Month: June 2018

Warm Weather and the Garden

Weeding was always my favorite garden chore.  My second is pruning.  What’s yours?  I always had tons to weed since I didn’t use herbicides of any kind.  Only Organic gardening for me.  Other than a few times where I did make up a Fels-Naptha soap and garlic wash or just hand-picked the insects off to dispose of them.

I said I enjoyed it, not that I was good at it. Carrots to the left, green beans to the right.

Some love their riding lawnmowers and I get that.  I used to use my mother-in-laws years ago.  She had a lot to mow so I would do it for her cause it was kind of like riding a go-cart.  Depending on how many acres or your physical condition, makes sense.  My mower of choice many years later was a manual lawnmower.  It worked out fine for me.

At this time of year, end of June, I would have planted everything by the end of May, I would have had some harvesting of perennial herbs, lettuce, peas, radishes.  I would have had strawberries if I planted them as well as Black and Red Raspberries.

I would be busy weeding, mowing, watering and daily walk through looking for signs of harvest or trouble.  I always had lots to do if I wanted to.  Sometimes I would mulch a lot to keep the weeds down, other times, I just pull weeds by hand or use the tool I had for the large single root like dandelions.  There was always something very fulfilling about “rooting” through my garden and improving the appearance like that.  Great exercise too.

 

Graphic Art Techniques & Attempts

Created using Microsoft PhotoDraw text and animation effects.

I have not done much in the way of fine arts in the last 20 years or more.  I am sadly out of practice.  Ever since I began taking more photographs and purchased my first Graphics Software, Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 version 2, I have gotten very lazy.  I have given up on the idea of spending many hours concentrating with pastel or paintbrush when I can receive the same results in a few minutes with my original photographs, a computer and decent software.  In fact I can do much more with less effort.  I am so spoiled that I thank God this was NOT around during the time of Rembrandt & Leonardo Da Vinci or we would have missed out on so many great works.  I do think that Da Vinci would have come up with  better software ideas than all of them!

I have really enjoyed the years I just experimented and piddled in all kinds of mediums just for the heck of it.  I posted the “Fish Curtain” I did with transfers and free hand painting on a muslin panel last year.

Please view the video I created presenting a few computer graphics followed by brief instructions for each.  If you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments.

 

Even Better Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I have revised Po’ Girl’s Chocolate Chip Cookies for the third and probably not last time.  I am still striving for something a little healthier than the original Toll House Recipe but lighter and tastier than my previous recipe posted 5 1/2 years ago.  I cannot believe it has been that long!  This newest revision still has half the sugar of the Toll House but a little more fat than last time.  Using much less flour makes a more tender, light cookie, even with most of it being whole wheat flour.

Place on parchment covered baking sheet by heaping teaspoons and bake at 350° for 7-8 minutes for soft baked, a little longer for darker crispier cookies if you prefer.

Our apartment shuts off the heat completely after May so it was down in the low 40’s out here this morning.  I wanted to heat my apartment up a little so I decided it would be a great time to bake and store some in the freezer for later.  Hot weather prevents me from using the oven all summer.