Art for Kitchen

I created this piece of art on plywood for my cousin's kitchen. Hope she likes it!

Puppy Looks So Sweet

Lily is looking at me so innocently. She's actually pleading for me to open the door so she run after a squirrel.

Giant Grasshopper

I have had surgery and was out of commission for a while. Here's a photo I took of a very large grasshopper on an eggplant. WOW!

Swirl Painting

Saw a similar painting on the "Steven and Chris" design show based in Toronto, Canada. The original was placed on a table and used as a prop - never featured on the show. It always caught my eye so I decided to paint my own version. Now, I just need to make a frame for it.

Cotton Twine Box

Watching "Racheal Ray" show the other day when Nate Berkus was on promoting his new home accessory line at Target and saw a cute little box wrapped in jute string. After scouring my home, the best I could come up with was cotton twine to replicate Nate's box. Looks cute. I even added some binding at the top and a few buttons for decoration.

CVS Deal on Herbal Essence Shampoo and Conditioner

31 cents. That's all I paid for a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. And I got $1 in ECB with my purchase. Technically, they paid me to buy the items. Just use the B1G1 coupon from the 7/28 P & G insert and you too can get this great deal.

Cranberry Scones with Hazelnut Flour

 Still chilly this morning in Michigan. To warm up the house, I made cranberry scones with hazelnut flour. This flour gives the baked goods an extra sweetness that's not overpowering. Wonderful with tea, coffee or milk. The hazelnut flour also makes the scones taste richer and more decadent without the massive calories that icing or frosting imparts. The recipe is from "Cooking Light" magazine with a few adaptations namely the hazelnut flour.

CRANBERRY SCONES

Mix together 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup hazelnut flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add to the dry ingredients along with 1/2 cup of cranberries cut in half and 1/2 low fat buttermilk. Combine the ingredients until moist and the dough is sticky. Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface and place the mixture on parchment paper and then on a baking sheet. Form the mixture into a rectangle or circle that's about 1/2-3/4" thick. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees until the edges are golden are about 15 minutes.

Baby Bird's Nest on Garage Lights

A mother robin decided to build her nest on my garage lights. The lights are motion activated which provides extra warmth for the nest. Not certain it's a good thing for the baby birds.

The babies beaks are open and begging for food from their parents. I do believe spring is here, even though the temperature reads 38 degrees.

Fish Bone Painting

Just a quick painting to cover a problem above my stove. The wall needs to be painted. And while I don't have the time to paint the wall, move the stove, wash the wall, etc., I do have time to do an impromptu piece of art.

Reverting Tulips

Maybe it was a mistake made by a worker filling the bag of red tulips. Maybe they dropped some pink and white bulbs in the bag tagged "red". Maybe. Chances are greater that my red tulips reverted to their original color.

Last year the tulips in my yard were all red in color. Bright red with yellow centers. This year, in the corner of my garden, sprouted pink and white tulips. Tulips, like many other flowers, are bred to enhance a mutated gene's color. I would think red would be dominant and in this case, I would be wrong.

There is another answer - squirrels! Squirrels could have switched bulbs on me. The likelihood of that happening and me winning the Powerball jackpot are one in the same.