Oils and Photos

The final art project with Miss M is completed! We painted a canvas with oil paints, printed off a photo, sealed it and varnished it to the canvas. Painted one frame; left the other natural.

Mamapua and Miss M in Hawaii

By Miss M

Lighthouse off the coast of Alaska

By Beanball

Gnocchi

Miss M and I cooked a batch of gnocchi for dinner. I learned the art of this savory dish from my gourmet cook friend, Arielle. I wish she would start a gourmet cooking blog. Someday, she says. Meanwhile, I will continue to be her willing student and blog some of her dishes myself:

After baking potatoes (or in my case, I boiled them), put them through a ricer. I forgot, though, and mashed them instead.

Add some grated Reggiano Parmesano cheese

Stir or mash in a couple of eggs (or more if a big batch). Add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.

By hand, mix in 2 cups flour (more if a big batch). It is now ready to form into whatever size gnocchi you want.

This is a gnocchi board, used to rolls the gnocchi on to give it ridges

Miss M is flipping the gnocchi off the board with a flick of her wrist

Bring a large pot of water to boil, and drop the gnocchi into it. They will sink to the bottom. After they float to the top, let them boil another 2-3 minutes.

Scoop them out with a pasta scoop, or some kind of slotted spoon.

Place several on a plate and top with tomato or pesto sauce. Here we used some of the very tasty tomato sauce that Ryan, Darrell and I made last fall.

Gnocchi, garlic bread and broccoli with a lot of garlic........ mmmmmm....... one of my favorites!

Miss M's Art Trading Cards

Mamapua blogged Miss Livi's Art Trading Cards today on her blog: www.kauahifamilyinhawaii.blogspot.com Here are Miss M's ATC's she is working on, with oil paints. We are under the gun to have them dried and in the mail tomorrow, but she will make it!!! The art work of both girls is amazing to me!

Miss M also has one going to and coming from Spain, just like Miss Livi. What a terrific mother they have that finds so many incredible opportunities for her kids!

Neverland.......

Miss M and I watched Finding Neverland yesterday. It is the story of the playwright that wrote Peter Pan. A very touching story. We had to dry our eyes and faces before anyone came home. The music score is beautiful in this movie......... if you've never seen it, you might want to!

Accordian Photo Books

Okay, Folks! For all the curious that asked what that cute mushroom fabric was for.......

Here is craft project #2 finished

Mine, from my photos of flowers from the yard.....

Miss M's (and the awesome fabric)

......of family photos of Miss Livi, her younger sister

I take photographs with love, so I try to make them art objects. But I make them for myself first and foremost - that is important.
~Jacques-Henri Lartigue

Glass Blowing

Our son, Ryan, received a Christmas gift from his brother and SIL (Scott and Bethany L) of going to do a glass blowing project. With their niece Micaela here, this weekend was the perfect time for the four of them to try it out!

It involved the fine art of blowing air, and sucking air in..........

Micaela's finished bowl

Glassblowing Definition: The art and process of creating glass objects, by shaping glass when reduced by heat to a viscid state, using various manipulations with the hands, especially by inflating it by blowing through a tube. The process is used to manufacture a wide variety of useful and ornamental objects. The manufacture of simple glass objects has been automated, but complex glass objects are still made by the traditional hand processes.

The Culturization of Family

Guess, oh guess, where we went last evening! .........

At the Old Paramount Theater in Seattle!

Darrell, Ryan, Micaela, Scott and Bethany L and myself........

It was very exciting!

The animals were amazing!

The costumes were brilliant!

Just about every prop was a human in a very clever costume.

Amusing humor abounded within the play.....

Lion King is quite by far the most incredible, ingenious stage production I have ever seen. The music......... no words can describe! It becomes a part of your very being, coursing through your soul! A must see, if the production comes anywhere near you! And get this! Even Scott enjoyed it immensely! This son of ours that we had to practically drag screaming and kicking!

What a glorious garden of wonders!

~Beanball

Flowering Tea

Daughter Bethany bought me some tea goodies for Christmas. Among the stash, some 'tea blossoms' that expand into fun and pretty flowers once submerged in the hot tea water.

Pretty cool, no?

Proper position for pinkie

Perfect tea hat fashioned by D-in-L, Bethany

Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.
~Chaim Potok

Tin Tile Photos

Miss M and I finished craft #1 this morning.............

Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: You find the present tense and the past perfect

Crafting

Miss M and I have been busy working on several different projects. Perhaps I will show some of the finished products when they show up :-)

....... and of course, she continues to bake a new delectable treat every day. Just call me Miss Piggy :o(

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~ Ernest Hemingway