Just when you thought you were going to squeak by winter with no more snow, since the freak storm in October,that is, and being one of the driest winters on record………… this happens.
…but I know who’s enjoying it the most…..
.. and it’s still snowing… Enjoy.
Judy ♥
Yes Yes, I’m here. I was only gone a minute, wasn’t I?
Wow.. what a couple of crazy weeks, I tell you. Between working my day job and surviving the New England October snowstorm with no electricity, I have been completely un-creative. I’ve lost my MoJu (get it? instead of “mojo” MoJu for Judy?). No?
Just when we were enjoying our New England Walk, a freak Nor’easter hits us like we never expected.
I took a few pictures to capture what was going on.
The night of the storm, outside my front door in the flower garden:
Kind of pretty at night like this. You can see my roses peeking out from the blanket of snow. We really didn’t get a lot of snow.. about 6″, but the weight of the snow and the leaves that hadn’t fallen yet, is what did all the damage.
As we drove out of town, we took a couple of pictures along the way.
This is only a couple a SEVERAL trees that obstructed our roads. Lots of wires were down on the roads also.
Check this tree out. We actually drove underneath it which was probably not a good idea.
Many towns were out of power for about a week… and I believe that most have their power back. The roads are still a bit messy and it’s disappointing that they are still not entirely cleared yet. This is only the beginning of the season. One can only hope these towns have their acts together and prepare for a tough winter so we can avoid another outage.
But, really, this is nothing compared to the devastating and tragic occurences that have happened in other parts of our country and around the world. I am grateful that this is all that happened. Just because I could never be a pioneer woman, doesn’t mean I can’t whine about it.
Well, Dixie doesn’t care.. she’s just glad to be home sleeping on her warm pillow… what a life! Love the tongue.
Before the storm hit, I was able to get in the studio to create a few hand-made embellishments.
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If you follow my blog, you know how I just enjoy making these. I love to manipulate them to make them my own. You can see that I added cheeks to the faces. I have many molds that I made when I first began working with polymer clay about 10 years ago. I recall bringing wads of it with me wherever I went and when I saw a cool texture, I’d impressed it and carefully take the clay home to bake. Yes, my family thought I was coo coo.
I probably won’t post for about two weeks now as I have a business trip coming up and then a week off to prepare for Thanksgiving at my home this year. HELP! I plan on getting in some studio time after the holiday since it will be a long weekend. No Black Friday shopping for me…. no sir eee.
Thanks for your patience, everyone, and for stopping by to see if I was still in existence.
Judy ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Well, here it is April Fool’s Day and that’s what we got here in Massachusetts.. a big ole fat April Fool’s prank by Mother Nature… I’ll leave you with this… and we’ll move on to art.
Last week, I showed you some fabric dying with beet juice. This weekend, I was making some pancakes with blueberries.. wait.. blueberries? I have to give it a try. All I did was take hot water and threw some blueberries in a container and let them soak for hours. Then drop in the fabric and let them also sit for hours.
Here are my results on some fabric and lace… not bad.
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One of my readers asked me if they were colorfast. I didn’t know the answer, but I did find HERE that if you boil the fabric in water and vinegar before the dying process, it will keep them colorfast.
Ok.. so once again, I refer you to one of my recent posts on my large journal covers, I started to create. I’m happy to say that I have completed the book and it’s ready for art making.
I used my awl to make four holes for metal binder rings, spray painted the rings white, then smooshed them with some teal paint. I used a lot of the Portfolio Watersoluble Oil Pastel crayons… creamy, smoothy goodness. I did all my shadowing with them. Also, included on these pages are polymer clay, ink jet transfers, stencils, metal embellishments, rubber stamping and lots of layers on the bottom using paint, gesso, pastes. I stained the edges of the inner pages with walnut ink….. LOVE LOVE LOVE ♥
Because I used poster board, one side of each page is a bit glossy. I think I will need to gesso each page to give it some tooth. A note about spray paining… I hated it.. the fumes, the smell.. never again. I even did it outside. I’ll have to find an alternative.. maybe THIS or THIS. If they work for fabric, they should work on paper/canvas; unless it needs that absorbancy. Hmmm.. fabric? What.. no more beet and blueberry juice?
Here are many pictures of the front, back and closeups.. enjoy.. click to make them bigga…
FRONT COVER – this journal is about 12″ x 16″
DETAILS
BACK COVER
DETAILS
As the Beatles sang.. “All You Need is Love”. ♥ ♥ ♥
There is so much happening on these pages. I will protect them with PYMII. Love this stuff.. check it out.
Well, that was fun.. I had some time off from work this week and it was just so nice to not have to worry about anything but me and my art for those hours when the house was quiet. No running into the home office to check on things.. ahhh. I’m ready for retirement. I can dream.
Thanks for stopping by and let’s hope this Fool’s storm is just passing by and will melt real quick
Judy ♥
This winter has certainly brought come challenges to New England. Our latest is the ice dams on so many houses in the area. Let me show you the latest shots from our recent storm which is just yet another layer of snow, forming ice on the roof which can equal troubling leaks in homes… and we did have some leaking. As a matter of fact, two of my art studio windows has some small drippage going on. So, I have to move my supplies out of the way and now I’m not able to play in my studio until the rug dries.
Here’s my little Dixie below waiting to get out of the damn cold and probably wondering why I’m taking pictures outside in my jammies.. God, hope the neighbors weren’t peeking. Ah, give them something to talk about.
