Purple and Orange

This week's challenge over at Inspire Me Thursday is purple and orange. I can't resist using a poppy photograph I already have; it's one of my favourites. The summer of 2005 was a good one for my gardens; I especially love that this poppy was a "surprise" that year -- I never planted it and so it became my mystery flower. A gift from a passing bird, perhaps?

On another note, the update on my son's missing record bag is that, well, there is no update. Nothing has turned up yet. I must say that I am so proud of my son -- he's quickly moving forward on the whole situation and not wallowing in his misfortune whatsoever. He has already started to replace some of the missing items. The good news on that front is that one album that had taken him a whole year to hunt down -- one of the ones we figured would be impossible to replace -- was found just yesterday at some obscure record store in Europe that sells online. Hooray for the internet!

Worry

Let me tell you about worry. I know worry; we've living together right now. It sucks the life right out of you, if you let it. And the thing is, you know that worry isn't getting you anywhere, but still you can't stop it. It's a horrible feeling.

The Illlustration Friday topic this week is "worry", and it unfortunately is hitting home this week.

You see, my son is a DJ -- not the wedding type who takes requests but the type who performs at clubs -- and on Saturday night, the taxi that brought him home drove off with his record bag in the trunk. It's his lifeblood. Not only are all the record albums worth a small fortune, some of them were rare and will likely not be possible to replace. And he has taken years to build up his collection and in one moment, everything changed. The cab company was contacted right away but that didn't accomplish much.

As each day goes by the worry grows. Will it be turned in? Did someone see it in the trunk and take it? Why would they want it? Is it gone? Is it coming back? My stars, the worry. I feel so bad for him. It's hard to be the mother of a grown-up -- looking back, the childhood problems now seem so easy. It is so difficult to have someone you love go through something like this. You feel helpless because you can't make it right.

So the artwork reflects my mood -- dark, my emotions cracked. A window back on yesteryear. But I am trying to be optimistic, which I usually am, and think happy thoughts, trying to will this to have a happy ending. A lesson learned for sure, but let's just all hope that the worry will have been for naught.

Using up leftovers

We were supposed to have meatballs for dinner. That was the plan. My Pineapple Meatballs, to be specific, served with rice and broccoli. I had it all planned out. But when I opened the freezer to remove the ground beef to defrost it, I spied a freezer bag of leftover cooked chicken. I couldn't remember how long it had been in the freezer -- the bag was unlabelled, totally unlike me. I own Sharpies of every colour and take great delight in being able to use them to label the large zippie bags when packing up food for the freezer. So my guess is that this had been stashed in a rush. I quickly re-evaluated dinner and decided it was best to use up the chicken; the ground beef can wait for another day.

Which led to the dilemma of .... what to make for dinner. It had been planned; it was a no-brainer. A family favourite. Now what? But I quickly found a recipe I'd made in the past, with leftover turkey. Turkey ... chicken. No difference, really.

And it turned out pretty darn good. I can't call it healthy -- it has butter and sour cream and light cream after all. I could've gone ahead with the planned broccoli side dish, but just went with a salad instead. That was the healthy addition to the meal!

And the best part? Yummy leftovers perfect for lunch!

Here's the recipe:

PARMESAN PASTA WITH CHICKEN

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup light cream

1 cup sour cream (I use full fat as sometimes I find the lowfat stuff curdles when heated)

2 cups grated parmesan cheese (I use a domestic cheese that I buy, pre-grated, in tubs in the deli section of my grocery store; I am NOT using the good stuff in a dish like this)

1/2 cup dry white wine

3 minced garlic cloves

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon dry mustard (I use a heaping tsp)

a good shake of cayenne pepper

salt, to taste

6 cups cubed cooked chicken meat

1 pound fusilli, cooked (use any pasta you want)

1 tablespoon paprika (to make it pretty)

1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese (or more, it's for the top)

Yes, the ingredients list is long. But the method is short. And easy. First, preheat oven to 350F. Then put on a pot of water to boil; when it comes to the boil, salt it, then add the pasta. Cook until al dente; drain.

Meanwhile, in a dutch oven or any large pot you have, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the flour, turn the heat down to low, and whisk until all is combined. This takes about a minute. Then add the ingredients from the chicken broth down to the cayenne pepper and salt. Whisk away. Crank the heat up a bit, to just below medium, and let the mixture start to thicken.

And when it does start to thicken up, stir in the chicken and turn the heat off.

At this point, the pasta should be ready and you can go ahead and stir in the cooked pasta too. Turn out into a large casserole dish -- I spray it with non-stick cooking spray, like Pam, but I don't know if it's really necessary -- and smooth the top, then sprinkle on the paprika and extra parmesan cheese.

Now just bake it for 30 minutes. That's it. Everyone liked it. It should feed at least six people, too.

