I dressed for church this morning, looked in the mirror and the word “Hippy” formed in my mind. No picture for that one. Use your own imagination. I didn’t mind the image however. There are many reasons one may call my state “Hippy-like” of late. Others may call it a mid-life crisis. Now that all our little birds have flown the nest, Terry (my husband) and I are experiencing a renewal of sorts. We decided since we turned 50 a couple years ago that we wanted a good quality of life for the second half.
That said, there are many health benefits to raw milk, raw milk yogurt and other raw and fermented foods. For this reason we decided to make our own raw milk yogurt from the raw milk we now enjoy.
The dilemma: yogurt that is considered raw needs to stay within range of the temperature of the inside of a cow (around 101° and not more than 118° or so) for from 4 – 12 hours or until it turns into yogurt. Commercially made yogurt makers for home use are available but most make the yogurt in several small individual containers – we wanted to make at least a quart in a larger container for our particular use (I may get into this more in a future blog post) and storage purposes.
(Let me say at this moment that if we were patient we could have purchased an appliance online. We were very excited to try this so patience was not a practiced virtue on this day!)
Terry went one direction and I went another and we spent the whole day looking for an appliance that could be set at 100° and hold a quart jar. At least 15 stores later (between the two of us) we discovered that as 100° is not really cooking anything, every cooking appliance started their readout at 150° or higher. (Side note: if you are looking for any kitchen appliances at all let us know; we can tell you where to find them in the city of Flint, Michigan!) Throughout the day, as we kept in touch via cell phone, Terry kept assuring me that no matter what, we would be making our yogurt that night. I was not as optimistic and my hopes were fading throughout the day. As I look back I should not have been surprised at what he had in mind.
Upon finishing our errands and our “shop ‘till we dropped” experiences we met back at home and ate dinner together. Terry then told me to go ahead and prepare the yogurt and he disappeared into the garage.
Yogurt is relatively simple to make. All you need is milk (fresh raw milk in our case) and a yogurt culture (2 tablespoons of plain yogurt). The milk is heated to 100° and the culture is added, then placed into the appliance so it can maintain the temperature until the culture does its thing.
When Terry came back into the kitchen he was carrying our new appliance: a computer tower with a sticky note on the top that read “parts only”.
The reasons that I should not have been surprised by this are several but here are two;
1. Terry has an aptitude for fixing just about any computer from just about any ailment and as a side job, collects, refurbished and resells computers and in fact has just build a computer brick wall in our garage 10 computers long, 2 computers deep and 3 computers high. (this did not take up half of his collection) – anyone need a computer?
2. Terry is very inventive and very good at “thinking outside the box” or quite often, inside the computer box.
I think for these reasons and quite a few others, Terry is affectionately referred to as “Superman” by more than one of our friends.
He set the appliance on the counter, taped up most of the air vents, (using the handyman’s best friend – duct tape) inserted a probe thermometer inside the case and wrapped it in a blanket. We watched as the digital thermometer climbed to 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 (well within the safe limit) and stayed there. My mouth dropped to the floor. I had spent the entire day shopping for something that comprised an entire wall in my garage.
We placed the quart jar filled with the mixture I had made into the appliance, inserted the probe thermometer and closed up our new “yogurt maker”. Then we went to bed to dream of fresh yogurt with our cereal and fruit in the morning.
I must insert here that Terry had to rise several times during the night just to be sure the temperature was still where it needed to be – and it was.
When we rose (Terry for the final time) the next morning, removed the blanket, opened the computer case, lifted out the quart jar, removed its lid and lifted the contents with a spoon. We were delighted to see that we had indeed created yogurt! We were even more delighted to find that it tasted wonderful. I had mine on fresh strawberries!
End note: Since we now had a quart of yogurt to satisfy our craving for a few days, we were at liberty to shop on-line for an appliance made for this purpose. We found it on E-Bay. It should arrive it this week.
I had mixed feelings when my children asked me to be their Wedding Photographer. It made me feel good that they chose me, however it may have been that the price was right – free. They all assured me that they would have chosen me anyway. Then again, it would have been hard to hand this important job off to someone else. still, I might have preferred to hold only one roll during the ceremony.
