New Experiences

This is a picture of a new hobby of mine, yep like I need another hobby. Cheese making! These are my photo's of making mozzarella yum. It came out wonderful and lasted 2 days. The taste is so much better than store bought especially for this Italian. We had it with bruschetta for dinner and it was wonderful. Next time I'm going to leave in a little more whey because it was really solid. The first cheese I made was an amazing lemon goat chevre. I've been eating that slowly to really enjoy it and my DH doesn't like goat cheese. In my house growing up it was a staple. My next try is ricotta with whole milk and cream, not the second whey cheese a lot of people make. The big plus is that I make all of these from organic milks which if you buy organic cheese you know it's a fortune to buy. I've been a cheese foodie for awhile and then I rented the cheese nun a documentary video from the library. I kinda like documentaries, I know but don't judge. Anyway I loved it and started researching which ones to start with. Funny thing was the whole time I was watching it,  I was sampling some sharp goat Cheddar's from Mt. Sterling. I suggest you do the same, it takes a little bit to get into it then it's great. She's a nun that decides to go to college and learn microbiology with a focus on cheese making and ends up with a doctorate and spends years abroad in France learning about cheese caves etc. Fascinating if you love cheese like I do. We went to whole foods this weekend and my DH let me purchase a couple to try and I'm going to start a cheese journal so I can remember which ones I love and which I don't because believe me there are some that I am just shocked they're produced. We enough about cheese ;}

I know it's been forever since I've posted. Sorry to say I was in the hospital and have been waiting on testing etc. Because I've had such a hard time sleeping I have also started to get up at five a.m. I never thought I would be one of those people, but the meds make it hard to sleep later. Anyway I've been using the opportunity to rise and shine and watch the sunrise. It really has been a wonderful experience. I walk down a couple blocks with my DH help and watch it rise in the prairie. We've been able to add a couple blocks over the last couple weeks and it's helped my stamina. Sometimes it wipes me out for the day though. But enough about that too!

I wanted to show off my newest treasures. I will be parting with some of them in my etsy shop but I just love them so much I'll have to keep most of them around for awhile. They're frozen Charlotte mini heads! I have never seen heads like this so small, I'm going to try and drill some for beads. My mind reels with projects I'd like to do with them. I may have to wait till I'm functioning better but inspiration has struck.

Ugh!

I can't get myself motivated today! I feel like Charlie Brown bummed out and feeling like life is beating me up.

I did sit down and order some nice new tools I needed for jewelry making and other things. I added and removed so many things I can't remember where I started but am looking forward to trying some new techniques. I have had some ideas for awhile but never the tools. So I sold several things on ebay I wasn't using and bought some stuff I wanted. I love ebay!!! Sometimes I'm totally blown away by what people will and will NOT buy. It's so true that one man's trash is anothers treasure. If I had the opportunity and space I think I would try to make a living from it, but my DH thinks the house is crowded already. I go to thrift stores and get stuff I think I can make a couple bucks off of and list them. Sometimes I'm so shocked at how much they sell for sometimes 10 x the amount I paid for them. I had a ton of the frozen Charlotte dolls and now have just mostly heads. I love to display them in a candy dish but my family thinks they're odd.

I love them!

Is it Spring Yet?????

I know the time of year states it is spring but we haven't really had it yet. The days have been chilly and really windy. I've only been able to work in the garden off and on a couple of days. I've been like a hermit the past couple of weeks and you'd think I would have been blogging, but I've been creating. Here are several of the jewelry pieces I've been working on and listing in my etsy shop. I've wanted to keep several of them but alas I need to sell them. I love the vintage steel bead caps I bought and used them for earring toppers.

I love the ones at the top with the chain mail and pearls they seem punk and romantic I may make a set for me ;>

Yea! Spring is Here

I just love spring and planting a garden, being outside and just taking time to enjoy life. I love being outside and putzing around the yard and planting herbs and veggies. Every year I go a little overboard on the garden and get exhausted with it by the middle of summer. This year I'm trying to plan less and relax more. I will plant all the herbs I can because I just love them, but I'm gonna cut the veggies in half. I love to grow giant pumpkins and since my little one will really be able to enjoy them this year I am already excited about Halloween. My last giant pumpkin only got to 70+ lbs but it was so fun watching it grow. We went to a little Harvest festival last year and took pictures of the massive pumpkins people grow for competition.

 

The picture on the left is my Dh and son. I have always wondered why people don't set the pumpkins upright when they start to get bigger so you don't get the flat side.

