Queen of Tides

Baking Bonanza Snow Day!

2012-01-13T18:30:00.000-05:00

It is my youngest daughter's birthday today AND the second snow day of the school year. The kids have MLK Day off on Monday, so a four day weekend for them! I, of course, start back to class at the local community college on Monday. Needless to say, I have been in the mood to get my baking "on" and spent the afternoon making muffins and a raspberry "jellyroll," something I have never made before. My kitchen is nice and toasty, and the house smells just divine. I'm lucky my kids like to eat my cooking/baking (usually), and hope to freeze some of the muffins for breakfast and their lunches for the next couple of weeks.

Raspberry Jellyroll

My oldest son saw all the food porn on facebook and asked if we planned to go for a long run after eating all these goodies, and I had to laugh if he thinks we will eat ALL of this in one day! If you want the recipes, just click on the caption, except for the Blueberry Bran muffins, I'll add it to the end of my post, that one is not online. I also modified the Carrot Muffin recipe by substituting 1/3 cup melted butter, 1/3 cup Greek yogurt (full fat) and 1/3 cup vegetable oil for the corn oil. It took an extra 10 minutes for them to bake due to my modifications, so keep that in mind.
With all the snow, gingerbread sounded so good, I had to find a recipe for gingerbread muffins. I modified the recipe I found to make just a third of the batter, since I wanted to try them first before making so many. Although the flavor is excellent, I let mine go an extra 5 minutes since they did not seem close to ready at the original time. However, 5 extra minutes was probably 2 minutes too long, they were just a little dry. However, a smear of butter will fix that. My birthday girl loved them though, without any butter or glass of milk. The Gingerbread muffins did not include a glaze, but I added one. It is just the juice from half a lemon mixed with enough powdered sugar to make a thick glaze, really simple. Just be sure to stir until there are no visible lumps of sugar left. Drizzle while muffins are still warm, but not hot.

Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Glaze

The Raspberry Jellyroll was something I have never attempted before. I had no concept about how to do this, though I have admired them for years. This recipe was posted on another blog, Cook Can Read, using a recipe from Martha Foose, a lovely chef I had the pleasure to meet at the Epicurean Classic a few years ago. It is from her latest cookbook, A Southerly Course. Its actually her Blackberry Jellyroll recipe, but I did not have blackberry jam on hand, so I used raspberry jam instead. I had to push it through a strainer first, in order to get rid of all the seeds. I have to say, I am pleased as punch at how it turned out! I added some fresh blackberries, which I did have, and whipped cream. It was sublime. The cake is light, flavorful and a perfect foil for the jam. I can't wait to make this again, though I will try to use blackberry jam next time.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

The hardest part of making the jellyroll was beating the room temp eggs for at least 6 minutes on high, which is the minimum that Martha suggests. I beat it for 7 minutes and then quite a bit more after adding the sugar. Other than that, the ingredients are simple and the directions are easy to follow. If you have never made a jellyroll before, I urge you to give it a whirl. One last tip though, beat the eggs in a medium to large bowl, they seem to triple in volume.
The Blueberry Bran muffins are the healthiest muffins I made today. I have made these before, usually during blueberry season though. They have wheat bran, whole wheat flour, and applesauce in place of butter or oil. I love these for breakfast with a glass of milk. I modified the original recipe to include some lemon zest, cinnamon and an extra 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries. I have made them with frozen, and they turn out just fine. Here is the recipe if you are so inclined to make them...

Blueberry Bran Muffins Makes 12 muffins

Preheat oven to 375°F

Ingredients:

1 ½ C bran (I use wheat bran, but don’t see why you couldn’t use oat bran or another type)

1C milk (I use skim)

1 egg lightly beaten

2/3 C brown sugar

½ C unsweetened applesauce or plain yogurt (could try vanilla, lemon or blueberry I bet)

1 tsp lemon or orange zest (optional)

1 tsp vanilla

½ C whole wheat flour

½ C unbleached all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp cinnamon (optional)

½ tsp salt

1 ½ C fresh blueberries (original recipe calls for 1 cup, but I like a LOT of blueberries in my muffins!)

· Combine bran and milk in medium bowl and soak for 10 minutes.

· Combine egg, sugar, applesauce (or yogurt), lemon (or orange) zest and vanilla in a separate bowl and then add to bran and milk mixture.

· In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining dry ingredients: flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

· Add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix until just combined.

· Gently fold in blueberries.

· Fill lined or greased muffin tin.

Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick or knife inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

Happy Baking Y'all!!!

Wrapping up 2011

2011-12-29T19:23:00.000-05:00

Christmas Light Show Extravaganza

Here we are, on the precipice of 2012 with just a couple days left to 2011. Since it has been quite some time since I've updated my blog, I am going to do a year-end wrap up, and then jump right into the new year, all fresh and shiny! I have a small journal that I have used as an address book for at least 20 years now, and I occasionally make journal entries, usually right around this time of year. Unfortunately, I have just about run out of pages to write in and will have to transfer all the "good" addresses to a new journal soon. There is something about this time of year that makes me want to take stock and review the last year, writing it down for posterity, though I don't even know if anyone other than myself will ever read it. I know I am not alone in this, I know many other people write letters (my father-in-law), recount the year's happenings in a pretty and roomy Christmas card (my mom) or blog. However, I struggle with how much to write and where.
In my journal, with pen or pencil, I write the highlights, hitting mostly the highs, just touching on the lows, careful not to write anything that might hurt one of my kids in the future, should they happen to read it. With this blog, I am also careful not to step on toes or write anything that I would not want everyone in the world to read, because you just never know who will end up reading your blog someday, really. So as I look back over the year, how important is it that I am totally open, in my journal or here? Do I want to look back at bad feelings or miserable situations in 10 years? I don't think so. Why don't I think so? Because when I think back on all those things that were such a big deal 20 years ago, things that hurt me or got my blood boiling with rage (yes, rage sometimes), I find that I am so over them and look at them as so insignificant and silly, I wish I had not wasted any emotional or mental time on them. Really wishing I had had the maturity to let so much of it just go and not affect my life so much at the time. But I suppose that is part of gaining wisdom, living long enough to reflect on days past and being able to put things into perspective in a healthy way, letting go of anger and resentments that steal away our ability to focus and enjoy the good things in our lives. I think I am most grateful that I can now recognize similar situations when they arise and no longer let myself get lost in negative emotion, but have learned how to process what is really upsetting me and figure out what I need to do to let go or move on to a better place.
Don't get me wrong, I am no saint, I still have to process difficult things, vent and explore why they are upsetting to me or why someone I care about did something that was hurtful, cruel, unkind or deceitful, but I don't have to think about it 24 hours a day, for days on end, which is incredibly freeing, believe me. I am also thoughtless, even cruel sometimes, and I can be very blunt, but if I catch myself or if someone else does, I try to apologize and make things right. But I am human, as we all are, and I cut myself slack the same way I cut others slack, because you just don't know what is going on. Like icebergs, we just see the tip above the water and have no idea how big it really is beneath the surface. And don't get me started on boundaries, I could write a book on setting personal boundaries. But, obviously, I have digressed...
So I don't include a lot of details of personal or family turmoil. People and situations change, I've lived long enough to see it for myself. Instead, I choose to record those things that I will be happy to read about in 5, 10, 15 or more years, those things that will make me happy to remember and that will make my family happy if they ever read them. Besides, there is enough negative, shocking and crazy on TV these days with all the reality shows, I just couldn't compete with all that!
Which brings me to my year in review, or at least the last several months. I have to start with my survival of this past semester of classes. Object Oriented Programming (OOP), SQL Database Management, JavaScript and Drawing I. Passed them all, hallelujah! SQL was my least favorite, though it was taught by one of my favorite instructors. Databases are so valuable, but I am happy to have an understanding of them and have already accepted that it is one area that I will always have to hire out, and that is OK. Drawing I was quite a surprise. I can actually draw, no really, I can! All my life I have believed that because I could not
"color inside the lines" as a kid, that I could never learn to draw well. If anyone reading this has ever dreamed of learning to draw, listen to me now and go register for a drawing class. It kept the right side of my brain active and very happy, so much so that I am taking Drawing II next semester. I may scan a couple of my drawings and upload them later, but no promises. I loved OOP and JavaScript, though both were extremely challenging. Overall, I had a very good semester and am further committed to becoming a web developer.
Maybe you are wondering about my new grandson? Grandpa and I went to visit in August and fell in love, as I knew we would. He is the most adorable baby on the planet and I wish my son and his family lived so much closer! We saw him again in December when my daughter-in-law came for a visit, but it was too short of course. At least there is such a thing as Skype and my son sends me pictures and videos right to my phone. You have to love technology! He'll be 6 months in January, time is just flying by.
We added a new lion head bunny, "PJ," to our family but lost our beloved pet bunny, "Stella," this year. So far, "PJ" is pretty well traveled. We have taken him on a couple of road trips this year and he has been a trooper. Luckily, he is only 3 1/2 lbs, so he is easy to take along for a few days. He has also become a house bunny, which sounds funny now that I write it. Apparently, if you want to move a rabbit to the outdoors, you have to start in the summer, so they have time to develop a winter coat by the time the colder months roll around. We started too late and the vet said "no." Which means we have a rabbit in our living room for the winter. We let him out often and love to watch him hop and leap around the room, he is very cute.
I spent less time cooking than I would have liked, but the summer was so hot and humid, the kitchen was the second to last place I wanted to be (outside was the very last place I wanted to be). School was so busy, no time to cook this fall or winter either, except for a couple days when I had a couple extra free hours, but those were rare. But I had a lovely time putting on a high tea baby shower for my daughter-in-law in June, picking strawberries with my husband and making freezer jam and making my own Italian ragu meat sauce for the first time. I missed my kitchen, but it isn't going anywhere.
There were some great new discoveries this year including:

Pinterest (a social networking site that lets you "pin" images from all over the web
Google Chrome Developer Tools (OMG, love, love, love!!!)
Polish Market downstate on Dequinder and 15 Mile Rd
New Dim Sum restaurant "East Lake" in Rochester, MI
Conte crayon and canson paper
Google Chrome browser (can't live without it now!)
Polish mushroom cream cheese (Bagel, cracker, butter knife)
Words With Friends facebook word game
Fennel (new favorite veggie, I think that was this year)
Local pasty truck and local falafel cart
Southern Sweet Tea!
TV shows -- Bones, Torchwood and True Blood

I think it has been a healthy, productive, inspiring, exciting and overall excellent year...hope next year is just as great!

Drive by post...Perfectly Prepped article in Whole Living magazine

2011-10-01T15:12:00.000-04:00

From this...

My latest issue of Whole Living magazine has a wonderful article with recipes for stocking your fridge with ready to go components of great meals. This means that with some simple prep work every few days, you can have wonderful meals ready to whip up in just a few minutes every night. I already tried this in part and it works great! You have to buy the magazine to read the article since it is just out, but here is a link to another article about the woman behind this mise en place, a technique that every restaurant already uses to prep and put things together quickly. I have decided that I will be keeping pasta in the fridge always, along with either cous cous, rice, polenta or other whole grain that keeps its shape well under refrigeration. I am also going to keep some type of pesto on hand, two seasonal veggies (pumpkin going into the oven later today) and two proteins, like slow roasted pork shoulder and roasted chicken on hand. I'll experiment with other things like the balsamic poached figs, carmelized onion jam and golden raisin vinaigrette that are mentioned in the Whole Living article too. Lastly, I'll just keep some basic parmesean and sharp cheddar around too. Now off to make the cous cous and noodles for this week...pork shoulder is already done. http://brooklynbased.net/email/2010/10/secrets-of-a-well-stocked-fridge/ I'd love to hear what you all think of this whole concept, I am so excited, being so busy with school lately.

The "prepped" fridge!

...to this!

Gumballs and Dreamweaver

2011-07-20T14:03:00.001-04:00

My art for yesterday and today is not here. I am helping my youngest create a website. She is taking a class for kids at the college this week and as one of the youngest, is having a hard time understanding Adobe Dreamweaver. I can't say that I don't understand her position, after all, she is only eleven. So we have been spending some quality time with her "TC Gumball" website. Of course, she has the vision of a kid, wants a bright pink background and light pink text, my eyes hurt even now, just thinking about it. I don't want to steer her too much at this age, I just want her to enjoy the process of creating. So it is hard to read, heck, hard to even look at for any length of time, but she is very happy so far. Of course, the good thing about all this is that it is forcing me to practice using Dreamweaver myself, and I realize now that I am going to have to go through my "Dreamweaver Classroom in a Book," text that I bought last year. I bought the book because the instructor was not so great and knew that I would need to teach a lot of it to myself. I get the HTML and CSS, but the program is very complex with so many menus bars and tool bars, I knew I needed to spend more time with it. Now that I am helping my daughter, I see why, I had just forgotten to get to it.
By the way, you can try out the Bubblegum Run Widget she wanted to include on her "Game" page below. If you click the link, you can copy and embed the game in your own page as well, or maybe your child's? It was a fun little thing we found that she wanted to include on her site.
Of course, this all reminds me that I am supposed to be teaching myself Javascript this summer, as well as basic SQL and reviewing C#, Access and XML. All of a sudden I have butterflies in my stomach! I think after this weekend, I will be creating a daily schedule for myself until I get back to school, in about 5 weeks! I have to squeeze in some time to visit my new grandson as well, but I can always take one of the books with me and my laptop...oh, I always have such good intentions!

Daily Art Post July 18, 2011

2011-07-18T19:46:00.008-04:00

Summertime! banner created with InDesign and Photoshop CS4

Today I played with a photograph I took of some of my Dianthus flowers last summer. I wanted to make a banner in Adobe InDesign, so I started with the flowers, since I wanted to create letters with the Dianthus image as the "color" of the text. I am posting the process in backward order just to be difficult.

The InDesign piece before I imported it to Photoshop

The very top banner is the finished banner, cropped in Photoshop and with two borders added, also in Photoshop.

Filters: Paint Daub, Posterize, Cutout

The second image is the "Summertime!" lettering
and background created in InDesign. I converted the type to outlines so I could put the Dianthus image into it. After I added a fun yellow stroke detail to the letters, I added the bright and sunny yellow background. I saved as I went along, nothing like losing all your work because the program quit, which has happened before, maddening is putting it mildly. After I saved it as an InDesign file, I exported it as a JPEG file. I closed out of InDesign and then opened up Photoshop! I wish I had CS5 or CS5.5, but I am still very happy with what I can do using CS4.

Filter order: Paint Daub, Posterized

Photoshop filters are so much fun, I could spend hours playing with them and never getting off just one image, they are addictive! I started with the first
Dianthus image at the bottom of my post here. I
cropped it and then adjusted the red color intensity and it created this cool rainbow effect. I think I used the "paint daub" filter after that, which softened it all up, but might have been another filter, I forgot already, big surprise. I really liked the softened rainbow look a lot and will probably do something else with it later, maybe use it in a ATC.

Red hue adjusted all the way to the right

Once I had the softened painterly image, I decided it needed a bit more of an edge,

so I used the "posterize" filter. It added a black edge and made the flowers "pop" a bit more. You can see that it also darkened the image, which is more of what I wanted to use to fill in my lettering. If you click on the photo, you will see a larger image with more detail. After using the posterize filter, I decided to use one last filter to take a little bit of the edge off the posterizing results. I chose the "Cutout" filter, which simplifies the image. It did cause the loss of the rainbow effect that I liked so much, but I decided I was happier with the cutout filter effect and that is what I went with.

My original photograph

My last steps were to save the image as a JPEG file and then

"Place" it into the InDesign file I had already started. I selected it and "cut" it from the place where I had placed it and then selected the lettering outlines and selected "Place into." I moved the image around and resized it a few times to get it right where I wanted it.
Let me just say (not again!), creating art everyday is more time consuming than I thought it would be, I am not meeting my own personal quota of one piece everyday. But I feel wonderful every time I create something new, especially when I get a chance to use those programs I spent so much time learning over the last two years in school. It makes me happy. Really happy.
So if you are itching to make something yourself, anything at all, I have just one thing to tell you..."do it!"

