Ziva's Inferno: October 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Outtakes

Day 31 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Positively Kafkaesque, don't you think? Day 31 is for those of us who just can't let go. We need that one last ride on the roller coaster - the one that finally makes you throw up all over your new shirt. Link up if you enjoy punishment.

Outtakes

This time around I actually don't have a lot of outtakes. I spent the entire month frantically taking photos the day before the prompt was due, not really planning ahead or taking many extra photos. But I'll see if I can find a few bloopers, just for you.

I took tons of photos for autumn, photographing leaves, flowers, pumpkins, anything I could get my hands on. In the end I of course went with snow, the least autumny thing EVER. I'm smart like that.

This stranded and broken buoy was a candidate for broken, but in the end I went with a completely unbroken puppy. I'm smart like that.

For bullshit I wanted to take a photo of Mike's spiel, which he told me was bullshit, but that didn't work out...

...then I took a photo of a silver bull. But in the end I went with a completely unrelated floating wine glass. I'm smart like that.

For rules, I actually had a photo of rules. The text on this sign tells people in both Swedish and Finnish that it's prohibited to throw trash into the sea. But in the end, I went with a photo of a crop. I have no idea what I was thinking there.

My stalker, Darth Vader - Ultimate Stealth Cat.

This was one of my options for underwater, but I felt it was too blurry, the quality of the photo just way too bad. But it works as a blooper.

But mostly... I just spent the entire month taking lots of photos of this little cutie.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Blackout

Day 30 of 30 Days of Photographs III. It's finally here, the day we never thought would come. It's over. Done. The end. NEVER to happen again. We are free! No more posting and linking and commenting. Our happily ever after has arrived. Run like the wind, my friends, fly like the bird! But first, I'll see you back here tomorrow for Outtakes day.

Blackout

This is a little embarrassing. When Mike and I made blackout the last prompt, we wanted it to have an impact, but a freaking hurricane? I did not see that coming. I swear. I truly hope everyone in the path of the storm is safe and sound. Stay inside, people, be safe. And hey Michael, next time, we're making the last prompt Johnny Depp.

Well, this is the time of year when Finland suffers from its own natural blackout, no Sandy needed. Soon the sun will set for the autumn, and won't show itself for months. Darkness falls, blindfolding the world. Light is a luxury, reserved for a couple of hours around noon, only available to those who seek it out in the middle of the day. I doubt I will. 30 Days of Photographs III has robbed me of my sanity, and from now on, I will be perfectly content with living in the shadows, never taking another photo again.

To everyone who participated, be it with one photo or thirty photos, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You guys rock!

Monday, October 29, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: The City

Day 29 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Only one more day to go. Well, two, if you're going to post your outtakes. Still, unbelievable, isn't it? Link up, my friends. You know you want to.

The City

Sunday, October 28, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Autumn

Day 28 of 30 Days of Photographs III. We survived Kafkaesque, it's all downhill from here. Have a drink, it's on me.

Add your link at the bottom of the page.

Autumn

When we started this challenge there were still green leaves on the trees. Not a lot, mind you, but some. Oh how quickly it changes... I love autumn. I love the rain, the dark, candles and chilly mornings when the world smells like the end of an era. Autumn for me means a lot of difficult memories. It also means the end of summer, the death of something warm and friendly and alive. But at the same time, as the world is dying, preparing for a long and cold winter, autumn means a new start. Never is the world as colourful. Never as vibrant. As the days grow shorter, the nights grow longer; and in the night, I am at home.

I was hoping to get to enjoy autumn for a while longer, but just as life gives way to death, autumn gives way to winter. Big wet snow flakes started falling, sticking to my eyelashes and my hair. So very pure and innocent. A fresh start. I turned my eyes skyward, trying to watch it fall. But the cold got into my eyes, made me blink and miss the moment. I don't think you're supposed to see falling snow. It's too pure for our world. On the ground snow is like the rest of us. Dirty. Going nowhere. But in the air... it's free and new and capable of greatness.

But alas, it falls...

This snow will melt away. It's only October, after all. Autumn is still here, and I will still enjoy it. But winter is coming. Soon.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Kafkaesque

Day 27 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Finally the day everyone's been waiting for. Good luck today, you're going to need it.

You know what to do. Linky thing can be found at the bottom of the page. Or can it?

