It was a bit of a last-minute scramble, but I finished the Photo Scavenger Hunt! You can see all of the photos here. Now comes the important part, please go to Nicole B’s and vote for me! The poll will be up until the 31st, and I’ll remind you at least once before then. The poll is on the right-hand side of her page.
Hope you enjoy the pictures and thanks for the vote!
What happens when things don’t go according to plan? How do you react when your grand adventure falls flat on its face?
My wife and I purchased some porridge at the store recently. Excitedly, we prepared it for breakfast a few days later. Since we have not yet mastered the metric system, we managed to make twice as much as we needed to. Since we have also not yet mastered the hodge-podge of cooking utensils our apartment came equipped with, we managed to burn that double portion. With a generous helping of sugar I ate mine and was not horrified with the results. My wife, however, has not had the *ahem* educational *ahem* experience of initially learning to cook over a campfire without the foresight to bring spare food. She was quite disappointed with the results.
In the end, everything worked out well. We tried again the next day with much better results. Now we look forward to our porridge, it’s a great way to start off a cold and over-cast day.
When your adventure doesn’t work out as you planned, how do you react? Do you give up and remain in a sour mood, dampening your fellow adventurers’ spirits? Perhaps you just shrug it off and continue doggedly to the next stage of your plan. I suggest that you seek the silver lining; there is almost always a good point to any mishap. We did not realize that the directions for the hob (stove) were for two servings until we made it and realized that we had far more than we could eat. Since it was burned, we did not feel bad about throwing the “extra” out. If it has been made properly we would have tried to eat all of it, making ourselves miserable. The burn actually worked out in our favor.
I know it can be hard to find the silver lining, especially if you are cold, wet, lost, hungry or otherwise inconvenienced. Keep in mind that this is only one small part of the adventure, don’t let it overwhelm you. There is still more to do, time to do it in, and other adventures to have!
I made it a point to pick up some dark chocolate over the weekend. I decided on some Moser-Roth 70% Cocoa. Eating it as described in my last post, I can say that it does have a more complex flavor than milk chocolate. It tastes a bit bitter when I first put it in my mouth, but as it melts the bitterness seems to recede. I wish that I were better at describing tastes, so that I could give you a better understanding of what it is like.
By the time that the chocolate is all melted away, I don’t notice any bitterness. I think that the aftertaste may be even better than the actual chocolate.
I have always been a dessert fan. A meal just does not seem complete unless it includes a finishing sweet taste. After supper tonight, a small bite of dark chocolate seemed to be exactly the compliment that the pasta needed. The sweetness of the chocolate seemed to balance out the lingering saltiness.
A whole new world of tastes is now open to me! While perusing the grocery store I noticed the wide selection of dark chocolates and am eager to try them all. This is so exciting! Writing about it made me want more… so I’m off to grab another bite!
Have you tried a GOOD chocolate bar recently? I have found two options: a rich and creamy milk chocolate or a bitter chocolate with a high cacao concentration. These two options will appeal to different palates, so try them both to determine which you prefer.
Cacao is actually very good for you, so eating a dark chocolate is a pretty decent snack. It is the high amount of sugar found in milk chocolate that makes it unhealthy, so if you end up liking the milk chocolate you might want to be aware of this fact. You can still enjoy it on a regular basis, as I do, and by eating it “properly” you will automatically moderate your intake.
Whichever you end up prefering, here is how to eat it. Instead of just gobbling it down and not really tasting it, try breaking off a small chunk and letting it melt in your mouth. You are better able to taste and enjoy the flavor this way. If you are eating a bitter chocolate, you might want to start with smaller pieces and work your way to larger ones. Of course, your chocolate will also last longer; my previous chocolate bar (an extra large one from Valentine’s Day) lasted me over a week, even with two of us eating it.
I have heard some chocolate snobs say that a bitter chocolate’s flavor is “far more interesting than the simple flavor of milk chocolate.” I have not sampled a bitter chocolate recently, and so cannot comment on this. My only advice in exploring different chocolates is to avoid any kind of baking chocolate, as it is generally pretty unpalatable in its straight form.
Since you are eating smaller portions each time, you can actually eat chocolate more often! By eating only a small chunk after every meal, I can satisfy my sweet tooth while stretching my chocolate bar over the course of a week. Previously, that same bar would have last me no more than two sittings. However, I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much.
Three cheers for chocolate!
