the inkling network: January 2010

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

the mousey diner's easy-as-pie quiche

you'll be hard-pressed to find a smallwoods critter who doesn't enjoy quiche for dinner. it's easy, it's cheesey, and you can pretty much put whatever you like in it. don't be afraid to substitute the brocolli and onion for corn, asparagus, or even swiss cheese instead of mozzarella.

we usually pair quiche with tomato soup for a warm, light meal.

the mousey diner's easy-as-pie quiche

this recipe makes two pies, so enjoy one now and freeze the other for later -- or invite some friends over for dinner.

use rachel's pie crust recipe at heart-of-light, or just use frozen ones if you don't have time to make your own.

the mousey diner's easy-as-pie quiche (makes two pies)

two 10" pie crusts, unbaked
2 tbl butter
1 cup sliced onion
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (frozen is fine)
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, grated
4 eggs
dash nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tbl sugar
1 cup whipping cream or milk

preheat oven to 375 degrees. saute onion in butter. sprinkle the bottom of pie shells with cheese, then onion, then broccoli.

in a medium bowl, beat eggs slightly with whisk. add the rest of ingredients; beat until well combined. pour equal parts into pie shells.

bake about 40 minutes or until puffy and golden.

Monday, January 25, 2010

one more

isaiah, one year to the day.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

weekend report, birthday edition

isaiah's where the wild things are themed birthday party was a success. a big thanks to my mom for the lovely cakes and to jamie's mom for hosting everyone for lunch. mom, i'm enjoying some leftover homemade birthday cake as i write!

please excuse my dusty scanner and lazy crops on these diana instant back shots (thanks again to cary for the back). and i'm not sure what's going on with the splotches in the top right corners. the larger images were taken on the nikon (thanks to rachael). i'm also looking forward to getting some b&w film back.

the birthday boy.

hanging out with family.

homemade smash cake.

slightly smashed.

homemade cake for everyone else.

opening presents with mama.

playing with presents with cousin sophie and daddy.

a. lot. of. cameras.

Friday, January 22, 2010

instant back

i've hardly taken any pictures with my nikon since i got the diana for christmas. so this week, i made a point to take some with the old nikon.

isaiah, a few weeks shy of one year.

with the nikon, i typically don't limit myself to how many images i take. and why would i? the camera holds like a thousand images. so i'll take 30 shots, look throught them and delete about half of them, shoot 30 more, then delete some more, etc. i dump like 100 images or more on our external harddrive and pick my favorites to develop. i'm not sure how many nikon images i have from the past year, but it's a LOT.

with the diana, it's obviously a lot different. i get 12 or 16 images per roll of film, so i shoot carefully. i jot notes so that i can compare how i took a shot and how the image turns out. then there's the wait. and getting the images back feels like christmas day.

this weekend, we're having a little family birthday party for isaiah. i was thinking it would be fun to bring jamie's old polaroid camera. unfortunately, polaroid film is no longer made.

fugifilm instax mini
source: amazon.com

enter fugifilm instax mini instant camera. i've read rave reviews about this cute cousin to the old polaroid. and who can resist the credit-card sized images?

but of course, i love my diana. and i'm not a big fan of autoflash. and i'm not sure i'm cool enough to justify buying another camera right now.

diana instant back source: amazon.com

enter diana instant back. the beauty of the diana with instant gratification of tiny polaroids. pure genius! i'm kind of in love.

instant back test shot. isaiah at the window.

since i don't have an excuse to buy the instant back for myself right now, i'm very excited to be borrowing one for the weekend (thanks, cary!). even better, the back is still attached to his diana, so my diana will be freed up to shoot b&w film.

i'm excited.

have a lovely weekend!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

haiti nutrition project

there are so many ways to give to haiti right now.

i recently learned about the haiti nutrition project. joel & his wife mandy have been working in haiti for a few years now with this organization. they work hand-in-hand with canaan orphanage. joel describes it as "part orphanage, part school, part church, and right now, a relief center."

if you're looking not only to alleviate the current suffering in light of the earthquake, but also to help establish long-term care for haiti, consider supporting these guys. they are doing amazing work.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

smallwoods cinema: touch of evil

charlton heston, janet leigh, and orson welles star in welles' touch of evil (1958).

charlton heston and janet leigh, who you'll recognize from psycho
source: doctormacro1

and of course, orson welles.
source: doctor macro1

this one is pretty exciting. an explosion, crooked cops, drugs, a kipnapping, sneaky stuff, a honeymoon -- it all takes place at the u.s./mexico border.

it's kind of interesting to see the actors' real nationalities versus the roles they play. like charlton heston plays the part of a mexican guy. and a guy from malta plays an american cop.

cheers!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

2010 value resolve

i have mixed feelings about new year's resolutions.

