Can You Say ORGANIZATION?

It always starts the same way.... I am looking for something I know that I have... somewhere.... I think... maybe I got rid of it (highly unlikely since I am a pack rat and I rarely get rid of anything useful)?... maybe I only think I bought it (found it, accepted it from someone else getting rid of it)? it has got to be in my studio... or the garage... or the closet... it is here SOMEWHERE.... It IS here SOMEWHERE.... IT HAS GOT TO BE HERE SOMEWHERE... URGH!



Time to ORGANIZE. It IS spring. I never seem to get to the end, I just have starts and lurches toward organization and then the bottom falls out of the plan. I always think I need more stuff in order to organize, more plastic totes, more glass jars, more shelves when actually I guess I probably just need LESS STUFF. But, I have accepted that this won't happen. So has my husband (love you, Babe!).



All this stuff is part of who I am. It fuels my creativity and allows me to create on a whim. I am my own art/craft supply store, LOL. And since I can barely part with even the smallest scrap (paper of any kind is my downfall) I need to find better ways to know where it all is. Any suggestions out there? I am open to whatever anyone else with my crazy obsession for keeping everything for a collage, or you-fill-in-the-blank-now crafting project, can suggest has worked for them. In the meantime, I will continue to look for the bulk bag of pin backs I KNOW I HAVE SOMEWHERE and put that project on hold until I find them. And I will keep going through the boxes, getting side tracked by the lovely ephemera, and take a few more pics of my messy studio :)

Sew What?!

Oh geez, I would be a sewing fiend if I would just trust myself. I learned how to sew in high school, and have paid two different sewing diva friends to teach me since, and I have still never made anything more than a simple sheath dress, a tank, and a couple of skirts. I have so many ideas... and I have a sewing machine... come on already! I can be one of those people who trusts myself to learn from a book or the total opposite and need to be shown by someone step by step... for the machine I feel I need the step by step. I can hand stitch with out any problem ;) Anyway, I asked Maureen, at Victory, for some lessons. She can't do it for a month or more but suggested I find a good book in the meantime. So, today, while in Calgary picking up our good friend, Jean Marc, who is visiting from Ottawa, I checked out the titles in Chapters and I think I found the one. It is called Sew Subversive and it pretty much starts right at the beginning and seems easy to follow. Now I just need an Etsy sale or two so I can buy it. Can't wait!!

A Banner Day for Food!

Actually, it started last night... Andre brought home a slew of seafood from an event at work. Sylvain and Mariana had some, too, so they brought theirs over and Andre made a delicious scampi we ate on pasta with fresh asparagus.



Then, this morning, Andre had the morning off, and we had a bunch of smoked salmon left. So, we collaborated on breakfast, I made the poached eggs, and he made AN AWESOME HOLLANDAISE SAUCE. Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 cups 4 dl
3 Tb(50 ml) fresh lemon juice
3 Tb(50 ml) water
1/2 tsp(2.5 ml) salt
3 eggs
6-8 oz(200 g) unsalted butter

1 Melt the butter in a small saucepan. It should be warm, but not bubbling hot.
2 Combine the lemon juice and water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, adding the salt.
3 Meanwhile, place one egg and the yolks of the other two in a smallish saucepan. Vigorously beat the egg and yolks with a wire whip for a minute or so, until they are pale and thick.
4 Set the yolk mixture over moderately low heat and whisk in the hot lemon juice by driblets. Continue whisking, not too fast, but reaching all over the bottom and corners of the pan, until you have a foamy warm mass. Remove from heat just as you see a wisp of steam rising. (Do not overheat or you will coagulate the egg yolks.)
5 Immediately start beating in the warm butter by driblets, to make a thick, creamy, light yellow sauce.
6 Taste carefully for seasoning, adding salt, pepper, and more lemon juice to taste.
This sauce is really so easy to make, you should leave it to the last minute. It doesn't keep terribly well. Any egg yolk and butter sauce can be kept only warm, not hot, or it will curdle. Also remember that sauces with egg yolks are prime breeding grounds for sick-making bacteria.

