an affinity for turtles...

daughter's front yard

daughter's front pond

one of grand daughter's baby Red Sliders in pond

We have an affinity for turtles.  I think lots of people do.  But it seems that each generation (if they have the same affinity/attraction) goes a step further.  I loved horses (rode but never owned one), my daughter got to own 2 as a child, and now my grand daughter has 3.  See where I'm going here? Now I always liked turtles and we have several box turtles that make our yard (which goes down to a creek) their home . Growing up, my daughter was forever rescuing turtles and tortoises from the roads and bringing them home to deposit in the creek.  Now my grand daughter owns several; 2 African Sulcatas, 1 Russian, 1 Red Footed, and 3 baby Red Sliders. She studies what kind of environment and diet each needs and provides special habitats for each.   See?... a step further.

Don't ask me why this subject became my post today because I really couldn't tell you. Sometimes I must refer to by mind as my *monkey mind*.... as  it keeps jumping around to unrelated subjects. 

A while back I said that I was going to post some of my old poems, stories, sketches, whatever, daily. Well, obviously (and fortuitously for you) I haven't done that.  They say that life is what happens to us when we're planning something else... well, apparently that's true. I get caught up with 'other things' and forget said plans. But that's OK.  Hopefully we'll have lots of time together. I'll get around to it eventually.

here's one page out of one of my sketchbooks...

new recipes, favorite books, and playing with pottery...

Ingredients for Chicken Alfredo

This weekend I decided to try the Chicken Alfredo recipe from Marguerite's Cajun Delights at www.cajundelights.blogspot.com . She has so many wonderful Cajun recipes that are so similar to the food I grew up with in New Orleans that I love just looking at her pictures and listening to the music.  But this recipe was not something my mama made and it sounded wonderful, so I gave it a try.  Easy - yes! Delicious - yes! It was a big hit with DH and the boys.  Sorry that I didn't think to take a picture of the finished product.

a handy dandy little book to have...

And this book is one of the best purchases I ever made.  You can look up almost anything in this little gem. When you come across something in a recipe that you've never heard of.... it's here! It will tell you what it is (how to pronounce it), where it originated, and how it's used. The inner page says, "more than 6,700 A-Z entries describe foods,cooking techniques, herbs, spices, desserts, wines, and the ingredients for pleasurable dining."  Of course with the Internet, you can probably look it up online these days... but I still love this book!

playing around...

Lastly I'm posting the end result of me playing around with clay the other night while watching TV. I suddenly felt the urge to make something and was mad at myself for not bringing home my clay tools.  Having left them in my locker at the studio, all I had available was a kitchen knife and a small bit of  clay in the garage. But despite being a little rough around the edges, I still think he's kinda cute.  As for our current chess game project, I have completed the pieces, underglazed the bases, and am in the process of firing them to bisque. After that I hope to stain them lightly with blackbird stain and refire. This week I have to decide the best way to approach the 'chess board' itself.

 







Daughter's new chicken coop

 New baby Cochin Chicks

An image of what a grown Cochin Chicken will look like... (colors vary)

One of the chickens (or possibly rooster?) they have now...

Another chicken (possibly rooster?) that they have now...












They already have dogs, cats, horses, and turtles/tortoises...   This 'chicken thing' is new.  Hopefully it will work out well.  I like chickens!

life on the homefront...

Jack 

As I sit here in my computer room drinking my Sunday morning coffee, I'm thinking about making chocolate chip pancakes for our 5 and 14 year old grandsons this morning. The 5 year old is busy upstairs playing some computer game with his dad or brother... not sure which... but he's apparently enjoying it as his little voice keeps flowing down the stairs full of laughter and giggles. Sunday mornings are the only times we eat a big breakfast around here... usually eggs, grits, biscuits, and bacon or pancakes/waffles and scrambled eggs.  I used to make scones a lot (lavender or chocolate chip pecan), but haven't done this in a while... hmm-mm, maybe next Sunday.

