Natural Health Expo

Nutrition...It has captured my interest since I was twenty.  I've done a lot of research over the years and I'm always fascinated how our bodies work and how the food choices we make has a profound effect on how the body responds.  

The Natural Health Expo has grown tremendously over the last few years.  It's amazing the amount of people that attend and the vast array of products that are being marketed.  One thing I know, just because it's sold as a health food doesn't necessarily mean it's healthy for you.  I'm a label reader and I encourage you all to be one also and even then our food supply in the U.S. is based on economics and there are a vast amont of food suppliers trying to deceive the public and make you purchase their product which they are marketing to make YOU think it is healthy.  Let the buyer beware.  Join me this Monday evening on a conference call where I'll be presenting some of these deceptions and what to look for.  E-mail me and I will give you the number and time or ask me for the recording if you are reading this after March 21st.   Look at ALL the people.  

Here's a shot I liked from the Organic Valley people.  It was fitting except one of the guys on the wagon was consistently on his cell phone;  kind of taking away from the old fashioned look.  ha. ha. 

It's been such a long time

EEK!  Can it be I have not posted since the 5th of March and today is the 20th.  I didn't have much ambition at all while I had that sinus infection.  I used Afrin spray and Ear Planes for the trip to CA.  I was kind of worried about my ears blocking up on the plane going out there.  Whew!  Glad for modern science.

It is the first day of Spring today so I will post some springlike pictures that I took in California while we attended the Natural Health Expo West.  I walked to the Expo Center from the hotel a couple of days and took some pics on the day I remembered my camera.  :)  It will be a while before we see any roses here in WI those are usually late June here. This of course made me think of "stop and smell the roses"

Then there is this lovely Bird of Paradise.  So gorgeous.  I am fascinated with how these grow so abundantly and reproduce themselves over and over. Better than my favorite Star Gazer lilies because they are beautiful but we only get one flower per season.  On these beauties the little pearl like drops that run along the top of the purplish part is where the nectar is and it is so delightful  to look at.  I tried to capture that portion from the top down but it looked just too strange on the picture so I am satisfied with looking at this full shot of this gorgeous "bird".  Now to not make each post too long I am going to make several smaller posts. I hope this beauty makes you smile as much as it did me.  Oh my, look at it's red neck.  Sigh...So pretty. :) Click on the individual pictures to see them up close.

The Piano Tuner

 It's too bad I didn't take a video of the piano being tuned.  There's something so nice about hearing the tuning fork and the strings coming into balance.  Keith Bible is very impressed with the stability of our Kwai piano.  He says it doesn't need tuning, he'll just do a bit of fine tuning on it.  The best thing for the piano is having the humidifier pouring out water for the thirsty piano in the winter time.  It's 41 % humidity in here right now and Keith says that's just about right for the piano.  And then of course piano tuners always play so beautifully and I'm enjoying that.  Keith does have a nice soft touch and way of playing.

Bread Making

 I've had these pictures of the last batch of bread I made for a couple of weeks now.  It just smelled so good and I know I have posted bread pics before but maybe you won't get tired of them, just like I never get tired of seeing the amazing process of a little yeast, flour, salt and water and how it smells and tastes. A little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump.   I make the batch and we have fresh bread dough to be made for about three days straight.  mmmmmmm  Can you smell it?
http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919  The recipe I use is from this book available at Amazon.

Snow Removal

It's starting to seem like spring.  I am going to remove the winter decorations and add some pussy willows and bright tulips in here. My plants are crying to be put into the ground, enough of being in this dry house they say. It's nice here today with thirty degrees and just a slight breeze and the sun broke through about an hour ago.  The other day even when I wasn't feeling very well, I needed some fresh air so I set out to slowly remove the snow from the last storm off the deck.  I stuck the yardstick in the deepest part to see how much had blown off the roof.  It was heavy snow but I just bundled up good and shoveled a small amount at a time so I wasn't working my heart too hard with this infection going on.  It seemed a good accomplishment when I got it finished. :)

Waiting

Still not feeling very well and I'm waiting for the piano tuner to come and can't seem to get motivated to do anything that requires being up. Thought I would play catch up and post a couple of pics and do a bit of personal blogging.