it's weird, because i enjoy setting goals. i love making lists, feeling like i am accomplishing something. i am a nerd. i get excited learning about other people's aspirations, rules of simplifying their lives, dieting, exercising, doing what they love, getting out of debt, redecorating or whatever.

bear with me. right now, i'm in the middle of reading a book on parenting a toddler. i was looking forward to learning some specific methods of raising a well-behaved child. what's the best way to discipline at home? what do i do when he pitches a fit in public?

to my initial disappointment, the book dedicates an entire chapter to emphasize that your values and beliefs should govern the goals and methods of parenting. so, they say, first, decide what your values and beliefs are as a parent, and recognize that those values are more important than the methods of parenting. then, the methods will fall into place.

it's a simple concept, but i think it will provide a foundation for those moments when i will inevitably wonder, "what should i do now?" defining my values will allow me not to worry in a given moment that i might not do the one correct thing to be the perfect parent. i will be able to recognize that there are lots of choices for discipline. there are lots of goals that i could set in order to teach and encourage my child. and if i am clinging to my values, then the methods become flexible in order to serve their purpose.

so, back to new years resolutions. i feel like the whole concept of "beliefs before goals" also applies to new years resolutions. how much should i exercise? where do i start in simplifying my life? should i blog more? should i blog less? there are countless goals that i could set. but i feel like i have to ask myself: are my goals in response to my beliefs? are they serving an overarching purpose? or do i create them so that i can obtain a temporary sense of accomplishment?

this weekend, i was challenged and inspired to ask myself what i truly value. the answer will inevitably affect how i live and what goals i set. i know What i want to value. my goal is to live in a way that values nothing else.

how do you decide what resolutions to set?

Friday, January 8, 2010

film -- roll number 1

jamie has now solved the problem with our scanner, so i'm happy to share some thoughts and prints from my first roll of film taken with the diana.

me & isaiah, day after christmas, at twilight.

i used 400 iso b&w film. i set it to take 16 small frame shots, which is why there is a black frame around the images. i had read that i shouldn't be discouraged if the first couple of rolls of film don't turn out at all, so i'm encouraged that i have something to show.

lunchtime.

after going through about half of the roll, i read a helpful bit of information about the viewfinder. since it is located above the lens, the images turn out to be a little below what you see as you're shooting. i think this highchair shot illustrates this point rather well.

isaiah and jamie on a sunny afternoon

another piece of advice i had read is that if you have your heart set on getting your first roll of film to come out, then save your shooting for sunny days. and, i can see what they mean. it's pretty easy to get a nice, clean shot with sunny conditions.

isaiah's first dill pickle gravy christmas dinner. he loved it. he is a harper after all.

christmas day in daddy's lap.

on the other hand, clarity wasn't a high priority for me. thumbing through my diana book, i was really drawn to one photographer's work in particular. he noted that, "diana likes low light better than harsh bright days." i found this to be very interesting, as it goes against what most people advise about sunny-day shots. so, i went out on a limb and shot mostly indoor shots. and i'm really glad that i did.

i'm in the middle of my second roll of film which is set to 12 large-frame shots. i'm concerned that i exposed the film as i was loading it, so we'll see if anything turns out. i've also taken a couple of shots thinking it was on one setting and then realizing it was on another. oh well. i think i will keep a pace of developing a roll of film every month, so stay tuned for another diana update in a few weeks.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

flowers and film

i have been quite sick. yesterday was the first day i felt like myself in a week.

jamie bought me flowers... and took care of everything for 5 days while i stayed in bed. i survived the first day because mom came over (with homemade soup) and took care of isaiah. new years happened somewhere in there.

and now it's time for me to realize that isaiah is almost a year old.

a diana update: i got my first roll of film back, and i'm very happy with how it turned out, especially the indoor shots. my scanner is not working right now, but i will share asap...

Friday, January 1, 2010

smallwoods stories index

{in chronological order}

a yawnmonster adventure -- 2005

a story about imaginary creatures that travel through dreams between reality and dreamland and escape through our yawns. you can't see them because they travel in invis-i-bubbles! as a smallwoods aside, clear inkling has a fear of yawnmonsters because of their pranks and mischief.

mr. fox's "studies of a ninl & pitl life" -- 2006

a comprehensive study of the relationship between a ninl and a pea. an essay by mr. fox, edited by mr. hoot.

bear mama, bear dad -- 2006

the smallwoods take on goldilocks. mr. fox comes over for story time and tells ninl and pea about the three bears. ninl and pea, not knowing what bears are, pretend to be bears for a day -- based on what they think bears do, according to the story.

ice bear -- 2007

ice bear is a dear friend to the smallwoods community, but he thrives in the colder weather of the bigwoods. he helps organize a bigwoods bottle delivery hub. this is the story of how he came to know the joy of the smallwoods.

the seed story -- 2008

everyone in the smallwoods knows the patl family -- ninl, pea and boo bear. but do you know where the patl family came from? the seed story explains where people come from.