A glorious, sunny Mother's Day here!

Peonies and iris blooming together!

Columbines doing their utmost!

Pinks and lambsear beside a garden stone which says, "How lovely is the silence of growing things".

Japanese iris have multiplied year after year! Soon we will have lilies in bloom.

An apricot/peach/pink iris!

Our Gertrude Jekyll (from David Austin) fragrant pink rose!

In the back yard, the lasagne ( layered) garden from last summer has leaf lettuce, spinach and maybe someday, turnips! [Below]

Freshly picked and ready for my lunch!

New tomato and pepper plants were just set out today.....in the newest lasagne bed.

It is cool and cloudy this Mother's Day. I feel it is past danger of frost and so planted some heirloom variety tomatoes and peppers in my new garden bed. [I still have the lasanga garden bed from last year, too. It is producing lots of leaf lettuce in reds and greens for out table right now, as well as dill which as come up "volunteer" and cilantro! The new bed is in a sunnier location.]

Having had good luck with the Cherokee Purple tomato (above) last summer, I have put in 2 plants this year. Below is a new/old variety called Purple Smudge. Being an artist, how could I resist????

Then some bell peppers, this one called Chocolate Beauty...yummm?!!

This beautiful red is Olena Red! Brilliant!

One last tomato variety, Ananas Noir, or Black Pineapple. This one can have up to four colors on one ripe tomato. The flavor is said to be wonderful....so I'm excited to see how these grow!

All of the plants are from Bean Mountain Farms in Deer Arkansas. You can also visit them here.

MORE GOOD SWEET STUFF......

I have been watching my front porch for a brown package which will be my yogurt maker...yesterday a box was there! But the outside said SUCRE.....something else was "up"! [Hmmm...the French word for "sugar"....]

Inside was a candy stiped pastel box with a pink ribbon. Lovely!

Opening that box, was a "menu" of the contents......

Seems that Mother's Day is this weekend and I was not overlooked! LOL!

Aren't they pretty!!!!?????

Thank-you, thank-you, Laura!

Visit SUCRE to order your own macaroons, or to surprise someone!

Finding that we really do have thoughtful customers at the store!

Small and exquisite, this little vase of violas was brought in today! They are in a candleholder, just perfect for their tiny size! When she brought them to us, she said that just looking at these will make us feel better.....[she also said that "Men don't understand this." LOL!]

I told her that violas are also known as "Hearts Ease". This is an ancient name, read more here, with the flower fairies !

It was one of those special moments. A gift from a quiet, humble, sensitive soul! And of course, gave me something beautiful to share here!

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Also appearing in the store for us were white boxes like the one below.....

And what delightful goodies were inside! [From a customer who owns a candy store in anearby town!]

So, even though these last days are hectic, they are also rather fun!

[HINT:I wrote this in 2 posts. This reads a little better if you scroll down to the photo of the lilacs and start there!]

After the visit to the Mall of America, Friday, we met our son for lunch and a tour of where he works, a university library where he is a student ( this was the end of Spring Break there).

See this quilt?

It was behind the check-out desk where Andrew had been working! It is beautifully done and shows a famous Minnesota landmark on Lake Superior.....do you see the lighthouse? The fabrics include a brown batik ( used near the "Bear Paw" block) which has animals of the North Woods.....bear, moose, etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At lunch, I came across an art supply store and quickly picked up a new sketch book. [Sketch coming up later....] and a new cutting tool for collage.

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Saturday morning we went out for a hike (walk?), taking the "granddog", Juniper. It was too cold and windy to walk along Lake Harriet, though we tried, so we found a trail near a creek in a wonderful neighborhood.


It was a day for windblown hair, smiles and sunshine!!!


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That evening we went early to a place called "Matt's" at 35th and Cedar for a famous hamburger called a "Jucy Lucy" which has a center of melted cheese. The place was small and packed, with a line going out the door for quite a while!

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Then, Sunday brunch. [MORE food!]

Before visiting the cathedral of St. Paul, and the Minnesota History Center, we went to Patrick's French Bakery. Delightful! It was so hard to choose!

We did manage to make a reasonable (and even healthy!) selection and shared tastes all round with expresso and cafe au lait!

Then back to the display case to choose take home items.....macaroons and croissants.

Here is that new sketch book. As I often do, I have to sketch the foods before they are consumed! Still life and art journaling.

This page also tells how, after coming home from this jaunt [which was long as we went on to St. Paul and spent a couple of hours at the cathedral and seeing the exhibit about Benjamen Franklin at the history center], we found that Juniper, had found my cough drops and had eaten them all......we were concerned but she seems to have suffered no permanent damage! [I KNEW I should have put them more out of her reach! not used to having a dog around now!]

Our breakfast before starting home this morning! Life is good in Minnesota!

