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Posts Tagged ‘life’

Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/28/11)

Posted in About me, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Organization, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 28, 2011| 3 Comments »

“Enough birds,” my mom says. “What?” I confusedly reply. “Enough birds,” she reiterates. “Okay,” I say as her meaning sinks in. My mom thinks I’ve posted too many photos of birds in my blog recently. Admittedly, I have become a bit bird crazy. Today’s photo of a Black-chinned Hummingbird is one that took great patience and a little luck to capture, so I have to share it! But I’ll try to give the little creatures a rest and aim my camera elsewhere for a little while . . . .

#1 -A Giving Challenge
“Give one thing away each day for 29 days. Share your stories about how it impacts your life to focus on giving. Join the 29-Day Giving Challenge today. Why? Because to see our world change, we have to do something to change our world. Plus, the best way to attract abundance into your life is to be in a perpetual state of giving and gratitude. Be an important part of the global giving movement that inspires more generosity on our planet.” These are the words on the 29-Day Giving Challenge: Changing Lives One Gift at a Time website that I learned about at a workshop I attended last weekend. Take on the challenge and see if your life doesn’t change!

#2 – Great Quotes and Great Images
Many of my favorite inspirational quotes have been paired up with some great photo images or artwork on the Present Outlook site. Check them out and print some up.

#3 – Get Organized!
According to the National Association of Professional Organizers, January is the official Get Organized Month.

As I sit here in my office, I am surrounded by piles of junk. I impulsively decided to clean my study yesterday. Cleaning and organizing are my favorite forms of procrastination! After spending half a day pulling everything off the bookshelves to sort and dust, I now have a bigger mess than I had before. What to do? Well, right now I’m procrastinating by writing this post instead of choosing to clean up my newly-created mess. It’s a vicious cycle, isn’t it?

If mail clutter seems to be taking over your living quarters, then here’s a tip from a book I found yesterday while cleaning. Sheree Bykofsky author of 500 Terrific Ideas for Organizing Everything says, “Never let your mail sit around. Read your mail as soon as it arrives and sort each envelope into the following categories: pay, answer, file, dump. Then do it. Be selective about what you choose to file; think about whether you’ll ever need to locate that paper again, and if you do, will you really be able to find it? Your time is too valuable to spend constantly filing; and your home shouldn’t resemble the archives of the Library of Congress.”

#4 – Got Lemons?
Got lemons? Do what I do when I’ve got lots of lemons. I freeze some of them, so I can enjoy their flavor throughout the year. One way I like to freeze them is in round slices. After washing the lemons, I slice them with a sharp knife into thin rounds. Then I place the slices in a single layer on a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. After the slices are frozen solid, I transfer them to a freezer-safe container, alternating layers of wax paper and lemon slices. When I have company over and want to serve them a refreshing pitcher of water, I just reach into my freezer and grab a couple of frozen lemon slices and toss them into the water. I also keep lime slices, quartered orange slices, cucumber slices, and melon chunks in my freezer just for that purpose, too!

# 5 – How Do You Say Thank You?
How do you say “thank you” for sunshine or health . . . for clear days or gentle rains . . . for happiness, joy or love? You say it by sharing what you have. You say it by making the world a better place in which to live.
~Thomas D. Willhite~

May you experience joy this weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/21/11)

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, inspiration, Photography, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Like Midas, the sun transformed everything it touched into gold as the bride and groom exchanged their wedding vows. “No gifts please,” the invitation read. But what about the beautiful gift they gave to their guests?  Was not the sharing of this glorious golden sunset on their wedding day a gift to others?

#1 – Live Your Life To the Fullest
I found another great list filled with food for thought. It’s from the Personal Excellence Blog and it’s called 101 Ways To Live Your Life to The Fullest. The article starts with this quote from Steve Jobs:

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

This list may seem daunting to some of you, but even if only one or two of the author’s suggestions appeal to you, you are still ahead of the game and closer to living your life to the fullest.

