Photo Hunt - Dirty

This weeks Photohunt Theme is Dirty

I'm posting early since I won't be using my computer all weekend. We will be enjoying the long weekend. It was hard to find something dirty since that I do not like doing. We were on a hike here and getting a bit sweaty and dirty.

Dirty - Aug 2005

The Swiss Alps near Interlaken with an incredible view. The water was dirty because it's not drinkable. It's meant for the cows. And my shoes got dirty and full of mud when I walked past.

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Olive Bread and Blueberry Cobbler

It's true that Blueberry Cobbler and olive bread don't go well together, but eating the two in one weekend is pure heaven to me. It all started over the weekend, P and I found some of my favorite fresh Olive Bread at the store. It just so happened that I was so disgusted by the salads they sell in restaurants that I wanted to make a great salad full of baked pecans, feta cheese, veggies etc, and of course olive bread topped brushetta, and mozzarella.


I managed to take a photo of the bread before we ate all of it, full of large whole olives!

Next goal on the list was to make a blueberry cobbler who Pumpkin from My French Window makes often. Topped with a bit of powered sugar and it was incredible!

Makes 8 servings

2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
2/3 cup low-fat milk
2 Tbsps. margarine, melted
2 cups blueberries, cleaned and washed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in the milk, and mix the batter until it is smooth. Pour the melted margarine into a 1 or 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Pour in the batter, and sprinkle the blueberries on top.
3. Bake the cobbler for 40 - 45 minutes or until it is lightly browned. (It only took 35 mins for our cobbler to look that brown.)
   

I managed to get in one photo before it was all gobbled up. And I want to thank Pumpkin also for the inspiration to get back to parlering en Francais plus! Now if that isn't franglais for you!

Just Entertaining

This is what I learned tonight:

1. An education in Swiss Wrestling - real wrestling can be very entertaining.

2. Taking Photos over time is the coolest thing.

Those photos are cool enough that I might just entertain you with some photos when I was younger, in due time that is...

And Swiss chocolate is what keeps me sane.

A Day in the Life

I've been working on posting more photos from my new point and shoot camera. So here is a bit of a tour of last Friday.

The day started off with me rushing out the door with views like this. Yes that is the ocean out there. How I love it when the sky is like that.

Like a painting.

I pass by this area a lot. I'm walking and photographing here. It's the site of Expo 1986. Today it's known for Vancouver's Science World.

The views are absolutely incredible on a sunny day, if you can escape the urban landscape. This area will be transformed for the Olympics.

The day ended just as it started back in North Vancouver. I love the views like this and am so lucky to have such picture perfect views. This is where I swim and of course the ocean views are in the background again.

The Face Behind This Blog

Meeyauw tagged me with The Face Behind The Blog meme. This meme is also very intriguing me because of its origins.

David Airey began this meme in May 2007. It is growing and he is keeping a record of its growth around the world. My interest? Graph theory. It would be grand to mathematically graph the growth of this meme.


I tag:
Renny BA's Terella Norway
Farafalina @ A Roam to Rome
Mar from Marmagnum
Mrs. Lifecruiser
Global Librarian

And anyone else who would like to participate!

Step 1: Post a short article with you photograph(s).
Step 2: Include links to other people that have displayed a photo, or include their photos in your post, adding a reference. Include a link back to Airey's post.
Step 3: Tag as many others as you like in your post to spread the meme.
Step 4: E-mail Airey and he will list you on the original post. (This step is not required but unless you do this step, the whole point of the network is gone.)

This is me on an awesome Specialized bike My great friend Pascal got for me as a demo one beautiful day in wintery 2002. This is also the area where I swam a few times and was living for a while in Canton Aarau.

And a Final one of P and I together in White Rock.

Technorati tags: David+Airey, Face+Behind+The+Blog, meme

Photo Hunt - Happy

This weeks Photohunt Theme is Happy.

I'm definitely happiest traveling.

This pic was taken by my husband while visiting Crater Lake's Pinnacles on June 30th.

And a rare photo of the two of us very happily posing, one night before our wedding.

Find Players: Photohunt

Flickr Museum

I found out this week, a photo from where I lived in Montreux has made it into the Flickr Museum. This photo is dear to my heart because it reminds me of the most spectacular views I had every day.

Yes and what a view of Lac Leman it was! I guess I have a few more in Flickr Museum too.

My New Camera

I've been shopping around for a new point and shoot for a full year now. The problem I found was either I was unimpressed with the camera features or with the high price tag of the camera. I couldn't justify buying anything out there on the market because I just felt virtually every point and shoot camera left out too much compared to my DSL I already owned. I walked in and out of camera stores a lot!

