Paint Party Friday - Snake Pattern

Here we are at the end of January already.

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I am sharing a piece I did for an Instagram 'patterned things' challenge for @alexandrasillos #patternedthingsbyalex. It is a colourful patterned snake in bold colours. Its head and tongue are orange and yellow, with dark blue eyes highlighted with turquoise. Its slithery body is patterned with orange, dark blue and turquoise scales. It has a green underside.  My snake is painted on lilac cardstock in permanent markers, and sharpie oil paint markers outlined with a PITT pen.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Glow

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date, the theme this week is 'Glow'. I chose to do yellow/White lightning bolts across textured deep red cardstock (6" x 6"). I also added extra 'glow' with orange highlights accenting the bolts of lightning. I used Sharpie oil paint markers.

I showed this piece on Instagram recently for @alexandrasillos #patternedthingsbyalex.

Spider's Web Pattern

This is my spider's web pattern I posted recently on Instagram for @alexandrasillos #patternsbyalex. I used my new alcohol ink markers which I love. I waited until the spider was away before I painted this haha. The piece is done on cardstock (4 1/4" x 5 /12"). I made the background sky blue. The delicate web is attached to a tree branch.

My Pine Cone Pattern and CPAP update

This is my pine cone pattern I showed recently on Instagram for @alexandrasillos #patternedthingsbyalex. It shows 2 pine cones angled across the page hanging from its branch of green fir leaves.

I recently bought my own CPAP sleep machine after about a month using a loaner machine.  It comes with lifetime remote monitoring for a $90 fee.  The sleep clinic keeps the reports I believe.  I am really happy getting 7-8 solid hours of sleep, I have even started dreaming again and remembering my dreams.  That would be my REM sleep that might have been compromised. I wake up looking fresh faced instead of  looking like a wreck in the morning.  Needless to say, I am one of the ones that are completely happy with the treatment.

Fragrant Pork Noodles

I made this fragrant pork noodle dish using this Marion Grasby video.
Her garlic shrimp udon noodle recipe is also very good. You can substitute different kinds of vegetables, noodles and meats with these simple recipes.

This is the way I have been making my dish.  Once I even left the noodles out of it.

2 7oz packets of pre-cooked udon noodles
3 tsp canola oil
1/4 shredded cabbage ( with a pinch of salt, 1 tbs light soy, 1/2 tsp sugar)
6 stems of yu choy Chinese greens finely chopped
2 green onions chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 small pkg of lean ground pork


sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4c oyster sauce
1 tbs dark soy sauce
2 tbs light soy sauce
2 tsp chili garlic oil

Place noodles into a pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes until they soften and remove to a bowl.
Heat the oil, stir fry the cabbage with 1 tbs soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt until it starts to char and is nicely coloured.  Add garlic and stir fry for 20 seconds.  Add ground pork and stir fry until browned.  Mix in noodles, yu choy greens and sauce.  Add green onions.  The dish is done in a few minutes.

Shrimp versus Prawns

The meme above says 'Purchased a log home'. It has a photo of a pickup truck carrying a huge pile of logs. It finishes with '...from Ikea'.

This link explains the difference between shrimp and prawns. My sister from California shared it with me. I thought they were the same thing, how about you?  They are different creatures with different structures.  Prawns live in fresh water while shrimp live in both fresh and salt water.  Prawns are generally larger but they taste the same as shrimp.

Melt in your mouth goodness

The photos below show this delicious bar of Lindt 70% dark chocolate with what it describes as a smooth melting filling inside. It is to die for. Perhaps if you are not a fan of dark chocolate you may not even notice with that filling inside.  It was part of a gift basket we received over the holidays.

Paint Party Friday - Spruce Pattern

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I am sharing a piece I did on Instagram for @alexandrasillos patterned things theme this January #patternedthingsbyalex. The piece is three Norway spruce trees sitting on a sloping mountain of snow with a blue sky in the background. It is meant to show the pattern of the tree branches which I drew with a PITT pen.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Chinese New Year

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date's 'Chinese New Year' theme. I did this piece a couple of years ago for a Scribble Picnic lantern theme and thought it would be perfect for Rain's theme today. It is done in acrylic (6" x 6") on textured dark blue cardstock. I am trying to show that the red paper lantern is lit up at night as it hangs in a garden.