Drive-by post: Border's bookstore, the end of an era

2011-07-18T16:48:00.001-04:00

Say it isn't so! Just heard the news today, I am beyond sad, beyond blue, beyond heartbroken! I love my local Border's bookstore and have spent countless hours and money at many others around the state of Michigan and in Austin,TX. I feel like a huge part of my reading life is over, I am soooooooooooo bummed. I admit that I spend money on Amazon and at our big local book store, Horizon Books, but I still spend money at Border's. I guess it wasn't enough. I am going to get over it, I know, but I do have so many wonderful memories of time spent at Border's. I had my first yoga class there, believe it or not. I've bought art books, self help books, a zillion children's books for my kids, journals and hundreds of magazines. I thought the last Harry Potter movie was the end of an era, ha! This closing of a beloved bookstore is really the end of an era. Maybe I'll wake up in a moment and it will have just been a bad dream? Or maybe there will be a white knight, and he/she will save the company? I feel as if I will be lamenting about this for a very long time. I feel just awful. You can read more about this sad news here. It is a story by Mitch Albom from yesterday, which I only just read. Pity party anyone?

Daily Art Post July 16, 2011

2011-07-16T21:26:00.002-04:00

Mushroom House pencil sketch B

Again, a bit behind on the art posting. I'm not going to throw out any excuses though, just going to post a couple images of my "Mushroom Houses." I love to draw these for some strange reason. One of my Flash animation projects included a mushroom house I drew and then brought to life. I love miniature things, I always have. I know kids love miniature things, mine always did. My son liked micro machines, those tiny little cars and my daughters both like the Polly Pocket and Littlest Petshop toys. I have never outgrown my fascination for miniature things, and I can actually remember when my fascination began, believe it or not. I was pretty young, maybe seven or eight years old. I saw an episode of "Land of the Giants," and was so taken with it, I dreamed of having little people to "play" with for a long time after that.

Mushroom House pencil sketch A

Maybe that seems strange, but ever since then, I have loved the idea of little houses and little people. There was also a series of books illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres, with small animals that lived in homes that included cast off things from the world of people. Anyway, I have made miniature fairy cottage beads, "dress" beads and many other miniature things out of glass as well. You would think that with my love of all things small I would be into doll houses and all that, but I am not. I appreciate them, but I think I like the idea of making the small things myself instead of buying them already made with perfect details. I'm funny like that, ha ha.

Fairy Cottage Lampwork glass bead

I am also posting one of the fairy cottage beads I made a couple years ago, long sold on Etsy as well as some of my mushroom houses created with Illustrator and Photoshop, both CS4 for my Flash animation class last fall. Notice that one of them is a "morel" mushroom house. I created the tall, plainer mushroom in Illustrator and the other

Mushroom Village for Flash animation class project

two in Photoshop, playing around with photographs and simplifying them with the "cutout" filter, one of my favorites. But they did start out with initial drawings, just so I could get my ideas out of my head, you know? I'll see if I can find the original drawings for the mushroom village and post them at a later date, maybe a follow-up mushroom art post?

Wednesday, er, Friday Fab Finds!

2011-07-15T15:37:00.004-04:00

Vintage moonlight print

Ok, so I am two day late with this post, but considering that I became a Grandmama on Tuesday, I actually have a very good excuse for not getting this post up any sooner. If you want to see pictures and video of my new grandson, click here or here. He is in another state far away, which means I won't see him for a few weeks yet, but he comes home from the hospital today and I just know my son will be Skyping me so I can have a virtual visit. What a boon technology is sometimes.
Alrighty, back to my Fab Finds for this week. The first is a print of a ship sailing under the moonlight. I think it is from the 20's or 30's because of the frame and print style. I actually collect these kind of prints, I think they are charming and romantic. I only collect moonlight scenes though, so that is a challenge. I have three or four so far, and I love them all. This one came from an estate sale in my own neighborhood. I sent my daughter over on the half off day and she asked them hold it for me. It was $8 but I got it for $4, so I was a very happy camper. I have rules about the things I collect. I won't pay more than a certain amount, no matter what it is. I won't pay over $10 for a moonlight print from that era, but they don't usually have more than $4-$20 on them. I also like to wait until the half off day, unless I am in love with a certain piece, but it still has to fall within the budget I've set for that type of object.

Snack or luncheon set, one of four sets

Moving on, the next find is a snack set. The rectangular glass bottom is so decorative and the emerald green cup so striking in contrast, I thought they would be fun to actually use sometime with family or company. There were four sets that came in the original box, though it was very worn out, the sets were in mint condition. I think these were popular wedding gifts that were rarely used. Meant for a particular type of entertaining that was well imagined, but obviously not very popular. I see these sets at thrift shops, resale stores, garage sales and estate sales, usually priced on the low side and many times missing either the trays, or cups or a combination thereof. This set is gorgeous and I can't wait to use them to serve lunch or an evening snack here at home. I made the mistake of photographing only one set on a very textured background, which hides a lot of the fun detail in the tray. When I serve something with them I'll take a better photo.

Bird family figurine

My next find was this sweet and charming (let me just say now that I am a sucker for anything I deem "charming," so that will be in the description of many finds). It is a mother bird with two baby birds or fledglings. The glaze colors are soft and muted, almost dreamy. The trio are well placed and hold my interest. There is no identifying mark or name on the bottom, but it is definitely not a piece made within the last 20 years, of that much I am sure. Either way, it is a small figurine that I can tuck in anywhere among my treasure in my house and it was marked $1, so on the half off day at the estate sale I bought it from, I paid .50 cents. Wouldn't it be great to find out it is a rare and costly piece someday? But even if it isn't I bought this piece for the pleasure it gives me to see it, not as a resale investment, though I don't discount that possibility someday. My home can only hold so many treasures...

Umbrella napkin holder

My last fab find for today's show and tell is also my favorite. I have never seen such a thing and although it is a cheap little thing, I absolutely fell in love with it! I think you can tell by just looking at the photo what it is, but if not, let me enlighten you. It is an umbrella luncheon napkin holder. The napkins are folded a certain way (similar to folding paper to cut out paper snowflakes) and the point of each one is then inserted into a narrow slot near the bottom and then that point rests on a little ledge just below the slot it was passed through. The end result is the most charming (see, what did I tell you?) napkin umbrella! I got this at a local thrift shop for the unheard of price of .75 cents!!! I would have gladly paid 20 times that (shh, but don't tell anyone), it is so unique and right up my alley as someone who likes to have "tea" and enjoys all the accoutrements of tea. I love the curved umbrella handle too, the whole thing is just so clever.
Next week, I have some fun pieces to show off that I have been modifying...hope they are finished by then, I'm still working on my t-shirt redo and my daughter's tunic. Not hard, but becoming a Grandmama threw me off my game. But I have the weekend ahead of me and I can't wait to finish those projects. I will post the finished photos as soon as they are done, promise. I feel like we are going to have a stellar weekend, I wish the same for all of you!

New Grandson Video!

2011-07-13T13:11:00.003-04:00

A second video of my new grandson. My son sent it to me this morning after I requested "more." Oh how I wish I was there and could hold my sweet little grandson right this moment! His glucose level was a bit low so the hospital has him on a glucose drip for now, he was four weeks early. A couple more photos to share as well. Oh the joy of falling in love with a baby, I feel completely blissful today.

Wednesday Fab Finds is not cancelled, I will post that separately later today...

All a-snooze

Peering out into the new world

My phone's new screensaver, so in Love!!!

Just call me Grandmama!

2011-07-12T18:55:00.004-04:00

All swaddled and snoozing

It is now official, I am a grandmother, abuelita, grandma, etc. My heart has grown another chamber, so in love with my new grandson and I haven't even had the opportunity to hold him yet! But soon enough, though really it won't be soon enough. He arrived this morning, weighing in at 6 lbs 10.6 oz and 18.25 inches long. He is a perfect little angel, I'm in love all over again. You think after you are done having your own children that you won't feel that intense love for another baby, but it is just as intense. The heartstrings pass from you, through your children and connect to their children, oh it is such a sweet ache. Here are a few more photos my son sent to me from the hospital...Baby love, my baby love...

Baby Wes with his proud papa

A miraculous bundle of joy!

Baby on the Way!!!

2011-07-12T01:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is it! My son called just after midnight with the news that my daughter-in-law's water just broke and they were headed to the hospital! Baby is 36 weeks, a bit early, but 37-40 weeks is full term, so he is pretty close. How will I ever sleep tonight? I'm sure when I do finally fall asleep I will be dreaming of a sweet little baby grandson, wrapped in blue and babbling away. So late, I will update my blog with pics as soon as my son sends me a few sometime today I am willing to bet!!!
Sweet dreams y'all...

Daily Art Post for July 10

2011-07-11T08:37:00.000-04:00

Time to Celebrate!

I was inspired to create this piece after my oldest son called me yesterday to let me know my daughter-in-law was in labor and they were on their way to the hospital. It was very exciting, he called and sent messages throughout the day and evening. Being so far away (he is in Texas), I wanted to do something to celebrate the impending birth of my new grandson. I used Photoshop CS4 and traced an old image of myself and used brushes and filters to build a colorful and layered piece. However, my son called after midnight to let me know that the contractions had slowed and they were sending my daughter-in-law home...again! This is the second false start they have experienced, so I think my new grandson is going to keep them jumping through hoops once he finally arrives. Sooo, no grandson yet, but maybe today? Or tomorrow? I have a good feeling about today...

Drive-by post: Daily Art

2011-07-10T00:19:00.000-04:00

A textured gradient created in Photoshop CS4. I just love color and filters. Might play around with In Design tomorrow or modify some of the fireworks photos I took tonight. Once I open up Photoshop, In Design, Illustrator or Flash, I just want to spend hours playing around. Fun stuff...

Drive-by post: Art for July 8, 2011

2011-07-08T19:05:00.005-04:00

Cut out filtered Ferris Wheel (Click for larger view)

Today's art work is the result of using filters in Photoshop CS4 with two of my favorite images from the Midway during Cherry Festival yesterday. The first image is of the ferris wheel, shot from below, my husband and daughter were about to get on when I took this one. I used the "cut out" filter to simplify the image and give if more of a painted feel. The "cut out" filter is one of my favorites, it can distill images in my opinion, and these often, but not always, appeal to me.

Stamp filter Swing Ride (Click for larger view)

The second image is the swing ride, changed with the "stamp" filter. This renders the image in black and white, a stark contrast to all the original color of the
image, but no less appealing to me. Each of the filters I used includes multiple controls to adjust the levels of this or that (a technical term), including sharpness, so it takes a while to play with them and get them just right. Of course, I could use quite a few other filters for dramatically different results, but this is about me and what I am in the mood to create at any given time each day, so this is what I came up with today. I love them, hope you do too.

Foodie Friday!

2011-07-08T15:51:00.001-04:00

Chocolate Sunflower Butter

After working in the Benjamin Twiggs cherry products booth for a couple days this week for Cherry Festival, I got a real hankering to try the peanut and nut butters in the booth across from us. The Naturally Nutty people were so very nice and the products sounded soooo good, I had to try them. And they were wonderful, incredibly good butters. I ended up buying a jar of the Chocolate Sunflower Butter with flax and hemp seed and also a jar of the White Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter. Holy Moly, are these ever amazing! The kind of thing you just want to scoop out with a spoon and eat without anything else. I love the texture, not such a paste, like the store brands, but with tiny bits of the nuts to chew. I can't recommend this product enough. And so many varieties, it was hard to choose. Check out their website, most of the products are there. The Cashew Butter was another favorite, but it was a bit too pricey for me, maybe in a few months I'll splurge.

I almost forgot to mention, she had peanut butter cups made locally at the Chocolate Den with Naturally Nutty peanut butter, 4 for $2. I wish I'd bought $10 worth of those things, put Reeses to shame, let me tell you!

Ok one last thing, these nut butters are all organic, isn't that a lovely bonus? Makes you feel good about buying and eating it, right?

Cherry Fest 2011

2011-07-07T19:24:00.006-04:00

Watercolor pencil cherries

We did it up today! Ate what we wanted, rode the train and walked all over the open space and midway. What a blast we had too! I got my Jumbo Smoked Turkey Leg (really), roasted corn on the cob ($3, no lie), cotton candy and even a Funnel Cake with powdered sugar. Yes, we Lived! My youngest daughter rode a few rides and my husband and I enjoyed her delight. I've never been much for those stomach dropping or spinning rides, but I love to watch my kids having fun.
The cherries to the left are my art for yesterday, done with watercolor pencils, though not very well, I'm sorry to say. But I have a

Best $8 turkey leg I've ever had!

Drawing I class this fall and I hope the next time I draw cherries (next year) they are spectacular! My National Cherry Festival photos are my art for today. They were so much fun to take. The Jumbo Smoked Turkey Legs shot came out blurry from the train, but I had to include it, too much fun!

The Midway as seen from the train

Jumbo Smoked Turkey Leg and corn on the cob. It was soooo good!

One of two ferris wheels on the Midway

Hubby and youngest posing for me by one of the "fun" food stands

Caramel apples and Carousel reflection

Fun house, such fun colors!

Bumper cars, we didn't ride them this year

Sinful food row...you can hear arteries seizing up

Swing ride on the Midway

Train ride view of the beach

Bungee Jump, I'll pass thank you!

Fab Find Wednesday!

2011-07-06T14:23:00.002-04:00

Aladdin alacite lamp

Although it is easy enough to buy new things in every style imaginable, I love old things. Antique, vintage and hand crafted pieces call out to me whenever I walk through an antique shop. However, I can't really afford to shop in antique shops all the time, so estate, garage and yard sales, coupled with thrift and resale shops give me the chance to find hidden treasures that haven't yet made it to the higher priced antique shops. Over the last couple weeks, I've found some fabulous things, which is always exciting! I have, on occasion, found some really valuable things and sold them for extra pocket money, especially when they are things I appreciate but don't really collect or have a place for among my treasures. The lamp pictured to the left may be one of those things, I haven't decided yet. It is an Aladdin lamp from the mid 1900's, really beautiful with slightly translucent glass (alacite). One of the local thrift shops had it for $8 but sold it to me for $4, I think lamps were half off that day or something like that. I just thought it looked like it was worth more than $8 and had possibility either in my house or as something to sell later on Etsy or eBay. Turns out that it is worth a bit more than the $4 I paid. The lowest price I found online was $84.95 and the highest was $145 on eBay. But I haven't decided what to do with it yet, I kinda think I'm going to keep it.

Vintage Samsonite train case

Then there is a new train case I found at a new resale shop in Interlochen, a little town just a few miles away. The shop didn't seem like much at first, a bit junky, but after nosing around, I found the train case, in great condition inside and out for only $4.50! And also a cute pair of white, all cotton, summer pajamas, which I had already been searching for new all over town without any luck. I love the storage possibilities of train cases. I like to store my art supplies in them and then tuck them out of the way. Then if I am going somewhere, I can grab a case and take my supplies with me. Of course, these are too big to take and work from at the park or Dr.'s office while I am waiting, but they are great for visits to my Mom and Dad's or for vacation. I just clean them up and sometimes embellish them if they need it and voila! This one is in really good shape, so I don't think I'm going to mess with it at this point, but we'll see, sometimes I can't help myself.

Small harp wall shelf

3" x 3" mirror

At an estate sale last week, I found a few great pieces for display. The little harp shaped piece to the left is one of them. It was stained dark brown, but I painted it today, along with the small mirror shown here too. I love small little things like this that can easily be hung just about anywhere in the house. They add bits of charm and character and can also be easily rearranged when the mood strikes me.
I should probably come clean about what I collect. When you collect a lot of things, it is easy to find something you love when you are out and about. Let's see now...I collect vintage platters, the smaller size, mostly American made like Homer Laughlin, china tea cups and saucers, mirrors, single salt or pepper shakers as well as pairs if they "speak" to me, bark cloth, Block Optic depression glass, small rabbit/bunny figurines of all types but resin, heart pins/brooches, single cordial classes, vintage linens and hankies, small fancy frames for wallet photos, lace, silver silver ware and interesting stainless silverware, pansy dishes...I think I better stop for now, you get the idea though. Someday, when I die, my kids are going to want to kill me all over again...

Guild signed vintage air brush watercolor

My last fab find for today is a vintage airbrush watercolor from the 1940's, signed by Guild. I have no idea who or what Guild is, I couldn't find out too much about the signature, just that there were other vintage air brush watercolors with the Guild signature out there. I fell in love with this as soon as I saw it. It is loose in the frame and the frame itself needs some tightening, but her expression and the softness of the airbrushing is just sublime. I think these type of pieces were done with stencils. I hope to hang her in my bedroom as soon as I get the frame tightened up. It was $45, but I was there on the 1/2 off day and it does have a small scratch on the skirt, so I got it for $14. I looked it up online after I got home and it is going for $300 here! Also, I did find out that there are these types of pieces in the early episodes of "I Love Lucy," and also in the movie "Batteries Not Included," which I have but haven't had time to watch lately. The piece is pretty big, 30" x 35", a nice focal piece. Right now it is on my fireplace mantel, just leaning against the wall, but she doesn't go with the deep turquoise of the room, so she can't stay there. But at least I can admire her everyday.
Thanks for stopping by today and checking out my fab finds, if you found something fab, let me know, I'll post a link to your find on my blog.

