PhotoHunt: Flags

This is my last night of vacation in Sarasota, Florida. I'm posting
from my iPhone (original flavor), so apologies for the appearance of
this post. :-)

Several weeks ago, for my PH: Memory post, I showed you a happy memory
of last year's visit to Sarasota. This week, I show tonight's sunset,
the clouds and waves blowing like flags in the stiff Gulf of Mexico
breeze... Another memory for another year...

PhotoHunt: Creamy

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The PhotoHunt theme this week is "Creamy"

I'm working on a recipe for lower fat, lower calorie cheesecake. Not quite perfected yet, but getting there! When I get it right, I'll be posting the recipe on Flamingo Musings. But until then, a shot of the Creamy process:

Okay, it's a little tough to pour with one hand and shoot with the other!

Happy Weekend!

PhotoHunt: Lock

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The PhotoHunt theme this week is "Lock"

I went rather traditional, this week. The word evokes power, and so I went for the powerful image.



This last one presented itself just this morning!

PhotoHunt: Advertisement

The PhotoHunt theme this week is "Advertisement"


That sea life mural is painted on the back of the Macy's department store building in downtown Miami. It was supposed to be an advertisement for the pleasures of visiting Miami. No one is really quite sure why it shows frolicking whales. Which don't live around here. Unless you visit the Seaquarium. Really. And yes, it is a little vague, which is kind of the point. Artistic license, I guess, but I remember when it was done, we all gathered around, stared at it for a bit, and said (with nearly one voice) "Whales?"

If you look closely, you'll see the Metromover and tracks running alongside it. The station opens directly into the second floor of the Macy's. Convenient when it's raining, as it was when I shot this photo. :-)

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Well, I didn’t win, but my recipes ranked 5th & 6th in the Ile de France contest. WooHoo! Thanks to everybody who voted for me!

PhotoHunt: Books

The PhotoHunt theme this week is "Book(s)"

The natural choice for this theme is our cookbook collection. These are just a couple of small sections - I couldn't stand far back enough to get the whole thing in one frame. :-) At last count there are just over 200.

Most of our cookbooks are practical: cooking, baking, various ethnic (particularly Indian) cuisines... but I got this one for it's historical value and reference : the 1924 edition of The Boston Cooking School Cookbook, by none other than the original Miss Fannie Farmer:

It has loads of fabulous recipes like, umm... "Sweetbreads and Celery Salad".... yuck! But the real fun is the advertising pages in the back of the book. I've chosen just a couple to show you what "state of the art" meant in 1924:


Many of these companies are still in business today, so it's kind of neat to compare then and now... Please click on the images to read them better, if you like!

Happy Weekend!

(Mr. Linky isn't functioning, so please be sure to leave a link to your post so I can find you easier when I come to visit!)

PhotoHunt: Plastic

The PhotoHunt theme this week is "Plastic"

As I'm sure you'll see in the various Hunt posts, Plastic surrounds us - is part of us - every day and in every way. Plastic bags, plastic kitchen tools, plastic surgical replacement parts for our bodies, even our cars are generally made more of plastic than of metal, these days.

I could show you my Plastic birdbaths or Plastic bird feeder. Dull.

So instead, here is a photo of the Plastic that I'm betting most of us have in common. Probably one of the most utilized bits of Plastic in the world. A useful tool and the bane of many's existence; a source of hope and of dread, all at the same time:




Happy weekend, all!

And for those of us in the US, have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! Please take a moment to remember those who put their bodies in harm's way for us. As I have said so many times in the past, while I'm not so wild about this war, I am for those brave men and women who go where ever and whenever with their own best intentions to serve us. If you have a moment this weekend, please send a birthday card to one such soul who at this moment is feeling unloved and forgotten in Texas. Here is the link to my post at Flamingo Musings on the subject (you may have received an e-mail to the same effect from elsewhere). It is absolutely true and has been verified.

Rainy Season = Mosquitoes

The TV weatherman just announced that the "Rainy Season" has begun. Well, after so many months of drought, rain will be welcome. We can finally look forward to the grass greening up and letting Mother Nature water the garden for us, now and then. They say that we here in South Florida get around 70% of our annual rainfall during these next five months.

But with all the good stuff we can expect from the rainy season, there's also the downside: mosquitoes. We have some of the worst mosquito problems down here as anywhere in the country. And we can't expect our little friends here to do all the work.

Bufo Toads

With everything there is to do outside in our backyards during the summer - the grilling, the gardening, the birdwatching - who wants to douse themselves in chemicals like DEET?

That's why we're considering getting a Mosquito Magnet. With its Octenol attractant cartridge, the Mosquito Magnet attracts the mosquitoes and literally sucks them up into an inescapable net in a sealed chamber, where they dehydrate and die. You just periodically empty the net and see the results for yourself. All without the use of chemicals that could be harmful to us or the wildlife we love to feed and photograph.

Check out a mosquito magnet review and see if you don't think that it might be your family's solution for a happy and healthy summer - virtually mosquito-free.