Dashing Through the Snow

Twelve inches of snow, check. Snow pants gathered, check. Buy new saucer sleds, check. Stock up on hot cocoa mix, check. Tomorrow we sled!

Trepidation Under the Tree

Thinking about sending this one in to awkwardfamilyphotos.com. Do Santa photos ever turn out?

Precarious

Nothing says "Christmas" like balancing precariously on your desk in your socks to hang festive lights in the drop ceiling rails. Merry Christmas!

Rainy Day

The weather outside is frightful. Raindrops on my office window framed by dollops of light shining through bare limbs at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.

Mission Accomplished

This is the joy of accomplishment summed up in a photo. When they do this after a busy weekend, I know I've done my job right.

Life of Pie

Wednesday: It's pie making night. Can't wait to get started!

Thursday: Baking 2 pumpkin pies last night meant I could eat it for breakfast today, and nobody at dinner was the wiser. An awesome precedent is set.

Friday: Regular breakfast, pie for elevensies.

Saturday: Ran hard at Frisbee, rewarded with pie for breakfast. Thinking about another piece for lunch dessert...

A Little Light Reading

Carter & Claire catch rays before school Friday morning with Captain Underpants.

Mr. Handsome

Carter with his hair done, ready for action at church. Mind you, this is not what he looks like in real life ... he's 8 after all.

When Carter sees himself in the mirror with kempt, ruly hair (these are words without the "un-" in front of them, right?), he remembers the Calvin & Hobbes where Calvin's parents are trying to take a nice Christmas photo of him ... they're worried nobody will recognize him with his hair combed.

Romney 0, Obama 1, Mormons 1

I don't get into politics and don't tell people how I vote because I've got better things to do with my energy than spectate team sports or undermine the friendships I've built.

But I do love the sociology behind it all. Fascinating to me in the 2012 presidential election was seeing a Mormon in such the limelight. After a while, people accepted Mitt's religion and it became a non-issue. What a significant breakthrough.

In my high school of 1,200 kids I was one of maybe 4 Mormons. A minority is defined as < 49% ... here we're talking about 0.003%.

So I'll really miss the headlines like this one yesterday on CNN's valuable home page real estate: What would a Mormon White House look like? Of course, the article's gone today.

I talked to a work colleague in Utah today and jokingly asked if the flags were at half-mast?

November 7, 2012 may be known as the day all the Mormons disappeared. Mitt and fam will go back to their lives, and the rest of us will go back to our previous pursuits, fielding fewer questions about our beliefs. But for political candidates in the future — or co-workers, or neighbors, or future employers — a trail has been blazed.

Unlike some of my friends who think Romney's defeat equals the end of the world, to me this election cycle provided a different kind of win.

Produced

For the last 9 months I've been having giant salads 4-5 times per week for dinner, and I'm totally hooked. I look forward to them every night. I've come to appreciate color and texture in foods, and also, coldness — this has it all. I haven't gotten bored of it yet.

Usually there are 10-12 ingredients involved, so it takes a half hour to put together. That's OK because it takes that long to eat it, which is a very rewarding prep time-to-eating time ratio. Dishes are minimal. My toughest decision each night is which vinaigrette I'm in the mood for.

Here's what's in this one —

• spinach (always)
• cucumbers
• a pear
• broccoli
• grape tomatoes
• garbanzos (essential)
• cantaloupe
• strawberries
• cottage cheese
• feta cheese sprinkles
• fake crab
• 2 strips of bacon
• red onion
• pomegranate-berry vinaigrette

I'm now 10 pounds lighter that the low mark on this graph. If I keep eating like this I should pretty much live to be 100, right?

Sea Level

I took this picture near Port Jefferson, NY at the end of September, my first time on Long Island. Madeleine and I were on a college visit to Stony Brook University, and after we were done we drove a few miles to the water to take a look. I grew up at elevation 12 feet near the water in Florida, so I was excited to see the New York coastline this first time.

We found this beautiful cove with a couple hundred boats parked at anchor, with undeveloped beach on the perimeter. Instead of the pink and orange stucco mansions surrounded by canals and docks of Florida, here there were more traditional New England houses across the beach road overlooking the natural coastline. We only spent a couple minutes there, but I loved being there to take it in. I keep discovering new places like this that make New York so great.