We put up lights in the backyard last summer and I'm really looking forward to sitting outside at night and drinking a glass of red wine. I'm planting herbs in most of the 15 or so pots around the covered patio. I plant several of the same herbs so I have enough for constant use and also start them at different times so when some are spent the others are just starting to come on for use. I usually start my garden by the end of March. I know people always say to wait but,  traditionally that is the real reason we have spring break for kids so they could get time off to help parents plant the farm. My onions are already coming up and the garlic, shallots and green onions that I left in the ground from last year. My rhubarb is just starting and the peach and apple trees are blooming. My grapes still look dead but I'm watering to get them going. I'm so excited for the season. 

My Son's Two Years Old

Wow,  has the time flown by this last year. The first year seemed to be a lot longer than his second. We had a wonderful birthday party for him and I made a triple chocolate shih tzu dog cake for him. We have three shih tzus and he just adores them. I had a bear cake pan from a garage sale I bought a couple years ago. So I decided it was time to use the pan and here's the result.

I think now I should of left off the little dark patches that our dogs have but oh well. The cake flavor turned out awesome but had a little sunken part in the center because it was so moist but frosting covers almost all faults. The recipe used brewed coffee and was so yummy. The frosting was from an older Hershey's cookbook and was great. The white centers are just melted white chocolate with semi-sweet. We couldn't stop eating it.

Yum!

I also made these cupcakes with sprinkles and chocolate chips on top. The cookies behind were no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies and were a huge hit too! In the picture is what was left from around 9 dozen cookies.  I had about twenty people of family and friends. I made a salad I just love and it was completely gone, by the end people were picking at the bottom for little bits to eat.

So here is the recipe:

I use seasoned rice wine vinegar Nakano if I spelled it right about 1/2c or more to taste

A really good extra virgin olive oil, which for people who aren't really sure is a first cold pressing olive oil. It will tell you on the package front if it is cold pressed and first pressing. I use about 1/4 c to 1/2 c. Heavy on the pepper. For about 6 c lettuce I use iceberg and mixed greens. Try and find a great blue cheese that you like, there are a lot of blue cheeses and it's worth taking the time to find the type you like. I like an Amish or Gorgonzola. Then I mix in 1/2 c or more dried sweetened cranberries, 1/2 c or more of toasted nuts. I like pecans and it is worth the time to roast them for 10-15 minutes in the oven on 350 degrees till they get a nice light brown and very toasted taste. Then I crumble them for the salad. That is the basic and then you can add from there what you like. Examples would be tomato, some people like bacon cooked crisp. I like a little ground flax seed and maybe sunflower seeds with boiled, diced egg and avocado. Mix it well and serve. We make a meal out of just this salad.

Keith Lo Bue workshop

I had a great time at the Keith Lo Bue workshop "Papering it Over". I traveled a little over three hours for the one day workshop in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Keith is very funny, he brought a lot of his jewelry to show and several tools for purchase. Here's a couple pic's of his jewelry and the one on the cover of  Belle Armoire Jewelry.

He makes his own chain for the pieces and I wish I could of taken that class too but I had to get back home. I was sad to see the picture I had taken with Keith was so blurry.

 Oh well, I was acting like such a groupie I had so much fun. I took several of my frozen charlotte dolls that I have for sale in my etsy shop with me and sold them at the class to help with the cost. The class was held at Scrap 2 It a new scrap booking store and it was a great set up to work in. Christine from the Artist Nook gets all of the artists to come but told us this will be the last year. He will also be doing the online Artful Gathering online classes so check them out.

Keith Lo Bue Workshop

I am so excited to be able to go this week end to a Keith Lo Bue workshop in Ft. Collins. If you don't know who he is google him NOW! He makes amazing found object jewelry and assemblage. I just got my Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine and he is featured on the front, which I will be taking for him to sign. I am only able to take a one day course but I can't wait. I should've booked the whole weekend but couldn't afford it and am now regretting not putting it on the credit card. I love the work he does and find it so interesting. When I show it to my DH he just stares and says "that's nice" he cracks me up! He doesn't want to say he doesn't like something I do so I get a lot of "that's nice honey". I like a wide range of art and his views are a lot more narrow. He's fully supportive and that is what matters. So if I make something worth showing and it's not too embarrassing I'll post it. I've started the search for found objects to bring with me and I still need to go through several boxes in the garage. I didn't start earlier because I know how I am. I would of started searching thrift stores and junk stores for elements and ended up with a suitcase to bring so I waited. But now I feel uncontrollable excitement and my bodies almost vibrating with the need to start the hunt. I'm one of those people that pick stuff up off the ground in parking lots and when I'm walking. I have a ashtray in my car full of acorn tops. I used to think I was weird but realize after reading blogs etc. I am not the only one. ;P