#2 – Reuse It!
If you have a wool sweater that you or someone in your family no longer wears, try making a cute handbag/tote out of it. I’ve not tried making one yet, but I’m definitely going to do it. The whole process seems simple enough. I may even attempt to add lining to my handbag! If you don’t have any old sweaters, search a thrift store for one. Click the link for the 30 Minutes to a Recycled Sweater Bag instructions.

#3 – Recycling Is An Art
This is a fun site to explore and inspire. Browse through the pages of RECYCLART to view ways to reuse and recycle “stuff” in a fun and artistic way. This site proves that with imagination anything can be reused!

#4 – Give Yourself a Time Out!
After I saw this gorgeous photo, I had to share it with you! Give yourself a time out to enjoy it. I guarantee you’ll feel much more relaxed after looking at this incredible sunset. Click on the link, then take a deep breath and simply gaze at the photo. Study the silhouette of the canoe and its solitary passenger. Is it a man or woman? Admire the vibrant colors – did you know that blue and orange are complementary colors? Have your eyes find the horizon and then let yourself sink deep into the warmth of its image. See how the clouds are smaller and fainter at the horizon then at the top and bottom of the photo? Notice the movement of the clouds and appreciate the beauty of their reflected image on the shimmering water. Feel better now?

#5 – Point of View
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
Rabindranath Tagore

Enjoy your weekend!
And a Happy Birthday to my niece Stephanie!

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Hate is a Four-Letter Word

Posted in About me, Helping Others, inspiration, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The boy is not yet five-years-old, but he is already developing a terrible and serious affliction. That it’s a life-altering affliction is sad, but that his family is most likely passing it on to him is frightening. His symptoms? Displaying a hardening of the categories. The diagnosis? Developing prejudice. The prognosis? Due to the early onset of symptoms, intervention is critical. Only time will tell the true severity of his affliction.

The back-story: A few days after Christmas my son was in a sporting goods store trying on ski goggles. Looking down while adjusting the fit, he heard a child’s voice address him with these words, “I HATE Asians!” Without even looking at my son’s face and without losing a step in his stride, this child stopped my adult son in his tracks with those ugly words. My son wondered how someone so young could already hate an entire group of people and how this little boy had the nerve to walk up to a stranger and spew hatred. There’s no doubt that this little boy did not develop a hatred of Asians, and who knows what else, all by himself. Like the lyrics from the Rogers and Hammerstein song “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” point out, this child had to be taught to hate. The words from this song seem more pertinent than ever:

You’ve got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught
From year to year,
It’s got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

After hearing my son tell me of his experience in the store, I remembered a scolding I once received from my dad when I was a child. I must have said something in passing to my parents about hating something, because I distinctly recall my dad gently pulling me aside and telling me to be very careful about using the word “hate.” He explained to me that hate was a very powerful emotion and that the word “hate” should never be used casually. “You can dislike someone or something, but don’t ever hate,” he said. I’m proud that my dad, an immigrant, and my parents, both of an ethnic minority, rose above the hurt of prejudice in their lives to teach their children to be more accepting and tolerant of the differences in people.

We need to be more aware of our behavior as we go about our everyday lives. The result of our insignificant actions may have great impact. Often times generalizations are made as a result of a single encounter. In particular, as adults we need to be more careful of what we say or do in front of children and young adults. Soon the future of our world will be in their hands. Prejudice is adopted by children like a bad habit and this cycle needs to be broken.  If we have any hope for world peace, we need to teach by example, on a daily basis, the power of acceptance and tolerance. Let us not define ourselves or others by color, race, age, religion, political beliefs, gender, disability, social class, ethnicity, etc. Let our legacy be based in the hearts and thoughts that bind us together and not in the classifications that we let divide us.

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/7/11)

Posted in About me, Gardening, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2011| 1 Comment »

At first glance they appear to be leaves silhouetted against the pale and bleak sky, but upon closer inspection of the trees, I spy movement. Birds! Dozens of tiny House Finches and Lesser Goldfinches are perched on the tips of the oak trees in my yard. Without realizing it, they are creating a lovely tableau for me to admire on this cold winter day.

