Designing in Life

Butterflies

My two sweet granddaughters will be coming for a visit in June.  I've been gathering things for projects in case of rain.  Here is a butterfly image that I found (along with others) at the Graphics Fairy.

I have a lightbox, so this butterfly can be traced then colored afterwards.  I had a lightbox when I was a kid, and I remember spending many a rainy Saturday tracing all kinds of things on it. 

Hopefully we won't have a lot of rain though, and we'll be able to go outside and find some real butterflies!

Birds of Blue

I was looking outside to see if there were any newcomers  on the bird feeders.  Sometimes during spring migration, you might be lucky enough to spot birds that you don't usually see, because they're just passing through to their summer homes.

Spotting a blue bird on the feeder, I just couldn't figure out why a bird that eats bugs was eating sunflowers.  I got the binoculars, and I couldn't believe it.  An Indigo Bunting was sitting on the feeder munching away.  I have only ever seen one, and that was on a hike far away from houses and people.

Here is the photo I took.

Here is a photo I found, just so (in case you've never seen one) you can get the full effect of the blue.

I'm starting to think that this bird might be the only blue I'm going to see for a while.  Just like so many of you on the east coast, the skies have been nothing but gray for far too long.  Hmmm, maybe this Indigo Bunting is a sign of better things to come.  We can only hope!!

Spring in Miniature

The weather in the Northeast is not really cooperating this year.  Cooler than normal temperatures with higher than ever rainfall.  Our nearby Lake Champlain is 3 feet above flood stage.  The ferries that connect northeastern New York and Vermont are not able to run, some because of roads that are covered in lake water and impassable.  Even thoughts of the garden are fleeting when a corner of it is under water.

In spite of the weather, the flowers and birds are appearing as if nothing is out-of-the-ordinary.  So, I decided to tromp out into the squishy, green (overgrown I might add) lawn to hunt for something to brighten my cloudy mood.  I didn't have to go very far to find it.

Violets and grape hyacyinths.  I found a small cruet and put them into it, and placed them on my windowsill in front of my sink.  Now the first thing I see when I start to look out of the window at the rain are these cheery little flowers.  Definately spring is here, if only in miniature!

Turtle Love

This little guy (or girl) was rescued from a swimming pool on Sunday.  Not too far away from the pool is a pond.  It's hard to imagine that something this tiny could walk all the way from the pond to where the pool is.  It's quite possible that he was destined for a large bird's lunch, and was dropped by mistake.  Anyway, he is in a pie dish on my counter with some stones where he can climb up to rest, and some leaves floating around so he can hide under them when swimming in the water.

I've been doing some research on painted turtles.  That's a green bean you see floating.  Supposedly they eat them, but he isn't interested.  Probably because it looks so giant to him.  They're also supposed to eat dandelions, but he seems to like to just push it around.  The flower gives you an idea of how tiny he is.

I don't think it's a good idea to bring animals from the wild into your home, but I think if he has the opportunity to grow a bit bigger, he'll have a fighting chance in a pond some where.

Looks like I'll be looking for an aquarium so that "Sparky" has more room to grow.  I've bought reptile sticks, and brine shrimp, but for now he's only interested in the one fly a day I've been catching and putting in the water.

If you have any information about painted turtle care, please send it my way.  Sparky and I will be mighty grateful!

Chocolate Cake – Yup, Gluten-Free

I have probably said before, I am not the biggest fan of chocolate.  I don't like chocolate ice cream. Chocolate chip cookies are okay, and a brownie on occassion is fine.  But I do like chocolate cake.  Normally, chocolate cake with some sort of white frosting. 

As I travel this road of eliminating a lot of glueten, dairy and refined sugar from my diet, I've found that dessert is just sort of out, unless I can figure out a way to do a lot of substituting.  The Almond Flour Cookbook, by Elana Amsterdam has helped out in this department – because, although I'm not so crazy about chocolate, I live with someone who is. 

I found this cake easy to make and chocolatey enough to satisfy you-know-who.

Recipe

2 Cups blanched almond flour 
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda1 Cup agave nectar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (like Ghiardelli)  Optional.

Prheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9-inch cake pan (I used a 7x11) and dust with almond flour.

In large bowl, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.  In a medium bowl, combine agave nectar, eggs and vanilla extract.  Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture and if using chocolate chips, stir them in also until thoroughly combined.  Pour batter into prepared cake pan.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Let cake cool in the pan for 1 hour.

Chocolate Frosting

1 cup chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips.
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

In medium pan, melt chocolate with grapeseed oil over low heat, stirring until smooth.  Add agave, vanilla and salt.  Let sit to cool for 10 minutes.  Stir rapidly to help it thicken.  Place in refridgerator for 15 minutes.  Stirring occassionaly to help thicken.

When icing is thick to stir, it's ready to put on top of your cake.

If you don't try the cake, at least try this icing.  You eliminate the butter and refined sugar, and that's a pretty big calorie savings.

A Day of Hope

It seems so sad that the death of one person brings so much joy to so many people, yet I know how much despair that one man was responsible for.  The death of Osama Bin Laden rang through our country last night and throughout the world.

9/11 hit very close to home for me.  My daughter Beth, and my soon-to-be son-in-law Jim, were both in the Trade Towers on that fateful day.  They were some of the lucky ones, but many that they knew were not.

I hope that this day brings closure to those who lost loved ones, brings closer a country divided by anger and dispute and fills each and every one of us with the realization that life, for all its fragility, is something to be cherished – something that we must make the best it can possibly be.