Frozen Bubbles

I've been waiting all month for the weather to get colder.  Don't get me wrong, I love the milder temperatures that we have been having.  I actually hope that the milder weather continues for the month of February as it makes the weeks go by quicker. I'm not saying I want time to pass by, but I do look forward to enjoying the back deck again.  

The temperatures finally reached -14c.  This was the magic number that I needed to get the bubbles to start to freeze. It still took a while and we had to battle the breeze but eventually I was able to successfully capture some pictures that I was happy with. The big challenge was focusing. Since a  bubble is clear, I was required to manually focus. Looking through the viewfinder, I found myself mistakenly focusing on the back of the bubble rather than the front.  It was a challenge to figure this piece out. Added to that, was that I couldn't wear mitts or gloves when doing this and it was pretty cold. My fingers were quick to stiffen in this weather.

As I was working on taking the pictures, my bubble solution actually started to freeze and became very gummy which meant I couldn't blow any bubbles. Hah hah, a good time to go inside and warm up with a coffee.

The mixture was hand made using a solution of 1 cup water, 4 tablespoons of dish soap, 1 tablespoon of glycerin and 1 tablespoon of sugar. It worked well.

I continue to be amazed at the weather this winter. It has made staying home more tolerable. I'm able to get out walking 3 times a day and feel very refreshed. I sleep like a baby at night and I think that is the result of all the fresh air I'm getting. I'm turning into a putterer...A little bit of this and little bit of that.  Things get done, but much more slowly these days. I'm not as fussed about a messy table or dirty dishes on the counter.  Oh well... I guess that is what they are referring to when they talk about COVID fatigue.

The other day, Ellen Lott (from our church) posted a picture of an owl that she seen while her and Kevin were out taking a walk.  Oh how lucky she was!!  Sunday after church, it looked like it was going to be a nice time for a walk so Ralph and I thought we might try to see if we could find it as well.  I called and spoke to Kevin who relayed the path that they had taken. I could feel the adrenaline flowing. Wouldn't it be awesome if we saw it!! Truthfully I didn't expect that we would be that lucky, but sure enough,  near the beginning of the walk I spied this fellow sitting and watching as we were approaching.  Ralph was ahead of me and I didn't want to yell out to him and startle the bird.  Eventually he noticed that I had stopped and was taking some shots and came back to have a look. Oh wow. I was soooo excited. It made my day. I got a few shots that I am really happy with. I said a prayer of thanks as this was and is the highlight of my first month of the year.

Earlier this week, I thought it might finally become cold enough for me to photograph some frozen bubbles.  I'm all ready with my solution sitting by the door, but it's just too mild.  We did have snow one morning so I went out and practiced photographing snowflakes. I have added some "macro" extension tubes and a new "ring flash" to my camera gear.  Both are invaluable for capturing the beauty of a snowflake or a closeup of a flower or insect. The extension tubes allow me to get in closer (requiring less cropping) and the ring flash (which is circular) goes around the end of the lense and produces light all around the area being shot. I still have a lot to learn with both but it was fun trying.  This is a single shot of a snowflake (not stacked - ie. multiple shots stacked together to remove noise and improve clarity). Overall I am pretty happy with it. It's funny, here we are blessed with such an amazing winter and I am wishing for snow and cold...although I am not complaining.

Today we received the good news that my Mom received her Covid shot.  We are so thankful that this  has taken place.  With the virus so bad in the LTC building next to her, this is an added safety measure for ther building  We trust that God will take care of her.  

Another year has come and gone

Well that's the end of 2020 and what a year it has been.  We started off the year with a lovely couple of months in Myrtle Beach which allowed us to golf, walk the beach and even visit with our friends (Chuck and Claudia) in Florida. During the 2nd month, Lawrence, Teresa, John, Grace, Harry and Marian all came to Myrtle Beach, to escape the winter cold and enjoy some relaxing time away. We were sheltered from all the news about a "new virus" called Corona Virus (sounded a little like the beer) which eventually came to be known as COVID-19. We actually didn't find out how serious it was until we came home which was at the end of the first week of March.  

Imagine our surprise finding that the store shelves contained no toilet paper, hand sanitizers and essential food items were hard to find. Within two weeks we were told to stay near our home and eventually even our church was shut down.