#1 – Feed the Birds
It’s so cold outside, yet my bird feeders remain a hub of activity. Seeing this, I decided to do some research on winter bird feeding and on how birds keep themselves warm. Here are links to two good articles that might be of interest to you: Winter Bird Feeding and How Do Wild Birds Keep Warm In Winter. And please remember to keep your bird feeders full all winter long!

#2 – New Year’s Resolutions
I’ve made my list of new year’s resolutions and not surprisingly some of my resolutions are on a top 10 list of resolutions. Lose weight? Check! Fit in fitness? Check! Get organized? Double check! If you have not made any resolutions yet or if you need a little creative assistance, then check out this New Year’s Resolution Generator! Click on the “GIMME MORE” button and resolutions appear!

#3 – 7 Billion
Obviously none of us lives on this planet alone, but did you realize that by the end of this year you will have at least 7 billion human cohabitants sharing the earth with you? View National Geographic’s short, but compelling, video about the numeric trends of our rapidly, growing world population.

#4 – Geography Challenge
With almost 7 billion people and about 195 countries in the world, how strong is your knowledge of the world’s geography? Take the Geography Challenge Quiz from mental_floss and see how well you score.

#5 – Room by Room
We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.
Ellen Goodman

Can you find “JOY” in this photo?

My daughter says if you use your imagination, you can make out the letters J-O-Y in the photo. Joy is everywhere!

Wishing all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (12/10/10)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Recycling, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The air was damp and the sky was overcast, but still it was a lovely morning for a walk. The half-dressed autumn trees swayed in the breeze and encouraged their leaves to fall gracefully to the ground. As each season arrives and brings its unique character, I pause to breathe deep and say to myself, “This is the best time of the year.” And it always is.

#1 – Bingo, Anyone?
Breathe a little fun into your holiday gathering. On Christmas Eve each place setting on the tables in my house will have a little something extra – a bingo card. I’m making bingo cards and the markers will be holiday m&m candies. Just a little bit of fun before dinner starts. You can either make your own bingo cards using stickers or rubber stamps or go to DLTK to customize your cards and print them up!

#2 – Reuse It!
Breathe easier because here’s another idea for reusing plastic water bottles and saving the world from more trash. How about making cute bracelets out of bottles! Check out Dana’s Fashion Blog for complete instructions and pictorial.

#3 – Looking For a Good Book to Read?
I came across an article on LISTVERSE titled Top Ten Best Novels of the Last 20 Years. At first I was just curious, but as I read the article I became intrigued. A lot of these novels are out of my normal reading comfort zone, but Franz Kafka once said, “I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. If the book we are reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow on the head, what are we reading it for? We need the books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” That’s intense and it leaves me breathless, but I’m still off to the bookstore to check out those titles!

#4 – Hit the Road
Feel like taking a road trip? MapCrunch is an interesting site where you can “teleport to a random place in the world!” Select a country and click “Go” and an image of a random street in that country appears on screen. Some scenes are breathtaking and some are not. Move your cursor to the lower right-hand corner of the image and you’ll see the address of the scene. A pointer on a map indicates where you are located in that country.

#5 – All Good Things Are Yours
Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. 
~Swedish Proverb

Take a deep breath . . . there are only two more weeks before Christmas!

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Hot Mushroom Turnovers

Posted in About me, Holidays, Parenting, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 7, 2010| 10 Comments »

November 1982. That’s what it reads on the upper left-hand corner of a slightly tattered, grease-spotted, magazine page. There’s no additional clue to reveal the identity of the magazine from which I carefully tore out the page. That I saved this page all these years is impressive, but what is incredible to me is that in those early-parenting days I had enough time to read a magazine, let alone had the ambition to make the recipe on the page. Having an eighteen-month-old baby who never slept took its toll out on me back then. So why on earth would a sleep-deprived, working, young mom clip out a recipe for a fancy holiday hors d’oeuvre, when she barely had time to make herself a sandwich? I’m sure it was wishful thinking on my part that my baby would eventually be like others and take a four hour nap instead of a twenty-minute one or that I’d eventually be able to leave the house to make friends and have the energy to entertain! Ever the optimist!