Copper or stainless steel saucepans are best, as they transmit and hold heat better than anything else. I often make this solely in CorningWare pots, and find that sometimes the sauce will not set after removing from heat and adding the butter. In this case, return the mixture to very low heat, whisking vigorously until the sauce achieves the desired thickness. Too much heat will either curdle the egg yolks or cause the butter to separate from the mixture.

RATING
Difficulty: easy to moderate.
Time: 5 minutes.
Precision: approximate measurement OK.



And tonight, thanks to my Create A Day pal, Sheasy, Quin and I made a Chocolate Guinness Cake for St Patty's Day. MMMMMMMMMMMM! It is delicious! You can check out the recipe on Sheasy Blog.

Women in Art

A friend of mine sent me a video link today. I have seen it before but I could watch it again and again. It features 500 years of women in art. I wish I could get it to show up here so you could click and view but until I figure that out just click here: http://miraulam.multiply.com/video/item/38

It has been nominated for a YouTube award. It was created by eggman913. You can vote for it here: http://www.youtube.com/ytawards07 Good luck, Eggman, I hope you win!!

Bunny Hop Sale in My Etsy Shop

It is time for the Interior Design Team's Bunny Hop Sale! From March 15th - April 6th you will receive 30% off everything you find in the Bunny Hop Sale Section of my shop. I am also have a Spring Clearance where you will receive 50% or more off the items original price.

The other participating shops are:

ArtEnzie

TadaDesigns

DMProductions

InSaneity

KristinaLaw

TiffanyTeske

I HAVE A NEW NIECE!!

She was born in Minneapolis, just hours ago, and her name is Alexandra Lauren :) We can't wait to meet her. And I can't help but envy my brother and sister-in-law, who are spending their first moment with their new baby. We have such fond memories of that time. They are now having their baby-moon!! We love you guys!!

Ain't Gonna Paint...

Morning! Ok, late morning... I keep meaning to post about this awesome book I bought for my daughter last week when I was rummaging at the local church sale. It is called "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More" and it is by Karen Beaumont. It is fun, colorful, and a great way to get any kid riled up about art! The art by David Catrow is wonderful :) Go out and buy it or see if your library has it...

International Women's Day

On Friday I was lucky enough to be part of a local art show for International Women's Day! Here is the PR for the show...

"In honor of International Women's Day, the Banff YMCA and the Banff Public Library are pleased to present a Women's Art Show from March 1st - March 31st. The show features artwork by several local women working in a variety of mediums. Everyone is invited to attend the Opening Reception on Friday, March 7th from 7-9 PM at the Banff Public Library."

The library is located at 101 Bear Street. I was able to see the work when it was first hung last week because my daughter has story time at the library on Tuesdays. It all looks great! There are about 10 pieces from photography to mosaic to painting to mixed media assemblage. I submitted one fibre based black and white photograph that I hand printed in the darkroom (awhile back, I am bummed to say I do not currently have a darkroom) entitled "Heidi, Artist & Muse".



The opening was wonderful!! My friend, Mariana, came with Quin and I. It was race night for Andre at the hill but I was thrilled when he showed up at about 8:45 PM. There was delicious food and wine, including amazing cupcakes from a new local bakery called Cozy Cave. I am so bummed I didn't photograph the cupcakes!! Quin was thrilled that she was allowed to help me eat one. She held it in her two little hands like it was TREASURE :) Cozy Cave has the MOST BEAUTIFUL window displays ever. I will do a feature one day... There was even entertainment; two local women sang and Kim Mayberry, Quin and my belly dance teacher, and a librarian, AND the organizer of this event, DANCED! It was amazing! She is so great at it. She dances at The Balkan, a local Greek restaurant on Tuesday nights, in addition to teaching at the Banff Centre on Thursdays.



