And All I Got Was This Lousy Paper Crown

I used a paper crown from Christmas as a dandy's collar for Dexter (Ginger Demon God of Mischief). Yup, that's where my life's at.

This does not make me happy

Gabby

Not only did I find a good place to take my car but Gabby kept me company.

I'm letting you win because you smell like food

Rrrrrotate your tires?

Cold Grey and Electric Skateboards

I took my new old Canon for a test run yesterday and it felt like the first time I saw winter. Why was I surprised to see people fishing on questionable ice and why did this fisherman isolate himself from all the other lunatics I mean ice fishermen? I also saw my first electric skateboard which I kept hoping would hover. Now that would be a good shot in monochrome or color.

Such a lonely looking scene on Lake Wingra—awww woooo

At Brittingham on the shores of Lake Monona, I kept waiting for her to hover

Across from Warner Park and Lake Mendota, the result of rain, snow, freeze, melt and repeat

Taken with my old old Canon at Troy Gardens while munching on a Butter Burger

Long Thaw Sky

Our long winter thaw began on Sunday when it hit 50˚, and will keep bouncing around until April.

The sky was showing the slightest color over Lake Wingra an hour or so before sunset today.

There were more generous sepia tones watching over the ice fishermen on  Lake Monona. These guys will stay perched on the thinnest strip of ice long after things start melting. They remind me of those bald eagles floating down the Mississippi.

Diets and Butter Burgers

Dexter caught a whiff of a butter burger and fries while I was setting up my new camera.

There better be cheese curds in here (there weren't)

Both of us are supposed to be on a diet and for my part, I didn't get a shake.

Roscoe

Awwwwww, he was such a cute pup, handsome dog, and a fun and inexhaustible pal.
I love you boy.

Roscoe

White Balance

While the powers that be were shutting down our government I was powering up my old camera and dealing with another kind of white balance. My Canon T3i was taking weird blue photos and I'd given up until I found a discussion on White Balance (which was the first thing I checked but turned out to be the problem).
I was half hoping it was broken (again, see Government Shutdown) so I could justify a new camera which FedEx tried to deliver this morning. The sound of the apartment buzzer woke me from a crazy dream about phone etiquette and I barely noticed the cat groggy and glaring at me before I fell back to sleep. So no new camera today.

My first test subject was Dexter,  Demon Ginger God of Mischief and hater of buzzers.

My sole purpose in life is to help you test your little toys

It's been so cold I've taken the poster art off the walls to cover cold spots, so 50˚ weather got me out and shooting more pics today.

Creative Auto, one of my fav features for black and whites, seems fine.

A little dull but no weird blue. Back to playing with Exposure Compensation.

Eh, too bright and yet too dull but no blue. 

You can see part of the cool cinematic clouds I was driving through in the upper corner looking like part of a tree.

An Example of the Gingerbread House I'll Never Make

Along with the cookies and candy I plan on making every year, I decided to make a gingerbread house this year. I probably won't.
One of my favorite things about the holiday season is Clasens European Bakery.

Clasen's Gingerbread Houses

Cookies and How Not To Make Them

The idea of making Christmas cookies has become more of a tradition than actually making them. I love shopping for new baking supplies and pretending that this is the year I'm going to make a gingerbread house and it's going to be from scratch.

It's fun to collect recipes and new ideas and to convince myself it's going to be like that one year when I  added fudge, toffee and popcorn balls to the mix.

There is a chance I'll make these peanut butter with varied berried jelly cookies again this year. There isn't a big chance, but it could happen (it won't).

I'm thankful for the years I made cookies and for all the times I'll just watch The Great British Baking Show and eat Oreos. 

Crapshoot Christmas Cookies

Not made until the second week of January

Pickle Toothpaste

Neither a pickle nor a food, why not round off Thanksgiving dinner with a tube of Pickle Flavored Toothpaste?
I need to know what bacon flavored tomfoolery is pictured behind the toothpaste and ends in "NTURE." Denture? Furniture?
And why is the bacon wearing a yellow bow and holding a... giant hotdog? Whatever she's doing there's some bacon dude behind her cheering her on. I might have to bring this photo in to the National Mustard Museum and ask them.
I've always been thankful for this type of idiocy, thank you, Mustard Museum.

Pickle Flavored Toothpaste

A Peck of Peppers

Their colors cheer up sizzling pans of sausage and farmer's market photos. I can't wait to test new lenses and cameras on this vegetable which reminds me of home and the holidays (in a good way).
I am thankful for peppers and Italian sausage, peppers and eggs, and pepper and egg sandwiches.

Multi-Colored Peppers