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On a recent visit, Chloe my six-year-old granddaughter decided she should draw a picture of the ballet positions she knows, and has learned.
Not to be outdone, 3-year-old Phoebe decided she should draw a picture of Sadie (my labrador granddog), so that I would remember what she looks like when she's not here.
I have these hanging on my office wall – reminders of how little it takes to make me smile.
Every year I make little cards to leave on my co-worker's desks. Just something little, but different. The past couple of years I've found images on this site.
The Graphic's Fairy has many vintage images that you can download and use. Here is this year's card:
I'll print each recipient's name on the heart. Being a Scotsman myself, I guess I found this doubly cute. Care to share any ideas for Valentine's Day? Let me know!
This is for all of you who have been asking about the on-going bathroom project.
There is a working sink and toilet. Part of the wall is painted. The shower stall is almost permanently installed and things are moving along.
Here are a few photos to show you.
So now I really do think this will be finished by summer. Yes, that's right – I think!
About 4:25 this afternoon (EST) I looked out my office window to see it was still light out, alhough only minutes before the sun dipped below the Western Adironack Mountains. It was a spectacular, clear-skied sight. Yes, we are inching our way back into daylight.
For about a month I've been watching two very bright objects in the sky just after sunset. I knew that the one closest to the Western horizon was Venus. But there was another equally bright object in the Southeastern sky that I was pretty sure must be a planet also. It was (and still is) Jupiter.
I got binoculars out when I got home to take a look. One time Nick and I were on Mt Katahdin (in Baxter State Park, Maine) and we were able to view Jupiter's moons. Sure enough, I could make out two moons if I glanced farther away from the side of the planet. Pretty amazing.
Anyway, I thought I'd let you know (and give you plenty of time) that Venus and Jupiter will cross paths and exchange places in February.
Jupiter and Venus at sunset on Feb. 16, 2010. You'll need a clear view of the horizon to spot them just as the sun is going down. Do not look directly at the sun -- it can harm your eyes.
CREDIT: Starry Night Software.
"On the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 16, from our vantage point, Jupiter (moving left to right) will pass Venus (moving right to left). The two planets will appear to be separated from each other by an amount equal to the diameter of our moon in the sky.
"Even though Venus is much smaller in diameter than Jupiter, it will be very much brighter to the eye because it is much closer to the sun and to Earth than Jupiter.
"On Feb. 16, Venus and Jupiter will easily fit in the field of a small telescope. Jupiter will appear more than three times the size of Venus, a brooding giant far beyond brilliant Venus.
"Try to follow the action over the next week as the two planets rapidly approach each other. After Feb. 16, Jupiter will be gone behind the sun for the next month, emerging as a "morning star" late in March. Venus gradually gets farther from the sun and more brilliant, reaching greatest eastern elongation on Aug. 20 and greatest brilliancy on Sept. 23, before passing between Earth and sun on Oct. 29." Information from space.com.)
Some say I'm obsessed with the weather,the sky and any phenomena those things create. They're probably right. I am so often awe-struck by sunsets, rainbows, sun dogs, Northern Lights, shooting stars and so much more. So many things – here for only an instant, then gone. Just makes me realize whoever it was that said, "Take time to stop and smell the roses," wasn't just talking about roses.
So, get out there and start looking. You might be surprised at what you've been missing.
I'll be the first to admit that I can't remember the last time I went to the movies, but I've seen a boatload of them in my lifetime. Luckily this quiz is all about classic movies, and came by way of itsasmallweb.
A picture appears, and under it are spaces for the name. You type in the letters you think are in the title. I finished level 3 with 12 errors. I'm guessing you movie buffs can do way better than that.
Have a fun weekend!
It has become obvious that Sparky longs to be home. We find him looking longingly out the window quite often. We keep telling him he has many months to go before the water is warm enough out there for him to enjoy. For now, we keep him happy with flies, dried shrimp and few select greens. Ocassionaly, he will eat a bit of turtle food, but doesn't really like it much. You know how kids are with their vegetables!
My new Mac has a feature called Photo Booth. You can take pictures of people (or watever) who are looking at the screen. I had the opportunity to take some family photos. Feel free to laugh as loud as you can!
Did I mention that the program has some distortion features you can use? Laugh on!
One of my favorite Christmas gifts from Nick is a Women's Wildflower Belt, from Sahalie. It's 100% wool and-crocheted by women artisans in Ayacucho, Peru, as part of a fair trade co-op that employees 300 women. I got the belt with the cranberry background, and it looks great with the jeans I have on today.
I've seen them sold by other companies, so it's possible you've seen them too. Anyway, this belt gets a definate thumbs up by me, so if you've ever thought of buying one, I say "Go for it!"
I have been working on our website at work, trying to learn the ins and outs. I have a class scheduled in a couple of weeks to learn cascading style sheets and html. Sounds kind of boring? Well, not all the things I work on are boring. I find it exciting to learn new things, and I really do like taking classes.
Today I worked on artwork for an upcoming sale. The diversity of this work is making me pretty happy. As long as I can still create artwork for different aspects of the business, I'll have a smile on my face.
Here's what I did today. Pretty basic, but it was fun.
Inspired by the fact that when I got up this morning it was Zero outside!!
I know, I know. Where have I been? I could say I've been busy. I could say I've been out of the country. I could say I've been sick. But I guess I should be truthful and just say I've been lazy. It's not that I haven't thought about posting something a million times – well maybe 30 any way. But here I am, and here I am sharing one of the most delicious cinnamon bun recipes I've ever made. The recipe came from Vegetarian Times, and as always, I did a little creative substituting of ingredients which I'll add to the recipe.
My daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters were here for a week after Christmas, and I wanted to make something special for them to start their day before skiing.
Sweet Potato Dough
Cinnamon-Pecan Filling
Maple Glaze
1. To make Sweet Potato Dough: Stir yeast into 1/3 cup warm (105°–115°F) water until dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of food processor, stand mixer, or regular bowl. (Reserve 1/3 cup flour if kneading by hand.)
3. Stir sweet potato and oil into 1/3 cup warm water. Stir yeast mixture and sweet potato mixture into flour mixture.
(If using food processor, add liquids through feeding tube with processor running. If using stand mixer with dough hook, add liquids in steady stream with mixer on low speed.) Follow kneading instructions below.
4. Place dough in oiled bowl; cover. Let rise 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.
5. To make Cinnamon-Pecan Filling: Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon in bowl. Grease 13- x 9-inch baking sheet with margarine.
6. Roll dough into 14- x 12-inch rectangle. Spread with margarine. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over dough; top with half of chopped pecans. Starting at long edge, roll up dough. Slice 1 inch off each end; discard. Cut roll crosswise into 12 1-inch-thick
pieces, and place on prepared baking sheet. Cover, and let rise in warm place 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
7. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake buns
18 to 20 minutes, or until golden.
8. To make Maple Glaze: Combine cream cheese, maple flavor, and salt in small bowl. Stir in confectioners’ sugar. Spread glaze over warm buns; top with remaining pecans.
I kid you not, they are delicious. So, here's to 2012 everyone, happy baking and hope to hear from you soon.