the 366-day photography project: week 25

Last Sunday, I went to church and saw this bumper sticker on a car. I thought that it was funny, so I took a picture of it. 

The gospel reading was about the miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. The party after the wedding went on for a week. Unfortunately, the parents of the bride (or was it groom?) misjudged how much wine was needed to keep the guests happy for an entire week. Jesus' mother asked him to help because, soon, the guests would be disappointed by being offered glasses of water. Or was that goblets?

Jesus was reluctant but he turned the water into wine. Good wine. Really good wine. Everyone drank and was happy. They were completely clueless that a miracle had occurred.

We acted out the wedding feast and the miracle. Afterwards, we had a wedding reception, complete with delicious food, a wedding cake, beverages, and dancing. Our performance was not quite true to the original. The party did not go on for a week!

Here are the lovely "newlyweds." They are a great pair of lovebirds.

Father Earle offers a toast.

Diana, who took a break from selling Girl Scout cookies, enjoys the wedding reception.

Here is a snow human, filled with chocolate chip cookies.

It's relaxation time for the bears. The two bears are Ginger Bear and Sweet Suzie Bear.

This is the comfortghan that Mommy Lois sent to me after my dad passed away. It is made with squares made by people in the crochet group that I've belong to for fifteen years. Each square is different. All of them are made with love. Three and a half years after this comfortghan was sent to me, I still cuddle with it every night.

The bears show off the squares that I have made. They will be part of a comfortghan for a friend who is dealing with illness. 

On a snowy winter day, I shift my camera from color to black and white. I like the dramatic contrast that black and white photography offers, especially in the winter.

Cold and magical, the snowflakes fall, glittery in the sky and brilliant as they sit on the ground. The snow is good for the dormant gardens, acting as a form of wet mulch, protecting the soil from cracking in the cold air.

Ice forms on the mailbox.

Wednesday is a cold day. It's a good day to stay indoors and remember the beauty and joy of summer. One way to remember that is by painting a warm-weather scene.

On Wednesday afternoon, I went to Huth Road Elementary School to take pictures of after-school club activities for the PTA (parent-teacher association). This is something quite delightful to be seen at the school. Taking pictures of the club activities was a good deal of fun. The three activities that I photographed were: service club (they made two things: cold weather bird feeders out of pine cones, peanut butter, and bird seed, and snowmen on stands for children in the hospital), boys' intramural sports (they played basketball), and third-grade writers' club (they wrote narrative poems).

On Thursday, I went to Stella Niagara Educational Park for my twice-monthly watercolor painting class. We painted posies. 

Friday morning! What's better to start the day than this beautiful cara cara orange. A cara cara orange is another name for a red-fleshed navel orange. It is both attractive to look at and delicious to eat.

Mmmm, an omelette and avocado for breakfast!

After breakfast, it is time for my baking project. I am very thankful to be able to buy eggs from Tom Thompson, a local farmer. He has about 160 free-range chickens on his property.

I set out the ingredients to warm up. I was very happy to find this shortening at the supermarket. It is organic and there is no hydrogenated vegetable oil in it (trans fat, which turns into the wickedly bad LDL cholesterol in your body). 

This time, I bake cupcakes. First, I scoop the batter into the baking cups.

Then I sprinkle dark chocolate chips on top of the batter.

The last thing that I sprinkle on top is finely diced walnuts.

The cupcakes are finished after baking for about 22 minutes.

After cooling, the cupcakes go into a cake dish.

Yesterday, I took a walk by the Niagara River.

The docks are unused during the winter.

The road is a little snowy.

The birds have flown away.

There is so much shape in the bare branches.

Today, before church, I was on the bike path.

Trees pointing to the blue sky.

The criss-crossing of the wires.

This is the wild brush in winter.

Next week:  Buckhorn Island State Park, a reception for Grand Island's new library director, and much more! Come visit again.

Twitter: @alicesbears