Lion, Pittsburgh Zoo, October 2017
To Roar or Not to Roar.
Even if you have
the ability to ROAR,
It is important
to discern
when it is best
to remain silent.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
To Roar or Not to Roar
Pittsburgh
Always be Yourself… Unless you can be a Flamingo
Flamingo Pond at the National Aviary, Pittsburgh, PA
Advice from a Flamingo.
Wade into life.
Stand tall.
Stand out in a crowd.
Hang out with your flock.
Find the right balance.
Keep your beak clean.
Show off your true colors.
Even the pinkest of flamingos starts out gray.
Don’t be afraid to get your feet wet.
Always be yourself!
Unless you can be a flamingo….
then be a flamingo!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
*Inspired by YourTrueNature
Parrot of Blue Part Deux
Blue Parrot Watercolor 11×13 140lb Saunders Waterford Cold Press
Parrot of Blue Part Deux.
Does this guy look familiar?
You may recall him as the handsome guy who posed for me at the National Aviary on our recent visit this past weekend.
He was just too irresistible for me not to have some fun with.
And I happened to finally hit it right and remember this month that it is our “official unofficial” Draw a Bird Day – which a group of bloggers celebrates every month on the 8th.
Seems it is a bit of a bird week for me this week at thecreativelifeinbetween.
This cutie is going with us to the Lake Latonka Fall Festival tomorrow, where he’ll be for sale as an original, prints or cards, along with loads of others you’ve seen here and that are in our McKinneyX2Designs ETSY Shop, as well as a wide variety of fall, holiday, kitchen, and farmhouse-design signs created by my daughter-in-law Colleen from reclaimed pallet wood. My son, Jake, even got in on the action with some amazing artwork too that will knock your socks off! He also built us a landing page website (mx2d.com), where you can access our ETSY shop, Facebook page, and Instagram.
If you are anywhere near Mercer, PA tomorrow, come find us at the McKinneyX2Designs booth outside the red barn. We are having a drawing for a gift card to our ETSY shop and are doing some “show specials!” We’ll be there from 9am – 4pm. Hoping for good weather and fun times!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS This Parrot of Blue Part Deux Watercolor was done with Daniel Smith Cerulean and Prussian Blues, Cadmium Yellow and Orange, and M. Graham’s Neutral Tint, as well as a bit of Dr. ph Martin’s Bleedproof White.
A “Woohoo” Journey
A Woohoo Journey.
I was talking to a friend the other day
whose family just returned from their annual weekend amusement park vacation.
It made me think about how many “rides”…. how many difficult situations… how many journeys…
I closed my eyes and waited until it was over.
Instead of enjoying the ride… Instead of appreciating the journey,
and shouting “Woohoo!”
Roller Coasters…
literally and figuratively.
I think of all the things I missed….
just waiting to get to the end – the destination.
No more!
No more closing my eyes and waiting.
Eyes are now wide open.
I am watching. I am appreciating. I am enjoying the journey!
(Just please don’t hold me to this on the Thunderbolt at Kennywood!)
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…Birdly!
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s… Birdly!
Hubby and I made a little visit this past weekend to the National Aviary located in our beautiful city of Pittsburgh.
It’s pretty awesome having America’s only independent indoor nonprofit zoo dedicated exclusively to birds in our own “backyard” with a diverse collection of more than 500 birds representing more than 150 species from around the world, many of them threatened or endangered in the wild.
And guess what? We’ve never visited it before this past weekend!
Bird lovers that we have become….. meet some of our new friends.
I wish I could remember their names and species, but maybe some of you are better at identifying. I simply found them fascinating and beautiful.
The eagle took my breath away.
But wait….. what is this rare bird?
It’s Hubby as a virtual reality eagle flying over New York City on BIRDLY!
Have you ever dreamed of flying like a bird? BIRDLY has made that possible, and we were able to experience it on our recent visit.
The exhilarating flight simulation experience allows you to fly like a bird while lying on the simulator chest down, flapping your arms using hinged wings, and controlling your direction and speed while a fan simulates headwinds. Motors and actuators tilt and dip your body in response. The sensory-motor coupling essentially tricks the brain, so between the motion, wind, sound and visuals, you are effectively flying!
For me it was exciting and terrifying at the same time. Biggest ninny poo poo of all time, I am deathly afraid of heights. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. It is clearly safe, and oh what a feeling of freedom it was!
So yep – got to experience flying like a bird this past weekend! I’d say that’s a check off the ole’ bucket list for sure! Hubby was so busy telling me how to flap my wings, he didn’t think to take a picture. Does that surprise anyone that knows him!?!?
He really was trying to help me as I was…. [ahem]… let’s say the “most vocal” of all the flyers that afternoon…
If you get a chance, do visit the National Aviary and take a flight on Birdly where you can “Fly Like an Eagle.”
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Pittsburgh’s Picklesburgh 2017 is a Big Dill
Pittsburgh's Picklesburgh is a Big Dill!
Though I reside in a little town called Mars, our "big city" is Pittsburgh. Just 30 minutes from Mars (hard to believe eh?!), Pittsburgh is really where all the "action" is.
This past weekend (July 28-29, 2017), one of Pittsburgh's 446 bridges (the Roberto Clemente or 6th Street Bridge) was closed down to automobile traffic and opened up for a dill-lightfully dill-licious celebration of all things pickle! Picklesburgh 2017.
