Smoked Turkey Day

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we decided to smoke our turkey instead of bake it for our Thanksgiving feast. I was responsible for preparing the turkey which included injecting it with a butter marinade and brushing it with butter. It was by far the easiest preparation I’ve ever had for a turkey. Jake took everything from there [...]

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Gigantic Rabbit Feet

Is it just me or does Danton have the largest feet you’ve ever seen on a cat? He kind of reminds me of Bugs Bunny with his white belly and white paws.

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Favorite Remaining pics from France

Here are some odd leftovers. To see the whole gallery, click here to go to my flickr set.
1. I’m not sure what this funnel building was in the back or even what town this was, but I thought it looked cool and weird.

2. A gargoyle in Tours.

3. Bicycle and wheat.

4. Goat on a haystack.

5. Cat [...]

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Sancerre

This is a great little wine town in France. Look out for it on your next wine list. For some reason the photos of Sancerre turned out great. We climbed the town tower and were able to get the views you see below. I can’t believe we cycled up those hills. I was dog-tired when [...]

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Foie Gras Burger

On our recent trip to France, foie gras was ubiquitous. I doubt there was one menu where it didn’t make an appearance. Asking the French to give up foie gras is like asking Americans to stop driving. While it may be the right thing to do, it’s not going to happen.
Jake ordered this foie gras [...]

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The Mighty Loire River

Yesterday we returned from our Loire River cycling holiday in France. To even begin to tackle all of the photos I took and decide which ones to post is overwhelming, so I decided for my first post to focus on the Loire River itself. I hope you enjoy them.
1. One of the many Loire signs [...]

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Parque Central, Antigua

A view from our roof.

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Unknown ruin, Guatemala

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More Antigua

The city from afar.

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Santa Domingo, Antigua

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Tikal, Guatemala

A pizote.

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Iglesia El Carmen, Antigua

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Archway in Antigua

While the food in Guatemala didn’t always settle well with us, we found we could eat the desserts without getting sick. Maybe it’s the sugar. We ate a lot of desserts. Lovely cakes and pastries.

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Vulcan Pacaya

No doubt this wasn’t a safe day trip from Antigua, but I got great photos.

Those are people above.

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La Merced Cathedral

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Antigua Guatemala

There are a lot of hanging flowers around the houses in Antigua, the old capital of the country. The capital was moved to Guatemala city because of the rather chronic earthquakes. You’ll see many ruins over the next few days.

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Fishermen on Lake Atitlan

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Mayan folkwear

The clothes that the Maya wear are outstanding. Very bright and colorful. It’s pretty sturdy too. All of the cloth is made locally. The Maya are craftsmen and their crafts also involve making anything out of the wonderful cloth they make. Sometimes clothes. Sometimes pot holders. You name it.
I noticed a handy man at the [...]

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Getting lost in the jungle

On this particular day, Jake was suffering from some food poisoning. We were very careful but the food really did not sit well with us. I decided to go for a long walk between the villages and I got lost in the jungle. It was very scary. I came upon people occasionally, usually men with [...]

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Lake Atitlan

Staying on the lake provided some beautiful scenery. The water was crystal clear and very cold.
1. Our hotel. I don’t think I took this picture but it somehow made it into my collection.

2. This picture is definitely mine.

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Vacation Pictures from Guatemala

I’ll be cycling the Loire River Valley in France for the next two weeks. I need to keep things light, so I won’t be taking my laptop — which means no blogging. Instead, I’ve scheduled two weeks of photos from a vacation I had in 2003 in Guatemala. I hope you enjoy them.
1. Here’s a [...]

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Cindy Sherman’s Office Killer

If you haven’t seen Office Killer, you should. Carol Kane plays a doormat secretary who accidentally starts enacting revenge on those who have treated her badly. The photography is extraordinary as you would expect from Cindy Sherman. I also love it when my favorite character actors get to play the lead — in this case [...]

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Photo of Ichiro and Obama

Here’s a great photo from the Whitehouse Flickr photostream of Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki and Barack Obama. Via the Slog.

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I’m loving this trend

Once again, via MyBallard.com. I noticed that the billboard from last week has been returned to its original state.

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Canoeing in Lake Washington

In retrospect, it may not have been a good idea to take my expensive camera with me on a canoe. We saw a canoe turn over and went to rescue one of the displaced. When he tried to get into our canoe, and eventually he did, I really thought we were going to turn over [...]

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