Downton Abbey has been airing on PBS as part of their Masterpiece Classics series. It airs at 8pm Central in the Peoria area, though you’ll have to check your local listings if you’re looking for it in another region.

Why should you be watching?

I have found this series to be refreshing, fascinating, and entirely entertaining. It is set in the 1910′s in England, at an estate called Downton Abbey. It tells the story of a noble family, their house servants, friends and guests.

Season 1 is available to be streamed via Netflix now, and Season 2 is airing on Sunday evenings. I am now three episodes into Season 2, and I can hardly stand to wait another few days until the fourth episode is aired. It’s really THAT good.

The stories told through the show are good enough for you to make time to watch it. But if you need more reason, there are a few very specific reasons why I like it so much:

• Mr. Bates: Mr. Bates is the valet for the lord of the house, and shows absolutely remarkable integrity throughout the trials he experiences. He’s witty and clever, and probably the sweetest, most kind man that ever lived.



• Soundtrack: I can often get bothered by the soundtrack to a show or movie. This one stands out in the way that it keeps the story moving forward without overwhelming me. It has a purpose, which it fills quite well without overstepping.
• Filmography: Yes. Everything about it is good. I’m lumping in the sets, lighting, and editing into this category as well, because it all works SOOO well.
• Cousin Violet: This is the mother of the Earl and a complete handful. The comments she makes are HILARIOUS, and I don’t think the series would be complete without her.



• All other acting/actors: I haven’t yet noticed any sort of flaws in character portrayal, and I think each actor was cast extremely well for the roles they play.

I hope you have a chance to experience Downton Abbey and enjoy it as much as I have.

External Links:

Downton Abbey on Wikipedia

Downton Abbey on IMDB

Aside: To local friends and family, I have purchase the first season on DVD and can share it if you would like to borrow it. Season 2 should arrive – also on DVD – in mid February.

It started off with the signature Betta Bruschetta, which is a grilled focaccia topped with goat cheese, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, chopped tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil. I’ve never had a better bruschetta.

After the appetizer round, warm focaccia was delivered to the table, which was already waiting with other supplies to create “Italian butter”, which is the combo of olive oil, parmesan cheese, and fresh-ground black pepper. Yum. I definitely ate more of this than I needed to, but it – like the bruschetta – just tasted soo good.

Next came the salads. I’ve eaten here before, and I’ve had the house dressing. I’m not a fan. So this time, I smartened up and substituted the standard house salad with the Goat Cheese salad. If you’re like me, the name doesn’t sound very appetizing. Allow me to describe it to see if that helps: it starts with your basic “spring greens” salad on a chilled plate. Add julienned carrots and apples (granny smith, I believe), a generous helping of garganzola cheese, a VERY light drizzle of the house dressing (phew!), and a slice of the grilled focaccia on the side. Along with that, take a hockey-puck sized portion of goat cheese (shaped like a hockey puck), roll it in chopped pecans, pan fry it in butter, and rest it gently on the side of the plate, forming a suggested square with the focaccia, apples, and carrots.

UH-

MAY-

ZING.

I was about half-way through eating my salad when I hit “that point” – the point where my mouth screams “More! More!” and the rest of my body says “Whoa! No More!” Let me just say that I let my mouth win that argument.

The final course – for me, at least – was the entree. I chose to go with a pasta dish, even though the steaks are phenomenal here. I opted for the Tortellini Portabella, which had cheese tortellini, portabella mushrooms, and broccoli in a creamy alfredo-esque sauce.

UH-

MAY-

ZING.

I chowed-down into the pasta like it was going to run away or something, and after eating about a third of the portion I couldn’t go any further. I was done. I had them stick a fork in me, and I was definitely “well done”. I had eaten too much, but my taste buds are still thanking me this morning.

The downer of the evening was the fact that I left my to-go container with the remainder of my pasta on the table as I left the restaurant. In fact, I didn’t even realize that I forgot it until an hour or two after I got home. Darn. It would have made for an UH-MAY-ZING lunch today.

So, in case you’re wondering where I found such a delicious meal, you can find it at Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse. Here in Peoria, it’s located at the Shoppes at Grand Prairie.

I received zero compensation for this – it’s my honest-to-goodness review on my experience last night. But if Johnny’s is reading….. *wink wink*

Safe

Originally uploaded by Full-on_Amateur

A few weeks ago, my sister – my ONLY sister by blood – tied the knot with the guy pictured here with her. I was given the opportunity to create photos to celebrate the event, and I eagerly accepted. I truly enjoyed taking the photos, and I was really excited with the results.

