3 Quarters Today

My Life, my photography, my passions

project365

Day 68/365: Super Bowl, Go Packers

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Day 58: Go Packers

I’m not a big sports fan, I like college football better than pro, and normally only watch a couple of games per year of NFL Football. Doesn’t mean that I can’t follow a game and know the general rules, just don’t ask me what blocking is, I have still have no idea even though it’s been explained to me numerous times.

But I do like the drama and excitement of the Super Bowl. If it’s a close game, which was definitely delivered in Super Bowl XLV. I did have a favorite team, the Green Bay Packers. There is something about a pro football team that still has the guts to play in “real weather” the way football was designed. Rough, tough, down and dirty. Reminds me of the days watching football with my Dad when the teams played in rain, sleet and snow.

Roughing the quarterback wasn’t an issue then, it’s football, the goal is to tackle the guy with the ball. So, getting back to the Green Bay Packers. They are the only team still owned by a city, not by “fat cats” with millions of dollars and expensive sky boxes who just want to own a football team. This bonds the fans with the team and the players with the fans. Not to mention you have to be a little crazy to go shirtless in freezing weather to watch a game. That’s dedication. Lambeau Field is the oldest pro sports stadiums in the country and the proximity of the fans to the field is second to none. They can literally reach out and touch them. Better than that…

The Packers do this thing called the Lambeau Leap.  Many players after scoring touchdowns literally leap into the stands to be embraced by their fans. This is awesome!!!!

Day 67/365: Hastings Honor Choir

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Day 67: Hastings Honor Choir

Just a little bit about the Hastings College, High School Honor festival. It is the oldest honor music festival in the state of Nebraska, now in it’s 41st year.  The choir and band only accepts juniors and seniors, while the string orchestra is open to all high school students. This year the clinician was Dr. Daniel R. Afonso Jr. and the students spent 6-7 hours a day Friday and Saturday practicing their pieces for the concert on Sunday.

My son is in the middle of the above picture, a senior, and sings Bass II. Until a year ago he never tried out for honor choirs.  He was accepted for Hastings last year, ECNC last fall, the University of Nebraska Omaha BOCH Festival last month, and two years ago sang at Carnegie Hall in New York City with the Elmwood-Murdock choir in a mixed ensemble. Quite a set of accomplishments in the past few years. Yeah, and he hates for me to brag about it too. But what are the chances he’ll ever read this? Slim to none.

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to him sing. In six months he will be leaving for Marine boot camp in San Diego, CA and starting a career as an MP. I am more and more proud of him every day. I hope, somehow, that he will find a way to continue singing.  Maybe on a base somewhere a group of them will start a group, enter a talent show, or just be goofing around one day with ditties and form a group like the 4 Troops.

Day 67: Extra, full Honor Choir

Disclaimer: I know, the top photo is not one of my best, very amateurish Photoshop eiditing. But hey, the purpose of this blog is to stretch not only my photography skills but to get better in Photoshop as well.  I was experimenting with layers, selecting colors, and skewing images. I accomplished that.  So my goal for the night was complete. Considering the lighting and the distance I thought the pictures turned out decent.  I tried to improve it in Photoshop but was only slightly success.

The second picture was photoshopped too…I removed a random trombone player intruding on the choir and pushed the bleachers together.

Day 66/365: Winter Neighborhood

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Day 66: Snowy Neighborhood

The view down my street in Elmwood, Nebraska. A small community (technically a village), population 687, give or take a few.  This was a few days after a snow and the sun had finally come out. I know compared to my Connecticut friends this snow is nothing. But, last year we can get 8-10 foot drifts with just a foot of snow, so this year we’ve been given a break.

Learn More About a Small Town in Nebraska

Day 64/365: Cat’s Winter Silhouette

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Day 64: Cat in Winter

The sun finally came out after three days cold  winter weather and this cat took full advantage to sun bathe in the middle of the street. Took several of them, but I liked this one the best.  There was something that I like about the back of the cat’s head rather than her looking at me.

I’m not sure of this her name,  it’s my neighbors cat and just another photo opp on the way to the mailbox.

Day 63/365: Hot Chocolate Recipe

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Day 63: Hot Chocolate

There is nothing better than hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Ok, hot chocolate with Reddi-Whip, that makes it better. Tell you a little secret, I will often sneak a squirt of it right on my fingers, but I always get caught, last week by my son. All I could do was give him a guilty look and a smirk.

Anyhow, back to the hot chocolate. My kids like Ovaltine, and I normally have it in the cabinet. But, this year I was given two bags of instant milk. I thought, what in the world am I going to do with all this powdered milk? So I put it in the freezer until I could think of something. It didn’t take long. As Christmas approached and I was thinking of what I could make as gifts an idea came to me.

Hot Chocolate mix! Perfect. Not only did I have lots of powdered milk, but I had three tins of Herseys cocoa.  Every Christmas I buy a new container for holiday baking, totally forgetting I had some from last year. Perfect! I looked on my favorite recipe site Allrecipes.com and found the recipe below. It was a hit in my gift bags.

Ingredients

  • 10 cups powdered milk
  • 1 3/4  cup powdered non-dairy creamer (you can use the flavored kind for a different twist)
  • 4 3/4 cup powdered confectioners sugar
  • 1 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk powder, confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder and creamer. Stir thoroughly.

For one serving place 1/3 cup cocoa mixture in a coffee cup or mug, add 3/4 cup boiling water (or milk for a richer taste). Stir to dissolve.

Although the recipe doesn’t call for it I would definitely sift the mixture. Almost all the ingredients have little itty bitty tiny chunks that don’t dissolve well and will sometimes give the final product “texture”.