Monday, March 30, 2015

My husbands little toys Collecting

Are there any wives out there that have husbands like mine? Toys, collectibles, and other fan items all over the place. LOL, (not really all that bad) , but we do have some about the house. Here are some photos I took of his newest toys. They are “lightsaber” chop sticks, and a mug that looks like a camera lens.
  


His collection includes wind-up toys like the Kung Fu Panda, Star Wars and super hero action figures (100 or so from when he was a kid and can not give up), bobble heads, and this Close Encounters of the Third Kind flying saucer that lights and plays the melody from the movie. Oh, also, somewhat new are a couple of solar run tiny toy cars. LOL, this is a small portion of his collection of course. But, what do I do, I mean I love stuffed bears and animals so I guess I cannot complain. besides it is great we all have a bit of a kid in us. 
we actually collect androids together :)

I will say that some of the items he has, like the flying saucer, I could do without, especially when he makes it play the song just to drive me nuts, LOL. He has had that one item since we were married, and it still makes the sound but, the battery is almost dead so it sounds like it is dying, it had a very long run of 11 years, LOL. I love him very much and you actually rarely hear me complain I giggle much of the time when I see him with a new toy.

Update

OK, remember my post about hubby's toys all about the house, and especially that one from Close Encounters that makes sounds from the movie, and how he always pushes the button to, I believe, drive me nuts (good for me it is, after several years, finally dying out lol). Well, OMG a new toy just arrived, a bobble head TARDIS from Doctor Who, and guess what, it makes the TARDIS noise from the show. This is a Comic-Con release of the TARDIS from the 4rth Doctor 1974 – 1981. 

Actually, like I said before, I really do not mind them. He is happy, and it is fun to watch him smile while playing with a toy for a bit, or trying to drive me crazy with it lol. 

OK, in the news though for Doctor Who fans who have not heard, it turns out that the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who in November will be the last one for Matt Smith. We will have a new Doctor coming for the next season starting with the Christmas episode. The 50th Anniversary Special will have past Doctors and some surprises, so I hear.

OK, so I expect being the 50Th Anniversary that even more toys will be coming to our mail box, ahhh! Oh well, it is great to be a kid at heart… no it is wonderful.

This video is one of the coolest I have seen, bits from Doctor Who projected onto the Customs House in Sydney. Amazing check it out at Youtubewww.youtube.com/watch?v=rXXhEA001e4&;feature=youtube_gdata_player

Find out a lot more about Doctor Who and the anniversary from Doctor Who tumblerdoctorwho.tumblr.com/ or at the BBC.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Pet Photo's and memories

I was just looking at my scrapbooks and photos, I love taking photos of my pets. I wish we had Phone cameras and video back when I was growing up for more memories of the past my Family and pets. I am almost Jealous of how easy sharing and storing memories are today.
We love our pets, they give us love, care, warmth, and so many smiles, each having a unique personality just as we humans do. With computers and social networks we can share with family and friends both videos and photos. We can save them by putting them on disc for our TV's, making digital scrapbooking memories, or cards and funny photo stuff... and we can just print them out if we want. I wanted to share some ideas on how to take pet photos I am no expert far from it but I have researched and watched and have received advice from my husband who was a photographer for awhile just after collage.
Here are some Ideas for Photographing Pets - Top Things To Remember
1 Personality of the pet. What do you and your family think of and see most in your pet, for example are they sleepy, well then maybe photograph them in a favorite nap place, or if they like to play a certain game then photograph them when they are playing.
2 Close up. When pets are with humans they can seem small, make your photos about them close up shots, these are wonderful shots.
3 At the same level as your pet. Yup, even if you have too lay on the floor.
4 So often we complain our animals are being too playful for photos... well, actually, these can be great pictures just set your cam to fast shots, if it has the option, and take many photos. You should be able to find at least one that is perfect, if not many.
5 Make a day, or at least an hour or 2, of sitting out in the yard playing with and being attentive to the pet and not your garden or cooking food or kids. You will be surprised the great photo situations that can happen.
6 Posed shots? Try using a treat or a toy and holding it near camera. There is something to be said for stuffed toys and clowns with baby photos and pets are very much the same, holding treats and toys you can have the pet looking wherever you would like.
7 And the most important things for a pet owner is to have fresh batteries in your digital camera and have your camera in a handy spot at all times for those fun candid shots.
Here is a video I made of old and new photos taken these last 5 years or so, these are some of my favorites, our cats passed away a few years back I miss them so much but I am so grateful for memories we have saved.


