A is for apple, B is for basic...

Enough of the candied apple type of sweetness from last week, I need to get some basic stuff finished up this week. I thought I was done the recipe book but then last night I went back and trimmed all the photo copied pages, mounted them on prettier paper and did some hand doodling.  C could probably be for actually Cooking!  That is pretty basic.  Family Day today here in Manitoba.  The Rooster is working.  DS#3 is away visiting.  I'll be spending the day with my art family! 

The S word!

Snow!

My goodness, if I get off the path to the chicken coop I have to wade through waist high snow drifts!  The three calves are not impressed.   Large areas of the fences are buried and the sheep will be going wheresoever they want if they decide to lift their heads from their hay bales long enough to gaze around!  Lambing starts this month because the ram decided to set his own schedule!!!  :O

A short visit but we packed a lot of stuff into the time we had.  The arrival of MORE snow sent them back on the highway early.  It is turning into a long season!

Scheduling

I'm still in class and I do luv my water brush. It is very portable but I will be looking for another container that is a wee bit deeper.  This is actually my applique container.  One lesson was an exercise in using limited colours.  And just why can't a sky be yellow!  ;~)

I am continuing to add recipes to my cookbook.  I googled some smoothie ideas and decided to shake things up a bit more.  The bread section is actually the biggest part of the book. 

I gessoed my binder and sprayed over my happy lady!!! S'nice!  I will probably find more recipes but the book is basically done.  Now to get some smudges on the pages.  lol

Wish I could say my wall hanging top was together but the table is covered with mixed media stuff and the last few triangles require a math style thinking cap. ;~)

The new day timer is working great and I  got this week's DYLP pages finished up.

The coming week is a flap on a flap and I wasn't going to do flaps all the time but as I was doing this one I started thinking that my diary of each day could be behind the fold over page. It might be more visually pleasing. Something to consider for the following week.

So this week has been sweet and kinda salty.  A nice taste sensation that makes for some lip smacking.  

Sweet Grace

I found this picture on Face Book this morning.  Dear Lord, I want to be in the front row.  Hopefully with a good grip on my skirt though! LOL

I did a Meyers-Briggs personality test the other day and I have been contemplating it.  By the grace of God, I am what I am.  Interestingly, My Rooster is the same as me except for percentages and the last letter.  He is for mercy and I for judgement.  :O  My misidentifying him was from lack of understanding of some of the key words. I do keep a dictionary by the computer and a few around the house. ;~)  He is a front rider.  I do try to hang onto his coat tails.  Grace is the desire and the ability to do what is in you to do!  Becomingness, the air with which something is done, if you like.  Understanding helps me become who I am meant to be.  It is a creative process, unique to me.

I digress.

But I decided this morning to work on my own personal recipe book, as per DD#2's suggestion.  My first page is a printout of the above photo and sets the tone for my collection.  I used the dictionary to double check some spellings.  I want to get the happiness factor up in my meal prep.  I want to include grace.

I didn't exactly embrace cooking,  just the cook book but I am doing it 'my way'! And doing it for me, my way...  Well, it took me 5 hours (which is the biblical number for grace) to make my title pages and I had a SWEET time.  That happens when you please yourself.  I need to do it more often!   It makes me grateful.

First section is drinks.  If I could I'd do smoothies all the time.  They are my breakfast and sometimes my lunch.  I can eat on the run!  This page was inspired by the Joggles video of the week.  I can't say enough good things about this site.

 Toast is my comfort food and the Mennonites are onto gluten free bread.  Woo hoo!  I liked making bread.  I hope to like it again!  Baking powder biscuits.  Bring them on!!! I tried spreading my Gelatos all round and over the dictionary page.  A basic and harmonious colour family.  Pasta will go in here as well.

