Paint Party Friday - Inspiration

I saw this interesting photo in the newspaper, taken in Africa and wanted to use it somehow in an art piece. I was attracted to the combination of colours and textures. Here is the result.

It's done in acrylic on a greeting card (4 1/4"h x 5 1/2"w).


Linking to Eva and Kristin's Paint Party Friday.

Inspiration

Dill Pickles and some other recipes

Here's my favourite chocolate bar of the moment. It's Cadbury fruit and nut dark chocolate. It has just the right amount of sweetness to counteract the bitterness of a dark chocolate. Sort of like finding the perfect coffee, lol. Of course it goes down so easily you might end up eating more of it than you intended. Their burnt almond flavour is also good when I can't find the fruit and nut kind.

Dark Chocolate

If you are a pickle maker, I found a recipe for refrigerator dill pickles - salt free from the Heart and Stroke foundation.

And it's time for those summer salads!

Here's a recipe for potato salad from Whole Foods that I'm going to try.

Here's another easy recipe from Whole Foods for Refrigerator Pickled Slaw that I'm also going to try.

For my retired friends

Here's a video we should all watch concerning recognizing heart attacks in women.

And here's a funny joke that might appeal to all the retired people:

A RETIREE'S LAST TRIP TO KROGER

Yesterday I was at my local Kroger buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my loyal pet, Jake, the Wonder Dog and was in the check-out line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog. What did she think I had an elephant?

So because I'm retired and have little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms. I told her that it was essentially a Perfect Diet and that the way that it works is, to load your pants pockets with Purina Nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care, because the dog food poisoned me. I told her no, I stopped to Pee on a Fire Hydrant and a car hit me.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was Laughing so hard.

Kroger won't let me shop there anymore. Better watch what you ask retired people. They have all the time in the World to think of crazy things to say.

Forward this (especially) to all your retired friends...it will be their laugh for the day!

 

Creative Tuesdays - Candy

The theme for the current Creative Tuesdays is 'Candy'. The jumping off point for this piece was 'Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory', one of my kids' favourite movies. I wanted to do a chocolate river and it evolved into a kind of candy land. I'm pleased with the final result, pure fantasy! It's acrylic (8 1/2" h x 11" w) on card stock.

Linking to MMm's Creative Tuesdays. Please visit the other talented participants, I can't wait to see what they will come up with!

Dangling from a Crane

Could you eat at a restaurant like this where diners are dangling from a crane?  I couldn't.

And have you heard that Amazon will be selling fan fiction?
It's interesting, it could open up a whole new world of authors, sort of like what American Idol did for singers.  Well, that's what I think anyway.

I accidentally hovered over some blogs in my reading list and saw this upward arrow that said 'hide'.  Of course I clicked on some of them and ended up hiding some of the blogs and there didn't seem to be a way to 'unhide' them.  After a bit of googling I ended up at the bottom of my reading list and found where they were 'hidden' and was able to 'unhide' them.  Whew!  So much for technology.

Sunday Sketches - Spring Blossoms

This piece is done in acrylics (8 1/2"h x 11"w). It was inspired by a photo of a blossoming crab apple tree that I took a few weeks ago.

Linking to Sunday Sketches.

Joke

I went for my usual haircut and colour earlier this week. Walking over to the hairdresser's I noticed a very senior man moving slowly along on his own, pushing his walker. Then I saw the box of beer sitting on the seat of the walker and I realized he was just leaving the beer store! This amused me.

Here's a cute joke for you:


Complete vs. Finished.

No dictionary has ever been able to define the difference between
"complete" and "finished". However, in a linguistic conference, held in
London England, and attended by some of the best linguistics in the
world, Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese was the clever winner.

His final challenge was this. Some say there is no difference between
"complete" and "finished". Please explain the difference in a way that
is easy to understand. His response was:

When you marry the right woman, you are "complete". If you marry the
wrong woman, you are "finished". And, when the right one catches you
with the wrong one, you are "completely finished".

His answer received a five minute standing ovation.

Paint Party Friday - Magnolia

I did this piece 3 weeks ago when the Magnolia trees were just coming into bloom. I was on a morning walk and snapped a photo which I used as my inspiration. It's a greeting card in acrylic (4 1/4"h x 5 1/2" w).

Linking to Kristin and Eva's Paint Party Friday.

Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding

We just had a long Victoria Day weekend. Some friends came over and we went out for dinner. The weather was fabulous and summery.
This was my entree. It was the prime rib special with yorkshire pudding. I had mine medium rare, how do you like your steak?

Kay's Broccoli Salad

broccoli salad

I made Kay's broccoli salad a few days ago and loved it! It's a keeper. It does call for lots of mayonnaise, maybe that's why it's so good, or it might be because of the raisins and sunflower seeds. I suppose if you don't like raisins you could use apples instead.

