Month: November 2015

November Clouds

/ Jodi / 49 Comments

November clouds and blue sky

“A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed.
It feels an impulsion…
this is the place to go now.
But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds,
and you will know, too,
when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond the horizons.”

– Richard Bach – Illusions

(This photo was taken late yesterday afternoon from my work office, which sits on one of the highest spots in Mars, PA.  It was close to 70 degrees F again yesterday, which is so crazy unseasonably warm for November.  I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the blue sky and the puffy clouds and felt so inspired and overwhelmed and empowered by the beauty!)

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Heavenly Hot Cocoa Brownies

/ Jodi / 49 Comments

Heavenly Hot Cocoa Brownies 1

Chocolate lovers look out!

Heavenly Hot Cocoa Brownies 2

Brownie lovers beware!

Heavenly Hot Cocoa Brownies 3

If you are still baking boxed brownie mixes, get ready to rock your world.

I have discovered the ultimate homemade brownie recipe that is not only easy, but has an amazingly crispy, crinkly, chewy cracked crust floating atop a rich fudgy center that is going to cause you to hear angels rejoicing from your taste buds singing.

Heavenly Hot Cocoa Brownies 4

I wanted to create a brownie that was like taking a bite of a sip of hot cocoa.

So tweaking this amazing recipe (originally from Taste of Home) up just a bit made a real winner.

Get ready to bake and taste and share and treat those you love with a brownie that is simply beyond anything you have ever tasted before.  I dare you!

Heavenly Hot Cocoa Brownies

  • 3/4 cup cocoa (I used Hershey’s)Heavenly Hot Cocoa Brownies 1
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 2/3 cup melted butter, divided
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Trader Joe’s, which I found delightful, but I often use Nestle’s also)
  • 3/4  cup miniature marshmallows

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl, combine cocoa and baking soda.
  • Blend in half (1/3 cup) of the melted butter.
  • Add boiling water and stir until well blended.
  • Stir in sugar, eggs and remaining 1/3 cup melted butter.  Mix until well incorporated
  • Add flour, vanilla, and salt.
  • Stir in chocolate chips and 1/2 cup marshmallows.
  • Pour into a greased 9×13 pan and bake for 30-35 mins. until top begins to crack
  • After removing from oven, top with remaining 1/4 cup mini marshmallows and lightly brown tops with Chef’s Torch (optional)

Cheers & Chocoately Brownie Hugs,

Jodi

Forsythia Confusion

/ Jodi / 66 Comments

forsythia watercolor card

Some of you may recall that Charlie mentioned yesterday how we saw Forsythia blooming right now in our little corner of the world….

in Mars, PA  –  where we are getting ready to transition from Fall to Winter in the next few weeks.

How could this be?

Forsythia blooms in the Spring!

It is one of the first signs of Spring.

Maybe we are skipping Winter this year…..

Wouldn’t that be a hoot!

Seems Mother Nature is very confused.

I do have to admit, it was quite exhilarating to see this unique and out-of-place pop of yellow Springyness amidst the stark brown Autumn branches.

So exhilarating that I felt compelled to do a little watercolor of them.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Lunch Time with Charlie

/ Jodi / 61 Comments

Charlie walk

These are a few of my favorite things:

  1. Breakfast
  2. Dinner
  3. Lunch

#1 and #2 are pretty obvious…  Time to EAT!

Woohoo!  Yahoo!   Woot!  Woot!  Yippee Yo Ki Yay!

#3 – now this one is a little different….

at least for me…

Most of you lucky ducks reading this are fortunate enough to get to eat AGAIN at lunch time.

Mom tells me, however, that dogs only get to eat at Breakfast and Dinner.  (heavy dog sigh)

But…..

Lunch time can be pretty darn glorious (at least if it is a day Mom works from her home office and it is not raining – or she is not feeling toooooo laaazzzy!)….

We get to go for a WALK!

That wonderful, amazing, magnificent four-letter word that can only be spoken within 10 seconds of the actual event occurring!  WALK!!!!

Oh the wonderful smells and sights and people and activity!  It’s a wonderful part of a dog’s life – – – W…. A…. L…. K….  One of the greatest words ever.

If we are lucky, I get to see some of my friends on our walk.

I really, really, really love the little ones that Mom calls “kids.”

They are fun because they are just my size and they like to run fast like me, and they  are always so happy.

Sometimes I get to see other dogs and cats on my walk too – some are friendly – some not so much…  (Mom says we just have to “leave it” when we go by them!)