Torchwood, "M" and Noodle Bowl Supper

2011-07-05T22:31:00.001-04:00

Torchwood

I have discovered "Torchwood." It is a sci-fi British television show that is currently available on Netflix. At first I thought it was a little cheesy and risque (hope that is the correct word here), but it got better and I admit, I am hooked. There is a new Torchwood series starting in a few days and if I am lucky, I will get to watch it on Netflix, otherwise, I'll just have to wait till it eventually becomes available. Netflix keeps telling me that based on my current likes, I should like "Dr. Who," but I don't know. I tried to watch one of those episodes a while ago and it seemed extremely campy, which I don't usually love. I may have to give it another shot though, since one of my favorite tv personalities, Craig Ferguson, loves it. I'll get back to you all on this.

ATC "M"

As part of my new commitment to creating art everyday, I did make a new ATC very early this morning, during a particularly intense period of insomnia (no sleep till 5 a.m.). It is a little tribute to the letter "M," my first initial and all of "Mmmm," which is usually connected to food, but not always. I uploaded the image to Facebook and it is taking forever to show up, so I may end up publishing this post and adding the ATC image later tonight. I don't know why I think that creating an ATC will only take me a half hour or so, when it always takes me at least 3 or more hours to create one. I can only attribute it to my horrible sense of time, it is legendary, just ask my husband.

Cashew Ginger Chicken Noodle Bowl

I did get bonus points for cooking today though. I uploaded this image first and it showed up right away. It is a noodle bowl. Cashew Ginger Chicken udon noodles. I made it up. It has tempura shrimp, baby bok choy, carrots, snow peas (from our garden!), and gingered chicken. All covered with a cashew, ginger, garlic sauce. I feel so happy when I get to have a noodle bowl. I love all the little treasures and mix of flavors and textures, all in one bowl. Basically, happiness in a bowl. Tomorrow I work at the Cherry Festival, but I am hoping to make some gnocchi, we'll see if I can get to it. If not, I'll make it on Thursday night. \
Tomorrow is Fab Find Wednesday, and I have pics of my estate sale and garage sale finds to share, along with some art...stop by and visit if you get a chance.

4th of July Holiday Pledge Do-Over

2011-07-05T03:18:00.001-04:00

Vintage 4th of July Postcard

Okay, okay, okay...I have not posted a piece of art everyday, and even worse, I haven't made a piece of art everyday, as pledged, how lame is that? But I have to say, in my defense, being out of town without my art supplies made it quite the handicap. But isn't that just a sorry excuse on my part? Yeah...I think so. Apparently, I had not thought all this through very well, eh? I see that I am going to have to create a small and portable art kit for the car and travel if I am serious about this pledge. I love to work with my artist crayons, but they stand a good chance of melting in the summer heat, so they are out (plus they cost a fortune!) Little tubes of water colors, with those tiny caps, can easily come open and make a mess, so they are out too (also not cheap.) I need something simple and easy to transport. I think a small pad of drawing paper, pencils and sharpener might be what I need. No melting or messiness. If I include watercolor pencils and a couple brushes, it will be even more versatile. I can make a cool little carrying case to keep everything tidy and portable. Seems like I have resolved the art supply issue, right? So what else could keep me from making art everyday?
Well, when I moved "making art" into those upper echelons of my priorities, I failed to take into account that there were already other priorities, quite well established ones, already holding court there, some that might be in direct conflict with "making art," at certain times. And that's exactly what happened. The 4th of July holiday weekend festivities included uncomfortable travel (94+ degree heat and no A/C in our car for four hours) and visiting with relatives we haven't seen in ages. How do you "make art" when you are so uncomfortable you don't feel the least bit artistic? Or when you are visiting with relatives, having a great time, how do you "make art" without being rude or separating yourself from all the fun? I didn't felt like I could excuse myself from any conversations and truthfully, I didn't want to. I had a lovely time and was sorry when we had to say goodbye to everyone. I didn't realize that my commitment to creating art everyday would require working in uncomfortable circumstances or sacrificing important things I love, not just the silly telly and Facebook time. Obviously, I really, REALLY did not think it all through. So how do I make this commitment, this pledge to create art everyday when some days I won't be able to or even want to do it?
I have come to the realization that I am looking at this all wrong. I DO have to put it on top of my priority list, at least for a certain period of time. And during that time, despite difficult circumstances, fun or otherwise, I will have to find a way to create art, even if it is just a simple line drawing or an interesting photo taken with my cell phone. If anything, more challenging situations should force me to be even more creative in my efforts to create. Now that I've taken the time to think this through, I'm giving myself another chance, I hope you will too. I can already hear Tim Gunn's voice in my head saying, "Make it work."
I feel really good about this. I pledge to create a piece of art everyday, take two!

Everyday Art: Day 2

2011-07-02T00:00:00.003-04:00

i love summer

Alright, day two and I'm getting the art for today in just under the wire I think, at least for my time zone. It is an ATC, "i love summer." We have had some glorious days and I wanted to commemorate them with an artful keepsake. So much sunshine, I wish we had it all year. I will probably continue to add to this piece, I can't seem to stop messing around with collage based art. The details: created with CARAN d'ACHE Neocolor II Watersoluble artist crayons (I am sooo addicted to these, wish I owned every single color!), Sharpie markers, PITT markers, gel pens, a transparent bingo marker and a rhinestone. Also scraps of magazine pages for the edges. It measures the same size as a playing card, which is the typical ATC size. It did take some time to create, so I realize that I will have to create other pieces of quicker art some days. Wheels are spinning...

Fresh Veggie Pizza

I also made a wonderful fresh veggie pizza for dinner, and it was very creative, so it is my bonus "art" today. I love the ones that are always made at the Pampered Chef home parties, which I have not been to or even been invited to in years. I decided to make up my own recipe, but it started the same as the ones I've had at the parties, with refrigerated crescent roll dough, unrolled, but kept as a sheet and baked. I added an herb cream cheese and sour cream topping, followed by lots of fresh veggies. It satisfied a huge veggie craving and I didn't feel too guilty since the topping was made with 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Tomorrow I know I'll be making enchiladas and Spanish rice, but have no idea what other art I'll be creating, wish me luck!
One last thing, I read a wonderful book yesterday, "City of Thieves," and it was incredible! A great summer read if you are looking for something exciting, fun, and sad with great historical content. I couldn't put it down and stayed up late just to finish it. There are a few "difficult" parts, but necessary to the story. I can't say enough good things about this book, but I don't want to give anything away. I can't wait to pass it around to family and friends, 5 out of 5 stars!

A New Pledge: Create at least one piece of art everyday

2011-06-30T20:08:00.002-04:00

art Everyday!

So here I am, heading towards the middle of the summer and I have hardly created any art, outside of artful food! I admit, I have spent many hours on Facebook and Netflix, but in my defense, I had a lot of catching up to do. But as the summer is coming into full swing, I am feeling the loss of art-making time. Sooo...I have decided that I need to prioritize and move "creating art" to the upper echelons, where it belongs! I have also decided that any medium is allowed here, including food, but only in a pinch, or as a bonus. My goal is to take a photo of each piece of work and post it here. I am hoping that this declaration on my blog, for all the world to see, will further cement my personal commitment to creating art everyday. (But I really don't need that, do I?)
I will have to sacrifice some other, not-as-important things, like facebook time and TV time, but I'm ready to do that. My first piece today is the "art Everyday!" image above. Created with Photoshop CS4 using

gradients, filters and brushes. And, I did make strawberry freezer jam today, which is a form of foodie art to me. If I get my new projects done soon, I can add them to the day they are completed, or is that cheating? Anyway, I feel like I might be on a roll here...

Wednesday Fab Finds

2011-06-29T23:05:00.003-04:00

Franco Farms Berries

Welcome to the first Wednesday Fab Finds! Wednesday posts will be about anything I find during the week that I think is fabulous in some way, shape or form. I love to go to flea markets, estate sales, garage/yard sales, thrift stores and resale shops. I also love to take back roads and try new restaurants. And I have a thing for books, novels, historical, sci-fi/fantasy and culinary. Anyway, I feel like I am finding wonderful things all the time and want to share my treasures with you.
Starting with today, we found a new place to pick strawberries not too far from home. We normally love to pick at Gunzvillers in Elk Rapids, but that is a 45 minute drive. We took a risk and went to "Franco's," which is about 5 miles out of Traverse City heading south on US 31. Great berries, beautiful flavor and sweet! Check out the Taste the Local Difference website for places in MI to pick.

Perseus Jackson "PJ" our new Lion Head bunny

The next find is our new Lion Head bunny, Perseus Jackson, or PJ for short. We found him at the Pet Supplies Plus store thanks to a family we met at the TC Balloon Classic two weeks ago. They brought their Lion Head bunny to the open space and we just happened to sit down behind them. We fell in love with their little bunny, so fluffy and social. Also, weighed less than 2.5 lbs, the size of bunny we have been looking for. Anyway, we are all madly in love with our new pet!
Find numero tres (3) is something I found at Cali's, a local shop in downtown TC. "Haikubes," a box of dice that have words on each side that you use to create haikus. I love these, they are so cool!!! Now I just have to find a

Haikubes

really sweet transparent container to keep them in and also on display in the living room so anyone can just dump them out, have some fun and easily put them away.
And just so you know, I paid $25 for my set, should have known I could find a better deal online! At least I did support a locally owned business that I am very fond of, that is a good thing.

Tri Oreshki Dlya Zollushki

My last find this week is a movie on YouTube, "Tri Oreshki Dlya Zollushki," or "Three Nuts for Cinderella," or "Three Gifts for Cinderella." I saw this movie on a PBS station, I think, a long, long time ago, and loved it. I finally found it on YouTube and enjoyed it all over again with my daughter. It is a Czech film that I think was very well done for the time it was produced, over 30 years ago at least. Click here to watch the six part film.
Hope you are finding wonderful treasures of your own like a perfect peach, an old photo or a new china cup and saucer for your collection!

Let the Summer Projects Begin!!!

2011-06-29T01:30:00.001-04:00

Mexican Folk Dress

So here is the first project, turning the pictured yellow Mexican folk dress into a more modern tunic for my daughter. I just saw the how-to for this on one of the blogs I love, The Crafty Chica, and lo and behold, yesterday, my daughter and I spot the exact type of dress needed for this project in a thrift shop for five bucks! How can you not try it for that? I have cut the bottom off and pinned it, but have to hem the side slits and bottom hem yet. My daughter also wants pleated panels set into the side slits to avoid any muffin top type of event or showing. I think that should be easy enough with the fabric I cut off. At least right now I think it will be easy enough, I'll get back to y'all on that. When finished, it should look like the black tunic here.
Next up is this t-shirt I want to refashion into a more flattering and feminine style. I saw what Rice Zachery Freeman did with a shirt (among other amazingly cool clothing reconstructions and embellishments) and decided to give it a try. I am always trying to find cool t-shirts in a price range I can afford, but rarely do those two things coincide. I can count on one hand, not even using all the fingers, how many times I have found such a thing. This is a heavy cotton t-shirt by Liz and Jane, dyed a
cool shade of periwinkle blue, which you cannot tell in the first shot because I took the photo in the evening with florescent type lighting. But the second photo is almost

T-shirt pre-refashion

right on in color. You can see the cuts I've made and some of my initial pinning. I want to add a raw edge trim, such as silk or that soft netting I've seen on some expensive t-shirts, but don't know what to call it. I hope to get to the fabric store tomorrow or the day after to choose something for the edges. My goal is to make it look more feminine with a more fitted shape and to add a raw edge trim for contrast and fun. I am really excited about both of these projects because I think I can finish them and actually achieve what I envision! I will post the finished pieces as soon as I'm done. I am even considering adding a hand beaded edge as another layer over the raw edge trim, but we'll see how it goes. If I plan on doing too much, I know I will overwhelm myself and then it will sit and nothing will happen, and I so want to complete these projects, among other thing, by

T-shirt, progress report

next week at the latest so I can start something else I have been thinking about.
On to some foodie porn with a picture of the S'mores cake I made yesterday for my family. I use a bag of mini marshmallows instead of the topping the recipe calls for, which is marshmallow creme and chocolate chips, swirled. After the cake is done, I pour the mini marshmallows on top and put the cake back into the oven, second rack from the top, and turn on the broiler to toast the marshmallows. Doesn't take long, but I keep the door open and pull the rack out periodically to rotate or shift the pan so the marshmallows toast evenly and don't catch on fire! You cannot take your eyes off the cake while the marshmallows are toasting, and you have to pull the oven rack out to rotate the pan so you don't burn your hand under the broiler. Anyway, the cake disappeared in less than 24 hours, and I did not eat it alone! But since it is now gone, I think I am going to move on to eclairs. I watched "Simply Irresistible" last night and every time I do, I get this insane urge to make those caramel eclairs that Sarah Michelle Geller makes in the movie. I have all the ingredients and the S'more cake is toast, so I have my fingers crossed that sometime tomorrow, I will be posting photos of the eclairs!
Finally, my new "Paletas" recipe book arrived today, and it looks like it is going to be a lot of fun to play with this summer. The recipes include Cantaloupe, Lime

S'mores Cake with toasted marshmallow top!

Pie (think Key lime pie), Avocado, Apricot-Chamomile, Sour Cream-Cherry and Tequilla, Roasted Banana, Passion Fruit Cream, Mexican Chocolate and oh so many more. I'll post pics of those too as we try them out. For those of you who are not familiar with paletas, they are just like ultra fruity or flavorful popsicles, usually with less sugar. They come in a wide variety of flavors, many regional. I can get them at TC Latino Grocery here in Traverse City, but they sell them from carts in the more

metropolitan areas of the country. The rice pudding paletas are my very favorite so far, but I've only had five different flavors. It is creamy, refreshing and so satisfying, I hope to make those within the next week or two. Anyway, paletas are amazing, you'll never want a regular popsicle again after you have a paleta. Well, at least that is how I feel.
Tomorrow I am introducing "Wednesday Fab Finds." A weekly to bi-weekly post about my latest treasures from estate sales, garage/yard sales, thrift stores and resale shops. Lots of goodies for tomorrow!

Trattoria Stella, restaurant heaven!

2011-06-26T00:25:00.009-04:00

Trattoria Stella

Wednesday was my dear friend Julie's birthday, and to celebrate, we went to dinner last night at one of my very favorite restaurants on the planet, Trattoria Stella here in Traverse City. The restaurant is within the refurbished Building 50, originally the largest building on the Traverse City State Hospital (an asylum) grounds, way back when. The hospital was actually a self sustaining mental institution. There are several large barns and other smaller buildings on the property, some already converted to new uses and others still awaiting rebirth. There was a serious effort by the Traverse City community to save these buildings a while back. They were supposed to be demolished, but the architecture and bones of the buildings were still sound and some people with vision and resources committed to restoring and bringing these buildings back to life. Building 50, with it's 388,000 square ft of space is the largest structure on the commons, or more formally, "The Village at Grand Traverse Commons." I have walked around the exterior perimeter of this building, it takes about 20 minutes. I have also been up in one of those cool towers, what a view! But back to my culinary adventure at Stella...

Pig Brain Tortellini

We ordered drinks first and then appetizers to share, an amazing start to the evening. I had a wonderful Pinot Noir, "A Capella," from Black Star Farms, a local winery, but only two glasses, so I would remember our dinner very well and still drive myself home. I am just going to list what we had with bullets for the sake of clarity and explain here and there and sprinkle the photos around too. Some are a bit blurry, but it is hard to take a good photo with my sorry cell phone in dim light, but I tried anyway. Let me start with our appetizers...

Cornmeal Battered Asparagus

Cornmeal battered and fried asparagus with lemon crema and basil pesto (OMG, orgasmic!)
Hard-seared foie gras with lemon-dressed arugula and five hour sauce (Swoon worthy!)
Pig brain tortellini with some incredible sauce I cannot name because it was a special (you just can't be squeamish about these kind of things, otherwise you miss out on the most amazing dishes, I loved it!)

Foie Gras!