Reading these blogs give us a glimpse into other people's lives... which on a personal level... may not seem so interesting to the average reader.  But through them I realize how similar and how different we all are. It amazes me when I read about someone who is actually interested in so many of the same things I am, people who have the same concerns, the same fears, the same joys.  It's great to share a little bit of their life on occasion.  And some lives are so-oo different. And I love reading those too! I especially like reading the blogs of those who live in other countries, those who are dedicated to being self-sufficient, artists, culinary amateurs and experts, nature lovers, cat lovers, etc. It's terrific! We have the world at our fingertips. How can anyone ever be bored?

This is a glimpse through our back gate going over into the creek and flood plane. It's the area where most of our wildlife comes from...

This is Jack laying on our kitchen counter watching me cook...

Jack and Tux standing guard on the stairs...

Ghost playing on the kitchen floor with her mouse...

19 year old Molly playing with a stick of catnip on our bed.

                  Our house in snow...

Our backdoor visitors...

19 year old Rose sunning herself in the front window...              

 A custard pie with my pie bird (just for show)

         Some of my favorite cups...

A chicken pot pie (with recipe in background)

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!    : )

books...

One of my favorite dragon books

As you can see, I really like children's books... especially some of the illustrations. My favorite type of illustration is done in watercolor... and not being an art major, I don't know what the technique is called.  But it's a very pale fluidy process (and sometimes it's outlined in ink).  I own some books that use this technique ("city dog, country frog") is one.

And I've seen this technique used in other books, art, and even on a blogsite. Nora McPhail (www.noramacphail.blogspot.com) seems to use it. She does some wonderful watercolors.  My favorites are the people scenes and there's one of a bike in the snow outside the library...

This is another of my favorites. It's called "The Library" and it's about someone who loves and collects books.  I'm going to show you a few pages of the illustrations.  I absolutely love them. You can see the details in the pages better if you click on them to make them larger...

and then there's "The Money Tree" same author, same Illustrator

Isn't this wonderful?  

Sorry to go on and on, but I just love these pictures.  I try to use this technique when I watercolor... which isn't very often (it's only when the muse comes visiting).  

Here's a few of my 'attempts':  First two are just sketches I made of pages from books...

and some random watercolors :

done on a silent retreat...

copying an illustration in a children's book...

Enough of this. Hope I haven't bored you.  

Have a great weekend!

just add chocolate...

getting ready to bake peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Yesterday I was in the mood to bake cookies and since my 14 year old grandson  (not to mention  son and DH) loves chocolate chip cookies, I thought I would give it a go and have some ready when he came home from school.  I also made home-made cheese burgers with lots of fixings, buns, and my special  HM potato salad.  Now my potato salad is probably not special... but I'm one of those people who doesn't care for most potato salads and have always been a bit 'afraid' of it... since in the south potato salad in the hot sun can be a problem.  My mom warned me enough about eating it out that I almost never eat it period.  But I came across a recipe a while back that we all really love.  So-oo I occasionally make it for us.  If you're interested I found the recipe in Jan Karon's Cookbook (The Midford Series)... and tweaked it a bit.

These are my little pie birds.  The one in the center is not a real pie bird.  I got him at a pottery show in Gruene, Tx.  and he was too cute to resist.  Besides, I seldom use them as pie birds anyway.  They just sit on my Aga and make me happy.

It's only Monday and I'm tired...

chess pieces with first coat of under glaze on bases

OK, it's Monday... about 4:30 pm and I'm tired.  We had to have our 32 chess pieces ready by this morning's class. Most of us did. Some didn't. But I was impressed with some of the other students' results.  Now this is just the sculptured clay forms, nothing fired, nothing glazed, etc.  And we don't have the chess boards made yet. So even though this was a first deadline (and  critique), it's by no means the last. Since my pieces were finished, I started painting the bases with under glaze today. I'm doing the bases in two shades of green and the actual pieces will be shaded with blackbird stain... eventually.