Kafkaesque

Friday, October 26, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Heart

Day 26 of 30 Days of Photographs III. It's almost over now, people. Stay strong, stay away from sepia, questionable fake dolls and birds that are likely to peck your eyes out. We'll make it. Add your link at the bottom of the page and tell me how much you love me. I need a hug today.

Heart

Silly me didn't remember that "heart" was actually a prompt when I posted a photo of the horribly sepia-colored lace hearts, so for today's prompt I had to get really creative.

These little hearts are roe deer tracks in a field.

Now, to celebrate the weekend finally arriving, I'm making dinner for everyone.

A lovely roe deer steak.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Video

Day 25 of 30 Days of Photographs III and some idiot put all the tricky prompts at the very end. Link up, people. Only five more days to go. Or something.

Video

I take full responsibility for "video". See, I had an amazing idea for this prompt. I was going to take a photo of a tree. The same photo of the same tree for 30 days in a row, then make it into a video where you could see the leaves changing and falling off. Well, the leaves have fallen off alright, and I have two photos of the tree. Doesn't make for very good video.

So instead, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart for this, this is what you're getting. Blame Mike, he sent it to me.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: M&Ms

Day 24 of 30 Days of Photographs III. If I had a clue of what to do for Video tomorrow, or Kafkaesque on Saturday, I might actually start to relax now. The end is in sight. And yet, so very, very, very far away.

Add the link to your post at the bottom of the page, and make sure it goes to the actual post, not just your blog. You want people to be able to find your photo even after we're done with this challenge. As if that's ever going to happen.

One more thing, Michael and I were wondering if you'd like us to post our favorites of the bunch like we did last time? As you know, Day 31 is outtakes day, when you post the photos you took but didn't get a chance to use, but if you can handle even more photo posts, Michael and I would also look at everyone's photos, choose our one favorite photo by each participant, and repost it and shower you all with compliment soon after the challenge has ended. We don't require you to do the same (unless you really want to, of course, you freak.) What say you, would you like that?

M&Ms

I certainly hope someone was a little more creative than I was today. But in all fairness, I only got one shot, because M kept eating my props.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Underwater

Day 23 of 30 Days of Photographs III. One more week to go. It might as well be ten more weeks. this thing is never going to end. If anyone's got any ideas for Kafkaesque, I am now paying for them with prime Finnish money. And a British 20p.

Add your link at the bottom of the page.

Underwater

Today's photo might take a little explaining. See, this is Zelma. Zelma and I are sharks. Sharks live in the water.

Well, that was simple. Didn't take nearly as much explaining as I thought it would.

Zelma and I became sharks a long time ago, by black magic or a roll of the dice or a silly quiz online. No one knows anymore. It's not important. What is important is that Zelma and I are magnets for disaster. Also, for men. But most of all, for disastrous men.

Let's see, there was the old man who hid from his mother.

There was the guy in the reindeer sweater who wasn't entirely sure where he lived.

There was the freak who followed Zelma everywhere she went.

There was the eccentric Croatian troubadour with a taste for rabbit burgers.

There was the guy who met us, left us, came back a few hours later to ask if there was any way, any way at all, that he could possibly see us again? Please?

There was the corpse.

There was the captain who wouldn't take no for an answer, threatened to hunt us down and go crazy on us. Because he had connections.

There was the young military boy with the puppy dog eyes and his tail between his legs when we dismissed him.

There was the guy who started to stalk me after ten years of silence.

I could go on, but I’m already at 250 words, and I wouldn’t want to anger the powers that be. Suffice it to say that Zelma and I've caught some pretty weird fish in our time.

Monday, October 22, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Neutral

Day 22 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Yuck. Add your link at the bottom of the page.

Neutral

Neutral. It seems like such an easy prompt, don't you think? Simple. Unassuming. Non-threatening. I have nothing. Not a single idea. Not anything worth taking a photo of, anyway. I tried sitting down and actually think about it a little.

Neutral. Switzerland comes to mind. The stick shift in my car. Sepia. pH-neutral things like water, perhaps? But I've already posted tons of photos of water, I can't afford a trip to Switzerland on short notice (note to self: next 30 Days add "vacation" as a prompt and book a trip to the Maldives), and I really don't want to take a photo of the stick shift in my car. That only leaves sepia.

