Joke

This joke is making its way around the internet, couldn't resist! Have a great day!  Do you like Eggs Benedict, by the way?  It's not my favourite, but I'll eat it.

Breathable Nail Polish

I read about breathable nail polish in this article recently.
According to the article, 'Unlike regular polish, which keeps oxygen and moisture from reaching the fingernail, Inglot O2M Breathable Nail Enamel was formulated to let both air and water through'. It sounds healthier than regular nail polish and I sent the article to my daughter L who wears a lot of nail polish.

L is also a fan of these low calorie crackers that have come on the market recently.  They have like 90 calories per 17 crackers and the ingredients don't seem to be harmful, not even the sodium levels.  They taste pretty good, although I am more addicted to say, salty cheesies!

Beet Salad Recipe

My free watch came in the mail from my Chatelaine magazine subscription.  It's quite attractive.  Magazines are really fighting to stay alive in this internet world, I think.

I was leafing through a magazine at K's orthodontist the other day, and came across this recipe in Chatelaine magazine. This looks like a nice, simple recipe. You just boil the beets and make a nice dressing for them. It even includes the beet greens. Last summer I was given a lot of beets and didn't know what to do with them all. I think I still have some frozen. Are you a fan of beets?

K had to get new retainers at the orthodontist. They took a digital scan of his mouth and showed him a 3D image of his teeth, rotating it at will.  He said it was so neat to see.  The old way was to put gunky plaster in your mouth.  You can hardly see these transparent retainers when he is wearing them and they have a precision fit. He needs them at night to keep his teeth in place. They must be very comfortable as he has been wearing them without being reminded. He had braces for 3 or 4 years and has a perfect set of teeth so it's worth looking after them. I admire the orthodontist, he is so 'state of the art' and on top of things. We never have to wait and everything seems to be automated and efficient. Well, he is a simply brilliant doctor.

Burgers

M, K and I went to The Works Burger Bistro downtown recently, we were curious to try some of their large selection of burgers. They have an extensive menu. These were our selections.  It's a Canadian burger chain. The buns were fresh and delicious as were the burgers.  They were served medium but you can request them well done, which I would probably do next time, as it is ground beef after all.

wild mushrooms, brie, bacon

smoked meat and cheese

sweet potato fries, carmelized onions, avocado

Sunday Sketches - A Meaningful Gift

I showed this piece last summer, for Creative Tuesdays and Paint Party Friday. It's a little duckling I painted in acrylic on cardstock.

I recently framed it and gave it away as a gift.  I've since learned to sign the art in such a way that it will show up after framing.  There is a story behind this gift.  This little duckling was raised by friends.  Its egg had likely fallen from a tree.  It was found and it was hatched and raised last summer by these friends.  They watched it grow up over the summer until it eventually flew into the wild.  I had painted it by chance based on a photo I saw of the little duckling. We decided they would like this as a gift.  And I think they really did,  as the image captured a treasured memory!  They said this picture will sit on their mantelpiece in their home.  I have the satisfaction of having given a meaningful gift!

Linking to Sunday Sketches.

Brown Butter recipes and a Good Day

This past Thursday morning I woke up to a winter wonderland.  It was beautiful and mild out.  The snow was wet and heavy but not as much as the day before that.  My neighbour was out with his snowblower and kindly cleared the bottom of our driveway where the road plow had just left a big pile.  He offered to do the rest of the driveway but I told him I would be ok.  I managed to clear the rest of the driveway while starting to think I should've taken him up on his generous offer!

After that, I went to the grocery store where a kind lady gave me her cart and didn't want to take the 25cents that we usually put into the buggy to release it for use.  I did give her the 25cents.  This was shaping up to be a good day!   Then at checkout, a friendly cashier with whom I will sometimes chat, told me I was paying too much for some multi-pack boxes of facial tissue.  I had just assumed it was on sale because they had them right out front on display.  I decided not to buy them of course!

Do you have good days like that?  It ended with me figuring out how to punch in the cube root of a number on K's scientific calculator all by myself!  I help him figure out his grade 12 math problems.

I was reading this Chatelaine magazine at my hairdresser's recently.  I found these interesting recipes you might want to have a look at.  There is an easy recipe for buttercream icing and also one for an easy pasta sauce made with brown butter.  I really thought it was more complicated than that, and I happen to love buttercream icing!

Brown butter recipe

Best-ever buttercream cupcakes...buttercream icing.

Easy cheesy linguine recipe

Paint Party Friday - Spring Snowdrops

Today's art was inspired by all the posts I've been reading about bloggers being tired of the cold and sounding so ready for spring!
It's done in acrylic on a 3 x 3 inch post-it note.  And welcome to March!

Linking to Paint Party Friday.