A look at 2014 with thankful heart!

 

 

Watermelon Agate Cross Necklace

(Making jewelry for fine motor skills therapy)

 



 

Portabella Cheese Crust-free Quiche

(Cooking for Health) 

 



 Delicious Raspberries

 Fresh Jalapeno and Chives

 My Sacred Space

(A place for respite)

 

 End of Summer Fun

 

 



 

Beautiful Hydrangeas in July

 



 

Too Hot to Cook-Out to dinner time

 

 

Summer Fairy Garden

 



 

A SW Summer Bench

 



Yummy Crab Cakes



 

End of Summer - Crab Bisque

 

 Bathroom Valance

(Sewing helped me stay calm)

 Living Room Valance

 Kitchen Valance

                                                               Redecorated guest bath

 

 Love my exercise bike!

(The best therapy ever!)

 

 Sunsets of the NW

 Need to enjoy nature as often as possible

 

 

 Halloween Dogs

 

 

  There were 4 in the backyard - very close to the house

 And 2 more in the neighbor's yard

 

"End of fall - Beginning of Winter" Deer

 

 

 

                                                                  A 2014 Christmas

 

 

 

Two winter recipes

Here are two recipes that I just made and really enjoyed.  I hope you enjoy them too.

WINTER'S STEW

Peel and chop a sweet potato, rutabaga, turnip, red and gold potato, golden beet, carrot, celery, onion, minced garlic, (optional minced scallion, shallot, leek, jalapeno), chopped red-orange-or-yellow pepper into a crock pot slow cooker. Add enough chicken broth to cover vegetables, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, parsley, red chili pepper flakes, and bay leaves. (Meat is optional) Cook on high for about 2-3 hours. Reduce to low and simmer until ingredients are tender.

CHICKEN CASSOULET

Kielbasa (I use low fat turkey kielbasa), 1 finely chopped medium onion, 1/2 C finely chopped carrots, 1 roasted chicken off the bone, 1 tsp of minced garlic, 1 bay leaf, 1 can of black beans, chicken broth, and parsley. AND here is what you do: Saute' the onion and carrot. Add cut up kielbasa and lighty sear. Add chicken broth, seasonings, chicken, and beans. Bring to boil and then simmer for 8-10 minutes.

I added some orzo and whole grain rice with red quinoa. Pretty simple and is really yummy.

2014 - Big changes and a Time for Healing

I can't believe one year has passed since I experienced major heart attacks and open heart surgery.  I brought in the New Year of 2014 with a quad by-pass which still seems so very surreal to me.  Since that infamous day, I have learned much about my heart, health, welfare...and survival.  I am officially in the 7% of women survivors and I am ever so thankful.  Angels were certainly watching over me so I could continue to be here on this earth to take care of myself and others.  I don't really want to dwell on this subject too much but before I stop I would just like to pass on the word about women and heart attacks.  Only 7 % survive at-home heart attacks because most women don't even know they are having one!  I didn't know.  I felt fine other than I was having back pain between my shoulder blades.  If I hadn't called the doc and then 911 I might not be here today.  Also, I had decided to take some baby aspirins for the pain in my back and that also helped to keep me a survivor.  So to all you women out there - please be alert - take care of yourself and your stress - and always have baby aspirin on hand.

2014 was devoted to healing and learning and starting over.
I have learned how to use a walker, an adjustable bed, climb, get down on the floor and get up again, ride an exercise bike, do fine motor therapy, and occupational therapy on my own as well as many other things.  I have even learned how to cook heart smart.  Here is an example of that:

Penne Avocado:  Mash two avocados with two garlic cloves and lemon juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.  [I add minced jalapenos, onions, leeks, and red chili flakes]  Heat over medium heat.  Boil noodles to al dente.  Drizzle about 2 T. olive oil over drained noodles.  Pour sauce over multi grain noodles. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and cilantro.  Enjoy.
A dollop of this sauce on a turkey or vegie burger is great too!

I will try to get a few pics up later today of some of the little highlight moments of 2014. 


   

Emerald City Comicon - 2013

Kat-nap.com is making its Grand Debut in Seattle, Washington at the Emerald City Comicon this weekend!
[March 1st - March 3rd]  Greg Collins who is the artist/illustrator/writer will be there all weekend to sketch and/or sign the new comic book, prints, shirts,  etc.  If you already have your ticket for EMCC, I hope you'll stop by the booth and say Hi.  If you don't plan on being at the Con this year, that's okay,  you can still check out the Kats (Kat, Spot, and Ketty) at:                                           

www.kat-nap.com

Happy Holidays!

