Sweet nothings

apple lit

gotta love the backlight from apple products....

there is no how, only try...

So, a couple of times now in blog comments, people have asked me my camera settings, or how my iPhone took a 'great' shot when their's never does...

I'm the last person to teach you text book settings and ideals... because, nearly as fast as I 'learnt' a rule with my camera, I broke the rule on purpose. I get lazy as much as the next person and am guilty of a thousand 'sins'... if thats how you want to look at it. I like to say, my natural light preference and myself go with the flow. ;) 

Do learn about light, DoF, and well, everything you can about photography. You cant break the rules if you dont know them to start with...
There are loads of excellent places online to learn but usually your camera comes with a fab little book of instructions...they make sense if you take the time to read it you know. I'd like to link to these classes that katrina runs over on Capture your 365,  which is FAB. the daily prompts are fun too - anything to make you take more photos is a plus. And also I'd like to link to Sarah's brilliant blog posts about learning to use your camera from a mumma/parenting point of view. {which is indeed why a whole bunch of us picked up a camera to start with} 

As for your iPhone, just because its too trendy for instruction booklets dont assume you just point the phone and press to take a picture. I'm still amazed how many long time iPhone owners didnt know you can alter the focal point and/or the light reading by taping the screen when in camera mode. Tap the dark areas to lighten it, the light areas to darken it. Tap the exact spot you want in focus and, please for the love of all things camera shaped, turn the flash off! LOTS of shots and advice online to improve it even further, especially now, when the camera on the iPhone 5 is really rather good. 

 So I can happily tell you how I do it, but not suggest how I do it is the only way to do it :)
When I'm on a 'real camera' walk with the family, I cannot alter my camera drastically every shot - nobody will wat for me, the bird will fly away, etc etc.  I pick a good manual setting for the day and light conditions. Maybe iso 125, usually-being me- I like my Fstop around 4, and then I alter to my light metres advice as I shoot. Just so I can keep going, keep moving and get most shots. Or I can plonk it on AV and not think so hard for every moment...or I can hit TV/S ...you get the idea - no great rules, I do it all ways. But do remember to check your first few shots and alter as you see fit.

Do take the time to use your big camera as well as your trendy phone camera. I love the iPhone for its ability to capture everything, and do it damn well sometimes, but nothing says gorgeous shot like a good one taken on the big guy...

Still, after years of learning and trying things out, the very best piece of advice ever given to me {by my beloved photography tutor back in college} was move. He said to me -move your feet. get up, get closer, crouch down, stand on tiptoe, go round the side, and get even closer than that ;) Just about every photo from a non professional could have been improved by getting closer. He was very right. 

and I'll leave you with a shot of whats at the top of my Christmas list ;)

 

 

iphone dusk...

pretty pink streaks as the day came to an end. 

 

fav iPhone picture- scrapbooked!

ten on tuesday 30th April

1) Mr Britguy had a birthday this week. He is now as old as me again. I do not like the teasing I get for the part of the year we are different ages. I think he enjoyed his birthday.... hard to tell. Men are not generally birthday folk. Me -I like attention, fuss and gifts on my day ;) He likes breakfast in bed, a gift or two, a day off work and thats about it.  Whilst out with Grown up Son we found this sign and made Mr Britguy stand next to it. funny!

2) I have lost my sorting out mojo. So much in my downloads folder to file, so many emails to delete, so many personal  photos to edit, pile of paperwork to sort.... meh. just cant be faffed. Its not urgent or exciting, so it gets left. 

3) I have new medicines... and they have knocked me for six. I'm so tired in a dizzy spaced out way. lovely, such fun!

4) I stepped up to confrontation this week, and its exhausting.... I'm rubbish at confrontation, {other than realising when its needed its needed, brushing things under the carpet is bad for your health} and it seems to make no difference if I am in the right or wrong, I find it equally as stressful. I don't know how well I handled it, I made my point, I got my apology and I moved on. breeeeeeeeath out and keep going. 

5) Mollie is off to Covent Garden, in London to see a Ballet with her school. How very cool. I cant wait to hear what she thinks of it!  I always get a bit nervous of the kids travelling by school coach, so I personally will be relived when she is home safe ;) Its a Mum thing. 

6) Acronyms. they are a way of my life, my friends life, my online life, and generally normal to me....... and I forget when they arent in every one's life. Get asked a lot by Mr Britguy - he doesnt live online like me ;) my parents/older relatives and a few off the grid friends. Which do you use most? I think LOL is my usual response to something via text.... IYSWIM is too. WTH is the polite version of a frequent one of mine too ;)  My kids use CBA a lot and a few others I sometimes have to pause and think about. 

