Photographing Marlo

When we decided to get a dog one of my key criteria (amongst others) was hair, not too much of it and certainly not white so we chose black. At the time it was an easy decision and met all my cleanliness guidelines BUT back then I hadn't done my photography course and whilst I enjoyed taking happy snaps I wasn't exactly trying to get the perfect shot. Well now I have and now I am but just try it on a big ball of black fluff! It's impossible.

I have tried and tried to get good photos of Marlo with little success ao I was pleasantly surprised the other day on our trip to Bendigo when I managed more than one photo I was happy with. Here are a few of my favourites

Sally

Once a nerd....

At school I was a nerd, there is no two ways about it really. If there was homework to be done I would always do it, if there was a monitor job I was first to volunteer, whether it be bell monitor, library monitor, the list goes on. So it was no suprise when I was doing my photography course that on the morning we were supposed to show the photos we had taken for practice I had a stress out that I hadn't done enough and started randomly snapping photos of Olive.

When I turned up to the course I was once again proven to be a nerd, that is to say yes I am still a nerd! I had taken the most photos of all the students there. Oh well, what's that saying about a leopard and its spots!

I did happen to snap this photo of Olive which I really like and thought I would share with you today. (Lisa hasn't even seen it yet!)

A trip to Bendigo

Today Mr B and I decided to drive out to Bendigo rather than sit around the house. It was such a beautiful day it would have been a shame to waste it.  We arrived at Lake Weeroona park, the perfect spot to take Marlo for a walk and have lunch.

Well the walk didn't go so well, as soon as I got her out of the car it was on, Sally vs Marlo. She was pulling on the lead, jumping at people, barking at other dogs and no matter what I did she just kept going and going. I tried to keep my cool and use puppy training techniques but in the end I failed and handed her over to Mr B.

He also had a hard time at first but ended up getting her under control. I had to walk way behind where she couldn't see me but it gave me the opportunity to take this photo which I just love. I've even had it printed and it will be going in a frame beside my bed.

Sally

Red Onion and Tomato Chutney

I love, love, love chutney and have been playing around with this recipe for a year or so now and think I finally have it right.  Its quick and really easy to make, but best of all it tastes great!

Ingredients:
1kg red onions, sliced
(not too thin I use the 4mm blade on my KitchenAid food processor)
1kg tomatoes, roughly chopped
(I always use a mix of roma, cherry and normal tomatoes at a minimum and then add whatever else I have in the kitchen.  The variety really does make a big difference)
2 bulbs garlic, chopped
4 red chillis, chopped
(I sometimes used dried chilli but fresh is best)
Small chunk of ginger , peeled and chopped
(I am not a big ginger fan so don't use alot, if you want more just add it)
500g brown sugar
200ml white vinegar
100 ml balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp cardamom
1 tsp allspice
vegetable oil
(or olive if you dont have vegetable)

Instructions:

Select some jars and sterilise them, I prefer them to be all different shapes and sizes. Its a good idea to have them ready when the chutney is done

Put onions in a large pan and sprinkle with oil, cover and turn heat to medium.

Sweat the onions until reduced in volume by about half (make sure you don't fry the onions)

Add the garlic, chillis, ginger, sugar, cardamon and allspice – mix thorughly then add the tomatoes & both vinegars and bring to the boil

Lower the heat and simmer for a couple of hours, stirring regularly (the more people that stir, the better it tastes!)

When cooked store in sterililsed jars and be sure to share it around.
Enjoy!

Flynns Feet

I looked after Flynn today while Lisa and Mum were at Mathilda's Maket in Hawthorn.  He is such an easy baby, albeit a little bit spewy, so I thought I would use the opportunity to take some photos of him with some of the Olives Tree product and update the website but instead found myself fascinated with his tiny feet.  Check out the pics below

Sally

Marlo

We've had Marlo for over 6 months now and I can't believe that I haven't told you all about her yet - she is just a dream.

We got Marlo at 7 weeks old and it was a fairly long trip home from Ballarat. I was worried that she would cry most of the way as we had resolved to having her in a harness in the back seat so she would learn not to be held in the car. We do alot of long trips to country Victoria so it was important that we have a dog that travels well. However I wasn't sure that our resolve was as good as I'd hoped and I was driving as I was definately going to be the first to break. Luckily Marlo was just fine. No sooner had we strapped her in and left the driveway of her birth home and she was asleep! Who could ask for more than that.

She was so small back then she could fit in one hand and the harness we had bought for her was as tight as we could get it to go but still too big! Here she is sleeping on the back seat on the trip home from Ballarat. We have since learnt that being on her back is her favourite position (Not a great picture as I forgot my camera and only had the iPhone)

When we got her home she was so full of beans and wanting to play we had the best time with her. Here are a few of my favourites pictures from that day