It's been a while

Oh hello paintbrush, sorry I've been neglecting you...

This morning I did something I haven't done in... a while. I painted. For fun. Just a quick 4x6 paint-sketch in acrylics of a photo I took last weekend. I thought of using a grid to get my proportions accurate, but decided against it for this quick project. Also, I was so eager to get started, I barely took the time to sketch it in pencil at all before attacking it with paint.

The only "rule" I set for myself was not using black. I wanted the dark areas to have a richness that sometimes I find hard to achieve with black. It can be too dense, and when lightened with white, can sometimes seem too cold. I might try variations using black, or perhaps only black and white to explore the tonalities.

Anyway, I'm happy with how it turned out; although I think it looks better from a distance. But more importantly, it felt good, and reminded me happily of all those things I love about painting. The tactile feeling of a brush moving across the subtle texture of the canvas, the marks left behind, and the way the individual strokes combine and blend and build themselves into an image. I need to return to painting with a sense of fun and freedom; as an activity that I look forward to, not a daunting "oh, it won't turn out so why bother" item on a to-do list...

Opening Night of Winterlude!

Winterlude began last night with festivities at the Museum of Civilizations, including various performers, singers, dancers, activities, free admission to the Museum (which was open until 11pm), and fantastic fireworks!

Winter wonderland

A too-good-to-be-true, utterly indulgent, weekend spent among the trees, traversing frozen lakes, scaling hills, and cozying up by the fire; bellies full of cheese fondue, baguette, chocolate fondue, pancakes, fresh fruit, and more than a little bit of wine.

Back in November, Mark and I booked this cottage near(ish) Tremblant for 2 nights, knowing it would be nice to have a mid-winter getaway to look forward to, although not the typically southern location of most mid-winter escapes. This getaway was not to getaway from winter, but to fully immerse in all the wonderful things about winter! We had initially been looking for a little one-room cabin, but couldn't find any that weren't tied to a larger resort that required the purchase of a meal plan. But it was lovely, and the experience was great (having never rented a cottage before).

Monday Night Dinner: Couscous and Lentil Pilaf

Sticking with my intention to master some simpler meals to build my confidence back up, I found this fantastic recipe: Curried Israeli Couscous and Lentil Pilaf. From stove to table was only half an hour—including a spontaneous side salad—quite possibly a record for me. Not only that, it was phenomenally tasty! I'm so proud of me! And I have leftovers for lunches. Triple win.

I used fresh carrots instead of frozen and re-hydrated lentils as an alternative to using canned—which tend to be high in sodium and a bit mushy—but otherwise followed the recipe.

My couscous absorbed the liquid in less than 3 minutes even though I had it on low heat; not a problem, just a comment. But nothing boiled over or burnt, and the kitchen wasn't even a mess when I was done. This has certainly bolstered my spirits in the kitchen and I'm excited to plan next week's meal!

Perspective

Snow on a log or Snow Snake? Snow Snake!

Timely wreath

On the eve of curbside pickup for our yuletide tree—the same day we packed up all the Christmas ornaments for another year—I hung this wreath on our door. I'd been working on it for weeks here and there, and it had been a project in my mind long before that. Probably since I bought some Ikea curtains from which I removed the tab tops (to instead make a large casing for an ugly curtain rod). I added these fabric loops to my ever-growing pile of fabric scraps where they awaited their future life as a toy or craft, or, in this case, a wreath.

Monday Night Dinner: Beet Red

NOTE: Monday Night Dinners have temporarily shifted to Wednesday nights, because I’m taking a Hip Hop class on Mondays. I know, I know. No, you will not see me on SYTYCD, because I do not TICD. Not at all. But it’s fun.

So last night’s dinner extravaganza was Chickpea burgers & beets and a Super Salad! It seemed like a tasty, nutritious meal to make after work that wouldn’t take too long. I was wrong. We didn’t eat until 8:30. It took me 2 hours to prepare everything! I have come to the conclusion that not only am I unskilled in the kitchen, but painfully slow. (But at least I did read the recipes ahead this time to see if anything needed marinating overnight—something I usually find out as I’m going...)

I suppose I should have prepared some of this meal the night before, but that would require me to get my act in gear the day before I need to get my act in gear. I’ll work on it. But in the meantime, since that’s not likely to happen, I might have to stick with simpler, one-pot meals...

The kitchen quickly looked like a compost heap; pepper seeds and stems and onion skins everywhere.