One of the stupidest parts of walks are a thing called “cars.”

Every single time one of them interferes with my walk along the road, Mom makes ME get “over” and lets them go by!  Seriously?!  The nerve!  Don’t they know this is MY walk!?!

While I’m busy sniffing and smelling, Mom is usually looking around.  Lately, she has been going on and on about how “wonderful” the weather has been.  Yesterday it was 64 degrees F on our walk.  Mom says this is unseasonably warm for mid-November in Mars.  She goes on and on about how beautiful the sky is and how warm the breeze is.

Yesterday, she got all excited because she saw these yellow flowers she called “Forsythia” that were blooming.  We had to stop (in the middle of my walk!) to take a picture of them.  Puleeeezee!

Mom says Forsythia bloom in the Spring time in Mars, and it is almost Winter here, so this is very unusual.

Forsythia in November

Whatever!

We usually walk about two or three miles at Lunch time, and I try very hard to walk “nice” and not pull.  When I do, Mom yells, “Easy,” and I have to tow the line.

But… when we get back to my free space however…

that wonderful space that Mom refers to as “Charlie’s Yard”…

she takes the leash off, and I get to “zoom!”

Zoom Zoom Zoom!

Aren’t the zoomies the best?!

Zoomies are the reward for walking nice and “easy!” It is a chance to run like the wind – round and round – until I can run no more.

Then…. I go in the house (Mom says this is “home”).

I get a big drink of water…. and I am a happy boy… and I wait….

for the next best time of day…..

Dinner!

Woofs & Wags,
Charlie

The Answer is Blowin’ in the Wind

/ Jodi / 22 Comments

autumn leaves in sunshine

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head?
A random song you haven’t thought about in a long time?

For days, I have had this one in my head – a classic I never tire of – and that withstands the test of time and ages: The Answer is Blowin’ in the Wind (written by Bob Dylan 1962 – sung by Peter, Paul and Mary).

“How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?
How many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?”

My thoughts today:

Let’s not turn our heads.
Let’s look up and really SEE the sky.
Let’s truly listen to and respond to people’s cries.

Let’s listen.
Let us realize that we can make a difference…
One person at a time
by turning towards instead of away,
by looking at head on.

Let us be present.
Let us not turn our heads and pretend we just don’t see.

The answer lies within each of us.
We can make a difference – one person – one act – at a time.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Winter Wonderland

/ Jodi / 34 Comments

PP271 winter wonderland

I’m not pushing for this white stuff just yet!  But….

Our challenge this week at The Paper Players is just that:  Winter Wonderland, so I had a lot of fun creating this blustery scene for my Design Team Inspiration Card.

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For this card, I simply stamped the images from Recollections Winter Wonderland Clear Stamp Set onto watercolor paper.  I then painted some blustery cold snow with turquoise blue watercolor paint and some other small details like the scarf, carrot nose, stars and a teensy bit of shading.  While the blue paint was still a bit wet, I sprinkled on some silver embossing powder and heat set it.   I then added a little silver bow and matted it in matching SU Tempting Turquoise card stock and adhered all to SU Pumpkin Pie orange card stock. I added a few turquoise snowflakes to the inside also. I love how blue and orange look together, and now I have a card ready to send to someone soon.

Hope you will join in on the Winter Wonderland cardmaking fun at The Paper Players this week!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Bear hugs are the best

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

bear hugs

Don’t you just love a “good” hug?!

A hug where the other person grabs and squeezes and embraces and holds on tight?

I always try to make it my thing to be the last to let go; and it is funny how sometimes I get into holding on battles with some of my friends and family who take me up on the challenge, and we keep hanging on and laughing and squeezing and hugging.

It’s just the best!

Did you know the average length of a hug between two people is three seconds?

But researchers have discovered when a hug lasts 20 seconds, there is a therapeutic effect on the body and mind.*

The reason is that a sincere hug produces a hormone called oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone.”  Oxytocin has a calming effect on the body and mind and can help us relax, feel safe and calm our fears and anxiety.

The best part is… this wonderful gift (a simple hug) can be offered free of charge every time we have a person in our arms.

Isn’t that empowering?

Doesn’t it give you hope in kindness and love and goodness and grace in our world (especially amidst crazy things happening like the awful Paris attacks yesterday) that you have something you can give at any given time to any person you choose right now that can make them feel better?