I want to focus on this one photo, though. This photo says a lot to me. Take a minute, and see if it speaks to you.

First, it says “safe”. The way that he is holding my sister in his arms, and the way she is looking at the camera, I just get the feeling that she feel 100% safe in his arms.

Second, I see happiness. I see love. I see warmth, care, and support.

Lastly, I see commitment.

Leading up to this union, I heard comments of concern. I heard questions about whether it was the right time for this marriage or if maybe it was too soon. I can’t say that I shared those concerns, but this photo answers all of those questions for me. It is good. It is right. Everything is going to be just fine.

I’ve been trying to learn more and more about editing photos using the software that I have. Tonight I spent some time in Photoshop and Lightroom and came up with some interesting re-edits.

More photos can be found on my flickr page.

I don’t like New Year Resolutions, mainly because the emotion behind making them fades almost as fast as the ball drops the night before. But this year, I wanted to do something different.

I’m going to start taking New Year Portraits of myself. I figure it’s a nice way to document my appearance year over year, and it’s also a way to practice additional photo-techniques.

So, on Saturday, I got out ALL of my equipment and set up a little studio in my living room. 2+ hours later, I had a TON of images and the desire to go to bed. Yesterday afternoon, I started sorting through and processing all 240 of them. This one became my favorite. TECHNICALLY it’s not the “official picture for 2011″, but it’s my favorite so I’m posting it here. The official picture is found on my flickr feed.

Christmas Card Shoot

Originally uploaded by Full-on_Amateur

I was asked to take some family portraits to be used as a Christmas card, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to do so. I gathered them on the stairs of their house, and got to work. We didn’t have much time – the lasagna was in the oven and nearly finished – but we were able to work it out.

Of course, I’ve looked at this picture a hundred (or more) times now, and I realize a TON of things that I could have done better. Luckily, I’m taking notes, so I hope to not make these same mistakes next time.

(click to enlarge)

The dog on the left is my dog, Brutus, and the one on the right is my friend’s dog, Boston (Boss is what we typically call him).

You may recall the previous post where I introduced Brutus to all of you, wherein I explained that I took over the ownership of a dog named Zeke and proceeded to change his name to Brutus. Well, the lady who gave him to me doesn’t know that I changed his name… and she started asking about him recently. She works with one of my best friends, so I got to hear the whole story. To summarize, she (the previous owner) said that if I was going to send out Christmas Cards with photos of the two dogs, she would LOVE to see them. Needless to say, I felt obligated to make a Christmas Card, even if I only gave one to my friend to share at work.

So, last Saturday, I went out hunting for: #1 Doggie Santa Hats and #2 Doggie Reindeer Antlers. I found neither. But I did find a couple of Christmas-y doggie outfits that were good enough. I felt SOOO silly buying them, especially when I was surrounded by 50-yr-old+ women who were looking for outfits for their “little Pookie”. But I pushed onward with my plan.

When I got home that evening, I set up a little studio-type area in my living room. I got the camera, tripod, lights, and flashes ready. I then wrangled the two dogs and got them dressed. And then I took their pictures.

In the picture above, you’ll notice that they’re wearing the same outfit. Well, Boss like it much more than Brutus did. I tell you this in case the expression on Brutus’ face didn’t scream this loud enough for you to hear.

This picture is the one that will actually be shared with the previous caretaker of Zeke. I think I like the Bah Humbug one better, though.

I was given the opportunity to shoot some engagement photos for my brother and his fiancee. I hadn’t ever worked with people directly, and I’m quite pleased with the results.

This was my favorite from the whole shoot.

Back in May, I made a trip to Montrose, IA, to spend a day with family. Two of my siblings had come in from out of town, and my parents rented a house for the weekend. My goal was to explore and take photos .

On my way to Montrose, I passed this old delivery truck. At the time, the field was shooting up corn stalks all over the place, and the area was very dense with the color green. This truck, though, was all white and rusty-orange, and with the blue sky, it was picture perfect. I was moving too fast to stop then, and it was WAAY too dark when I passed on my trip home. But I didn’t forget about it….

So then this past Saturday I had the chance to revisit my old, rusty friend. I was a bit disappointed that the corn was gone, but I will be sure to return next spring/summer when there is more green.

Click on the photo to visit my flickr page, and you’ll find a few more photos of this same truck there. You’ll also get to see more pics from the random, haphazard, meandering road-trip that I took this past Saturday.

I took an opportunity to go for a quick photo trip to try to get a decent submission for a little photo challenge. I went near Jubilee College State Park, and found a golden field of soybeans that were just begging to be harvested.

This picture is my absolute favorite from the group, though there is another one that takes a fairly close second.