Celebrating World Photo Day 2016

I decided to share this shot taken at Lake Erie in Geneva on the Lake this weekend. The skies were brewing, giving it a rather spectacular view.  We decided to stop here to stretch our legs from driving. The main street has a bit of a boardwalk feel, it just screams "Summertime" to me!!!  Don loves it here, I think next time we will definitely spend a few days here.

Enjoyed our quick break and we did stay dry !!!

A visit to the Riverside Inn

This last weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to stay at the Riverside Inn in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. We had been looking for a hotel in the Erie area, but just didn't want to stay at another chain hotel. Luckily this hotel popped up and I made our reservation shortly after. I love the old world charm, they have soo much on display from back in the day. This hotel has been open for 131 years. It was one of the first health spas, guests would visit from afar to drink the healing water. I will show more photos of this charming hotel in another post soon. Some believe there might be more to this hotel, than just history, great service and charm. Could there be more... It was funny though, while walking the grounds our daughter mentioned, I should google this hotel to see if I can find out some more, this hotel being so old. My husband just smiled and said, that's why we are here. Later that night in the room she started researching about the Riverside Inn. She informed us, no argueing, as we don't want a visit from the gentleman with the handlebar moustache, who seem to appear at times when guests argue ;) I took quite a few photos while we were exploring and a few came out rather interesting, where you could actually put a few question marks???. And I am sure all could be debunked, but I haven't found an answer yet for all....

Like the photo of this organ, I do not recall seeing any white speckles in my viewfinder, however when I viewed the photo it was covered with white dots and I noticed the two keys being down. Now I am sure the keys are most likely just stuck. But the combo of the keys and the speckles does make it interesting.... In that same hallway, less than a minute later I took some other photos. The first one was taken with flash and the following one was without. As you will be able to see in the first photo my flash bounced and left a second reflection in the mirror at the end of the hallway, but what is interesting is the green light/orb on the carpet. Within 30 seconds of the first photo, I took a second one in the exact same position without the flash. This time all you see is a regular hallway. I zoomed in to see if I could see anything on the carpet, what could have caused a possible green light reflection, but so far haven't found anything. 

So that is my little mystery, till I have it debunked. But I will tell you, I am planning to return to the Riverside Inn. This was not an overnight stay, but a lovely experience.  We enjoyed the food, the grounds, the hotel, the friendly and helpful staff and a memorable experience.

Paleo inspired meatball

Dutch meatballs are very popular at my house. The other day when I was going to make some I realized I ran out of the required spices. The perfect time to try something new, so I decided to see if I could make a Paleo inspired version. This is what I came up with.

Makes 8

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
3 tbs coconut flour
5 tbs coconut milk
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chili/garlic powder
1 tbs coconut flakes (optional)

First I mixed the ground pork and ground beef together. Than I added the coconut flower, coconut milk, salt, curry powder and the chili/garlic powder to the ground meat. If the consistency is to wet add some coconut flour or if it is too dry just add a little more coconut milk. I added some dry coconut flakes to the mixture, it will give it a little bit of crunch. But this is totally optional. Roll them into meatballs and brown them in coconut oil and let them simmer in a covered pan till done.

Enjoy, Bon Appétit, Eet smakelijk!!

If I could turn back time.....

Sometimes I wonder about this, what if I could turn back time, would I?  So many changes, milestones reached, reality checks and moments of looking back at the past. 

Yesterday, I was talking to Em and we realized that New England is the longest place we have lived as a family. Six weeks ago we broke this record. When we moved here she was a third grader and the boys entered 7th and 10th grade. Now, Em is about to enter high school, one just graduated high school and we have our upcoming engineer. Life as a military spouse had his challenges, but I tell you if I had to do it all over again, I would. In all honesty at times, I miss the military lifestyle. Sometimes when we drive up to Hanscom or visit another base, it's like being on home turf. Not sure if it is the egg shell colored buildings or a visit to the Exchange... But in all honesty I think it is your extended military family. It's like having two families. My family here, at home in Europe and my in laws. But also my extended military family, from being stationed all over the world. We still follow each other, see our children grow up and even visit with each other. Have to admit, social media, made this so much easier. But that bond created is strong, we have each others back. Mind you, I love the town we moved to. Agawam/Feeding Hills is nice town with wonderful people. Happy to call it home and planning to stay here for a long time.

The last couple of weeks, have really been like a time of reflection. With Bas graduating from high school (via home school), it's like what shall I do next. What is my next project or path to choose. 

Well, I am starting by revamping my old blog. Keeping the same name 'Life, Bites & Photographs'.

It's a combination blog about daily life, sharing food related ideas and recipes and naturally my love for photography. I hope you will subscribe to the blog on this new platform. I just love the set up a lot more compared to the old platform. 

Life, Bites and Photographs is back!!!