The year has seen lots of changes as a result of COVID-19 and we've been forced to slow down and rethink what is important. I've spent the year focusing on improving my photography skills by watching Youtube videos and reading lots of material. I focused on cleaning up old files and and also found time to work on multiple photobooks. Our Pastor has been writing daily Reflections which I find are very comforting and I decided to put them into books and give them to the Pastor as a way to say thank you and also keep a record of the COVID-19 Reflections shared with our church family. I have just finished Book 3 and am ready to start on the 4th book.

Reflections Book 1

Reflections Book 2

Reflections Book 3

I also completed a few other projects throughout the year.  I enjoy making the books and using them to look back on as a memory of what we have experienced.

Birds of a feather 2020

Rejoice and be glad

With the in-ability to get out and go shopping  I decided to make my own gifts this year. Again I chose to make some photobooks which I gave to close and dear friends.

God's promises through the storm

This last month of the year was spent connecting with family and sharing "social distance" get togethers as we celebrated Christmas. With Laura and Jay and the kids we enjoyed a backyard visit and fire.  It was really nice and while the hugs and kisses were missed, we still could feel the love from our family.

Family Christmas

We also enjoyed some fun with my family with a gingerbread sharing on Christmas day.  Comments and pictures were posted on our family WhatsApp.  It was such a nice way to stay connected during a somewhat quiet day.

Family Gingerbread Christmas

While the year wasn't what we were expecting it to be, I still feel blessed beyond my imagination.  God has been so good to us this year. He has kept us all healthy, watched over my Mom and given our church the ability to continue with services even though we have to stay home.  We’ll be back together soon and once again be able to socialize together  He is in control.  To God be the Glory.  

Cat fight.....or should I say bird fight

 I must say that I have never seen this before.  Two birds going at each other in such an aggressive manner.  I've seen them courting, mating, chasing each other and feeding each other but this was something totally different. The aggression shown to each other was non stop for about 15 minutes.  

When you look at the photos below, pay attention to the leg on the bird underneath.  It is desparately trying to push the other bird off of him.  Notice how the bird was able to get the other one onto it's back in a submissive position.  While in this position the top one was pecking at the others face while the one on the bottom was frantically trying to push it off.

At one point I thought the bird was dead as it just stopped fighting.

All of a sudden it tried to get back onto it's feet surprising the other bird.

The fighting didn't stop, even while they were up in the air.  At one point a third (female) joined in to try to distract one of the birds and break up the fight.

I think he was trying to say.....and  you  stay away from my girl!! Do you understand me??

Well, that was my excitement for the week.  COVID restrictions are keeping us close to home although I am thankful that I can get out and walk on a daily basis.  It's time to think about taking down the Christmas decorations.  I've got a puzzel and a book on the go so there is lots to keep me busy.  Ralph is busy with renovations and making some beautiful changes in the house. I am so thankful that the weather has been mild.  God bless you  all.

