Rain's Thursday Art Date - Cold Full Moon

 

Here is my 'Cold Full Moon' for Rain's Thursday Art Date.  It is an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2").  

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve!

A Wonderful Memoir

 I left a comment on Sandra's blog and ended up winning this free e-book,  J. Q. Rose's memoir called 'Arranging A Dream'.  It is a wonderful and inspiring read.  The official launch date is January 1 and you can visit Sandra's blog post here for more information.

My Panko Pork Chops and digital art?

 These pork chops were such a success.  First, I rubbed them with salt, pepper and some garlic powder. Next I breaded them with flour, an egg whisked with a bit of milk, and panko breadcrumbs in that order.  Finally, I pan fried them in olive oil for 7 minutes per side.  Do you like pork chops?

I am hoping to try doing some digital art in the coming weeks (months?) something new for me.  I was gifted some new styluses and we have an ipad so I have been watching a few youtube videos to try to get started.

My meat pie and the Optometrist visit

 I bought a deep dish pie shell at the supermarket and made a beef pie with it.  The package comes with 2 pie shells.  You fill one with seasoned, cooked ground beef, wet the edges of the other shell with water and lay on top.  Press the edges together to seal.  Cut some vents on the top shell to air out the pie as it bakes.  Brush some egg wash or milk on top to make it brown nicely.  I baked for 30 minutes in my hot oven until it is nicely browned.

In other news I had a routine eye checkup at the optometrist last week.  My temperature was taken on arrival and I was asked to use some of their hand sanitizer.  The seats had all been wiped down.  I noticed there were no coffee tables nor magazines laid out for browsing.  

I ordered new eyeglasses so I am looking forward to those in a few weeks.  I have been seeing an opthalmologist (eye surgeon) for many years to monitor a stable cataract in my right eye.  The optometrist has better, more modern equipment and assured me that he would refer me to a specialist if the need arises.  So I am going to cancel my next appointment with the eye surgeon as it doesn't seem necessary.  Less medical places to visit is a win win.

The lady who helped me choose my new eyeglasses told me she had retired from another place, stayed home for a year and recently returned to work at this office part time which was perfect for her now.  She did not like staying at home full time.  She might have been in her sixties.  I remember we somehow got on the topic of death and it was interesting.  She had no fear of it now, more of an acceptance that death is inevitable for everyone.  She felt this insight comes from the wisdom of aging and maturity.  I remember her saying some 70-year-olds never reach maturity.  She did pass on a helpful tip.  Whenever she travels she always takes an extra (old) pair of eyeglasses in case hers break.  I think I will do the same.  I usually take along my prescription, but an old pair of eyeglasses would be much more helpful in the short term.

My Quinoa Side Dish and neighbourhood chit chat

 I made this quinoa side dish recently and was really happy with it.  Here is the simple recipe.  I made it even more simple by putting all the ingredients (listed below) in my rice cooker.

1 tbs butter

1 bouillon cube

2 c water

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried parsely

1 tbs lemon juice

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

We did some snow shovelling yesterday, it was good exercise.  I was talking to the neighbour who was just finishing up her driveway.  I told her that I watched the youtube mass on Christmas morning and was surprised to see how much weight one of the priests had gained.  He was wearing a robe, but I could see it on his face.  Then the other priest seemed to have a bowl cut, it seems he had not been able to get to a hairdresser.  They do the masses to an empty church now, although a singer and a reader had come in.

The 25 Doors of Christmas Finale

Hope your Christmas went well.

My uncle passed at age 89 on Dec 23 early in the morning.  His partner called to inform me of his passing.  He had Alzheimer's or some kind of dementia and lived in a long term care facility.   They are planning an online visitation next week and there will be a small funeral limited to 9 people with cremation after.  

Otherwise we had a good Christmas.  We had a zoom meeting with my siblings and their families on Christmas Eve.  It was great to 'see' everyone.  

Here are the last few doors for the art challenge I did over at Instagram for @alexandrasillos.

 

Paint Party Friday - Christmas Day Portrait

This is my seasonal portrait ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2'") for Paint Party Friday.  Wishing you a Merry Christmas on Christmas Day!

