Day 305: New Years Eve

There is less than 45 minutes left of 2010 here in Chaumont, NY. Had a busy day. The free lunch I have been providing a loved one for a number of years is about to end. A New Years resolution. Goodbye home, rent free home, in Winter Haven. The writing is on the wall and he doesn't even know it. Much to talk about, too tired. I await the dropping of the ball in Times Square, NY, and then I photograph a wedding tomorrow, Jan 1, 2011, in Syracuse, NY.

The photo here is from a wedding I photographed this Summer.

Happy New Year everyone.

Day 304: Hey There Delilah

For whatever reason, I have not paid a lot of attention to contemporary pop music. But I really do like this tune by Plain White T's:  Hey There Delilah. You must sit through a short advertisement before the song starts.  I plan to work up a solo guitar arrangement of this piece. Thanks to Brother Bruce.

Day 303:

Today is Wenesday. It is a gray day and warmer here than in recent weeks. Supposedly it will reach near 50 degrees this weekend. Probably accompanied by rai. That suits me OK for nwo because Saturday, January First, New Years Day, I am photographing a wedding in Syracuse. I would rather make that drive in rain and warmer temps than to be caught up in lake effect snow.

A misty, foggy morning on RT 12E between Chaumont & Limerick, NY, a few weeks ago.

Swedish Proverb:
Those who wish to sing, always find a song.

Day 301: Another Brick Wall

Day 300: Winter Grilling

I am at left, nephew Tim in middle, and celebrity brother Al at right at my home in Chaumont, NY.

In 65 days it will be one year since I began this blog. What's the point? I do not know. yesterday was windy and cold. Here in the North Country we don't put the grill away for the Winter. Well, at least I don't. In fact, grilling in the cold is a fun adventure. So, the day after Christmas my celebrity brother, his son, and I grilled some jerk chicken wings. They took longer to cook than in the Summer because of the cold and wind. But it was fun hanging out by the grill drinking a few beers. The beers bacame slushy near the end. Then we went inside and ate the wings with potato salad. Later we had some great apple crisp.

Jerked chicken wings on the Brinkman All In One grill

My grill of choice for this particular dish is my Brinkman All-in-One grill. I liked it so much I bought a second one. The wings are marinated for a day or more, (I've let them marinade for 4 days before) and then grilled over charcoal and smoked with whole allspice berries.
The jerk marinade is a Jamaican recipe made with Habanero peppers, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, onions, salt, some vegetable oil, all blended together in a blender.

Here is a video about jerk marinade. Go to youtube to find many more vids. As with all recipes there are hundreds of permutations and varying amounts of ingredients, and ingredient quantities. I hate to share my exact recipe, but it I will say it comes from a published cook book. I tried it and liked it, so never tried another one. 

photos by Gary Walts

Day 299: Sony WSC-350 Test Shots

The panarama mode. Easy to use feature. Pan the camera slowly from left to right & the camera creates the image.

It is 12 degrees, grey, with a light snow falling in Chaumont, NY on this day after Christmas. Santa Clause came and went and we all had a nice day. The photos here were some quick snaps to test the Better Half's new Sony WSC-350 digital camera.

Our Christmas tree made with out the flash.

Here is a detail cropped from the previous photo. There is some motion blur caused by the slow shutter needed for the non-flash exposure.

Otherwise, it is slow to motivate today. Off to visit my son later, and then: Grilling some jerk chicken wings out in the snow! Gotta love living in the North Country. More later.

Day 298: Merry Christmas

A crispy 12 degrees here in Chaumont, NY on Christmas morning. The Better Half & I exchanged gifts allready, and are preparing for visitors later in the day. I got the BH a Sony DSC-W350 digital point and shoot camera. It is her first non-film camera. It also shoots HD video clips. The battery is in the charger and we hope to test the camera out soon.

It was a few days after Christmas in 2004, late afternoon and I was just getting home from a long day of driving and photographing for the Post-Standard. The house, yard, driveway were blanketed in fresh snow. There was some great afternoon light and my home looked like a Christmas card. Though I was hungry, tired, and discouraged at the prospect of shovelling all that snow, the scene befor me was a delight. The scene was truly a gift, a reward at the end of a long, stressful day. The next year I used it for a Christmas card which I sent to everyone. This year  I dragged it out of my digital archive to present here. I hope you all are having wonderful Christmas.

