Heal My Life

The Doodle & Trace

As I promised: here's what I'm thinking, my initial doodle, for Go Figure. I did this in PhotoShop with images from Wiki Commons.  At this stage, I'm really just playing.  I know what I want to say, but I'm unsure of how the statement should look. 

There will be several more revisions before I'm done, and a shape change.  The challenge rules require the piece to be 12 x 12, but there is no stipulation as to the shape.  Good.  I'm thinking corset shaped, with eyelets and lacing down the center. 

Of course, this will change the imagery and placement, but we'll see how it all plays out when I draw the shape in Illustrator and start placing images.  I want to try and use  the pregnancy corset, the child's corset and the movement opening (double image).  I'll most likely lose the metal brassiere and the bustle, but I have another project idea for those.    

I've also started to trace the illustrations onto dunked, opened, rinsed and ironed Lipton teabags with Pigma Micro pens.  I'll trace them all, since I plan on using the others at a later date.

Oh, and by the way, all these images are from the US patent files (yes, they're now in the public domain - I haven't stolen anything).  They're actual garments or, rather, devices of torment. And women actually put these things on every blessed day of thier lives.  Incredible isn't it?    

 
 

More Fences?

I've begun my next project, and you guessed it - it's about fences.  Not the kind that keep animal in, the kind that keep women in.  The kind made of whale bone.  Here's a sneak preview:

I'll be publishing the process as I work on it, so stay tuned!

You Know I Hate to be Judgemental...

...but there are times when I scratch my head and wonder why anyone would spend time making the article in question. It's not that I consider my arts and craft choices to be superior, and I certainly realize that everyone is entitled to my their opinion, but seriously...

Thanks to Flickr. They have some VERY unique pools, including this one: Tacky Craft Tuesday.

Before I Built a Wall

Before I Built a Wall,
originally uploaded by Claudia Dunitz.

YAY - it's FINISHED!!! And I'm pretty darn happy with it. While I was working on it, I often found the imagery disturbing, to the point where I covered it with a piece if fabric. I know, I know, I took the picture, what was I expecting? Well I certainly wasn't expecting to be as disturbed by it as deeply as I was.

This is the same image that A's dad got all irritated about when I sent him a poster of it a few months ago. He thought I was making comments about his hunting. But it is, and always was, about the fence. About the fencing our great grasslands. About their near destruction. About how good fences do not make good neighbors.

I finished the image, and was fretting about quilting the barbed wire lines. This was another big issue for me, both in light of the wire itself, and how to best represent it. I ended up using a medium gre Gutterman thread in the needle, and a silver metallic in the bobbin, so that only the occasional tiny dot of shiny silver showed through the front. You can't see it in the photo but it's perfect.

Again, I was stumped or a quote for the border quilting. I considered a free-motion design, but I had too much to say. I reread The Devil's Rope again looking for inspiration, and then two days ago, I line from Frost's Mending Wall popped into my head: "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or out"... And I had my quote.

I had gotten the words transferred, and was sitting down to sew when Chan called. I read her the quote. Her comment? "Did you say offence or a fence"? A fence would be very Ogden Nash. Yep, she was right, so a misquote it was.

Before I Built a Wall

21.5 x 19, Cotton and Cotton Organza. Cotton, Rayon and Metallic Thread,

Mending Wall by Robert Frost Misquote:
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give a fence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.

The line should read, And to whom I was likely to give "offence". But when my daughter suggested the Ogden Nashian turn of phrase, I couldn't resist

There's a New Cookie in Town...

Once upon a time in New Mexico, a brand new cookie was born. Full of unexpectedly delicious flavors and more than a bit bold, it shone like the desert sun and cast a shadow on the flavorless... 

  

There’s a new cookie in town: Albuqcookie!

Albuqcookie is a client of ours here at 8 arms creative.  We did their website, which launched on Sunday, and their print.  Oh, and we eat their cookies because those cookies are TRULY delicious.  And you know they are because if picky-ass me says so, they must be.  I am munching the Toffee Almond Biscotti, my absolute fav, as I type.  And no I haven't had lunch yet.  So what.

What are you waiting for - go see our cool website design and order some YUMMY cookies!  www.albuqcookie.com 

Steven's gorgeous photos (isn't he cute) by my pal Jamie at Scout J Photography

Oh, and I took the cookie photos with our new light box!

 

Apricot Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake

I have to admit being pretty darn pleased with this one - hence the really large photo.  The apricots came from our a tree we stumbled upon buried in the wilderness down by the pond,  The harvest was doubly sweet for being a complete surprise! 

