Post Easter round up. My holiday was quiet, just Mo and me, as family members had exciting post-Covid opportunities to travel again. How could I say no? And then a self invited guest, expected Sunday [rushed to clean and prep], cancelled last minute. I don't really mind either way, though with so many people saying they do not bother to decorate, I felt a bit stupid, with all my treasures on display. Thanks to everyone for your comments and good wishes, I will catch up prob tomorrow, Tuesday.
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On Friday I met my best friend L for a fast Home Goods Easter basket [Mo] run.
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Mo needed a new bed! He is not liking it so much yet. I hope it doesn't upset his tummy, as he chewed it quite a lot and was unimpressed by its ''Cozy Calm" hype.
And he got treats from the Easter Bunny, plus a visit by a young friend who walks him on weekend mornings, who also brought the special gift of her boyfriend's presence. Mo adores new young active friends, so it made me feel good to provide this treat.
I got myself a few Easter basket treats too, why not!
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Markers for my art experiments. Not quite what I expected them to do. I thought they would dissolve and blend like my watercolor pencils do? Huh. No.
And a little box for the finished paintings, gotta have a special box.
Trail mix and a pretty outdoor tablecloth for my deck table.
The stripe goes with new striped umbrella!
For planned/ cancelled Easter dinner I made pork tenderloin with whole roasted garlic heads recipe here,* white wine gravy, and a Martha Stewart new-recipe-tryout: potato-asparagus gratin, made with goat cheese. *[bake the roast MUCH longer than recipes says! and at lower temp.]
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Easter eggs: after years of friend Mel talking about natural dyeing of eggs and fabric I decided that this year, home alone, I would try using purple cabbage leaves and vinegar.
The dye is supposed to create bright blue eggs...like this? Not that!
After 12 hours in the pan, the eggs did turn mottled blue-green.
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Oddly, even though the drips that fell on the floor turned turquoise,
or as it's erroneously now called TEAL, with splotches on my white tiles, the test paper towel came out palest lavender.
And the pale beige linen piece, left overnight, turned ugly grey-purple nothing. Though--- rewashed and ironed it may make pretty lavender hearts, who knows, perfect for the minimalist who loves drab and dull grey things?
Last, what do I do with half a head of purple cabbage? Make slaw? I have never that I recall eaten red cabbage cooked, any ideas? I feel like my mom make it sweet/ sour when she made sauerbraten and potato dumplings once a year. I hated sauerbraten, all that ginger and vinegar and spice..too complex for a child; she probably made me an omelet or something instead. So: red cabbage. HERE I'd add caraway seed, fennel seeds.
Traditional German Sauerbraten Should have juniper berries too. And sweet paprika? Do not sub wine for the vinegar; do NOT omit ground up gingersnap cookies. Add sour cream dollop to each plate of meat and gravy.
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I had planned my @roomportraitclub painting session for Sunday, then scrambled to do it Saturday night before the unexpected company came Sunday.
I took a lot of care working on the fairly complex challenge picture, within my 2" x 3" parameters. Then again someone painted an entire room on a teabag, so who am I to moan,lol.
And, just for posterity, the earlier in the week,computer generated doodle of the same view..
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and the scribble I drew on.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CcIzhe_I7aa/
This week's challenge also has tulips [and real bunnies and chickens!?], so I get to try again.
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love,
lizzy
gone to the beach....
This weird cloud rolled in Saturday just before sunset. It was huge---Jersey Shore to Montauk and beyond. Especially odd as the rest of the sky was beautifully blue with a few pretty spring wisps of angel clouds, tinted shell pink and gold.
And from the west coast, some wonderful Easter neighborhood pics from blog friend Kel..
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I'm really enjoying your art adventures. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThe turquoise eggs are a treat.
Years ago I cooked red cabbage with apple to go with pork. I'll have to look out the recipe for you. It was sweet and have may had spice in it too. I remember it was very good with pork.
I like all your drawings/paintings. Hmm, maybe those watercolor markers are supposed to mimic the look rather than actually act like watercolors. Kinda deceiving if it doesn't work either way. Sure looks like your dye experiment resulted in more results than you expected. :) I do pickled red cabbage that's yummy to have with rice and black eyed peas.
ReplyDeleteWell you know what I'm going to say, if displaying your seasonal treasures brings you joy who cares what anyone else thinks! The world is far too sterile these days with all the gray and black, even for baby's room for goodness sake. Poor baby with nothing bright and cheerful to stimulate his little brain, it's hardly surprising they grow up neurotic. Off my soapbox now. Your tiny paintings get better with each passing week, and they are so "you." I hope you're inspired to keep sharing them with us. Quiet weekend here too, just the two of us for Sunday dinner of our Polish favorites pierogies and golabke. The rest of the cabbage became cabbage and bean soup and sourdough biscuits- yum!
ReplyDeleteWAY back when I played with red cabbage to dye, I remember getting different colors if salt was used instead of vinegar (but can't remember exactly what happened when). The blue color you got was pretty nice - not sure where the green splotches came from unless just from being in contact with the leaves? Maybe if you try again take the leaves out and just use the liquid. And try beets on a few eggs, too, lol.
ReplyDeleteI would think you could use red cabbage for just about anything green cabbage is used for - tastes the same although the color might be weird. Blue colcannon? LOL! I don't like cooked 'slaw' - the gourmet diet meals we got for a while had something like what Penny described. Sounded good, but I didn't like it.
Hmm, maybe the watercolor markers need the paper to be wet first? I have no idea, I avoid watercolors because I SUCK at them, lol. Your tiny paintings are very cool and I'm enjoying seeing them! Who paints on a teabag??
The roll cloud was cool, I'm glad you got pictures! Kind of creepy, too - makes me think of special effects in an alien movie or something.
Hope the rest of your week goes well! Take care!
Look at that cute basket of buttons! So sweet. I really like the table cloth. So very summer-y. Your deck will be all decked out ;)
ReplyDeleteI like the way the eggs turned out. Ya know, I don't think I've eaten cooked purple cabbage either. Maybe Mel's idea of soup would be good?
Mo's bed looks absolutely inviting. Hope he ends up liking it.
Wow! What a cool cloud.
Sweet and sour red cabbage is great and a lovely color. Saute an onion will transparent add thin sliced cabbage, bit of honey, bit of cider vinegar and cook till tender. Can throw in some raisins.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good! The raisins are a different touch.
DeleteHow I love your basket at the top of this post. The basket fabric is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful a little painting. Love those tulips.