Playing until the streetlights come on. Even when you grow up.
Lonely light at the end of the road.
We just lugged our stuff in from the car and plopped our fat bums on the couch for some rest and relaxation. This Easter was spent with Bryan’s family in Temple, Texas, way out in the country, and was a great escape from bustling Austin. The past twenty-four hours were filled with a myriad of activities, and a lovely sunrise church service in the church parking lot at 7am. Needless to say, we’re pooped!
When we first arrived, Bryan’s parents were unloading horses from their trailer, and were talking about their very shaggy mare, Star. The topic of shaving her fur off came up, and wouldn’t you know that the Fredericks’ daughter-in-law just happens to be an experienced shear-er? Oh yes, my friends, I was QUITE the fur-dresser back in my day. I’ll have to ask my mom to send me some old photos of my days in FFA. 
Long story short, it took us no less than three hours to shave that poor horse. But wouldn’t you know she was really patient with us, as if she KNEW what we were doing was going to make her feel better? Here, look!
After de-furring ourselves of the loads of horse hair that ended up in places horse hair should NEVER be, Bryan’s mom and sister Mireille taught us how to make jiaozi, otherwise known as pot stickers. Lemme tell you, these photos speak for themselves. And why yes, yes it was TASTY!
We brought the pooches out to spend some time in the fresh country air, and they had a lot of fun playing at Bryan’s family’s place. There were many fetch games, lots of swimming in the pond (from which we had the dis-pleasure of smelling the whole drive home), and all kinds of investigations and discoveries to be made. They even helped out where they could with fixing the motorcycle:
After church this morning we pulled out the weaponry and did some target and skeet shooting. Aside from pellet guns, I’d never shot any real weapons before. I was told I was doing great for a first-time shooter – I didn’t even scare the boys with the gun once, and I may have even surprised them with my safety. I fit in well with these sharp-shooters!
All in all, a good Easter weekend was had. There was great food, good company, and splendid scenery. The new lens did well getting the shots, and I ALMOST wore out the battery life taking these photos. I’d been working on killing this battery charge for two weeks, so I am pleased with the lifespan.
And now I shall go take a nap. Or at least find something quiet to do while Fred and the cat nap. They are snuggling. I’d take a photo, but I’m afraid I’d wake them up.
Taming the wooly mammoth horse.
This Easter Bryan and I will be enjoying the company of his family in Temple, Texas. I intend to utilize our time in the country as much as photographically possible, and therefore bit the bullet and bought a new lens. It is the EF 50mm F/1.8 II, and is a prime lens used with both 35mm and DSLR Canon cameras. That means that it doesn’t zoom, and has a shorter field of focus. This results in crisper photos with more bokeh, and forces more movement from the photographer to get a variety of shots.
I’ve had the opportunity to play with this style of lens back in March when Mahmood and Desiree visited, and again while I was learning about lenses with Sam in El Paso. While I’ve only begun to explore new shots with this new baby, here’s a couple of examples of how it differs from the 15-85mm lens that came with my camera. Here’s to looking forward to great shots with my new lens!
The same shot, with the old lens (left), and the new prime lens (right). I focused on the forward tip of the bag of white chocolate morsels.
Sadie graciously posed for a few of her glamour shots. Again, old lens (left) versus the prime (right). Notice the increased blur of the couch behind her.
Here is a picture… not technically taken on April 5th, but it’ll have to do for a filler! Can’t let Project 365 slip!! Here’s Michelle driving home with our new desks… her desk was too big to fit in the car and the cardboard started falling apart while I was driving behind her!
Yay hallway craft project complete! And I’m proud to say I took these all myself.
Beautiful lunchtime views from Buescher State Park.
Every once in a while I like to dip my toe into the waters of the blogosphere. I found this cute website named RunToTheFinish, which focuses on running and living in a holistic manner. The writer has encouraged her readers to take part in her monthly personal challenges, and this month’s is to do at least one spontaneously fun thing per day. This is such a great idea, especially coupled with the springtime air outside, that I decided to sign up to do it too! Yesterday Bryan and I made a two-course fondue dinner! We enjoyed the fun of cooking on the table, and, of course, playing with our food!
Here’s the link to the April Fun Challenge. Enjoy this month!
