Bugati Bag from Winners

Inside Bugati

My daughter had been looking for a camera case and found that she didn’t want to pay upwards of $200.00 to get the kind she wanted (which was the kind that looked like a purse). So, she went to Winners and bought a big purse and turned it into the jazziest of all camera bags that I have ever seen! Check it out here on her blog. I, too had been looking at all those fancy bags on-line and had decided that I just could not justify paying that much for one either. So, here I have stolen her idea. I wasted no time in running over to Winners and found this all-leather Bugati for a fraction of the cost of one of those designer camera bags. I just put a small, black camera case that I already had inside the big bag and voila! I can take my camera to the fanciest of restaurants and not feel sheepish! Also, when I’m traveling and sightseeing I can take the small black case out of the bag and carry it over my shoulder. My daughter is a genius!

Small case inside purse

This poor thing is a begonia. I know, this may seem like a weird subject, but hear me out. This plant (well, its ancestor) has been in our family for at least 50 years. It was a plant that my grandmother grew and she gave a slip to my mother who gave me a slip, probably when I was in my 20’s (about 30 years ago). It seems to me a miracle that it is still here. I would have lost the whole thing 8 years ago (mine died) except a plant that I had given to one of my daughters was still living and she very graciously (happily?) gave it back to me. It has now sat for 8 years in this pot. Actually, it looks amazingly well, I think. All it gets is an occasional soaking of water and is then forgotten for weeks. I pull off the dead leaves and apologize to it while doing so and remind myself of how amazing it is that a plant would be in a family for so long. I took a look at it tonight and decided that I was going to start to treat it better and give it the respect it deserves. I promised it that I will have it transplanted into a new pot with new soil and a bit of fertilizer before December 31st, 2010. I will then post an “after” photo in celebration and will continue to give updates on its welfare. Daughters – prepare yourselves to be handed the torch.

 Some advice taken straight out of  one of my favourite books “Simple Abundance” by Sarah Ban Breathnach “A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Featuring quotes, poems, meditations, and practical exercises for every day of the year, this inspirational book for women offers thought-provoking suggestions, gardening and decorating ideas, and thoughts on personal fulfillment.

Before we can welcome in the New Year, we need to put the Old Year’s unfinished business – mistakes, regrets, shortcomings, and disappointments behind us. Here’s how: write down on small slips of paper whatever you’d like to forget, then place the slips of paper in a small cardboard box or envelope, sealing in the sorrow and hard luck. Say, “Good Riddance” and toss the box or envelope into the fireplace to burn away the past. If you don’t have a fireplace, toss the bad memories from the past into the trash where they belong. Keep only the good.

Our little grandson is such a “snuggle bug”. When he opened his Christmas gift from us and found this giant tiger he fell onto it and rolled around and hugged it. So sweet.

Total fascination with all things Dragon! A complete set of dragons, a castle, and knights made for one happy little boy on Christmas morning.

Cowboy Caviar

There are many variations of this delicious dip – but this is one I really like. It is quite rich (and yummy) compared to some other recipes. So with no further ado here is:

Unbaked pastry sprinkled with paprika

Now here is a recipe that I couldn’t do without. Actually, it’s the pastry recipe that I couldn’t do without (doesn’t everyone have a favourite pot pie filling)? If you want to make a delicious pie crust that is easy, and will not fail – here it is! You can treat it with total disdain and it will still work! I even dared to show you it uncooked because I think it looks so nice! My sister gave this to me many, many years ago and she got it from her mother-in-law. I would hate to lose it so by posting it here at least I’ll know where to look next time. Perhaps a pastry chef would turn her nose up at this – but, oh well . . .

1 pound lard

5 cups flour

1 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vinegar in water
2/3 cup water
1 egg, well beaten

Mix dry ingredients together and cut into lard. Mix vinegar, water, egg and beat until fluffy. Blend together until dough starts to stick together nicely – sometimes I don’t use all the water, but if you did, I don’t think it would make a difference. Form into 5 discs and chill for 1/2 hour. Roll out the barrel, er dough, and make your pies!!

These are the ornaments I made using Christmas cards from years past. I really had fun doing this. I went through my stash, saved any special or hand-made cards and only used the cards that were destined for the recycle bin. Then I glued on some jewels to add a bit of glitz. I want to make more but I think my time is running out this year – we are 2 days from Christmas and I still have some cooking and wrapping to do so I’m going to have to put this on hold for now. Next year, I’ll do the old “Christmas in July” thing and make some more then. I’m already looking forward to it! If you missed it, here is my earlier post on old fashioned paper balls.

1/250s, f5.6, IS03200

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. Edith Wharton

I may as well warn you – I love quotes – and I make no apologies (from now on).

To celebrate the longest night of the year I lit some candles and spent the rest of the evening watching TV with my hubby. Sound exciting? Well, I don’t need exciting. Safe, warm, and comfortable is fine with me. Although, it did seem almost sinful to be so relaxed 4 days before Christmas!