Well, that baby grew up and sleeps quite a bit these days. Somehow I survived his sleepless ways and am thankful that I hung on to that page and recipe all these years. The Hot Mushroom Turnover recipe has become a family favorite. These delicate little turnovers are made with a forgiving cream-cheese pastry and filled with the goodness of fresh mushrooms, bits of onions, rich sour cream, and fragrant thyme. They’re great for holiday entertaining because you can freeze them unbaked –  popping them into the oven when you have company or just when you have a craving for them!

Hot Mushroom Turnovers

Ingredients:
1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups + 2 T all purpose flour, divided use
1/2 + 3 T cup butter, softened, divided use
1/2 pound mushrooms, minced
1 large onion, minced
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. In a large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1-1/2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup butter until smooth. Shape into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, melt 3 T butter. Add mushrooms and onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream, salt, thyme, and 2 T flour; set aside.

3. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll half of dough 1/8-inch thick. With a floured 2-3/4-inch round cookie cutter or inverted glass, cut out as many circles as possible. Repeat.

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

5. Onto one half of each dough circle, put 1 teaspoon of the mushroom mixture. Brush edges of circles with egg wash, using a small brush. Fold dough over filling. With fork, firmly press edges together to seal. Prick tops with fork.

6. Place turnovers on ungreased cookie sheet and brush tops with remaining egg wash.

7. Bake 12-14 minutes until golden.

Makes about 3-1/2 dozen.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Do not attempt to put more than 1 teaspoon of filling into the turnovers. The turnovers may not seal correctly or may burst while baking if they are over-filled.

2. The onions should be minced smaller than the mushrooms. The mushrooms shrink while they are cooking. Ultimately you want both components to be of the same size.

3. I seem to always have leftover filling. Either use the extra filling for something else (topping for Brie?) or double the amount of pastry dough.

4. In a pinch I think puff pastry sheets could be used instead of making scratch pastry.

5. If you freeze them, make sure you bake them a little longer.

Enjoy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! 12/03/10

Posted in About me, Creativity, Handcrafted Cards, Health, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Recycling, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 4, 2010| 2 Comments »

It’s only December 3rd and I’m already feeling behind on my holiday decorating and shopping. Plus, at the rate I am going, the winner of my last Mystery Photo Contest may never get her prize. I’ve been working on a set of note cards for the winner and even though I’ve already made twelve cards, something inside me keeps saying the set is not yet complete. I keep adding little flourishes to “finished” cards or I come across another photo that I think would make a pretty card or I decide to experiment with different materials. One of the cards in the set was created from an old map and an outdated calendar. No wonder I’m so far behind on everything – I keep finding ways to reuse things!

#1 – Reuse It!
I like to think that I am pretty creative when it comes to reusing things. Remember the busted plastic hamper that I wrote about wanting to use as a tomato cage? Well, here’s an idea for reusing those foam packing sleeves that are put on fruit for protection. To protect my fragile Christmas ornaments from damage or breakage, I slip one of the solid or lattice-type foam fruit sleeves on them. These especially work well on round glass ornaments.

#2 – Got a Bit of Yarn?
If you think it is cold outside, think about how cold it is for an impoverished child who has AIDS. I came across a site called Knit a Square. The founders of Knit a Square collect donated knitted or crocheted squares from around the world and make blankets, vests, hats and pullovers for abandoned children, AIDS orphans, and for child-headed families in South Africa. The project began as a family project, but has become a registered charity whose goal this year is to collect “105,000 squares (3000 blankets) and and additional 5,000 knitted and crocheted garments.”

Got a bit of yarn? Knit or crochet a square to help keep a child warm.

#3 – Exercise to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
According to an article in Brainangle, one must exercise both his brain and body to help prevent Alzheimer’s:

Mental exercise is one way to help prevent Alzheimer’s. Another means of prevention is to remain physically fit throughout life. All of the organs in the body benefit from being physically fit, including the brain. One Harvard study of more than 18,000 participants found that people who got the most exercise showed less mental decline than those with sedentary lifestyles.