My head seemed stuffier today than yesterday, it still does and it's noon now so maybe this is going to be an all day thing.  I thought I would feel better than this after two days of antib's.  Since I couldn't get anything to open up I figured I might just as well make some more of that good soup.

So here's some pics of why it's such a pleasure to make it.  Don't the ingredients just look beautiful?  I forgot to put the tsien peppers in there, they are the tiny red hot Thailand peppers and I used six or seven of them today.

Since I've already posted the details on how to make this the other day I will just add the new picture of the final product and also the noodles I used in this batch.  They are the cutest little noodle packets. They are very thin and these are wheat noodles and each little bundle is tied with a thin read thread.  Isn't that cute? One bundle is one serving.  They really don't even need to go in the pot.  I just removed the thread and broke the noodles in pieces and put them in my bowl.  Then I spooned some of the hot broth over them and covered with a plate for a couple of minutes.  Spooned in the rest of the broth and I had this beautiful yummy soup to enjoy. 

Now I wanted to add this picture to show the pretty red cup and the very nice place mats that Gilbert came home with the other day.  We sit and watch the birds from our dining room table and the mats are a perfect statement for us.
Gilbert was at Younkers the other day when they were having this huge sale and he went wandering over to housewares. I just dropped and broke the last favorite cup that he gave me.  He also brought home a golden yellow one that I have been using these last couple of days.  He's always so thoughtful like that.  I wish I was more like that.  I'm not really a great shopper.  I fix my mind on what I need to get and that's all I go in for and come out with.  I don't really like looking around at everything, it's too much commercialism and it overwhelms my brain. (i guess????)

One Layer Wednesday #43

It's been five days since I made a card.  I was having withdrawals.  I had to make this quick one just to remind my fingers how to do this thing called card making.  The challenge was one layer with shimmer.  No embossing. I masked the oval with a large post it.  Rubbed versamark in the open area.  Brushed on bronze pearl-ex powder starting on the mask and moving towards the center.  You must tap off the excess or it will be way too dark. Then spray with a fixative.  I originally had the leaf in the oval but it just didn't look quite right.  I tried it  on scrap paper first for the most aesthetic look.  I like how this turned out.   And that's it, it's only 8:30 and I am taking my weary body to bed.  Thanks for looking.  This card took about two minutes to make.

food to keep you well

As I was lying on the couch for three days I wasn't bored as we have a beautiful large picture window and all our bird feeders are there.  They entertained me. Yesterday when I flipped over the sayings book in the bathroom here's what it said.  As long as you have a window, life is exciting.  Appropriate, yes?

Last week we stopped in at the Asian grocery and found all kinds of goodies.  We came home with new and exotic fresh green herbs; three different kinds, some fresh lemon grass stalks, pumelos, mangos, limes and another strange fruit that tastes like a pear and kiwi combined and is real fibrous. Tastes good. We bought jars of sauces and pastes and coconut milk and baby bok choy.  I determined to learn how to get those flavors of the soup we eat at the Thai restaurant.  It's called Hot and Spicy Shrimp soup.  Well, I went digging on youtube and came up with this recipe called Tom Yom Kai. I'm putting the video right on here.  It's so simple.  Since this sinus thing flared up it is the only thing that sounds good to me and I have made variations of this every day since Friday.  That's almost a full week.  I am not tired of it yet.  I love the taste of the lime juice in with the spice and the salty of the fish sauce.  If you can't get lime leaves (we couldn't) you can just thinly cut the green part of the peel of the lime  and toss that into the soup.   I was hungry for greens so I washed and cut the baby bok choy in half and added several of them. Here's the result.  Anyne want to join us for dinner?

on not feeling well

Generally I wouldn't post about being under the weather because who really cares?  Right?  But it is my blog and I guess I can blog about whatever I want.  So I have a sinus infection, I was informed by the doctor this afternoon.  It's contained, nothing in the chest, nothing in the ears, no swollen glands; just a massive plugged up head, teeth hurt, face is swollen and I have been through five, yes FIVE boxes of Kleenex since Friday. The last time I had a sinus infection was in 1982 and that was my last antibiotic too, but there is a time for anti-b's and I will dutifully take them to relieve this pain.  I have laid on the couch for three days straight.