After watching the destruction from Hurricane Sandy on TV I fear this idyllic scene from 6 weeks ago is gone. I'm wondering whether all these boats are now piled on someone's front yard where their house used to be.

It's been a hard week. I spent a good portion of it monitoring emergency websites and updating them for friends in New York and New Jersey who can't get to work. I spoke with one colleague on Long Island, he described the storm surge flooding, trees down everyplace, and that their only power is coming from generators. These people live 3 hours away and have the same license plates as me. I'm trying to figure out what I can do.

Alabaster Silver Metallic

There’s a reason I didn’t get the blue one. Wait to hear and consider all offers before you choose your ride home.

Will Brave Hurricane for Chocolate

This year's jack-o-lanterns came from a pumpkin field in Schoharie, which last fall was 20 feet underwater, thanks to Hurricane Irene.

Thankfully, Super Storm Sandy was a non-event here last night, not much water or wind and very few lost power. Not so on the coast. Halloween night there's a 30% chance for rain from the last bands of weather passing through, but if it happens this won't be the first time we've had to trade umbrellas for candy. A minor inconvenience compared to how it could have turned out.

I didn't have candles when I took this photo, so I got creative with my camera gear. I wrapped my flash in a plastic bag and positioned it intra-gourd (slimy guts, ew), set up an old-school double exposure, and fired off each pumpkin separately. No Photoshop.

We Work the Black Seam

If you compliment me on how nicely my Scout shirt badges are sewn on, I'll say "thank you," because I did them myself. Real men can run a sewing machine.

This weekend I elevated my inner seamster and made beanbags out of an old denim shirt (spot the Nordstrom sailboat). A few years back my sister made us the nicest set of denim beanbags, with frayed edges like you'd find on cutoff shorts — so cool. They made Dino-Toss a reality. Now we can look for some other beanbag games to play.

Today's post title is for my brother, who is a big Sting fan.

Monsoon Season

I love General Conference! During the past 6 months on my daily commute I’ve replaced NPR with Conference talks from April 2012 and before. I can’t describe what an amazing difference it has made for me, the hidden treasures I’ve gained. Almost daily I arrive at work and grab my notebook to record some new insight, just for me. My favorite talk last time was Richard G. Scott’s on receiving inspiration and revelation; I’ve literally gone back to listen to or read it 20 times.

This weekend’s Conference was historic and the absolute best I’ve ever been part of — I’ve never felt so close to the gospel, so much a part of the church. Saturday’s MP3s are online now and I’ve already started on them. It’s going to be really hard to pick my favorite talk this time: Nelson? Holland? Oaks? Eyring/Pavilion? Bowen? Echo Hawk? There were some gorgeous musical performances: especially Saturday a.m. “I Will Follow God's Plan,” and the Sunday solo on “Does the Journey Seem Long?” which had me in tears.

It’s going to be a great 6 months!

Pharmacy Photo

One of my photos just got published nationally! From my first environmental shoot at the Albany VA pharmacy.

This was an incredibly tough picture to pull off: the pharmacist in the window is behind bulletproof glass and a locked area, pretty much in the dark. I've got 2 flashes outside the window tripping (sometimes, ugh) another flash inside the pharmacy.

As I’m worried about all flashes firing I’m meanwhile trying to avoid reflections, frame all layers of activity, and focus. This took all the tricks in my book. Here's the Facebook post where we used it, and the feature article.

Winner/Whiner

Good news: I won a FB cover photo contest for a big photo store! Bad news: will the $29 prize even buy me a lens cap?

Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh, Huckleberry

Huckleberry-raspberry freezer jam, made by a sweet little grandma from wild berries in Idaho, whisked by plane to New York. For this tiny container we're talking Sasquatch-sized carbon footprint.

This jar fell into my possession because of the rule: you don't show up to dinner empty-handed. I love that rule.

There's one last trickle of it left in the fridge. I'm still debating: do I scarf the rest? Or save it indefinitely until it dries out, a memory and monument to its delicate, rare, exquisite goodness?

I wax poetic, but you didn't taste the jam.