Lots to report from our 3 day visit to Minneapolis! [That doesn't include the day-long drive going up and back!]
The further north we drove, the more lilacs we saw...and especially around the Interstate in
Minneapolis and St. Paul!

Our first morning there, Friday, Andrew and Mary had to be at their jobs so we were on our own. We had a slow start and then found the Mall of America which is just a few miles from where our kids live. By the time we found it, we had less than an hour to spend there. This was fine, we managed! [ I think we wanted to make the "obligatory" visit there, so we can say "yes" we were there!]

Entering Macy's I found a perfume , "Zen" by Shisheido, which I used to enjoy and bought it again.

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Then we found the Magic Pan crepe stand. This was a treat, as I have been trying to learn to make crepes myself. We ordered one with bananas and Nutella, to share! It was fun to watch them make our crepe! [This link will show crepes being made in the same way near the Eiffel tower in Paris! They use Nutella on many of the crepes there too!]

We quickly "walked off" the crepe by circumnavigating the amusement park in the center of the mall.

Then off to meet Andrew at the university library where he works!

[Continued on next post...Thanks to Blogger, that post is above starting May 3]

Because the store where I have been working is closing, I am now free to paint again.
To remind myself that I do love painting, this morning I stopped to look at some of my art work which hangs in my home. I took photos too.

The painting above hangs in our "spare" bedroom. I painted in in the 1980's as an exercise to learn watercolor. The original is a painting by Winslow Homer, "The New Novel". I love this one, because he is a watercolor genius and because the subject is so wonderful. Escaping into a book of fiction!

This painting is also a watercolor painted in the 1990's, when I was developing my own looser and joyful style ( though I didn't realize at the time that this style development was occurring)! At first I was disappointed in my struggle to capture the reality of the iris. Now, I love this with the multiple 'almost-out-of-focus' iris. Being near-sighted,with astigmatism, I think this is how I often see things....so in a way it IS my reality.

There is no reason to want to be an artist except that there is no way to deny what we are...the time to paint is today! [Except that I still have to go to work, do laundry and pack for the weekend trip to Minnesota to visit a lovely couple....son Andrew and "our" Mary! Perhaps I need to carry a small sketch book and graphite pencil...YES!]

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Wednesday evening note: I just pulled a newly-finished quilt from the dryer! This one was made mostly at work during the last year and a half, as a sample for the classes I taught.

Now back to packing for the trip tomorrow!

It's been cool and rainy for 2 days....we almost have had to turn the furnace back up.
Baking is very appealing! Then, making me feel guilty, there are those bananas which are past the point where I love eating them on cereal....so .....time to "google" cornmeal banana bread!
I was not disappointed in my search. All Recipes has a great one, which of course I modified to fit my pantry!
It is a recipe with no sugar (uses honey) and it tastes terrific! My just-out-of-the-oven loaf is in the photo!




Corn Meal Banana Walnut Bread
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons honey
2 bananas, mashed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk (or buttermilk or yogurt)
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or cardamon)
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)



Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 8x8 inch baking pan.
2.
Place the honey, mashed bananas, canola oil, milk and vanilla into a blender or food processor; puree until smooth.
3.
Sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture until blended. Fold in walnuts and ground flax seed. Pour into prepared pan.
4.
Bake in preheated oven 40-50 minutes until brown on top.
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It's also a great night to curl up with a good book....I'm reading this one by Erin Hart. Set in Ireland and St. Paul, MN. A folklore/ murder mystery with a bit of romance.

A wonderful day for the kitchen garden!

It has been a weekend with heavy rain showers. The baby lettuces love it! These will go in tonight's salad as soon as I thin them out of the garden!

Hmmm....Something is liking my baby spinach....oh well, I can share....unless it gets too agressive!

Between the showers, Mr. Pear and I went for a walk through a wooded neighnborhood. In the woods next to the road was lots of Japanese Honeysuckle! We love the corals and oranges in the elegant blossoms.

We will try to root a cutting and plant it on our chain link fence!

Home for lunch...just a moment to share this.
Collage in process.....art clipped from recent magazines tossed against a printed graphic from a generous on-line collage artist, Green Paper !

I search through magazines for images which speak to me and then use them in my art journals.

This double page is from my journal last week when I learned, for sure, that the store I work in is closing. I use the journals to help work through the process of change and challenge. I am looking forward to some free time to blog, visit blogs and do my art.

I have to take it one day at a time and now must get back to the store to help with inventory!

A beautiful story as Easter continues..... my favorite hymn too!

This is SCARY but not surprising!!!
Our individual privacy is not protected any longer.....read this.


snopes.com: Spokeo

then ask Spokeo to remove your information if you like....I am!!!
[However, I think it will be like trying to rid your lawn of dandelions, once the puff balls have been spread in the breeze....more similar sites will constantly be set up trying to sell information about us to each other!]

