Coming Attractions

I used to be a huge pack rat for most of my life, accumulating stuff, attaching sentimental significance to it, and refusing to get rid of it.  No joke, for a while I had, among other things I was keeping in a “memory” shoebox, receipts from purchases made when on vacation, to help me remember the trip.  When I met Stacia, she was the exact opposite, pretty much tossing anything into the trash after she was done with it.  It took some time for us to be able to understand each other’s viewpoint, but I think by now we’ve reached a happy medium – trying to live simply, but making a point to keep cherished items.

In that vein, I have two items at home that I really like, but don’t use enough.  So, to ensure they don’t become clutter, this post is about my goal to use them more.  The first is my digital camera (a simple point-and-shoot model), which gets used extensively on trips/special events, but spends most of its time just sitting in a drawer.  I also have an old SLR, which I know how to use, and might like to use more, but photography is such a rarity that I feel out of the habit.  The second is my food journal (it’s not a diary, it’s not a diary!), a great idea of Stacia’s that I just never remember to use.  The concept was to make notes of the food we cook at home, and lessons learned, so that I can go back and see what progress I’ve made in the kitchen and not make repeat mistakes.  Sadly, I seldom remember to write things down in the remaining evening downtime after dinner.

So here’s the plan (evolving, as all good plans are) – use the blog to push myself toward using those tools.  Ideally, I’ll make dinner, take notes, take photos of the finished product, and then write up a post, complete with photo, the next day during my lunch break.  The whole idea, and the ambitious frequency of it, may not take, but it’s my plan for the moment.  Perhaps I could co-opt SJ’s weekly roundup style if it all becomes too much to do daily.  Sadly, I haven’t taken any pictures of food yet this week, so if I write one today it will be un-illustrated, but take heart, food lovers: tonight’s dinner should be quite photogenic!