Press and Go Cars

 

Husband M got these Press and Go cars for Grandson C.  He loves getting toys for C.  These don't require batteries, you push down on them and they go.

We are at the end of February!

Friday Art - Golden Retrievers

 

Welcome to Friday Art!  I painted some golden retrievers for you today. It is an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in watercolour pencil.

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Recycling aToothpaste Tube

 I had wondered about recycling toothpaste tubes in this recent post.  I finally decided to try cleaning out this tube for recycling and it was easy!  It just washes out, although my sister thought it wastes water.  It took about 3 minutes.  I am happy with the results.  

Next I will try cutting at tube in half to see if it washes out even more easily.  Another sister suggested this.

Wednesday Memes

 

Gluten Free Breakfast

 

Here is my gluten free breakfast using the gluten free bread I made yesterday.  

Gluten free English muffin bread

 

I made some gluten free bread using a recipe from King Arthur.  It was delicious.  I had to add a lot more water to the batter to get it to the right consistency.

Sunday Smiles and Sunday in the Art Room - Favourite Painting

 

For SITAR

I am showing a favourite painting I have in my house.  It is actually a framed postcard my departed mother brought me from a trip she made to Paris back in the day. I love it.

Sharing Tom's comment on the postcard (who knows, perhaps):

...the iconic white-washed architecture of Santorini, Greece. The photo features characteristic Cycladic houses with arched ceilings, white exterior walls, and a prominent exterior staircase, reminiscent of the village of Oia?

Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles and to Nicole's Sunday in the Art Room.

Niagara Falls in the Winter

 

My sister-in-law went with friends to a winery in Niagara Falls Canada recently.  I thought you would like to see the frozen falls in winter.

Friday Art - Verdin

 

Welcome to Friday Art. I painted a Verdin for you today ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in watercolour pencil.

Linking Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

New Window Decals

 

I needed new window decals for my windows to prevent the birds from crashing into them.  I am happy with these that I got from Amazon.

Wednesday Memes

 

A hassle

 I have been waiting for a replacement credit card in the mail since my bank had been notifying me that it is on its way.  I received a notification Jan 27, then Feb3, then Feb 10th. I started to stress. However the new card would require you to make a purchase with your pin to activate.  

After the 3rd notice, I called them to say it hadn't arrived. They said they would courier a new one within 3-5 business days.  My husband made a good point that they should issue a new card with a different number and ability to reset the pin prior to activation as who knows where the current card is.  I decided I would have to call them back with my questions and concerns when the new card arrives.

After all this, the original cards arrived Feb 12, so now I have to wait for the courier cards to arrive before I activate those ones!  

Feb 17th is my departed mom's birthday, she would have turned 88 today.

My Star Amaryllis Plant

 This is the 3rd year this amaryllis plant has bloomed for me.  I am excited at how quickly this bloom appeared.  I had the bulb hibernating since last October and recently replanted it and started watering it.

Happy Family Day!

Sunday Smiles and Sunday in the Art Room - Garden Shed in winter

 

Welcome to Gillena's Sunday Smiles and to Nicole's Sunday in the Art Room!  I am showing a garden shed in winter done on a 5" x 7" greeting card outlined in a black acrylic pen and colour in with watercolour pencils.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Friday Art - Duck Portrait

 

Welcome to Friday Art!  This is my Harlequin Duck portrait, an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") in wartercolour pencil.

Linking to Nicole's Friday Face Off and to Gillena's Art For Fun Friday.

Baby Potato Pancakes for Grandson

 

I had some leftover baby formula in a bottle that I wanted to use up.  Daughter L suggested I make these potato pancakes for Grandson C based on an Instagram video she saw.  I had more formula than the recipe used so I added some ground up rice crackers.

4-5 small potatoes

2 eggs

pkg of 2 organic rice crackers

1/2 c baby formula

canola oil

peel and boil potatoes.  mash well.  add eggs, ground up rice crackers and formula.  The mix should have a pancake consistency.  Make your small pancakes in a bit of canola oil.  It makes the amount you see in the photo.  The nicer pancakes were made by husband M, he makes pancakes a lot. Mine broke up, maybe the pan wasn't hot enough.

Wednesday Memes

 

Dried cranberry orange muffins

 

I made these dried cranberry orange muffins and they are delicious!  There are recipes using fresh or frozen cranberries but I only had dried cranberries so luckily I found this recipe.  It calls for orange juice so I had oranges and made the juice from scratch.  I also have an old juicer which I hardly ever use so it came in handy for juicing 2 oranges.

Here Goes Nothing

 

Suz had some great tips on reblooming her orchids.  My orchid had overgrown roots outside the pot  and has never rebloomed. So on Feb 2nd I trimmed it the best I could and am soaking the roots in water.  The roots were not tall enough to just soak the tips as Suz recommended.  I will change the water every week and maybe here goes nothing!

Sunday Smiles and SITAR - Orchid Process

Linking to Gillena's Sunday Smiles and to Nicole's SITAR.

Nicole asked me to show my process of painting my ACEO's.  Here goes in the following 18 photos:

My orchid subject

choosing my colours

outlining with my black acrylic pen

colouring in with my watercolour pencils

using a paintbrush to add water to the coloured pencils

The final product on a frame!

It was interesting to see my own process as I don't usually take photos of it, I just work away.  Thanks to Nicole for suggesting this!