Fucking sepia.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Broken

Day 21 of 30 Fucking Days of Photographs III. One million days to go, and I think we're all a little broken now. Please, add your link at the bottom of the page.

Broken

Since everyone else is posting photos of dogs, I get to do it, too. This little cutie is my mom and dad's four-month old St Bernard. She's the sweetest little 55-lbs puppy you could ever imagine! She's also a 55-lbs puppy with four left feet and enough energy to make the Energizer Bunny green. When she's around, it's best to puppy proof anything below waist level, or it will be broken.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Nails

Day 20 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Yesterday's photos were amazing, I am so proud of you guys! Creative, beautiful, artsy photos... Wonderful.

Okay, enough with the compliments, I feel sick, I might need to kick a puppy to feel better again. Go add your link at the bottom of the page. And be rude about it.

Nails

We all have them, more or less. Mine are black because I was holding the nails while M did the hammering. He hit every single one of my nails.

Friday, October 19, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Steel

Day 19 of 30 Days of Photographs III, and people are really starting to feel the pressure now. Lots of complaining going on, lots of whining about the prompts, lots of stressing about Kafkaesque. Suck it up, people. Now go add your link to the linky thingy, and be happy we didn't add paperclip as a prompt.

Steel

I have not seen the sun in weeks and weeks. Not since before this challenge started. Steely gray, overcast, rain and wind, every day.

I love it!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Qwerty

Day 18 of 30 Days of Photographs III. The end is fast approaching, and I feel a little sad. Maybe we should make it 60 Days of Photographs? I can think of a ton of awesome prompts; Infinite, Shakespearean, Paradox, 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione-3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione...

Add your suggestion at the bottom of the page.

Qwerty

What you see here is my new laptop. And a fire extinguisher. The reason for both of these items is my former laptop. It was a nice laptop, fairly reliable, nice-looking, black to match my soul. (And my shoes.)

Everything was fine and dandy, until it melted.

Somehow, a loose power connector created enough resistance to melt the plastic, resulting in something you NEVER want to see your laptop do. At the time, I still didn't have the new laptop yet, and because I'm about as addicted to the internet as I am to Pepsi Max, I kept using the steaming pile of melted plastic until the new laptop arrived this week. Luckily, I'm a sensible girl, and so I practised safe surfing -- with the fire extinguisher next to me.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Coins

Day 17 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Add your link at the bottom of the page, and show me the money. And whatever you do, do not believe a word that Michael says.

Coins

I'm so sorry about the boring photo today. I was so completely uninspired by this prompt that it had to have been Mike's idea. He's the one who came up with Kafkaesque, too, you know that right?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Bullshit

Day 16 of 30 Days of Photographs III, blah, blah, what is it with you people and cheese?! Blog after blog, showing photos of nasty, stringy cheese. Remind me never to add "my favorite food" as a theme again.

Now, add your link at the bottom of the page, and try not to step in any stinking piles while visiting the other participants.

Bullshit

Monday, October 15, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: My Favorite Food

Day 15 of 30 Days of Photographs III. We have officially reached the halfway point, people! Everyone's invited to dinner at my house to celebrate. Bring your own booze. But first, add your link at the bottom of the page, and go tell everyone their food looks delicious.

My Favorite Food

My favorite food will forever and always be my mom's kalops. That's a Swedish meat stew for those of you who don't speak culinary Swedish. My mom always makes it when I come over for dinner, but in order to satisfy my hunger for it, I’ve had to take matters into my own hands and make it myself every now and then. And now, I will share the recipe for my favorite food with you, dear friends. Enjoy! ~~Because I will have to kill you at the end of this post.~~

First, let’s start off with a couple of onions and a few carrots. Chop them, and toss them into a frying pan with a generous amount of butter. We want the onions translucent, not brown. Brown onions can't be trusted.

While the onions and carrots are cooking, let’s move on to the beef. Choose a cut that will work well in stews, something that only gets better the longer it cooks.

Cut your beef into big-ish pieces, and make sure to season with salt and pepper. At this point your onions and carrots should be done, so you better transfer them into a deep ovenproof dish. Now brown the beef over high heat. Toss it in with the onions and carrots and add a couple of bay leaves and some whole allspice berries. I recommend you also add a tablespoon or two of black currant jelly.

