You start by peeling the wrapper.
Then you open your mouth REALLY WIDE and bring it closer. Closer!
Then you go for the kill. It starts with one bite, and after that there’s no stopping. There simply isn’t. Pretty soon, it’s *gulp,* utterly devoured.
Nothing quite like a homemade chocolate cupcake on a warm, breezy summer afternoon.
Coram Deo!
Yep, even this was taken on my macro lens this week…
I’m committed this week to only taking pictures with my macro lens… there are myriads of details, colors, and textures to be found around me right now — from things I’m creating for a very special even in October, 
to just general life around our always busy house.
Life never ceases to be wonderful in all its craziness and overwhelmingness… as a G.K. Chesteron quote says that I recently read on a friend’s blog: The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder. We so easily forget the wonder of God’s creation, and the wonder that He sovereignly ordains every moment of our lives, when we throw daily thanksgiving by the wayside for everything He gives and does for us. It’s easier every morning to wake and become weighed down by our ungratefulness and selfishness, than it is to pause in our distractions and see just how many blessings are bound up in the things we can reach out and touch immediately. And sometimes it just takes seeing it through a macro lens to remember that. 
Coram Deo~
No, really, I’m not referring to that abominable song, I’m referring to in the actual garden, where we grow food… In the garden there are six things I hate, nay, even seven that are detestable to me:
1: Haughty slugs.
2: Lying gophers.
3: Mice that do strawberries no good.
4: Snakes that devise wicked schemes.
5: Weeds that are quick to rush into existence.
6: False pumpkin seeds that do not rise… err, grow.
7: Chickens that stir up dissension among one other.
I pray that they may be put far from me…
Coram Deo!
Tomorrow, I embark upon another trip. 16 hours driving over 2 days. One car. With 8 other people. I’ve had enough experience with family car trips by now to know what the next couple days of driving will be like. I’ll read. Eat. Drift in and out of sleep. Talk. Read some more. Quilt. Journal the scenery. Journal the whacky things my little brothers are saying. Listen to music on my iPhone. Browse hunger-inducing websites like TasteSpotting on my iPhone. Hand out snacks. Break out singing a couple stanzas of “Found a Peanut” or “Johnny Rebeck’s Machine” to get all my siblings joining in, then stick my headphones back in while they continue singing stanzas of this song ad infinitum. 
Battle with our corgi Homer over his invading *my* personal space while sitting between me and my sister. Haul out my camera to take pictures of the fleeting scenery. Repeat all the of the above over the course of all 2 days. And lastly… wish I was there already.
Coram Deo!
This is a quick snapshot of my beautiful sister at yesterday’s wedding that I helped photograph. I wouldn’t have managed very well without her assistance yesterday; muchos gracias, Sarah!
Coram Deo!
Easter this year was colorful, bright, and spicy. Yep, spicy. As in the food that we ate was quite savory and flavorful — Shredded lamb with garlic, rosemary, and tzatziki sauce, deviled eggs, steamed asparagus with lemon and butter, homemade pita bread, lentil salad, hummus, dill cheese, and crackers. Oh, and I almost forgot the strawberry shortcakes with vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of that bountiful spread because I was so hungry and ready to eat it. Forgive me.
Good thing our feast days only occur every few months.
Except, today happens to be another feast day. It’s my Dad’s birthday and naturally we are going to eat well on this day — Though, considering that there are about 10 birthdays we celebrate in our family every year, and counting in all the other “feast days” which we take advantage of to eat well, I’m not sure how healthy this is for our waistlines overall! Grilled steaks, salad, smashed potatoes, and for dessert, a homemade maple cheesecake are on the menu for today… I promise I’ll get pictures.
Coram Deo!
Quite frankly, this picture scares me…
I’ve photographed my brothers and sisters many times, and I’ve found that it’s always the boys that make the goofy, scary, comical faces — my sisters will stand there, looking pretty and posing, turning this way and that, smiling all the while for the camera. But, if I point my camera at a little brother, they either cover their heads, make orc faces, close their eyes, or stick their tongues out and start panting like a dog. Cute.