Freaky Friday

I don't know what's possessed me. I got on some kind of "self-portrait" kick and just went crazy. Weird. Especially since self-portraits are typically an artistic endeavour that I absolutely shun. But I've chosen two of my loco artwork pieces (yes, sadly, there were more.........) and posted them here. Must be something odd going on in the universe.

On a more inspiring note, I spent a wonderful afternoon with my friend Nancy two days ago, going over the use and creation of Photoshop brushes. After I came home I went online and downloaded oodles more to add to the overflowing collection I already have. Would you believe I have over 1300 brush sets now! Well, if you know me, then you believe that completely!

Introducing: Freebies

It's the Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada and frankly, the weather has sucked. Rainy, damp, chilly, dull. If the temperature in our living room had dropped one more degree this morning, our furnace would have kicked in. This is the beginning of summer?

To keep myself occupied and also to cheer me up, I cooked up a wonderful pasta dish with beef sausage from the butcher, tinned tomatoes (I buy the Muir Glen brand from the U.S., they're organic and the best canned tomatoes I've had), garlic and lots of spices along with fusilli. A little cabernet to deglaze the pan too. Not typical fare for the weekend that is supposed to kick off summer, but blame the chill on that. I also decided to introduce a new section to my blog, something I've been thinking about all week. So ... introducing ... freebies.

When I was the managing editor at WE Compute Magazine, one of my responsibilities was our monthly Freebies column. I enjoyed hunting down cool free stuff online for our readers and I want to continue that here. The internet is an amazing resource; you just never know what you'll find.

So, as I find goodies, I'll add them to the freebies listing on the right. And if you know of some cool sites that have free downloadable stuff, please let me know so I can add them here. I've started it off with a few of my favourites, some suitable only for Photoshop users (typically version 7 and up, or Elements 5 or 6) while others have a broader appeal. Have fun downloading!

New stuff

I have been a wee bit busy, working on some new art. Sometimes I just feel inspired. I added a few photos to my web site, in the What's New gallery. If you haven't yet visited my site, you'll find three links there: eat, write, and create -- create takes you to all six of my photo galleries. The "eat write create" links have always been at my web site, those three terms really define me, my interests. And that's why I used those three words as the name of this blog, in case you were curious. It's just, well, me.

I also added a few pictures to my Flickr account. I have been experimenting, trying some of my favourite Photoshop techniques in different orders or with different choices, plus trying things I've outright never tried before. And instead of being a frustrating experience, it's been fun! I sure hope this inspiration sticks with me.

I found Photo Friday

Earlier this evening, I stumbled upon the Photo Friday site -- similar to Illustration Friday. Another challenge! And since today is Thursday, I still have time to submit my contribution to the May 9th topic: Professional. This is a photo I took last year; I just spiffied it up a bit and applied a filter to it.

Grab a tissue, part two

A big shout-out of thanks to Krysta for her tip on embedding a YouTube video here in my blog. I learn something new every day! Please check out Evil Chef Mom, Krysta's wonderful blog -- I know you'll love it.

This video is about an important softball game between two rival teams that suddenly takes quite a turn. As I state in my previous entry, it is just so heartwarming. Youth sports has been a big part of our life since our son's first t-ball game, and he went on to play baseball, football and rugby at a high level. And even though our son is now all grown up, my hubby still finds time to coach sports at our local high school. I have experienced first-hand how competitive it all can be, and for these young athletes to set aside that attitude is just such a hopeful and positive sign. A real feel-good story.

Grab a tissue, you'll need it

I wish I knew how to post a YouTube video here. I have seen YouTube videos embedded at other people's blogs, but I don't know how they did it. And since I can't figure it out, the link is going to have to do.

The video clip is about sports, yes, but it's really about so much more than that. Sportsmanship. About young women who, for a brief shining moment, put aside the overwhelming focus on win!win!win! that afflicts sports today and simply did what was right. As athletes and as human beings.

I have a vague recollection of seeing a bit of this on the news, but I confess I wasn't really paying attention. U.S. women's college softball doesn't typically grab my attention. But as I was blogging around, I found a link to the YouTube video about this very event, and decided to watch. I am so glad I did. The video is very moving, hence the need for kleenex. If this doesn't illustrate sportsmanship at its best, I don't know what would.

Please watch the video. It'll make you feel good, I promise.

Illustration Friday: Electricity

What if time is running out?

I finally did it. I took on the Illustration Friday challenge and created an original digital collage on this week's theme, Electricity. The title of my piece, "What if time is running out?", refers to the possibility that electricity might one day, well, run out. A sombre interpretation for me. Unusual.

What a challenge this was, as this is not how I typically create art. It was so against my grain, having to work on a particular theme instead of going where my mood takes me. Even so, this piece started out drastically different than what you see above. Over the weekend, the piece just got darker and darker, both in colour and in mood, surprising me every step of the way. Today, I worked on it at length and am now quite happy with the results. And I look forward to tackling future Illustration Friday themes as well.

