The day after

There was a lot to be thankful for yesterday and I shared it with some special people. I decided to stay home and enjoy my alone time cooking for myself. I tried a few things I hadn’t done in a long time and a few new takes on familiar dishes. I made potato salad using canned potatoes. The dish came out okay, and its less time consuming, but one of the joys of cooking is the boiling of the potatoes, touching the hot skin as you try to peel the potatoes before they get too cold. The other thing I hadn’t done in a while was to make corn bread. I was never a big cornbread eater, but on occasion… I made it in a larger pan than what the box called for which made the batter thin out. This made it only rise a little and when I cut it into square it looked like little cookies. It as quite tasty if I must say so myself.
The gumbo was the highlight of the day. I’ve now learned to master this both from scratch and using the box. I’m good at doctoring things up and making them my own with added touches. I always found the box gumbo to be too thick so I add more water and I add lots of shrimp and sausage. My mother used to make a file gumbo which you don’t find in many restaurants or homes in the south. File gumbo was more of a creole dish and most of the cooking that I do was handed down from my mother and grandmother. I’m not a fan of cajun cooking because they put so many foreign ingredients in their foods. I like to know what’s swimming around in the bottom of the pot. There are many dishes that traumatized me as a kid and it took a very long time for me to eat them when I got older. One such dish was cawan or turtle. The first time I ever had turtle soup was at Delmonico’s on St. Charles Ave in NOLA. It was a company function and I decided to give it a try. Anyway, the reason the dish was so traumatic is because my family used to cook the large turtles in a large pot. Their heads would be chopped off, but they would still be alive. They would try to claw their way out of the pot. Just the sound of the claws against the side of the pot were enough to scare a young kid to death. My grandmother would comfort me in the front room until finally they were ready to be prepared for dinner. Luckily this only happened during one of the holidays, either Christmas or Thanksgiving or some other big winter family gathering. Another dish was cubean, which was a large piece of fish cooked whole which included eyes and all. The piece of fish usually measured at least 2 feet in length and was place on a platter in the center of the table. The fix was lavishly decorated with many garnishes including lemon slices. As long as I didn’t have to look at the fish looking back at me I was okay with that. During those days we sat at the children’s table so I didn’t have to look at the fish while I was eating.
I am thankful for all the wonderful people that have come into my life and those that remain to this day. I appreciate all that you have done. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Time to get back to reality.
Thanks for stopping by; keep an open mind. What is meant to be…

The above painting is an abstract I've been working on for quite sometime. The thing about abstracts is that they can go on and on until the artist decides its finished. The piece measure 16x 20 and is entitled two cups.

One must always be prepared. I try to incorporate this in my everyday life, but when it comes to art I seem to be procrastinating to a degree. Yes, I’ve been on a creative flow, but there are several projects that are on hold or just haven’t made their way from my brain to my finger tips onto the computer. When things like this happen they are known as missed opportunities. There are several opportunities that I have come across, but I am not prepared to take advantage of the situation. An artist of any degree must have a portfolio ready, a script, a book, or whatever medium you are working on, one must be ready to submit it at a moments notice. it’s the same if you’re looking for a job. The resume must be updated and ready for submission. Of course if its meant to be… that’s my way of thinking. Sometimes the reason one is prepared is because something else is going to come along that is probably better. I do believe in timing and I learn from the lessons that come before me. I’m still preparing so we’ll see where this journey leads.

Time to get back to reality.
Thanks for stopping by; keep an open mind. What is meant to be…

I had planned to go and see the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, but when I left the house my brain said no. I usually go with my instinct, but I’m not exactly sure of the reasoning behind this decision. Perhaps it was the time. I usually like going to the movies early, but the first showing was at 12:30 PM which meant I wouldn’t be out of the theater until 2:30 PM and then I’d spend an hour in Wal Mart picking up items that I needed. I ended up buying almost $100.00 worth of food, most of which I needed. There were a few things I could have done without, but now I won’t have to stock up until next year. I can just buy the necessities, milk, bread, orange juice if they should run out. I’m really watching every penny and doing my best to stick to my lists. The reason I spent so much was because I didn’t pull out my list while I was in the store. Had I pulled out the list then I wouldn’t have spent as much. The importance of lists is to keep everything in perspective. We only get what is on the list. If we couldn’t remember to write it down then it means we really didn’t need it.
I have all the necessary fixings for Thanksgiving dinner should I stay home for whatever reason. I also picked up my cabbage and black eyed peas for the traditional new years day meal. I’ll experiment in the kitchen for Christmas and see what I come up with. There are a few things I want to pick up at the Dollar Tree, but all gifts and Christmas cards have already been purchased. I have a few ornaments/bookmarks that I want to make. I’m also working on a design for an artist trading card. I may do up to five designs and there will be a total of 40 cards. If your not familiar with the artist trading cards it all started in 1997 by M. Vanci Stirnemann, a Swiss artist who created 1200 cards by hand for an exhibit. On the last day he invited other artist to create cards and to trade them. It then took off sort of like Artrovertism, which is the creation of art that is left behind for someone to discover and hopefully display it and not trash it.
Artist trading cards, (ATCs) are miniature pieces of art that are traded around the world. They measure 2.5” x 3.5” and can be traded via mail or online. It is a great way to meet other artists. If you are an artist, why not join the movement. I had thought about the fleur dlonzo as one of my trading card designs.

Time to get back to reality.
Thanks for stopping by; keep an open mind. What is meant to be…