Artful Food

It's been a bit hectic with work and all so I haven't had time to find intriguing shots for you guys. I did, however, think that you deserved something new to check out so here's a work of art that I never tire of really. I don't like cheesecake all that much but I can appreciate the beautiness of artfully presented foods. Just look at this gorgeous dessert! The day of this specific meal, I actually had the flan and loved it. ALMOST as good as my mom's. The picture was not as dramatic as this so I chose this one for looks. ;-) Goodnight everyone. Got an early morning tomorrow -- 7am call with our Croatia location! Better go set the coffeemaker.

Flowers, Candles, a Bride and a Groom

Last week we were happy to be a part of my stepdaughter's happy evening as she married her high school sweetheart. And now they are awaiting news of where her husband will next be stationed with the Coast Guard. They are very happy and we wish them all the best in life.

Well, here we are at the start of another week and it's nearly October! I'm not closer to getting some relief at work so that's a tiny bit of a setback in terms of a return to my happy-happy state. Oh well. I remain hopeful that in this economy, surely we can find some great workers out there! Please send good vibes my way. ;-)

Fighting or strategizing?

We bottled up some of the honey yesterday and had a great time. It's a lot of fun to work with and learn from Mark about how to do these things. And now we have some cool ideas for Christmas gifts that may involve some intense crafting! :-) Watch out You're So Crafty!

A Day with the Bees

Is it me or does anyone else see the great states here in the honeycomb? :-) Today was extraction day finally since rain, travel and illness prevented us both from doing it sooner. It was my first time to extract so I wasn't sure what to do or expect but I had a blast. Tiring, but I think it was because we were both not at 100% as it was. Luckily for me no stings! No so lucky for Mark since one of the backyard hives was pretty mean. He got multiple stings but handled it well, as always. One sting on me and I puff up. Needless to say, we suited up appropriately today and were sure glad we did. Above is honeycomb Mark pulled out from one of the feeders. I loved the colors of it all so I took a ton of shots I really enjoy looking at now. Below is Mark pulling out some frames for extracting.

Here's a shot of Mark uncapping a small frame. I learned that means breaking the wax seal on top of the frame so that the honey can flow freely. It was really neat. And occasionally, we'd chew on a bit of the wax and honey...just like gum. Once the frame is uncapped, you place it in the extractor, which you can see in the bottom picture. You put four frames in at a time and then there's a handle for spinning the frames round and round, flinging the honey to the side of the drum and then it drips down to the bottom.

And then...the wonderful honey starts to flow. Oh my gosh, it was wonderfully sweet! Even though it was a really tough year for the bees, there was a good amount for them to share with us. Sadly, though, Mark did mention he has lost several hives. Don't know if it's the heat, drought, colony collapse or what. Or maybe all of that. At any rate, thank you little bees for our delicious harvest!

Raindrops!

While I was up in Irving this week, we started getting rain...a LOT of rain, actually. I hated missing the action. Apparently 1620 right out front of our mill was under quite a bit of water! It's fantasticly green this week and I love it. Today I am enjoying the cloudy day, with occasional rumbles of thunder, brief downpours, light sprinkles...I snuck out between showers to get some shots in. From where I sit in our office, we have a nice view of our plumeria and I really like the way the raindrops fall and collect on the giant leaves of our plant. Very refreshing.

Last night I didn't get into SA Airport until after 9pm due to the wild weather. Lightning up in the Irving area prevented us from taking off so we sat on the plane for over an hour, I believe. It was sure nice to get home. This is a fun-filled weekend for sure. Date night with friends, including bowling -- we love bowling even if we haven't done it often. Tomorrow is our church in the park (Starcke Park if you want to join us, down at the bowl near the falls) AND a bridal shower. And then a special dinner -- king ranch casserole. I'm gonna be busy! :-)

Dare I say it?

Rain actually arrived today AND it made it to our house - it's wonderful! AND on top of that, it's suppose to rain the rest of this week. AND I got some really cool cloud shots from our deck out back. I'm not complaining about the rain at all; I must, however, share with you the irony of its timing. After months of drought and heat and praying for rain, it looks like the week Mark decides to extract honey, we have 50% to 70% chance of rain. Everyday. Makes it hard to get to those hives in the country, right honey? :-)

Oh, beautiful moon...

...how I love gazing upon you. The beautiful moon called to me last night when I went out to turn off the water on the lawn (poor lawn...it's still dry, dry, dry). I grabbed my tripod and hung out on the back deck for a while to try all sorts of manual settings to try and do justice for the moon. It was fun since Smokey was out there keeping me company and Mark checked on me once in a while. What a fun way to end a wonderful weekend.

Having an extra day to catch up on things AND also to relax made such a great difference. I am so relaxed, I don't even dread going back to work! I am full of positive energy and, dare I say it, excitement! Yes, excitement. I hope to have some very nice news to share soon. Something that should mean a return of happy, happy and more crafting, photographing, blogging, socializing...