A pier in Jamaica......

A family on the pier in Jamaica.....

A photo of parents and little brother taken in Jamaica....

A happy girl jumping on the beach in Jamaica....

FINALLY! I get to see and share photos from my daughter's Easter trip to the island!

[sometimes being patient is not easy....love these, now off to see more on her Facebook!]

Such a wonderful warm spring weekend. Yesterday at work I added gold machine embroidery to the neckline of this tunic. Now to add tiny gold beads.....

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I had made some crepes on my day off, Thursday. They were ready when I invited a good friend to join us last night for dinner and an evening of watching British mysteries....Midsomer Mysteries with John Nettles this time!

I quickly made up the chicken crepes while Karen made the salad and sliced strawberries for dessert.

Ingredients
-
cooking spray
-
1 c thinly sliced onion
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1 (8oz)pkg. presliced mushrooms
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3 c chopped cooked chicken
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1/2 c slice green onions
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3/4 tsp salt (divided)
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1 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeeze dried [ I used fresh!]
-
1 tbs butter
-
2 tbs flour
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5/4 c 2% reduced fat milk
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1/4 tsp pepper
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10 Basic crepes
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1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Monterrey jack cheese with jalapeno peppers
Instructions
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sliced onion and mushrooms to pan; saute 5 min or until mushrooms release their moisture and darken. Stir in chicken, green onions., 1/4 tsp salt, and spinach.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour to pan; stir with a whisk until blended. Cool 1 min, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk and stirring constantly cook 5 min or until thick. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining salt and pepper. Pour milk mixture over chicken, stir to combine.

[Note: regarding the instructions in green... I just put some cheese into the white sauce and skipped the broiling...and it was good!]
Preheat boiler
Spoon about 1/2 c chicken mixture in the center of each crepe, fold ends and sides over. Place seam side down in a 13 x9 in baking pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle crepes evenly with cheese. Broil 2 min or until lightly browned

Here is the recipe again! [Choose the format you like for a copy!]

A collage in progress for the round robin art journal.

Using fabric, lace (sewn on a Brother embroidery machine at work, the PR650), magazine photo, a foil wrapper from a DOVE dark chocolate Easter egg....these pages are evolving for Serena's art journal which arrived a couple of days ago.

[Check my "Arty Collages and Dolls" blog for more photos of these journals and links to the participant's blogs.]

My associate at the sewing center made the lace as a test or trial demonstration on the embroidery machine....it did not come out strong enough for the purpose she had intended...so I "adopted it". Now it graces the pages of this journal...just think how long it would have taken the lace makers of old!

Now off to work to see what else from the "trash" or "not quite right" bin might work just fine in a collage! LOL!

More Resurrection on Easter Sunday.....

Last Mother's Day, my lovely daughter sent me a "Sorbet" peony. I know she thought it would arrive looking like the photo above. [NOTE: the photo of the Sorbet peony was found on the Internet and is from Pamela's blog!]

Instead, it was a plastic bag with a dry brown stick loosely packed in peat moss. Not very exciting.....but there were planting directions and I followed them. Now, the new life is coming up near the fence around our yard! I know it will not bloom this year, but still it is wonderful to see the gift beginning to emerge!

May you have a blessed Easter , finding new life around you!

While at work on this Saturday before Easter, I am dreaming of baking something lemony and not overly sweet.... first I remembered making Portuguese Sweet Bread for other Easter mornings. Searching on-line led me to this interesting Portuguese Rice Muffin. Bolla de Arroz.

They are served, with great coffee, in bakeries in Portugal and in Portugese communities. The recipe was not too hard to find...Food Buzz has great directions including how to make the paper cuff.

More wandering thorough the Internet led to Nina's Kitchen which had a wonderful post and the following recipe in the comments.

Here is a recipe translated from the Portuguese:
Bolos de Arroz -Makes 8

Ingredients:

125 g of sugar + the necessary to powder the cakes

70 g of margarine

3 eggs

Zest of 1 lemon

150 g of rice flour
50 g flour

1 dessert spoon of baking powder

Preparation:Turn on the oven and set it to 180 ° C [350 F]. Cut 8 strips of paper plant closed with 30 x 5 cm. Fold the strips in half, wrap and staples the ends to obtain some cylinders with 5 cm high. Beat the sugar with the margarine to a smooth and creamy whitish. Add eggs, one at a time when beating. Add the rice flour, the flour and baking powder and stir well. Lining a tray in the oven with vegetable wax paper, place the cylinder on top of paper. Distribute the weight of the inner cylinder of paper with the help of a spoon and bring bake for about 30 minutes. About 10 minutes before the end of, powder the cakes with sugar.

I noticed these were often served with lemon curd....yummm!

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Check out my collage blog to see today's art journal pages.