Not only are hugs a great gift, we all NEED them.  It has been said:

“We need 4 hugs a day for survival,

8 hugs a day for maintenance,

and 12 hugs a day for growth.”

So we better get busy!

Give somebody a bear hug today.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

*Psychology Today

My favorite shade of love

/ Jodi / 29 Comments

ella blue flower

My favorite shade of blue
is a flower picked
on a brisk Autumn day
by a sweet little girl
who found this gem
amidst the orange and brown and red and yellow.

She picked it
and handed it to me
with a heart of gold
that dreams of rainbows
and finds the beauty
in moments shared.

This is family.

This is love.

This is my favorite shade of blue.

I love you Ella!
You are my favorite shade of love.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Warm Caramel Apple Cider

/ Jodi / 19 Comments

Warm Caramel Apple Cider

A friend who reads my blog asked me a few weeks ago to post a yummy warm drink recipe.  Well – when I recently tasted a warm caramel apple cider drink at a restaurant with my buddy, Janet after our Autumn Weekend Wandering trip, I knew it is what I would be trying.  And try we did, again!

Warm Caramel Apple Cider 2

You could certainly make this with fresh apple cider, but I had a box of Alpine Sugar-Free Spiced Apple Cider packets in the pantry that I thought would work great, and they did!

When there is a nip in the air and you have time to sit under a warm blanket by a crackling fire with a good book or while watching a favorite movie in your fuzzy slippers or enjoying some catch up time on the phone or in person with a good friend, make a mug or two of this warm cocktail that tastes like drinking warm apple pie or a gooey caramel apple.  (sigh…)

Here’s your yummy warm drink recipe, Melissa! Hope you enjoy!

Warm Caramel Apple Cider

Combine 1 packet Alpine Sugar-Free Spiced Apple Cider with 1 cup of hot water.

Add 1 shot (or as much as you like) Buttershots Butterscotch Schnapps.

If you want to “fancy it up” and make it special, you can garnish with a cinnamon sugar rim on your mug (simply dampen the rim of your mug with water and dip in cinnamon sugar), add a cinnamon stick and a fresh slice of apple.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Real can’t be ugly…

/ Jodi / 77 Comments

stuffed bunny watercolor card

How could I have missed this?

It is a classic novel.

It was made into a film, a musical, and a soundtrack.

It is a story that caused my heart to swell,
reminded me of the past,
gave me pause to consider the future.

It made me smile broadly.

It gave me a lump in my throat.

It caught me off guard and caused me to gasp.

Tears welled up, and then magic appeared.

The Velveteen Rabbit, illus. William Nicholson:

How could this be considered a “Children’s Novel” when it teaches such relevant adult life lessons?

“How about this old Bunny?” she asked.
“That?” said the doctor.  “Why, it’s a mass of germs!  Burn it at once.  What?  Nonsense!  Get him a new one.  He mustn’t have that any more!”
And so the little Rabbit was put into a sack with the old picture-books and a lot of rubbish, and carried out to the end of the garden behind the fowl-house.

How often does this happen in real life….
to real people….
whose hearts and souls are young,
but their bodies are aged, broken, weak, and have germs….?

How could I have missed this beautiful story that was never read to me as a child and that I never read to my children?

The Velveteen Rabbit.

Written almost 100 years ago, and I just bought my first copy this week…. via Amazon Prime….   for ages 3 – 7… and I am 52… and I LOVED it!

The life lessons are so deeply profound.
I so encourage you to read this… slowly – and at least twice:

The Gahan Girls: Thank you, Skin Horse. I couldn't have said it better myself.:

Thank you, Skin Horse, for your insightful wisdom.
I will try very hard to remember this every day.

Whether you have children or not, The Velveteen Rabbit is a MUST-READ!  It will be the best 10-15 minutes (depending on how long you linger over the beautiful illustrations) you’ve spent in a long time, and the best $7.49 you will spend this year.

A new, old, profound classic on our bookshelf!

It is waiting to be read to or by anyone who visits our home….   anyone who wants to know what it means to be REAL.

velveteen rabbit

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

P.S.  I was so amazed by this story (which I discovered after a friend posted a quote on Facebook), that I had to draw a version of a stuffed bunny (a velveteen rabbit) late one night.  It came freely.   From a Google Search of stuffed bunnies, I saw a photo similar to this one I painted.  It came quickly and easily, and I was delightfully surprised when I saw how it turn out the next morning – when the paint had dried, and my eyes were clear, and it became “Real.”  And “Real can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”