The Act of Giving Thanks

When I was a child, my mother made me write Thank You Notes like there was no Tomorrowto anyone who gave me a gift. After every Christmas, Birthday or Random event, I would sit down with my list and write a note to each person saying thank you for each thing that they gave me. I had to write down each thing, because if you wrote a note to my grandmother saying, “thanks for all the gifts” or, “thanks for the doll” when in fact she gave you a doll AND a necklace, you would get a phone call from Grandma saying, “DIDN’T YOU GET THE NECKLACE I SENT?!”

So I got into the habit of writing Thank You notes. I realize many people never were forcedrequired to do this as a child, so they are not in the habit of doing it as an adult. However, I am of the mindset that a thank you, whether it is verbal, emailed or written in the sky with smoke signals, is warranted, no matter what. If someone gives you a gift, if they take the time to think of you, I think it is only fair to do the same by simply thanking them.

However, this does not always happen. I have sent people gifts and never heard from them. No phone call, no email, no smoke signals. They don’t even mention anything the next time I see them. It’s like it didn’t even happen. Where are their manners? Maybe their mother didn’t teach them to write thank you notes, but weren’t they taught to say thank you if someone gives you something? Don’t you learn this when you are a child? Even at the dentist, after he roots around painfully in your mouth, you say thank you when he gives you the lollypop afterwards. Don’t you?

I would like to blame technology and the internet, but in all actuality, shouldn’t this make it EASIER, not harder, to send a simple note, in the form of a text message, a phone call, or an email (or a tweet or a FB post or…)? Now we have more ways, not less, to say thank you. So why isn’t it happening?

I am appreciative to people who say thanks. So, thank you to all of you who are good at saying thank you! And if you are one of those people that sometimes get too busy to say thank you, maybe you should get off Facebook or Twitter for 27 seconds and send your friend/grandmother/sister a text!

It only takes a minute to say thank you. Not only can it really make someone's day, but I also think it is just plain good manners.

Do you write thank you notes? Do you think that when giving a gift the pleasure of just giving it should be enough? Or would you like to be thanked?

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An Apple A Day Monday: II

I love to bake, especially in autumn. That nice cinnamon smell about the house, the warmth; they are the epitome of fall to me. Besides that, I love figuring out fun things to make with the ingredients on hand. When I saw Kim’s Apple Bundt Cake recipe, I knew that since it was apple season, and we have several trees, and I finally have an oven to use, I would have to make it.

I didn’t make it once; I made it twice, and it was a hit all around (I took one to the Apple Cider potluck and it was gone in about 47 seconds!) I did not have a Bundt pan, but made it work with a bread pan and a pie dish instead. I bought buttermilk for her glaze, but ended up only using about 1/8 of the recommended amount of glaze, since I liked the cake just fine without it.

Kim’s Apple Bundt Cake

3 cups flour

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 tbsp. Cinnamon

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (or you can sub ½ c. applesauce, ½ c. oil for a lower fat version)

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 cups raw peeled, diced apples (I used 2 large apples)

1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I did not put them in)

2 eggs, beaten

Glaze(optional):

½ cup melted butter

½ cup sugar (I only used ¼ cup)

½ cup buttermilk

½ tsp. Baking soda

Peel apples. 

Dice and sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Mix together all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add remaining ingredients, including apples, to dry mix. Stir together until well blended. Spread into a greased pan (1 – 10 inch Bundt pan or any other baking dish). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean. 

For glaze: Mix together all ingredients and drizzle on cake after cake is cooked. I only used about 1/8 of the recommended glaze on one of my cakes and none on the other. I actually prefer it without the glaze, but you can do it either way! 

Notes: I don’t flour my pans, I only butter them, but Kim recommended using flour. It’s your call. Mine came out of the pan just fine. The batter looks like it needs more moisture when you are mixing it up, but it cooks just fine. I did press mine down into the pan on the second batch, which made it a little less crumbly, but also less tall. I recommend a light press, just to keep all the batter together, since the first time one of the cakes split in half (it still tastes great though!)

Next up: What will I do with the leftover buttermilk and the rest of the apples? Don’t forget to check back next Monday to find out...and for another edition of “An Apple a Day”, which will be a feature each Monday in November.

Do you own a Bundt pan? What is your favorite thing to bake in the Fall?

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Since We've No Place to Go

Hello and Happy Sunday! What a fun week, but a cold one. It seems that winter has arrived. As you have seen, I have been busy during my time off doing lots of things that I wanted to do before but didn't have the time...or the oven...to do. So I've been doing some catching up on the enjoyable things in life. So, grab a pumpkin spiced latte (inspired by Kim) or whatever warm cozy drink you can think of and check out what I've been up to during my time off!

I ran a half marathon

I've been using THIS a lot. 

To make lots of THESE. And other things! Now, who is going to help me eat them!? 

We got our first good snow! 

Remember that mountain I climbed? I'm glad I did it last week becuase it would be a lot colder this week! 

 I've been drinking a lot of this. Pots of it. That's coffee by the way. In my favorite mug.