Rain's Thursday Art Date - It was the night before Christmas

 Here is my 'It was the night before Christmas' ACEO (21/2" x 3 1/2") for Rain's Thursday Art Date.  Wishing you a Merry Christmas Eve however you are celebrating this year.

My Garlic Smashed Potatoes

My sister in California sent me this recipe for Garlic Smashed Potatoes.  It is easy to make and very delicious!

So you boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes until cooked and easily smashed.  Then use a potato masher to smash the potatoes about half an inch thick.  I use a pastry brush to lather the potatoes with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and a favorite herb.  Then I bake them for another 15 to 20 mins.  They are a crisp, flavourful and delicious side dish!

And wow it is really close to Christmas! 

Funnies

I have been saving these funnies for you there have been a lot going around I figured I better get them posted before Christmas. Which ones do you like?  If you have any questions on photo number 2, I will answer in the comments.  And let me know you take your coffee,  I like 3 or 4.

Thanks to Martha at Plowingthroughlife for this cute one below:

 

Thanks to Sandra for this one below:

Doors of Christmas continued

I am showing some more pieces I have been doing fo #the25doorsofchristmas over at Instagram for @alexandrasillos. 

 

3 1/2" x 5" card

My Spicy Braised Tofu

 I got this recipe from Denise and it is such a delicious alternative to meat.  Husband M and son K don't eat this much but I do!

Funnies and the Ikea catalogue

Did you hear that the Ikea catalogue will no longer be published in print form, after many decades they will only be available online. I guess that makes sense. Myabe I should save the last paper one I have as a collector's item. Here are some funnies for you today:

 

Covid Tree

Paint Party Friday - Cardinal

 This is an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") of a cardinal that I am showing for Paint Party Friday.  I was inspired by some photos Jenn took a few months ago on her property.

Rain's Thursday Art Date - A Portrait

Welcome to Rain's Thursday Art Date.  Here is the portrait piece I did.  It's an ACEO (2 1/2 x 3 1/2").

The 25 doors of Christmas continued

So the churches have been forced to close in our area for the next month, which is over the Christmas period. Christmas and Easter are their busiest times of year. This vaccine cannot come soon enough to everyone.

Sharing some of the doors I have been doing for #the25doorsofchristmas over at Instagram with @alexandrasillos.

 

Easy Chocolate Haystacks

Martha posted about chocolate haystacks the other day and I decided to make ones I found at allrecipes.  They are delicious and I will definitely make them again. I love that they have oatmeal, coconut and almonds.  Butter and chocolate chips don't hurt either!

Three Wise Women

 Here is a funny meme for you!

We started watching 'The Queen's Gambit' on Netflix and are very much enjoying this 7 part series.

'the story is about an orphaned chess prodigy on her rise to becoming the world's greatest chess player while struggling with emotional problems and drug and alcohol dependency'.  It is 'based on Walter Tevis's 1983 novel of the same name.'

Korean Hot Dogs

 Daughter L and her fiance spent last weekend with us and they brought over these Korean hot dogs for us to try.  They were deep fried and delicious!  Here is the Chung Chun Rice Dog website, a worldwide chain apparently.  L said they were so organized in the little shop, business was brisk and efficient.

What do you collect?

 I saw this meme and thought it would make a fun post.  I am a natural collector.  At one time I seem to have collected a lot of mugs, but I have always loved knick knacks.  Then I noticed it had gone into my groceries.  Daughter L noticed I had at least 12 boxes of the same teabags, so many bottles of ketchup, olive oil, and it can go on and on until I notice.  

There was a time I collected matchboxes, then read that they can be a fire hazard.  So I set about removing all the matches, soaking them in water and disposed of them, keeping only the covers.  Who knows where that collection ended up.  As a child I collected stamps, no longer around.  Then I used to save every single greeting card and letter for years.  That was a task to get rid of one year.

Are you a collector?  What do you collect?

Paint Party Friday - Sunflower Surprise

 This is an ACEO (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") called 'Sunflower Surprise'.  I am showing it for Paint Party Friday.  It is based on a photo I took of some sunflowers which appeared weeks after the original flower was bitten off by squirrels.  They eventually bit these off too.