This all changed 2 weekends ago when the price of my new Cannon G7 was just too good to pass up. I bought this camera for it's impressive features such as panoramic mode, awesome video mode, it's compact size in a 10mp camera, and a compliment to my Nikon DSL camera I already owned.

Here are a few check lists I went through figuring out the right camera for me.

1. Reason for use - any time I didn't lug around my big camera, I wanted to use this one.
2. Photo Quality - High photo quality was a must. This is hard to find in a point in shoot.
3. Features - Great Zoom Features and Great wide angle lens features.
4. Price - It's a point and shoot, I didn't want to pay DSL prices.
5. Compatibility - Ability to compliment my current camera without hang ups.
6. Add-ons - I saw a way to grow with this camera if I wanted to do so.

And in case you are wondering, what other cameras might match up, here are a few choices.
1. Cannon G7
2. Cannon 800IS
3. Nikon Coolpix P5000
4. Sony DSC-N2

I basically read reviews from users who bought these cameras on dpreview.com or versions comparable on the market. I then went to CNET and read a few more reviews there. If you are looking for a new camera, way in what you want in your camera and decide. For me, it was very important to have high photo quality, so that added to determining which camera I might buy.

Lastly, shop around for a great price! Many deals are happening now and in Feb or March. If you aren't completely satisfied, wait for the right time. It will come around eventually.

My Next goal, to post a few more pics!

Two Flower Buds

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This weeks Photohunt Theme is Two.

Last weekend, I got a new tiny camera.
This was shot two of two flower buds, two old buds, and one budding flower.


Click to appreciate the details.

I Love Blue

Taken With my New Camera. I bought a small cannon to replace my other tiny camera which died. It's for those times when I'm not lugging around my lenses. Here is my first shot. It's also useful for great panoramic shots and videos. I'm still working on shooting in macro mode.

Here's hoping for more Blue as the weatherman is saying lots of [insert dreaded word here] Vancouver is famous for.

Any guesses of what I got?

Don't Notice Me

Swiss Chocolate

You know what's so great about this photo? Two things, but I'll leave the first thing for a new post.

The second - well it's the chocolate. The chocolate tastes that good!

Our local drug store has more choices of Swiss chocolates than my body needs. But once a week, we go select our next dark chocolate. Well it's never during one specific time. Usually it's a Lindt Bern Dark that we/I like...

What kind of chocolate do you love?

For me it's 70% or more dark, refrigerated for more taste. Swiss is best, any brand from Switzerland will do. Throw in some marzipan from Migros and P and I will be in hog heaven. Not that I'm that picky, but the more expensive chocolates by far have that taste I desire.

Dinner at Bowen

Last night, we decided to take the ferry over to Bowen Island and make an evening of it. Bowen is a small island 20 minutes ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay on the North Shore of Vancouver (West Vancouver). There are many great hiking trails on Bowen Island, and lots of area to go kayaking, to enjoy nature or to spend a relaxing weekend free from normal hectic life.

We started off by me wanting to take a few photos with P's little 2mg pixel Cannon.
Be sure to click to see the larger views of these photos.

Enjoying the Horseshoe Bay views on an overcast day.

We were leaving and noticed all of the clear cutting for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
What a sad site! The new highway to Whistler will be in the bare areas as they were too cheap to build tunnels to preserve the beautiful land, animals and nature.


I decided to Pose for a photo since I never do.

We walked around the Island a bit before having dinner and noticed this sign for the BLIND.
The sign Reads: Caution - Camp for the blind near by. Pedestrians may be blind.
(Great and how are they supposed to read this sign???)


Then I got really hungry and didn't care about photos until we had a 1.5 hr wait for the ferry.
But you can check out a few more of Bowen Island or the local map site.

Which direction do you want to go? Eat food or go see Bowen. This is the main street of the Island.

Saying Goodbye to a wonderful dinner with friends. They are all camera shy so no pics were taken. We are waiting at the ferry doc to go back home. Unfortunately we had to wait an extra hour to get back because the ferry doesn't leave at 7pm on Saturday evenings. ** A good tip!

Today is the dog days of summer there. Should be a fun time with many dogs all around.

Rows of Vines make lots of Wine

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This weeks Photo Hunt Theme is Row.

Somewhere in Napa...

A Touch of Bavaria

With an adventure and a half just getting there, we were able to experience a bit of Bavaria over the long BC weekend within a short drive from our beloved Canada. We wanted to get out of town and see a bit of Leavenworth, Washington because it was somewhere we had never been. We were hoping for a relaxing weekend and besides getting off to a horrible start with the US border, the rest of the trip was warm, blue and beautiful.