Next, we’re making a roux. I sure hope you haven’t washed the frying pan, because this is when we’re making sure to get all the flavor out of the pan. Into the pan goes equal parts of butter and flour. The roux is done when it gets a lovely nutty fragrance.

At this point, add water or stock to the pan and let it come up to a boil. Pour it over the beef and vegetables, and place it in the oven. Now forget about it for a few hours. This should be easy enough, especially for you, Michael.

The kalops is done when you can’t resist the smell coming from the kitchen anymore. Serve with boiled potatoes, a green salad, and some of that black currant jelly that went into the stew.

Smaklig måltid!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Secret

Day 14 of 30 Days of Photographs III, and the theme is Secret. Shhhh...! Don't tell Michael I told you this, but he spends all his evenings doing needlepoint and watching Twilight. He's totally Team Edward.

Now, add your link at the bottom of the page, and go tell the other participants all your dirty little secrets.

Secret

Saturday, October 13, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Calm

Day 13 of 30 Days of Photographs III. I'm extremely impressed by how many of you post a photo every single day. It really is amazing to see the ~~desperation~~ creativity at work. That said, we welcome with open arms any and all participants, whether you post every day, or just once or twice. Come on, post a photo, will you? You'll make me a very happy woman. Michael, on the other hand, will just bitch about having to write "awesome photo" too many times. Add the link to your post at the bottom of the page, and check out the other photos while you're at it.

Calm

Water. It calms my soul, heals my spirit. And luckily for me, I live in the land of a thousand lakes. Not so lucky for me, I was late taking this photo and ended up just taking a photo of the river running through Turku instead of one the beautiful lakes. But you get the point, right?

Friday, October 12, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Five

Day 12 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Soon we'll be halfway through... Any day now...

You know what to do, the linky thing can be found at the bottom of the page.

Five

Five red ones. Five pink ones. I really shouldn't have to explain this to you.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Heavy

Day 11 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Yesterday's photos were probably the best so far in the challenge. Everyone did such a great job, I was floored. The creativity is just amazing. Or, as Michael would say, awesome photos! Now go add your link at the bottom of the page, and then go look at the other photos.

Heavy

Day 11. Only 400 days left to go. This challenge has invaded my life, my dreams. Everything I see is a possible photo. It's become so bad now that it's driven me to drink heavily.

Only champagne, of course, I'm no savage.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Stalker

Day 10 of 30 Days of Photographs III. You know what to do. Unless you're new here, in which case you obviously don't. If you are new, go ask Michael for instructions. He loves to answer questions.

Stalker

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Rules

Day 9 of 30 Shades of Photographs III. Fatigue is setting in now. You might be sweating a little. Tomorrow's prompt is "stalker" and you haven't got a photo yet. You might be tempted to drop out, but where's the fun in that? Better stick it out now. Luckily, there are no rules...

Rules

No rules, she said. Now if there were rules, you definitely wouldn't want to break them.

Monday, October 8, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Hair

The theme for Day 29 of 30 Days of Photographs III is The City. Sadly, today we're only on Day 8, which is Hair. Add your link at the bottom of the page and go check out the rest of our hairy participants.

Hair

I hate photos of myself and I would be a very happy woman if I never had to see another one. Still, every time we do 30 Days of Photographs, there seems to be one prompt that calls for a self-portrait. Hell, the first time around the prompt actually was "self-portrait." The second time, it was "pleasure." I know a self-portrait doesn't seem like the most obvious chocie for a prompt of "pleasure," but it worked out rather well, if I do say so myself.

This time, the prompt is hair, and well, I have a lot of it.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Craftsman

Day 7 of 30 Days of Photo….. oh screw it, you know the drill.

Craftsman

You might not know this, but our very own Michael is not just a master wordsmith with verbal diarrhea and a knack for making dirty jokes, he is also quite the craftsman. He’s built desks and trunks and boxes and lamps and children’s toys and shelving units and an awful lot of signs. The list goes on and on. When I got married in July, he sent me a wedding gift, a beautiful box that he made himself. To me, it looks slightly Asian, or maybe just Alien. It has long spindly legs which are perfectly tapered towards the bottom, and the cutest little lid. The amount of detail and the careful craftsmanship that’s gone into this box is simply amazing. It’s a work of art, and by far the most original wedding gift we received.

Thank you, Michael. I love it, it’s perfect.