… and here are the trouble makers.. they are beautiful, but they shouldn’t be there… and these are the smaller ones.
I have to say.. being forced to move my art supply drawers and whatever was in the way, made me realize how much crap I have in that small room of mine. So, time to purge things I thought I needed.. Back to basics. I’m even going to throw away some of my art.. start a new.. NO MORE SUPPLIES to buy. If I can’t create with what I have, then there is a problem. No more printing out AC Moore, Michael’s or JoAnn coupons that I think I’ll use just in case I go shopping. I print them and never go…..Why do I do that? I’m wasting ink and paper. I want to be able to say that I used something all up and I need to get more and only then, will I get it because I NEED it, not because I want it. I want to dwindle down my supplies. Ok Ok.. just one thing.. I have a $20 coupon to a great store..I need a heat gun.. but after that, I’m dwindling…. Stop laughing!
Well, at least someone enjoyed the storm or ignored it is more like it…
Be honest, have you had enough about the New England weather and my birds? C’mon, you can tell me. Ok.. no more weather.. promise. But, you have to love the birdies a little…
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Well, today is Superbowl Sunday. Even though our Patriots are not playing, it’s always fun to watch with no stress. I decided to make a batch of low fat-chili to let simmer for a few hours before the game.
Let me share the recipe, but keep in mind, I am not a exact recipe follower and this is just from my memory of making it for years. You cooks know what I’m talkin about.
Judy’s Low-Fat Chili:
I used almost 2 lbs, split equally of ground chicken and ground turkey. This will be chunky. Isn’t that was chili is all about?
1/2 of a large sweet onion
Crushed garlic, as much at you want.. I used about 3 cloves.
2 cans of red kidney beans, thoroughly rinsed in a strainer.
1 28 oz. can of Pastene Crushed Kitchen Ready Tomatoes… my favorite, by far.
(you can put in a 1/2 can more of the tomatoes or a can of tomato paste, then add a cup of water).
Spices: salt, pepper, ground cumin, chili powder and a dash of ground red pepper.
Now, these spices are all according to your taste. But the cumin and chili powder is the magic. See what I mean about just going with it? But if you need a measurement… start with a 1 tsp of cumin and about 2 Tblspns of Chili Powder. Always better to add less than to put too much in and you can’t take it out.
Saute the sweet onion until just starting to turn golden brown. Add garlic and saute just a minute; you don’t want it to burn. Add the chicken/turkey.. Break apart with a wooded spoon and cook until no longer pink. Add the beans, tomatoes and spices.
Let simmer for a few ours on low and enjoy.. stirring occasionally. Add some low-fat shredded cheddar cheese on top and pair this with a garlic toasted lite english muffin. I had them around. Spread Olivio or something you like on 1/2 the muffin, sprinkle garlic powder, put under the broiler to toast. When they start to turn golden, put some of the shredded cheese on the muffin to melt.
If you want to make a vegetarian chili, you can substitute the meat for a bag of frozen mixed veggies such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower. Thaw the veggies in the microwave, then saute them in the pot before you add the beans and meat. This is a quick way without all the chopping of the veggies.
My favorite veggie chili is made with fresh produce such as summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, red peppers, whatever you love. You can roast them in the oven tossed with olive oil first then add them to your pot or you can saute them all in the pot before you add the beans, tomatoes and spices. You’ll never miss the meat.
Have a great Sunday.
Thanks for stopping by.
Judy
I’m sorry I’ve been gone a little while. I’ve been buried in work and snow. This week, I was beginning to feel like an eskimo in an igloo. We got hit with another snow storm this week. Ok, the snow is pretty…..for December… but this is enough. I think it will finally thaw out in June.
Take a look and see what I mean? And this is the pretty stuff.. the town and cities are loaded with banks and banks of snow. No place to walk, no where to park in some cases and the streets are narrow. Nuff of the complaining now… enjoy some pictures.
Back deck…
From the back deck to back yard… I can hardly see my grill.
Here’s a pretty one that hubbie took…before the storm…
All all my feathered friends did not mind the snow storm at all… I caught some really good pictures of them…
some played see saw…. (Titmouse and Woodpecker)
some played peek-a-boo… (Juncos)
some were anti-social….
Then some come together to socialize… they love that tree.. that’s where they all gather and chat…
I’ve been invited to an art day with some friends tomorrow. I really need this.. I’ve been in an art rut… Know what I mean??? Work, family, life is just taking priority lately and I need to get a grip of it and get in the studio. Not that I’m going to make my family last priority, but a little “me” time is due. I don’t think anyone will come to me and say “honey, mom, we till take care of everything today, you just go relax and do what you want”.
As for my art rut, this is a discussion that I’ve had with some of my artist friends lately about kinda going “dormant” for a while, brain takes a vacation, chilling out. Eventually it will come back. It will, won’t it?
Have you ever had that happen… Blank stares at the canvas, at the art table and at the page?
I have signed up for some fun “me” workshops. I AM going to put time aside for myself. There, Ive said it and “it’s in the books” (as “Uncle Buck” says).
In the meantime, I’m still fiddling (as in very little) in my little sketchbook for the “Sketchbook Challenge”. Here’s a few pages to share.. size 5″ x 3 1/2″…done with fine black marker and watercolor paints.
The theme for January is still “Highly Prized”.. and I consider MY TIME.. the time I create, to be highly prized.
More art soon… pray for no more snow and thanks for stopping by.
Judy ♥
The Key to My heArt 