The recipe I used last year to make a plum variation of this cake didn't thrill me, even after my adjustments for altitude.  The darn thing was pretty, but dry as a bone.  This time I made some serious alterations to the recipe:

Apricot Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake

 

3/4 cup whole milk

1 cup coarse ground cornmeal **

4 ounces unsalted butter *

¾ cup dark brown sugar *

a double handful of small, ripe apricots, halved and pitted

a handful of slivered almonds

3 whole eggs

1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream blended with a bit of milk to thin = 1/3 cup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon orange flower water

4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup canola oil

 

ra* The original recipe calls for 8 oz butter and 1 cup dk brown sugar.  I reduced them to see what would happen.  What happened was that the butter and sugar slid to the edges of the pan and left the middle plain, as you can see in the photo. You get a tart middle and a sweet edge,I like it, it makes a nice flavor contrast.

 

** I used regular cornmeal and it got so thick and hard in the bowl I had to break it up with a fork before I could even think of mixing it into the other ingredients  I couldn’t find coarse cornmeal.  Rats.. 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a microwave-proof dish, bring the milk to a boil. Remove the milk from the microwave and add the cornmeal. Stir and let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully arrange apricots cut side down filling the bottom of the pan.  Fill in with slivered almonds.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt and extracts. Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the canola oil and melted butter and whisk. Add the cornmeal and milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add this to the flour and stir just until combined. Pour the batter over the fruit in the skillet and bake for 40 to 45*** minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes in the skillet. Set a platter on top of the skillet and carefully invert the cake. Serve.

*** It was 35 minutes for me

  

Thai Luck

No, it's not the name of a Chinese dish, it's Thai astrology, sort of.  I just finished reading Bangkok Haunts by  John Burdett .  I loved it.  It was slightly gruesome, but immensely entertaining - perfect summer reading.  Among other things I learned about Thailand was  the fact that the Thai's have a "good luck" color for each day of the week.  Cool.  Upon doing a bit of reading about it, I also found that everyone has lucky colors associated to their Birth Day.  Wow.  Who knew.  I've probably been wearing the wrong colors all along, and perhaps you have too.  So in an attempt to remedy that situation, I present the following:

Wear these colors on these days

Sunday    (Sun)     Red
Monday     (Moon)    Yellow
Tuesday   (Mars)    Pink 
Wednesday   (Mercury)  Green
Thursday  (Jupiter)  Jupiter
Friday    (Venus)   Blue
Saturday  (Saturn)  Purple/Black

Want still more?

First calculate your Birth Day here.

Then, go here.

I was born on a Sunday, yeah, I know "full of grace", so this is mine.

SUNDAY

Character : respectable, carefree, wise, and beloved by both friends and relatives

Optimum profession : manager, official, doctor, trader, craftsman

Very lucky day/color : Wednesday / green

Lucky day/color : Tuesday/pink

Unlucky day/color : Friday / blue

Buddha image for Sunday : Pang Tawai Natra, restraint

Odd, my day color is red, but my very lucky color is green???

You can see the other day Buddha images here.

Why the Thai have seven Buddhas:

The Seven Days of Thai Buddhism

Traditionally it is believed that Buddha spent seven days following his enlightenment thinking of the suffering of all living creatures and how unimportant his life was prior to reaching enlightenment.

In Thailand, the majority of people practice a form of Theravada Buddhism. It is based on the Pali Canon augmented by the practices, beliefs and magic traditions that make it unique to Thailand. Buddhism is based on the Four Noble Truths through the practice of the Eightfold Noble Path and the daily Five Basic Precepts.

Thais are superstitious and believe that their day of birth reflects their life and there are seven Buddha images to reflect each day of the week (actually, there are eight Buddha images but I’ll talk more about that in a moment).

The days are also each assigned a different color and many Thai people pay special attention to this. The most visible example is the wearing of yellow shirts on Mondays to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Likewise, you will see many blue shirts each Friday as that was the day of the week that HM Queen Sirikit was born.

Read the rest...

55

Saturday I had another birthday - boy, they just keep coming!  I've turned 55 and it seems as if I've reached the top of a particularly trying peak.  Not K2, but close.  I sort of felt like I should be planting a flag for having made it this far. You know?

We celebrated with our first ballroom dancing lesson, which was really cool because we learned to do the basic two step, and the basic fox trot.  So now we can dance to Frank and to most country western.  I can't even tell you how excited I am about this, I've ALWAYS wanted to learn to swing and to tango and to be able to get out on the floor with the seniors when the band strikes up without looking like an idiot.