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I know nothing about photography, but have always dreamed of taking great photos. After years of wishing, I was finally inspired by Lisa at Travelin’ Local to start improving my photography skills. She loves her photography and is passionate about finding adventures in her hometown.
Based on my lack of knowledge, I needed[singlepic=15,320,240,,right]to start at the beginning. No matter where you look, one of the most important parts of getting better is simple, practice. I had to get out there and start taking more photos. One piece of photography advice I read was “Enjoy what you are shooting.” Following this advice, I spent some time staring through the camera at the keys and keyholes in our apartment. My wife found this quite amusing. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I find the old-fashioned keys in our apartment fascinating. It is helpful that they are convenient and readily available (and inside… it’s cold at night!)
Of course, we don’t have keys like this at home. I have seen them in a couple of the older homes I have visited, but only on interior doors, not on the front door. Since I don’t expect to live anywhere else that has them, I plan to enjoy them while I have the opportunity.
[singlepic=17,320,240,,left]I know I am not the only one who is interested in an everyday item in my house. I’m sure that you possess something that is different, something that either you or others find fascinating. Don’t let your familiarity blind you to how interesting something can be. You might need to change your perspective. An easy way to look at those items in a new way is through the lens of a camera. You don’t have a fancy camera? That’s ok, neither do I. Mine is a fairly cheap point-and-shoot, an older version of what you will see at any electronics department. It is neither fancy nor feature rich. I am using it as a starting point; it’s easy to use, has few options to confuse me, and will enable me to focus on taking pictures (things like composition and lighting).
Having trouble thinking of an item to re-look at? Here are some suggestions: [singlepic=16,320,240,,right]
Now that you have your subject in mind, begin looking at it in a different way. My first key photos struck me as boring and plain (I must have taken 50 total, over half of which I deleted.) After some frustration it finally occurred to me that I was looking directly at them. While this worked in the picture above, highlighting the light coming in through the keyhole, it did not work with anything else. I finally realized that I should try a new angle, and ended up with the picture at the beginning of the post. I tried re-arranging the keys, holding them in my hand, combining them with the door, looking from every possible angle and more. (You wouldn’t believe how many tries it took me to get that key to stand on it’s edge… or how frustrated I was when I knocked it over before getting a satisfactory picture!)
Once you have done this a couple of times, you will be surprised to see how you will begin to look at everything differently. You will wonder how you can arrange the stuff on the coffee table for a good picture. “I wonder how that glass will look over here with the light hitting it just so.” Everything in your house is interesting, if only it is seen in the right way. It’s up to you to be looking!
[singlepic=14,320,240,,left]Another piece of photography wisdom I recently read was “Don’t think about what others may say about your image. If you like it, it’s worth publishing.” So while I know they could be better, I like these photos and hope you enjoy them too!
I am taking part in a photo scavenger hunt. This has been something that I have been interested in trying for some time. I happened to stumble upon one over at Nicole’s site recently and decided to go ahead and jump in and give it a try.
What is a photo scavenger hunt? Exactly like it sounds, it is a scavenger hunt where, instead of bringing back the item, you take a photo of it. Of course, this presents some interesting options, as your list can contain items that are impossible in a conventional hunt. For example, you cannot bring back a building, but you can take a photo of one.
Now keep in mind that I am not a good photographer. However, this is part of why I am interested in joining in this hunt. By “forcing” myself to photograph subjects that I might normally overlook I will get invaluable practice and improve my skills.
I have completed the list and added all of my photos. You can click on the pictures to see them full-sized. This was my first ever photo scavenger hunt and greatly enjoyed it. I’ll definitely be looking to take part of more in the future. Who knows, I might even host one!
You never know where you will stumble on the next great thing. It could be a new hobby, a new widget for your collection, or a great vacation deal. My most recent find was a new recipe, discovered in the folds of the grocery store coupon book. I was waiting in line at the store and flipping through it to see if there were any deals that I couldn’t pass up. Turns out there was: Winter Veggie Soup.
With the weather cold and over-cast, some hot home-made soup seemed like a perfect fit. My wife and I gathered the ingredients and set about putting everything together. Once the preparation is done, this recipe is about as simple as they come, you just have to sit back and wait for everything to cook once it is all combined in the saucepan.
Put 2 tsp butter, carrots, leeks, onions and garlic in pot over low to medium heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once after 5 minutes.