This is the thing that has saved me.  It's a nasal irrigator and it works so much better than a nettie pot.   If you have allergies or are prone to sinus infections you will want to get one of these. Hmm...I'm laughing, I don't think I would buy a used one. ha ha  I am going to finish this on another post.  I cannot figure out how to get this insert to go over to the right to let me type around it. See you in the next post.

Where Your Heart Is

This is the stamp set I won from OWH (see sidebar) . It's designed by Melanie Meunchinger over at Hands, Head and Heart.  StampTV had a release party this weekend for their newest stamps and I wanted to use Melanies creation for all the challenges.  It was a bit intimidating as I've never used this set before and I was nervous about coloring the hands so they would look realistic.  (can you imagine me sweatin' it over that???)  I just decided to DO IT.  Here are my creations.   This set is SO versatile I know it will be a favorite go to set for many occasions. All the stamp sets from Gina K Designs @ Stamp TV stamp so beautifully.  I've never worked with any others that stamp this nice. There's just a softness to them and yet they are so clear.  So here we go, One image, three ways.

Okay, first up was the color challenge.  Use green and yellow and one neutral color on your card.  This was the most difficult one for me as I know they are primary colors and I do love yellow but I'm not real fond of green.  I managed though and was glad I had this ribbon and these large brads on hand.  I'm still in the process of "using things up" and I really got to do a lot of that with these three challenges today.

Next up:  Use string, twine, jute something besides ribbon. When I think of string or twine I think of autumn and hay bales. I want to play with these hand images some more and this is what came to mind. I cut out the hands completely  then traced around them on the pumpkin image then trimmed the pumpkin image to glue behind the hands. Then layered them on top of the first stamped image which I left uncolored. This will go to my neighbor who grows and sells us such wonderful organic produce all summer long. I will give it to them at the end of this years harvest season. I love it when what is in my head comes out of my hands. :)


The final challenge was to make a card like this sketch. 
This card is for a wonderful couple in our Sunday meeting that have been sixty-three years together.  In fact, this morning he spoke about their years together and how it takes wanting to do things for each other to stay a priority. On a daily basis not to try to get the last word.  It doesn't always happen but if we are aware of the Christ nature being first in our lives we will be more willing to have the right spirit about things.  We had a newly wed couple in our meeting this morning who's wedding we all attended yesterday.  I think he was talking to all of us though. The inside of this card says "the example you set. "   This will be a very fitting card to send to them next month. It was a fun challenge for me.  I've never tried that before, to use one image for all three challenges and this was the perfect image to do that with.  Thanks Melanie for your creation.  

inspiration challenge

We were given this picture to inspire us to create.  With this kind of challenge it doesn't have to look like the picture at all.  You could just use the colors or shapes or whatever comes to your own mind when you look at the picture. As soon as I saw this beautiful bouquet and the setting I knew I wanted to use a piece of acetate. I also wanted to pick up the brown stones shown in the background. I stamped and masked and stamped and masked and stamped and masked my tulips on the acetate. Turned it over and colored it with copics and a bit of alcohol inks. I sponged the paper that comes in between the acetate sheets, with a cloud stencil and Voila' here is my card. I love tulips, they are my second favorite flower.

When stamping with Acetate you need to use a product like Staz-On so the ink doesn't smear.  Before coloring it I also give it a quick blast with the heat gun so the ink doesn't smear as it is placed face side down to work on. Here's a picture of the acetate sheets I use in case you have never seen them. Hope you get the same pleasure out of looking at this as I do. :)

odd size cards

While listening to beautiful violin music by Sarah Chang I had a relaxing evening making these two odd size cards.

