Blueberries

They have finally ripened!  A pair of lovely blues.

Lavender & Grass

We spent the whole day outdoors. Pass the fading lavenders, by the long wild grass sits our tiny garage. That is where you would've found us today, cleaning.

Making Honey

Capturing bees on echinaceas took a few minutes of them trusting me (not to disturb them) and I trusting them (not to sting me!).

Bear Much Fruit

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

The following pictures reminded me of the verse above which holds true to my heart. Only in God, can we harvest life.

Passersby are anxiously awaiting the harvest of our grapes (red & white). "Are you going to make wine?", that seems to be the popular question. Not this year. Although Nicolas suggested we ask our friend Bruno in Champagne, France how to... The overflowing grapes in our row of vines will be enjoyed with family, friends, and neighbors. A sweet accompaniment with cheese, bread, and wine; perfect for dining alfresco!

A Night at the Bookshop

After a hard day's work and a fulfilling barbeque dinner outdoors,

we sat at a cafe for a little knitting for me

and a little reading for the Mr.

No, it's not a throw blanket. You'll see...

For the Love of Photography

Até Delsa: This is for you and your love... Best to you and your journey with photography.

The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance.

Ansel Adams

Paris, September 2007

About the Artist
History
Even at a young age, photography has always fascinated me; I pictured everything in 'frames'. I wanted to capture images in their natural setting because it was like capturing time. I dreamed of becoming a photographer. However, growing up in the Philippines, with very limited funds, didn't really allow for fostering my childhood wish. But God is faithful and good.

Now that I've gown-up, I was able to revisit my childhood dream and nurture my talent. I am as enthusiastic now about photography as I was then. Wherever I am my camera goes, to capture the people and the places I love.

Methodology
Natural, joyful, and beautiful photography: this is my approach to picture taking. I work in candid settings with natural lighting. I believe capturing subjects in these two elements result in photos that exude both beauty and integrity. I gently enhance the images to showcase their timeless quality.

Delsa Thompson Photography

In the Garden, In the Kitchen

The cooking and baking bug must've bit me over the weekend because that is exactly what I did. I truly enjoyed these past two days, so much so that I took pictures galore to share with you. 

I hope your weekend was filled with warm sun and delicious fare.

Cherry Tomatoes

These little sweet tomatoes were enjoyed in an omelette.

They look like they were just kissed by the sun

having been washed by the rain. Beautiful! 

Suman (Sweetened Rice)

I've been meaning to make these since I discovered
one of our local Asian markets carried banana leaves
from our homeland, the Philippine Islands.
It's my first attempt at making suman.
I was pretty amazed at how well they turned out.
Sprinkled with sugar, it was not bad, not bad at all for a first try.
I think I'll sprinkle it with toasted coconut flakes next time.
Lola Mommy would be proud and tickled pink to hear I made this. I think I'll give her a call.

Banana Bread

I always keep bananas in the kitchen and never worry about them going bad. You know the overripe bananas you may be prone to throw away because of their brown/blackened skin? They are at their sweetest at that stage and are best for baking. This was my Saturday late night snack enjoyed with warm cup of joe.

Bouquet Garni

My bouquet garni is arranged with rosemary, sprigs of thyme, couple of bay leaves, and celery stalk leaves from my little herb patch.  I use it to infuse the filling for my chicken pot pie.  Oh I wish you could smell its sweet and earthy aroma.

Chicken Pot Pie

I usually reserve making this in the fall and winter seasons. It's one of those comfort foods that warm up your insides when it's cold outside. I don't know if it was the scent of the herbs in the garden which led me to make a bouquet garni, or if its because Monday is but a few hours away and I'm in for yet another busy work week (it helps to get ahead of the game with a dish that can last a couple of days), or my hubby looking forward to coming home for dinner (this is a favorite of his). Whatever it was, here I am making a pot pie in the middle of summer. Enjoy!

Bastille Day

14 Juillet 1789

The Storming of the Bastille 

There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.

Victor Hugo

King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette

The fall of the royal family

Chateau de Versailles

The Teen Queen

Remembering the French Revolution

Wanna Play?

A little guessing game we came up with this weekend...

Christina & Nicolas' baby is due to arrive on Tuesday, the 22nd. She began experiencing contractions here and there but claims it's 'nothing', so we started a bet. Guess baby Emma's birthday? If you're in, it'll cost you five bucks. : ) The correct 'guesser' will be rewarded half the pot and the other half will go towards the baby's first piggy bank.

Here are the players so far:

Nicolas 14th

Melissa 15th

Marcella kakagaawohnwoowooth

Christina 17th

Patrick 18th

Jennifer 19th

Michelle 20th

Louis 21st

Darren 21st p.m.

Scott 22nd

David 23rd @ 11:15 p.m.

Carla 24th

Matthew 25th

Derek 25th p.m.

Betty 26th

Megan 26th p.m.

Happy Weekend!

Summer Harvest: Green Beans

Earth here is so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.

Douglas William Jerrold

There's a great sense of satisfaction when I can turn to my vegetable garden to prepare for dinner.

Supper was delightful, hope yours was also.

