thanksgiving in reflection

a return to patates douces dans le style de l'hôtel.

I am so thankful those months are behind us. I am feeling very at home now, especially with my first teaching experience behind me. So I guess for some reason I wanted to make this sweet potato dish again. I added a touch of nutmeg just for some variety. Live and learn. A little nutmeg goes a long way, and it just didn't taste good. Or maybe it was that we weren't using left over packets of honey from the local fried chicken fast food joint.

I'm feeling thankful tonight - for my home, my family, for the friends that drove so far to spend time with us this past holiday, for having a job I really love, for getting to do the things I want to do; for generally being alive and having friends to share it all with. I hope you all feel these blessings this holiday season as well.

fall in Texas

I was out running just outside our subdivision today and enjoyed looking at the remaining ranch land just over the wall.



So I told Kandie I had seen a few fences I wanted to go shoot.



Most of what I got was just very vacant - in an uninteresting way. I'm looking forward to our next foggy morning - I'll try these shots again.

my first professional photography gig

I had my first professional photography gig on Thursday night. It was for Argo Group down at Swig martini bar on the River Walk.



I'll post a link to the site when they put up the pictures. Technically they're not mine to share, even though I'm sitting here looking at them.

The party seemed like a huge success, and Argo Group donated $25,000 to a charity called Shelter Box. I'd never heard of Shelter Box, but I think it's a great concept - basically a complete set of rugged camping and survival gear packed in a heavy-duty but light weight plastic box - ready to be deployed anywhere in the world where there is a disaster and people need immediate shelter. The tent is meant to sleep ten - and it is certainly big enough. The Shelter Box people came down and set up the whole kit right outside of Swig (which is below Howl and the Moon and next to Hard Rock Cafe if you are familiar with the River Walk).

Anyway, I had a really good time running around and taking pictures. I didn't ask anyone to pose, but some people asked to have group shots which I did. Otherwise I focused on candids, which is more my style. Plus I was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible - a challenge when you have a big camera and an even bigger flash popping off in an otherwise dark bar.

I'm hopeful I'll get another chance to do an event like this again soon!

Your San Antonio Spurs!

The birthday fun (for Kandie) continued last night when we all rambled down to the AT&T Center to watch the Spurs play the Clippers.



We had seats that you had to file a flight plan with the air traffic controller to get up to



but even so, we still had a nice view of the whole game.



The AT&T Center won't let you bring in cameras with detachable lenses, so I borrowed Nicole's Kodak Easyshare, and I think it did a remarkable job considering the distance and lighting.



The gear matters when it comes to photography



and I missed a few great movements. But nonetheless, we had a good time. And of course the good guys won, 107-95! It was a close game all the way down to the last two minutes - much of the time the scores were only a few points apart.

Tickets are generally expensive, but I think there are enough promotions that you can get into a game relatively inexpensively if you keep your ears open. We won free tix when we went to the Rampage game a few weeks ago, which is why we could afford to bring the girls.

Magnolia Pancake Haus

I took Kandie to the Magnolia Pancake Haus yesterday for a birthday breakfast.



I had the jambalaya omelet - it was AWESOME! the eggs were sooo fluffy and light, the sauce was wonderful, and the rice and sausage had just the right amount of spice (yes, rice in an omelet - don't knock it till you try it!).



Kandie had the mushroom and spinach omelet with Swiss cheese.

Both dishes were served with a side of pancakes. I have to say, these were some of the best pancakes I've ever had. Light and fluffy like the eggs, with a gentle dose of vanilla - phenomenal. The only complaint I have is that they don't use real maple syrup. But for fake syrup, what they served wasn't bad. It was relatively light, not the gooey Mrs. Butterworth's crap you get at IHOP.

The price was reasonable - for two omelets, two sides of pancakes, and coffee, our bill was about $22 before tip. The service was very good, and the atmosphere was bright and cheery.

Two thumbs up to Magnolia Pancake Haus - we'll definitely be going back!

fall in Texas

Fall has finally started arriving here in greater San Antonio.



We've had a number of foggy mornings now that things are starting to cool off, but yesterday was the first time I made it out to get some shots in the 'hood.



These two shots were taken across the street from Nicole's junior high school.