Here are a few photos from the trip. (Click to enlarge)

Arriving at our B&B Haus Rohrbach - Leavenworth, Washington. 5pm

Front St. Is lined with Bavarian looking buildings.

A touch of Bavaria not far from Canada.

Sunset from our balcony. What a view!

Saying Goodbye to a relaxing weekend.

Let me say I am so lucky to live in Canada. Our trip started off quite slowly with the most unbelievable border wait ever. Our first border crossing wait was about 10 miles and 3 hours long. So we went to the second border crossing where we waiting 3 kms and 1hr 45 mins later just to get into Washington State. Talk about thinking we were crossing some war zone or flashing back to a communist country. Our car was searched and thrown apart and the first question the border guard asked us was "Are You a Convicted Criminal???"

Needless to say, our border crossing back into the land of the free (Canada) took 2 seconds and was a relief! It will take a lot for us to cross the border again. Since our experience was so horrible, I'm not so sure I ever want to visit the states on vacation again. It's certainly not the land of the free, but I'll refrain from anymore thoughts and judgement.

So I'm curious to know, how close does it look to Germany????

The first site I did not like was the street full of cars...

Enjoying The Weekend

We are off to enjoy the weekend, the nature all around us, to photograph, to bird watch and to take in part of Bavaria.

Goals for the weekend include:

1. Taking lots of photos.
2. Not being near a computer.
3. Taking at least one nap during the day.
4. Enjoying Nature and watching birds.
5. Enjoying Bavaria in North America.

Feel free to guess where we are off to. And stay tuned for photos.

Montreux Jazz Festival

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This weeks Photo Hunt Theme is Funky.

funky

1. Smelling of something foul, especially a mouldy smell, or the smell of a person who hasn't washed.
2. (slang) Something, especially a person, who is very original or artistic.
3. (music) In the style of funk music.

Every year in July Montreux welcomes a festival of funk and jazz. Many artists play there music while food and entertainment are all around. In the years I lived in Montreux, George Clinton performed. George Clinton is definitely funky with rainbow dreads any all. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of that, but I do have a photo of the Jazz Festival in July of 2003.

Pretty funky!

I'm posting early since I won't be around much.

BC Day

We won't be near the computer this weekend, or at least that is my hope. Just so you are wondering, we have a 3 day holiday weekend. It's called BC Day. Here is a bit of history behind the holiday. Most people get outside during this weekend.

British Columbia Day

1 The first Monday of August is a legal holiday to be observed as "British Columbia Day".

Interesting Facts

How did B.C. Day come to be a holiday?


1. How did B.C. Day come to be a holiday?

The British Columbia Day Act, R.S.B.C. 1996 c.34 was first introduced in 1974 as Bill 61 by the
Hon. Ernie Hall, the Provincial Secretary under Premier Dave Barrett. The explanatory notes prefacing the bill states: "The purposes of this Bill is to recognize the pioneers of British Columbia by declaring the first Monday of August in each year to be a public holiday known as British Columbia Day."

From the B.C. Debates, 4th Session, 30th Parliament, May 1, 1974, the Hon. Hall states, "August 1, or the closest working day to it, is a statutory holiday in every other province in Canada. By coincidence, an Act to provide to the Government of British Columbia, which changed us from the Colony of British Columbia, was passed by Parliament in the United Kingdom on August 2, 1858....

"We feel that British Columbia, like every other province could benefit and should have a holiday around August 1. We feel that the holiday should be dedicated to the pioneers who built the colony of British Columbia into the great province it is today..."

Happy Swiss National Day

Fireworks
Originally uploaded by ms. mac

Cooking Bug

Over the weekend, Christina inspired me to cook her dessert. It turned out incredibly but of course didn't look that great. I hope to put up a pic tonight. But here's the recipe. You can of course read Christina's recommendations.

Let me tell you, it was good!

Blueberry Yogurt Flan (from New Light Cooking by Anne Lindsay)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup butter or soft margarine
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw frozen fruit)

Topping:
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% or 2% plain yogurt
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp grated lemon or orange rind
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp icing sugar

1. In food processor or bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, egg whites and vanilla, mixing well. Press into bottom of lightly greased 10-inch springform or tart pan; sprinkle evenly with blueberries.

2. Topping: In bowl, sprinkle flour over yogurt. Add egg, sugar, lemoned rind and vanilla; mix until smooth. Pour over blueberries.

3. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until crust is golden. Serve warm or cold. If desired, sift icing sugar over top just before serving. Makes 12 servings. Can be made ahead, covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.

Variations: substitute 2 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) cranberries OR 3 cups fresh or one 10 oz. (300 g) package individually frozen raspberries.