Cheers

A Post Brought To You In Black & White and Color With A Bonus You Choose What You’d Chews Too

Shelley

Ah, here we are at USA’s long Labor Day weekend. A day off from work with time to gather together to celebrate workers and their labors, and to eat, drink, and be merry. It’s typically a weekend to end the hot summer here in Wisconsin.

Well, in our case, maybe not, ’cause it’s been mighty HOT! We could’ve maybe cooked an egg on the driveway, but didn’t try! And, trust me, camping in a tent in this heat would NOT be on my list of ‘fun in the sun’.

By the end of the day on Sunday we wanted to stay inside and enjoy the gift of A/C!

Instead of cooking inside though, Mr. went outside and cooked up something for us that I bet I can shock you enough to say, “I’d never chew on that, EVER!” Or maybe, there’d be some brave souls like me to say, “I’d chew on that if they were cooked correctly!”

But, first, I gotta tell you about the breakfast sandwich he made for me. It was delightful. Light fluffy coconut flower chaffle, fried egg, sausage, and cheddar cheese. He’s been experimenting with cooking while I’m enjoying the results of his efforts using the new Blackstone.

While our diet has changed drastically since 2020 from the traditional carb-loaded menus of decades of not knowing how bad they were for us – to healthy fat/low-carb, whole foods diet, we both know that Labor Day weekend is a time to celebrate with food.

Yep, it appears so.

Just Google “Labor Day Menu” and you’ll see the USA photos of menus that peeps who eat those delicacies tend to love our Standard American fare of not-so-good-for-you, great-tasting, calorie-dense grubs—mainly fair-type food.

I didn’t make any big requests for food for the weekend. Those like me who don’t cook know it’s best to accept the offerings and enjoy every bite. I adore everything Mr. makes for me.

While he was menu planning, I played around with the photos I took this past week. An update ran this week and I had to figure out the new photo editing tools. I hate it when they make changes without asking me. Then I HAVE to use the new tools, as the old ones are gone!

Screen shot of the new tool.

So it took me LONGER than I expected, but I think by the time I was done, I kind of enjoyed the new tool. Maybe.

I captured the Blue Moon on the 31st!

I won’t tell you how many photos I took of it from 4 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., suffice it to say, A LOT. It’ll be 27 years before I’ll see one of these again. So I gave it my best shots.

Here’s one of my favorites before I gave up and said, “Let’s go for our morning walk and admire the moon from afar.”

The last photo on the SD card for August 2023 was just a quick shot of the yard with the sun shining through the fence. I don’t know, what about you. . . I think I like it in B&W better.

The Cosmos Pinkies are budding again, so I captured one of those.

The Autumn Sedum is blossoming and the bees and wasps are smitten with it.

There are a lot of light green buds, so the Sedum will attract bees until it freezes.

Where was I? Oh, yeah, the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Check out the sunrise of the day of Mr.’s big what’s for dinner surprise.

This year, he got brave and said, “Are you game for trying Chicken Hearts for dinner?”

Um… “Sure, how are you going to cook them?”

Mr.: “On the Blackstone in sauteed garlic and onions.”

He went outside to get the Blackstone heating, and I inspected the package. 3 pounds for $4.10, what a deal.

As he opened the package, he reminded me of how nutrient-dense they are and how filling they’ll be. I followed him to the Blackstone to get more convinced.

And here they are, presented on my plate, with a dollop of Greek Yogurt.

And…they tasted like dark chicken meat. They were tasty, and filling, and we have leftovers for breakfast, lunch, or dinner today. Mr. and I are thankful I’ve become quite brave in what I’m willing to try and eat. Plus, dang, with the high cost of food these days, it’s hard to beat four meals for the price of under $5.00!

Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hills’ Stream of Consciousness Saturday Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “chews/choose.” Use one, use ’em both, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if you get ’em both in. Have fun! Brian at Bushboy.blog’s Last on the Card for August 2023 and Anne for LAPC #265: Black and White or Monochrome

PS – What’s your favorite weekend meal? Have you ever tried Chicken Hearts? What food have you tried that you were surprised you liked it? Do you like the Image Compare block in WordPress? Side by side or Above and Below? How about B&W compared to Color photos – Which do you prefer and why? What fun plans do you have today?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

37 thoughts on “A Post Brought To You In Black & White and Color With A Bonus You Choose What You’d Chews Too”

    1. Thanks, Frank – Thank YOU for working on Labor Day.
      There was a day when pasta was a favorite of ours too – hard to believe, but we don’t miss it at all. We’ve made some out of canned chicken when we’ve had a hankering for it.
      Enjoy your day – stay cool where you are too! I hope you have a wonderful week – PS – I enjoyed your post about belonging, well done!

