365 Days of Coffee [icy]

This is how I show you that I was so cold today:

Not even kidding, I'm wearing a long-sleeved shirt under a sweater under a fleece.

So.  Cold.  

365 Days of Coffee [casualty]

This cup of espresso is purchased on an 'antique' [ahem, garage sale, ahem] easel - one of my favorite purchases as of late.

It has become an ever-more-rickety, clattering catastrophe with the arrival of Augustus, as he knocks it over approximately every twenty minutes.  

So let's all wish it farewell, as my nerves are shot:

And speaking of Mr. Clumsy Pants, he has developed a new affinity:

For his own shadow.  

365 Days of Coffee [try this at home]

You know those cookies you get on a plane?  They made those suckers into a spread.  It's the consistency [and fat content, and calorie content . . .] of peanut butter and dear word does it taste good on [or in] anything:

Exactly the fuel I needed for, oh, four more hours of frenzied online shopping:)

365 Days of Coffee [patience]

I borrowed CKP's espresso this afternoon for my shot:

Actually, as he was carefully eating his oatmeal raisin cookie [bite by small bite, in vast contrast to his typical wolf-it-down-in-one-gulp] I plopped down in his lap and commanded him to "Wait" in the same tone I use for the puppy.

Very patient, that honey of mine:)

Thanksgiving, part two

Also known as, THE MEAL:

Rosemary/Garlic/Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower 

Olive/Artichoke Tapenade 

Real butter on the prettiest little rummage-sale plate

Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugared Shallots

Apple/Raisin Cornbread Stuffing

As much of the tablescape that looked organized at any given time:)

No shots of the cider-brined, 14lb bird we roasted - or it's accompanying apple/onion gravy - because it took approximately two more hours than I had planned on.  And one side was a bit, shall we say, well done.  Oh well.  It tasted delicious when it was finally on the table, just didn't look so hot:) 

Portrait

Thirteen weeks old:

Will not do a thing without treats.  Somebody has spoiled him:)

365 Days of Coffee [horoscope]

My horoscope said today that I would see things in black and white:

It was right.

365 Days of Coffee [cool]

In high contrast to the warm & cozy Thanksgiving pictures I'll post later, this literal shot of espresso was taken early early early this morning, in very chilly light:

Plus post-processing, of course:)

365 Days of Coffee [Thanksgiving part one]

Funny that part one features the end of the BIG FEAST:

But there is more yum to come!  Probably tomorrow, because now I have to go eat pie:)

365 Days of Coffee [key lime]

CKP took it upon himself to harvest & squeeze a bunch of the key limes we have growing in the backyard:

So now we have limeade and a key lime pie cooling in the fridge.  Now, neither of those are my particular brand of vodka*, but I can absolutely get down with this:

Espresso with leftover sweetened, condensed milk.  Decadent.  

*Ocean's Eleven reference.  Although I'm sure there's a brand that makes lime vodka.  Which probably would be my brand of vodka.  

365 Days of Coffee [addiction]

I develop addictions in the way that most people develop hobbies.  Take espresso, for example.  In the beginning, I thought our little mini Gaggia espresso machine was a kind of novelty, something that lived happily on the counter in the kitchen and to be used primarily with company over.

Now we have a giant, billion-ton, four-foot machine on its own roller-cart that is literally on 24 hours a day to furnish our espresso needs from 4 AM onward through the day.  Multiple times a day.  Every day.  I developed a blog around photographs of its results.  I need espresso to function.

I'm addicted.

The same can be said for my photography, which started out with pictures of our new house and its ever-changing decor with a point-and-shoot to send to the parents, and became a consuming passion that requires my $$$ DSLR to accompany my every move from work to dinner to WalMart.

I'm addicted.

As of late, it's something else entirely:

Ebay, baby.  It's got me by the short and curlies.

365 Days of Coffee [against the grain]

It has finally come to this - I have got to stop being such a lazy lens-switcher.

This 50mm has been on my camera for weeks now, and every recent day [unless I'm taking a photo of Augustus - see below] I curse it for the grain, the narrow angle, its tendency to go after f1.8 when I don't have it in manual.