Reading The Book of Mormon in One Day

Earlier this month on Labor Day I read the entire Book of Mormon, cover to cover, in one day. Except for a fast shower and travel time for McDinner I read straight through from 6:10 a.m. Monday to 12:35 a.m. Tuesday, an 18-1/2 hour roundtrip.

This was the second time I've read the Book of Mormon in one day, I first did it when I was 20 as a missionary (also on Labor Day).

Here are some things that stuck out for me on this 30,000-foot view of the Book of Mormon — I note most of them because of the number of times they're mentioned.

Stamina. It's hard to read 531 pages of anything in one day. I read the first couple dozen chapters casually, but I realized I'd never make it unless I sped up. I started dragging a notepaper line by line down the page to regulate my pace.

One day is not the best way. The Book of Mormon is a volume of scripture comparable to the Bible, and is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. This book is packed with spiritual insights prepared specifically for our day; Latter-day Saints are encouraged to study the Book of Mormon and the Bible daily. It deserves careful reading, pondering and re-reading — not a 29 page-per-hour pace.

Hey, I never saw that! Reading in one day gave me 4 pages of notes on passages and topics I want to go back and study further.

History repeats itself. Flipping through 1,000 years of history in one sitting underscores some recurring themes — let me know if any of this sounds familiar:

• The world is a place of constant conflict and war
• The selfish seeking of power by one person can destroy millions of lives
• Societal acceptance of corruption and immoral behavior leads to the collapse of civilization
• Trusting in God brings protection and deliverance

The Bible is incomplete. The prophets in the Book of Mormon leave Jerusalem in 600 B.C. carrying the "brass plates," their equivalent to the Old Testament writings we have today. However, they quote prophets not found in our Old Testament: Zenos, Zenock, Ezias, and Neum.

Different voices. One of the accusations critics like to raise is that Joseph Smith was a creative writer and made this book up, rather than translated it from ancient plates. If you look at parts where different speakers are quoted, the language style varies. For instance, Amulek had a flowery way of speaking. I noticed my pace slow in passages where the voice changed.

Not all pages created equal. Some pages are shorter than others, based on how much space the footnotes claim (e.g. see p. 175). But then, lengthy footnotes on a page usually means there's important material present. Pages about battles are longer, but with reduced doctrinal significance are a quicker read.

Mistakes of men. In a couple of passages, ancient prophets Mormon and his son Moroni worry about future readers criticizing or condemning the book because of its faults or weaknesses, which they identify as the "mistakes of men." I've never understood what this might have meant until reading it through this time in one day:

• It doesn't read straight through like a single story.
• It often lacks a smooth transition from one period to another.
• There can be gaps of dozens, or hundreds of years where records were not kept.
• Many times the author seems to give up and say ‘a hundredth part' of the history cannot be written.
• Mormon didn't write or abridge the entire record bearing his name: the first quarter of the book (a 300-year span) was dropped into place as-is from another set of authors.
• There is full character development of some protagonists (Nephi from 1 Nephi) vs. sketchy backgrounds on others (Nephi³, one of Christ's disciples)
• That disjointed side story from 4,000 B.C. (oh yeah, I forgot the Book of Ether) dropped in at the end at 400 A.D.

I've decided to be forgiving of how much the Book of Mormon jumps around: I've never personally had to use a nail to scratch 500+ pages onto metal plates, using a foreign language I don't speak daily, not really knowing who my audience is, while the bad guys are chasing me with swords.

Family values. The people of the Book of Mormon were Jews who were led to America. It amazes me how strongly they recalled and identified with their people's heritage of deliverance and being favored of God, despite the coming and going of generations and transplantation in a new land. Most don't celebrate their family ties like this today.

Reality of evil. God exists, and so does Satan's influence. I took special notice this time how boldly Book of Mormon authors pointed out the origin of all iniquity in their society — which society was eventually destroyed, by the way. In our day we strive to be politically correct about sin: we defend it as individual freedom of choice, and make talk show celebrities out of those who follow their own rules instead of God's. The Book of Mormon shows the consequences if we don't keep God's law and oppose evil.