After those delightful appetizers, we continued to peruse the menu, trying to decide what to order next, between conversation, gift opening and laughter. We picked two different salads. I ordered one of my favorites, the cold beet salad. Every time I have this, I tell myself that I am going to start cooking and keeping beets on hand to make this kind of thing whenever my heart desires, but do I? Um, no. I don't. Thankfully, this appears on the menu often. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of the salads and desserts, sorry to be such a food porn tease!

Char-grilled, chilled beets with kalamata olives, house-made mozzarella cheese and extra virgin olive oil
Heirloom tomatoes with house-made mozzarella, torn basil leaves and extra virgin olive oil

Next up we ordered our main course, we each chose something different, so it was fun to try all three, which we all agreed were fabulous! I had the Ahi Tuna, and it was an emotional experience, stars aligned, perfection, and that is putting it mildly. My second fav was the duck, it was outstanding and the giant raviolo filling was dreamy.

Wagyu Top Sirloin

Hard-seared breast of Long Island duck (aka Peking duck), raviolo of leg with mascarpone, carrots, roasted apples and thyme brodo.
Char-grilled Wagyu top sirloin with oven-baked white potatoes and cauliflower alla Siciliana, veal stock
Pepper-dusted and pan-seared Ahi tuna with grape tomatoes, candied pignoli risotto and fennel pollen.

Ahi Tuna with Candied Pinenut Risotto

Did I mention that we spent 4 1/2 hours over this meal? We ate a course, chatted up a storm and then ordered the next one, taking our time and savoring every single bite. Even so, you'd think after all the food listed above we would not have room for dessert, Ha! We each ordered a different dessert and shared those too. The Rhubarb Crostata was my fav, but they were all a piece of heaven!

Panna Cotta with strawberry sauce and fresh strawberries (I love panna cotta and make it at home once in a while)
Flourless chocolate cake
Rhubarb Crostata with caramel and sea salt gelato

Long Island Duck with Raviolo of Leg and Mascarpone

Two of us also had the most excellent cappuccino with dessert and I have to say, I have not had such a lovely cappuccino in ages. We lingered over everything, we caught up, we shared worries and current hopes, we listened, we laughed (hysterically at times) and made plans to do this every year! It was the loveliest of evenings. I left completely content and satiated on every level, physical, mental and emotional. Thank you my friends and thank you Trattoria Stella!

Impending Grandparenthood

2011-06-23T13:45:00.007-04:00

Vintage Baby Shower Invite

You might need a cup of tea or coffee for this one, and a biscuit or two...

When my son and daughter-in-law called us back in late November on Skype, and wanted to speak to both my husband and I together, I was pretty sure of the reason why, baby on the way, and of course, my new found grandmotherly intuition was right on the money! With a due date of August 8, I thought I had more time to get my thoughts together about my impending grandparenthood, but alas, there is a good chance I will join the ranks of grandmothers all over the world sooner than later. My daughter-in-law is in the hospital with contractions today! Although she is still 6 weeks from the due date, there is a good chance she will have the baby early. She and my son were here a couple weeks ago for a visit and baby showers, and she did look like she was ready to go, so maybe the due date was off by a few weeks? Regardless, it is time to think about this new role of Abuelita, which is the Spanish term of endearment for grandmother, and what I hope all my grandchildren will call me.

Me with one of my Abuelitas

I had the chance to think about grandparents when my first son was born, making my parents grandparents for the first time. I watched my parents fall in love with him before he was even born and then fall madly in love with him once he arrived. It often brought tears to my eyes to watch them with him, as well as with each of the other three that came along. We, the parents, were also in love with him, delighted beyond reason, he was so beautiful and perfect. But as parents, we were also responsible for raising him to be a "good" person, based on what we believed qualified as "good." Good manners, morals, ethics, hygiene...all that stuff. Lots of love, affection and support along with solid boundaries, discipline and consistency. As I watched my parents with my newborn son, I knew that I wanted it to be that way always. I did not want them to have to be disciplinarians, I just wanted them to enjoy him and I wanted him to enjoy his time with them as well. So I made a point of not asking my parents to be long term caregivers of my son. They would babysit and help us out occasionally with childcare, but not on any kind of regular basis. And even when my mom retired early and I could have asked her to watch my kids a couple days a week, I refused to even think about it. I also believed that my parents had done their stint as parents already. They deserved to enjoy their retirement and their grandchildren, not sign up for the parenting thing all over again.

And I can now say that my kids have a wonderful relationship with their grandparents. They will spend a week with them, one at a time, or my parents will come up and watch them all for a few days while my husband and I have a little getaway. But it is fun, they are not raising them, just enjoying them. They aren't perfect kids, but they do mind and they are not afraid of my parents in any way. Now how do I plan to be a perfect Abuelita? I believe in living with intention, so I know I must think about this, envision the type of relationship I want to have with my grandchildren and plan accordingly. I have a couple difficulties to tackle though. And if anyone has ANY suggestions on how to think about this, please leave me a comment!
Because I have an 11 year old (as well as a 17 and 19) at home, it will be hard to "spoil" a grandchild here. When my son was born, my brothers and I were all in our twenties. My brothers were on the spoiling bandwagon too, and never felt any competition with their nephew and then other nieces and nephews that came along. But an 11 year old is different. When my youngest brother had his first over five years ago, my then 6 year old was very jealous of all the attention the "new" grandchild was getting. She had been the youngest grandchild and now was no longer in the main spotlight. How will she feel when she sees me all gooey over my first grandchild, while she looks on? Knowing her the way I do,

it will be very difficult for her. She is a very empathetic and compassionate girl. But she is still very young. All kids need a lot of attention, but during those tweenage years, they have so many self doubts and seem to need extra attention. It is also an awkward time of life, your body making all this hormonal commotion that you have no control over. I can see everyone with their backs to her as they ooh and aah over the baby. And I will be torn. I want to be the grandmother my mom was and is, but I am still in the middle of mothering a young one myself. How will I strike a balance here? I know how to love and have plenty to go around, that is not the issue at all. But my first born son will be expecting me to be completely enthralled and mesmerized by my new grandchild (which I will be, believe me), while my 11 year old will be watching to see if I happen to love that new grandchild more than her. I'm chuckling now, but I know this will really be something I will have to deal with shortly.
So I am very excited, wondering if I will be a grandmother within the next few hours or days, and also wondering how to make the parent/grandparent juxtaposition work in the most loving way possible. Wish me luck or leave me some advice, it is all appreciated!

Prairie Home Companion

2011-06-22T00:24:00.005-04:00

Prairie Home Companion on Kresge stage in Interlochen, MI

It has been a dream of mine to attend a live taping of Prairie Home Companion (PHC), actually on my bucket list. I was so thrilled that a friend of mine was able to get us tickets, really "good" tickets for the show this last weekend at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan. We were only a few seats from the front and have a great view of the whole show! My husband and kids and I have been listening to PHC for at least 18 years, possibly longer. We all love the show and try to catch it on our local public radio station each weekend.

Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Fred Newman and Garrison Keillor

Way back when I read Garrison Keillor's "Lake Woebegone Days," and laughed out loud more times than I can remember. This week's guests were outstanding, as usual. A couple of the Interlochen students in particular, including one who played the harp and another who played the violin. The harpist played "Clair de lune," one of my all time favorite classical pieces and then Dave Brubek's "Take Five" with the band, and it was wonderful.
We also got to hear a twosome that we have not heard of before, Storyhill, and my husband especially liked them. Beautiful harmonizing and one of them had a

My son and the Guy's All Star Shoe Band in the background

voice very reminiscent of John Denver. It was a magical night and I still feel as if I dreamed it. We had heard that Garrison Keillor, who is the host of the PHC show, is retiring in two years, so we knew if we were ever going to see this show live, we had to splurge and do it while we could. How lucky for us that he had Interlochen on his schedule this year and that we have friends who were able to get us such great seats! I feel so very lucky, I'll be riding the high from this fabulous weekend for a long, long time! Hot air balloons and PHC, all is right with the world, at least for a little while...

Drive-by post

2011-06-20T21:01:00.002-04:00

A quickie post between kitchen innings! This is one of the chicken pot pies I made for dinner tonight in honor of my son's birthday. This is what he wanted, so this is what I made. For the filling, I used the recipe from Rebecca Rather's "The Pastry Queen," cookbook, which I own, autographed, of course! The crust is puff pastry from the grocery store, I didn't have enough time to make it all from scratch, maybe next time. There are extra dipping sticks for the sauce, a great idea my oldest daughter gave me as I regarded the leftover bits of puff pastry. The recipe itself is here, but the book is full of fabulous recipes for wonderful pastries too. I also have "The Pastry Queen Christmas," cookbook, I'm so lucky!
She also has a sweet bakery in Fredericksburg, TX, called charmingly enough, "Rebecca's Rather Sweet Bakery," which I've been fortunate enough to visit. If you do make anything from any of her cookbooks, please send me a photo, I love to see what other people are making.
While I'm back on the topic of food, I have to mention a book I read yesterday, "The School of Essential Ingredients," by Erica Bauermeister. OMG, if you are a foodies of any sort, you will L-O-V-E this book! I couldn't put it down and have to say that it maybe why I am in this cooking state of mind. Amazing story and the food descriptions are drool worthy. Ok, enough for now, this is supposed to be a quick drive-by post...

Where do I start?

2011-06-20T12:45:00.007-04:00

Balloons heading out, view from Wayne Hill

What an amazing weekend!!! It was like riding one wave of joy after another. It started on Friday, with the first, and hopefully annual, Traverse City Balloon Classic. We headed downtown to the open space, taking a quick detour up Wayne Hill to see the balloons that had already set off. I was like a kid in a candy store, absolutely gleeful, I know my kids thought I was nuts, but ever since I saw a video of the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, I have been enamored of the whole hot air balloon thing, especially when they are part of a big gathering. A visit to the

Albuquerque event is on my bucket list, and this was a wonderful taste of what lies ahead, since I know I'll get there someday! There were so many people in town for this three day event, but everyone was in such a great mood, old and young alike. It was wonderful to see how many other people are delighted by this kind of magic. I took a lot of photographs, but am only posting my favorites. The colors and patterns were incredible eye candy. I will be working on some balloon journal pages this week and hopefully, will post some of those by next weekend. I truly hope this becomes an annual event and that maybe, just maybe, I will get into a balloon next year and go for a ride. I am afraid of heights, but I will have to conquer it because I really, really, REALLY want to do this someday.

Balloons being inflated for the evening "glow."

If you ever get the chance to attend any mass hot air balloon event, don't miss it. Forget the dishes, take some motrin if you have pain, call a friend or call a cab, but get there, you own't regret it. It was really a magical evening that I will never forget!

My hubby and two of my kids with Balloons in back.

A gorgeous balloon over downtown TC!

One of my favorite balloons over TC.

We saw this one inflated and launch, so cool!

My youngest posing with another beautiful balloon over TC.

And even though I was riding higher than I have in a while, it got even better! The next day, Saturday, I actually got to cross something off my bucket list, Woo Woo! I got a chance to attend a live recording of "Prairie Home Companion," at the Interlochen Center for Performing Arts. So tomorrow, I'll post photos and all the details of that wonderful adventure...

Drive-by post

2011-06-17T18:45:00.000-04:00

If you are interested at all in becoming a web designer, you have to pick up this publication. It is pricey, $14.99 an issue, but the info, tutorials and articles are so worth every penny. It is published in the U.K., so it has a very international perspective. I pick it up whenever I can afford it and sometimes, even when I can't. It also includes a CD with every issue that has tutorials, free brushes, graphics and more. What's not to love here? Web Designer, check it out.

Foodie Friday!

2011-06-17T12:42:00.003-04:00

If you live in TC or have plans to visit this year, you cannot miss a visit to 9 Bean Rows Bakery. Although I mentioned them before back in the winter, I have to give them another shout out, the offerings are that good. They are located on Front St., in a tiny little hole in the wall, and offer my favorite bread and croissants on the planet. Although they have several fabulous breads, but my newest fav is the sea salt and fennel, holy moly, it is to die for! I crave this bread all the time.

Warm croissants

I could eat an entire loaf with nothing but sweet cream butter, but it also makes brilliant grilled cheese sandwiches. The croissants are the lightest and butteriest I have ever had. The brioche loaf makes incredible french toast. AND, they are the nicest people, you never leave the bakery unhappy, even when they are out of your favorites (which happens if you don't get there early enough, they open at 7 a.m.).

Farm fresh eggs!

The latest news? They just added a bit of seating and now offer espresso and coffee. One more thing, they also offer beautiful farm fresh eggs, many times gathered that morning, and they are also wonderful. Just remember, you must have some people to share with before you go in, because you won't leave without enough food for at least 4 people, trust me.
Now about "Simply Cupcakes," the new cupcake shop that is only a few steps away. French buttercream melts in your mouth without being sickeningly sweet. It smells divine when you walk in and then the eye candy hits you and you feel woozy with delight. On any given day you can choose from at least 9 different cupcakes, all look like little pieces of art.

Cupcakes for my birthday!

A typical display of the days offerings

Some of the choices I've made include: Lemon Love, Raspberry Waltz, Black Tie, Cherry Royale, Snowball, Key Lime, Banana Cream, Blueberry Blast, Red Velvet, oh I could go on and on and on...Honestly, that little block of Front St. has become the most tempting and dangerous strip of downtown for me to drive by, or think about...

Guilty Pleasures...

2011-06-16T15:12:00.000-04:00

I admit it. I have guilty pleasures. Those things that you know you really shouldn't like/enjoy, but do anyway. Of course, I don't "do" guilt, so really they are what I would call guilty pleasures if I did do guilt. I read a wonderful book, "The Feminine Mistake," a few years ago and the author talks about guilt being a very unproductive thing and states that she doesn't "do" guilt, and I have adopted this as well. Nothing good comes from doing things out of guilt or from feeling guilty. If you are doing something nice or kind out of guilt, is it really that nice or kind? If you are carrying around guilty feelings, how is that helpful in your life? If you guilt someone into doing anything, is that ever a good thing? I don't think so, but that is my personal opinion. So, again, I don't "do" guilt. But I digress, forgive me.

Back to guilty pleasures. A few of mine include the occasional romance novel (Julie Garwood or Johanna Lindsey), butter fried store-bought pierogies, Taco Bell steak supreme gorditas (don't judge me), Little Debbie gas station brownies, chocolate covered Twinkies (the local Kilwin's is really the main pusher here, I blame them), Cheetos (puffy or crunchy, I'm not picky) and Cracker Barrel's chicken dumplings (why, oh why?). Ok, that is all I am confessing to today. These things are not so good for my mind or body, so I don't have them often, but sometimes I just have to indulge. If you are in the mood to cook anything, make sure you check out my favorite foodie blog guilty pleasure, And All the Trimmings, photos to go with each recipe, I could hang out there all day.

Catching up

2011-06-15T10:41:00.005-04:00

So I haven't posted in several months. I guess I need to give a condensed recap ala Neil Patrick Harris' 2011 Tony Awards wrap up. Here goes...

Typography "Creative Grid" project

Back in school, feeling cool, feeling fine learning web design. C#, Access, XML, everything was going swell. Throw in Type, I get the hype, letter forms do more than sell. Final projects and presentations, all precursors to end of year examinations. Studied hard, sleepless nights, passed my classes, scaled those heights. Took a week to recover, while being a mother, end of year kid stuff, they had also had enough.

Ultrasound of my grandson!

Time to plan for my Navy son's arrival in June, along with his wife (carrying my grandson, who will be born soon!) End of year concerts, field trips and more, while planning two baby showers, what are mom's for? Spring came and went, hubby built raised beds, planted our garden and picked dandelion heads. Dandelion jelly did not want to set, so poured it on pancakes as syrup you bet. Son arrived with fanfare and joy, showers went well, can't wait for the new baby boy.

Tea Baby Shower

First shower theme was a tea fit for the queen, second shower theme was Star Wars BBQ like you've never seen. Cried when they left, my heartstrings pulled tight, but feeling much better, thanks to summer sunshine and light. Read "Hunger Games," and could not put it down, but also working on a JavaScript crown.

Star Wars BBQ Invite

Back in the kitchen, cooking away, new and old recipes wanting to play. Hubby got Bell's Palsy and gave me a scare, but is now on the mend and we hear it's not rare. Visits to and from my parents, they are too far I say, but thankful to have them in my life everyday. And just yesterday, we heard and saw pics, a bear was seen roaming our hood, I assume just for kicks.

Black bear wandering around our 'hood!

So that's the gist, a wrap up of sorts, my blog now returns to regular reports. Happy summer to you and to yours, from northern Michigan, where you'll find me enjoying mine, but of course!