My Six Unremarkable Quirks

This is in response to a Blogger Tag from Jean. I have many unremarkable quirks, some more embarrassing than others.  I'm somewhat relieved I was only asked to reveal six of them:

Na-ah!?

1. I never use the public lavatories to go number two.  Seriously. The situation has to call for a great emergency for me to even consider it and that would be dreadful.

A tidy room.

2. I'm a clean freak. I can't retire for the night unless everything is in its proper place. My husband believes I'm borderline OCD. Thankfully, his saving grace about this insane quirk is that I do not impose it on him and I make every effort to ensure our guests always feel very much at home, you know kick-off your shoes kinda thing. I clean in my own private time.

Who's your favorite friend?

3. I'm addicted to "Friends". Despite owning the complete series, I still have the TV tuned to TBS where it's syndicated when I get home from work. I enjoy hearing the lighthearted laughter in the background while preparing dinner, it makes me smile.

Very Sex and the City.

4. I love high heels. I'm not a shoe fanatic by all means but I enjoy wearing high heels despite of being well aware of its inevitable aftermath- very achy feet. It brings out the sassy side of me, at least that's what the Mr. says.

Fearless leaders.

5. I have a fear of heights, yet I still climb. I know I have this in common with a large majority of the population but this has not always been the case for me. There was a time in my early twenties when I was fearless. I even went as far as to skydive and thought nothing of it! Sadly those days are gone. That is why I will never again climb up the Arc de Triomphe or the campanile. (This is a plea to my brave globetrotting partners. Photo courtesy of Jean.)

If thou must love me...

6. I stop where ever there's lavenders. I've reminded my husband on more than one occasion that when I pass away, he is to cremate my body and spread my ashes on a lavender field preferably in Provence, France. He laughed and said not to expect him to travel that distance to visit my remains. Perhaps I'll settle for Napa Valley. (Photo taken by Jean, or maybe Len, or Vince, I know it wasn't Billy. :)

Now, the rule of this game is to link the person who tagged me and tag six bloggers by linking them too. Normally, I would follow the rule but being that my main blog audience are the 'fearless leaders' above who's already been tagged, and my family whom I know reads up on my happenings here but do not comment (they do not have blog spaces or Gmail except for cousin Ting), this game unfortunately ends here. By the way, noticing the slight increase on the count of hits on this site, I'd like to think that there may be anonymous visitors who stop by here too. So just in case, this may be a good time to say, "hello" and extend my welcome!

Happy Independence Day!

Where liberty dwells, there is my country.

Benjamin Franklin

A.M.

Being unplugged at home for the third day is a relaxing experience. However, I did find myself going to the cafe for an hour or so to recharge...  It's the third day and still no power.  

P.M.

Every year our little house on the hill has been the gathering spot to watch the spectacular fireworks display in our park.  We thought the blackout may have succeeded on canceling our Fourth of July celebration but after updating our friends and family on the power outage status, they were all still enthusiastic on celebrating with us in the dark. By the end of the day, power was surprisingly restored! Our outdoor celebration was definitely back on (minus the home-cooked dinner I had planned for). We had a merry time under the loud lit night sky.  As for the light display, unfortunately the only one successfully captured was that of above.  My camera was very low on battery and had difficulty capturing the fireworks.  That and I made it a point not to play photographer for the evening and instead relax and enjoy everyone's company. I'm glad I did. There's nothing more wonderful than sitting on a blanket in our front yard on a cool summer night surrounded by friends and family with the fireworks up above. 

 Hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend and that Independence Day served as a reminder of the freedom we are blessed to have in our country. 

Blackout

The weather here in the Midwest has been strange.  Since summer arrived, we've had a stretch of severe thunderstorms and the most recent one resulted in a blackout.  Heavy rain and strong winds uprooted trees and damaged power lines.  Thankfully both our birch and maple trees are still standing strong; unfortunately a few of those in our park did not have the same good fate.

The rain continued to fall all night.  At home the lit candles, lantern, and surrounding trees made us feel like we were in a cabin in the woods.  We kept the door open for the fresh cool air; it was quite romantic being in the darkness. We snuggled on the couch and watched 'A Good Year'.  Shortly after, friends Matthew & David dropped by for a nightcap.

The following day, our adopted kitty (her parents are Melissa & David) was waiting patiently at our doorstep for one of us to take her home next door while her parents were away.  She's an outdoor cat. We used to think that she had a special hiding place in the woods during her late night outings when she didn't return home. That is until we discovered her taking refuge from the storm in the landing of our kitchen door, safe under our roof.  So the second day of the blackout, we surprised her with a little bed where she can take her afternoon naps and sleep safe and comfortably during those nights when she fails to hear her parents voice summon her home.

Her name is Poppy.

The Secret Garden

Where you tend a rose, my lad, 

A thistle cannot grow.

The Secret Garden

Rosebud taken on Saturday...

...bloom arrived today.

Sweet Raspberries

Our raspberry bush is overflowing with berries! We've been enjoying harvesting a handful everyday. They are oh so sweet. Wish we could package them for you to enjoy. We are patiently waiting for the blueberries to ripen too. Berries in abundance, one of the little joys of summer for us here on Linwood.