Photo from the fair. Shot by my friend Shannon
I went up to the fair last night and saw my ribbons. I got a 3rd place for my still life bottle photo (see previous), a 2nd place for my portrait and a 2nd place for my city scapes from downtown seattle. Not bad for my first try!
After we went to see my photos, we ate greesy very un-vegan food and went to Monster Truck Madness. I totally channeled my inner redneck last night!
I entered some of my photos in the local fair. I won't find out until Thursday or Saturday (depending on work schedules) if I placed. My friend is a judge for another section in the fair. She stopped by and found out my photos are hung in the center display case right as you walk into the exhibit, right at eye level. I take this as a good sign. But I have already been contacted and sold two photos as a result of the whole thing. As a result, next quarter's tution is paid for!! WOW!
I've noticed something fun since trying to switch to a more vegan lifestyle. It's pretty!!.
Have you ever contimplated the color and aesthetic of boneless skinless chicken breasts? Pair them with lifeless colorless rice with cream of mushroom soup. BLECH. How about porkchops with applesauce? Shades of grey and browish.
Now lets compare my last two meals. Salad with Red Peppers, Orange Carrots, Yellow Wax Beans and Corn, Green Romane Lettace and Spinach, Black Beans, White Pine Nuts, and White Onions. All drizzled with Blood Orange Vinegar. Blueberries and Bing Cherries on the Side. Today it was Yellow UFO squash, zuchini, carrots, corn, peas, Roman Beans, orange cherry tomatoes, whole wheat flax seed pasta and home-made dairy free pesto. Nectarines on the side. See....PRETTY!
I had a very difficult experience this last week, one that I am not sure how to write about or if I even should right about it. It's a scary time that we live in. The word terror seems to permeate every moment, every action that we take as a country or as it's citizens. I am not always sure where the source of that terror is. Is it a man in a far away country, his associates and his followers, people of a religion I don't quite understand? Or is a man in my own country, his associates and followers, people of a religion I really don't understand?
I hate watching the news. Every couple of nights the news program does an honor roll of the service people who died that week. I always end up crying. They are such young kids. Most seem to be 19 years old. I remember 19. I am so thankful to have had the 10 years I've had since them. I've gotten married. I've got 4 nieces and nephews, I've loved and lost and LIVED. These kids never will have those things.
Because I don't watch the news I missed out on the newest terror plot. I knew two things. Connecticut voters proved they hate our president and the next day something happened with the airlines. I tried to not to hear what. The next morning I got up early and took a ferry to Bremerton with my nieces and nephews and their mother. I was so excited to take photos and enjoy the trip. I love the water. I feel more connected to the Great Whatever (insert your god here) when I am on or near water.
But this trip was not to be enjoyed. See we were escorted by two Coast Guard boats with MACHINE GUNS mounted on the front. Manned machine guns. These boats were constantly zooming and circling around us. Any boat that came anywhere near our boat was zoomed at and chased away. The guns were often pointing at the deck. I felt sick the whole ride. I even started crying. I was afraid to point out birds and seals to my little niece and nephews. I didn't want to attract the attention of the guns. The kiddos were curious. They wanted to know why we were sad. Why all the adult passengers were angry. What do you say? How do you explain the terror you feel to a 4 year old or a 6 year old. How do you explain how much you HATE that they are seeing guns like that? That you are terrified for them having to live in a world where such things are thought to be necessary.
Was this necessary? Was the threat so big that it took two boats of manned machine guns to escourt a ferry on a 60 minute trip across Puget Sound? Is the terror that real?
In the end the only thing that made it feel slightly better was the reaction of my little two year old Impling nephew. He looked out at them and frowned and yelled "BYE" and waved to them. He did this the whole ride. He knows the difference between BYE and HI and he got the right word this time. BYE