But, I have to admit, looking back at my photos, the pictures of the boys tend to have more character than those where I tell my sisters just to stand still and pose. I think my brothers have grown my approach towards photography for the better. Orc faces and all.
Coram Deo!
A few random facts:
I don’t like spiders falling on me from above. This is the stuff nightmares are made of. But it was for real. The spider did not live long to terrorize any more girls.
Making bread is exceedingly relaxing… especially the type of rustic breads that require long minutes of kneading. The results are heavenly:
I’m going to make the starter for a ciabatta loaf next. Soft, chewy, slightly tangy… oh, I can feel the tension just melting away thinking about it.
It’s blissful watching my favorite rite of spring occur right now: the new leaves coming out on the oak trees. Standing on the top of the hill, watching the vast, shifting shadows of the clouds move over the ridges, I can almost imagine being in wild, wild Scotland. The frigid sunshine, sudden snowstorms, and biting wind always add a nice, realistic element, too.
You see this cute, helpless, wild little creature? Someone found it a few days ago while working on our property and brought it to us to nurture. Or take care of in whatever way we thought best.
Well, I fed it to the cat outside. Yes, I’m heartless. But, we live in the country.
However… don’t hesitate to call us up and offer us your tired, your poor, your huddled chickens yearning to breathe free. We’ll take ‘em off your hands and shelter the poor little dears… you won’t find a better chicken haven for miles around. And if you happen to miss your chickens, you can visit them on weekends, and spend a few minutes with them alone, too.
Coram Deo!
No, I’m not one of the witches in Macbeth… though, you might deem me to be one, judging by such a list. I’ve felt that way many a time standing in the checkout line at the grocery store. Sweet pickles and liver? The cashier gives you one of those looks signifying they think you’re more than a little crazy. How about raw pork sausage and ice cream? Disgusting. Even if you aren’t planning on combining these things into a meal once you get home, they simply look bad together.
Walking up the stairs yesterday, to survey the rain-soaked field below, and take a few pictures, from the corner of my eye, I noticed a big leaf sticking to the side of the office. Wait… was it really a leaf? It seemed to be… moving? Yes, this large, dark green object was definitely in motion, and on an upward slither towards the top of the office. It was the slug of my dreams in the flesh. The intentions and devious plans this slug had in store for the whole of humanity once it got to the top, will be one of the secrets lost to history (and just what did King Kong intend to do after he scaled the Empire State Building?); for after jumping at the realization that I had almost brushed against a giant slug, I called Dad out to view the monstrous thing, and snapped a few pictures for posterity’s sake. The slug had slimed its last slime — Dad, aided with a paper towel, plucked up Sir Slug, told him to say his final prayers, then chucked him from the top of the hill, to the bottom, where he landed with an enormous PLOP in a very cold, very deep, and very muddy pool of water. Hence, this young slug met his pitiful end — heartlessly and mercilessly flung with violent force to sink helplessly to the depths of Lake Greenwood. And I laughed. Yes, watching this slug’s sober execution carried out, I laughed. My heart is cold and hard indeed.
My doctor was very particular about the medicine he prescribed for me. Two ear infections, and a pretty red throat, were no small matter, and with much pondering, and deliberation, he wrote up a prescription for the best medicine that could be procured at Costco. Amoxicillin. All was well and good. But, I knew what the very darkest of old wive’s tales whispered of as the ultimate cure for colds. It’s hoarded like gold, and kept in secret stashes by half the world’s population, and bartered with by the other half. My own concealed supply is enough to carry me through this cold, and beyond. Chocolate, and ONLY dark chocolate at that, combined with my prescription of amoxicillin, have already been to this cold what a silver bullet is to a werewolf, and a stake in the heart is to a vampire. Already, this cold’s choking fingers have loosened their grip. Chocolate and amoxicillin is a potent cure indeed.
Coram Deo!