So lovely is…
the rise of the sun
on early morning walks
with a best friend
who is enthralled
with the excitement
of new discoveries
in the early dawn dew.
Seek
and
Cherish
the moments!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Photography
Unplug
Almost
everything
will work again
if you
Unplug it
for a few minutes…
Including you.
– Ann Lamott
Unplug….
even if only
for a few minutes.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Its Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature!
Its Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature!
Alright….
who tried to slip
Mother Nature
some Chiffon margarine
in place of butter?
Woke up early this morning
knowing it was coming…
the weather people
kept telling us.
But to see daffodils blooming
and tree buds bursting
in a haze of green
against a blue sky
and warm, sunny breeze
just yesterday…
and wake up to this –
albeit splendid beauty-
this morning…
Someone had to have tried to
fool Mother Nature!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
A Ghost in the Tree
A Ghost in the Tree
(A bit of Silly… Poetry)
Do you agree
with me?
Do you see
a ghost in the tree?
On a carefree
walk of sightsee,
it caused a teeny
bit of anxiety.
But Charlie in his chivalry
helped me gain clarity
and guaranteed
it was but a tree.
Such pedigree
to disagree
and decree
it must be too much coffee.
It was a beauty.
Could it be
a chickadee
or chimpanzee?
Whoppee
and Yippee
for a tree designee
of imaginative jubilee!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
This’ll be the Day
This’ll be the Day.
This’ll be the day
I will seek and find
beautiful things
in humble places….
Things that have been there
all along,
but I didn’t take the time
to notice.
This’ll be the day
I will look in the mirror when I rise
and say, “Hello Beautiful”
instead of “Ugggghhhh!”
I will focus
on the things
I like about myself
instead of the things I don’t.
This’ll be the day
I consciously decide
to seek
simple moments to cherish.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
My New Creation Station
My New Creation Station / Art Studio is just about done.
A few pieces of art need framed for the walls and some fabric is needed for a window treatment, but besides splashes of paint and scraps of paper on the floor, we are about done.
Hubby has been working so hard this past month transforming a 22′ x 13′ bonus space we had in our home into a usable space for a few of my “creative life in between” hobbies.
Duct work had to be moved for the air flow of heat and air conditioning.
A cold air return had to be added.
Recessed lighting and a ceiling fan were installed.
Walls were painted.
Flooring was laid. (And I’m so grateful to my son, Nick, for pitching in last Saturday to help Hubby with the underlayment, padding and laminate flooring. They did it all in a day!)
Trim was stained and cut and nailed in.
And then I got to start filling it with my painting and stamping and crafting and sewing and photography supplies. The weekend was spent cleaning out a walk-in-closet that could not be walked in anymore and an office that doubled as a craft room.
Our large garbage receptacle was filled. The office is now streamlined and breathable. The walk-in-closet can now be walked in.
It was cleansing and fulfilling and back-aching and tiring work, but so wonderful to accomplish.
And one of the best parts about it all is the only new things furnishing my art studio (besides lighting and fan and flooring) are the Husky Adjustable Wood Work Table and Chrome Shelving Hubby bought me for Valentine’s Day and the fabric organization boxes I bought to organize things in.
Leftover cans of paint from other home projects were used to paint the walls and ceiling.
A very old 8′ folding table that was stashed in the basement, as well as a small four-drawer wooden baby dresser, got a fresh new look with a coat of Tuscan red chalk paint.
I’m keeping one tall wall clear and open for possible photography use. I received the reflector and Genaray light for Christmas. Another little spot houses my light box for photographing smaller things.
Another corner is reserved for sewing.
A very special corner is set aside for grandies and other children that may visit with a small child’s art desk that holds a roll of paper (gifted to use by some very special peeps), plastic drawers filled with wooden stamps and a carousel of crayons and markers.
It’s been fun organizing paints and supplies. I even created a long-needed paint chart for my watercolors and am trying to decide which 20 colors to add to a new palette.
