New Picture

In honor of my upcoming one year anniversary, I thought I would take a new picture of myself. I find it really embarrassing to do myself, but I knew my neighbors were gone this morning, so at least I could embarrass myself in private.

I have to set up the tripod and the timer and find something to focus on in place of myself. Then I run back and forth posing and then checking the picture, glasses off for the picture, glasses on to check the picture. Every once in a while the auto-focus decides to adjust itself to the background without me in it and I have to put back my stand-in and focus again. All this on top of me not thinking that pictures of myself look like me anymore. I confess that I did some retouching and removed this age bump I have near my eye, but really I think that the $10 Ponds has done a better job than the $80 Elizabeth Arden anti-aging, anti-wrinkle cream.

When I came home from my trip there were two big cucumbers waiting and I picked another one today to give to Sarah. I swear those things grow quick, one day there is no cucumber and the next day there is one 6 inches long. I picked a few green peppers. I'm not sure how big they are supposed to get and the ones I picked look smaller than the ones in the store, but they look ripe and green. Those darn strawberry plants are hanging on and producing a few berries a day, they are small, but I have picked more than the dozen I thought I would get. I might even get a third planter and give the strawberries their own planter to themselves next year. Sarah's raspberry is growing taller than the fence and full of green berries,


Seems to me this is late for raspberries. I went to the fruit and vegetable stand this morning, which for some reason I always have a hard time finding, and the guy said everything is late. They just got corn and it is looking a bit small, but it is from the second crop they planted this year because the first crop drowned. They had raspberries and I bought corn and raspberries and local honey.

This afternoon I took a shot at raisin bread. Every time I use raisins in baking they turn out like small rocks and I never knew the trick is to soak them first. I soaked them in warm water with cinnamon. Kneading the raisins and walnuts into the bread was a bit of a pain and I think the bread could use twice as many,


Next time I will try twice as many raisins and spread them on rolled out dough and roll them inside, like Sarah Lee.