Hi, Unique!
I am usually near a PC at some point during the day, and I keep a Word document open to the current chapter. I might pop in and type up parts of sentences or ideas, contained within square brackets so I know it's not actual writing. Then as I write the chapter, I refer to those notes to make sure I've covered everything. I don't use a tape recorder; there are too many voices in my head, to add to them! And when I see something, like the house at dawn described above, it leaves an imprint on my mind so I don't forget the object or the atmosphere surrounding it.
In fact, one night this winter I was driving back from Roanoke late at night, past Appomattax, Virginia... which is so desolate not even my cell phone works. I was the only vehicle on a road for more than an hour and a half. And suddenly, my headlights caught something moving, and the image was surrounded with fog. It scared me to death! Turned out to be a deer, which almost crashed through my windshield, but it left an imprint of a scene that will find its way into a future book... only it won't be a deer, but a person running through the darkness, looking for help...