Best coffee mix: 

Coffee

Splash of cream (approx 1/2 inch)

1 Splenda

I finished this series. Not bad! If you haven't already jumped on that bandwagon, I suggest you go ahead and get on!

He and I have been having much quality time together. 

I've been working on my Christmas cards. Yes, it's almost THAT time folks! Here is a sneak peek. Very sneaky. 

What did you do this week? What are your plans for this weekend? What's your favorite Fall (Winter) drink? How do you take your coffee?

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Two Roads Diverged

Happy 11.11.11 Everyone! 

Now that I am not in Missouri anymore, I am running wild. Literally. I am ON the path less taken. Where I am these days is miles from civilization and so I have been running on trails, logging roads, abandoned fire access roads and other secluded roads in order to get my miles in. As you can see from the photos from last week, they are some beautiful places to run, especially in the fall.

Running into people or cars is not really an issue for me here. However, I may run into many other interesting things instead. Like the huge pile of bear scat that I narrowly missed the other day while on my long run. I grew up in the area, so am not particularly afraid of the wild animals. However, one must be careful, especially now when some of the animals are foraging for winter and sometimes come down a little lower on the mountains to find more food.

Instead of cars, here are some of the things you may run into in my neck of the woods. Once again, this is in a very literal sense.

Black Bear and Paw Print

Beaver, Grey Squirrel, Feral Pig, Skunk

Rattlesnake

River Otter, Mule Deer, Red Fox

Mountain Lion

All photos were taken from The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada by John Muir Laws. This book is awesome. It details all the plants, animals, prints and scat of the local area. If you are into plants, animals and scat like I am (hehe), you would love this book, or a similar book, for your area.

Do you live in the city or the country? What animals might you encounter near your house? Have you ever gotten too close for comfort to any of them?

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10:12 Landscapes

Landscape photography is something I feel more comfortable doing. The mountains don’t move. Okay, maybe they do, but at least it’s really slow. They don’t talk back either. They are calm and huge and fun to take photos of! However, there are several things you need to consider when taking landscape shots. As always, you need to think about the composition of your photo. Like we learned in week 5, you need to eliminate distractions, apply the rule of thirds, keep an eye on the horizon and try a new perspective from time to time. So, how can we do that when shooting landscapes?

The rule of thirds is easy; just make sure you are lining up a tree or a mountain or the sky in one of those quadrants, like we practiced. You can also use a natural line to create the rule as well as drawing the eye into what you want the viewer to focus on.

Trying a new perspective can be fun. Look at things from above or below in order to take a photo that everyone else has not already taken. Can you get a birds-eye view of something, instead of taking the shot from ground level?  

For those of you with a point and shoot, use the landscape mode, which is the little mountain icon, to shoot your photo. This will cause the camera to have an increase f/stop (remember that from week one?) which will cause the whole photo to be in focus. If you have a lower f/stop, only certain parts (foreground / background) will be in focus and with a landscape photo, you want the entire thing to be crystal clear. Remember, Ansel Adams shot photos at an f/64! If you are not using a point and shoot, remember, the higher the f/stop, the less light is being let in, so you may need to slow down your shutter speed or bump up your ISO if there is insufficient natural light.

Here’s the question we want to consider this week:

What does your view of the world look like?

The assignment was to share your view of the wide, wide world. We were reminded to select an f/stop around f/22, compose our photo with the entire scene in mind, and apply any of the following 10 tips:

1. Use a wide angle lens (if you have one)

2. Find a bird's eye view

3. Locate a focal point

4. Consider composition

5. Pay attention to the time of day

6. Play with shadows, silhouettes, and reflections

7. Use lines to lead the eye

8. Consider a city scene

9. Take a panoramic photo

10. Capture a nighttime scene

As you can see, in the first photo, I achieved a bird’s eye view of this landscape by climbing up to the top of another mountain. Maybe hiking is not your cup of tea; that’s okay. You can take the elevator to the top of the Empire State building and get the same result.

In this photo, you can see that the focal point is that mountain top, which I was trying to get to!

In this photo, I used the line of the river to draw your eye. I also tried to apply the rule of thirds, but I may have wanted to raise my camera just a bit in order to have a little more sky in the photo.

In this, the lines of the beach and the lines of the sun are good, although I should have maybe stood a little closer to the water to make more of an angle, rather than the flat line of the ocean.

This photo used the city as the landscape instead of using natural elements.

This photo shows you what a difference the time of day makes. In the earlier morning, the sun is not up enough, so the light is kind of grey, instead of being warmer. The colors of the trees and water are more pronounced when the sunlight is on them. The contrast of the blue sky instead of the washed out grey one makes for a more interesting photo.

What I learned: Take your time. Like I said before, the mountains are not moving very fast. You can afford to think about your shot and compose it right. Try standing in a few different places to get a better angle. Consider the time of day. As you saw in the last photo set, it makes a big difference. Go to the same place several times; you may be surprised at the differences each time.

Don’t forget to link up with Kate and to join us next week when we will be looking at Our Daily Environments. We only have two weeks left, but you can still join in the fun at any time!

Do you like taking landscape photos? Do you prefer city-scapes or natural landscapes?

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