Tapas Restaurant

We visited this Spanish Tapas restaurant on New Year's Eve called Tapagria and am just getting around to posting the photos.  We enjoyed the dishes although it seemed expensive.  Tapas are really just a range of snacks and appetizers.  The paella dish we chose was also very good.  We had churros for dessert,those were amazing.

chorizo and roasted pepper, jamon and manchego

porkbelly mojo picon

crispy chicken bites

beef empanadas

calamari frito

paella de tapagria

my serving of paella

churros dessert

E-books, Kindle and New Alcohol Ink Markers

It was really cold yet sunny out yesterday, a good day to stay home and learn something new.

My daughter and her boyfriend had gifted me with a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas and it has encouraged me to learn how to download ebooks from the local library.  I am late to the party, but I found out that I could download the 'Overdrive' app on my windows computer.  Overdrive is supported on other devices too.  It allows you to borrow ebooks from the library and comes with its own e-reader.  You can even download library audio books or stream library videos using Overdrive.  To use the library services of course you need a library card with a password.   This is still a learning process but I have borrowed my first e-book and read it.  You return it with the click of a button I believe.

After all that, it seems downloading library books to Kindle devices is not supported outside of the US for the moment.  However, you can copy your own e-books (via usb) or email them to your Kindle.   I had an e-book on PDF that I was able to transfer from my computer onto my Kindle.  I love learning new things but my motivation is to keep up with changes.  I do believe paper books will be around in my lifetime.

I recently got these new alcohol ink art markers pictured below. Michaels sends out good coupons by email and I was happy to get this set of 6 at 45% off using the coupon.  The shades are: denim, pastel blue, spearmint, green, sage and mocha.

Good Advice

The photo above says:

When signing and dating important documents, do not use /20 for the year 2020.
This prevents any altering of the date.  (For example: 3/6/20 can be altered to 3/6/2017).
Protect yourself and write out the year 2020 in full!

I have been using this good advice!

Giraffe Pattern

This portrait of a giraffe demonstrates pattern in nature.  I have him against a sky blue background.  I showed this piece on Instagram for @alexandrasillos #patternedthingsbyalex.

Snail Pattern

I came up with a snail patterned piece which I showed recently on Instagram for @alexandrasillos #patternedthingsbyalex. The snail sitting on a green leaf has a wonderful spiral shell in yellow and brown. Isn't nature fabulous in its patterns?

Paint Party Friday - Zebra Pattern

Welcome to Paint Party Friday. I am sharing a zebra portrait I did as part of a 'patterned things' challenge for January over at Instagram, hosted by @alexandrasillos. It is done on cardstock (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in permanent marker.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Jagged and Ice

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date. The theme is 'Jagged and Ice' so I chose to do a jagged icy mountain range today. The piece is done on textured purple cardstock using a white PITT pen and a dark grey permanent marker.

Octopus Pattern

This piece is done on purple cardstock where I am showcasing a red octopus with its sensored arms extending all over. It forms a natural pattern in nature.

I posted this recently on Instagram for @alexandrasillos #patternedthingsbyalex.

Okay a 49 year old man just won $70 million in the lottery here.  Love these lottery stories.

Tree Branches Pattern

This is a patterned piece using Tree Branches. It is done on purple cardstock. It shows a charcoal coloured tree trunk at the right side of the painting. Its now leafless, snowy white branches extend diagonally across the page.

I did this piece on Instagram recently for @alexandrasillos #patternedthingsbyalex, a prompt Alex is running for all of January.

Bubbly Champagne and Stars Pattern

This is a piece I did recently over at Instagram for @alexandrasillos #patternedthingsbyalex and thought I would share it here. It is done on lilac cardstock and features 2 champagne glasses tilted toward each other at an angle, filled with bubbly champagne. I drew a meandering line of stars across the piece for a simple design.

I decided to print these up on Shutterfly for use as congratulations cards.

On Life

I was still receiving Christmas cards last week.  One of them was a shock to me.  My girlfriend had passed away  last March, shortly before turning 61.  Her surviving older sister had sent me a card notifying me of her passing and thankfully with a phone number.

 My friend started having abdominal pains Thanksgiving 2018.  It seems the cancer had started in her ovaries, spread to her colon, then stomach and she died of cardiac arrest March 2019 a day before she was to start chemo.

We had not really kept in touch beyond exchanging annual Christmas cards.  But it is a shock to my system, a wake up call if you will.  Life is short.

