Tuesday, November 3, 2026

❣️ Fujifilm XT-2 ❣️

Some pikchas.

Reggie's HP5 Black and White

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Advanced Filter: Partial Color - Red

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Caleb Smith's Kodachrome 64

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Lisa Portinari's Lisa Glow

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Reggie's HP5 Black and White

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Monday, November 2, 2026

Dd's Cream of Mushroom Soup

I love soup, and this recipe looks pretty simple!

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CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

 

1 TB olive oil

1 TB butter

1 medium shallot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 oz. crimini mushrooms; chopped

2 ½ c chicken broth

2 TB flour

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup heavy cream

Garnish: chopped Italian parsley



In a large pot over medium heat, saute shallot, garlic and mushrooms in oil and butter until softened.  Stir in flour; cook 1 minute until well incorporated.  Stir in broth, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Puree to desired consistency with emersion blender.  Check for seasoning; adjust if necessary.  Stir in cream.  For service garnish with parsley. 


Serves 2.

 

Sunday, November 1, 2026

Cy's Breakfast

Cy says:  From Ray's.  I remember when it was $20.  Now it's $30.

Lan says:  Their prime rib is usually killa!

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Saturday, October 31, 2026

Fujinon XF23mm f2.8 Lens

Two things happened that resparked my interest (fka obsession) in photography.  (1) Mahina's parents are getting married in a couple of years and (2) I discovered Fujifilm recipes.

Weddings were one of my fave picture-taking events, but lugging heavy gear all day and night long got too grueling for me.  Also, post-processing to get the photos to just how I liked them took hours.  

And so, I bought the Fujinon XF23mm f2.8 pancake lens to go with my 9-year old Fujifilm X-T2.  The total weight of both lens and camera is 597 grams (1.32 pounds).   My younger self would've preferred the faster f1.4 version, but I opted for the lighter/smaller lens and crossed my fingers that it would suffice. 

And then, Fujifilm recipes allow you to tweak your Fuji camera using its Film Simulation function to give you your desired look straight out of the camera.  I used Reggie Ballesteros' Reggie's Portra for my sample photos below.  I found his recipe on YouTube.  Minimal post-processing of these photos was required other than cropping. 

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Friday, October 30, 2026

Thursday, October 29, 2026

Message to Joggers

Just FYI.  I am a terrible driver.  And if you are an early morning jogger and you choose to jog on the road instead of on the sidewalk when it's still dark, I might bang you.  

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

Wendell's Clam Chowder

Wendell makes a really good clam chowder.  The recipe calls for Ranch Dressing mix.  

Back in 2008 I asked Wendell to make it for me for my birthday.  You can find the recipe here. 

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Monday, October 26, 2026

My Mom

This is my mom today.  All comfy on her 93rd birthday.  No celebration.  No fanfare.  Just how she likes it.  

Sore knees.  Cannot hear good.  But otherwise healthy.  I'm so grateful.

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Ceramics Class

 This is our first batch of finished pieces!

Saturday, October 24, 2026

💗 Canon 5D ii 💗

I busted out my fave 20-year-old camera and shot a few photos of my fave subject.

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