Yes, it is my fault [user error] but still.  The grain:

Makes me head throb.

On another note, Augustus would like it very much if you would get down on the floor and play with him, too:

365 Days of Coffee [towers of flowers]

Another example of a divided bouquet, today - this one was all tall blooms and I thus discovered that I have very few tall vases to accommodate them:

Except the extra-wide-mouth ones.  I could fit my head in that opening.

PS - oh yeah, I loved on some photo-grain today. The fuzzy espresso?  It's a look.  Yup.    

365 Days of Coffee [marvelous]

One day it's shapes, the next day it's shadows, today it's textures:

You just never know what I'm going to marvel at next!

365 Days of Coffee [plus portrait]

Dancing shadows this evening:

I'm not fond of the composition, but there were obstacles to be avoided in the final result, so the final result is a bit choppy.  Live and learn.

Who else is living and learning?  Augustus Bean!  Now twelve big weeks old:

And not so much on the 'learning.'  He's either hard headed, or not-so-bright, or possibly brilliant.  By the last, I mean that he's trained us to give him treats not when he's good [because he kind of never is], but when he stops being bad.  

Which is a pretty sweet gig.  

365 Days of Coffee [day date]

I will just show pictures:)

The end!

[Burns Court Cafe - Corner of Pineapple and Dolphin, Sarasota]

365 Days of Coffee [shapes]

Do you ever have those times where you see things no one else does?

[I don't mean ghosts.  Or dead people.  Although if you see those things, I kind of what to get to know you better.  You sound interesting.]

Take the following photo, for example:

I saw a bunch of shapes, and have about 10 photos of this setup - actually, however many I could snap until the light moved.  Because I saw shapes - actual, grade-school-lessons shapes.  I see two [or three, really!] triangles, five circles, an oval . . . I just thought it was the coolest thing.

CKP cocked his head and said the side of the cup was overexposed, and the espresso looked soft.

Well, yeah but don't you see the shapes?

Do you?

Do I need to be talking to a professional?:)

365 Days of Coffee [dirty girl]

Here's a dirty little secret of mine:  I re-use espresso cups.  I'll refill the same one two or three times in the morning, and again when I get home.  Sometimes, I'll even use the same one the next day, hence the organic 'arrangement' seen this morning:

They're filled with almost-boiling water!  Germs can't live through that!  That's my excuse.  As for the random focus points on the photo, no excuse.  Just the way it is :)

Oh!  And a puppy:

  

Bonus points for what Mr. Augustus is thinking here  . . .

Hungry?

CKP and I went out for Vietnamese on a lark the other afternoon - who eats Pho at 2:30?

We do!  We do!

Miss Saigon - N. Washington Blvd, Sarasota

365 Days of Coffee [little tiny cup]

I just get a kick out of this espresso cup, especially when CKP uses it.  It's mini, and usually reserved for holding stir-spoons, but made an appearance today following my house-accessories revamp:

Such big hands with such a bitty cup!

365 Days of Coffee [diet edition]

[no, I'm not really going to tell you about my diet]

Have you ever seen that Special K commercial, the one where a woman's tummy is rather upset and grumbling about only having coffee for breakfast because she has dinner out that night?  But then she has a bowl of Special K and it's all good?

She's who I feel like tonight:

Only my tummy is grumbling over espresso and bites of croissant for dinner, which I plan on satisfying with more croissant.

365 Days of Coffee [don't look]

You know what I did today?  I took a long series of seriously bland photographs at seriously wonky angles.  And then you know what I did?  I threw a bunch of effects at them in an attempt to post something non-awful.

I did not succeed at anything other than recalling why it is that professionals are professionals - they can do what they do at any time, and they can do it every time.  They don't need good light, an hour of shooting time or 200 frames.  It's their job, and they can just do it.

I, evidently, can not [yet!]:

 
Hey, look I'll distract you - it's a puppy!!!