Enjoy this little 30-second Hyperlapse visit of my new little Creation Station. Can’t wait to splash it up!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS – If you can’t view hyperlapse video above, click here to watch video on Youtube.
It was all a Blur
It was all a blur…
until I looked closely.
I stopped and closed my eyes,
and I took a deep breath.
I exhaled slowly,
and then I opened my eyes.
And there it was…
I saw the beauty.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Five-Minute Homemade Rustic Artisan Bread
Five-Minute Homemade Rustic Artisan Bread.
Aren’t these loaves beautiful?! I recently found this recipe that makes homemade bread so easy!
You can mix this dough together in five minutes. Then it just needs to rest for two hours while you go about doing something… anything else. After that, throw it in the fridge – for up to 14 days! Whenever you want a fresh loaf of bread, grab a hunk of dough, and bake it. Super simple, super delicious!
So… disclaimer… you obviously can’t make it from start to finish in five minutes, but that really is all the longer the dough takes to mix together, and there is no kneading, so it really is a simple way to make warm, fresh, delicious homemade bread quickly and easily with just a few simple staple ingredients!
Five-Minute Homemade Rustic Artisan Bread
Ingredients:
- 3 cups lukewarm water (approx. 100 degrees F)
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 Tbsp coarse salt (I love using Maldon Sea Salt Flakes)
- 6 1/2 cups flour
Directions:
Pour water in large bowl. Sprinkle with yeast and salt, and mix until dissolved. Add flour all at once, and mix until completely incorporated. That’s it! Five minutes. No kneading.
Place a clean kitchen towel over the bowl and let it sit for two hours.
After two hours, cover bowl with saran wrap (but not too tight as it needs a little vent for gases to escape), and throw it in the fridge.
Your dough is ready to use at anytime in the next 14 days.
When you are ready to bake a loaf, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grab a hunk of dough with floured hands. Do not punch it down, and do not knead or overwork it. Gently shape as desired into a ball, loaf, rolls – whatever you like. Place on a baking stone. (I bake absolutely EVERYthing on baking stones – cookies, bread, roasted vegetables, meatloaf, french fries – they are all I use in the oven – and the results are awesome!) You can let it rest for 30-40 minutes or bake right away – depending on the density you desire. Dust top of dough with flour (and salt if desired). Slash a few cuts in the dough with a serrated knife.
Place an empty metal broiler pan on bottom rack of oven and fill with warm water right before placing dough in oven.
Bake for 20-30 minutes until the crust is a rich brown color and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
*original recipe found at Leite’s Culinara
Don’t
Yellow & Green Grilled Chicken Spring Mix Salad
Yellow & Green Grilled Chicken & Spring Mix Salad.
They say it is important to balance colors in our diet.
I love to make salads from whatever I can find in the fridge and pantry – especially at lunch time – when it is only me, and I can make it whatever way I want!
I often make a large batch of grilled chicken during the week so I can have leftovers for salads and snacks.
I love mixing veggies and proteins and fruits and nuts in a beautiful, colorful meal.
This yellow and green salad just “happened.” I had not planned it to be yellow and green, but when it ended it up that way, I marveled at it’s beauty as well as it’s deliciousness.
For this “springy” lunch time salad in the middle of February – when the temperatures in our part of the world have been more spring-like than wintry – I found myself topping a bed of Spring Mix greens with beautiful yellows.
Enjoying yellows and greens not only in my salad, but in the air here in Mars in this beautiful stretch of Spring in February.
Yellow & Green Grilled Chicken & Spring Mix Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 cups mixed greens -Spring Mix
- 1/4 cup sliced Vidalia sweet onion
- 1/2 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Handful of golden raisins
- 1 grilled chicken breast, sliced
- Balsamic Viniagrette Dressing
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
Place Spring Mix salad greens in large salad bowl.
Add onion, tomatoes, shredded cheese, golden raisins and chicken. A handful of walnuts and/or pumpkin or sunflower seeds would be great too!
Drizzle with Balsamic Viniagrette and a dash of salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 