Matthew Carter Research Timeline

2011-03-18T23:53:00.003-04:00


Matthew Carter

In my Typography I class this semester, each student had to pick a typeface designer to research and create a presentation from that research for the rest of the class. I chose Matthew Carter. I spent quite a few days researching his typefaces and reading about his life. He was recently named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow and received what is referred to as a "Genius" grant of $500,000.00, a half million dollars to keep doing what he does so well.
While doing research for a type project that is also due next week, I came upon a cool website that lets you create timelines, which I used to create one for my presentation on Matthew Carter, how lucky! Just click on the link here if you want to check it out, or make your own timeline, it is free. (This is a class project, I am not being paid for this in any way and the images included are not mine and I do not hold the copyrights for any of them.)

March has arrived!

2011-03-07T17:08:00.000-05:00

Well I cannot believe it is already March, the 7th at that! School is keeping me so busy, I don't seem to have time for anything else outside of classes, homework and family. Things are getting more challenging, as I mentioned in my last post (at least I think I did), but some things are finally clicking, which is always a relief. XML, schemas in particular, is one of those things. On Friday, I spent most of the day working on my XML homework and by the end, I finally got it! The process and concept had been eluding me for weeks and I was so bummed. But that is finally cleared up and I feel sooo much better! I do have several pieces of homework and at least one project due every week, so no time to relax yet, but spring break will be here before I know it. I just hope I don't have a spring break full of homework, I know I will really need the down time. Chocolate helps too, of course.

In the Thick of Things

2011-02-24T21:51:00.002-05:00

Oh I just hate it when I don't have time to update my blog! School has been absolutely insane lately. This semester, the classes are different, 3 are computer classes, and two of them are pretty intense. In particular the Intro to .NET Programming; learning the C# programming language with Visual Studio. Holy Moly, I don't have time to breathe some days. I still love it, but it is very serious learning, lots of homework and a team project to work on, something everyday. And nothing takes half an hour to complete or work on, oh no. Everything takes several hours or days to complete. It is like immersion, only with a computer language instead of a spoken one. I'm fortunate that the instructor is very knowledgeable and thorough, so I am getting my tuition money's worth!


This is a generic user interface (UI) created w/ Visio

     Of course, I believe that you get out of school what you put into it, so I am trying to do my very best, and that does add to the time it takes me to complete things. But I do love it, and that is still a surprise to me somedays. In college, the first time around, back in the mid 80's, I had no interest in computer programming. Of course, all I knew about it was the binary code I had learned a bit about in high school, which I thought was sooo boring. But I am so enamored of the web development and design field, that I want to know everything. I don't ever want a client to ask me a question that I cannot answer myself or know exactly where to go to get the answer. Maybe I am being unrealistic, but I don't want to be a hack, I want to be good, very good. I don't think I'm asking too much, especially since I am asking it of my own self.
   Of course, everything is not about me. My husband had knee surgery today. Had a torn meniscus and it was causing him pain when he ran, and he runs a lot! Came through with flying colors, thank goodness. He is already walking a bit without crutches. He is a very good patient too, I'm so lucky. I skipped two classes today so I could drive him to and fro and play nurse. I still have a ton of homework to complete this weekend, but I did enjoy a book while waiting. Michael Crichton's "State of Fear." What a great book! I have been absorbed with this while taking care of my patient. I really miss having time to read for pleasure. But it won't be like this forever.
     There is one more thing I have to mention. While I was in Avon Lake, Ohio for the visual journal class with Teesha Moore, I met a woman who was staying in the same B&B. Her name is Sue and she is an amazing visual journal artist and photographer. She went to Egypt to fulfill a life long dream and ended up witnessing the beginning of the revolution. She made it back safe and sound, thank goodness. If you want to see the photos of her trip and read about her experience, you can check out her blog. It is on my list of Blogs I visit, Chez Madame. There are a lot of images, so don't forget to click on the "older" link to see them all. They are really amazing photos.

Snow Day!

2011-02-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

Snow Day!

Isn't it funny how things work out. Here I was feeling overwhelmed at what I had due and really needed a snowday and voila! I submitted what was due last night by midnight and then slept in today, watched "West Side Story" with my youngest, who had never seen it, and then got started on my homework. I enjoyed this down day in the middle of the week, even though I still spent hours on homework, I feel great! Sometimes the littlest thing can change your whole outlook, isn't that wonderful? In case you need a little something, I'm adding a link to a fun site Build Your Own Kaleidoscope, which is just a gas! I could spend hours there playing with this virtual toy, it is so very cool!

Feeling a little overwhelmed...

2011-01-31T19:48:00.001-05:00

Stress Visualization

Well, I knew it was coming, but I was hoping it wouldn't hit me quite so early. Or maybe my iron is low. Working on multiple assignments and projects already, the pressure is on! I have to remember to focus on learning the concepts, the processes and terms, and not so much on trying to get an "A" in every class. This is so hard for me, even though I seem to go through this every semester. It is the overachiever in me, a first born Sagittarius with ADD. I do not have a scholarship riding on my grades or anything else for that matter. And if I do happen to really get lost in one of my classes, I will take it again, over and over until I get it. So why am I feeling this stress? Time to take some slow deep breaths and exhale even slower. Refocus on what is really important and expel the rest along with my exhaled breaths.

Important

Read the assigned pages in each textbook.
Take notes on the reading and on the classroom lectures.
Work on the assigned exercises, tutorials and research.
Understand the key concepts from each lesson.
Apply the new concepts.
Study for quizzes and tests.
Understand the basics of the programs I have to use for each class.
Ask questions if certain concepts or directions are not clear to me.
Remember how much I love these classes!

Not so important

Get 100% on every assignment.
Turn in everything on time.
Turn in everything.
Know how to use all the programs inside and out for my classes.
Complete every assignment.
Get 100% on every quiz and test.

Reading over my lists...tweaking my lists...reading again...breathing in...exhaling...I feel better. I want to be a web designer. I love my classes. This is where I am meant to be right now.

WTF?

2011-01-30T15:45:00.002-05:00

Anatomy of Type

What The Font? I'm talking about typography, type...fonts. You cannot believe the levels of detail, the amount of history and the importance of understanding typography in relation to web design. It is like peeling an onion, with so many layers, each one more fascinating and enlightening than the last. If you have seen the movie "Pleasantville," it is like seeing something in color for the first time. A new awareness is born in you and you can never look at anything in print the same way again. And considering how much of our everyday world has some type of lettering or numbering in it, there is no escaping it. It is an incredible aspect of life that most take for granted and never really notice, outside of the subliminal effects that take place, which in many cases, is the intention. Printed words are used to give us information and the font style of those words is selected to influence our perception of that information. If you understand typography though, you can see that extra subliminal message, like the character "Neo" in the "Matrix" movies, who finally sees through the computer bad guys and just sees their "code." Typography is a powerful tool, even a weapon in the

"The Matrix" bad guys in "code"

right context. The choice of font, or fonts, for a website, is one of the most important, if not thee most important detail. So making a good choice depends on how much you know about typography. And in order to understand typography, you also have to understand the basic principles of design.
I had no idea. But I find myself loving this subject. I also find that I am guilty of having used some of the most reviled fonts in previous projects! It's a bit embarrassing, kind of like realizing that you spent the day walking around and talking to people you respect and all the while you had a big coffee stain on the middle of your shirt. Or going to the bathroom at a party and seeing a big piece of spinach stuck to one of your front teeth, and knowing that everyone you spoke with got a good look at it too. So how does a font come to be labeled as "bad?" I asked my typography instructor and I looked around online for the answer. There are two main criteria: overused and inappropriate. Comic Sans is at the top of the list. If you want to read more about it, check out this video and this website. I got an inkling of this last semester when my Web Animation instructor threatened to fail anyone who turned anything in that was created with the Comic Sans font. Her reaction to this font was visceral!

Comic Sans, the most "Unwanted" font

Can you imagine someone getting angry, really angry, about a type? My initial reaction was "who cares?" But then I realized that due to my total ignorance of the subject, I didn't understand. I just hate when I do not understand something. And here I want to be a web designer, someone who has to use type and select fonts, font weights, font sizes and font colors as part of the process. I knew then that although the college's Web Developer program does not include Typography I, there was no way I could become a good web designer without a thorough understanding of it.
So here I am, descending down the rabbit hole, learning about typography, from the very beginning. What an eye opener! I swallowed the red pill and my view of the world will be forever altered. And you know what else? I like those red pills...

Web Design and Organization

2011-01-29T22:02:00.003-05:00

One of Anne Taintor's fun pieces!

     I am not very tidy. I never have been, and it is one of those things that has caused me great embarrassment on more than one occasion. I am better now than I was a few years ago, but I still don't have a good handle on home keeping and organization. Don't get me wrong though, I appreciate organization and tidiness. I love coming home to a tidy house and working in a tidy studio. Cooking in an organized kitchen is heaven. But the time it takes to get it all organized and sorted, well, that is just something I have a hard time putting on top of my priority list. I was very hard on myself about all this a few years ago, but I finally accepted myself and my organizational shortcomings. I bring other gifts to the party. My true friends don't judge me based on the tidiness of my home, thank goodness. And my family loves me and accepts me too. But what does this mean in terms of Web Design you ask? Read on...
     Organization is incredibly important in Web Design. Crucial. Programs like Dreamweaver and C# rely on good file organization. Things have to be saved in the same folder within the same file hierarchy every time. You cannot just rearrange documents, folders and files when you have the time. It breaks the paths these programs have created and it causes them to complain and throw out messages letting you know things are "missing," links are "broken" and nothing will work quite right until things are rectified. It is a big drag to say the least. But if you planned ahead, created that first folder in the appropriate place, you would be ahead of the game.
     In order to succeed in Web Design and Web Development, I have to be organized. It has to be a top priority. As I create file hierarchies for my classes, I have to plan ahead, anticipating future files that may need folders. The structure of the folder hierarchies has to make sense now and in the future. No more just saving things on the desktop and then relocating them to a more appropriate location at a later date. Tidiness counts in Web Design. I am adapting to it, soaking it up and trying to apply good organization to all my computer files. My brain is being rewired and I wonder if this will affect other aspects of my life? Can organization and disorganization coexist in the same person's head? It would be nice, but I'm not counting on it. Only time will tell...but if I am blogging about my super tidy studio or house a few years from now, you'll know where it started.

Redesigning my blog...again.

2011-01-27T20:28:00.004-05:00

What do YOU love?

You would think, that with four college classes, three kids at home, a husband and a home to take care of, that I would not have time to mess around with the design of my blog. Well, you would be right and I would just ignore all that stuff and just play to my heart's content. My blog is a work in progress. I like to update it with current details of my life and life around me. But I also update the appearance based on my current interests, skills and the latest technology. I get lazy sometimes and just pick something from the Blogger template designer, like my newest "Valentine" background, with all these hearts. But I also like to adjust the size and layout sometimes, or add new features. From my latest schooling, I know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to really go in there and shake things up, redesign from scratch and create new interactive elements, but soon, soon.
I think that I will go and play around with my visual journal supplies and create an original Valentine's background to upload. The Valentine bug has bitten me and I won't be happy without hearts all over the place for a few weeks, most of them chocolate. And what's wrong with that? Hearts represent love. All kinds of love. I love myself, the hubby, our children, my parents, my friends, my classes, my church, my reading parlour, my shoes, my cookbooks, my spice cupboard, 80's music, dancing, pansies, old dishes, high tea, white, turquoise blue, our bunny Stella, Downton Abbey (part IV is on this Sunday!), fresh veggies, beach glass, hunting for morels, tools, jewelry, melting glass, grilled cheese sandwiches, the scent of lavender, "The Fencing Master," old mirrors, upcycling, Fustini's balsamics and olive oils, Peruvian blue opal, singing, Texas BBQ, the northern lights, warm socks, flannel pajamas, word games, fresh raspberries and oh, the list goes on...and on...and on...well, you get the idea. Do you ever make a list of all those things you love? Or things that bring you joy? It feels wonderful to make a list of so many good things. One more thing I love...

Design, Creativity and Wind Power

2011-01-27T17:01:00.005-05:00

My friend Steffanie shared this video with me today. I was so amazed and inspired, I wanted to share it on my blog. The video is less than three minutes long, but if you love this and want to see more of the inventor/artist's work, I did see other videos on youtube. Simple materials, a renewable energy source and creativity, just incredible when it all comes together!

A Bump in the Road

2011-01-26T18:50:00.000-05:00

What's this about a bump? Actually, I'm not sure if it is a little inconsequential bump or if it is an ice berg kind of bump, with a lot more hidden beneath the surface. But while I'm waiting to find out just how big this particular bump actually is (this is not a reference to a lump,tumor or growth), I'm worried. And when I'm worried, I'm distracted and my stomach feels like it is in knots. I really don't enjoy this (like anyone I know enjoys being worried). I'm trying to find a way to keep my head in a level and calm space. But it's proving to be difficult, very difficult. I have old behavior patterns that want to barge in and make themselves at home again. Unwelcome mental and emotional house guests I tell you. In the past, I would hyper focus on things, worry non-stop and let everything else go.There was such a lack of balance in my life. Luckily, I found a way out of that old way and I have been so much healthier and happier over the past few years. But I guess I haven't had anything major come along in quite a while that has pushed me like this. So I am taking deep breaths, exhaling slowly and reminding myself that going back to the old way will not solve anything. It will not make me feel better. It will not be healthy in any way, shape or form. What do I need to do?
I need to think positive. I need to live in this moment and focus on what is happening right now. Be present, be present, be present. Do what I can with the resources I have. Be proactive and keep it all in perspective. I don't know what is going to happen with this bump, but I do know that I do not have any control over it right now. I have to accept this fact and not neglect all the other things going on in my life right now. It is going to be what it is going to be. Surrender. Breathe. Think light.

A Favorite Movie

2011-01-25T18:15:00.002-05:00

Thinking about one of my favorite movies today. One I haven't seen in a long time. "Impromptu," with Judy Davis, Hugh Grant and Mandy Patinkin. The first time I saw it, I was just enthralled! Loved the story, loved the acting and I am a sucker for British period pieces. Then I found out it was based on an actual story, I was really intrigued. Judy Davis was just incredible as Madame George Sand. I intended to find a biography on her at some point, but have not gotten around to it. Not high enough on the ol' priority list, apparently. Hugh plays a very sickly yet supremely talented Chopin, the pianist. George falls for Chopin through his music and is relentless in her pursuit of him. But there are twists and turns along the way. Oh, the whole thing is such a soap opera, but so well done, it is one of my favorite movies. I won't give it all away, but you can find the story by just googling it if you are really curious. I plan on getting it soon, in time to watch before Valentine's Day. It's been too long. Maybe I'll even track it down and try to add it to my DVD library, who knows. But definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it before.

p.s. The heart displayed was created in Photoshop CS4.

Too Early for Valentine's?

2011-01-23T00:30:00.002-05:00

Valentine ATC

With most of my homework finished, I had some time to play with photoshop and create a new digital ATC. My mom and I have a thing for hearts, so this holiday always has a lot of meaning for me and all the hearts make me think of my mom. I'll have to make another ATC just for her with lots of red, her current favorite color. Perfect for the holiday, too. This was created with several photoshop brushes and a couple of my own photographic images. I dropped the opacity on one image to let the other details in the background show through. I placed a color overlay effect over the other image, the blue flower, which I duplicated a couple times. Photoshop is so much fun, I do hope to take the Photoshop II class someday, or maybe I'll just work through the other half of my Photoshop Classroom in a Book.

I should mention that if it were not for the current weather conditions, I would probably have been out and about today and yesterday. But it has been close to 0 degrees and windy, so the windchill is well below zero, no thanks. I'd rather stay home, in front of a lovely fire, enjoy the fabulous brownies my daughter made, and cocoon with my family. And I also get to play Scrabble and Lexulous online with my Facebook friends, my biggest guilty pleasure. I am addicted to word games. However, my family refuses to play with me. I feel like a junkie sometimes, I need my word games, need! If you are one of my Facebook friends and like to play, I'm always up for a new game...

And just for the record, I feel creative and I feel wonderful!

Drive by posting

2011-01-18T22:24:00.000-05:00

If you have any time to fool around or happen to be curious about the current "mood" of the world, you have to check out this cool website, very easy and interactive. You can just click on the screen and find emotions, or choose a particular emotion from the top menu and add a location and date too, or you can click on the menu on the lower left and see interesting trends. This is one of the coolest interactive sites I've ever visited. I have it on my favorite links now as well. These kind of discoveries make me so happy and inspire me. I want to build cool sites like this someday! And how am I feeling? I feel fabulous!!!

