Friday, July 27, 2012

Puppy photos! Puppy photos!! I love the photos with Christian,
DSC07025-2012-07-27-19-50.jpegDSC07029-2012-07-27-19-50.jpeg
DSC07061-2012-07-27-19-50.jpg
Little puppy tummy, so inviting to tickle,
DSC07032-2012-07-27-19-50.jpg
Playing with Suka,
DSC07044-2012-07-27-19-50.jpgDSC07058-2012-07-27-19-50.jpg
I love this one, it looks like Pyr is laughing, (Suka looks ferocious, but no one is getting hurt)
DSC07077-2012-07-27-19-50.jpg
DSC07078-2012-07-27-19-50.jpg
One of my baby orioles checking me out through the window,
IMG_8240-2012-07-27-19-50.jpg
And one of my focal beads. I really liked the way this one turned out, with one of my own murrini,
IMG_8110-2012-07-27-19-50.JPG

Monday, July 23, 2012

I am SOOOOO frustrated. It’s been too hot to torch, so I started a pen and ink drawing a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been starting to look good. Last night after working on it a while, I took a break to make supper and then came back to it. I was horrified to see the lower right hand part of it was smudged! I use waterproof India ink, and I’ve never had this happen before. So I tried painting some white gouache over the smudged parts, and the ink was mudding up. I still don’t understand what happened, other than maybe the ink is so old it’s not waterproof anymore? After the paper dried I tried white acrylic paint, and that seems to be covering up the worse of the smudging. But as to whether I’m going to be able to draw over the paint, I have yet to see.
foal-2012-07-23-09-19.png
I haven’t decided yet whether I should keep working on it or just give up and start new. Regardless, I went to Dick Blick and ordered all new ink, some more pen nibs and a couple of new kinds of paper, and even paid for 2 day shipping. That’s how frustrated I was.

Well, at least my orioles are still entertaining me. Like any siblings, they fight and squabble,
IMG_8193-2012-07-23-09-19.jpgIMG_8196-2012-07-23-09-19.jpg
and here’s one enjoying a cool bath on a hot day,
IMG_8212-2012-07-23-09-19.jpgIMG_8225-2012-07-23-09-19.jpgIMG_8229-2012-07-23-09-19.jpgIMG_8230-2012-07-23-09-19.jpg
IMG_8218-2012-07-23-09-19.jpg

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Do you like yogurt? Greek yogurt?

This time of the year I eat a lot more yogurt than I do in the winter, I like mixing it with a little agave juice and lots of fresh fruit. But I like making my own yogurt, either with a bit of store bought yogurt or with a yogurt starter, in my 1 quart size Salton yogurt maker.

H-SALTON-YM9-2012-07-22-13-00.jpeg

Unfortunately, they’re stopped making the quart size, but others do, they’re just more expensive.

Then after it’s done and cooled overnight in the refrigerator, I spoon it into my Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Cheese Maker ($18 on Amazon).

CuisiproDonvierYogurtCheeseMaker-2012-07-22-13-00.jpeg

The longer you leave it in the strainer, the thicker it gets. I’ve got a batch I’m going to mix with minced garlic and chopped chives, and maybe a little basil, to spread on crackers. Yummmm!