Winter Sunset, Mars, PA – January 2018 – “Happy Endings”
Happy Endings.
The magical beauty
of a sunset
at the end of the day…
no matter how hard
or cold or uncomfortable
the day…
renews my faith
in the possibility
of happy endings.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Orange Flowers for Benjamin 11×14 Watercolor 140lb Cold Press
Orange Flowers for Benjamin.
Some of you may remember my little friend Benjamin. He is the sweet little guy, who reads my blog with his “Gem” most every day and was a huge inspiration to me in writing my book, Klaus the Mouse, and other Silly Animal Animal Tales (available on Amazon here).
Well, the other day when I posted my Blue Reflections painting, Benjamin told Gem, “It is a pretty blue picture, but can my Jodi do orange too?”
Apparently, orange is Benjamin’s favorite color. So, though I didn’t do the same painting in orange, I did paint some orange flowers I hope my Benjamin will enjoy when he visits here with Gem next week.
Orange is such a happy, cheerful color!
According to Color Wheel Pro:
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
To the human eye, orange is a very hot color, so it gives the sensation of heat. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red. Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is highly accepted among young people. As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and stimulates appetite. Orange is the color of fall and harvest. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.
Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight the most important elements of your design.
Well…. no wonder my Benjamin loves orange!
Wishing you all an “orange” kinda day!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
This painting and others available at McKinneyx2Designs.
It was all such a Blur.
It was cottony,
it was fluffy,
it was soft,
it was flaky.
It was powdery.
it was picturesque,
it was drifting,
it was blowing.
It was cold,
it was wet,
it was icy,
it was blinding.
It
was
all
such
a
blur!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Yellow (rumped) Warbler in Winter Watercolor 11×14 140 lb cold press
A Winter Warbler Watercolor
I was looking at some beautiful photos on Mike Powell’s Photography Blog the other day of a fluffy little yellow-rumped warbler he spotted eating berries in the frigid winter weather at the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Reserve in Virginia this month.
He was so cute, I asked Mike if I could paint one of his photos. He kindly obliged. My watercolor doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the bird or the magnificent shot Mike caught, but it was fun to do. It’s been a while since I painted a bird. And this little guy had his fluffiest coat on in the frigid temperatures we’ve been experiencing in the Northeast part of the United States lately, which made him just too irresistible for me to resist.
Thanks for giving me a shot at him Mike, and I hope you all might find some time to check out Mike’s lovely photography blog. And if you really love bird photos, you must also check out Kathy’s blog at Backyard Bird Nerd. Kathy has the best backyard birds I’ve ever seen. She claims one of her secrets is the bark butter. I think every bird on the planet would like to live in Kathy’s backyard!
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Best Ever Apple Fritter Cake.
So… this happened the other day…. this absolutely amazing “cake” that is like a pan full of apple fritters.
O M G!
It might not be the healthiest or quickest or easiest to make….
but it is sooo worth it!
With all the snow and colds and flu and healing going on around here…. we needed some serious comfort food. We needed the house to feel warm and smell wonderful.
We needed some sweetness. We needed some yummy for our tummy.
Everyone I’ve shared this with pretty much moaned with delight.
And I am right now trying to ignore it calling me from the fridge! (Eat me…. you know you want me…)
If you are in the mood to treat yourself….
Or need to treat yourself…
Look no further!
Here is the recipe that I slightly tweaked from Cookies and Cups.
Ingredients:Fillings:
Cake:
Glaze:
Directions:
Fillings:
Combine apples, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and water in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes until apples soften and a syrup forms. Set aside.
Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and set aside as well.
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Blend butter and sugar for 3 minutes with electric mixer until fluffy. Add applesauce, vanilla, and eggs, and mix until combined. Gently mix in baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Finally, add flour and Greek yogurt in alternating parts (flour, yogurt, flour, yogurt). Mix until just combined.
Spread half of the cake in an Deep Dish Baking Stone (or your favorite 10-12 inch round or square or 11×13 rectangle baking dish). Top with all of apple filling to cover batter. Sprinkle with 2/3 of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Add remaining cake batter and top with remaining 1/3 brown sugar/cinnamon.
Bake approximately 30 minutes until center of cake is set, but do not overbake.
Glaze:
While cake is baking, prepare glaze by mixing powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth.