All curled up like the Bean he is :)

365 Days of Coffee [welcome home]

The post title captures what my superior photographic framing ability could not:

And how much do I love these extra-exuberant flowers blooming freely [as in, completely free to cut, display and enjoy] in my backyard?  Eeek!  I adore the South.  

Another treat today:

Augustus's weekly portrait [#2]!  Up to 16 pounds today!

365 Days of Coffee [missing]

My honey has been away all week, and I started missing his interjections/clumsy ambling/random geeky comments today while shooting my espresso.  In an effort to cheer myself a bit, I snuggled the puppy and put a tiny box of sunstones [he had brought them back for me from Utah earlier this year] into the picture:

They're supposed to bring joie de vivre, heighten the intuition, and attract the strength of the sun.

Maybe I need to be wearing them for all that, because I can't even muster emoticon joy.

He's back tomorrow, and hopefully my inner sunshine will be, too!

365 Days of Coffee [focusing]

Apparently, I've yet to understand the finer points of focusing my camera.  Case in point [ha!]:

Focus on the Kodak, or the cup?  Kodak/cup, Kodak/cup . . . I ended up choosing Kodak just because I was getting woozy switching back and forth for forty frames.  I really need to read a manual.
Later on in the evening, I focused on the more important things in life . . .

Augustus [the puppy] and Myron [the grumpy old cat], the closest and most peaceful they've been since Auggie arrived.  Sleeping on the same couch!!  I see cuddles in the near future [and if they occur, so will you :)]

365 Days of Coffee [hidden]

See this pretty, seemingly well-styled and crafted stack of old books?

This is a front.  Said stack is actually teetering, ready to lurch off the dining room table it's perched on due to the immense amount of crap to its left.  What crap, you ask [in my imaginary world]?  

All of the accessories in my house.

From super-old books like these [which, by the by, are all amazing books - Gone With The Wind, To Kill A Mockingbird, Far From The Madding Crowd] to vases, funky non-functioning cameras, bunches of fake flowers [oh I know!], dried palm fronds, a bust of a cat in fake bronze, a tea set, handmade lace and crocheted doilies and placemats, frames upon empty frames, wood this and glass that . . .

 . . . all waiting for editing and re-placement.  

I actually took lots of photos of the mess, but couldn't stomach posting them.  The mess shall remain hidden. 

On the giant dining room table in the middle of my house.  

365 Days of Coffee [appreciation]

I just wanted to say how nice it is to have comments back.  It's a little like the puppy-love that I've grown accustomed to when I come home - a burst of unrequested happiness that I showed up.

[That's right.  In thanking you, I just compared you all to my dog.]

[Despite the fact that I'm not particularly fond of this photo either, please do not also greet me with a small pile of poo.  Just the comments:)]

365 Days of Coffee [organization?]

Sometimes I realize that I should have more structure to my blog posts - like, Finds on Friday.  Or Tuesday Treats.  But then this one would fall into both days, when it's really only Sunday.

How about Slapdash Sunday, then?

 [maybe not :)]


To whit:

A very grey-lit evening with a rummage-sale plate [oh yes folks, you'll see the matching bowl as well!], pumpkin raisin and zucchini bread from the cafe.

365 Days of Coffee [gains and losses]

I spent the first half of today out sick from work. The second half I spent listlessly perusing a church rummage sale, because CKP was certain I needed fresh air and more mental stimulation than Desperate Housewives of Atlanta.
It was there that I picked up this woven-branch wreath - one of those things with a thousand DIY tutorials that I will never get around to watching, much less creating something from:

For a dollar, I think it was a pretty bueno score - think of all the time, frustration, and mess I saved [what with gathering, twining, scratched fingertips]!

However, I do have to account for the net monetary loss of today, which is substantial considering I made absolutely zero money on the highest-paid day of the week, and also managed to spend money during that time [no, I can never limit myself to a single item].

So financially, today was a loss.

Decor-wise, health-wise and reality-TV-consumption-wise, today was an unequivocal gain.

Let's go with that one!!

365 Days of Coffee [taking over]

Remember how I said I wouldn't let the new puppy take over the blog?

He's forcing my hand, people:

You have to understand.