Do you know that just a quarter of a cup of sunflower seeds is a serving of protein? And you just need 2 or 3 servings of protein for the whole day.

Raw Taco Wrap

raw taco wrap

I met some friends for lunch last week, we went to a raw food restaurant.  There were no meat products. I had a taco wrap (Seasoned nut loaf, guacamole, romaine lettuce, salsa & almond nut cheese wrapped in a collard leaf).  The waitress said the 'wrap' was a kohlrabi leaf.  It  was quite delicious. It was expensive at $9 however. I also had a non-dairy ice-cream dessert, it was a generous portion. To be honest, I prefer regular ice cream, but it was interesting nonetheless. Have you ever been to a raw food restaurant and did you like it?

Delightful Video

I was out walking on the weekend and spotted these beautiful clouds in an otherwise clear sky.






Nana Never too Old-- PRICELESS---anyone you know?


Grandma is going out to her grand daughter's car, when the grand daughter is
playing some oldies.
Watch to the end... when she's approaching the car turn it up so you can
hear what she says.....lol

I got this delightful video on email. You will love it.

Sunday Sketches - Dusk

A few weeks ago, we sat outside in the car waiting for a pizza.  It was late evening and I noticed the sky and the trees in silhouette. This is my version of 'dusk'. It's a greeting card in acrylic and finepoint marker (4 1/4"h x 5 1/2"w).

Linking to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches.

Goose Woes

new leaves

 
A couple of days ago, my husband M was driving by a construction sight and wondered what all the commotion was about.  A bulldozer was trying to move into the digging site, but geese are nesting by the side of the road.  They have  filled in a pond where they used to nest every year so they don't have anywhere else to go.  The bulldozers didn't know what was going on, having arrived early that morning to do their jobs.  Well the male geese were flapping their wings wildly trying to protect their nests, unaware that this is no longer a safe place for them.  Finally the drivers figured out the problem and moved their job further down the road.  Whew!  For now.  I was almost in tears just listening to M's story.

Actually, I haven't seen any bulldozers in that area for the past couple of days. Hmm.

Paint Party Friday - 21st Birthday Card

A lot of my daughter's friends are turning 21 this year, so I've been making these cards for them.  Acrylic (4 1/4"w x 5 1/2"h).  I took a photo because the some of the colours  show up better than on the scan.

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

Promposal

It's promposal time of year at K's high school.  This is when the kids (usually the guys) ask the girls if they will be their prom dates.  Some have elaborate schemes to 'win the girl'.  One girl actually presented a boy with a cake decorated with the words 'will you be my prom date?' 

K was running out of time and this past weekend he created this photo and asked a girl.  He was relieved when she said 'yes' within 5 minutes, and they will go as friends.  She just needs to know what colour tie he's wearing!

Goose Trouble

four bean salad

They were giving out samples of this four bean salad at Costco when I was there and I thought it was delicious so I bought some.  Of course at Costco, you sometimes have to buy 2 jars, but I've already finished one of them.

My husband M and I were walking Saturday morning on the main road.  M got too close to a goose in our path and it chased us away, flapping its wings wide!  I remembered seeing a video of a similar situation on youtube  once.  It must have plucked up a lot of courage to defend its partner, either that or we were encroaching on his space.  It was a bit scary, but we ended up jaywalking out of his way and went about our business.

Creative Tuesdays - Trio

MMm's current theme is 'Trio'. I decided to do some Orca killer whales, inspired by recent ads in the newspaper to visit British Columbia, a western province of Canada. This might look more like Seaworld, sort of unnatural to see three in a row like that in nature, but here it is anyway! It's acrylic (8 1/2"h x 11"w). Please visit the other talented participants or better still join us!

Linking to Creative Tuesdays.

That gardening time of year

It's that gardening time of year. Some people are having these large bags of topsoil delivered to their houses. I went for a walk early one morning before rush hour. The first 20 minutes were so peaceful, I saw a couple of birds swooping between the branches of trees, and heard lots of them twittering. I noticed the graceful sweep of the tree branches with their new leaves and thought how awesome is nature's work.

Then the traffic started, more people were walking on the roads and it got stressful.  Oh well!

Have a great Monday!

Sunday Sketches - Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.  Here is a sweet video for you to watch.  And here's another and yet another with Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn.

I did a greeting card (4 1/2"h x 5 1/2"w) for the occasion. I used a neon pink to encircle the icing part of the cupcake, but this colour as well as the pink didn't scan well, so I'm showing a photo of it instead. 




Linking to Alexandra's Sunday Sketches Sunday Sketches.

Peacock Frame

I spotted this peacock inspired picture frame at the mall and thought I would show it to you. I thought it was quite a creative design.

It seems there is a cure for grey hair on the way, seriously.    It's quite exciting to know of a scientific cure in the form of an ointment!  Of course, there is no word on when this ointment will be available, but it is very interesting nonetheless.  What do you think?

