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Over the River and Through the Woods

Last week we literally went "Over the River and Through the Woods" to get to Turkey Woods where we had a nice Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We were in the middle of nowhere so there was no black friday shopping, only horse visiting, which is much more fun!
Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and is getting in the spirit of Christmas. Only a few more weeks..eek!

Embrace

Embrace. Embrace. Embrace. This word has been floating, hovering, an ominous prefix to many thoughts, swirling about my brain as of late.
Embrace the possibility that things can be different next time(if you don't know what i'm talking about read here), that this phase too shall pass. Embrace the fact that my life will not always look like it does now, for better or for worse, none of us can predict the future. As much as I want to know the answer that things will be alright, I know I'll never get it. You can tell me a million times that it will but in the back of my mind all I will say to you is you don't know that, no one does. You can tell me that the odds are slim that how can something like this happen twice. Life is uncertain, life is messy and definitely never ever perfect. All I can say to myself is embrace, embrace, embrace and trust that things will be as they're going to be and be ok that I can do nothing more.

A week in the life

A few shots from the week. There has been a lot of leave raking in this neck of the woods. Fortunately I'm the one behind the camera so I should say there has been a lot of raking for the husband.

Family of three + a pug

I did a quick photo session with this cute family last weekend. Little did I know how challenging it would be. I had completely forgotten how squirmy nine month old babies are! Next time I will be more prepared, although it's tough to be prepared when it comes to kids. You just never know what you're going to get. This little guy was sure on the move and being held for more than two seconds appeared to be torture. Oh well, I did manage to capture his beautiful blue eyes at least once!
As always you can view more of my photography here

'Tis the season for soup

Since I have to accept that I can no longer walk out of my house in bare feet, well without them freezing off, I have decided that I will embrace soup making. And any good soup needs to start with a good stock. I have attempted vegetarian broths but never beef broth, so my standard tried and true method is with chicken. Get a good chicken, preferably one that has not been injected with any kind of solution or hormones. Who really wants to eat a side a hormones along with their soup? Not me!
So anyway, the preparation is fairly straightforward. Take all your ingredients and put them in a pot, add water to cover, bring to a boil then reduce the heat so that the water is at a very slow simmer. And when I say slow I mean like you see one bubble every few seconds or so. Please do not boil your bird to death, I mean, it's already dead but you get my drift.
If you're using a whole chicken, let it simmer for an hour or so, remove it, let it cool then remove all the meat. Put the carcass back in the pot and let it go for an additional couple of hours. Do not be afraid to leave it all afternoon, just add some additional water if need be. If you are just starting out with a carcass, you can do everything the same and just let it simmer for four hours or so, or longer if you have the time.
Once you feel you have sufficiently extracted every ounce of flavor out of your ingredients, strain them and keep the broth. For an even clearer broth, use a cheesecloth to strain again. Then there you go, you did it, amazing!! Now you have stock or broth or whatever you want to call it! Use it right away or cool and then refrigerate or freeze. Do not let it sit around for long on the counter because bacteria love this stuff. Now, go make risotto, or soup or broth ice cubes! Enjoy!!

Beautiful words to start your weekend

Some inspiring words from the soon to be published gift book "You are the Mother of all Mothers" by Angela Miller. Please help her words come to life so that you may carry them with you where ever you go! Support her here

As always, you can view more of my photography here.

Weekend happiness

This weekend I felt very lucky to photograph my friend Angela and her adorable little family! Aren't they just too cute?!

Angela is also the soon to be author of the gift book "You are the Mother of all Mothers". Her words are an inspiration to every mother who has ever experienced pregnancy loss,still birth or the loss of a child. Before you are able to purchase this book, she needs your help in giving her words life! If you are a bereaved mother, parent, family member or if you know someone who would benefit from these powerful words, I encourage you to click here and support her mission!

If you would like to view more of my photography please click here