Be sober. The word "sober" or "soberness" shows up about 10 times, and really stuck out to me. Its usage is not as the opposite of "drunk" (though there are some fun stories where the inebriated are defeated in battle). The Book of Mormon uses "sober" to describe how individuals should be serious about doing their duty. I like it.

Drink Pink Yink Ink

My favorite breakfast drink lately.

Cheers to you, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, and to yinks everywhere.

A Matter of Taste

This week at Cub Scouts we worked on the Fitness badge. Nutrition is one of the major topics.

I had the brainwave to put together a blindfolded taste test as a way to talk about healthy eating habits. And it would be a good way to get my boys to try foods they wouldn't normally eat.

We had a lot of fun! It was hilarious watching their 10-year-old reactions after some of the things we fed them!

The menu —

• broccoli
• celery
• chicken nuggets
• corn
• Fig Newtons
• garbanzo beans
• green onions (forgot to serve these, rats!)
• jellybeans
• meatballs
• raspberries
• red grapes
• root beer
• skim milk
• spaghetti with tomato sauce (eaten with the hands)
• strawberry Pop-Tarts
• Twix candy bar
• wheat bread

Two rules: they weren’t allowed to shout out what the food was after they tried it so everybody could give it a fair chance, and they had to assign a letter grade (A–F) on how well they liked each food. I proposed a third rule that they had to try everything, but couldn’t make that stick.

Universally hated: Fig Newtons and garbanzos. The faces they made on these were so funny, they couldn’t wait to get the vile filth out of their mouths.

Universally loved: Jellybeans, bread, grapes. When the boys came across something they enjoyed they would shove it in their mouths and yell, “Yeah! I love this!”

Tooth Fairy's Utility Belt

Claire swallowed her loose front tooth in the night. The next night we put a note under her pillow to ask the Tooth Fairy to get it with her tractor beam.

Blue Moon

If the moon's not blue for you, you bring blue for the moon.

I took this tonight on the second full moon of the month. Photoshop helped sadden things.

Nanci Griffith has a really nice song about the blue moon. I'm not usually a folk/country music guy, but if you don't know about Nanci, you should. She's awesome.

Hillsboro Lighthouse

Just before I left my mother’s home in Missouri this week I asked if I could have this painting I remember from my childhood — and she said yes!

It’s a scene of the 1907 lighthouse at Hillsboro Beach, Florida, along the beach where I grew up, just south of my grandfather’s apartment building he constructed around 1965. We lived there for a while after I was born when my dad managed the building, and later again after we sold our house. Every morning the sun would rise over the water and glare in my bedroom window to wake me for middle school.

My grandfather lived on the entire top penthouse floor of the building. His home was like a museum of paintings and marble statues, books, fancy furniture and rugs. From his top floor view you could watch the lighthouse revolve all night to beckon boats back into Hillsboro Inlet.

My mom painted this probably in the late 1960s, and I love that one-of-a-kind aspect of it, and that it’s her work. When I visit my aunt’s and uncles’ homes I see her paintings displayed all over, and this is my first one. What I also love is the rough wilderness of the beach it shows from the time we lived there. It’s the Florida I remember, before all the high rises, mansions and development.

Unfinished Business

This week at Cub Scouts for our Citizen pin we created collages about America. I decided to do one, too.

I used a 10th grade geometry trick to lay down 13 stripes, and eyeballed the rest. There were only Kindergarten safety scissors to use; I think it added to my piece. It was time to end before I could do more stars and start on the white stripes — it will remain unfinished, but I was happy enough with how it turned out.

I’m a big fan of shapes as art: I’ve got a great Matisse print from the Dallas Museum of Art hanging in my place, and my favorite library books in the kids section come from Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert, and Leo Lionni. Someday I'm going to illustrate a children's book.

My boys can learn first aid and camping in Boy Scouts. For now in Cubs we’re going to have fun.

Power Out? Dessert Party, My Place

I know I've talked here and there about why it's great to live in New York state, but it's time to give the topic its own tag.

Stewart's is this corner store around the Albany region which has the absolute best milk and ice cream. You can get scoops in cones, sundaes and milkshakes old school, or buy it in cartons, which they still sell it in actual half gallons, not these ripoff 1.5 quart containers.