Physical exercise increases blood flow to the brain and keeps it working efficiently by stimulating the production of neurotrophins. This is especially true for the hippocampus which is the first area of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease. This increased blood flow and neuronal efficiency can reduce the natural shrinkage that occurs in the brain as it ages. An average person will lose between 15% and 25% of brain cells by the age of 90. Those people who get the most exercise will be at the bottom of that scale, while those people who never exercise will be at the top of that scale.

#4 – I-5 Know How
Last week when my daughter was driving back to college with a friend, fog was anticipated on the interstate. Although I’ve previously posted Tips for Driving in the Fog on this blog, I found additional information that I shared with her and her friend. Gary Richards, a San Jose Mercury News columnist, offered these safety tips for driving in the fog and the rain in his column “Roadshow”:

No. 1: Sl-o-o-o-o-o-w down.

No. 2: In thick fog, drive with lights on low beam, reduce speed and crack open your window and listen for traffic you cannot see. Never drive with just your parking or fog lights on.

No. 3: If you are on Interstate 5, look for reflective dots on the right shoulder when approaching an exit. Three side-by-side dots will appear three-tenths of a mile from an exit. At two-tenths of a mile, two dots will appear and at one-tenth of a mile one dot will appear.

No. 4: Watch electronic warning signs. When visibility is less than 100 feet, Caltrans will flash “Dense Fog Ahead” messages.

No. 5: When visibility is less than 500 feet, Highway Patrol cars will turn on their flashing lights and lead traffic at a safe pace through major roads between Kern and San Joaquin counties.

No. 6: If an accident occurs or your vehicle stalls, pull as far off the road as possible, turn on flashing emergency lights, set out flares, and move to a safe area, preferably behind a guardrail. If there is no safe place next to the road, stay in your car and remain buckled up.

No. 7: S-l-o-o-w down. Driving too fast is the No. 1 cause of accidents on wet days.

No. 8: Know how to defrost your car. Before turning on the defroster and blower, move the heat control to “hot” and allow the engine to warm up first. If the windshield starts to fog on the inside, open a side window slightly and turn the defroster to a higher speed. If you have an air conditioner, use it to reduce humidity and moisture collecting on the window.

No. 9: If your car has anti-lock brakes and goes into a skid, you may feel a vibration when pressing the brake pedal. Don’t panic. Hold the brake pedal down firmly. Sensors in anti-lock brakes are adjusting to the wet road, which is why the pedal vibrates. Nothing is wrong, as long as you hold the brake down. Don’t pump or lift your foot off the pedal.

No. 10: Drive in the tire prints of the car ahead of you. When a car hydroplanes, it’s riding on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road. The water in tire prints has already been displaced, so you get better traction.

No. 11: If your car hydroplanes, hold the steering wheel steady and lightly apply brakes. When you feel the tires touch the pavement, slow until regaining control.

#5 – Light and Darkness
I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.
Og Mandino

Enjoy your first weekend in December!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (11/19/10)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Community, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Jewelry, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 19, 2010| 1 Comment »

Full of gratitude. It’s a reoccurring theme on this blog, as well as a meaningful phrase for one of my dear friends. Because I am grateful to have her in my life and because she’s helped me to rekindle my “spark,” I made her this necklace. With less than one week before Thanksgiving, let’s all make the time to stop what we are doing – planning menus, working, cleaning house, chauffeuring kids, etc. – to reflect on the many things we are grateful for and to show gratitude to everyone in our lives.

#1 – Say Thanks!
Although Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States and Canada as a harvest festival, the island of Grenada and the city of Leiden in the Netherlands also celebrate a Thanksgiving Day. But why only say thanks once a year? Here are a few different ways to say thanks or thank you in other languages. You never know when this knowledge might come in handy – maybe even the next time you go out to eat!! Click here to see the entire list.