Add potatoes, stock cube and water and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for a further 25 minutes.
Blend until smooth or leave a little chunk if desired (since we don’t have a hand blender, we used a potato masher. It worked just fine for us!), then add the remaining butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with chopped parsley.
For a side, we sliced a demi-baguette, buttered the slices and toasted them in the oven. The slices were delicious with the soup, either dipped into or simply eaten along with it.
This soup was much better than we anticipated (we weren’t quite sure about the amount of onion called for in the recipe) and we will definitely be having it again. We both had second helpings and scraped the bowls clean with our last pieces of bread. The next day we finished it off. Our only complaint about this delicious meal is that we just didn’t make enough. There’s nothing better than an easy recipe that results in a delicious meal!
A few weekends ago some friends from school came down and visited us. They wanted to spend some time together before we headed off to Ireland for the semester. Of course, their plan changed at least 7 times over the course of the weekend. They were going to come down Saturday; no, they were coming down Friday; they were leaving Monday morning to head to St. Louis to meet some other friends; they weren’t going to St. Louis, so they were staying with us till Monday evening; we were going with them to St. Louis…. In the end, no one went to St. Louis (we all hit snooze and then just turned our alarms off), so we showed them some of our favorite local spots (including some fabulous cake… if you’re ever in the Paducah, KY area, be sure and visit The Upper Crust bakery).
How many adventures do you miss out on because they’re not “part of the plan”? My wife and I debated if we should go to St. Louis, as it hadn’t been figured into our budget. Finally we decided that it was silly to miss out on an adventure with some good friends over a small budget overlook (we had the money, we just knew that a bunch of expenses were coming up with the Ireland trip. Don’t over-extend yourself financially, as that will really mess up your adventuring.) We could have saved ourselves some stress if we had been a little more open to short-term changes in our long-term plan.
Going to Paducah was never even mentioned. We had plans for Saturday, which were not all completed due to a shortage of time and sunlight. Sunday was dictated by the whims of my niece, who led us around on some fabulous adventures there at the house. Monday, the fabled trip to St. Louis. We all slept late (apparently we needed it), then decided to head to the city for some exploring. We tried a new restaurant, walked briskly around town (too cold for us!), explored the local painters’ gallery, and headed over to the Upper Crust for some cake and coffee. The whole weekend was wonderful, even if 2/3 of our plans didn’t quite work out. We didn’t allow them to upset us or ruin the rest of our day. We laughed about it and continued on in a new direction.
If something doesn’t go according to plan, it does not have to be a bad thing. New opportunities are now open. You have the perfect chance, and excuse, to explore! Maybe your car broke down in an unknown area; while waiting for help to arrive, explore the area. Perhaps someone you are meeting is running a bit late; grab the camera and snap some photos. Are you hungry and happen to see a new restaurant? Stop by and try them out, you don’t always have to go somewhere familiar.
Take advantage of this chance to do something new!
“No one ever wished they packed heavier.”
Before heading out to Ireland, I re-packed my bag a number of times (as you can read about here). After much effort, my wife and I managed to narrow our luggage down to a carry-on and single suitcase apiece. This amount was enough to provide everything we needed while in Ireland for four and a half months, but was small enough that we could easily carry it ourselves. Fortunately so, it turned out, as we managed to get off the bus sooner than necessary and had to walk an extra mile through Dublin while carrying our stuff.
During our trip we ran into a fellow student who did not subscribe to our theory of packing light. Following him off the bus, we realized that he had 5 pieces of luggage: 2 suitcases, a gym bag, a carry-on and a guitar. How does one person manage all of this stuff? We still don’t know, as we volunteered to help carry since we were traveling to the same destination. He bravely carried all but the guitar. The carry-on was strapped around his shoulders, the gym bag was perched on top of a suitcase, and he rolled the suitcases behind him, one in each hand. While this arrangement would probably work fine on the smooth floors inside an airport, it was rather cumbersome on the uneven streets of the city. The gym bag kept falling off and getting drug on the ground, and the double suitcases were too wide and everyone had to walk around him. Not to mention the guitar, which I was carrying.