The devil's in the details

Today's the day. Evil Chef Mom is hosting a virtual potluck and I've decided to bring devilled eggs. What's a party without stuffed eggs, right? C'mon ... try one. You know you love these retro babies.

So, without further ado, I present -- Zesty Devilled Eggs! Here's the recipe:

Zesty Devilled Eggs

6 hard-boiled eggs (cooled, peeled, and halved)
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp ballpark (yellow) mustard
1 tsp sweet pickle relish
1 heaping tsp horseradish (or more if you dare)
salt and pepper, to season to taste

paprika for prettiness

After you cut the hard-boiled eggs in half, plop the yolks into a mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients excepting the paprika. And a note on the pickle relish -- it can sometimes be chunky; you don't want that, you want a relish that's smoother. Well, I don't want that. If you're good with the big bits, then more power to you.

Anyhoo, mash up the yolks along with the other filling ingredients. Taste. Add a wee bit more mayo if it doesn't taste and/or look creamy enough. Then you can go all fancy-schmancy and put the yolk mixture into a piping bag and fill the egg whites, or just use a teaspoon and hope for the best. Sprinkle paprika on top 'cause you can. And chill until serving time.

And that's typically what I do. But if the mixture is too soft -- as it was when I filled the eggs and then took their picture (see above) -- don't do as I did and let impatience take over. It really is best to chill the yolk mixture first in those circumstances, before you fill the egg whites.

If you're feeding a crowd, just hard-boil as many eggs as you think you need and increase the filling ingredients proportionately. This recipe makes 12, which likely won't last too long around a crowd. Especially a crowd with lots of men. Why do men like devilled eggs so much?

Oh, and I can't let this go without a brief word on hard-boiling eggs. It seems everyone and their aunt has a different opinion on how to do this, so I shall add to the information-overload and mention how I do it: get out pot; put in eggs; cover with tap water; put on high heat and bring to boil; let boil for only one minute; turn off heat and remove pot from burner; place lid on pot; set timer to 20 minutes; after timer dings, place eggs in bowl in sink and run cold water over them; let sit in cold water, changing a few times if needed, until eggs are cool enough to touch; peel 'em. And always remember that really fresh eggs are a bugger to peel.

So let me find a spot on the table for my platter and we're good!

Work in progress

It's a dull, damp day. The sky is steel, lots of rain in the forecast, and the house is once again chilly. Maybe that reflects my choice of artwork today. It's a work in progress, but I like what I see so far. But I think it's time for a hot drink and some mindless television.

Sometimes I amuse myself

Today I played with food. Okay, not with real food -- food pictures. Yes, I am one of those weird foodies who likes to take pictures of what I've cooked. And it dawned on me today that I've never brought any of those pictures into Photoshop to use in any of my artwork.

What a waste. All those photos just waiting to be altered. So I gave it a try.

Here is my first effort worthy of being seen in public. From a food perspective, this roast chicken always turns out totally yummy. And now I shall claim it as artistic too!

Like I said, sometimes I amuse myself...........

I missed "color week"

This blogging world reveals something new to me every day. For example, "color week". I missed it. My excuse? I've been away.

Yes, it's a lame excuse, but I really was away and am just today catching up on my blog reading. And then I discovered that curious bird had designated last week as Color Week, with each day of the week assigned a particular colour. I would have loved to participate, so I decided to join the party, just a little late. I postponed my blog reading and started to search through my photos, looking for ones I've yet to use in any artwork as my contributions. Nothing like a good challenge. I've posted my choices above: green monday, yellow tuesday, orange wednesday, pink and red thursday and finally, blue friday. The fire hydrant was used in an op-art piece (posted in the urban gallery on my web site) but it's never been presented unaltered before, so I went with it. Nothing like a red fire hydrant! Ours are yellow here in Scarborough.

It was a great exercise in restraint, as I so wanted to go crazy with the photos but instead made myself stay away from blending modes, filters, etc. It was also an eye-opener for me as I discovered many forgotten photos that I once-upon-a-time couldn't wait to alter. My future projects await!

My web site

I am so pleased -- I finally completed the redesign of my web site.

When I created it several years ago, it was exactly what I wanted. But times change. I grew to be very unhappy with it and was frustrated at myself for not fixing it. It grew old and stagnated. And I didn't know what to do to make it better.

But last month I finally sat myself down and made myself work on a totally new layout. One idea led to another and finally it all started to come together. And tonight I finished it! Well, phase one of it. The galleries are up and that was my major goal, to get my artwork properly displayed. I will add new art to it as the mood strikes me -- a web site is an ongoing process, as I learned the hard way. I cannot ignore it or it will become tired and dusty.

I am happy with it now and hope you'll take a minute to have a look.