We Feel Fine

College Day 2!

2011-01-18T19:25:00.004-05:00

Typography

     I had my first Typography I class this morning, bright and early at 8 a.m. If you know me at all, you know this was very difficult for me, since I am not a morning person, I'm barely an afternoon person for that matter. But I am trying to retrain my brain and hopefully one day, I will be an early bird. I have read about body clocks and about being born wired a certain way, but I refuse to accept it. I am so much more productive on those days when I am up early, for whatever reason, and I love that feeling of accomplishment, especially when it isn't even noon and I've already completed several projects or chores. But I digress.
     I LOVE this class! The instructor is very passionate about type, it's history and all the design possibilities connected to type, both print and digital. I thought this class would be all book learning, but we will be working on projects and presentations throughout the semester, I am sooo geeked! As a passionate wannabe web designer/developer, I think understanding type is so important. It can relay information AND design at the same time, how cool is that? But, for those who don't already know, what makes type more readable in print does not pertain to screens. Serif fonts, like "Times" and "Georgia," are great for print media. However, sans serif fonts, like "Verdana" and "Arial" are much more readable on a screen. Conversely, when you are creating a bold headline it is the opposite for both. How bizarre is that? And, the leading, which is the space between the letters of a word, has to be increased for screen print. And there's more, so much more, but I am just learning myself and don't want to get carried away here when I still have so much to learn. But I think it is easy to see why a good understanding of type and fonts is crucial to the creation of any good web design that incorporates any kind of type.
     I feel so lucky to be on this road to web design. My husband has been so supportive along with my parents and my friends. Sometimes I feel like I could just burst apart at the seams, I am so full of joyfulness and thanks. Oh, it is so good to be alive!

This is our textbook for the class, but anyone interested in typography would enjoy this and should have it as a reference tool.

"Potential" Digital ATC

2011-01-18T00:10:00.000-05:00

Potential ATC 2011

     The day started with a bit of anxious insomnia, but that was to be expected. I was still up and raring to go at 7:15 a.m. I left early to get my books, and holy moly, my C#, aka C sharp, book is the size of a metropolitan area phone book! Only slightly intimidating...and of course it was full price being new, as were all my books, sheesh, no breaks this year. I meant to order them all on Amazon, but ran out of time. Live and learn, again.
     It was nice to have just one class today, especially considering that it was my C# class. The instructor is very knowledgeable and has a great syllabus along with a solid timeline for the class. I enjoyed it, even though I am so taken aback with the size of the text. Overall though, I think this is going to be a great class, learning to write programs in C#, using Microsoft Visual Studio. I'll keep you posted...
     I actually had time to create an ATC tonight. Using Photoshop, I built it in layers, using several brushes along the way. I made my virtual stitches blurry somehow, so I will have to go back in and figure out what I did and undo it. Troubleshooting is a good thing though, I need lots of experience.
     Can't wait for my new classes tomorrow, so exciting!

Last Day of Winter Break

2011-01-16T16:32:00.001-05:00

     Well, it has been basically a month since the fall semester ended, the spring semester starts up tomorrow. I enjoyed my break immensely. There was lots of quality family time, visiting and catching up with friends, "doing" the Christmas and New Year's holidays, creating art, cooking, reading, organizing, cleaning and keeping my blog updated often. I felt all the tension leave my shoulders and upper back shortly after Christmas, when I really had no serious commitments left or due dates looming. But as I sit here typing, taking a break from one last home project that must be finished today, I feel those butterflies returning to my stomach. I don't carry them around all the time, just in the beginning, before I've gotten the syllabuses and heard what the instructors will be requiring for my new classes.
     I actually did very well last semester, grade-wise, I got a 4.0, and made the part time Dean's list for a third semester, though I can say I've never gotten a 4.0 before, at least not since high school. Even my college career at CMU never included a 4.0 semester. But I worked very hard for those grades, made a lot of sacrifices because I wanted to understand the materials, programs and concepts well enough to show someone else, which I have always believed to be the true measure of "learning," the ability to teach it to someone else. Dreamweaver is the only problem. I got a 4.0, but learned hardly anything that I did not teach myself in that "Web Design I" class. What a mess it was, I'm still lamenting over the money and time I wasted by taking that class. I did complain, but there was nothing that could be done. I bought a Dreamweaver CS4, "Classroom in a Book," publication and had planned to go through it over the break and teach myself. However, I found that I needed serious down time. I needed to recharge and reconnect with family and friends more than anything else. So now I will take my Dreamweaver book with me to class, and in between classes, I will go chapter by chapter and teach myself Dreamweaver this semester, bit by bit.
     I believe that if you want something badly enough, you have to just go get it and not let a bad experience keep you from achieving your goals. In the past, I would have felt like I was the problem, incapable of learning the complexities of the program, but luckily, with the passing of the years, has come real wisdom and insight. I can actually see where the real problem is, assess my own abilities and limitations and rework my plan to get what I need. Sadly, I watched many of my classmates, most of them just out of high school, struggle and eventually give up on that class. I showed anyone who asked or who I sat near, whatever I could to help them, but there was so much we didn't learn, it was frustrating for everyone. But as I've said before, I'm on a mission. I want this more than I've wanted anything for a very long time. I want to work as a web developer, comfortable with the coding side and design side, for the rest of my life, as a career, as a way to make a living. So I'm dedicated to this mission, extremely focused and will not be deterred by any obstacles, whether they are external or of my own making. I have to add that I am so passionate about this area, I have loved everything I have learned to date and cannot wait to learn the rest! Bring it, BRING IT!!!!

Under the (Winter) Weather and 2D Design Portfolio part IV

2011-01-15T13:42:00.001-05:00

Winter from my front window.

I took this winter photo a few weeks ago. We had a winter storm and it left our streets completely buried, no sign of the road at all! We were snuggled up inside with our fireplace on "high," eating comfort foods and watching movies. I love cocooning every so often, but once we are halfway through January, I'm ready to start getting out more and staying in less. But here in northern Michigan, that is really not an option, lol, the weather is what it is. But it sure does bring my family closer together.
Speaking of the weather, I am under it today. Started with a scratchy sore throat and is evolving into a scratchy throat with cough, sheesh. I really don't have time for this. I'm whining to be sure. My last weekend before school starts and "bam!" Of course, being under the weather also means I have to alter my plans to clean and organize my room. Instead, I can pull out my visual journal supplies and create! So maybe I'm supposed to be making more time for creating instead of cleaning, right? At least that is what I am choosing to get out of this whole being sick situation.

Analogous color collage

Back to my 2D Design portfolio. This is another color collage exercise, this time using analogous colors from the color wheel. Red, red violet and violet. Once it was finished though, all I could think of was the Red Hat Society, not at all what I was going for, to say the least. Nothing against the RHS, but those colors have become so iconic, one they are together, that is all I can think about. A good lesson though. Again, I used my visual journal supplies and techniques to create this piece. It is actually 3 dimensional, with some raised birthday candle letters. There was a purple plastic frog on it too (yeah, I know, kooky), but it fell off, obviously something that really didn't belong. I am really going to miss not having this type of class this semester. So nice to break up the textbook learning and computer programs with hands on art. Maybe next fall I'll have another art class.

2D Design Portfolio, part III

2011-01-15T02:52:00.001-05:00

Split Complimentary Color Collage

When we moved into the color portion of 2D Design, I had a blast with the collages we had to create. This is the first one, which is an exercise using split complimentary colors, textures and movement. My good camera would not pick up the correct "blue green" color, so I had to adjust it in Photoshop to show the most accurate color. I'm still not happy, so I obviously have more to learn with Photoshop, since you can do everything with that program! We were allowed to use any mediums in any combination to create these collages, so I used my visual journal supplies.This was my instructor's favorite piece and probably mine as well. I hope to adjust the color and repost this at a later date. I'll post another piece or two tomorrow from the color portfolio.
And we have winter back in full force here, lots of snow falling and more on the way all week. It is beautiful, but honestly, I've had enough already. Wonder if Calgon still takes you away?

2D Design Portfolio, part II

2011-01-13T23:33:00.001-05:00

Figure ground exercise

This was one of my favorite exercises, I loved playing with the figure ground concept. Creating an image that can be seen one of two ways, depending on whether you focus on the black or white components. Of course, that is not the technical definition, lol, but that is how I interpreted it. We spent several weeks on figure ground exercises, so I think my instructor likes them too. Within the next day or two, I will post some of the color pieces. Again, I just loved this class and learned so much!
This first image is my first "text" figure ground image. I was focusing on web design and just played around with lettering until I was happy. I hope to use this piece on my website someday, maybe as part of my online portfolio.

Figure Ground Personal Image

This second image is also an exercise in figure ground, but we had to create a personal image. I wanted something that represented web design and could be used on a business card or as a logo on my website. After numerous attempts using a "web," computer screen, spider and text, I finally came up with this one, which I am still very happy with and intend to use in the future as well.
This final black and white piece was an exercise using texture. We had to go around the class room, building, inside and out, and create rubbings with graphite sticks. After we had collected a variety of rubbings, we had to create a still life by cutting them out in several assigned shapes and within a measured format. I am not good at drawing, so this was so much fun for me, more of a montage with the layering of texture and shapes. After we had the shapes rubber cemented down, we had to shade and highlight the whole thing. In case you can't tell, my still life is composed of two bottles, a pumpkin, a pear, an egg, a square block and a mushroom. I would love to do this again someday, collect some great rubbings from around town and then create a still life that represents this area. We'll see, I always want to do everything, but of course, there are not enough hours and days in my lifetime to do everything, sigh.

Texture Rubbing Still Life

Happy Birthday Sophie!

2011-01-13T16:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Sophie!

My youngest turned 11 years old today. She is my millennium baby, born right after the new year in Texas. Bright, energetic, sensitive, creative and affectionate, she is a bringer of joy. I watched "Toy Story 3," last night for the first time and sobbed uncontrollably at the end. My kids thought I was over reacting, even though I almost always cry at movies. But this was different. The movie showed the end of an era, the end of Andy's childhood and since these movies began when I had a 5, 3 and 1 year old, it represented the end of their childhoods for me as well. I'm getting all choked up just thinking about it again. Not sappy, just the heavy thud of reality. Heartstrings tightening up in response to a particular loss of sweetness that can never be recovered. I miss those days, when they were young, innocent, full of open affection and curiosity. My birthday girl was not around for the first movie, and I long to keep her in that "baby" mode at times, but I don't want to keep her from developing into a healthy teenager, so I have to let go, be less mothery at times, and just hang onto all my sweet memories. I know everyone tells you that it is going to fly by so fast, but while you are living it, you don't pay attention to the time, you can't, or you will forever fret that you are not doing enough, being enough, spending enough time, all of that. We do our best, we enjoy as many moments as possible and make a million little memories. Thank goodness for cameras and recorders. So Happy Birthday Sophie, my tween-ager extraordinaire, you are so loved and wished a wonderful life full of love, learning, art, adventure and kindness! Someone pass me the tissues...

2D Design Portfolio, part I

2011-01-12T22:25:00.004-05:00

Irregular width straight lines

Part of my 2D Design class last semester involved creating a portfolio with all our assignments. I will add a few of the pieces with each blog post for the next several days, since I don't want to overload anyone. The class was taught using the "Bauhaus" method, which apparently is a old and well respected way to teach 2D Design. We started with simple dots, then straight lines of the same width and kept expanding from there. I am not going to show the very early pieces, they are nothing special. But some of my later pieces I really enjoyed and received good feedback from my instructor. I learned so much in this class, I would recommend a "Bauhaus" method 2D Design class to anyone interested in design, no matter the medium. I absolutely loved this class and was very fortunate to have an excellent instructor.

Irregular curved lines and straignt lines

I struggled to learn to use the exacto knife properly in the beginning, but eventually got the hang of it, only cutting myself once, and just a little nick. I am not a photographer and I struggled to take good photos of my work, but some of the images came out "crooked," even though the actual pieces are very straight with even borders. We were graded on craftsmanship, so I did work very hard to make sure everything was straight, even and clean. I have always been a "messy" artist, so the effort it took to create "clean" work was nothing short of super human for me, lol, but I have to admit, I learned how to create clean work and how to use a metal ruler to my advantage. I'd never spent a lot of time with a ruler until I took this class, what a revelation! So now I love my metal ruler and exacto knife and plan to use them whenever I need to create straight lines and cuts, beats a pair of scissors any day!

5 assigned shapes, overlapping allowed, seen as a cutout

Tomorrow I have three more black and white images from my portfolio to share and then I'll move onto some of the color images I created. I am only selecting the most interesting pieces, and again, I am a beginner, beginner, beginner! I can make glass beads, jewelry, visual journal pages and I can cook. However, before I took this class, I could not draw a straight line or create any images with paper, ruler and exacto knife, not to save my life. Seriously. Ask my mom.

Blueberry Muffins, Take Two and My Big Fat Greek Feast

2011-01-11T00:52:00.002-05:00

I had a ball cooking today. Started with an attempt to make the blueberry muffins from "Bubby's Brunch Cookbook," following the directions correctly this time, and they turned out great! With frozen blueberries, though, they have to go at least another 5 minutes in the oven. They have the lightest crumb, taste more like blueberry cupcakes than blueberry muffins. The recipe also makes 24, not 16 muffins, which is a bonus. An old friend of mine from elementary school sent me an autographed copy of this cookbook for Christmas and it is wonderful. I'm hoping to actually cook my way through this one since I love brunch but don't have much of a brunch repetoire. Tomorrow, I am making blueberry scones. They call for 2 cups of cream, so they should be amazing! I love a good scone, with a lovely cup of tea and a good book, a little bit of bliss in the afternoon.

My Big Fat Greek Feast!

But after I made the muffins today, I started working on the my big fat Greek feast! I used three recipes from my favorite Greek cookbook to date, Jeff Smith's, "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks three Ancient Cuisines." Souvlaki (shish kebab), stuffed grape leaves (dolmas) and Greek tomato sauce are the three recipes I used from this book. I also made hummus, but I make it pretty often and wing it these days. But I do add a couple extra ingredients, a little tamari, cumin and paprika. The rice was just a simple white rice with olive oil and butter. The lovely pita bread came from the local food co-op, Oryana, it is the most authentic in town and I love it. We had company, so I made extra and I think my whole family was happy. Although it was hard for me to see my almost 11 year old "unwrap" the stuffed grape leaves after all the work my oldest daughter and I put into making them, lol. Oh well, at least she ate the filling. I had so much fun making this dinner, but it did require the washing of two loads of dishes (and we don't have a dishwasher), lol, I think I used every pot and dish in the kitchen. But it was worth it. Cooking is one of my favorite creative outlets. Although I do use recipes for many things, I am not above making changes when I have to or when I think something might be better with the addition of a certain spice, condiment or other ingredient. I love to feed people too. My family is the most convenient, but I also love to feed my friends whenever I get the chance. It brings me joy. I know when school starts up again next week, I won't have this kind of time for cooking, but I will have time to work on my journal, make beads and jewelry, so I'm just wallowing in the cooking medium right now, loving every minute and making messes all over the place!

Drive by posting

2011-01-10T11:11:00.002-05:00

My friend Andrea posted this on facebook this morning, and I love it! One of those things that inspires and can help give us a new place to start. Dream big, live with intention, don't waste time on negative thoughts, deeds or things you cannot change. Squeeze every drop out of your life and do what you love as often as you can. Be kind, be generous, be honest. Never stop learning, teaching and noticing details. Love and forgive yourself. Don't do guilt. Welcome change. Learn from your mistakes but don't live in the past. Celebrate something everyday. Find joy and spread joy. Make time for you and art everyday, even just 5 minutes. Loving all the while you are living.

Purple Lotus Art: Giveaway!!

2011-01-09T14:54:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to a fun giveaway if you'd like to visit her blog. I love to win things, don't we all? Feeling lucky?
Purple Lotus Art: Giveaway!!

Fresh Eggs and Cooking

2011-01-09T14:00:00.003-05:00

Fresh Eggs from 9 Bean Rows

Yesterday morning found me at 9 Bean Rows bakery. I bought a loaf of our favorite bread, Fennel and Sea Salt, a couple of fabulous croissants, a baguette and for the first time, since I had not seen them before, a dozen of their farm fresh eggs. They were lovely in shades of cream, brown and one blue green Araucana. My cell phone camera, once again, failed to capture the beautiful blue green of the Araucana egg, but you can still tell which one it is. All the way home, I thought about what I would make with those gorgeous eggs. Egg Foo Yung for dinner, fresh scrambled eggs for breakfast the next day and then what? I knew I would have three or four eggs left after breakfast today, and wanted to have a plan, since I wanted to prepare all the eggs within 48 hours.

