Roadtrip to Geneseo!

If you didn't hear the news, I lost my job about three weeks ago. No need to look sad -- I'm actually quite enjoying life as an unemployed student! And I'm busy busy busy between the Dharma Center, and getting ready to start school.

The Big Tree Inn, Geneseo, NY

So, I carved out a little bit of time for Miss J and me to go on a photography expedition yesterday, down to Livingston County. And of course we needed to stop for some lunch -- how much art can a girl make on an empty stomach?

When we got to Geneseo, we decided that we would try the Big Tree Inn, a place I have eaten several times in the distant past. I think the last time was just before a Indigo Girls concert. But that's another story.

Flavored butters

Of course we were starving by the time we got to the Inn, so we were very happy to see the bread basket and flavored butters arrive at the table. The bread was quite good -- chewy crust, soft bread, but not, alleluia! not under baked!!! We hate the recent trend in under baking. Bakers, please note: half raw is not the same as moist. If you want moist, add fat or sugar. The flavored butters, pesto, lemon poppy seed, and strawberry, were better in concept than in execution.

Spring Chicken Salad

 J ordered the Spring Chicken Salad. It was a grilled chicken breast on appropriately dressed salad greens. Am interesting addition to the salad was some cubed parsnip. It took me a minute to decide what the mysterious yellow cube was -- but in the end I got it figured out. We like to add a lot of unusual things to our salads, but I never tried parsnips. I will in the future, however.

Clam and Mussel Chowder

My choice for lunch was the soup of the day -- a clam and mussel chowder. I love shell fish prepared in any way, and it would have been nice if there had been some actually in the soup. The soup was good, don't get me wrong. It just wasn't very chock full of clams or mussels. Maybe there were two or four all together? Not very many. There were a lot of veggies, however, and that was really good.

So, overall, we were pleased with our lunches and suggest you check out the Big Tree Inn if you are down to Geneseo. Keep in mind that Geneseo is a college town, and don't expect to be able to get into the best restaurant in town on parents' weekend. But with a little luck or pre-planning, you could be enjoying a lovely luncheon there yourself!

Dawn on Waneta Lake

Visit to Woodchuckville

J and I have rented a cottage on Waneta Lake, a teensy-tiny lake in the Fingerlakes region. This really is the land that time forgot. For most of the week we have done absolutely nothing but cook out and eat, read books, and play Farkle. There is also a lot of just staring at the lake. This has been heavenly!

So today, we decided to shake the dust off and go out for a bit. Our destination was The Windmill Farm & Craft Market in Penn Yan, aka Woodchuckville. If you ever wondered where people get tee shirts that say things like, "I'm Great in Bed (I can sleep for hours at a time)" it's at the Windmill.

The parking lot, with a view of the namesake windmill

Slightly burned on the edges = perfect!

The Penn Yan area is home to many Mennonites, so they are represented at the Windmill, mostly in the food stands it seemed to me. I was able to buy a loaf of salt-rising bread, a hard to find favorite. My dad used to make it frequently when I was growing up. Salt-rising bread is made without yeast, but instead is made from a starter of naturally occurring micro-organisms, like sour dough. Despite it's name, it isn't salty. I'm not really sure where the salt comes in. Dad had a started made from potatoes, and it stunk to high heaven. Which explains why the cleaning lady threw it out when she was cleaning the fridge one week. A tragedy for us.

So tomorrow I will have some lovely salt-rising bread toasted.  Ah, if only I had some peanut butter to put on it too!

Dygert Does HDR

I'm just fascinated by the HDR photos I've seen -- My nephew Tim took some at the beach in Hawaii that were stunning -- but I've not tried to shoot any on my own until now. With a week at a cottage before me, I thought I might have enough time to noodle through how to do it.

Setting up my Canon DSLR was the hardest part. Lucky for me, I was able to find an excellent resource on the internet. If you have a Canon 5D Mark II, you will be able to use these instructions too. They are very specific!

So once I got the pictures in my camera, then I had to get them put together via Photomatix software. This software has only one purpose -- to combine the bracketed shots in your camera to make an awesome HDR photo. Photomatix isn't expensive, and the version I bought was actually good for 2 people, so I could share it with J too. Also search around on the internet for a % off coupon. At this writing you can get 15% off the list price with an easy to find coupon.

J and I do a calendar every year, primarily for our own pleasure, and share it with family. This year I think the theme is going to be "pictures that tell a story." I think these HDR photos do just that!

Now on to learning about those filters I bought for my camera!