to be in a local Asian super market this afternoon and took a few pictures of the aisle of sauces and condiments. This is a picture mostly of various types of vinegar (on the right) with soy sauces to their left. I mostly like the colors and repeating patterns of the bottles. I’m not sure how many types of vinegar I might need. I have three that I usually keep on hand, a plain, white vinegar, malt vinegar (which is fairly plain, also), and balsamic vinegar (although not the really expensive stuff, just the ordinary cooking sort). I usually have two or three soy sauces, as well. A plain sauce, a dark (and quite salty type, and a mushroom flavoured variety.

Clear Water

What a beautiful day it was today. We’ve been getting more than our fair share of beautiful days lately (although come to think of it, I’m not exactly sure what our fair share would be, so perhaps we are getting our fair share, I don’t know). Anyway, I had a meeting over in the next building so I brought my camera with me. On the way back, I went out into the woods between our buildings to where there is an old, mostly silted up sediment pond. I took pictures of reflections in that but they didn’t really turn out as well as I had hoped. This is the stream that runs below that pond. When it’s been raining, the water is a murky brown, but today it was as clear as crystal.

Pine Needles

It has become quite windy and a bit cooler today. Yesterday started out sunny and warm but today there is a chill in the air. When we got to church this morning, much of the parking lot was covered by a thin layer of pine needles from the trees that surround it. In the bright sun they were quite orange and, to me, very pretty. If only I had my camera. Oh, wait.

Cathy

It had been a particularly busy day, with lots of things to do after work, as well as during work. Then, at about 10:00 this evening I realized I hadn’t taken any pictures. I generally prefer it when I happen to see something and think to myself, “I should take a picture of that.” Pictures like yesterday’s rainbow are especially nice, because there isn’t any question that I’m going to think about taking a picture. Having to pick up my camera and find something to take a picture of, that’s not so much fun.

Of course, taking pictures of Dorothy or of Cathy is an easy out, but I try not to do it too often, at least not for the purposes of this blog. Rest assured that I take pictures of them now and then, either together, with friends, or individually. This evening, though, I asked Cathy if I could take her picture for the blog and she happily said yes. Well, it sounded happily. I appreciated it, anyway. And if I say so myself, I think it’s a pretty good snapshot.

Silver Diner

We went down into Bethesda this evening. I really needed to buy a pair of dress shoes. My current pair were literally falling apart and it was to the point where even I couldn’t stand it any more (which takes some doing). So, we went to DSW and I found a nice pair for a reasonable price and we were done. I actually took a few pictures of shoes, but, fortunately for you, I’m not posting any of them. They are pretty poor pictures (without any soul, if you’ll pardon the pun).

After that we went to dinner at the Silver Diner. I haven’t been there since they moved, so I know it’s been a little while. Even with a line out to the door, we were seated in pretty short order. The food was good and we had a nice night out. It isn’t the best meal in town, but it’s reasonably priced, a friendly atmosphere, decent service, and the food was certainly good enough. I’d go back again.

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

It was a beautiful day today and although Cathy and I didn’t have a chance to get out of our offices during the day, we did take a short walk in the evening. As usual, I carried my camera with me and took a (very) few pictures while we walked. This sedum is growing next to a mailbox down the street from our house and was particularly pretty in the fading evening light. For us, it tends to flop. This wasn’t tied up or staked in any way, so I’m not sure what the secret is, but it looked good.

Pond Reflections

Cathy and I walked around my building a few times today at lunch time. It was a pretty day and we enjoyed looking at berries on various plants along the woods around the parking lot. We also walked down to the pond between our buildings and I took some pictures of the reflections and of the things floating in the water. Color and texture. That seems to be what autumn is about, in terms of photographs. Beyond the camera, though, there is the feel of chill in the air, sometimes a whiff of wood fire smoke (mostly in our neighborhood, not near our office), and often really beautiful light.

Dentistry Paraphernalia

I had a dentist appointment this morning, to replace a filling that was going on 40 years old but which was starting to hurt a bit. X-rays taken last month didn’t show any significant problems under the filling, so it was just a matter of taking out the old and replacing it. When I got to the office, I have a couple minutes to spare before Dr. T was ready to see me, so I took a couple pictures, including this one of some of his things.

Cracked, Hard Boiled Egg

I boiled a bunch of eggs today and two of them cracked while the water was coming to a boil. I didn’t watch this one cook, but clearly it cracked and the albumen started seeping out before the water was hot enough to solidify it completely but after it was hot enough to keep it from forming threads through the water.

The other cracked egg was much less interesting, just showing a small crack without the bulging innards spewing out.

This one is a little creepy looking, so that’s why I took a picture of it. It’s perfectly edible, of course.

Egg salad, anyone?