This year has been a whirlwind of events - one after another so I really should not be surprised that I haven't posted anything since June...and yet I am!  I'm actually looking forward to the new year and hopefully I will have more time to create and post more often.  I really do miss my creative art therapy!
Anyway, I really wanted to wish you all the best this winter from  Winterfest, Winter Solstice, Christmas Day, or whatever you celebrate through the winter!  Happy, Merry, Joyful, Season's Greetings Everyone!

My appreciation to Dover Publications for the three penguin carolers 

and the Christmas bells to help bring this image to life.

Sunday Brunch

Need some new recipes for Sunday Brunch?  Here are some of my favorites...

Easy Creamy Basil-Garlic Shrimp

By JoanMarie

Sautee minced onions, garlic and basil in 2 T. butter with ½ T EVOO 

Add 2 T flour to make paste.  Add 1 C milk, stirring until thickened.  If it becomes too thick, add more milk.  Add shrimp and peas.  Add seasonings to taste.  Serve over rice, toast, or potatoes.

 Note:  You can use fresh or canned shrimp for this recipe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the best Blueberry Buckle recipe I've ever found!  It is so delicious - You'll want to eat the whole pan!  Yummmmmmy!

Blueberry Buckle

By DJB on March 12, 2003

Photo by Hey Jude

9 Reviews

• 
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Servings: 6

About This Recipe

"This delicious blueberry dessert can be served as a dessert with a meal or a breakfast dish. It's wonderful!"

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 eggs
• 2 cups blueberries, thawed and drained

Topping

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup softened butter

Glaze

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons hot water

Directions

1. Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, shortening, salt, milk and eggs.
2. Beat for 30 seconds.
3. Stir in blueberries.
4. Sprinkle with topping.
5. Bake 50 minutes at 375 degrees.

Drizzle immediately with glaze.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chicken Lasagna By JoanMarie

1 Roasted Chicken – Cubed

1 Large can Cream of chicken soup

½ C Chicken broth –or- milk

1-2 C Mozzarella cheese – Grated

½- ¾ C Parmesan cheese – Grated

1 Small Minced Onion

1 Minced Jalapeno

2-4 Cloves Minced Garlic

½ C Grated Zucchini and Carrots

Chili pepper flakes

Salt and Pepper

9 Lasagna noodles

Optional – Basil or Italian seasoning

 

Boil noodles as directed.  Drain and set aside to cool.  (A little evoo on the noodles will help them from sticking together.)  Sautee onion, jalapeno, zucchini, and carrot.  Add garlic last.  Set aside to cool.  In large mixing bowl, mix cream of chicken soup with ½ C of chicken broth or milk.  Add vegetable mixture and chicken, stir.  Add seasonings, stir.  In greased 9x13 pan, layer noodles, sauce, and cheeses ending with cheese on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***I have no idea why this blog has a mind of it's own but it certainly does.  What I copy and paste from my word program looks totally different than the end results on this blog.  Do any of you have that same problem and if so - how do you fix it?  Well, I suppose I shouldn't be such a perfectionist about it, right?  I suppose I should just accept that it is what it is.  ; )

 

 

Country Living & Rhubarb

Ever since I was a young child I dreamed of living on a farm.  If that dream ever could have come true, the farm image below is exactly what I would have pictured.  Even though I don't live on a farm, I am quite happy just living in the country out by some of the local farms.

One of the best features of living in the country is all the fertile ground...making it the perfect place for planting gardens and having a small orchard.  

I am fortunate to have a few fruit trees, a line of raspberries, a few flower gardens, but...how would it be the country living without rhubarb?  Well, I have to tell you that I do not have a passion for rhubarb and wished many years for my plants to die.  Since it grows like a weed, I swear you can't kill it no matter how much you try.  So... I would just harvest it about three times during in-season and give it away.  

As of this year my opinion of rhubarb has changed.  It all started when I wanted to make a pie filling for my parents using rhubarb.  I searched online and stumbled on this amazing recipe:

http://canningwithkids.com/blog/2010/05/canned-strawberry-rhubarb-pie-filling.html

I have made two batches already and I absolutely love the filling!  This says tons considering how much I hate the taste of rhubarb.  Seriously...this filling "sauce" is so great - it's addictive!  And...do you have any idea how good rhubarb is for you?  