I really need to make about eighty more of this size. They are 4 1/4 x 3 7/8 Our reg A2's measure 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 Several years ago a stationery store was going out of business and they had these beautiful heavy weight envelopes for almost nothing. A box of 100. I thought they were A2 size--oops they are not.

I have made a few cards this size but then I get tired of it b/c there doesn't seem quite enough space to do the things I want with them. The winter one is for my friend in CA who always "thinks" she would like to live where there is snow! Otherwise, I'm tired of snowmen and flakes and winter. It was fun to try something a bit different. I thought I would try Gina's sketch of the week again too. oh and a little hint: if you have DP where the flowers grow UP, it doesn't work too well if you cut the paper sideways. I live and learn...

Attached Thumbnails

     

Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #42 and Grab & Go #11

I like the stamps I've won from Speedy Cat.  They stamp so beautifully and they are see through acrylic so it's very easy to line them up. I'm going to have to try some of their heavy weight paper the next time I need to purchase as I've heard it's v-e-r-y nice.  I'm starting to run out of some of my colored card stock and I'll be visiting Marks Finest Papers which is where Speedy Cat lives.

This week Vicki Dutcher posted a sketch challenge for us.  I like sketches because it really stretches my mind.  Here's the sketch and here's my card.  Thanks Vicki.

 

SSIC and Grab and Go #10

Every once in a while I grab my stamps by Judith.  She has fun little stamps that just make you smile.  They are interactive meaning you can make a whole scene out of several different stamps.  Like here, I used the fence post, the two bird houses, the flower stems, lady buy, dragonfly, and the pink flower. Put altogether it makes a nice little scene. I also used a cloud stencil on this one and colored the scene with my Staedler Water Pencils.  I forgot how much fun they were, we get so used to the markers nowadays. This is for my friend Molly who just found out she will have to do an extensive round of Chemo and I thought it might bring a smile to her face on a day when she may not be feeling to well.
SSIC this week is a one layer card.  It's supposed to be KISS keep it simple sister but one layer cards are never that simple for me.  They always look so bare!!  I keep trying to fill up the white space.  That's why I stenciled the clouds, then added the foreground flowers, then sponged the green and on and on.  LOL!  And it's no longer a "simple" card.  :)

ODBD and Grab & Go # 9

This weeks challenge at ODBD 

This week the challenge team would like to see your creations using our "Have a H.E.A.R.T." recipe.  You must use three of these ingredients.

H= Hemp √

E= Embossing √

A=Any Our Daily Bread Images or Sentiments

R= Ribbon or lace

T= Tearing or distressing √

It's so much fun to use embossing.  This card is dry embossed through the cuttlebug with a Fiskars plate.  I really get a lot of use out of those plates I purchased for $1.00 at Fleet Farm many years ago.  This also has wet embossing done on the dragon fly and the tag.  The torn edges are distressed by sponging ink onto them.  When you put it altogether it just turns out.  There is olive green sponge all around the cream cardstock too but it seems the flash washed out the color.  It looks better IRL. A row of faux stitching ties it together and keeps the top layer from looking like it's floating off the paper..  I also fulfilled my commitment to myself to use some designer paper every week.  That's been coming along well though I do find it a challenge to work it in.  Thanks for looking. 

Why I'm doing Grab and Go

Someone said, "you must have a lot of stamps".  Well....here is a portion of them.  I forgot to take the ones that were sitting on top of the bed and the seasonal ones that were sitting under my table and these don't include any of the alphabet stamps or the sentiments which each take up a box of their own.  These containers are stacked seven layers deep. IN the second box there are fourteen plastic storage boxes about 1.5 inches deep.  Each box holds six to eight individual 3 in. stamps.  I have them grouped in some semblance of order. Flowers, fun, animals, nature, hearts, winter, large background stamps.

 I went through and took out all the sentiments from my Stamping Up sets.  I  grouped them all in their own boxes like Get Well, Thank You, Wedding, Baby, Birthday, Sympathy.  I find I get much more use out of them since I did that.