And since Michael is Michael, he filled the box with little wind-up monkeys.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Vibration

I cannot believe that Michael and I made twenty people take photos of lotion and post them on their blogs. From the bottom of my black heart, I apologise. It will never happen again. That said, everyone did a fantastic job, and today is a new day. Thankfully. Day 6 of 30 Days of Photographs III and the theme is Vibration. Much better than Lotion. Only four more days and we'll be done with one third of the challenge. Doesn't sound too encouraging, does it? Anyway, add your link at the bottom of the page, arm yourself with a few dozen dirty jokes, and go visit the rest of the participants.

Vibration

I felt the vibrations through the entire bed. Not again, I thought, we did it just an hour ago. But relentless as ever, he started licking me. Sleepily, I tried to push his head away, but he wouldn’t have any of it. Knowing he wouldn’t stop until I gave in, I pushed his gross tongue away from my face and scratched him under the chin. A good belly rub later, he went back to sleeping on the floor, and finally the purring stopped.

Friday, October 5, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Lotion

Day 5 of 30 Days of Photographs III. Don’t lose hope, it will get better, I promise. Add your link at the bottom of the page, stop crying and go check out the other photos. Tomorrow is Vibration, that’s going to be fun, right? Right?!

Lotion

Day 5. My arch-nemesis. I would like to be able to say that it wasn’t me who came up with this prompt, but the truth is that Michael and I got ridiculously drunk before writing the list, and I can’t remember whose idea it was anymore. The past few days I’ve spent way too much time thinking about lotion, trying to think of any way to make lotion look good without resorting to dirty tricks. I couldn’t come up with anything even remotely interesting. So without further ado, I give you... plain old boring lotion.

But, wait now. Let’s play a game of word association instead. I say "lotion," what do you say? "Handjob," right? Wrong! You say "creamy." Because lotion is creamy. Well cream is creamy, too. And cream is just a tiny little step away from ice cream. Now ice cream, I can work with that. So, without even further ado, I give you... a made-by-Ziva gooey brownie with dulce de leche and a couple of scoops of ice cream. Enjoy.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Sour

Day 4 of 30 Days of Photographs III is here and already I'm dreading Day 5. If you have any ideas for "Lotion," please let me know, I will reward you handsomely. Also, please remember the one and only rule we have in this challenge; the photo has to be taken by you, after September 1st this year.

Now, add your link at the bottom of the page, check out the rest of the participants, take a Valium, and be happy that there's only 26 days left.

Sour

I was going to go with happy yellow lemons and colourful candy, but in the end I decided on something entirely different. See, there is one thing I am a little bitter (or sour) about. And that's the fact that I haven't had the time or energy to play the piano lately, which is why it now looks like a prop from a scary movie.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Above My Head

Day 3 of 30 Days of Photographs III is here. Add your link at the bottom of the page, stop swearing at the prompts, and go visit the rest of the participants.

Above My Head

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Fast

Well, Day 1 of 30 Days of Photographs III was a great success! Lots of people came out to play, and the photos were simply amazing. Keep it up, people, and maybe I won't have to get the whip out. Day 2 is Fast. Add your link at the bottom of the page, and make sure to check out the other photos while you're at it.

Fast

Nothing has ever, or will ever, move as fast as time. I know this because just yesterday I thought I had lots of time to sort out my photo for Day 2, but by some cruel twist of fate, I suddenly had no time at all. Which is why it's now way past midnight, and I'm busy making a long-exposure shot of a clock and trying to schedule this post while frantically trying to figure out how many hours of sleep I'll be getting tonight.

Monday, October 1, 2012

30 Days of Photographs III: Shiny

Welcome to 30 Days of Photographs III. It's going to be a bumpy ride, so fasten your seatbelt, hold on to your hat and try not to piss your pants with excitement. Michael and I wish you happy photographing, and please make sure to check out the other submissions for Day 1, you can find the links at the bottom of this page, and that's also were you can add your own link.

Shiny

The shiniest thing I own is without doubt my wedding ring. I haven't been wearing it for all that long yet, which is probably why it's still shiny, and I'm still not entirely used to wearing such a fancy ring. But even though it's worth more than my car (my lunch is worth more than my car, though, so maybe that's not the best comparison) and it shines brighter than Michael's bald spot, that's not why I love it. I love this ring for what it symbolizes, a life with the person I love.

Cue the collective "awww."

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