It was an awful lot of fun and I can't wait to go back on Wednesday night for our private lesson.  When the instructor asked if we had agenda's, mine was a bout as long as my arm.  He laughed and said, well with practice, you can get there.  I was so tickled I laughed out loud.  ME - that's ME on that dance floor!!!  On Sunday, Anthony arranged some of our country and big band stuff so that it was easily accessible and we practiced a bit this morning.  How darn cool is that - dancing away a Monday morning when the work is piled sky high. 

After our lesson, we went for sushi, which we haven't had since leaving New York.  I don't know about you, but I'm just a little creeped out about eating raw fish so far from the ocean.  But the fish was delicious and the chef was amazing (we sat at the bar), and all in all it was a marvelous night. On Sunday, my friend Fran down the street made an absolutely yummy pancacke breakfast and gave me an adorable top which I'll have to photograph for you.  Our across the street neighbors brought a fruit salad and made me a fab card.  My next door neighbor burned me a music mix.  What a great street this is.

And by now, being 55 doesn't feel all that different from being 54 except that I had a particularly wonderful birthday weekend.  

          

Yes - We Have Some Bananas!

I got virtually no work-work done today, which is sort of a shame since I have so much of it to do, but I did work - on BAKING!   I made a banana butterscotch pudding and a blueberry cherry pie.  YUM!  Seriously, I wish I didn't have to work, I'd bake all day.  And knit, I'd bake and knit all day.  And read, well anyway, you get the idea.

Yesterday we picked a handful of sour cherries from a tree gone wild at the side of our road.  I don't know what I was thinking except that I wanted to make cherry crisp, which I've made a couple of times from cherries from the farmer's market so I preheated the oven to 350.  Clearly though, I would need more than the handful I had.  And they were little tiny cherries to boot. Trader Joe's to the rescue!  I had a bag of frozen wild blueberries, which I added to the tiny pile of cherries in the pot.  There, now I had enough berries for a pie.  I added sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a splash of Cointreau and cooked it up.  When it was bubbling, a added about a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in cold water.  Voila - cherry-blueberry, or to be more precise - blueberry-cherry pie filling! 

I pulled a pie shell out of the freezer, ( I HATE to make pie crust.  I can, and it's pretty good, but I intensely dislike the entire process - hence the frozen shell) prebaked it a bit and glazed the inside with egg white.  Then I turned the oven to 400 and made some crumbs:

1 cup flour
1 stick room temp butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans if you like them, (I left them out because I was too lazy to go into the fridge again)

Blend the dry ingredients, cut the butter into the flour mix until incorporated and roughly crumbly.

Crumble and pinch the crumbs in largish pieces over the top of the pie.*

Pop it in the oven and bake until nicely browned, about 35 minutes in my oven.**

* If you want your crumbs to really keep their form, crumble/press them into the size pieces you want, then pop them into the freezer to chill for about ten minutes.  They'll hold they're shape nicely.  I was just too lazy and wanted to get downstairs and paint the guest room.

** The pie filling is already cooked, and the shell is also partially baked, so you really only need to brown it up,.  Hence the short baking time.

Now for the Banana Butterscotch Pudding.  Again, it's all about Trader Joe's for this one. 

3-4 very ripe bananas
1 tub of Ultimate Vanilla wafers from Trader Joe's. (You can use Nilla Wafers if you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, but trust me - it's worth a drive to get them)
1 recipe David Lebovits' butterscotch pudding*

Make the pudding * but DO NOT bring it to a rapid boil as his recipe tells you to - if you do - you'll curdle the eggs.  Make it like you do all pudding, Simmer it slowly and gently, stirring almost constantly until thickened.  Still in the pot, put it aside.

Line a two quart casserole with vanilla wafers, add a layer of sliced bananas, pour on half the pudding, repeat the layers ending with pudding.  Decorate the top with cookies if you wish, cool and refrigerate till firm.

Old fashion yum! and pretty darn easy to boot!  
  

   

Duck, Duck Goose

Well, one duck anyway.  Suleiman, ever the great hunter, brought this little girl home from one of his Houdini fence escapes yesterday.  He was carrying her very gently and aside from some mushed feathers, it seems he did her no harm except for a good scare.  She doesn't have wing feathers yet, though, and we're afraid to put her back in the pond next door, which is where we think she lives, until she can fly out of his way.  So we've put her in one side of the chicken range with a wading pool, greens, food and drinking water. 

Ducks sure do make a mess though, and it looks like we'll be changing that pool water every day.  Sigh.  "Suleiman, you're going to be the death of me".