If you don't, just read what is from this link:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/403208-the-health-benefits-of-rhubarb/  

-OR this link-

http://www.zhion.com/herb/Rhubarb.html

So now I'm happy to grow rhubarb...and eat it!

 

Just look at how beautiful it is this year?  This is from the first crop that I have already picked and canned.  I am anxiously waiting for the second crop now!  ; )

April Pink Saturday

 Hi everyone and Happy Pink Saturday!

I created this Spring Card for Pink Saturday using the three photos below.

  I think my garden colors are going to be pink and purple this year.  I found these adorable pink primroses on my first trip out.  Then I found some beautiful purple petunias and purple and white pansies at the drugstore so I think those two colors will be the color palette for spring and summer...and I am so looking forward to the warmer weather, aren't you?

I mentioned to my friend that I would try to take a few photos of the flowering cherry trees when it stopped raining.  Well, it didn't stop raining so I took some pictures anyway.  The blooms don't last long at this stage and I really didn't want to miss getting a photo again this year.  Too bad the squirrels weren't hanging upside down at the feeders.  They are quite comical to watch.

I hope you all have a wonderful Pink Saturday and don't forget to stop over and view more images of Pink Saturday!  You can click on the Pink Saturday logo on the right of my blog page.

Recipe Sharing

Every once in a while I find time to play in the kitchen.  Recently I was in the mood for something Greek and so I created the following.  I would love to hear from you if you try these recipes or have a favorite to share as well.  

Olive Tapenade

1 Jar Pitted Kalamata Olives – finely chopped

1 Jar Pimento stuffed Green Olives – finely chopped

¼ Jar Almond stuffed Green Olives – finely chopped

1-2 Cloves Garlic – minced

1-2 T Sweet Onion – minced

1 tsp Kalamata olive juice

Mix all together and chill.

 

I make a Greek pizza with this tapenade but it is also a

great spread on a toasted, buttered bagel and broiled with

a slice of cheese on top.  I prefer Swiss cheese on this one.

Naan style Greek Pizza

1 Pkg. Naan Bread

Seeds of  Change Greek dressing

1 container of Feta Cheese

1-2 Lbs. Ground Lamb

1 Small sweet onion – minced

1 Small Zucchini – thinly sliced

OPT.  Fresh Baby Spinach

OPT.  Marinated Artichoke Hearts

OPT.  Sliced Olives (I use tapenade) 

2-3 Cloves of Garlic

8 Dashes of Chili Pepper Flakes

Salt and Cracked Pepper

Grated Mozzarella Cheese

Seasoned  Ground Lamb

Brown 1-2 Lbs. Ground Lamb with minced sweet onion,

garlic, salt, pepper, and chili flakes.

Spread dressing over Naan Bread.  Top with seasoned lamb,

tapenade, any optional ingredients, Feta cheese, and

mozzarella cheese. 

Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes then broil to brown top.

Sharing

I thought I might share a few ways I create images in Photoshop.  Sometimes I alter photos using brushes, filters, and blending tools while other times, I sketch an idea first, or I just play in Photoshop until I stumble on a new technique.  The following are examples of what I just described.  Hope you're having a great week! 

Happy Easter Everyone!

Hooray! I can't believe it is sunny and sixty-four degrees out! What a beautiful Easter Day! It is so rare for us to have a warm Easter that I am ever so thankful when it is. I will certainly be smiling all day! Thanks to Dover Publications, I was able to finish one new image on time. I just thought that tag was so cute. The two images under the tag are the two favorites I made last year so this is what I'm sharing at collage obsession. The theme is share your favorites! You can check out others here: http://collageobsessionchallenge.blogspot.com/2012/04/share.html

Wishing you all a day that is Eggstra Special! Happy Easter Everyone!

4x4 Friday Challenge - Framed

This week we were prompted to create from the theme "Framed". I enjoyed trying out different ideas from my birthday flower arrangement so here are two of them. Thanks for visiting my blog! I hope you have a fantastic Spring weekend!

You can view more images framed at: http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/

A Birthday Celebration

What a wonderful day I had!

The sun was shining all day and I awoke to lovely spring flowers, chocolates, and a strawberry cake along with a most beautiful card that touched my heart in the most emotionally loving way.
An hour or so later I found a gift card in my email! I will have fun using that for sure!

As you can see, the cats arrived with a second cake, party hats, and those party noise makers! I guess they know I love purple! ;) Fun aside, this is one of the best gifts ever! What a perfect way to immortalize the three cats that once were part of our family. Thank you cats for remembering my birthday! You made it special and the tears really were happy tears.