Rice Pudding

After perusing cookbooks and asking for suggestions on facebook, I narrowed it down to three things. Vanilla custard, flan or rice pudding. The rice pudding won out. My sweet hubby had mentioned a hankering for it a few days ago, and as a welcome home treat, I decided it was just what the doctor ordered! The recipe is from a family cookbook my in-laws published just for the family one year, as Christmas gifts. It has lots of family recipes, many of them German, which I just love. Also, there are some family stories connected to some of the recipes, which makes it a fun read too.
So now all the eggs are gone. They were a wonderful find on a cold morning, my treasure of the day, but I had a great time cooking them and eating them up, and my kids did too. I am hoping my hubby will love the rice pudding and then those eggs will have contributed to the happiness of five people. Five very lucky people...

Sunshine and Snow

2011-01-08T20:59:00.000-05:00


Sun shining through snowfall

I am not a fan of winter. I don't like to be cold or cold and wet, or chilled or being wrapped up in multiple layers in order to keep warm. That said, I do love the look of winter, especially when there is sunshine involved. This morning, I had to take my son into town and as soon as I stepped out of my front door, this was the image that greeted me. I took a picture with my cell phone camera, but it doesn't quite capture the snow that was falling, which made the whole scene very magical. Sometimes beauty can distract me from discomfort, isn't that wonderful? It was 1 degree outside, 1 degree, a single lonely digit. But the sunshine made the snow glitter and shimmer and it was ok, better than ok. It was the beginning of a lovely day.

End of the Season

2011-01-07T13:19:00.000-05:00

Holidays 2010 Survival Badge

The Epiphany has passed and for me, so has the Christmas and New Year holiday season. The spirit remains, but all the decorations need to be put away, the radio is back to pop and oldies from the 70's and 80's, as well as NPR, my very favorite station. And although my new badge says, "I survived the holidays 2010," I enjoyed every minute. I love family time, cooking, visiting friends, decorating and remembering what the holiday is all about. The Reverend at our church gave a wonderful sermon on last Sunday. The part that stood out the most was to envision myself with a "team Christ" shirt on at all times. Although he didn't put it quite that way, you get the picture. Would it change the way you live your life if everyone could see that on your person? Would you be kinder, more forgiving, more pleasant, more honest...all those things that you feel are Christ like characteristics? I'd like to think I would be, but recently had it challenged. While visiting a friend, the conversation moved to less kind words about a mutual acquaintance that had burned many bridges over the last few years. And although I wanted to be kind and forgiving, it was very difficult. How do you forgive another person's lack of kindness? And then how do you tell your friends that you are over it without making them feel that you are preaching? They may not be ready to move on yet and still need to vent to a friend. I know there has to be a healthy balance, but I think it will take me a long time to really find it, but I am intent on finding it. And I respect everyone's religious and spiritual beliefs. Or lack of, for that matter. No judging, no bible thumping, no preaching. We all have our own journeys and adventures in this life.
What do I see on the horizon lately? School starts again soon, Valentine's Day is around the corner. I want to make a few Valentine's Day cards before school starts, since I may not have the time once my classes are all under way. So I'll be collecting some fun images to play with and hopefully, I'll have a couple cards finished by next weekend. I am also being pulled by my torch and know that I have to spark my torch up this weekend, no matter what! Glass needs to be melted and beads need to be made!!! And then there is my kitchen. Enchiladas want to be made today, so I think that is what we will have for dinner. Either that or a caprese salad type pizza. I know, so completely different, but what can I say, the taste buds want what they want. More snow here as well, hoping to spend the weekend all snuggled up at home, creating, creating, creating...!

Christmas, New Year and Cooking

2011-01-05T12:35:00.000-05:00

Christmas Trees Christmas Card 2010

This is is the second Christmas card I made this year, which I said I would post at a later date. Again, created with visual journal techniques. The Santa card is my favorite, but my husband liked this one too, so we sent both styles out this year. I really love the freedom of creating these types of images using so many layers and mediums until I'm happy. It is pure play, and I'm so joyful when I have all my art supplies out and can just create with intuition, doing whatever makes me happy in that moment, I highly recommend it.
Moving onto the new year. I made a list of resolutions in my last post, but later realized I left one out that I have to include. So resolution #14 is to have three meatless dinners a week. My intention is not to eventually become a vegetarian, I am a professed meat lover. However, considering the latest research about red meat (which is my favorite kind of meat), which is less than favorable, and considering that I don't think I get enough veggies in my weekly diet, I want to try this idea out and see what happens. Will I feel better? Lose weight? Save money? Lower my cholesterol? Thrill my family? Try new veggies? Create new recipes? Turn into a vegetable? Who knows, but I can't help feeling that this is a good thing, so on the list it goes! I'll keep you posted. And by meatless, I mean nothing with a face, no fish, no fowl no animals.

"Sorta-Bubby's" blueberry muffins

And now for my baking fiasco. I made muffins. Blueberry muffins. All wrong. I got this wonderful new cookbook from my friend Jo in New York, "Bubby's Brunch Cookbook." It has a wonderful blueberry muffin recipe that I couldn't wait to try. Soooo, a couple nights ago, I woke up at 4:30 a.m., which I rarely do, and decided to whip up some muffins and surprise my kids at breakfast. I gathered the ingredients, preheated the oven, and began. I decided that the muffins would be better if I used my new demerara sugar instead of the white granulated sugar the recipe called for. Sigh, first mistake. Since I had to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy first, I realized almost immediately my mistake, but too late. The demerara sugar is much coarser than the white sugar and would not completely dissolve and create that light and fluffy mix, and I beat it f-o-r-e-v-e-r! Oh well, I thought, just add the rest of the ingredients and pray that they are still edible. So I finished up and as I was scooping the thick batter into the muffin tin liners, I thought, "this batter is really thick, too thick." I finished filling the tin with batter and placed it into the oven. Then I sat down with the book and reread the recipe. It called for 12 Tbls of butter, which I believe is = 1 stick of butter, at 4:30 a.m. At 5:15 a.m., 12 Tbls is = 1 1/2 sticks of butter, because that is when my brain is fully engaged! And I still had another batch to bake, lol, and since the blueberries were already folded in, there was no way to add more butter, oil or anything. The muffins did turn out well enough. Out of the 24 I made yesterday morning, there are none left this morning, a good sign. But I now know that I should not be near an oven before 5:30 or 6 a.m. So, what I made were "sorta-Bubby's" blueberry muffins, and they were "sorta" good.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T13:44:00.000-05:00

Me and my hubby New Year's Eve 2010/2011

     I love a new year. A mental chance to begin again, to start over or to start or begin something new altogether. Last year found me starting college, again. This time, in pursuit of a new career in Web Design. I have loved being back in school and the new path I've chosen. It has felt like a rebirth at many times. New passions, new experiences, intensity and focus, purpose and dedication. Although there have been some struggles with certain instructors and limited amounts of time for studying and projects, I have relished the whole year and I am excited to start my new semester in two weeks.
   Last year, my daughter graduated from high school, and I was so proud to see her graduation ceremony. She also started college with me and has done well and "likes" it so far. My oldest son got married just before Christmas last year, so he just celebrated his first anniversary in Texas. He also graduated from his initial Navy schooling program and then called us a few weeks ago with news of impending parenthood! I'm going to be a grandmother next summer, holy moly! How much fun will that be? I have always loved babies and children, so it will be fun to spoil my son's baby. My other son was in Oklahoma this year and played the bad guy, "Jud Fry." So different from his natural personality, but he did a wonderful job, so proud of him too. My youngest took up the oboe and loves it. She is getting it quickly and enjoys her lessons and practicing, which just blows me away, since the other three have had lessons for various instruments over the years and I always had to "push" them to practice. My husband's business is going well, new accounts and new employees this past year, all good. So overall, although it would be nice to be a little more set financially (which I say every year), it has been a wonderful year.
     So what are my resolutions, hopes and dreams for 2011? It is kind of like making the 44 things I want to do before I turned 45 post last year. How about 12 things (one for each month) I want to achieve, do, see before 2012? That sounds good to me...and away we go!

1.)   Create a bedroom retreat.
       *Involves purging, organizing, painting and decorating.
2.)   Take a yoga class.
       *I bought a pair of yoga pants this week...now to find a class and make the commitment.
3.)   Clear out and organize my basement.
       *I have seen "Hoarders" and do not want to ever be mistaken for one and also want to "take back" my basement! This is a small house and every square inch is too precious to waste.
4.)   Create and publish my own personal "art" website.
       *http://www.queenoftides.com...coming soon!
5.)   Create 10 websites for other people.
       *Mostly friends and family right now. But 2012 will be wide open!
6.)   Write 1 app for my cell phone or other small device.
       *Just something simple so I can get my toe dipped into that crazy pool.
7.)   Go to church every week we are in town, healthy and able.
       *I love Grace Episcopal church and feel so wonderful every time I attend. The sermons make me cry and make me want to be a better person. The best gift I could give myself on this list.
8.)   Read non-college required books, at least 5, preferably 25.
       *I have a stack of books I have been wanting to read over the last year and barely made a dent. So hard to spend all day with textbooks reading and trying to understand things and then to read for pleasure after, which I love to do. But I borrowed my one of my husband's new Christmas gifts and started reading this week, "The Last Lecture," and it is wonderful!
9.)   Use my pasta machine.
       *I love fresh pasta, but the local market that used to make and sell it no longer does this. Sooo, I bought a pasta machine two years ago and it is still in the box. I have to open it up and make some, I just have to!
10.) Use my tortilla press (probably going to do that today!!!)
       *I had some homemade "style" corn tortillas from Meijers, our local grocery store, and they are out of this world! So I bought a press this fall and took it out of the box this week, I'm almost there!
11.) Work with my visual journal supplies at least twice a week.
        *I love playing with all the art supplies I have for visual journaling. My Christmas cards were created with the same technique and I feel so great after finishing a piece. I have to make time for this particular art in my life, no excuses!
12.) Exercise in some way, shape or form for a total of 20 minutes everyday.
       *Ok, this is a "should" that should be a "need" and a "want," but to be honest, I don't make it a priority. But I'm not getting any younger, I do have aches and pains that I couldn't imagine having 20 years ago. By putting it on the list, I am making a commitment to move this into the "need" and "want" part of my life.
13.) Ok, one more that I just have to add: Get on my torch and make some beads!
       *Although web design in my main focus, visual journal at the forefront of my creative mind lately, I do love melting glass and creating beads. But I do have make the time if I don't want to lose all my skills. Beadmaking does require practice or you lose the fine motor skills you develop over time. It is what it is.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T17:40:00.001-05:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and new year full of art, joy, peace, love and good health! This was one of two Christmas cards I created this year using visual journal techniques. Water colors, neo-color II artist crayons, sharpies, gel pens and Pitt markers. The lettering took forever to get just the way I wanted it to look, but it was all a labor of love. I'll post the other card later this week. Cheers to you all!

At last...

2010-11-19T09:31:00.007-05:00

So things have been insane for me since I started back to school for my second semester in September, which is evident by my lack of time or energy to post on my blog.But yesterday, I turned a corner. Why? How? Well I'll explain. My web developer classes have been kicking my booty all semester, very challenging and time consuming to say the least. On top of that, I was worried that, although I have dreamed about becoming a web designer for ten years, once I took the classes I would find that either 1.) I am not intelligent enough to understand the material, or 2.) I would get the material but find that I didn't "like" it after all. Until yesterday, those two fears were still lingering in the back of my mind.
    The day started off normally enough. My first class at 8 a.m.(I am not a morning person for those of you who do not know me personally, so this is a rough start to any day for me!) is Web Design I, where I am learning how to use Adobe's Dreamweaver CS5 program to create and publish web sites. Up till now, I have been very disappointed with this class. The instructor is not familiar enough with the current version of this program and we have not had enough hands on time to really get immersed and get comfortable with it. However, yesterday, she shifted gears and gave us our final project (actually, our only project), which was to come up with ideas for a web site and to create a simple sketch of each idea. Then, as I thought about what I would like to do and then sketched my four different ideas, I went back over them to figure out what my limitations would be in executing each idea. And as I visualized what it would take to turn my sketches into web pages, I realized that I could execute all of them, that I knew enough to actually bring those designs to life in the way I imagined them! I actually know enough now to be quite dangerous!!! It was a wonderful epiphany. But it gets better...
     My next class is right after at 10:15 a.m., Introduction to Computer Programming Logic and Design. In this class, we are learning about programming logic and design using a program called Alice, which eliminates the syntax issues involved in actual programming, to help us learn the basics of writing good code. As the instructor was going over the solution to the homework we turned in, I realized that the solution he was showing had many more lines of code in it than what I had turned in, even though my program worked just fine. Then he said there was another solution to the problem and showed us that piece of code, but again, this one had several more lines of code than my solution, which had only one line of code. I was really feeling bummed out that I had not "gotten" this solution. But then, he said there was one more way to write the code to solve the problem, "probably the best way," is a direct quote, and then he wrote out what I had come up with on my homework!!! I could have flown to the moon and back! I'm getting it, I'm getting it, I'M GETTING IT!!!! That is all that kept running through my head, lol, and this feeling of relief and joy. Relief because I am getting it, and joy because I love it! Champagne all around...but wait, there's more...
     My last class of the day is at 5:30 p.m. and honestly, it is the most difficult. It is Interactive Animation, where we have been learning to use Flash CS5, Fireworks CS5, Soundcut Pro and lately, a little bit of Java with the action scripting 2.0 portion of Flash. There is soooo much homework in this class, a quiz every week that requires a re-creation of some sort of animation, exercises thrown in here and there, that also require creation of some animation, and then we have a big project always looming, since the beginning, each of which takes hours upon hours to complete. The instructor lectures almost from start to finish for two straight hours and crams so much information into that two hours, that I always feel like my brain has been used for "kick the can" by the end of the night. Sometimes, after this class, I go visit my friend Julie to unwind, and she can verify that I have been basically incoherent after class at times. But I digress. During last night's class, the instructor was showing us how to add action scripting to buttons to make them do certain things. At one point however, she ran into a problem and had to come up with a solution on the fly. Her solution involved creating a second button layer in the timeline, which is really not something you want to do. In my head, I thought I had a better idea and while she gave us a break so she could create a solution, I created my own solution and not only did it work, but I did not have to create a second button layer. Talk about icing on the cake, with sprinkles and even a cherry on top. My brain is connecting the dots. I understand most of what my instructors are talking about and if not, know I can figure it out between my textbooks and online resources. My questions are about things two steps ahead and based on combining what I have learned in all three of these classes. And I love, love, love it all! What a day...I'll be riding this wave for a very, very long time. Christmas? Nothing for me Santa, I'm good!

Baseball and Fireworks

2010-09-06T00:10:00.002-04:00

Me and Hubby at the Ballgame

We went to the last regular game of the Traverse City Beach Bums baseball season tonight. What a blast! Baseball is my favorite spectator sport, I just love sitting in bleachers or other seats and taking it all in. The weather tonight was perfect, cool, sweatshirt type stuff. We took the kids, including the two teens who wanted nothing to do with the game last week, and they had a great time too. The ball park was packed to the gills. Lots of families, and they made an announcement at the end of the game, which we won, that an attendance record was broken tonight, how cool is that? Over 8,000 fans were there. The Beach Bums also made it into the playoffs for the first time ever, so there will be a couple extra home games next weekend and we hope we can get tickets. After the game, they let all the kids ages 5-12 run the bases, which took about an hour because every kid wanted to get on the field and do it. After that, it was dark and they had a spectacular fireworks show, really wonderful. They normally have fireworks after every Friday night home game, but since this was the last game of the regular season, they had one. It was so much fun cheering with the crowd, watching my kids enjoy themselves and watching the game too. My hubby and I took a picture together, in our shades. You can see what a good time we were having. It was really a perfect end of summer evening with my family. It was good to take a break from my school work and play, I needed it more than I thought! Life is good.

Homework and the Oboe

2010-09-04T22:44:00.002-04:00

My brain this week...