Day 297: Christmas Eve

Well the Sun came out today here in the North Country. That is always refreshing. It is Christmas Eve. The photo here was taken on a Christmas Eve a number of years ago at Calcium Community Church. It was a colder evening than most that year. I forget exactly how cold, but it was well below zero. Consequently the sky was clear and the sky was simply ablaze with stars. The service was nice in that little church and finished the entire congregation holding candles and singing Silent Night. I remember not wanting to create any distraction, so I quickly got out of my pew and snapped two shots of this youg boy. The first one was blurry, the 2nd one was acceptable.

This past Wednesday we finished the custom cabinet job. That thing took way longer than I anticipated. But, the payment for that sure came in handy. Especially since I have a family member who is also a tenant of mine and for some reason refuses to pay his rent. In eight months I have gotten a total of $500.00 from him. His rent, for a two bedroom house in Florida is a paltry $400.00 a month. If it were anyone else he would have been long gone. The new year will come and I will be addressing this matter once and for all. The cabinet job saved my financial day. Now I face January on the horizon. Fortunately I have a wedding job on the books. That alone should help me meet all of my bills. If my dead beat tenant would pay up , just a months rent, that would for sure allow me to meet all of my obligations.

How about this: Who wants to spend $90.00 bucks on a car battery a week before Christmas? I don't, but I did. That was an unexpected purchase. Now, a couple of years ago that wouldn't have bothered me so much. But, as I have mentioned before, my job hours were cut in half 23 months ago. I did not realize at the time just how slow it would be to hustle up weddings and other side work to make up for that. But I have been managing. The fact is, I don't really have a money problem as much as I have a debt problem. I have been doing well chiselling away at that debt.
For instance, in January of 2009 one debt was $11,000.00. In 23 months I have paid it down to $3,800.00.
Five years ago this February I bought an apartment house. I finaced it for five years. Let me tell you, that made for a LARGE payment. This February it will be paid off. At the time I bought that place I borrowed an additional 12 grand from my 401K. That loan will be paid off in May. So, soon I will be in pretty fine fettle. But man, oh, man, it has been a lot of work.

Day 293:

It was 23 degrees this morning in Chaumont, NY. Had a Christmas party at my mother's home yesterday. Then watched the finale of Survivor. This evening I have to photograph high school basketball.

Day 290: Stop Lights

So it has been in the 20+ degrees here in the North Country today. Went to buy a pair of snow tires, P205/75R14 is the size. Nobody has them in stock. Sam's club was out and said they could order them. Sears had none. A third, locally owned tire store, said the size was "An old tire size." What the hell is that supposed to mean?
They are for a 1999 Dodge Caravan. Every where you look you see these vehicles. There must be millions of them on the road. I have owned four Caravans and they all have ( or had) P205/75R14 tires.

The photo here is one that caught my eye as I sat at the red light in downtown Syracuse. I grabbed the just just a moment befor the light turned green. I was struck by the red light contrasted against the muted, greyish colors of the Winter day.

Day 289:

Trying to wrap up a cabinet building job that my Son & I took on. We thought it would take a couple of days. It's abeen about 14 days. Yikes!
Last Sturday I reported on this project and said we would be finished on Monday, and if not, for sure on Tuesday. Well, today is Thursday. It is one of those jobs that just will not end.

Day 287: About Sleep

Let me tell you about my relationship with sleep. I hate to go to bed at night. I hate to sleep in in the morning. I cannot stand being tired. So, in my perfect World, I get to bed by 10:00PM and arise at 5:30 - 6:00Am. Somewhere around there. And that has worked wonderfully for me for a few years. Then, a few months ago my routine was upset. I now must work evenings for the Post-Standard at least a couple of nights a week. That means I do not start driving home until 11:00pm. That is past my ideal bed time!!!! Consequently I do not get up at my favored time. So that impacts my guitar time. You see, I like to practice guitar from about 6:00 to 8:00 or 9:00am. Then I take on the day. The night shift throws me off schedule. Then I have a couple of days off and get rested up and back on schedule, only to have it disrupted a couple of days later.

It is because of this that I am writing this blog entry at midnight!. I should be in bed. I am getting tired of this routine.

I love the guitar. It keeps my sanity intact. It is an artistic challenge. I have not conquered music the way I have photography. I do not like things interfering with it. I require a constant challenge in my life. Music, via guitar, provides that challenge.
At the same time I must say that I Love my life and I thank God for it. But, hopefully with God's help, the changes I seek will come to fruition. I say all of this at the conclusion of a truly stressfull day, fueled by a bottle of Rex - Goliath merlot from California.