I used to think "plain vanilla" was an oxymoron, but Stewart's Philly Vanilla got me straightened out. It's got specks of vanilla bean that remind you vanilla is a flavor. It's so good on its own, or with Hershey's syrup, or with strawberries, but it also pairs well with any other dessert. When it's one of the 3 flavors of the week on sale I stock up — I bought 5 the other day.

Stewart's other flavors are good, too, but they're just passing flings. I've found true love.

Anachronistic

Hey, Old Navy: Next time you do a retro Stones' 1975 tour t-shirt, don't use a font from 1992!

Victory Tour

What a fantastic night I had! I haven’t played clarinet since high school, and tonight was my first concert with the Scotia-Glenville Community Band. The forecast said rain so we played at the high school auditorium instead of the outdoor pavilion along the Mohawk River. Slight bummer, but the concert was still so much fun.

I joined late in the season, so my only practice with the full band was my sightreading session last Thursday night, one week ago. I was so turned around that night trying to remember how to read music and figure out which notes I should be playing. Before we ran through the first song, I turned to fellow clarinet Alexis and pointed to notes 3 lines below the staff and asked if my instrument would play that low. That’s how lost I was at reading last week.

I printed a fingering chart off the web and relearned my notes. I got on band music publisher websites, or found YouTube home videos of other high school bands playing our same arrangements, and stripped the audio so I could figure out how I was supposed to sound and where I came in.

It worked perfectly — I spent 2-3 hours every day for the last seven days in a row practicing with full bands. I didn’t get lost once tonight, and thankfully, our director (Allison Atchley from S-G High School) conducted a little slower than I had been practicing. I hit notes I couldn’t get to fast enough during my practice this week … I did even better than I expected. I listened to Lisa on the other side of me playing accents marked on the notes (oops, forgot to practice those) so I adjusted midcourse and improved during the concert. And instead of playing 2 hours straight and getting really tired like I did during practice sessions, we took an intermission, and I was able to make it through all 9 songs just fine.

This venture that started in complete frustration one week ago became a major victory for me tonight. I wasn’t perfect, I didn’t hit every note, but I held my own and sounded great for one week of playing. I hope to do this again next summer and perform even better.

This feels like one of the bravest things I’ve done in a while, to walk in off the street with a goal, then work really hard all week long and end up making a contribution.

I’m wiped out after this week, but really happy about what I pulled off. Time to figure out what to tackle next.

Tendrils

Lightning tendrils looking east over Schenectady Airport.

Panic in B-Flat

I must be crazy. Last night I took my clarinet — the one I haven’t played since high school — to my first practice with the Scotia-Glenville Community Band. At the concert in the park last week the director announced, “Come play with us! We take all skill levels!” I can tell you that statement is true, because they let me in the door. How hard could it be, right?

Last night at practice I got my backside kicked. There are 9 complex songs. Meanwhile: I don’t remember all the notes, my fingerings are rusty, my embouchure is nonexistent, I forgot how to read music, there are lots of nasty runs and phrasings, most songs switch keys and some even vary time signatures all the way through. I can sort of play parts of the Star Wars medley so far.

Did I mention the concert’s one week away?

But this is No. 27 on my list of New Year’s resolutions: "Be musical." So I’m going to stick it out. I have new appreciation for those who play well and make it look easy — I know how hard you've worked. I've been playing 1-1/2 hours so far tonight and I'm still trying to get through my second song. Beth, I hear you calling.

[Update 7/26/2012: we're using the rain location that follows.] If you're a fan of horror, the concert will be Thursday, July 26, 7:00 p.m. at Scotia-Glenville High School. I’ll be practicing like crazy until then.

Birthday Un-cake

I make a mean scratch chocolate cake with an emphasis on homemade frosting, but my birthday buddy Ro is not a big chocolate person (nobody's perfect).

So I learned to make shortcake last week and this is how it turned out. The blue garnish was my patriotic addition to the recipe. It was a hit at the office, and Claire is now an official fan.

Here's the part I can't believe — two of the partakers at work had never had strawberry shortcake! Where have these guys been, the fifth moon of Pluto?