Vegetables that aren't liquefied!  They pack a lot of GO power.  I found an old gelli plate paper and broke open a coloured ink pad. I do like borders on my pages.  This section has my first recipe which was roasted veggies and I added a note to check ALL the veggies for doneness!  ;~)

The Rooster is fanatical about having our own meat.  Raw meat doesn't turn my crank so I roast most everything while he seasons, sautees, slices, smacks, and smokes, ETC!  This will be a thin section but I'm starting to get pretty creative with the pages! I sprayed ink but then after I lifted the paper towel I ended up using a brush to soften and fill in the main attraction.  I even started to go back and add more to the first pages. 

I'm a snacker, crackers, cookies and chips.  So paper towels for fingers are necessary.  I also discovered that the ubiquitous glue stick is very under rated.  It is going to be my favourite glue for most things now.  :)

I'm on a roll with one dish meals.  Prep time is minimal and I can get back to reading catalogues.  Hmm, I may need to jazz up the tag some more.

 Sweet Desserts!  I'm a cookie person and these gals are into all kinds of sweet things.  This will also be a slim section as DD#2 shares her expertise in this department.  I hadn't considered the significance but deli paper is certainly appropriate for this divider.   sweet!

Sauces for my beloved noodles. Soul food!  If you haven't tried corn noodles you are missing a delicious treat!  YUM!!!  We schedule soup for one night a week, Thursdays,  which happens to be tonight and gave me lots of creative time because the Rooster is a production cook, making his own broths and stock.  My soup skills are sinking as he does large stockpots and freezes supper portions.  Supper is thawing as I type.  lol   This page is a good lesson in a basic broth that was kinda boring so I just kept on adding and adding and I really like it.

Odds and Ends!    Another page I just couldn't leave alone.  The oops! was because I inked up a back of the clear stamp for goodness sakes!  Grace turns an oops!  into a creative opportunity.  And for that I am very thankful!

Apples for the teachers

I really like taking classes on the Internet.  I am learning which ones to take and how I like to work.

I have been following  ...And Then We Set It On Fire:.. which is a technique blog with guests and resident artists.  There are monthly focuses and I am even going to help my friend with one month.  I think every month will be interesting and I want to make opportunity to follow along.  This month is low immersion dyeing.  I've done a bit, want to do more and have lots of things to learn.  It certainly fits in perfectly with my fibre related goals. And I do have some supplies! ;)

Late in 2013 I signed up for Color Love 101 with Joanne Sharpe.  It is all about how to use watercolours and all the mediums,  pens and pencils available to make lovely art journals.  By the time I accumulated what I needed life had moved on and I had a hard time clearing a spot in my calendar.  Last week Joanne kindly got me signed back in as I'd lost my info so I could begin.  I daren't draw this out as I have lots of things to do this year.  oops, sorry for the pun!  There are 15 lessons and 25 videos.  I don't know if I can actually do everything in one month but I am sure gonna try.

DD#2, mother to my grand kiddies is concerned about my cooking skills.  I can cook.  I do cook.  But it is definitely NOT where I get my creative jollies!  ;~)  The Rooster luvs to cook and plan and experiment.  I say, "Have at it!".   I am a very plain cook. Fast and easy is my main requirement.  I am also a vanilla ice cream and white cake type.  :(   Since I was diagnosed as Gluten Intolerant my baking skills have solidified, well, actually shriveled right up!  :O  So she thinks I need a personalized cook book and although she hardly needs recipe books herself, she's been gifted with Mennonite ones.  There are some great GF recipes.   I am hopeful of eating Kielke (noodles) again!  She lives in a Mennonite town and they do cook wonderfully.  Anyway we went over her books and with the help of the grand kiddies I have earmarked possibilities and will try to get at least a B- in cooking class.  I did perk up when I realized that I could do the illustrations in this, my very own, cookbook!  Last night was roasted vegetables.  The Rooster has kindly supplied a nice flavourful meatloaf. :) I only got a C- as I stuck a fork into the potatoes and they had cooked wonderfully.  I forgot to test the turnips and the carrots! :(  VBSigh

I might have to eat a few apples myself, but there is a slim to no chance that I'll ever do pies!  LOL  ahem, I can make a great apple crisp but with vanilla ice cream; and a possible gourmet upgrade to butterscotch ripple.  Have NO fear.  This will never turn into a food blog!