All of that said, my last offspring having recently married, I am glad I had the opportunity. Tori and Justin have a lot in common, both being raised in a Christian home, both interested in the medical field, both attending Genesee Early Collage during their High School and “Early Collage” careers. They both work together as life guards too. They are very young as I, among others have frequently pointed out to them. Tori made sure to point out to me that they are the same age her dad and I were when we were married almost 33 years ago.
As it turned out for this last of my four children to ask me to again play the double roll, of Photographer and Mother of . . . I had a back up. My oldest son, Dominic’s wife Tina, a budding Wedding Photographer herself was there. She agreed, to be my second shooter and take all of the photos for the ceremony so that I could be just “Mother of the Bride” for this one.
For more information about WrenPhoto’s Wedding Photography, visit our Wedding Galleries http://wrenphoto.smugmug.com/Wedding-Photography and then give us a call: 810 397-8514
There was a “hoe” lot of fun going on at Amazing Wings Therapeutic Riding Center recently!
If you have not heard about this Amazing place and the equally Amazing people associated with it. Let me give you a brief explanation of who they are – you may want to check them out in person for more details.
A Special Place to Ride Amazing Horses for Healing!
Amazing Wings Therapeutic Riding Center is a special place where people of all ages benefit physically, cognitively and emotionally from a wide variety of horse experiences designed to meet their needs by a trained team of certified instructors, dedicated volunteers and amazing horses.
Who is served by Amazing Wings?
People of all ages who battle some of these conditions can really benefit from therapeutic riding : Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, Visual & hearing impairment, Down Syndrome, Mental retardation, Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis, Spina Bifida, Cancer, Brain injuries, Amputations, Learning Disabilities, Developmental delay, Sensory Processing Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Paralysis, and many more than can possibly be listed here.
In order to participate, clients must have a special need (not necessarily a diagnosis)
Funding is Crucial
As you can imagine it cost a lot to maintain this beautiful place located at 9500 S. State Road in Goodrich, Michigan. I had the privilege to volunteer at their recent “HOEDOWN”. This event served two purposes; to make people aware of what happens at Amazing Wings on a daily basis, and raise funds for the upkeep of the ranch and it’s residents (currently 11 horses and 1 donkey). There were about 240 people who came to enjoy the music, the atmosphere and the food and help provide some of the funding for the next year.
Several ways to find out more about Amazing Wings
1. Visit each of the two Amazing Wings galleries on the WrenPhoto website: www.wrenphoto.biz/Other/Amazing-Wings-Goodrich
2. Visit the Amazing Wings website: www.amazingwingsinc.com
3. Give Judi Pearce, Executive Director of Amazing Wings a call and see how you can help. Phone: (810) 636-5111 Email: info@AmazingWingsInc.com
Jay and I have only just met. She has a business and I have a business so we have that in common. We have even more than that in common however, she loves her family, and after photographing them, I fell in love with them too.
She asked me to come to her home and photograph her husband, Derek II and her two children, Derek III & Drew. (I talked her into being in a few photos too) This photo session was a Father’s Day gift for her husband. As sweet as that is, what impressed me more is the wonderful relationship between this dad and his children and how it came out in the photo session.
Jay and I did some brainstorming when we met for our pre-session consultation and decided to let them just interact and have fun for this session instead of just posed pictures.
Derek and Jay are obviously very invested in their children and adored by them. It shows in their photographs.
Take a look and see what you think. click on WrenPhoto where you can see all of the photographs from this family photo session. Then call and schedule your free consultation so we can photograph your family too.
Lori Buda, Photographer
WrenPhoto
810 397-8514
Who am I?
Easy, right? I am who I’ve always been, but as seasons have changed, I have answered to a variety of names over the years; wife, mother and now business woman, among others. My daughter in law, Tina, recently called exhausted and a little overwhelmed by her 12 year old, 4 year old and 1 year old and reminded me that the name “Mom” means something different to me now than it used to. This gave me food for thought and caused me to reflect on the time in my life when a business woman was someone I saw at the bank, not in the mirror.
Living in the Past?
