Soup For You!

Oh, how I wanted to come back here with an interesting, thoughtful, fun-fact-filled post! But I never wrote one. Nevertheless, February is almost gone and I'll be darned if I'm going to leave another month-long gap in the archives. So, I present this as a noteworthy event: I have made a pot of soup from a recipe found in a magazine! Why is that a big deal? Well...
Close family members know of my secret compulsion: I spend a significant amount of time reading cookbooks and collecting recipes. It's only embarassing because I rarely, if ever, actually cook. So this is a red-letter morning, here! I saw a recipe in the newspaper yesterday, and today, I made it! It came out yummy, and I can already think of three ways to tweak the recipe to make it  even better. (The challenge will be following through.)
But this is enough for today! It's a minor domestic miracle, I tell ya.

Indoor Pursuits

Happy New Year.
And a beautiful day it was: warm and sunny and most unlike the season. While I'm happy about the weather, I blame it for the stupid, stupid sore throat I've got, which has caused me to miss the Muppet exhibit in Astoria yesterday, and cancel tonight's plans for tacos and margaritas in Long Beach. Stupid, stupid illness.
That's enough whinging and sighing, now. What can we do while we're stuck indoors?
One thing would be to watch the birds on the window feeder:

Okay, so that wasn't the most exciting clip. I did get a couple of still shots that weren't too bad, except for the window reflection:

Once in a while they'll try the purple berries of the Callicarpa, but I gather those are somewhat bitter, and are a food of last resort.

And then, lunch was over and they flew away. 
What now? I could wander over to my desk and start thinking about making Valentines:

Or I could get distracted by a computer file of old family portraits:

Those old studio portraits of family members long gone are a bit melancholy, especially when they're accompanied by plaintive inquiries like, "Do you know who this is?" (Sigh. Whatsamatter, didn't they have pencils in the first half of the twentieth century? They couldn't write a name on the back?)
But one thing I've always found charming is the studios' exquisite logos. Aren't they evocative?
Let's take a look at a few:

Okay, that's enough puttering about. Better go take a nap and get well; the first workday of 2012 starts tomorrow.

Boxing Day, And The Feasting Continues

Here's one creature in our household's orbit who's happy to put on a little weight before winter sets in. This chickadee is checking out the suet feeder that's now in the Norway pine. It's a challenge for my avian friends to find the suet feeder each morning, as I need to change its location every day or two to foil the squirrels, who would otherwise nom it empty in no time.

The sparrows and starlings also enjoy their fattysnax. Peck away, friends! And then tomorrow, look for it in the blue spruce in the backyard! Sshh! Don't tell Rocky, let him look for it.

Squeezed To Meet You!

Okay, I think we can see these are not your average, lazily-smothering-the-old-tree-type vines; these are some strangulatin' vegetable-constrictors that mean business. Having gotten hold of a strong young sapling, they are Taking. It. Down yessirree.
You'll understand why I made sure to keep moving, and not stand for too long in one spot, when I walked around the Knollwood ruins in Muttontown Preserve with my brother yesterday. The English ivy was so vigorous, so extensive... I swear it was grabbing my shoelaces...

More Out-Of-Title Work

A young woman holding a big SLR camera (nothing like the one pictured) comes to the desk and wonders if I can help her. Of course I will, if I can. She explains she's taking a photography course. Okay! What does she need: a book or two? A local camera club? Help with Flickr? No...she wonders if I can show her how to load her camera with this thing they call..."film." Yes, yes, of course I can. We're a full-service agency.

Gruesome Fun

Looks like the kids next door have already gotten this season's hot new toy, Decapitate Me Elmo!

Running For The Fun Of It

I've been getting out a little more on the bicycle, but yesterday I enjoyed my exercise vicariously, watching the DH run in another local 5K . I made myself useful taking finish-line photos for a local running shop that had looked in vain for a volunteer photographer. It was a perfect day for running: clear and sunny, cool and dry. Here he is coming over the finish line:

He makes me so proud. No excuses, no extreme training, he just goes out and runs because he likes to. What a guy.