Keeto's such a pretty bird!

I didn’t get a chance to sort through my photos from the trip yet, so, today you get another Keeto shot 

Doray and Tom bird-sat for us while we were out of town.  We got home too late to get him last night.  So, as soon as my last meeting was over today, i buzzed over there to pick him up.  He’s such a sweet bird.  Thank you Uncle Tom & Aunt Doray !

We estimate that this week he is about 6 months old.  His cere is most definitely blue now.  He’s wrapping up his first molt.  His flight feathers have grown in enough for him to get some lift.  And his eyes are changing a bit… no longer solid black, but have a little ring gray around the outside.

(oh yeah, i almost forgot… Happy Mardi Gras!)

Fantastic journey.

I have been off-line for 10 glorious days – sailing through the British Virgin Islands.  We just got home, and I have hundreds of photos to dig through.  In the mean time, I’m posting a map showing each leg of our trip.

We headed to Tortola a week and a half ago:  12 sailors, 3 sailboats, 10 nights, 9 days and a ton of good times….  Our boat was a 51′ sloop called No Horizon.   We shared it with Marty & Sue, and Tommy & Bobbie.   Lori, Dave & Jake were on Sea Mist, and Wally, Kurt & Rod were on Pinta.   The map above shows the route we took on No Horizon.  Pinta and Sea Mist joined us for many of the legs, but everyone took their own route through the islands.

While I slept well on the boat every night, it’s going to be nice to sleep on my bed tonight and shower for as long as I want to!   If I make it through my first day back at work tomorrow, I will pick several photos to post.  More later…

…I go to come back!

Bonus.

I walked out back this afternoon and noticed a flowering snapdragon (I think) in one of the flower beds.  It’s a volunteer.   And the winter has been so mild, it is starting to bloom.

Fall in Love.

I’m running out of time to get all the things I need to get done, done.  Today I simply had to get a pedicure, so I booked an appointment at the newly opened Milk & Honey Salon in the Arboretum Market.  In honor of Valentine’s Day next week I chose a color called “Fall in Love.”

My to-do list overfloweth, but now I’m primped, pampered and ready to go!

Ringer.

Fran, the kids and my mom leave today.  Before heading to the airport we got in a few more games of cornhole.  What’s cornhole, you ask?  A bean-bag (or corn kernel bag, rather) toss game.  Players take turns throwing the bags at the board.  If a bag lands on top, you get 1 point.  If it goes in the hole, you get 3 points.  It is a staple of most mid-western family gatherings and picnics.  Monte recently made a pair of boards.

Francine is quite good at the game, even though she’s never played it before.  She’s giving Monte a run for his money…

In the shot above, Monte’s toss is dropping into the hole (it’s all in the wrist!).

Shutterbug.

Geo-caching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game, where you look for hidden containers, or “geo-caches,” using GPS-enabled devices.  People can post the coordinates for caches they have hidden, for others to find.  And geo-cachers can share their stories of their finds online.

We enjoy geo-caching in the nearby parks and woodlands.  And we especially enjoy taking other people, especially kids, geo-caching with us when they visit.

On my last birthday, Monte bought me an ammo-case, which is the perfect thing to use for a geo-cache because it is durable and has a rubber gasket around the top, which makes it relatively weatherproof.

Today we took Fran, Rebecca and Aaron geo-caching in the greenbelt near our house, and I brought my own geo-cache to hide.  Inside my geocache is a disposable camera, so when people find and open the cache, they can take a picture of themselves, and leave the camera inside for the next people.  The shot above shows the cache, as we left it.

We found 4 out of 6 caches that we were looking for… not bad.  The kids, big and small, had fun.

After we got home I posted the coordinates of my new cache to geocaching.com.   Now I can monitor it online for log entries from people that have found it.

Check out geocaching.com for caches near you to look for and find.  Happy hunting!

Pretty.

There was a vase of tulips on the table when I came back home the other day.  So pretty!  I couldn’t resist posting another obligatory tulip shot this morning.

We paid a visit to the goats down the street.

February sky.

Wow.  That was fast.  January sure flew by.

I am in New York this week for some meetings.  It is unseasonably warm here, as it is in other parts of the country this winter.  It was in the 50′s and 60′s today.  No snow on the ground.  This tree, outside of my hotel, is covered with big buds already getting ready to pop.

February has 29 days this year.  I’m going to savor each one!

Focaccia & ciabatta.

Some friends and I signed up for today’s bread baking class at the culinary center at Whole Foods downtown.  I’ve been looking forward to it.  The class was hands-on, showing how to make focaccia and ciabatta bread, both of which I LOVE.