This seems like a good time to say how thankful I am to my blog community for their lovely, often supportive comments, they really make my day.

Blue Cheese on Toast

One morning, I toasted and buttered this whole grain farm style bread that I got from Panera Bread. I melted a couple squares of blue cheese on top, it was so flavourful. Do you like blue cheese, a little goes a long way.

Husband M refuses to try this and one of my sisters said it looks unappetizing, haha.

We are expecting a lot of rain today with the possibility of freezing rain later in the day.

Paint Party Friday - Turtle Pattern

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! I recently posted this piece on Instagram as part of @alexandrasillos instagram challenge and wanted to share it here with you. The turtle piece is done on cardstock (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") in permanent markers outlined with a PITT pen. It is a month long Instagram challenge with the theme 'patterned things'.

It is an eastern box turtle with a pretty brown and yellow patterned shell on its back.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Snow Creatures

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date "Snow Creatures' challenge! My 'Arctic Fox' portrait is done on cardstock (4 1/4" x 5 1/2").  A Sharpie Water Based white marker was used to colour in his white coat.  The shading was done with a black PITT pen. Its golden brown and blue eyes are coloured with permanent markers.

Buddha's Hands

The photo above shows a bunch of buddha's hands gifted to one of my sisters who lives in California, by a friend who grows them. They are new to me. It is a variety of citron fruit with finger-like sections extending out like a hand. She made candied buddha's hand citron with them as pictured below.  You can make candied lemon peel if you don't have buddha's hands.

Sleep Apnea Treatment

This is a good quote from Albert Einstein that I found on Pinterest, it says
 'Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value'.

By the time you read this, I will be at my 2nd sleep test as part of my sleep apnea treatment.  I have to bring my loaner mask and hose to this one. The loaner machine is for a month then I will purchase my own.  There is some government assistance on the cost of a machine.  Adjusting to the mask over the past 2 weeks has gone well, however the CPAP mask place called to say they will be increasing the air pressure on my machine remotely this evening.

Banana banana bread

The meme above is funny. It says 'what do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?'  The answer is 'FROSTBITE', ahaha.  It depicts a snowman wearing a short, red vampire cape.

I read in the newspaper that the 'banana banana bread' recipe is the all time number 2 most popular recipe on allrecipes.  Of course, I had to try it and it is pretty good, also very simple.

My January Calendar Page

Sharing my January calendar page with you today, I usually have one printed up featuring my art. This painting is a winter scene with ice dripping over the roof's edge next to the house's chimney. The quote I used is from poet Percy Bysshe Shelley: 'If winter comes, can spring be far behind?'

Rest in Peace Mom

I always remember my mom's death anniversary (3 years ago now) because it is also my mother-in-law's birthday (90 years old today).

Shown above is an acrylic painting I did of her holding an ice cream cone, months before she died.  I often think of her when I am on my way to our family doctor for an appointment as I took her to a lot of those in her last couple of years. She would say that she really enjoyed these outings even if it was just to go to the doctor.  We would always go to lunch after, or maybe have an ice cream cone at McDonald's, she loved ice cream. 

Paint Party Friday - Winter Chalet at Sunset

I did a winter chalet at sunset for Paint Party Friday. Behind the chalet, you can see the orange sunset below the blue sky.  I added snow on the mountains and some pine trees.  It is on cardstock (4 1/4"x 5 1/2") in permanent markers and white sharpie water based marker outlined with a PITT pen.

The good thing about winter is that the days are getting gradually longer.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - Transformation

Happy New Year and welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date's 'Transformation' theme. My piece is done on textured purple cardstock in Sharpie oil markers outlined with a black PITT pen. I did three simple leaf forms curving across the page, at various stages of the year. The first leaf is green, the next is yellow and the third is winter white.  Each leaf reflects a bit of grey shadow beneath it. I think it adds a more realistic touch to the piece, some depth if you will.

Happy New Year 2020

I found this wise quote on Pinterest that says 'Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them.'

My New Year's thoughts are that the world needs more kindness and caring.  I am thinking of all the violence, homelessness, and refugee problems.  It is so hard to watch the news these days.  There is a lot of anger and mental illness in our society.

I am borrowing a DVD from the library called Planet Earth, it is a BBC TV series from 2006 narrated by David Attenborough that I somehow never got around to seeing.

Anyway, Happy New Year 2020!