{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -- Inspired by SouleMama

2012 POET'S MARKET - CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE (A PHOTO CREDIT, THAT IS)

The Professor is a pretty fabulous photographer -- when he tries.  Far too often he uses his camera to take shots up his sister's nose or inside her wide-open mouth or, heaven help us, shots of my backside when I'm bending over.  When he puts his skill to work, though, he actually has a good eye for composition.  He is also one of the few people who has taken a good photo of my notoriously unphotogenic sister, known to The Inmates as Uncle Chester.

  

Her name is actually Nancy Breen and she is a poet, freelance writer, Etsy shop proprietor, and owner of the writing website, Nudged To Write.  She is also the former editor of Poet's Market, the go-to guide for poets looking to publish their verses.  In fact, she wrote a piece for their 2012 edition and found herself in need of a photo to go with her bio.  And her photographer of choice?  Her nephew, The Professor.  I am very excited to say that not only is my 12 year old son in print, but he even got a photo credit in the margin of the book.  Not too shabby for a junior high student, I say.

OK, it's hard to read sideways, but that's his name above the arrow.

I want to give a big thanks to Robert Lee Brewer, editor of Poets Market, for giving my son his first taste of glory.  If you are a poet, please check out Robert's blog, Poetic Asides, over at WritersMarket.com.  He has lots of great information, writing prompts, and interviews.  And if you're interested in getting a copy of the 2012 Poet's Market, it can be ordered through Amazon below (my affiliate link) or from any bookstore.





You might also be interested in:

*  MEET THE INMATES - THE PROFESSOR

*  THE SAD TALE OF LITTLE RED RIDING CHESTER

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -- Inspired by SouleMama

 You might also be interested in:

*  YARN, ART, AND A FABULOUS WEIGHT WATCHERS CAKE RECIPE

*  MEET THE INMATES - "FOGHORN"

UPDATE ON UPSIDE DOWN TOMATO GROWING -- SCREW IT!

In early August I wrote about the thrill of my first tomato harvest.  Yes, it was only NINE cherry tomatoes, but they were fresh, organic tomatoes for Foghorn to nibble to her heart's content.  Then I waited for more...and waited...and waited...

I'm still waiting.  Oh, I got lots of lovely little flowers which promised to turn into tomatoes and then didn't.  I also finally had another full-fledged tomato sprout about a month ago and I've just been waiting for it to turn red.  The little b*astard won't so much as blush for me.

He's taunting me, I swear.

Does it really take a month for a tomato to turn color?  Much to my shock, this week I see that there are two other little tiny green tomatoes on another vine.  Of course, if I have to wait as long for these to redden I'll be picking them in the snow.  Which, of course, reminds me of my other problem --- namely the upcoming cold weather.  Tomato growing season is almost over and I've had NINE lousy tomatoes for all this time and money.  I have this overwhelming urge to grab a tennis racket and whack those little green Chihuahua testicles right across the yard.  Not that I'm bitter...

A friend told me her husband bought one of those commercial upside down planters last year and didn't get a thing.  I got the pitifully small eight from three tomato plants.  Now, I know there are people who grow them successfully upside down  Not being a gardener I can only speculate that maybe I needed a bigger pot with more soil, but since my current planters already weigh enough to make wrought iron bend I'm not inclined to try to hang anything heavier.  My personal opinion on upside down tomato growing is...well... I'm trying very hard to control my profanity around the children these days, so I'll just simply say "it stinks."


You might also be interested in:

*  UPSIDE DOWN TOMATO GROWING

BREAKFAST FOR THE PICKY EATER -- PEANUT BUTTER SMOOTHIE RECIPE

When The Professor was little I was convinced he'd die of malnutrition.  My husband told me he just had the normal rounded toddler stomach, but I was convinced he had a distended tummy from malnutrition.  Yeah, I was one of those kinds of mothers.  He was a terrible eater, though.  While the 12-year-old Professor isn't exactly a health food addict, he does at least eat now.  Nonetheless, he continues to have the same breakfast that he has slurped down for the last ten years.  The Peanut Butter Breakfast Smoothie saved his life...or at least got some much-needed vitamins in him.  In one glass he gets a huge chunk of calcium, protein, and even a fresh fruit.  It's a great way to start the day (even if he ends the day with BBQ chips).


PEANUT BUTTER SMOOTHIE

1 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup dry milk
1/2 large banana
1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
Optional:  1-2 teaspoons of Udo's Oil (great for getting essential fatty acids in there)

Pour all ingredients in blender and whip until smooth.  Fast, easy, tasty, and healthy!  And even a sleep-deprived 12 year old boy can get it down and still catch the bus on time.

For more great mom-shared ideas, check out The Mommy Club - Resources & Solutions here. 

YARN, ART, AND A FABULOUS WEIGHT WATCHERS CAKE RECIPE

On this dreary and rainy Monday here in Ohio I'm not feeling very wordy.  Gasp!  She who can write three paragraphs about her husband's holey underwear can't seem to find the vocabulary to describe the weekend.  This may have something to do with the aforementioned weather or the allergies that are making everyone's sinuses go wild or the fact that I decided today was the day I had to get back on the Weight Watchers wagon and really count my Points.  (That last one has an accompanying sugar withdrawal that tends to make me sprout horns and has The Inmates running for cover.)

So, with few words and lotsa color, I give you The Warden's Weekend:

On Saturday, the annual Wool Gathering in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Tents full of yarn, supplies, and lots of demonstrations.

I love those supercilious llamas.

A nekkid sheep following the shearing demonstration.

Foghorn's favorite?  Getting a free chunk of fresh wool, still damp with lanolin.

Totally intimidated by those who not only knit but card and spin their own yarn.  Ack!

Foghorn making friends with the suppliers.

The Gathering takes place on the gorgeous grounds of Young's Dairy...

and they happen to sell ice cream that's out of this world.

Two hunks of merino/alpaca hand-dyed yarn from Ohio's  Roving Acres, waiting to be knit into a scarf for my mother.

On Sunday, the annual Loveland Art Show. 

All types of artisans and all types of goodies, from glass...

to pottery...

to sculpture.  (Mermaid-obsessed Foghorn's favorite.)

And, of course, the student art contest.  Foghorn had a lot of competition.

Of her two entries, WE actually thought the toucan (pictured in above photo on bottom left) was superior...

but the judges preferred her clown -- a mix of paint, marker, and paper mache hair.  The winner!

And while waiting for the judges' decision, Foghorn constructed a fairy house under a tree.

Habitat for Humanity Fairies.

As for that promised recipe, yesterday my mother made a Weight Watchers two-ingredient cake from a recipe that's been floating around the Internet.  It uses a box of cake mix and a can of diet soda.  As you can imagine, the combinations are endless.  My mother made a white cake with a lemon-lime soda and topped with a light cream cheese and lemon frosting.  GOOD!  Not so good I'd binge on the entire cake, but definitely good enough to take the edge off a cake craving.  You can get the full recipe at her blog, Lillian's Cupboard, here.

With the ugly weather today, I wish I could go curl up in bed with one of those wooly sheep and just sleep away.  I'll have to settle for a hound dog...or two...


You might also be interested in:

*  MEET THE INMATES - "FOGHORN"

*  HOW DO I LOVE THEE?

LOVELAND ART SHOW WINNER!

Foghorn walked away with the 1st place blue ribbon in her age group and $15 in prize money at the Loveland Art Show's student exhibit!  She's thrilled to death.  Fortunately she waited until we were in the van to yell, "I won first place!  In your FACE, other kids."

You might also be interested in:

*  Meet the Inmates -- "Foghorn"

* The Slammer