Well, school is kicking my booty. The classes are challenging, which I like, but there is so much homework, I'm pooped! I am wondering if the homework is taking me longer because of my age or because I am being so thorough? I don't know and I'm too tired to let my brain wander around trying to figure it out. The important thing is that I am doing the homework and "getting" the materials. I love my classes for the most part, but I am feeling a little overwhelmed, hoping I did not bite off more than I can chew this semester. But if I want to finish this program in a year and a half, I have to have these four classes now, since next semester's classes build on top of these classes. It is what it is. Although I have already spent over 25 hours doing homework this week, I still have at least another 10 hours of homework to finish before the holiday weekend is over. Yup. I have to create an animation based on an old invention, all by hand, and then I have to work on the Flash animation that is due the following Tuesday. Wheee, right?

My youngest daughter got her rental oboe this week. She tried it out at school last year, before the end of the year, and really loved it. So she is joining the band this year as the only oboe player. I have to say it is a lot more expensive to rent an oboe than a flute, like twice as much. But I think music is very important and have made sure that all the kids had an opportunity to learn an instrument at some point in their lives. I never played any wind instruments so I have no idea how to put it together, clean it or play it. All I can do is be encouraging, remind her to practice and pay the rental fee each month. I hope she stays with it. I like the oboe. Ever since I first watched the lovely movie, "Enchanted April," years and years ago, and heard the oboe solo from Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1, I have enjoyed the haunting sound. And she is thrilled, already practicing the three notes she learned on Thursday, as well as trying to see what other sounds she can make with it. She is so passionate about it, full of excitement and dedication, I hope it lasts forever. And if you haven't seen "Enchanted April," I highly recommend it, a wonderfully charming movie with beautiful cinematography, music and a lovely story. The acting is excellent too, with Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, Alfred Molina and others, a terrific cast. It is one of my top five favorite movies of all time.
So I guess today's post is about learning new things, education and passion. What do you want to learn to do? No matter what it is, go for it, make the time, jump in with both feet and let yourself go. And if you can't do it now, start visualizing it. Imagine yourself taking the class or classes. Imagine yourself loving it and waking up each day with energy and motivation to learn. Really, let your imagination run wild with the visualization everyday and before you know it, you'll be doing it for real. It works for me...

Bad News

2010-09-02T01:44:00.000-04:00

I am so bummed. Just found out that my Blissful ATC Swap partner for the August "Orange" swap got her envelope from me and it was already torn open with the ATC removed!!! What an awful surprise for both of us. Now I have to figure out what kind of lesson I'm supposed to get out of this incident...after I get over my sadness and anger, of course. Sheesh, why, oh, why? Well as I posted on my partners blog, I sure hope whoever stole it loves art and the color orange! Glad I took a photo before I sent it off...at least I have a record of it...big sigh...

Back to School

2010-09-02T01:15:00.003-04:00

Wild Woman Sketch

Classes started on Monday. Got my books, schedule and supplies ahead of time, for the most part, and headed back to school. I'm in the Web Developer program at the local community college, trying to juggle classes, homework, parenthood and marriage without breaking anything. I love school, I always have. I never tire of learning new things and you know what is really wonderful about being in my mid forties and being in school? I have discipline now. The ability to get to an 8 a.m. class on time and prepared. The motivation to make time to do my homework, all of it, and turn it in on time. Even the parts of the courses I don't love, I'm putting my all into them. I wish I had felt this way when I did college the first time around. But being 18, 19, 20 and 21, I wanted to have fun and get my college degree. The classes I didn't like so much, I blew off or dropped. But I was also full of indecision. I was overwhelmed by all the choices, like one of those buffets I've heard about on cruise ships. I changed my major at least four times before I finally decided on IPC, Interpersonal and Public Communications. And regretably, I have to say that IPC is a fabulous minor but not such a good choice for a major. But I'm not going to go there right now, let's just let sleeping dogs lie, eh?
Let's talk about my classes, I love them! I have 2-D art, Web Animation, Web Design I and Programming and Logic. When I pack up my books for my long day on campus, it must weigh twenty pounds! Well, after you add the weight of my laptop and purse, it must be close to that. All I know is that I am getting a workout hauling my crapola around campus. Hope I don't pull anything just shoving it all into the car. I wish I had a locker there somewhere, it would make my life a lot easier. I'm thinking I need to downsize on the purse part, I could probably knock off three pounds just by purging that baby alone. I don't really need anything except my license, CC and lipstick, right? Yup, that is my next move. Of course, I could also start going to the gym again, lift weights and build some muscle, that would really be the smart thing to do...

Orange ATC Swap Part ll, End of Summer and School

2010-08-30T09:27:00.000-04:00

     This is the ATC I sent for the Orange challenge this month. I created it using all the visual journal techniques I learned in Teesha Moore's class in July. Lots of layering of paint, collage, artist crayons, markers and gel pens. I had a ball making it too. As I said earlier, I was not a big fan of orange when I was younger, which is an understatement. But I love it now and love working with it in jewelry, beads, visual journal and now ATCs.
     Summer has been flying by, but I feel that way every year in August. It actually came early this year, started at the end of April, which is normally unheard of in these northern Michigan parts. I'm grateful for it, the winters are hard on me. I don't have arthritis or other physical health issues, but mentally, I seem to get somewhat depressed. And this is in direct correlation to the length of the winter season and lack of sunlight. Some years are worse than others. I've got my fingers crossed though. I'll be in school this winter, like last winter and that made a huge difference.
     And speaking of school, classes start today, I'm soooo excited, feel like an 18 years old college student again instead of a 44 year old. I always loved school and learning, that hasn't changed a bit. Today, I have and art class, "2D Design." Got the required art supplies, parking permit, bottled water and even a snack bar. I'm prepared and spinning like a top, mentally. So more about today later, time to hit the road and get my education on!

Orange ATC Swap

2010-08-18T10:34:00.000-04:00

I received my ATC from the Blissful ATC Swap two days ago, but haven't had a chance to take a photo till yesterday. My swap partner this month went all out! First I opened the envelop and there was a gorgeous handmade card with lots of layers and stamped sunflowers, so cool! Then I opened the card and inside there was another lovely handmade "tag," with ribbon, rhinestones and machine stitching with a pocket that was holding the ATC. And then I pulled the ATC out and it was just beautiful, as you can see. "Orange Dream" is the title and I just love it! Thank you so much Linda R.!!! She wrote that this was her first ATC, if you can believe it, I can't, it is just perfect. I've only made two, so she got my second ATC ever...so fun to be trading with others that are new to ATCs like me. I photographed each component of what Linda sent me so you can see how fun it was to find so many treasures in one envelop!

I will post a photo of the ATC I created for Linda after she posts it on her blog, which is in keeping with the rules of the Blissful ATC Swap. Orange use to be one of my least favorite colors, but as I've grown older, I find myself drawn to orange and using it often. Orange brings out so many other colors, like purple, blue, green and yellow. I love to mix it with pink and red too. Having once avoided orange like the plague, I now find that I can't live without it. My favorite color is still white, followed closely by turquoise, but orange is in my top five now. Melon, pumpkin,

mango, carrot, peach, squash, sunset... there are so many shades and tones of orange, what's not to love? Of course, I don't wear orange very often, hard to find orange clothing in the right shade and style for some reason that doesn't look "Halloween." I should also mention that although the tag with the pocket that Linda sent me looks rather pink in the photos, it is actually a lovely shade of peach and orange, don't know why it photographed so pink. I'll play around with it in Photoshop and see if I

can improve the color without wrecking the other pieces.
If you are interested in joining in the swap, there is a link in my sidebar, check it out, they are welcoming everyone to participate, isn't that cool? So do something with orange today, play around and see if it doesn't make your favorite color "pop!"

Drive by posting...

2010-08-13T22:23:00.001-04:00

The "pods" in the "hive."

I just discovered Shape The Hive," an online experiment in collaborative art. You can upload a photo or take a quick web cam video so that your image moves. It is hard to explain, so if you are remotely interested in participating in this incredible experiment, check it out! I should warn you, you have a limited amount of participation, like five I think. So don't start getting the hang of it on your sixth submission, like yours truly, lol. Fun to browse through all the other submissions too. Have fun!

Foodie Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T13:30:00.004-04:00

Bacon at last!

     It had to happen sooner or later. Foodie Friday had to land on a Friday the 13th. Yup, that's today. I'm not superstitious by nature, not sure why, but I'm not. And then there is the fact that my first child was born on a Friday the 13th, being delivered by Dr. Damien, no joke, lol. And, it was a full moon. He's a good kid, loving, gifted and handsome without any strange birthmarks or issues with entering churches. Did I mention he loves to cook! Ok, now that we have that out of the way, let's move onto the foodie part of this post.
     As you can see, I finally got to have some bacon. After two months without it, I ate all four crispy, smoky, salty and savory slices this morning. My hubby and I went out to breakfast at the Green House Cafe. I ordered two poached eggs, hash browns, bacon, toasted English muffin and decaf coffee. I didn't finish even half the hash browns and only had one slice of my muffin, but I did polish off the rest. The bacon was heaven, and my food soul did a big happy dance as I savored each crispy bite! However, I don't plan on eating bacon more than once a month now, I believe that my gall bladder issues were a wake up call and I am going to take good care of my temple, only indulging in things like bacon and butter on occasion instead of daily or weekly. This body has to last me a long time since I have a lot of things I want to accomplish with my life. One lifetime isn't enough, so I have to make this one last as long as possible. I'll be eating turkey bacon if I need a fix and Eggbeaters more often than not, which I happen to like.
     So let's talk about great places to check out for breakfast in Traverse City. Green House Cafe and Opa's are great places to get the basics, with good prices. I once got Opa's to make me chili fries with a fried or poached egg on top for breakfast, it was amazing! Of course, I don't know when I'll ever order it again, since it is not in any way, shape or form, a healthy breakfast. Cuppa Joe's Warehouse Lounge is located in the Warehouse District and offers unique breakfast selections. I loved their Low Country Shrimp and Grits, a little spicy but so delicious. I think they took it off the menu though, but they still offer things like Migas(scrambled eggs with tortillas), Creme Brulee Oatmeal(to die for) and a wonderful French toast. They are currently closed for reorganization, just saw the sign today, so not sure when they will be open again and what the new menu will look like, but I hope it is still wonderful. Scott's Harbor Grill is on the bay, so the view is spectacular. They also have a more unique breakfast menu with moderate prices. Fresh food with a view, you can't beat it. Rico's is located between Traverse City and Interlochen. They have potato pancakes with applesauce and sour cream, and I love them. Once in a while the pancakes are a little burned, but they are usually fabulous. I like to go there just for those, but they also have a wonderful

Churro Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche and Whipped Cream

waitress, Carol, who knows how to take care of her customers. More breakfast posts on another Friday because there are more good places to check out and a recipe for Huevos Rancheros I want to share... If you need a foodie blog fix, I love, love, love this blog, And All The Trimmings, it has wonderful photos and recipes, I like to check it out several times each week. Check out the Churro Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche and Whipped Cream. I know they aren't your typical breakfast food, but I subscribe to the Bill Cosby school of breakfast...it has eggs, flour, milk...breakfast.

Mermaids and Insomnia

2010-08-12T12:11:00.003-04:00

Lampwork Glass Mermaid Bead

For some reason, I've had some issues with insomnia the last few days. Instead of lamenting all night long, I try to think about some things that I don't seem to have time or quiet to think about during the day. One particular idea that has been swimming around my brain for several years is a book series about mermaids. I have become a bit obsessed with mermaids over the last several years and think they would make a wonderful basis for a series of books for tweens and teens. I love just thinking about the story lines and backgrounds while laying in bed, letting my mind wander and play with all the possibilities. Of course, the next step is to start writing it down in bits and pieces. I've written some, but need to tackle it again since lately I've come up with lots of new ideas and story lines. Soon, soon...
The bead you see above is one of my own lampwork glass beads. The mermaid is swimming around the outside of the bead, you can see her tail just to the left and she has lovely silvered ivory hair cascading through the water. I created a series of these, this one being my favorite. She was part of a multi-strand necklace. I said was, because after I had the piece professionally photographed, I dropped her and she broke. I dropped her on concrete from about four feet up, that is what happens with glass. She took me about 2 1/2 hours to create, so I was very sad when she broke, but it is a reason to get back on the torch sometime and make another lovely piece. Loren Stump, a teacher I had at one time, said, "it's only glass," and I try to remember that when I lose something I really like. He lost a humongous glass sculpture that dropped at a show, worth thousands of dollars and that is what he told everyone who came by to see what had happened. Keeps it all in perspective.

More Recovery and School

2010-08-11T13:12:00.000-04:00

On Monday I had stomach polyps removed and took a couple days for me to feel like myself again. Today is that day actually. Something about anesthesia, it wipes me out for a couple days instead of just one. My daughters' graduation party was on Saturday and we had perfect weather. It was an 80's themed dance party. All the kids dressed up and she gave out prizes for biggest hair and best costume. My wonderful parents made tamales, beans, rice, tostada and taco shells for the buffet. I helped with the meat for the tacos and made some fruit pizzas for dessert. We had a great time visiting with friends and family and the next day several of my daughter's friends helped to clean up and take down the decorations. I should mention that she had some friends help to decorate before the party as well. Now we are sort of back to normal, although in the summer, we don't really have a "normal." We come and go as we please, no real bedtimes or wake times. I'd love to get out and pick some blueberries this week, maybe on Friday, we'll see if the weather cooperates.
I've registered for all my web design classes at the college and paid up on my tuition, ouch. But I'm fortunate to be paying in state tuition at a community college, otherwise, I could only afford to take one or two classes a semester and it would take me forever to get where I want to be. I have four classes this semester. Intro to web design, which focuses on using Dreamweaver as far as I can tell. I also have an animation class which I assume will focus on using Flash and Fireworks programs. Then there is 2-D design, an art class, which I am excited to be taking and hope I can grasp. Pray for me and the right side of my brain please. Finally, I have Programming and Logic, an introduction to computer programming, another class where I could use some prayers. All in all, it is eleven credits, two more than last semester. I was swamped then, but I worked hard to get the most out of each class and really tried to absorb as much as possible. I want to "own" these new skills and be able to use them when I need them. I wish I'd felt this way when I was in college the first time. Why does it take so long for some of us to mature? I wish I knew. But I'm here now and ready to work my booty off...

Teacup Tuesday

2010-08-03T10:08:00.002-04:00

Pansy Cup and Saucer

Welcome to Teacup Tuesday! This is one of my Pansy teacups. I actually have an entire set of dishes in this pattern that I absolutely adore. I had found several pieces of this USA pattern here and there, but found a huge set with lots of pieces including dinner plates, berry bowls, vegetable bowls, platters in two sizes, a gravy boat, creamer, lidded sugar and of course teacups and saucers. I got lucky since it was half off and quite a great bargain at a local resale shop. I've been collecting pansy dishes for years and have other individual pansy items, but this set of dishes is one of my favorites. I like to pair these dishes with the green block optic depression glass dishes I have, they look beautiful together on the table. Not all, but some of the pieces have USA impressed into the back, so I assume they are all made in the USA, but not sure about their history, though I have googled it and tried to find out when they were made and where. If you have any idea, I love to know more about them.
Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a most lovely and charming day! If you click on the Teacup Tuesday link in my sidebar, it will take you to the master list of participants this week.

Feeling Better, Baking and Journaling

2010-08-01T19:31:00.005-04:00

Orange Pecan Muffins

So far so good. I keep feeling better each day and thanks to my Mom and family, I think I'll be in great shape by next weekend for my daughter's graduation party. The morning seems to be the roughest time for me, the incisions ache then, but after some motrin and moving around, they feel much better by noon. Since I have to spend time upright, but can't go far, I spent some time baking today. Orange Pecan Muffins and a "cherry" version of Carrot Raisin Bread, both recipes featured in the October 1998 issue of "Cooking Light" magazine. Although both recipes are low in fat, I think the Carrot ~~Raisin~~ Cherry bread came out much better than the muffins. I replaced the raisins in the bread with dried cherries from Benjamin Twiggs

Cherry Carrot Quick Bread

and used Eggbeaters in place of the one egg in both recipes. The bread tasted a lot like carrot cake, my hubby loved it! The muffins were just ok, kind of on the dry side and not very flavorful, maybe they needed the fat from that one yolk. Still, I made an orange glaze for the muffins and that did make them better. It tired me out though, I had to go lay down after all that baking!
I pulled out my visual journal train case full of art supplies for a while today. I worked on some of my pages in the journal I created in Teesha Moore's class. It felt good to play again. I hope to start using it daily now that I'm feeling up to it. So many things I want to do, this surgery stuff is so very inconvenient! Also need to get ready for the Wine, Food and Art show on the 21st this month. Right after my daugher's party I'll be in jewerly fabrication mode. So short post today, off to work on the "Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken" with my mom...hope it tastes as good as it looks...