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You Gotta Love That

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Pie mold. No, it's not the fuzzy stuff you find a week after Aunt Loretta sends you home with left-overs. Campers know what I'm talking about. Pie molds were all the rage in the Seventies--and they're still popular today. One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting around the campfire as a kid, feeling the warmth on my face, watching the flames dance, listening to the hiss and pop of burning wood, and smelling the acrid aroma that will linger in your clothes until their next washing. In this memory, I'm holding the wooden grips of a pie mold, keeping its cooking surface just above the hot coals on the fire's edge.

The Pie Mold was our campfire cooker, and a slick one at that. On the business end, two metal plates came together, sandwiching a creation of bread and toppings. Stick it in the fire a minute or two, pull it out, open it up, and wah-lah: You had a golden-brown pie filled with pizza fixings or cherry sauce or bacon and eggs or whatever else got your stomach growling and your mouth watering. It may not have been the healthiest of meals, but remember this is camping we're talking about. Save your salads and yogurt for home. When you're out in the woods, you gotta live a little.

There was a time I had forgotten this memory. High School and College have a tendency to erase some of your past, and for me the pie mold became a victim of that fate. I met a girl. We graduated from College, married, started a family--you know the drill. At some point in this process, I discovered something amazing: My wife's father makes pie molds. I'm not kidding. Talk about an uncanny way of reviving a childhood memory. Soon after I made this discovery, he told me the story.

Back in 1962, pie molds were around, but they were made of cast iron. The iron took forever to reach cooking temperature and it distributed heat unevenly. So instead of a golden-brown pie, you ended up with burnt crust and a lukewarm center. He had the idea that heavy-duty aluminum would work better. It would heat quickly, it would heat evenly, and it was light weight to boot. Not being a man to sit on the sidelines while another takes action, he called a foundry, invested in a pattern, and the Minute Pie Mold Company was born. As it turns out, he was right about the aluminum. The Minute Pie Mold outperformed the old cast-iron model in every way, and sales climbed as campers started using them.

Upon hearing his story, I called my parents, eager to see if the pie mold of my memory was a Minute Pie Mold. How cool would that be?

Well, I'm sorry to say my parents couldn't remember. It seems their divorce had put a damper on camping memories, and since a drop-down-drag-out custody battle over gear wasn't in the cards, that old pie mold was lost to the ages. But to this day, I firmly believe it was a Minute Pie Mold. Don't try to convince me otherwise.

So what's my point? Well, I'm not after free advertising for the Minute Pie Mold Company (although I'm sure you'd put a smile on an old man's face if you surf over to www.minutepiemold.com and take a peek at what I'm talking about) and I'm not trying to convince you that providence led me from an old campfire cooker to its creator's daughter.

What it does boil down to is this: Memories. If I hadn't married the daughter of a pie mold maker, I might have forgetten those campfire memories altogether. But I did marry the daughter of a pie mold maker. I do remember the campfire memories, and I did something about them. We have a campfire ring in the backyard and a whole set of Minute Pie Molds thanks to a generous family discount. Most important of all, the kids whoop and holler when we light a fire and break out the molds. They love pie mold nights. They're forming their own campfire memories, ones they will someday share with their children.

What childhood memories have you forgotten? Don't answer now. You can't. Afterall, they're forgotten. But if you slow down and pay attention, something will come back to you. And when it does, don't ignore it. Let it come back. Hold on to it. Remember it. Then take the time to share it with your children.

You Gotta Love That

Who does not love looking at newborn baby photographs? I know I do, and with that in mind I have taken the time to research, both at the library and the internet to find the best and easiest tips for you to use when you take your newborn baby photos. I am quite positive that using these helpful hints will help to ensure better baby photos for you and for baby's photo albums.

Tip #1

It does not take a genius to notice that nowadays film is now so expensive! So I would recommend you opt for a digital camera. Why? Well, because with digital cameras, you can take as many baby photos as you want and delete the ones you don't want. And it won't cost you a single

penny to enjoy this.

If you really want print versions of your photos, what you can do is save all the ones you like onto your digital camera or computer and therefore only print out the ones you need, this will once again help you save on cash.

Side Note, if you still do not own a digital camera yet and are planning to get one, which you should because you will need it, I recommend you buy a larger memory as well.

When you buy your digital camera, it usually comes with very small built in memory, that you can use up with just a few baby photos. But it will not take you long to realize that fifty pictures can be gone faster than you think and before you know it your camera will be warning you that there is no more memory. So my suggestion is that, you buy a bigger memory card to save you the trouble and pain of missing out on great shots of baby, just because you have finished all your memory.

Tip #2

Try to make sure your camera has fresh batteries readily available at all times. There's nothing as annoying as realizing just when you want to take the baby photo that your camera is not working because there are no batteries in the camera or that the batteries in there no longer have the requires power to run your digital camera.

In order for you to always be ready for those cute baby moments, please keep a camera readily available in the diaper bag to ensure that you catch every photo opportunity that may arise as you are run around with your precious bundle of joy.

Tip #3

Do you know the ultimate trick that will make your newborn baby photos look very professional and always appealing to the the viewers eye? I am sure that you have never thought of this, so I am going to take the liberty to share this with you. After all you want the best looking baby photos you can get at a very low cost to you right?

That trick is, use soft colors, soft light and soft textures, They tend to work best when it comes to taking newborn baby pictures. What happens is that soft colors tend to take away from distracting backgrounds or clothing colors that are usually associated with babies and therefore allow the photograph to be focused on the baby. The one piece of clothing like a tiny jumpsuit, work well for baby photo clothing because they conform to the baby's body and show the adorable, round shapes of the baby too. When u start concentrating on soft colors, don't you overlook the baby's cute little hands and toes. You almost always find your baby's personality in these areas.

Tip #4

You should as much as possible use serpia on your baby photos. Since what we are trying to do is preserve time and memories, you might want to try going for the aged look. If you are going to try this then, sepia is a good option to use.

If you have no digital photography knowledge, you are probably asking yourself, what is serpia? Well sepia is like black and white but with tans or beiges also incorporated into the picture. You might just like the way your baby photos turn out! In fact I am positive that you will like this effect

You digital camera, you has option of turning your baby pictures into black and white or sepia within the camera itself. It's usually just a matter of pressing a button on the camera itself. Please check your camera manual for complete instructions on how to do this on your particular camera.

Tip #5

Always try different angles, to avoid all your newborn baby pictures looking monotonous. For example you can go for a high angle looking down, a position on the opposite side of the crib (turn it around), or even through the crib bars. Try to avoid using the macro setting on a zoom lens, since this setting most often incorporates a wide angle, that may spoil the effect you are trying to get with your photo angle.

There you go a few tips to help you start taking amazing baby pictures. Remember they say practice makes perfect, so try to take as many photos as you can, whenever possible. Especially if you are using a digital camera you may delete any unwanted newborn baby photos at no cost to you at all. Have fun and congratulations on your new baby.

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About Author

Both Mike Patrick Jr, Md & Munya Chinongoza are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Mike Patrick Jr, Md has sinced written about articles on various topics from Kids and Teens, Babies and Family. Mike Patrick Jr, MD is an American pediatrician. He also authors Pediascribe, a weekly column exploring the issues most important to parents and their children. Read more at Pediascribe.com. Mike Patrick Jr, Md's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.

Munya Chinongoza has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dry Skin, Guide Guitar and Massage. Congratulations! You are a new parent and you have brought your precious, beautiful baby into the world. Share your baby photos using a free online baby photo album service.

Carving Jack O Lanterns
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