So what to do at "life in between?" Why visit Picklesburgh of course!
Why Pickles?
Pittsburgh has a particularly popular pickle-loving history beginning almost 150 years ago when the H. J. Heinz Factory was built. I remember going on a Heinz factory tour as a grade school field trip and receiving one of the now iconic pickle pins. (My granddaughter now has one in her Grandma Memory Jar from our visit to Picklesburgh this past weekend.)
Picklesburgh celebrates EVERYthing pickled! You could find pickle-flavored sodas, pickle beer and moonshine, and pickle-flavored cocktails.
Dill-acacies included pierogies with pickles, pickled funnel cakes, pickle-flavored custard, and deep-fried, bacon-wrapped pickles on a stick. There were pickles and dip and grilled cheese sandwiches with pickles. There was pickle fudge and pickle peanut butter cookies.
There were pickle balloons – small and large – including a giant flying Heinz pickle balloon, custom built by a team that also crafts balloons for Disney and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
There were pickling food demonstrations
And pickle samples from local farm-to-table shop small vendors like Epic Pickles
and the Pittsburgh Pickle Company,
where I bought one of each flavor!
And if you don't have one yet, who could live without a dill pickle talk-to-text Linabag?
It sure was a dill-leriously dill-lectable way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
Thanks Picklesburgh! Next year, I may just try that Pickle-flavored Italian Ice……
Maybe….
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
A Rainbow of Umbrellas
A Rainbow of Umbrellas Shading the Sunshine at Pittsburgh Three Rivers Arts Festival – June 2017
May the shelter you seek
from sunshine or rain
be as bright and cheerful
as this canopy of colorful umbrellas.
And may you always remember
even the most beautiful flowers
need both sunshine and rain
to bloom and grow!
Cheers & Hugs in Rain or Shine,
Jodi
#Pittsburgh #ThreeRiversArtsFestival
P.S. Got lucky and spent a beautiful sunny day at our local arts festival Saturday with a couple of my favorite girls. The festival is sadly known for bringing the rain every year, and it has been living up to its reputation ever since. Poor vendors. Bring on the sunshine!
You may house their bodies, but not their souls…
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow…-Kahlil Gibran
Next Sunday is Mother’s Day.
Last Saturday my youngest “child” got married.
My greatest honor in life has been being a mother.
But as this wise verse from Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet reminds me,
I may have housed their bodies, but I cannot house their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow.
I am so proud of the men my boys have become.
As I watched the youngest celebrate marriage, and the oldest toast his brother last weekend,
my heart swelled.
Somehow we managed to do a good job.
And I couldn’t have done it without my husband – their father – by my side.
As I look at this photo I took at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago of a Momma Duck (made of flowers by the way) and her little ducklings, I was once again reminded of the privilege I was bestowed in life to be a mother. I am now also blessed with two beautiful “daughters”-in-law and the great privilege of being a “grand”mother.
I am so grateful.
Here’s to all the moms out there!
Cherish the moments.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Wedding Cookie Table: A Pittsburgh Tradition
The Wedding Cookie Table – It’s a Burgh Thing
As some of my faithful friends here at The Creative Life in Between know, I’ve been baking a few cookies for the past month for my son and new daughter-in-law’s wedding.
The wedding was this weekend, so I thought I would share a couple of quick shots we captured of the finished Wedding Cookie Table since many of you asked to see as you saw the various recipes being shared.
I have to thank my other sweet daughter-in-law for helping bake several kinds of cookies (snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, s’mores cookies, and chocolate dipped oreos!) as well as my friend, Tracy, for her generosity in baking the lady locks. A special thank you to Liz’s mom and her cousin Kathy for baking an amazing variety of sweet breads with flavored butters that added just that special touch to our brunch wedding menu. My favorite was the earl grey tea lavender bread! Absolutely amazing!
If you would like to see the recipes for the variety of cookies I made, here is a list with links to the recipes:
- Jodi’s Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Hershey Kiss Brownie Bites
- Pecan Tassies
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Pecan Sandies
- Carrot Cake Thumbprints
- Raspberry Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Apricot Kolaches
- Buckeye Balls
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Red Velvet White Chocolate Cookies
- Oreo Cookies & Cream Cookies
A Pittsburgh Wedding Cookie Table
We could not be happier to welcome our sweet new daughter-in-law to our family.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Oreo Cookies ‘n Cream Cookies
I may have saved the best for last….
For my last cookie recipe for the Wedding cookie table, who is in the mood for a Cookies ‘n Cream cookie created with coarsely crushed Oreo cookies and creamy white chocolate chips?
Oh…. My…. Yumminess!
These are SERIOUSLY divine! The photos may not do justice to the ecstasy your taste buds are going to experience.
Here’s the recipe I found at The Recipe Critic. Hope you will give them a try!
Oreo Cookies 'n Cream Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. salt
- 5 cups flour
- 28 Oreo Cookies, coarsely crushed
- 3 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat in baking soda, baking powder, salt, and finally flour just until incorporated. Gently fold in coarsely-crushed Oreo cookies and white chocolate chips.
Refrigerate dough at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on baking stone or cookie sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until just lightly browned. Let cool on baking stone/cookie sheet 5 minutes, then completely cool cooling racks.
Enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 