7)We only have two pet chickens now, but they dilgently lay us eggs everyday. Not enough to feed the family all the eggs we need, but as a special treat.

8) I had m&ms for lunch today. It was a lunch on the run kinda day. These were all I had in my car!

9) Lost a whole hour of time today.... stood at the third floor open window, watching the deer graze in the golden light of not quite dusk. Watched the bunnies eat the lawn of the nearby Manor house, and the finches flit from branch to branch next to me. The wood pigeon dozed on the telegraph pole and the market pigs across the lane raced each other for the sake of it, across their enclosure and back again.  You could hear the plaintive call of the sheep several fields away, a cuckoo calling, and a few squeals from the pigs.
There was prob something more productive I could have done but frankly, I wouldnt have missed that hour for anyone. Living here, with a view from our windows, has taught us more how to just 'be' and how to stop rushing about sometimes.  Views rock.

10) loving HONY photography blog. Just love it. Been reading for a few months now. Would love to do something like that locally - although people being british and based in a village, will no doubt blank me or find me threatening...LOL 

 

Chocolate tiffin recipe...

Never have I been asked for a recipe quite so much as this one. In fact, I have been asked quite...forcefully by some tiffin fans -lol-  that I thought I'd better stop saying I'll blog it, and actually blog it ;)

disclaimer----Dear favourite overseas people....its a brit recipe - as in its got ingredients you might only be able to buy over here, {I have no idea} and is in uk measurements. But thats okay, you'll figure it out ;) Consider it -jokingly- pay back for the times you've asked me to get two sticks of butter or four cups of something we have never ever heard of... ;) mwah!

OKAY

Firstly

lets not count calories 'k? just run around the block after this/before this/tomorrow ;)

You need

a bag of these nuts

or similar {that is 200g made up of brazil, hazelnut, pistachio, cashew and almonds. not cooked, blanched, salted, or anything. just naked!}

200g unsalted butter
140g golden syrup. Oh how I love golden syrup. Its like sin on a spoon dont you think? ;)

300-400 g of gluten free biscuits. Like shortbread, or gingernut. so thats biscuit in the uk sense ;) forgive the vague measurement there, its how I roll in the kitchen... the whathavewegotinthelarder technique... 

70g of cocoa powder. No, you cannot use hot chocolate powder! 
 320g of top quality truly fabulous cooking chocolate. I find mostly milk choc but with a bit of dark chocolate in works best. All dark is a bit intense, and all milk slides off the top as you cut....{can you NOW see why I dont write recipes? I talk so much you have no clue what youre doing now}

Bash nuts in packet with end of rolling pin to sort of break them a bit. pretend nuts are someone you have got mad at this week and bash them hard. Yes that does sound quite violent, sorry. Fun tho...

crush your biscuits mostly into 1cm little size bits. Please goodness dont measure them, just estimate that ;) chunky crumbs are also good. 

line a 25cm brownie type baking tin with greaseproof paper. leave enough hanging over the edge you can get hold of it. 

melt the butter and syrup together over a low heat. 

place the nuts, biscuits and cocoa into a big mixing bowl and mix.

add syrupy butter mixture, stir til completely combined. Try not to eat all of it.

press firmly into lined tin making as flat as possible,

throw it in the freezer.  well, not actually throw it - place it carefully, flat, into the freezer. 

freeze it for about 20/30 minutes. Or be patient and refrigerate for 1 and a half hours. { I have never used the be patient method...}

melt your chocolate, stir to remove all lumps. 

remove tiffin from fridge/freezer

spread melted chocolate evenly across the top. sprinkle little grated chocolate or chocolate decorations if you feel the need. Dont go mad, this is rich enough! 

refrigerate til top chocolate has set.

removed from fridge lift entire paper and tiffin from tin and place on serving plate.

carefully cut into small squares for serving.

we keep ours in the fridge - put it back after cutting off what you want, to keep it firm.

It keeps for five or six days quite happily. But it never seems to lasts that long!!

This is IMO a more grown up recipe, my ten year old loves it, but my seven year old finds it too rich. It is rich  but... my adult friends LOVE it. Its marriage proposal type stuff.. ;)

 

 

 

the now, in panoramic view

After posting my blue sky on the driveway panoramic pic, it made me think the rest of our house -and life - might be quite fun in this view too. The panorama feature on the new iPhone software, making its way into our scrapbooks and 365 collections. I am determined, as I always say, to capture life right now, as is. So - no tidying up, no faking, no preening. Thats hard, but keeps it true. 
Here's the kitchen on a crazy pre school run morning. Messy, but real. You just know, when the kids have grown up, when we dont live here anymore, etc, these snapshots of our world now will be worth their wait in gold. Love this panoramic view on things. {Rest of our world coming asap}

spotty dotty cloudscape

ten on tuesday 22nd April

1) I've just discovered the 'dressing room' part of the H&M website. How fun. - you can try on {on a digital model} the clothes you are looking at, adding layers and shoes and all sorts. then you can bundle it all up and buy it. Its rather fun, and yes I know, its prob been around for ages... but I only found it tonight!