I love to  bake, and have baked bread before, but never these Italian breads.   I enjoyed the class.  The instructor taught us several techniques and tips that I can’t wait to try on some of the other breads I’ve made (especially my baguettes – which usually end up with too thick of a crust).  We also learned how to make a starter for the dough, and brought that home for the next loaves I’ll make.

I thought it was interesting that you make both breads out of the same dough, just prepared differently — you add lots of olive oil to the focaccia – before and after you bake it, and sprinkle with rosemary and salt.

I had fun, and the breads turned out great!  The shot above is a picture of the final product.  Yummy!

Year of the dragon.

Today is Chinese New Year’s Day.   2012 is the Year of the Dragon.  The dragon symbolizes power and good fortune.  Of all the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, the dragon is the mythical one, and therefore the most powerful & mysterious.

I was born in a Year of the Dragon.   I am a dragon.   I hereby declare 2012 to be my year.

Happy New Year!

Best movie theater. Ever.

We rarely go out to a movie, choosing instead to watch them at home on the DVR.  When we do go out, we go to the Alamo Drafthouse, where we can eat dinner and have a few drinks while watching the movie.

Last night, we saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.   It’s a book that I have started reading several times, but have yet to finish.  Ususally I don’t want to see a movie until I’ve read the book it’s based on.  But for this one, I was willing to bend the rule.  Monte has read several of the books in this series, ravenously.  So, he was eager to see it.

** Spoiler Alert **

I liked the movie, it has a very complicated story line and set of characters.  I’m all for realism and all, but ….. I have to say that I just can’t appreciate the “art” associated with acting out a rape scene in a movie.  Yeah.  I guess I’m just old school – and getting older school it seems.

I think, tonight, catching up on episodes of season 1 of Downton Abbey is much more my speed. 

Easy smoothie.

I recently browsed back through my blog posts for the last month or so.  I guess it’s been a long time since I’ve posted any “photographic” or artistic images — more posts about what I’m doing from day to day.   I do love looking for beautiful things to photograph.  But, I suppose that I’ve been less focused on that lately.  That’s ok – my life is full of both the beautiful and the mundane   so, you get a little of both here on sheila365.

Speaking of the mundane… I thought I’d share something that I enjoy with you.  A few years ago my sister, Noreen, introduced me to a really easy to make smoothie.  And I think it’s delicious.  I have been making myself one every morning for the last several weeks.  Try it, you’ll like it

Sheila365 Smoothie

1 cup (8 oz) V8 V-Fusion juice
1/2 to 1 cup frozen fruit

Pick the juice flavor and fruit you like best.  Pour juice in blender, add frozen fruit and blend til smooth.  That’s it.  The first time you make it, you’ll have to play around a bit to find the fruit-to-juice ratio that works best with your blender.  I find that it works perfect if I put in only enough fruit to stay below the level of the liquid… but if you add too much fruit, and your blender gets a bit bogged down, just add a little bit more liquid.

I avoid any diet drinks with aspartame, but found that I do prefer the V8 V-fusion Light version of the juice.  The regular version is just too sweet for me.  The Light version contains sucralose, though, so if you don’t want any of that, stick with the regular.

An added bonus:  8 oz of V8 V-fusion juice contains 1 serving of vegetable and 1 serving of fruit.

A Sheila original (sort of).

Tonight Sue & I went to an art studio called Painting with a Twist.  They hold a painting class every night where everyone in the studio paints the same picture.   Oh, and you can bring your own wine and snacks to help get the creative juices flowing (that’s the twist part).  You can choose which session you want to attend by checking out their calendar and signing up ahead of time.  They have studios in many cities, check out their main website if you’re interested.  Tonight’s piece is called Moonlit Cherry Blossoms.

I know friends that have tried it, but this was my first time.  It was FUN!  The pic above is one I took of my painting after I got it home.  I look forward to trying this again.

Look out people, ARTIST COMIN’ THROUGH!! 

eFitness.

It’s time.  I’m not saying it was a resolution or anything, since I’m so bad at sticking to resolutions, but just a change.  I don’t know if i can keep it up, but i sure hope i can.

TIme to get in shape.

It’s SO hard for me to carve time out of my day to exercise.   I’ve tried so many times over the years, to fight my calendar for time to myself.  My calendar always wins.   Getting up for calls at 5 and 6 AM…. working late in the night.  I’ve used that as an excuse for way too long.

It’s time, dammit.  I’m worth it.

So, I’m trying.   Wish me luck.  I’ll need it.