How did we do it? How did we manage to carry everything for four and a half months in a suitcase and carry-on each? I did have the advantage of not bringing my guitar along, so I automatically eliminated one item from my packing list. Otherwise, we realized that we generally wear the same clothes week to week anyway, and started with those. Instead of bringing bulky coats and a lot of extra sweaters, we packed based on the layering system (the backpacking background comes in handy sometimes!) We included a base-layer of thermals that can be worn underneath our jeans and shirts. With a sweater added on top, and a windproof rain-jacket over that, we will be toasty warm in some very cold temperatures, colder than it is likely to get while we are here. Just in case, we did add in a dressy outfit and pair of shoes to match.
There is more to packing than just clothes, though. What about all of the other stuff that we use on a daily basis? Since we were planning on finding a furnished apartment, we did not need to carry any bed linens or cooking gear. If needed, we could purchase a set of sheets upon arriving (we didn’t). We had the laptop and a couple of 3-ring binders with paper for school use, as well as the necessary plug-converters for the laptop and whatever writing instruments would be necessary. Entertainment-wise, we brought the knitting supplies that we thought would be needed during the time we were in Ireland, as well as the GPSr and Palm for GeoCaching. We threw in some books and a sketch pad for some additional entertainment. The only other things we could think that we use on a daily basis are toiletries. Just the basics: some soap, shampoo, and deodorant, q-tips, razor, toothbrush and toothpaste, a washcloth and our PackTowels. The only other items were a blanket or sleeping bag and a travel pillow for use on the plane and when traveling.
Have you ever really thought about what all you use in the course of an average day? You might be surprised how little it is. Hygiene products, clothes and some entertainment. Obviously we weren’t bringing our vehicle, we’ve seen all of our movies (and are not big TV watchers anyway), have our music saved on the laptop and will be using provided equipment to cook and eat from. Since the hairdryer would have needed a converter anyway, it was easier to purchase one after arriving here (this and the sheets were the only things we planned to purchase after arriving, and the sheets only if needed).
The small amount of stuff combined with some good packing techniques allowed us to fit everything inside our suitcases. We had enough room left-over that we managed to fit my wife’s bathrobe (which she was most thankful for), some snacks for the plane, an empty water bottle, and a spare duffel bag in case our luggage weighed too much.
Not only was our minimal luggage easy to carry while traipsing around town looking for the train station, but it came in handy a number of other times. While on the bus and the train, it was simple to find a place to store everything. The lift (elevator) was out at the hostel, so we had to carry our luggage up four flights of stairs. Repacking once we found a place to stay was a quick matter. Unpacking and moving into our flat was a quick matter that only took about 10 minutes.
If you’re getting ready to pack for a trip, here is the most useful advice that I can pass on. Take half as much as you think you will need, and twice as much money.
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I have not yet found a city that did not have a body of water full of waterfowl in it somewhere. Mallard ducks with iridescent heads, majestic swans and… you know, geese. Sometimes these are ponds tucked away inside of a subdivision, in the middle of a local park, or they are the local boat ramp leading to a larger body of water. If you don’t already know where they are located, you can take an afternoon and explore, searching them out. You might be able to ask around and find someone who can lead you in the right direction.
No matter where you find them, these birds love to be fed. Fortunately for us, they make for a cheap date. Bread and water, as a matter of fact, and they supply the water. You don’t need much, a few left-over slices, a moldy loaf (I’d probably recommend throwing away the moldy parts, though), some out-of-date stuff from the store. I have never had too much, and have little fear of ever doing so. If you are at a park, they might have candy machines that dispense feed for $0.25.
You can always tell when they have been fed before, as they will flock towards you. (We were once trailed half-way around a pond by about 50 ducks, even though we had nothing to feed them.) This is quite handy, as there is no chasing them down. All you have to do is appear at the water’s edge, stand still for a few moments, and then begin serving dinner.
Simply pinch off a piece of bread, toss it near the waterfowl and watch them dine. They will dive after the bread, making sure it does not go to waste. (Though I have tried, I have not yet managed to find a duck who catches bread as it falls toward them… even when it hit them in the beak.) If your ducks are on land, you can carefully feed them out of your hand. Simply place the food in the palm of your hand and lower it down to their level. They will grab it with their beaks. Try not to move as they do so, or they might inadvertently pinch you (which can be frightening for children).
If you’re looking for a quick and simple adventure, feeding the fowl might just be the ticket. It can be calming, enjoying the scenery and seeing the beautiful colors of the birds themselves. Great photo opportunities are offered. It neither costs a lot nor does it involve a lot of traveling. Once you have found a great location or two, you can repeat as often as you wish.
Now go out, find your fowl, and enjoy the dinner!