Amazing Things....The Eagle

my dad occasionally emails our family with interesting things he reads, finds, or is sent by others. he sent this photo this morning and it was so cool that i wanted to share it. 

this amazing photo was taken by frank glick, an amateur photographer, and printed in the minneapolis star tribune. if you'd like to read the story follow this link to the newspaper website. 
i'm definitely taking my camera with me all the time now, lol. 

Zucchini Abbondanza!

if you've ever grown zucchini, you know that all it takes is a couple plants and a little rain and you have more squash than you know what to do with. however, i really wanted that abundance this year because i need to make relish again. but that's for a later post this week. 
that first zucchini has to go for zucchini cake. when my husband and i were first married we lived beside an older couple. one day mrs. reese came walking over with a plate holding two pieces of cake...zucchini cake with cream cheese icing. oh my, talk about good!  my husband said, "you have to get that recipe". 
i did. and now i think everyone in my family has it too. 

Mrs. Reese's Zucchini Cake

3 cup grated zucchini (keep skins on, remove large seeds)
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups oil
4 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts (hubby prefers walnuts, i prefer pecans)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

hand mix all ingredients together in one bowl until well blended. (that's the part i like most)
grease and flour tube pan. bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. 
when cool, remove from pan and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Buffalo China and a Happy Woman

i wonder if my husband knows how lucky he is. i occasionally remind him.  :)

many woman need to be wined and dined, spend a fortune on clothes, want to travel to exotic places. not me. i'm a cheap date. a favorite thing to do?  take a drive on a pretty day, with no destination in mind, choosing a road never taken before, stopping on a whim if we see something interesting. it's especially fun if we happen to find a great flea market or yard sale.  recently i came home with this. a little dessert bowl in a pattern i've just recently found and fallen in love with.  i spent $1.   it made my day.   told you...cheap date.

"manhattan black" by buffalo china

Amazing Things....The Rescuing Hug

every once in a while i come across something i think is amazing. i thought it might be interesting to occasionally post one of these finds.  this was on pinterest and captured my heart.  and according to snopes it is true.

This picture is from an article called "The Rescuing Hug". The article details the first week of life of a set of twins. Each were in their respective incubators and one was not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought against the hospital rules and placed the babies in one incubator. When they were placed together, the healthier of the two, threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby's heart stabilized and temperature rose to normal.

Chip or Dale?

i know i'm probably going overboard with the whole nature thing, but it's a love of mine and i'm practicing, trying to learn and improve my photography skills. last evening and early this morning i set up a makeshift photo studio on my picnic table, putting out birdseed and raw peanuts.  then i took the screen out of my living room window, set up a tripod, drew the curtains except for a peephole for the camera lens, and waited. such fun.

just take a look at those cheek pouches! come to think of it, that's kind of how i feel after eating at the chinese buffet.

 the whole gang!

 

Flitting and Fleas

I'm a flitter. Some people attack a project, finish it, then move on. I, on the other hand, flit from one thing to another. They usually get done, eventually, but in no particular order. This tends to create a rather messy lifestyle. But, there you have it.  I'm being honest. 

Projects I'm currently flitting between?  Cleaning out the attic for a yard sale. Spring cleaning the front porch, getting the stuff for it out of storage and decorating (yes, I'm a little late and only half finished on this one).  Redoing a flea market chair. Redoing the bathroom. Reorganizing my craft room. To mention a few. 

Each of these projects are appropriate for certain times of my day. Attic...when it's not hot. Front porch and bathroom...when I have energy (which really cuts down on the times I can work on these).  Chair and craft room...good projects for when I'm tired and need to sit down (when seems to be frequently, so these really should be finished by now).  (To be totally fair to me, I just started the craft room thing.)

The craft room reorganization subject brings me to a fun thrifting find from this past Friday. I took a half day to run errands and hit a few flea markets. It had been a while and I was going through withdrawal. 

I found these three glass candy containers at Goodwill for 99 cents apiece. They have an oval area for a label, which I haven't made yet, and nice snap-on metal lids.  Love these!  Great storage containers for kitchen or craft room. I chose craft room. 

Washed up and in use.

Papillo Glaucus or How I Spent My Fourth of July

If I am accurate in my search, that is the name of this stunning little creature...better known as the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. She was kind enough to spend about half an hour flitting around my liatris, allowing me ample time to set up a tripod, sit at our picnic table and leisurely enjoy capturing her antics. I took almost 30 pictures and only had to delete one. Other than cropping one for the closeup, these are straight out of the camera. I am more than pleased. I'm sure a professional could find need for improvement, but as a very very amateur photographer, I'm having so much fun. (using Canon 20D and 70-300 f/4 IS USM zoom lens)

Sunset

 

 

Sitting on my patio, camera in hand.  Thank you, Father.

You Had Me At Hello...

What it is about falling down, abandoned buildings?  They are beautiful and intriguing. I especially love the stone ones. When was it built...who lived there...what did it look like in it's heyday...why wasn't it passed on? 
If I were fabulously wealthy, I'd rescue some of these forgotten gems. 

 

 

 

Can you picture curtains at this window, with a flower filled window box hanging outside and a cat sunning himself on the sill?