The Long Road

Great memories of life in China for me are of the self professed “Photo Geeks”. I had a lot of fun with Hubert, Paul and Blake taking pictures, talking film, light and stuff, and just goofing off. We had several Photo Geek outings, from which some pics on this blog originated from.

However, after moving back to Canada, I’ve taken far fewer pics (other than snapshots of course). Last weekend though the Photo Geeks rode again! We had an unplanned photo shoot Sunday morning at a railway yard in North Van. And while times have changed (everyone is shooting with a DSLR except me!!! Doh!), the magic is still there.

I cannot yet post any pics I took that day (other than the snaps below) as they are, as mentioned, not digital, but on film. Hubes is going to get them processed in Vancouver, after which I can post anything worthy. Instead I decided to put up a little photo essay about the morning…

HUBES
Note the transition; that’s how you get the shot baby!

BLAKE
Doesn’t even let the cap get in the way. Shooting, and looking good!

PAUL
I’m shooting him, shooting Blake, shooting the train. Paul is also in the top photo - can you find him?

ME
Good thing I use Tide. OK, no I don’t, but I haven’t washed these shorts yet and I might hope that I do. Hey, you’ve gotta get geeky to get the shot!
(Photo with cool lens flare kindly supplied by Blake)

True Photo Geekdom

Thanks for the great day guys.

I’ve posted about this recipe before, but hey it’s damn great, comes with a spectacular photo op, and is hitting our table in five minutes!

…and yes, it is supposed to be on fire!

This weekend saw us in Vancouver visiting Blake and Sandy fresh across the sea from Dalian, P.R.C.. We had a wonderful visit with them that included a mini-reunion of several people we’d worked with over there. More on the weekend soon, but for now… the group pic.

The true work was started today on the next project - the pergola. I think this will be the last of the summer. Yesterday was spend procuring wood which was cut and partially stained today. It was a nice surprise when Tod turned up after work ready to help too! We spent the evening puttering around, cutting, planning, re-planning and, happily, not re-cutting!

Anyway, here is a “before” picture. The pergola will cover the right half of the deck. The grapes (in the background, and much bigger now than when this pic was taken) will grow over top and provide additional shade.

I’ll report on the progress as it comes.

… that you could make your own hamburger buns? I guess it is something that I’ve always taken for granted - you pick up HB buns at the store! Anyway, I have to say that I’m getting pumped about food again - making it that is. So yes, I found a great recipe for making HB buns using a bread machine for the dough. Couple those tasty buns with our own garden tomatoes, lettuce and cukes on the side, and you’ve got some of the tastiest darn burgers I’ve had in quite some time! The taste of summer.

Want to try? Click here for the recipe.

While I think Mr. Obama here is dancing a little too close to the cliff that is a smear campaign, I have to say that I REALLY hope this guy gets elected. Hmmmm, McCain or Obama? Tough choice. Yeah right.

We were pumped to find upon our return from holidays that our Japanese Blood Plum tree is heavily laden with fruit! We thought it’d be done. So now we are scrambling to use them all. Tonight we made two great new recipes.

Red Plum, White Nectarine and Blue Cheese Pizza

This grilled little treasure mixes some unusual flavors perfectly. We substituted a peach for the nectarine. Wow. The recipe is here.

Italian Inspired California Plum Flatbread

Lettuce on a pizza? Who knew arugula tasted so good? The only thing I’d add next time (and there will be a next time!) is nasturtium flowers. Mmmmmm. Click here for the recipe.

Feels great! ‘Nuff said.