Baking week, mini-update

     I didn't announce last week what this week was. It is baking week! So far it is tasty and is earning me friends. I have made Chocolate orange cupcakes and pecan pie. Tonight I'm making brownies. There was one small setback. After the horrible storms here in TN I didn't have power for two days! That made baking next to impossible. Alton Brown would suggest digging a hole, filling it with charcoal an creating crepes on an upside down dutch oven (an actual episode of Good Eats). I'm just not that motivated. So.



     Next week is Vegan week! I have been having more and more trouble with dairy. I've known about my lactose intolerance for a while, but it's getting worse. So I'm going vegan for a week and giving my body a rest. NOW FOR THE CONTEST: Send me your best vegan recipe. The person who sends me the most tasty recipe will be sent a super stupendous prize!

Finish a project week

     Finish a project week was productive for me, but not interesting for you. I finished a lot of little stuff but nothing that makes for good reading. I finished making a fancy flower pot,Christmas ornaments (shut up, they are for this year now), mending my clothes, coloring a few leftover cartoons and hung paintings. I also finished making little one page books out of old calendars. They have orchids on the cover and contain a recipe. It is a cute, personalized gift.
    To keep you occupied I am adding a little more of my book for you to enjoy.

Chapter 2

“Manuel! Manuel!” I whispered, a little too loudly.


“Que?” He groaned, not wanting to wake up.

“There is someone moving through camp.”

“Angelita, it is probably just Guapo looking for a place to take a…”

“NO!” He did not understand, “The man was crouching. I think he is looking through our things. He is not one of us. He might be another villager trying to take our food and guns! ”

Manuel started to dismiss my anxieties by rolling back over to sleep but as he moved, he saw.

Not as I thought. Not a man. Men. There were at least a dozen combing the camp, looking over the sleeping soldiers, quietly going through bags and taking what they wanted. I grab my gun to fire a few shots in the air. Most of the time that is enough to scare away any thieving villagers, but Manuel had seen something I did not. He held me to the ground and then placed a shushing finger on my lips. His hand pressed into my back so hard that I know better than to fight back as I normally would have.

We lay as still as corpses. Even though we were not hiding in ambush or making an escape, we couldn’t help but hold our breath every time one of the men walked by. There were so many of them passing through that it felt we were hardly breathing. I can’t say exactly how long they lingered, but it felt like hours. They stayed so long that we began to relax into out our blankets. If they were here to kill us, they would do it quickly, not dawdle over each body.

Despite my remaining fear, Manuel’s heavy hand on my back began to feel less like a forceful weight and more like a lover’s embrace. The comfort of his touch and my own weariness overtook me. I fell back asleep. Morning would bring what it would bring. We were powerless to stop it.

Give them money because they are awesome.

     Japan Week was spectacular. I did not end up doing many modern Japanese things because there is so much to do and explore in the traditional aspects. My only attempt was to dress in the Japanese style of Kawaii (cutesyness). It did not go quite as planned because I realized that I have almost nothing with lace and bows or ruffles. Well, my makeup was cute anyway. Pearly pink eyeshadow, no eyeliner and giant lashes.        
     The first day of Japan week was spent doing research. I read online and looked at books that I have. I decided to adapt a Geisha look, have a cherry blossom viewing party, take time for a tea ceremony every day and  make Japanese food. Plus I reread Samurai's Garden which is an amazing book. If you have the time I suggest you read it twice.  Or once. Twice is better.
     Geisha (literally meaning art person) have long been an obsession of mine. I had lots of fun adapting a geisha style into a wearable look for every day. I know not all of you are makeup junkies, but just in case you are curious- I used concealer, foundation and powder to create the look of flawless skin. Then I put on a yellow eyeshadow to just above my crease. Geisha themselves don't wear yellow, but it was keeping with the spirit of spring which is something they definitely do. Geisha have colors, patters and fabrics they can wear for each season and they are not to be mixed. No light blue in summer. No maple leaves in spring. Kyoto help you if you wear the wrong color collar. So I kept with spring. Then I outlined the outer corners of my eyes with pink. I put on a dark liner and mascara and brushed my eyebrows. My hair was a tight bun decorated with a pink ribbon and a sparkly butterfly clip.
     My cherry blossom viewing was smaller than hoped. Just me and a co-worker. It was nice to take time in a hectic day to observe and contemplate beauty. I felt the same way about the tea ceremony. Carefully preparing tea in order to honor the beautiful, fleeting moments of life is a great way to remember the nice parts of life and not get consumed by the trivialities of stress. I used Tazo Green Tips for the tea. Not the most authentic, but highly tasty. They put lemongrass in with the green tea leaves for a more complex taste. I suggest that you at home try making your favorite tea (or coffee) slowly and mindfully. Smell it before you steep. Be careful of the temperature. Savour the moment of creating something that you can enjoy.
     The food was fine. My skills and Japanese food aren't that great and so there is nothing worth mentioning. Except Pocky. Where have you been all my life? Little crunchy cracker sticks covered in chocolate. Yum+.
I will leave you with a haiku by Basho, the most famous poet of the Edo era.

I am one
Who eats his breakfast,
Gazing at morning glories.
-Basho

Last week was a no go

     So Bombshell Week did not really exist. Like I said in the last post I put makeup on and picked out outfits, but I didn't even do my hair everyday. Or watch one movie. There was just too much to do and my emotions were frazzled.
     This week, however, will be great. To honor Japan this week is Japan week. I hope to explore the best parts of the culture and encourage all of you to give what you can to support recovery efforts.  I plan for it to be a mix of traditional and modern culture. If you have any suggestions of what I should do I would be glad of it.

Mid week update

     I know that I have been really bad about updating. The new job has been taking a lot of time away, but there has also been a family emergency. Right now family is more important than anything. To tide you over here are the few paintings that I did finish last week.

     This week started out as Bombshell week with Marilyn as my inspiration. However, I have been too emotional to really get into it. I have been faithful to getting up everyday and putting on full makeup and an actual outfit and not just black pants and some top. I am considering doing these weeks over again later. What do you think?

Recipe week....BORING

     So, maybe the bar was set too high. I expected it to be like being on Top Chef or something. Really it just ended in a lot of dishes to wash. Most disappointing of all was that I did not LOVE any dishes. The best was lemony asparagus pasta. Except for the asparagus. I think if I subtituted broccoli for it, the whole dish might be better. Warm winter salad with chicken and fennel? Bitter. So went the week.
      But this week is painting week! I love it although I am not painting as much as I'd like. I started a second job which is nice, but my sleep routine is still not used to me getting up at 8:30 when I haven't in months. I still can't fall asleep until late late. So at the end of the day I am tired. I tried napping but it got out of hand. My first nap was 3 hours long.
     By Sunday I should have lots of fun pics for you to look at.

Procrastination? Why, yes, thank you.

Hello, all.
     I have been lazy and have not updated to tell you about cartoon week. It was so much fun. I liked watching the commentary and behind the scenes of cartoons, but drawing them was even more fun. Here are a few for your enjoyment.

 

     This week has been new recipe week. Not too difficult, but I needed an easy week. I'll share fun new  recipes with you next time (if any of them work out).