Chinese (Mandarin) – Xie_Xie (shieh shieh)
Chinese (Cantonese) Do jeh (tou yeh) (formal: thanks)
Czech – Dekuji (deh’-ku-yih)
French – merci (mehr-see’)
German – Danke (dahn’-kuh)
Greek – Efharisto (ef-har-ris-tou’)
Hawaiian – Mahalo
Italian – Grazie (grahts’-yeh)
Japanese – Arigato (ah-ree-gah’-toh)
Korean – Kamsa hamaida (kam’-sah hum-nee-dah’ )
Malaysian – Terima Kasih (“Tay ree ma Kaa seh”)
Polish – Dziekuje (dsyehn-koo-yeh)
Russian – Spasiba (spah-see’-boh)
Spanish – Gracias (grah’-syas)
Swedish – Tack (tahkk)
Tahitian – Maururu

#2 – Paper Art
When I create my cards, I enjoy cutting and manipulating pieces of paper, but here is a series of photos that takes paper art to a whole other level!

#3 – Spells
It’s November and everyone is as excited as can be! Not for Thanksgiving necessarily, but for the release of the new Harry Potter film. You’ll be grateful that you know the difference between the Alohomora spell and the Finite Incantatem spell. Brush up on your knowledge with Wikipedia’s Harry Potter Spells before you see the movie!

#4 -What Money Cannot Buy
The Norwegian writer Arne Garborg once wrote this:
It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; knowledge, but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything, but not the kernel.

Being grateful means being appreciative – for the what, why, where, and who’s we have in life. We’ve all heard that money cannot buy happiness, but that trend of thought does not stop there. To be inspired by others check out this Marc and Angel Hack Life blog post or check out this site which allows people to post their thoughts on what money can’t buy.

#5 – Gratitude
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

Be grateful you have a weekend to enjoy!


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Friday’s Fresh Five! (11/12/10)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Gardening, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, inspiration, Photography, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 12, 2010| 2 Comments »

Ever wonder why Monet produced close to 250 paintings of water lilies in his garden at Giverny during the last thirty years of his life? Standing in front of a large fountain on the grounds of Mission San Juan Capistrano last weekend, I appreciated his fascination with these exotic plants as I snapped photo after photo of them. Large, colorful, variegated leaves floated peacefully on the surface of the dark, murky water, while bright spikes of blossoms opened up to the sky. There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.” After seeing the beauty of these water lilies, I understand both the proverb and Monet much better.

#1 – Monet Trivia Quiz
Want to test your knowledge about Monet? Below is a short trivia quiz I adapted from an About.com article.

1. What were Monet’s first names?
A. Claude Oliver.
B. Oscar-Claude.
C. Oliver Claus.
D. Claus Oscar.

2. What school of art did Monet and his associates establish?
A. Fauvism.
B. Expressionism.
C. Impressionism.
D. Symbolism.

3. Were the artists who participated in this show known as Impressionists before the exhibition?
A. No, they came up with the name afterwards, when their paintings had made a good impression on the public.
B. Yes, they came up with the name specifically for the exhibition.
C. Yes, Monet had been labeled an Impressionist several years before.
D. No, a reviewer sarcastically entitled his article on the show the ‘Exhibition of the Impressionists’ and the name was adopted.

4. From 1890 Monet started series paintings, repeating the same scene. Why?
A. He was experimenting with different materials.
B. When he grew dissatisfied with a painting he would throw it away.
C. He was making multiple copies to sell.
D. He was preoccupied with capturing the way light looked at a particular moment.

5. What part of Monet’s garden at Giverny was his greatest source of inspiration?
A. The rose garden.
B. The herb garden.
C. The lily pond.
D. The irises.

6. Which of Monet’s senses failed?
A. His hearing.
B. His sight.
C. His touch.
D. His taste.

7. What is the name of the Museum in Paris which houses Monet’s waterlily murals?
A. The Louvre.
B. The Museum d’Orsay.
C. The Marmottan Museum.
D. The Orangerie.