As I look around myself now, evidence of my past life can be found throughout my house:
- A photo gallery of my greatest achievements, (my four children) on my piano
- Walls decorated with pictures of loved ones and photos I have taken myself
- The room I call my office, now that my children have flown the nest, (ah, I once dreamed of floor to ceiling bookshelves and a library of scholarly textbooks and classic literature) holds three bookshelves FULL of family photo albums.
The season in which my daughter-in-law now lives is mostly a shadow in the back of my mind now, but I find myself thumbing through remnants of it more often than I ever thought I would. My past has molded me into the person I have become and talking to Tina reminds me that where I am is not really very far from where I used to be.
The Here and Now
In just a hand full of years, the internet and social networking has made our world much smaller. A growing number of families no longer have a home phone, each member having their own identity instead; cellphone, email, facebook, twitter, perhaps a website or a blog. Smaller yes, but more impersonal, as we have gone from face to face contact to faceBOOK contact, from placing a phone call to shooting a quick text to your bff. OMG!
The business woman I now consider myself often finds herself fully entwined in todays to-do list. As I cross one item off, two seem to replace it. The busyness of all of this can fool me into thinking it is a bother to receive a phone call from one, who amid mounds of dirty diapers and whining adolescence can benefit from a listening ear or a family story.
The Years to Come
With all this in mind, a little unsolicited advice:
- Take more pictures
- Hand someone else the camera and be in more pictures
- Get the photo album down from the closet & invite one of the kids to look at it with you
- Pick up the phone more and talk on it
- Have coffee with a friend
- Remember something from your past that makes you smile
- Call your mom and ask advice
- Get an updated family portrait done
As warm and fuzzy as all this sounds it’s still likely when you finish reading this, life will likely go on as before, but you and I do have choices.
Here’s a plan; get the family together this holiday season, and take a family photo. Get it blown up REAL BIG and put it on the wall of the room where you spend the most time. Once in a while, pick up your eyes and linger on it, on purpose. And remember.
And while you’re at it enjoy your family this holiday season!
And, Oh ya, if you need someone to take that family photograph, call me.
Lori Buda, WrenPhoto
810 397-8514
Everyone needs personal sharing cards
I personally think everyone needs business cards; or for those who don’t have a full blown business, call them personal sharing cards. How often have you searched for a spare scrap of paper in your wallet on which to write your contact information? Why not get a few business type cards printed with your name, email address, facebook or twitter handle , website, blog, hobbies, etc? While your at it, add an updated profile picture.
Profile Picture
What? You don’t have a cool, updated profile or business photo? Then call or email WrenPhoto and get one! That way you can have a couple of 5×7’s made for those family members who’ve been bugging you for an updated portrait (They make great Christmas gifts too you know), put one on your card, and use it for facebook, LinkedIn, or other social networking sites.
Free or Low-Priced Business Cards
Lately, I have been checking out several websites that offer free or low-priced business cards because I am just starting my photography business and, well, I’m cheap. I have discovered there is quite a difference in all of these companies. Most of the online offers for free or very cheap business cards are pretty much an opportunity for them to offer you a pretty basic card on basic paper and offer upgrades and expensive shipping, making your free cards cost $20 – $30 or more.
Moo.com
In my quest for cards and other printed material, one company really stood out. I LOVE the cards I received from Moo, because, well, they’re just cool. I took advantage of their introductory *free card offer and got 50 free business cards, each with a different picture printed on it. My pictures! A different picture on each one! I love these cards!, and all I paid is shipping and handling. You can just use one photo if you like, but I wanted to use 50 so I did. Moo’s cards came in a very cool display box and are printed on heavy great quality paper. Now that’s style!
*Keep in mind this is an introductory offer and the next batch will not be free, but I found Moo’s regular prices to be extremely reasonable, especially when you consider the quality.
Follow my link
Because of my experience with Moo and because they have a variety of other products to choose from, I perused them as a sponsor for my blog. Click on the link and take a look at their selection of business cards, mini cards, postcards, holiday and greeting cards. You can design your own or get their predesigned cards. Then let me know what you think.
And don’t forget to get an updated profile or business photo too!