Beginning in April, Spring Flowers are quite abundant here but I have to say that this is the first time I've ever had a bouquet of daffodils, irises, and tulips. I am really going to have to plant bulbs of these for next year because I absolutely love this arrangement!

Speaking of that... I actually took a bit over an hour to clean up and plant my first flowers of spring. Now I have an array of primroses in colored pots on my cute little park bench. Yay!

My daughter brought sub sandwiches home for dinner and although I normally would not advertise fast food, these subs were delicious on flat bread but the best part that I added to mine was the new dressing from Burger King (of all places!) It is a creamy apple vinaigrette by Ken's! Yummmmmy! I was already hooked on the honey mustard but this new apple vinaigrette tops the charts for me. It is the perfect dressing for Spring. It would be terrific in coleslaw or an oriental salad as well. I think I would make the coleslaw with that dressing, chopped apples, minced onions, and Craisins. I suppose you meat lovers could also add chopped chicken.

End of a perfect day, you think? Well, there was one more surprise for me. The mail was brought in late so I didn't even know there was a present until evening. My oldest sister surprised me with a set of camel hair paint brushes and a set of Reeves watercolor paints! How amazingly wonderful was that? I'm still smiling! That must tell you something!

So...a great day it was!

AND...a...Happy Birthday to all that celebrate in April!

SPA Challenge - Venetian Mask

"Welcome to Venice"

You can view more Venetian Mask images at:
http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/

WLDA Challenge - Music Mayhem

"Musical Mayhem Bird"

Extended definition to the word mayhem came up as disturbance, havoc, commotion, and chaos so I decided to create something to reflect that. The true definition is really much darker and derived from the word maim. I really wasn't in the mood to access my "darker side" this time for this challenge. Perhaps next time.

"Under Water Concerto"

Too many conductors leading the music could sound chaotic or the most magical music ever heard. :-) I created this one from one of my sketch doodles and enhanced it in Photoshop CS.

Hope you all have a fun and creative week!

Time to Celebrate! It's a Girl!

It's official now! I'm going to be a Grammy! I've been a Nana for ten years already so I have a little experience at this although I lived far away for the first five of those ten years. I'm here to stay for this one. I don't want to miss anything this time around. We are so blessed to have an amazing grandson and, I'm sure, she will be a wonderful grand daughter. It is time to celebrate!

The ultrasounds today are absolutely amazing! This one was taken at just 10 weeks! She was just a little over 2 inches (5.5 cm) then. How adorable is that? Because of this technology we have the opportunity to feel a connection - to attach ourselves to this little girl now. We don't have to wait until birth to begin that process AND that, in itself, is awesome beyond awesome!

4x4 Friday Round Challenge & So Artful Challenge - Green, Blue, & Pink

"Another Spring Mandala"

Whenever I see a challenge that is themed Round I automatically think of a mandala. I began by finding two different mandala images from Dover Publications. The smallest image directly in the middle was already colored while the larger round design was in black and white. I really liked the layering so I decided to color coordinate the larger round to the smaller one. I then found a coordinating background and a frame border. I do think this works well for both challenges. You can view more images from other artists at the two following links:

http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2012/03/4x4-friday-round.html

http://jeanette-soartfulchallenges.blogspot.com/2012/03/here-comes-spring-green-blue-and-pink.html

Another 4x4 Friday image

I went to play in Photoshop CS last night. I was trying to find an impressionist brush and although I couldn't use the art brush I was looking for, I did have fun with the others. I purposely used a 4"x4" size just in case it would work for the 4x4 Friday challenge and I do believe this works well. Spring Greens is the theme this week. Hope you all have a great week!

"Raining Neon"

4x4 Friday Challenge - Green and Vintage

Last week in 4x4 Friday, the challenge was to create something Vintage. I didn't have a chance to do that last week but when I saw that this week was Spring-Green, I thought why not? I could do both challenges in one image, right? So... I created this using Photoshop CS and a Dover Publications Vintage Irish Lady.

To see more images with the theme Spring Green, you can go here:
http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2012/03/4x4-friday-spring-greens.html
Hope you all had a wonderful Saint Patrick's Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

We may not be Irish but we certainly enjoy Corn Beef and Cabbage on St. Patty's Day! Here is the recipe we use and, of course, I just had to create my own recipe card for that! Feel free to copy and print one for yourself if you care to do so. Hope you have a lovely St. Patrick's Day and May the luck of the Irish be with!