I have reached out to Amazon.com for a little help.  I bought a new heart rate monitor watch and transmitter, and a neat little gadget that will transfer the data off the watch and upload it for tracking.  No, it’s not necessary, but it helps incent me.   And I need all the help I can get.

Winter sun setting.

My Uncle Bill passed away this morning – 1 month since his brother died, and less than 2 months since he learned that he had cancer.   My heart goes out to my aunt and my cousins who have had their world turned upside down so quickly.  He is loved and missed terribly by his family.

It is startling to realize how quickly our lives can be taken out of our hands.   And that as much as I fret about things day to day, I really don’t have any control at all.   I guess what’s important is that we get the most out of each day we have.

The shot above is of the sun dropping low in the sky on a crisp winter day.  The tree in the foreground has lost its leaves, but you can already see the buds along the branches getting ready to pop in a month or so.   Life goes on….

Soon to be dinner.

We went to dinner at Rob & Jen’s tonight.  Their friend, Matt, who we met at their wedding, was visiting from out of town.  Rob baked up a delicious batch of stuffed lobster.  And, we were treated to post-dinner fireworks, as is the custom on Zyle Road.   I guess you could say we were celebrating January 14th!

After dinner show.

Prep.

The cedar pollen is high in Central Texas.  Which means I’ll be avoiding going outside for extended periods of time.  Unfortunately, that means I can’t lend a hand with the yardwork.  I used to go outside regardless, and dig in the dirt, trim brush and help with picking up leaves.  But then I would be pretty much a sneezing, coughing, itching mess, clinging to a box of kleenex all week.  So I’m hanging indoors this weekend.  Monte cleared the front yard of leaves yesterday, and it looks great.
Today he is cutting down several very tall cedars along the back fenceline that have died from the last couple of droughts.

So, since I’m not out there helping, i’ll feed him instead

Spring rolls are not your typical lumberjack meal… but that’s what he got for lunch today anyway.   The shot above is of what went into them (minus the noodles and rice paper wrap), and the shot below is of how they turned out.   Hopefully they’ll tide him over til dinner.

Lunch is served.

You don’t so much need a recipe as you do a shopping list.

Spring Rolls

- Rice paper wrappers (soak in warm water for about 5 seconds right before preparing the spring roll to soften)
- Rice vermicelli (boiled up beforehand, I use a small amount on each one)
- Veggies of choice sliced very thin (I like cucumbers, carrots, lettuce)
- Cilantro (fresh, chopped up)
- Shrimp (cook it beforehand, you can also use chicken or beef or whatever you like)
- Peanut sauce (for dipping)

Cut everything up ahead of time, cook your meat, boil the noodles.  Soften a rice paper wrapper (one at a time).  Put a little of each in the center of the circular wrapper.  Fold down the top edge and fold up the bottom edge, and roll as snugly as you can.  Repeat until you can’t eat anymore.

Enjoy!

Ruh-roh.

I love my car – though it has been showing signs of wear and tear for the last few years.  I bought it new in 1997, which means it’s 15 years old this year, with about 85K miles.  My plan has been to drive it til it falls apart.   Question is, will this year be the year it falls apart?

The engine light came on yesterday and has stayed on, which freaked me out a bit since it has not done that before the manual says to stop the car and not drive it anymore when that light comes on.

I called the dealer, where I usually take it.  But given that it’s in its golden years, that may be a little bit of overkill.   They said they could take a look at it, but it would cost 1 hour of labor to just do that.  The nice guy on the phone did say that 99% of the reasons the light comes on are not catastrophic, probably emissions related.

Monte suggested taking it to AutoZone, as they will come out to the parking lot and read the code off the car’s computer for free.   What a concept!  Keep that in mind next time this happens to you.  I drove over today and in about 10 seconds they told me it was a code indicating that the exhaust mix is out of whack.

Whew.  Ok, so I just need to get that fixed up to pass my next emissions inspection.  I guess this is not the end of the road yet.   Though, i must say it is a bit annoying when my sunroof opens on its own when it’s raining    so maybe the end of the road is not too far away….  Stay tuned.

Before and After.

The weather has been beautiful during the past week.  Highs in the 60′s, even creeping into the 70′s, clear skies.  And, it’s been breezy, the winds started out of the north and then slipped back into the normal southerlies.  The wind has almost emptied the red oak of its leaves.   The picture on the left was taken last Saturday, the one on the right today.   Monte’s already planning his leaf collection strategy for this year.  We are getting off easy, though.   About half the leaves uncharacteristically fell in the Summer and the Fall, due to the drought, and they are long gone.   Half of the rest blew down the street over the last few days .

Have a great weekend!