  2. I liked your photos, but I’ll pass on the chicken hearts. I’m not really a fan of dark meat. I use the image compare on occasion. I enjoyed seeing these. Black and white brings out more of the details. Not sure what we’ll have for dinner today. It’s going to be in the 90s, but I might drift into my workshop for a while. Whatever you guys do, I hope you enjoy the day.

    1. Thanks, Dan. I used to be a white meat only fan. Then I ventured to the dark side 🤣
      The image compare block seems to have improved a bit. When I first tried it I didn’t care for it.
      We’re in the 90s and 100s today too. I hope you have A/C in your workshop? That bench you’re making is going to look great! I hope you, the Editor, and your yard full of critters have a great day too!

  3. Ohh, now you’ve got me thinking about chopped liver–chicken livers (not hearts, though I don’t mind hearts), hard boiled egg, and a little mayo to hold it together. No carbs, anyway! As for your photos, it’s really cool to see them in half B&W. And, you’re right, the fence photo looks better that way. Have a wonderful Labor Day, my friend!

    1. Ooh…chopped chicken livers, eggs, and mayo – YES, that sounds yummy too! We had the leftover hearts chopped up in a scrambled egg bowl with parmesan cheese on top. Very yummy!
      I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. The fence just seemed to call for B&W, glad I tried the filter and it worked.
      I hope you have a memorable Labor Day dear friend! It’s always great to hear from you! 🤗😊

  4. Retired here. I didn’t even recognize this was a 3 day holiday until Thursday last week. I’m going to pass on the chicken hearts too. I didn’t know they were a thing. I have a hard enough time eating chicken thighs! I like the color/black and white thing. I had trouble importing photos this weekend, as they changed it up totally. I’m still not sure I have it figured out. I HATE that they get to change things whenever they want with no warning and no instructions.

    1. Ah, the perks of retirement. One of these days, I’ll think about retirement. I have to get better hobbies or hobbies that don’t require $ to do. 🤣.
      I was pleasantly surprised by the chicken hearts. I do like the chicken livers in the air fryer better, though.
      I had heard that WP did an update too. Our local internet provider upped our bandwidth so uploading photos was faster for me. After I figured out the editing software. I’m with you – I sure wish they’d consult us before making changes or at least send out a notice of what’s coming up so we’re not frustrated! I hope your issues resolve and that you find a way to make the changes work!

  5. Happy Labor Day, guys! Your set of photos is very good, Shelley, I like the color and grayscale versions. The Blackstone sounds familiar, it looks like a flat top grille, nice! Have a great new week.😊

    1. Happy Labor Day to you, John! Thank you for your feedback on the photos. Yes, the Blackstone is a flat top, it’s been a fun addition to all the cooking toys Mr. has been collecting.
      I hope you’re having a great week and that you’re drying out from the monsoon!

      1. You’re welcome! Everything is dried out. The streets will have lots of rocks and stones on them for a while. I miss my family on the holidays but stay in touch via calls and text.

        1. That’s great it all dried out so fast.
          I bet missing your family on the holidays is hard. It’s a good thing we have calls and texts available for us. It’s hard to remember back to the days when snail mail was our way to do so.

  6. Excellent post Shelley. I liked that you gave us both versions to view. With a few exceptions, I liked the color versions better. It takes a lot of contrast to pull off a black and white conversion. You did a great job on some. Remember it’s all subjective and you asked! Thanks for participating and how did you get your Mr. to cook for you? Mine only knows how to use a fry pan.

    1. Thank you, Anne, I appreciate your feedback. I see what you mean about the need for the contrast and how hard it can be to pull it off – it was the first time for me playing with the ‘new’ photo editor. I enjoy taking the photos in my camera in the B&W setting, it seems to do a better job than this new software was doing.
      Mr. took over the meal cooking 23 years ago when he retired from his corporate gig and I headed back to the workforce. He loves the challenge of coming up with new recipes and using new equipment. I hope that I haven’t forgotten how to cook. I might be in the fry pan only camp too 🤣😉
      Thanks again for hosting and for stopping by to share your thoughts!

  7. Not one for chicken hearts but I do love liver and kidneys, so maybe I should try too!
    I love your comparisons, it’s a great way to show how different they can be. I prefer the colour ones for your nature macros, maybe the black & white ones need a bit more contrast for them to really shine like they do in colour.

    1. Hi Sofia – If you like the liver and kidneys, I have a hunch you’d enjoy the hearts too. They can get a bit rubbery if over-cooked, but other than that, they were good IMHO.
      Thank you for the feedback on the photos. I agree that I don’t think the new photo editing tools do the B&W justice. If only I knew how to get that feedback to the ‘update running crew’! 🤔😉😂
      PS – Did you participate in the challenge this week? I did see your photo of the Corvid, nicely captured. The bird looks like what we call Crows here.