Now when I say Grab and Go you will get more of an idea of WHY I decided to do that.  I just stick my hand in a container and pull out a box and then pull a stamp out of that.  Sometimes I do it blindly and sometimes I just take the top pack.  Today's cards were all made with the Grab and Go agenda.  I did however have a couple of challenges I wanted to meet and I just made the stamps I picked up fit into the challenges.  I will be posting them each separately as each one needs it's own URL tag.

Love Without Words and a pin from Paris WWII

From Dad to Mom WWII 1943-44 hand blown glass birds

SSIC #75 Make a card that says love w/o using any words.  Going through my stamps I found these Parisian stamps.  The city of love.  Look at the cute heart shaped chairs.  I masked the table set and stamped the Eiffel Tower behind it as if it is in the back ground.  My dad was in Paris in WWII and sent my mom the cutest little bird pin from there that mom has passed along to me. I like to think that he was thinking loving thoughts of her while he was there fighting a very difficult war. So young to see so much.

Stamping at age 93

Edith at a Stamping Up party with hostess Irene 

This is my friend Edith Boreen. She is ninety three years this past October. Doesn't she look great?  She is a very positive and active person.  She has been stamping for about ten years now. I know the first time I stamped with her was at her 85th birthday party when her daughter and grand daughter brought all kinds of goodies to the party they gave for her and set up long tables and all the ladies made cards.  Slowly I started getting into stamping and Edith and I started stamping together off and on.  A couple of years ago we joined the stamping club in Shawano.  Sandee Voigt got us involved with them before she died. They meet once a month on a Monday and always have a project to do.  Edith and I enjoyed our time with them and learned a lot but we hardly went this whole last year.  Always something would come up to keep us from going.  We don't much like going in the winter anyway, it's cold and dark for the drive home and we're never sure about the roads.  Edith still likes to purchase things for stamping and treats herself at least once a month from her daughters store.  The Stamp Shoppe in Weston, WI.  Edith is a former teacher and you can see her attention to detail in the cards she stamps.  Now isn't this a really cute card that she put together? She sent this to Gilbert for his birthday.

She used textured paper and three layers.  She has taken the time to color the candles like a pepermint stick.  She has given the image layer a very nice edge with decorative scissors and tied the sentiment to the image with the same decorative touch and embossing. There is glitter on the candles and stickles on the little guys fiery breath.  She has even shaded the hot peppers with two different colors and made them realistic. Her card base is embossed with a cuttlebug folder.  Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks.  Edith recently purchased her cuttlebug die cutting machine and I see her using it quite often.  She's my role model and I hope to live a long and healthy life like she does.   Apart from stamping together we quite often play Rummikube and in the summers we take two mile walks together.  I hope she keeps hanging around with us for a long time yet.   Here's to you, Edith!

Make your own flower

Make your own flower, they said over at MFP and Speedy Cat's  #41 challenge.  What??? Make my own flower?  How do you do that?  Oh look, we'll give you some ideas!  Hmmm.  I don't have the talent for any of that and I don't have the right punches, the only felt I have is grey..  Make my own flowers...Ta Da!  Okay, here's what I have on hand and here is the extent of how my brain worked for this challenge.  All in all, it was one of the most difficult challenges I have done because none of it wanted to come together.  It looks simple though!  :)

Grab and Go #8 SSIC 74

I was itching to be creative tonight.  The wind is howling, it's cold outside, snow is coming, what's better to do than stamp?  I did the Grab and Go tonight. I just closed my eyes and stuck my hand into one of the bins and pulled out a set.  I was so glad I picked up this set that had something springy in it. I paper pieced the flower pot, stickled the butterfly, glazed the lady bug and then spritzed the whole thing with my home made smooch. I do love the pearlized effect it gives to my cards. You can see it pretty well if you click on the image and view it full size.  This smooch was made with yellow liquid Pearl-Ex.  I think I'll enter it as a 2nd entry into GKD as it fits the sketch she has for us this week.  Guess I must have liked it, eh?  Well, here it is!
Also entering this in SSIC 74 challenge-green and blue