Saving the world with clothespins and obnoxious wine?

Just call me Wonder Woman.

Randy and I love wine. We enjoy tasting it, examining it, and critiquing it. Admittedly, we do not know what we are talking about. What it comes down to for us is quite simple. Does this wine make us happy? Or does this wine make us unhappy?

Well Mollydooker makes us unhappy. I don't understand what the big deal is, but everyone supposedly LOVES it. It tastes like a spoiled plum juice cocktail. Unhappy. To make matters worse, it surprises you with a spoonful of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Ugh.

But people go bonkers. Here is one person's comments from winelog.net:

"...an incredibly powerful Shiraz with tell-tale purity. Gorgeous plum, blackcurrant, rose and violet aromatics fill your glass, leading you to flavours that explode on your palate with layers of blackberry, licorice, and spicy sweet fruit. Super rich and opulent, this remarkable Shiraz finishes amazingly long with lovely hints of vanillan oak."

I guess I just prefer the old world wines. Give me dirt over "fruit bomb" any day.

I'm guessing the Boxer Shiraz is around 20 US dollars. It was a Christmas gift, and I wouldn't have bought it for 5 bucks. Having been disappointed by Molly in the past, I don't think we'll give her a try in the future.


And now for something completely different. I really like to line dry my clothes outside. There is a good article about how and why one should do this @ Mom Advice: Insight to Empower. I recycle everything I can, try to bring reusable grocery bags to the store, and we are thinking about selling our truck and becoming a one car household. I know this won't change the world, and I don't know if ignoring it will destroy mankind. I just feel changed when I stop to appreciate what I have available to use for the sake of my own convenience. I don't want to take electricity and or fuel use for granted, not anymore at least. I feel like I don't appreciate even half of what I should. I've also noticed that thinking critically about this stuff, along with consumerism and sweatshop labor, has helped me spend/waste less and invest more with my time and resources.


I'll try to update folks on my progress and backsliding here on the blog.

epiphanic flames

Tomorrow is January 6th, the last day of Christmas. Another holiday season, under-appreciated as it were, has passed me by.

Being January, and all, I should be energized by the thought of new experiences and new projects to take on. I feel beat down instead. Exhausted and drunk on all of my post holiday blues. Don't worry... I'll bounce back.

I thought I'd share some new images though, despite my current state of "being lame". And actually after posting some new items, I feel much better.

I spent about half an hour getting cozy with our pellet stove the other day. I thought I'd accidentally melt my face or my lens (depending on which could withstand the most heat), but both lived through the experience. Flames fascinate me. Motion grace brilliant color and dangerous life. To see the collection of fire shots, click here.


On a different note. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend eating breakfast and drinking coffee at the Little Grill in 2007. I just love the local collective. But I had never taken in the night time scene or music life until last night. Randy and I got the chance to hear Rachel Austin (Luanne and Kim, her parents, go to our church) perform in the intimate space. It was a really nice experience. She is a fantastic lyricist and vocalist who resides in Belfast. Fun times. Check out her myspace page to hear her music. So anyway, my new years resolution will be to hear more musicians at the Little Grill this year. Finally a resolution I can keep!

holiday reflections and sun bathing

It's that time of year again. Laziness, shiny things, and bright lights. Some days I don't pick up my camera, and my vision isn't so great. My dog sun bathing, a young girls face... sometimes it just takes a camera around my neck to find the beautiful things that I normally can't see.

I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, especially all of those happy little elves over at Asthmatic Kitty who recently chose a winner for the Sufjan Stevens Christmas Song Contest. I may not agree with your decision making, but I certainly respect your efforts to spread holiday cheer. God bless every ones of ya!

Bye Bye Fall, bye bye happiness...

Well, the leaves have all fallen. I really hate taking photos of the colors of autumn... it's such a postcard. But it never fails that once I let the opportunity pass me by, I feel a deep sense of regret. I love leaves splashed with color. So I tried to take a few snap shots this year for the sake of remembering. Ugh. Here are some scans and a photo taken just a day before every leaf on the tree was washed away in a rain storm.





In reference to my earlier post about the very talented Waynesboro photographer I met: This is the photo Joe sent me of himself, hehe. Not helpful, but surely disturbing. For the record Joe says that most people say he looks like Chris Elliot and that I am the first person to liken him to Paul Giamatti.

Sorry for the silence...

I'm sure my thousands of readers (or 1/1000th of a reader as it were) have wondered what I've been up to since quitting my job, driving cross-country in a honda civic, and realizing that the cold & dusty "Great West" is...boring.

Hi, I've missed me and I love me.

Ok, so I've returned to the beautiful state of Virginia. Randy, the dogs, and myself are quite happy to be reunited. Mom is staying with us, and that has been great. As Randy says, "She leaves a trail of cleanliness everywhere she goes. It's like having the best roommate imaginable." We love you Mom. (She might be the only person who reads this.)

I've had a few photographic challenges in the last month, and I thought I'd share them.

I somehow lost an hour worth of work on this blog posting, so now my sentences will be shorter and I'll be in a very bad mood.

Wedding. Beautiful & Happy Couple. Very little time to take the photos. I learned a lot.






Losing work for no apparent reason other than the fact that I accidentally deleted all of it is exactly why I don't blog. I prefer to phlog.

Next, Head shots. I thought I was ready to take head shots for a JMU senior we know... I was not ready. We will have a re-shoot next week. Anyway, Charlotte was a sport and helped me figure out that I need to work on directing models and putting them at ease during the shoot. Plus I need to study up on head shot photography and lighting. Charlotte made it into my previous post about contradictory elements, I love that photo of her. Here are a couple more.




Next... took some shots at a construction site for BRDS . Architectural photography should probably be left to the professionals but I'm cheap and so they hire me. Plus I try to find the details. Always a challenge, always makes me feel like a failure. Is that personal growth or just sick?




Kids. I love it but the challenges are obvious. These are a few of my favorites from a photo shoot with James & Emma. Notice Emma the little bull/devil child. ;-)





I met a great photographer out of Waynesboro this month. He shoots large format and has some really impressive stuff. And just because it tickles me silly to mention this... he looks an awful lot like Paul Giamatti. So unless Joe can prove otherwise... this is your man. (The below photo is of Paul not Joe, I am waiting for Joe to send me a photo so that we can do a side by side comparison.)



Not that you should go to my website, but I did finish My Family Photography.

contradictory elements

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day 3 shall remain nameless

Wyoming, why are you so lonely?

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