Since I got home from the studio around 2, I've eaten lunch, watched "Good Neighbors' (which we recorded since it comes on at 11 pm here and I can't make it past 9 most nights) and "The Good Wife" which I also missed. Now I'm catching up on my blogs and making potato salad to go with baked ham and beans tonight.

I did see "Dalton Abbey" and have to say that I can't believe that Matthew is dead.  He is dead, isn't he? They wouldn't make it look like he's dead, but not be...    It just won't be the same without him in the show. But of course I'll continue to watch. I'm not a big TV fan, but this is definitely one of my favorites.

Time is up for blogging today. I didn't post one of my old stories, but here is a poem I wrote while on retreat a few years back.  It's called : In the Company of Women.

Do you believe in magic?

Reading other bloggers' posts this morning feeds my thoughts with ideas that begin to blossom in my head... (strange wording but it conveys what I'm trying to say...). Sometimes my head is near bursting with stories, ideas, thoughts about life/death, miracle moments, etc. I think that's why I write... to get some of them 'out of my head'... and make room for others.

I have beaucoup old stories, essays, poems, etc. that are lingering in files, old web sites, etc. Sometimes I think that maybe I'll resurrect some here, but then other distractions or new ideas pop up... and like those ominous 'senior moments'...  the thought is gone.

So... TODAY... I'm going to start doing just that.  I will try to introduce one poem or story or whatever... daily (probably not daily, but I can be optimistic?).  And it will be introduced in a way that will make it *optional* should a reader prefer not to read it (some stories are rather long - my sci-fi one for example).I doubt if any of you have been to my other websites, but if you have and have already been confronted with my ramblings, then please forgive me and ignore these efforts. But... as we are inclined to say, it is my blog.

I'll start with a short essay that was written about my belief in *magic*.  It was written with the idea in mind that with retirement came endless free time to do what you want.  Well, it does and it doesn't. Somehow free time is filled - not always with what you want to do, but that's another story. My idea back then was that I would write all day in between house-hold chores. This was my idea of heaven... write a little, work a little, etc.  It was a good idea, but didn't take into account other people's plans on how they wanted to use my free time. But again, that's another story. Here's this one:  "I Believe in Magic".  Have to mention that sometimes one story leads to another on these sites, so this one is connected by link to a children's story I wrote called "The Littlest Dragon".  You can feel free to read it if you like or ignore it.  Like I said, I have beaucoup stories...

Have a great weekend!  ; )

What can I say... ?

Just got these Valentine pictures of new grand daughter... and had to post them.  I'm sorry if some of you may not appreciate the doting grandmother approach and I do try to avoid overdoing it, but just thought these were too cute not to share. So please bear with me...

Valentine cats...

Devoted Brothers

Just a short post to say Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone!

Remembering a time best forgotten...

    Grandson at 4 in the park on one of our hikes...

Reading DJan's post about the highs and lows of life this past weekend made me think about my own.  I too wrote a similar essay back when I was writing on a website - before blogging in 2001. Probably very few people read my writings, but they weren't written necessarily to be read - just to get things off my mind. It helped.

Here is a link (if you're curious) :  www.mystoriesetc.homestead.com/index.html

2000 was a difficult year. I'm pretty sure many of us have years in our lives that are better off not remembered. This one however was a roller coaster   - with wonderful memories like our only daughter's wedding in the Spring and a once in a lifetime dream trip to Maine in the summer.... and then the world fell apart for a time.

pottery and iPhones...

One of our 'previous' cats - Teela.  She was a tiny little thing,
barely 5 lbs. but she was feisty and ran the house for years.

I've spent the better part of this week working on our pottery project as well as talking to 'Apple' people concerning our new iPhone. Both Monday and Wednesday mornings were spent in the studio getting our ideas and clay together for our chess sets. And both Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons were spent talking in person at the Apple store and then  on the phone with an Apple rep. I can't believe it's Thursday already.  This week has flown by.

