THE VILLAGE

We call ourselves "The Village". This picture only represents a small part of us. We consist of 5 couples, 12 children and their significant others, 5 grandchildren, 4 yellow labs, a black lab, a rabbit and an assortment of cats. Our family trees create an orchard within our Village. I like to think of us as an apple orchard, but others would probably say we are more like a field of nut trees. Either way, we don't mind. Together we have attended sporting events, dance recitals, fairs and funerals. We've celebrated birthdays, holidays, graduations and weddings. Some of our favorite memories are made on the days we get together for no reason at all. We all have wishes, dreams and "bucket lists" we share. Life without this bunch would be like sour apples instead of apple pie ala mode.

 

Photo taken at Grand Rapids Lions Club at Kolor For Kids 5K Run/Walk benefiting The Children's Miracle Network. We represented "The Village Women".  

BARGAIN

Today I bought 12 tubes of ChapStick on sale for $9.80 at Target and they gave me a $5 gift card which makes each tube 40¢ each. A bargain ain't a bargain unless it's something you need ... and I need 12 ChapSticks.

SUNSET

BUFFALO THEORY

 

A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo, much like the brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. The slowest buffalo are the sick and weak so they die off first, making it possible for the herd to move at a faster pace. Like the buffalo, the weak, slow brain cells are the ones that are killed off by excessive beer drinking and socializing, making the brain operate faster.

The moral of the story: Drink more beer, it will make you smarter.

CUPCAKE PHOTOGRAPHY

 

There's rarely a time that I don't have a camera with me. If it isn't my DSLR then it's my point and shoot that I always have in my purse. Somewhere in time I began taking photos of my food. After all, the making of and serving a plate of food is an art form in itself. (I'm seldom in a restaurant that has their food plated like you see on the Food Network ... like never.) Chefs consider themselves artist as much as photographers do, so why not preserve the masterpiece before you devour it. Today I had the opportunity to take a cupcake photography class at our local cupcake shop iSparkle, https://www.facebook.com/isparklecupcakes. The instructor, Spyros Heniadis, https://www.facebook.com/selfhelpphotographer was patient with our blank stares when asked technical questions. He worked one on one sharing his knowledge to enrich our quirk for food photography.  The class was a success for me as I had several "ah-ha" moments ... and we got to take our "models" home. I just had another "ah-ha" moment ... I'm going to take what I learned today and use my favorite beers as my "models".