2) oh, I've got into a very bad email habit. I skim my inbox and read any important ones, I ignore the spam/offers/not so urgent ones. I've stopped deleting them....and so currently it says {at least}

and I have lost all interest in deleting them/sorting them. When I have a spare day in my life I will clear my inbox. *no spare day appearing ahead* 

3) I have buyers nerves. I pressed buy on a very....er...quirky gift for Mr Britguy. He's truly going to think I'm nuts. I have no idea if he's going to like it. But, I ask you, what do you buy the man who has everything he wants, asks for nothing {aside from occasionally mentioning he'd like to fly a jet fighter, drive a F1 car and other things costing about the same as a small house...}  and dislikes birthday fuss??? Well, you dont get him a thing, you get him an experience trying something. This has got harder too, as he has now done everything I could think of, {jet and F1 aside...} until somebody randomly mentioned this experience and I thought; oooooo thats new! and then I keep my fingers crossed he will actually do it. 

4) Part of our new house is open plan.... today one of the smoke detectors started doing that really annoying intermittent beep to warn the battery is low. Took me ages wondering around to find out which one it was as they all echo'd in the space... It was the one above the stairwell of course. We dont have a ladder and it required me balancing on a sofa bed, a wooden beam, and leaning across to a sloping wall to get it down. That saying 'do something every day that scares you'? Done it!

5) This is the week of appointments in this house. A whole week of hospital, dentist, doctor, teacher, client, and home appointments. I dont handle such a full and preplanned week of  'grown up' stuff very well, I have to do one day at a time and not panic by looking ahead. If I'm late for anything I get in such a tizz,  in fact I only have to think I'm late for something and I freak out....I am looking forward to next monday!!...

6) I've been asked to guest post at very cool places. I look forward to sharing that with you. fabulous fun and feels like such an honour! I also very much look forward to having a guest post back here :) :) *ahem Trude* ;) 

7) Hurrah for sort of spring, these bursts of warm weather are good for the soul. They do still turn into chilly spells of weather too and are making getting dressed a nightmare. I dont have a clue what to wear unless its raining or hot. this 'may do anything' weather has thrown me. Plus, I swear every year I look in my wardrobe as the warm weather arrives...and find nothing. Is it just me, or do you too say -what the heck did I wear last year??

8) Dont ask unmarried but living together friends  how their husbands are, it annoys them greatly. I'm sorry guys....  I have a pet hate question too tho - dont ask newly moved in people if they are thinking of living here long/moving soon. No, we never say never, but I just UNDID all those boxes thanks!

9) We - the little girls and I - walked approx 12-15 miles this weekend. Its just what you DO when in these lanes and its gloriously sunny. SO lovely.  One route took us by the ice cream parlour after 45 minutes of walking - v handy. But I personally liked the sunday route that {finally!} took us to the pub for lunch and back. Long walk, totally worth it. However, have to say, combined with the 40 minutes weeding also this weekend, my body is complaining a little!  Every time the sun shines here we look at the view and go walk and walk :) - could be either a super fit summer or a very achey one!

10) Speaking of blue skies, I just made this -

from the iPhone...

Love how the iPhone captures little bits in photos that, tho often unimportant by themselves, mount up to daily life when put together. Here are my most recent....if you follow me on instagram, you'll have seen most of these :) I love instagram :) 

LtoR - Hugo's 'feed-me-now' stare. First pekin egg of the year. Fresh eggs = bright yellow yolks that make for bright cake mix! If you look thro our front door you look into a mirror - this is me reflected in the door and mirror. The kitchen sink. Indiana Jones moment - get down the stairs without the monster {Hugo Cat} attacking your bare toes... Best G/F vanilla cake recipe ever, topped with sweeties for little people. Cake, coffee and computer work {aka my life} Daisy and Nellie. Three types of chocolate required for a recipe! Fabulous new book. Two hours later; finished fabulous new book! Stale cake- chickens favourite snack. Theres a tiger hiding under the stairs... Gardening begins :) Ahhhh coffee. I adore Dr Who. New coffee supplies - v important! More herbs for the garden. Triple chocolate caramel filled muffins otherwise known as guilt on a plate.