Answers: 1. B; 2. C; 3. D; 4. D; 5. C; 6. B; 7. D

#2 – Unplug to Save Electricity
There are many electronic devices in our households that use electricity even when they are not actively being used. According to an article that was put out by my local electricity provider, “Household electronics, including those in your bathroom, office and kitchen, can add up to about 15 percent of your home’s electricity use.” The article lists as culprits,”rechargeable battery-powered cordless phones, electric toothbrushes, computers, printers, cell phone and digital camera charges, music players, rechargeable power tools and video game and entertainment equipment. These chargers and adapters draw power whenever they are in an outlet.” Where practical, learn to unplug these devices when not in use and/or use power strips as the central turn off point for various appliances and device chargers.

#3 – Amazing Sculptures Under the Sea
Explore artist’s Jason de Caires Taylor gallery of photos of his incredible, life-sized, underwater, concrete sculptures. His website explains, “Jason de Caires Taylor’s underwater sculptures create a unique, absorbing and expansive visual seascape. Highlighting natural ecological processes Taylor’s interventions explore the intricate relationships that exist between art and environment. His works become artificial reefs, attracting marine life, while offering the viewer privileged temporal encounters, as the shifting sand of the ocean floor, and the works change from moment to moment.”

#4 – Books Should Be Free
Books Should Be Free offers free audio books from the public domain. You can “download a free audio book in mp3, iPod, or iTunes format” in 25 different languages, including Ancient Greek! You can preview a book before you download it to verify whether or not you like the reader’s style. Many of the books have been recorded by volunteers through LibriVox, another organization offering free audio books. “LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and publish the audio files on the Internet. Our goal is to record all the books in the public domain.” If you have a great voice and love to read, consider volunteering to read and record one of your favorite books.

#5 – A Rich Proverb
If you want to feel rich, just count all the gifts you have that money cannot buy.

Enjoy your beautiful autumn weekend!

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Mom’s Baked Custard

Posted in About me, Parenting, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2010| 5 Comments »

“I sound like Darth Vader,” I moan to my husband. “What?” he says as he puts the newspaper down. “I sound like Darth Vader. I can hear myself breathing.” As I sit there listening to my loud, rattling breathing and contemplate whether to say, “Luke, I am your father,” my husband looks at me and just shakes his head. My nose is chapped and red and I have flat, lopsided, bed-hair. I remind him, “You said for better or worse, remember?”

Supposedly there are over 200 viruses that cause the common cold and, according to Wikipedia, adults average two to four infections a year and children average up to six to twelve infections a year. I’m in the throes of the first cold I’ve had in over two years, so I guess I’m not average. But whether it’s due to the cold itself or the groggy side effects of the cold medications or maybe a combination of both, I’m feeling a little nostalgic and crave two comfort items from my childhood:

1. A tall glass of 7-Up or ginger ale placed on my night stand is a must to quench my parched mouth during the night. But the most important part of this ritual is the use of a straw. When I was a kid, my mom always put a straw in my drink to make it easier to sip it during the night. Because I deem my mom as all-knowing, a straw is an essential element to my recovery. Basically, the only time straws are pulled out of the drawers in my house, is when someone is sick.

2. When my siblings and I were kids and were sick, my mom would make baked egg custard from scratch. It was the only good thing about being sick and is among my best comfort food memories. I looked forward to getting those little Pyrex custard cups filled with golden egg custard, lightly browned on the edges and sprinkled with nutmeg in the center. It was a smooth and nourishing treat that slid deliciously down my throat.

Since I’m battling a nasty rhinovirus right now, I’m sending my husband out to buy milk. Nothing will make me feel better than a bowl of my mom’s baked custard. And because the cold and flu season is approaching, I’m sharing her recipe with you.

Mom’s Egg Custard

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
Ground nutmeg

Directions:
Beat all ingredients, except nutmeg, together well. Pour into 4 custard cups. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Place cups into a baking pan. Pour hot water into the pan halfway up around the custard cups. The water level should be at the same level as the top of the custard. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serves 4-6, depending on the size of the ramekins or custard cups.

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