Have a great Saturday!

Paint Party Friday - 21st Birthday

I made this card for my daughter L's good friend, a lot of her friends are turning 21 this year.  It's acrylic (4 1/2"h x 5 1/4"w).  I took a photo because some of  the colours seem to show up better than on the scan.

Can you remember your 21st Birthday?  I can,  I'm thinking it must be one of those significant years like turning 30?

Linking to Kristin and Eva's Paint Party Friday.

Leftovers

I had this for lunch one day, using up the leftovers in my fridge. It's pork side spareribs, macaroni and cheese pie and some spring mix salad with cherry tomatoes. I used a store bought balsamic vinaigrette dressing on the salad. I've finally figured out how to bake tender ribs in the oven using the less expensive side spareribs.

First, line the baking tray with a generous amount of foil. Then put some parchment paper on top. Then lay the ribs on top of that, and slather with a generous amount of barbecue sauce. Brown the ribs at 475F for 20 minutes, then wrap the foil over the ribs, sealing them in. Lower the heat to 350F and bake for another hour. The ribs will be soft and tender.

Chocolate Pretzels

My son K bought these chocolate pretzels from Purdy's chocolatier and they are delicious!

We are being spoiled by gorgeous sunny warm weather all this week, everyone is out and about, as if it's already summer.   Everything is in bloom, tulips, cherry blossoms, magnolia trees.  It's definitely my favourite season.  Oh, I guess I shouldn't mention all the pesky dandelion weeds.

Spring Blossoms

crab apple blossoms

We have a lot of crab apple trees in the neighbourhood and they are all blossoming at this time of year. Some of them are quite large and look quite pretty.

A friend of mine told me she had 3 episodes of blurry vision combined with seeing black squares in her central vision one day. She rushed to emergency where the doctor on call told her he thought it might be cataracts. Anyway, she was able to see an opthamologist at another hospital the next morning who told her she was having an ocular migraine. I'm glad she has a diagnosis that seems to make sense. And you learn something new every day, however scary.

Cake Pops

Hope you had a good weekend.

My daughter L and I have been doing a bit of clothes shopping at the mall, she felt she needed some new clothes to start her summer job.  It's fun to see the new Spring fashions and choose new things to suit.  It made me think of this quote from Ralph Lauren that I found on Pinterest:

"Style is very personal.  It has nothing to do with fashion.  Fashion is over quickly.  Style is forever. "

One of  L's best friends gave her this cute baking kit as a birthday gift. It will be fun for her to make her own cake pops, L likes to bake when she has the time.

Sunday Sketches - 21st Birthday Card

I had made this  card for my daughter L's 21st Birthday.  Acrylic  (5 1/2"h x 4 1/4"w).  I'm showing a photo because the scan is not showing some of the pinks and neon colours very well.

Linking to Sunday Sketches.

Medical Id Bracelet

I got my mom a medical id bracelet and it happens to be just in time for Mother's Day. I got it from Lauren's Hope, a company I found by browsing the internet. They have so many wonderful designs and provided a lot of information how/what to engrave on the bracelet.  My mother's memory is deteriorating slowly so it's mainly to put some contact phone numbers just in case, and it may never be necessary.  I listed a couple of health problems but decided not to put 'dementia' on it, as she likely wouldn't then wear it.

Paint Party Fridays - Aerial View

 I did an aerial view of a flower arrangement I have at home and used a striped background. It's a greeting card (4 1/4"h x 5 1/2"w) done in acrylic.  The arrangement itself is outlined with a fine point marker.

I had trouble with the striped background, the first set of colours I used seemed to detract from the
flowers.  I ended up changing to very muted shades and then it worked.  Acrylic paint is very forgiving, you can just paint over your mistakes.  The hard part is finding out what works!

Linking to Paint Party Fridays.

Pub Food

Daughter L came home yesterday from university for the summer.  It's great to have the whole family together again for a bit.

The weather was fabulous this past weekend. Husband M and I had nice lunch at an English style pub on Main Street. The restaurant was busy but we were able to sit outdoors and watch the people go by. We ordered a calamari appetizer. M decided to have the all-day breakfast. I had a steak pot pie that I had been meaning to try for awhile. It was delicious with classic green peas and a salad.  Son K had gone out with some friends.

Calamari Appetizer

All Day Breakfast

Steak Pot Pie

Budding Leaves

Happy May 1st!

I took this photo Saturday morning April 27, 2013 to show the budding leaves on the trees. No doubt they have already sprouted quite a bit since. It was cloudy that morning but the sun came out soon after and it was a wonderful day.

budding leaves

Yesterday might have been the warmest day for this spring.  You could walk about in a light sweater or just a t-shirt.  The next few days should be even warmer, around 20C (68F). 

I read a quote on Pinterest that has stuck with me: 'Comparison is the thief of joy...Theodore Roosevelt'.  What do you think of this one?