As soon as cake is removed from oven, poke holes using a butter knife or wooden spoon handle all over the cake – 20-30 pokes. Pour glaze over the top, spreading to cover completely and allowing to soak in the holes and edges.
Allow glaze to set approximately 20 minutes, and cake is ready to serve warm. Also very good refrigerated cold – just depends on your preference. (In our case, hubby likes it warm, and I adore it cold!)
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Blue Reflections Watercolor – Cerulean and Indigo – 11×14 140lb cold press
Blue Reflections.
Baby boys turned into men.
The future in my granddaughter’s eyes.
The color of the ice caps over Mount Denali.
The color of the sea in St. Marten.
Scoring Boardwalk and Park Place in Monopoly.
Moonlight and starlight in the forest.
Dipping soft sable hair into cerulean and indigo watercolor.
Blue reflections creating magic.
I so enjoyed creating this watercolor painting! I splashed a bit and walked away for a while. I came back and added some more, and walked away again. And then I did it again. It was so exciting to come back and see what magic happened, and I so love how it turned out. When I look at it, I think blue…. and memories flood my heart.
And I smile.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Egg Roll Lettuce Wraps.
I am so excited to share this recipe!
A friend on Facebook recently shared a recipe for a Sausage Egg Roll Bowl that had me so intrigued…
and so hungry….
that i couldn’t wait to try.
All the yummy ingredients of an egg roll without the deep fried wrapper in a bowl sounded divine!
But then I thought…… how about wrapping it in crisp Romaine lettuce leaves and making it into yummy, healthy, quick, and easy Egg Roll Lettuce Wraps?!
What I loved, and I think you will too, is how FAST and EASY this recipe is – especially for how DELICIOUS it is!
This is definitely a 20-minute meal from start to finish. Who isn’t looking for one of these a few times a week?!
And there are so many possibilities for changing it up… switch out chicken or turkey sausage for the pork sausage… add raisins or craisins…. add walnuts or slivered almonds… add chopped sweet red peppers or crisp celery or mushrooms…
I think the key ingredients to this recipe are the soy sauce (low-sodium!) and the sesame oil (I used Trader Joe’s Toasted Sesame Oil).
I am a salt LOVER, but I only buy low-sodium soy sauce (believe it or not). If you want the full flavor of soy sauce without all the sodium, you will love low-sodium soy sauce. In fact – you can add more flavor! You can always add a dash of salt later if you really think it needs, but you can never take away too much of a salty flavor.
Here is the recipe as I slightly tweaked and made into a wrap!
I hope you will try, and I hope you love as much as I did!
Ingredients1 lb bulk sausage (pork, chicken, turkey)
Directions
Cook sausage in a large stir-fry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often to crumble, until fully cooked.
Add cabbage mix, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. Cook for 3-4 minutes until cabbage has softened a bit.
Remove from heat and top with green onions and drizzle with sesame oil. Stir to combine.
Serve over a bed of fresh romaine leaves or scoop into leaves to serve.
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Blue Rose Watercolor 8×10 140lb cold press
Roses can be blue
when in watercolor you do.
Painting is so sweet
when art reveals such a treat.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The New Neighbors – A Charlie Guest Post.
Some new neighbors moved in a few doors down.
So Mom and I decided to visit on one of our recent walks.
I tried to introduce myself,
but this guy was just a bit “cold.”
His eyes kinda said,
“Leaf” me alone.
I really tried
to make him smile.
I just couldn’t help but sense
a nose as cool as a cucumber.
But his arm was outstretched
displaying a sign of peace.
So I bid him a welcome,
and thanked him for the Christmas cookies.
I sure hope
he will warm up a bit!
Woofs & Wags,
Charlie
Charlie is an adopted dog with brown eyes and a white-tipped tail who brings joy and laughter to his family and friends. Charlie is a gifted writer, raving food critic, cat, chipmunk, and donut lover, and exceptionally photogenic model. Some of his best friends are Mike the UPS Man, Cliff the Mailman, and ANYONE who delivers pizza to the house. If you would like to read more guest posts by Charlie, simply type “Charlie” into the Search box at the top right hand corner of this link: thecreativelifeinbetween.com. If you would enjoy a companion like Charlie, please consider pet adoption.
Backyard Sunrise – Mars, PA – January, 2018
Let Each New Sunrise…
Give you hope.
Fill you with gratitude.
Provide a clean slate.
Invent new explorations.
Start with a hug.
Include an “I love you.”
Not be overlooked.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 