It's time for some Christmas baking and getting artistic

Have you ever had that craving for some old fashion "Christmas" baked goods? You know the kind I mean.  The ones that Mom use to put out only at Christmas because for the rest of the year they were too expensive to buy (especially if you lived in a large family).  I loved the "Stollen" that would be sliced up thinly with it's sweet almond center.  The Bokkenpootjes (we always called them deer feet, but I have since discovered that they are "Goats Feet") were always a favourite and Ralph always received a special treat of Gevulde Speculaas from his Mom.  She even would order the spices directly from Holland to make sure that they tasted exactly like the ones she used to eat as a young girl. Since we have nothing but time on our hands, we thought maybe some baking might be fun to do. So early Saturday morning (as soon as the store opened) we headed to the Bulk Barn to get the ingredients to make the Bokkenpootjes. With mask on and plastic gloves on my hands (this is a requirement at the Bulk Store), I headed into a quiet store with very few people.  My first stop was in the almond section.  Immediately my "Covid brain" kicked into gear.  Almond flour (raw format), Almond Flour (bleached format) - both looked interesting but my recipe called for Almond meal.  Off I went looking for help.  Is Almond meal the same as Almond flour?  What is the difference between raw and bleached.  A nice young girl tried to help me but suggested it would be better if I googled it.  So out came my phone and with my "plastic gloves on" (where the finger tips were at least an inch too long) I tried to open up my phone and google app to get the information. My phone wouldn't get past the security because I had my mask on, and therefore my screen didn't recognize my face. Because I had those crazy gloves on, the touchpad didn't recognize the finger tapping. What do I do now? First (after looking over my shoulder), I pulled my mask down so the facial recogition would work and to get past security and then stuck my finger inside my mask to get a little "spit" on the end so that the touchpad would work and I could type into Google to perform a search. 10 minutes later, after struggling with the gloves I finally discovered that the Raw Format was what was needed. So back to the bin I went. I pulled down a bag and then struggled for a while to get it open (have you ever tried that with plastic gloves on!!)... I needed 5 and 1/4 cups. Goodness, how do I know how much equals 5 1/4 cups and did you see the price of Almond Flour? The "dutch in me" kicked into gear and I was having a self talk about not buying extra because it would cost too much and what if the recipe flopped!!  Maybe we should just forget about it, but oh I really do crave them right now.  After deciding to go ahead, I  filled a bag  (with some ending up on the floor because of the clumsiness of the gloves (sorry for the mess Bulk Barn)) and then I went looking for the tag to close it up. The first tag is like the ones you find on bread - once again I struggled and finally gave up as I just couldn't get it on.  Then I went in search of the twist ties.  After finally finding them, I secured the bag tightly and went to put it in my buggy.  As I went to drop it in, my glove almost went with it!! Yup, I tied my finger to the baggy.  So, after undoing it, and being extra careful I finally got the bag placed into the buggy.  I then looked at it and thought,  hmm, that doesn't look like 5 1/4 cups. So I started the process all over again and added a 2nd bag.  l then went in search of "icing sugar".  Up and down the aisles I went. I don't shop often at Bulk Barn so I didn't know where things were. I'm sure I got at least 3000 footsteps in and I only needed 3 ingredients.  Once I found the icing sugar, I thought I would be smarter and just tied a knot in the top of  the bag. That didn't work either and as I untied the knot (to get my glove out), I noticed that I now had a small hole in my finger tip. Maybe next time I'll bring my "blue" kitchen gloves as they fit better. With my ingredients in hand I arrived at the cash and almost had heart failure at the price.  I sure hope the cookies taste good. $14.99/lb for Almond Flour sure adds up quickly. I was convinced that I had enough for my batch and maybe a 2nd batch.  Hah hah, after getting home, I separated it out and discovered that I have enough for 4 batches. Next time I'm going to put a measuring cup in my pocket so I can eye it for sizing. I wonder if Almond Flour can be frozen?  I guess I'll find out.

I was ready to making my first batch of Bokkenpootjes.  I was pretty excited. Eight egg whites later I had trouble getting my meringue to set (the mixer wasn't strong enough to whip the eggs so Ralph pulled out the big one) and we carried on until we got the soft peaks to form allowing me to add in the almond meal (and yes they recommend freezing when not using). So the first step is done. The batter is piped out into lady fingers and then left to dry for two hours. I couldn't find my pastry bag, so I had to make due using the corner of a freezer bag. Have you ever tried that?  I discovered while baking that I had piped them much to close together and made them way to large and they baked into each other. I guess I'll learn as I go along. Once I was finally ready to mix the buttercream for the center I discovered that I had used up all my vanilla.  The finishing touches will have to wait till the store opened the following day.  

With the first batch done, buttercream in the the center and each cookie dipped into chocolate, I decided to change the name to Elandpootjes (Moose feet hah hah). They ended up being 2-3 times the size than the ones you buy in the store.  I'll be the first to admit that while the desire is there, the talent is severly lacking.  Oh well, the taste is good and I guess that's what is important right?  They are the perfect "shareable" size.

With the weather moving into winter, I find that I have more time to once again focus on "learning".  On Black Friday I was sent a video by a company trying to encourage me to purchase their training software. It was an interesting video which contained some footage from their training material that they were selling.  The training was called "Wow" photography where they teach new tricks that you can do with your camera to achieve different results. This particular lesson that I watched was about an effect called Photo-elasticity.  It taught that by using a Polarizer filter, plastic and cellophane, you could create beautiful abstract and colourful photographs.  I used plastic cuttlery, a plastic glass and some cellophane to achieve the following pictures.  It's probably not something I would do alot but it sure was amazing to see the colours that were produced.  The key is having a pure while computer screen in the background which reflects the light through the plastic (it doesn't work with glass) and by turning the polarizer, the colours would change. It really was pretty amazing.

I decided to take it a step further to see what I could achieve.  I darkened the background on the picture below to make the glass and forks stand out.  I like the end result.  In the other photo I decided to combine a "texture" with the glass and forks for an even more abstract look.  I'm sure that it's not something everyone would like, but it was fun playing and seeing what I could create.  The most amazing thing is that all the colour is driven by the "white" computer screen and the way the light is refracted through the plastic.  