Memories are fun, remember they are for both you and to share in the future
Here above in title is a picture about our sandy stealing a sock, which he has done since he was a pup. This is a huge memory and character trait of his, so when we took this photo we made copies and have done fun things with it. We know when we are old and grey we will still laugh with such fond memories of our Sandy. When you can, if you can capture the things you want to remember about your pet, you will be grateful, believe me. Do you do a lot of pet photography?
Just me jotting down my thoughts writings images and video are by me.

Back Yard Chickens

Our Neighbors Have Chickens 

It seems to have become a trend for average neighborhoods to have backyard chicken coops for eggs. Yup, not just farms any longer, but right next door to us in our suburban neighborhood. The people who moved in a little over a year ago now have chickens, and of course a rooster, that I can see through some of our fence holes strutting around the yard and patio. One morning I was worried as I heard the chickens making a really loud ruckus, thought maybe a neighbor’s cat was at them. I opened the slider, nope wasn't next door, but on the next street in back of us, where now another mess of chickens has taken up residents. OK, one seemed strange, but now we have more popping up. So this got us thinking about having chickens ourselves. Well, we are actually looking into it now, haven’t fully made the leap yet, but certainly thinking about it. 

Have any of you seen chickens taking up residence in your average neighborhood?

Moms-Sallie’s Venus de Milo Soup

Sallie’s Venus de Milo Soup

This is a version of Venus de Milo soup as my Husband Jonathan best remembers his Mom making it. It’s like the minestrone soup that the Venus de Milo restaurant in Swansea, MA serves.

His Mom made this multiple times a year, but not positive where she got the recipe and don’t know if it is precisely the same as the Venus’s. Boy, it sure tastes like it though. The Venus won’t publish any of its homegrown recipes, therefore there are quite a few versions out there, however this is basically how he remembers his Mom making it. The recipe is from my memory of when she made it, as, unfortunately, we can’t find her recipe. Instead of Veg-All vegetables in cans, some recipes call for frozen mixed vegetables but, He distinctly remembers that his mother always used the cans. If you’d rather use frozen instead then add it with the water as they’ll obviously need additional time to cook. You’ll see that this recipe says to cook the pasta in the soup because his Mom always did, but you can cook the pasta separately instead and then add it to the soup, which eliminates the last 20 – 30 minutes of cooking if you are in a rush. If you freeze the soup, and it does freeze quite well, the only thing that you don’t want to do is add the pasta. Instead freeze it without the pasta and add it when you heat it up. Pasta can get mushy when frozen in soup and who wants mushy pasta. This soup is just great in the fall and winter. Perfect for any snowy day when you want to curl up with a good book and forget about going outside. It’s very delicious and easy to make. Best of all, it tastes even better the second day. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3+ quarts water (or stock)

• 2 undrained cans of Veg-All

• ½ tsp oregano

• 1 cup diced celery

• 1 diced small onion

• 1½ – 2 lbs hamburger (use ground turkey for a healthier version)

• 1 package Lipton onion soup mix

• 1 large undrained can of crushed or diced tomatoes,

• 1 cup orzo

Directions:

Saut̩ the hamburger and onion in a 6 or 8 quart saucepan and sweat the celery near the end. Drain off all of the fat. Add remaining the ingredients, except for the canned veggies and the orzo. Cook for 10 Р15 minutes. Now add the Veg-All and cook another 10 Р15 minutes. Then add the orzo and cook for 10 Р20 minutes as directed on package. Top each bowl with grated cheese when serving, if desired.