Well, at least the first part! I usually go to bed at 10:00 (I’m up early) but last night I stayed up until midnight so I could witness a wee bit of this once-in-a-lifetime event – a lunar eclipse during a winter solstice. I found out which settings to use on my camera from Darcy at “life with my three boybarians”. Until I followed his advice, all I had was a big round white blur. Thank you Darcy and “my three boybarians”! I may not have captured the perfect photo, but I went to bed happy and I am forever in your debt.

Highbush Cranberries f5.6, 1/60, ISO400

Ahh, so good to be at the lake again! It’s been over two weeks since we’ve been here and there has been quite a bit of new snow. Everything looks so fresh and beautiful. I thought these highbush cranberries were saying “welcome back” because they know how much I love to photograph them! in the summer when they are white, in the autumn when they are orange and then red, lasting all winter – an open invitation to all birds daring enough to want to spend their winter in Central Alberta.I have five glorious days to relax, maybe sleep in, go for walks and enjoy the peace and quiet that is winter at the lake.

Manual!! 150mm, f5.0, s1/20, IS01600

I remember making these types of paper ball ornaments when I was a child – we used to make them at school and would bring them home proudly to hang on our tree. A common practice “way back then” was to create these from old Christmas cards. Today, I used scrapbook paper that was left over from my “Believe” project. All you need to do is punch out twenty, one and one-half inch circles, fold each one into a triangle and glue them together with sticky white glue. Since I have a few days ahead of me to relax (yes, relax! . . . before Christmas!) I plan on creating some more of these magical, beautiful, and timeless ornaments with some of the old Christmas cards I have stashed away. I’m going to try using two larger circle punches to make a variety of sizes. I hope to get a photo of them posted before Christmas – which is twelve days from now, folks! Go to “About.com” for the instructions that I used. There is even a template to print out that helps you mark where the circles should be folded.

Well, I have my lovely daughter to thank for giving me the push to try some bokeh. I had read all about it and had even captured some but it was totally by mistake! Last night I equipped my lens with a snowflake cover and started shooting away. I have to say, getting the perfect bokeh is not easy and I’m exhausted from trying, so I’m going to call it quits for now. I have a few other examples that I took outside last night (I nearly froze my hands off). I may post them later. You can see my daughter’s wonderful examples on her blog “A Pretty Life in the Suburbs“. She got the idea from “Kevin and Amanda” and she also participated in the Bokeh Party at “Life with my 3 Boybarians”. Too much fun!!

I’m feeling nostalgic for paper. Don’t get me wrong, my main passion is everything digital but there is something about paper. I look back fondly on all the cards I’ve created. This was one of my favourites. I used a heavy watercolour cardstock for the card and printed out the stamp design using the computer on the same paper. I then added a punched star (edges inked) over top of a square piece of flexible screen. Ribbons tied through eyelets on a black strip added just a little bit of extra drama. The inside verse which I printed in black using an old typewriter font reads “May the beauty of the season bring you joy and warm memories to cherish throughout the year”. That’s my personal wish for you! More cards to come!

I created this real paper and glue and ribbon mini album for Christmas 2007. My journaling on the inside front cover started with the sentence “I believe our family is the most important treasure we will ever have”. That was three Christmas’s ago and I still believe.
The cardboard base was from Bo Bunny Press but I can’t find it on their website now. The papers I used were from Reminisce and were from the “Snowglobe” collection. To make it, I cut out the papers in the shape of the cardboard letters and glued them on with white glue – messy, sticky, Aleene’s white glue. Then I sanded the edges with sandpaper and inked them with real ink. What a trip down memory lane in more ways than one. I mostly scrap digitally now, but I absolutely love the feel of real paper and being able to hold something in my hand like a book. It’s something I want to do more of in 2011, perhaps in the form of an art journal. Hmmmm, now that is something to look into!

I’ve always taken classes, everything from macrame to floral arrangement to photography. I just finished a six hour class on photography essentials at our local college. I’ve had my DSLR for over a year and only now felt like I would really benefit from something like this. Our instructor went over RAW, ISO, white balance, histograms, and exposure compensation with a bit of post-processing in Photoshop to finish up. I was afraid to take this class, to spend the money, to assert myself in front of what was most likely to be young(er) people. Granted, I had taken a few photography classes on one of our cruises and I am quite familiar with Photoshop (a future post) so I did have a leg to stand on, so to speak. You just have to believe in yourself (cliche, I know) and get out there and do it! I’m practicing what I learned – at the moment only about 1/2 of my photos are turning out the way I want them to using any mode other than auto but so what! what does a digital image cost if you don’t print it? I’m so inspired I’ve registered for another class, “The Art of Digital Photography” and it runs from January 25 to March 15 – 3 hrs/week. I cannot wait and there is no fear in me now – it’s full steam ahead!