Sheets Happen

This is what my office mate, Ro is going to see when she walks in Thursday morning. It's like Vanna White attacked the place. A guy from down the hall stopped in to say goodnight and did a double take — it's huge.

This weekend I made my first shortcake from scratch as a trial run; tonight I put together an improved batch: I made them bigger. I'm going to slice and mash strawberries in the morning. Got my hand mixer packed with a sandwich bag of sugar to fluff the whipping cream there.

She's not going to know what hit her.

Hard Reset

I've fallen somewhat silent over the last several months, and maybe you’ve noticed. The past year has been the most challenging time of my life.

Joanie and I have divorced. I got word yesterday it is official.

We've been carefully considering this difficult step for a while. I like to be an open person, so not talking to others about what’s been going on has been one of the hardest parts. I’ve been writing and rewriting this post for 7 months; this is draft 12 and I’m still not sure there’s a good way to talk about this. But I needed to start somewhere.

We've been trying to fix things for the past few years. Going through the process of addressing what was wrong helped us clarify the issues. We became two different people in our priorities and goals, and we each needed our own space to acknowledge this.

I am a product of parents who split up. Even as a teen thinking about getting married someday this is the one thing I said I would never do — I still don't like using the "D" word. But sometimes this is what life deals you. I set up an apartment and we separated February 1.

I've made it pretty well so far. There have been some solitary moments. There are still some challenges to figure out. Despite the downsides I’m adjusting quickly and making it through.

It has been exciting to have a fresh start. I've revisited skills not used since college. I've had to relearn how to plan meals, find recipes, make shopping lists, watch for sales, rotate the pantry, cook and clean everything myself, create a budget, furnish a home, learn about buying silverware, remember life without unlimited free laundry, be a good single parent in a compressed timeframe.

I've been treating this as my adventure. In the last few months I've gotten a new home, a new office at work, a new car, and a new church responsibility (Cub Scouts). The rug has been pulled from under me and given a good shaking.

There are silver linings. I’ve had to summon courage to uproot everything I know and begin a new life. I’ve had to fight discouragement and refigure my purpose and goals. I’ve learned what a significant support true friends can be, even through the smallest gestures of kindness. This last sentence brings tears.

I’ve had to rely on God more than ever before, and in return I am finding inspiration all around me. I’m finding there is a plan for me, which I catch sight of little by little. I've made a few mistakes along the way trying to adapt to my new surroundings. I'm trying to make things right, and remake myself better. What I'm most amazed by is how much there is yet for me to learn and grow through all this. Opportunity is all around.

All in all, so far, so good, I’m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. I’m getting ready for what comes next.

Junk Culture

These recycled flowers are planted in front of the Luther Place Memorial Church on Thomas Circle in Washington, DC. There’s an entire junk garden around the 1873 church, which doesn’t quite match its stately architecture.

This photo of Thomas Circle is from 1922 — you can see the church at the top center, and there’s the giant Martin Luther statue out front.

Tin Can Alley

At the Albany Tulip Festival the pathways through Washington Park are lined with vendors selling jewelry, kitchen gadgets, hand-blown glass, etc. Usual stuff you'd see at any craft fair.

The one booth that really caught my eye had these ornate votive holders — with a candle going inside they shine intricate patterns onto nearby surfaces. After looking for a minute you realize the lamps are made out of old vegetable cans. Wow, really cool.

Fountains of Wayne

Headlining the Albany Tulip Festival this year was Fountains of Wayne, a band I learned about from a friend in grad school. (The music you listen to in college is essential, even if you're older.) I loved seeing them for free!

They write hooky music with clever, snarky lyrics with frequent references to the northeast — even better. You've probably heard Stacy's Mom, a masterclass in how to write a pop song — it was a definite crowd-pleaser in Washington Park. Adam Schlesinger (in black on bass) wrote the key songs in the Hugh Grant & Drew Barrymore movie Music and Lyrics. Katy Perry covers their song Hackensack, but their original is better.

I never get to use my monster 200mm lens, it looks and weighs the same as a bazooka; this was the perfect chance to try it with some concert photography. I keep forgetting how good it is, I got some great up-close photos. Here's the full set on Flickr.