The reason for the consults was due to the fact that we upgraded recently from an iPhone 3 to a 4 because the upgrade was 'basically' free and the new phone is supposedly a little faster, has a few more bells and whistles, etc... but basically we did it because we could.  Well, nothings ever simple.  It took more than a few 'helping hands' to get all my apps, photos, etc. transferred from one phone to the other. There were reasons... security ones that had to be addressed due to some problems I had had about a year ago with someone fraudulently using my credit card. But I will say that all the Apple employees who helped us were terrific... friendly, knowledgeable, and very efficient.  It just took time.

As for the pottery, we're slowing getting there.  I have my first 6 animal figures done... to represent the King, Queen, Knight, Bishop, Rook, and Pawn. Now I will start making a small mold so that I can do the 16 pawns the same. I've had to 'revise' my original idea so as to keep making these small animals in the method I wanted to use... may be called 'gestural'?  I'm not an art major so I'm guessing here, but it's when you do the basic figure without detail... more or less letting the form or movement dictate what it is. So instead of a cat theme, it's turned into an animal theme; dog, cat, bunny, rat, snake, and bird.  Most of the figures are done in 1 cubic inch of clay... or less. The rat is a bit big... so I may have to scale him down some. But it's not easy sculpting in such tiny amounts. They can't be bigger than 1.5 to 2 inches or the chess board will have to be too big...

Anyhoo... for the most part, the week has passed. And passed quickly.

There's something else... and it has nothing to do with anything, but it comes to mind this afternoon.  For the last few days I've kind of been draggin', feeling a bit down (which is not like me) and haven't really known why. Guess I could be coming down with something, guess it could be a symptom of 'old age', etc.  But whatever caused this melancholy to come and sit on my shoulder apparently departed this afternoon as this    evening  I feel good...  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

remembering a kindness...

A recent blogger mentioned "simple acts of kindness" and my mind flew back to years ago... and rather than reiterate the story here, I'll just link up to where I wrote it on an older site. This is the story.

As you can see, a kindness was done to me... and my unborn child 'passed it on' 22 years later. Some would say it was simply coincidence, but I prefer to think that it's all *linked*.  We are all *linked*.

I think we should all 'pay it forward' as the saying goes.
Kindness is contagious.

Do something *kind* today!

blogging...

a favorite photo

This will probably be short because I have to go to Yoga in a little while. But I've been reading blogs this morning and *accidentally deleting* comments (I'm such a klutz sometimes).  And I noticed that some people compare their blogs with other blogs.  Maybe this is normal, I don't know. However, I just wanted to say that to me a blog is a slice of one's life (albeit a small one) that part which a person chooses to share. It isn't a competition... or at least it's not for me (I'm afraid that I've never been competitive - probably why I don't care much for games).

Before I blogged, I journaled; first in tablets, then online. Why? Dunno.  But I've been doing it since I was a child and would do it whether anyone read them or not.  I do appreciate the readers... and the comments. It makes the whole process more interactive. And you get to make online friends (this is a plus!).  Writing in my journals never accomplished this.  It has always been a way to voice my feelings so for me it's probably psychologically beneficial. Blogging is a bit different. I share more of what I'm doing and thinking and less about personal stuff... or possibly the personal stuff gets a bit 'camouflaged'.

And another wonderful perk about blogging for me is sharing pictures! Getting to see what our online friends see! Sometimes getting to see things we would never be able to see in person ourselves.  I love this. Of course I have always been a big fan of photography. Being an amateur myself, some people's photos are fantastic! But I love them all... snapshots of kittens playing, a home-cooked meal,  a happy grandchild, as well as panoramic scenic shots of  nature's wonders...

And lastly, I find that blogging helps me categorize my days, weeks, months, and years.  I can go back and see what I was doing back on February 1, 2003 (or close - in this case it's Feb 2, 2003 - 10 years ago) - ... not important to anyone but me... but hey, it's my blog! As it stands, apparently (and I had forgotten this), this was around the tragic date that the Shuttle blew up over Texas. If you do check this link, you have to scroll down to Feb. 2nd.

Anyway, have a wonderful weekend! And Happy Blogging!