AND AND AND the BEST part of the evening (aside from Andre showing up as a surprise!), the icing on the cupcake, or the cherry on the cake, or the pièce de résistance was that MY PIECE SOLD!! Now, I know I am a professional artist but there is nothing like selling your work. I will never tire of it. And it is always amazing to sell it at the opening. It makes the event more memorable and I LOVE that I can meet the buyer. And in this case, I had already wanted to meet the buyer, who is a local photographer, who was also in the show. It is the highest compliment to have a fellow artist, in the same medium, buy your work! So thanks, Kirstie Tweed :) Kirstie is the owner of Orange Girl Photography in Banff. She is Orange Girl, a color we all know I am also a huge fan of! She has a lovely canvas print of a couple, the woman is pregnant, reclining on the bed with their golden retriever. I am happy to meet such a talented local photographer, as well as other artists in the community.

It was a lovely, lovely evening in celebration of women!

URGH!

So, I learned a lesson... the internet is a big place! Especially when it comes to recipes. I made waffles a couple of weeks ago, using a recipe my husband found that I made while viewing his laptop. THEY WERE THE BEST DAMN WAFFLES WE HAVE EVER MADE AT HOME, which is saying something considering my record with waffles. I have tried several recipes but they are always dense, not light and fluffy. I have high standards when it comes to waffles. Mike, at Riverside, in Kingfield, Maine, where I lived for years, made the most incredible waffles and I had at least one a week. Anyway, to make a long story short as to why I am going on and on, we found a recipe for chewy on the inside, light and crispy on the outside waffles. And we were carving them again the other day. Well, neither one of us had saved the recipe to favorites, something so easy to do. I had even thought about it when making them, then forgot, DOGH! So, we spent hours looking for a new reipe and in the end it was ok, but not like the other one. Although maybe we have just idealized those first ones to the point that nothing will measure up... Hard to say, but I do believe the butter vs cooking spray on the iron for the first batch made a lot of difference. Lesson learned... and if you know of the perfect waffle recipe, please post a link!!

Rummaging, Shrimp Scampi, Self Doubt...

Today was for rummaging, and frankly nothing else much got done. It was a beautiful day here in Banff, sunshining, snow melting, deer and tourists frolicking in the streets. Q & I had a slow start and made it to our big destination about 2 PM. Can I say how much I love to rummage? And what an awesome word is that anyway? Rummage... doesn't sound like the typical verb but it is a definate action word the way I do it. Quin is quite experienced as well. Church rummage sales are the best (actually maybe rummage sales only happen at churches, unlike yard sales or garage sales...). Tons of stuff, great prices. And this sale, at the Catholic Church was far better than the last church sale. They were starting to pack up when we arrived but we still found plenty to take home, including a 1967 set of Encyclopedia Brittanicas with the most amazing illustrations...$5 for the set!! And $2 for about 25 mini board books I can alter. Free patterns, one from the 40s for a cat costume. I will have to scan and post that one. Tons of fabric scraps. Oh joy! And I just love the little church ladies, who remind me of my grandmother and who love my daughter. They are so generous and give her things we didn't pay for and barely make me pay for the things I do. I spent $21 on tons of loot.

Thing is, as much as a I LOVE to collect these things, I always feel a bit guilty that I have so much stuff!! I think it is the curse of being a creative person. I see potential and inspiration EVERYWHERE. Mixed media is just an excuse to collect it all. Oh well, today was sure fun, and so will be making something, someday, with the finds.

Andre was home for dinner and together we made a wonderful shrimp scampi. I would never get rid of my vintage and used cookbook collection but I must say we are really enjoying cooking with the laptop. Search for a recipe than make it with the computer on the island (we might regret this someday...). My current favorite sites at Epicurious, The Food Network, and the site for the Take Home Chef (he is so cute!).

I had not been to Keri Smith's site in awhile. She had a little boy (naturely, way to go, Keri, I know exactly what that is like!) a couple weeks ago named Tilden. Congrats! I followed a link to her blog titled How to Feel Miserable as an Artist... It says how we all feel from time to time and actually, was just what I needed this evening to help me unslump myself...