Before we take off on the annual Fall Tour with the club, I have to show you the wonderful delivery from Harry and David.  We received Oregon Gourmet Apples and Pears.  Now the apples we don’t need since last weekend I bought 5 lbs of Pound Sweets and 5 lbs of …..whoops! forgot the name, whatever they are, they make good eating apples. The Pound Sweets are utility grade and actually pack a good dose of sweet crispness to carry their own.  Back to Harry and David…

DSC_1489 Gorgeous!  

The royal pears are described as “luxurious” because of the natural sugars occurring in the fruit which is rare and delicious.

Nutrition:  120 calories.  1g fat (Where?!).  30g carbs. 5g fiber. 21g sugar. 1g protein.

The gourmet apples are America’s favorite fruit.  They are bursting with juicy, sweet natural flavor. Grown in pure mountain water in the hills of Oregon, the cold nights ensure a crisp, snap in every bite. 

Nutrition:  100 calories.  0g fat (more like it).  28g carbs. 3g fiber. 25g sugar. 0g protein.

Some recipes to look forward to:  Szechwan Chicken Salad: Using both pear and apple in a cool peanut butter and soy sauce dressing. Looks good!  The second recipe, Apple – Pear Date Salad:  Adding dates to the two fruits, a little celery, walnuts, honey and lemon to make one refreshing treat!

I can’t wait to try the recipes. 

It’s off to Lake Placid to enjoy a 2 days of frolicking in the cold mountain air.  We are expecting to see a demonstration of “Olympic” proportions    . I will keep you posted and HOPEFULLY take some nice photos.  I’ve had some “challenges” (shall we say) with my camera this week. Still learning!

DSC_1487 Do you have a favorite type of apple and/or pear?

Digital Photography

We have finished with camera settings and have moved on to learning Photoshop.  I’m getting the impression that Photoshop is a 4 year degree in itself!  As for the camera settings, at this point, simply trial and error.  A flash unit was purchased which helps a little (photos above are an example).  I still have to practice where the light hits the subject, exposure settings and much more.

What about Photoshop?  Last night made a big difference to a couple of my test shots.  Here are some before and afters:

BEFORE

BEFORE

 

AFTER

AFTER

 
 
 
Before with color (too intense). I changed to Sepia but things were wrong e.g. the flag pole.

Before with color (too intense). I changed to Sepia but things were wrong e.g. the flag pole.

 
 
 
AFTER

AFTER

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In the end, I was please with the little I learned. Okay, so it’s not professional photography but there is so much to look at in the photo to make it good and pleasing to the eye.   Besides, it all boils down to a matter of preference, right?!  
Check in tomorrow for some pics and details of a our Lake Placid arrival.  TGIF All!

Joanne

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