Here is an example of my setup  so that you can see how easy it was too produce the results.  First the plastic forks and spoon and glasses.  See how there is no colour when the computer screen is not behind it.  

Next you open up a jpg file that is pure "white".  I made sure my screen brightness was turned to full and placed my computer sideways in "portrait format".  From there I set up my camera on my tripod with my camera set to "manual".  I started with a shutter speed of 60, ISO 400 and aperature of F8. I set my focus to manual as it's easier to focus on specific spots this way.  I put a timer on so that any camera shake would be eliminated and then started turning the polarizer filter till I found the colours that I liked.  I'm so amazed by the effect.

Here are a few shots which are not edited in any software so you can see how the colour changes.  Pretty amazing isn't it!!

I am amazed at how quickly the time is going by.  I am so thankful that the weather has been nice so far and the little amounts of snow have been nice and pretty and that the sidewalks stay clear making it easy for walking.  

Tomorrows Advent Activity is to learn to say Merry Christmas in a New Language.  Here are a few suggestions:

Dutch - Vrolijk Kerstfeest!

Italian - Buon Natale 

Spanish - Feliz Navidad

Philippines - Maligayang Pasko

 

"Lockdown" is now in effect

Well it's happened!  Toronto has been moved into a Lockdown while they attempt to get control of the COVID-19 virus. It looks like Christmas shared with family members not of your own household might not happen. I was thankful that we had booked last Saturday to visit with Laura and Jay and the family as it might be the last visit of the year.  I wrapped up the Christmas gifts and we packed them up for travel.  After a brief stop in Norwich to stock up on some freshly made baked goods and a few other treats for Sinterklaas, we headed to St. Thomas. We enjoyed a few stops along the way.  Ralph helped me find a barn to create a "composite" image as practice with some techniques I am learning and then we discovered some pumkins along the way which were all attached to the fence posts.  Someone sure must have had fun doing that.

We enjoyed a driveway visit with the family. We were well prepared by bringing hats, mitts and blankets and enjoyed a really nice time together. We gave all the gifts to Jay and Laura who promised  to hide them until Christmas. I was happy that we had done our shopping (albeit online) well in advance.  We've planned a zoom call for Christmas day as a temporary measure but I am hoping that we can maybe have another driveway visit if the numbers come down.  As we sat around and enjoyed each others company we were reminded of how important family is and what a blessing they are to us.  Why is it that when something is taken away, you then realize how important it is.   God is certainly teaching us how important family, friends and He is during these months of the Pandemic.  We sure miss seeing one another on a regular  basis and miss the hugs and kisses even more.

Now that the weather has changed and it's become colder, we are spending more time indoors.  I think it's going to be a long winter.  We amuse ourselves by playing 18 holes of golf on the putting mat.  Its good practice (I need alot) and Ralph beats me everytime. It's a lot of fun for both of us to be doing this together.  We've collected a lot of books to read and have purchased a nice puzzle to keep us busy.  It's a big one (1500 pieces)  and looks pretty challenging.

With  our big snowfall I went out walking with my camera and took a few shots.  I didn't feel too inspired and the path along the creek was closed so I gave up and came back home. I figured I would get more inspiration working on some old pictures.  

This owl is one of a series that I have taken.  The background was pretty dull as the sky was overcast so I decided to replace it with one that I had taken this past summer.  I really do like how the owl seems to "pop" and I'm quite happy with it.

I continue to work on cleaning up old photos.  I'm making progress and it feels good. What's even more satisfying is that I am finding pictures that I had totally forgotten that we had taken.  Its a pleasant surprise to come upon photos of birds, landscape etc that I haven't seen in years. It's been fun to look back at them and ensure that they are cleaned up and properly filed for "easy" locating in the event that I want to use it for something in the future.

 

On one of my walks I discovered a wasp nest which  I wanted to photograph. Initially I had planned to take the photos outside but the weather hasn't cooperated so I set it up in a box made out of black foam board.  I decided to add a few feathers (yes I still have them) for interest and took a few pictures. It was a good way to keep myself busy for an afternoon although I'm not yet sure if I like how the pictures turned out or not. After taking the  pictures, I took the nest and feathers (most of them) and placed them outside in our garden. I thought maybe the birds or squirrels might use them to line their nests. I still have a few of the larger ones that I plan to use with water droplets, and one day I'll work on that.