  9. Good use of image compare Shelley. I prefer the B&W of the fence and tea house too. I hope you have Mr building more cupboards to house his cooking passion 😂 I’ll leave the offal for the creatures who enjoy them thanks.
    I hope you have a burst of Autumn flowers before Winter
    Thanks for joining in 🙂 🙂

    1. Thanks, Brian, I appreciate your feedback! So far, I’m thinking the new photo editor is as good as free since it came with the updates I didn’t request but was blessed with out of the blue.
      Yes, you’re on the right track with the need for more cupboards. Or a new ‘patio’ area to house all the tools. He’s dreaming of that next project. 🤣😂
      The chicken hearts are feeling 💔 they really are packed with nutrients. But…I was one of those who wouldn’t have tried them in a million years group a few years ago. 😆
      For the most part the flowers in my garden are giving their last hurrah right now. I wish I had some mums to share some fall colors.
      Thanks for hosting the Last on the Card and for stopping by, much appreciated!!

  11. What’s your favorite weekend meal? At this point because we’re home almost all the time, weekends have lost meaning. It’s odd, but true… therefore I don’t have an answer to this question.

    Have you ever tried Chicken Hearts? No

    What food have you tried that you were surprised you liked it? Fried oysters

    Do you like the Image Compare block in WordPress? Side by side or Above and Below? How about B&W compared to Color photos – Which do you prefer and why? Side by side, b&w to color. No reason for the preferences other than *just cuz* 😜

    What fun plans do you have today? I’m answering this on Tuesday so my fun plans are writing a blog post for tomorrow. Living on the edge here!

    1. Hi Ally, thank you for sharing your answers to the questions. I enjoyed reading your replies. And you made me hungry to try fried oysters. We like them from the can, but, trying them fried in avocado oil on the griddle might be interesting… (I’ll make sure Mr. is informed of the menu option 😉)
      I look forward to reading your blog post!

  12. What’s your favorite weekend meal? Hmm, I usually just have soup and a sandwich if I’m out and about on longer walks on the weekend (as I usually am if the weather cooperates), so by the time I get home it is later and I’m starving, so soup is quicker. If it’s crummy weather, I will make a crockpot meal on the weekend as I probably stayed home.
    Have you ever tried Chicken Hearts? No. My father liked chicken livers so we had them a lot when I was growing up. My mom made them plain for some reason (so I doused them with ketchup to make them tolerable to eat). However when we had regular liver, it was with onions and bacon which was a bit more tolerable.

    What food have you tried that you were surprised you liked it? It’s been ages since I ate out or tried something new, so I don’t remember. Many years ago, my uncle brought some octopus home from the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto and cooked up a spicy octopus stew. My mom and I were visiting for the long weekend and I had spent the day at the Royal Winter Fair downtown with a neighbor. I came home starving and was given a bowl … it was all good, ‘til I saw a tentacle sucker on my spoon. 🙂

    Do you like the Image Compare block in WordPress? Side by side or Above and Below? How about B&W compared to Color photos – Which do you prefer and why? I like how you did that – I’ve seen it in the blocks but never tried it. I think the horizontal would be my favorite – the other way looks like pulling up a shade. I liked the black-and-white pics as much as the colorful pics … you did a great job on both.

    What fun plans do you have today? I got behind here in Reader, so now we’re back to the grind already and I’m here this morning as storms are predicted maybe as early as this morning. I went to the Park on Labor Day – it was so hot and sticky and this was a more manageable walk.

      1. Oh my! I have to tell you I was enjoying that stew, very spicy, until I saw the tentacle sucker. Sometimes it is better to try new food things with your eyes closed!

    2. Thank you for sharing your answers to the questions, Linda – it was fun for me to read your replies.
      Soup/Stew is always a great option – we’ll do more of those when the weather turns cooler.
      We like the chicken livers too – liver is one of those things like tuna, it has to be cooked properly or it doesn’t taste as good as it can be. I’ve never had octopus that was cooked properly – the little suction cups freak me out too.
      Thank you for the feedback. It’s kind of fun to use occasionally. Maybe you could try the compare block sometime with some photos of spring/winter of the same scenes?
      I hope you’re feeling all caught up in Reader. Labor Day was HOT here too! Now it is cool – in the 50s!

      1. One time I did a collage of the four seasons at Council Point Park by standing in the same spot on all four seasons. I think I will try that again with the image compare. I have to try a few more things in WordPress … expand my horizons.

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