IN NEED OF A FACELIFT

No, not me! Well, yes, probably, but that's never gonna happen. Well, unless these hoods over my eyes get so bad I cannot see. Even then, I might just use toothpicks to prop them up. I don't do knives and needles unless I absolutely have to! Actually, I was referring to these guys.

For, as you know, faded, pale, and pastel are three colors that just aren't acceptable in the Cantina Garden. Guess I'm gonna have to do something about that, huh?

SEASONAL GRATITUDE AND THE DESIRE TO CREATE

Have you ever wished you could draw, or at least do something a wee bit creative? Well then, Junelle Jacobsen is the gal to see! I could not draw at all until High School Debbie introduced me to Junelle's online classes. We're talkin' kindergarten stick figures here! But, Junelle just has a knack for "mollycoddling" and encouraging her beginners. Each class is open to all, beginners through advanced, and she usually starts off with something as simple as drawing radishes or eggs. Then we move on to something a little more complicated, like baby lambs, but she breaks it down into such simple shapes and steps -- draw an oval here for the body, an egg shape here for the head, a tiny pink heart for the nose -- that anyone can do it. Every time I complete one of her projects, I just stand there with my mouth agape, thinking "I can not believe I did that!"

But the classes aren't just about drawing. There's all kinds of seasonal craftiness in there, plus, now that she's brought her sister on board, there's seasonal cooking and eating too! So much seasonal goodness to be grateful for. Which is why I finally had a lightening bolt realization as to what this one little journal -- made from a book that really shook my world back in the 80s, and opened my eyes to the importance of things like seasonality, gratitude, and being your "authentic" self -- was meant to be.

I think it was meant to be a Seasonal Gratitudes journal, don't you? The perfect place in which to gather all the lusciousness resulting from my time in Junelle's classes!

The altered book cover resulted from one of Junelle's projects as well, with the addition of a little bee stamp I carved.

P.S. Don't worry, I still have my original copy, which I go back and read on a regular basis. This journal is made from one I nabbed at a Goodwill store for a couple of bucks.

EGGS-CELLENT!

Just started yet another of Junelle Jacobsen's luscious on-line classes. Know why I love hers so much? They've got seasonality, that's why! This one is called The Art of Spring: Pink Cheeks and Mud Puddles. How fun is that? The first project was all about eggs. Mollycoddled eggs, to be precise.

We started with a bunch of brainstorming sketches...

which led to that page you see up top. Then I tore it apart into it's individual sections...

which I can now glue into one of my art journals, or use as bookmarks, or whatever my little heart desires.

Next up? Boxes of Bunnies!

PASSION

The world is full of passionate people. For me, as you probably know by now, it's color. For others, it's food, or gardening, or art. And, for it least one person in Austin, Texas, it's Jo's Coffee Shop on S. Congress. We know this because this is what they found written on their wall when they arrived to open shop one morning...

and it's been there ever since. Which, in my opinion, just goes to show what an awesome place it really is!
 

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD

Had to get up early to hide eggs for the kids...

Happy Easter ever-buddy!
 

MY PRECIOUS LITTLE PACKRAT

As I've mentioned before, my hubby loves to shop. Especially when it comes to Christmas shopping! He likes to shop early and often. In fact, he's already bought a couple of presents for next Christmas. The only problem with this is that he tends to stash them in every nook and cranny of the house, then ends up forgetting what all he bought or where he put it. That's why, a month or so after Christmas, he always ends up plopping a belated gift or two in someone's lap.

Well, hubby also likes to shop for clothes, but he doesn't much care for weeding out the old stuff. Which is why his closet eventually got so jam-packed that he couldn't get anything in or out, and he was forced to do a major overhaul. So I wasn't the least bit surprised when he found yet another Christmas gift for me.

What did flabbergast me was this:

Yep, that sucker had been in there almost EIGHT years, and he just now stumbled across it.

Gotta love 'im!

A RECIPE FOR FRIENDS WITH CHICKENS

While we're on the subject of chickens, I thought I ought to share this recipe with all my friends who have chickens. Or, for that matter, anyone with excess eggs. A foodie friend (Thanks, Kris Thomas!) posted this on Facebook recently, and since I had eggs to use up, I decided to give it a try. Oh My!  The picture isn't too pretty, since there is no natural light whatsoever in my kitchen on a cloudy evening. But, believe me, it was yummalicious! Especially when served with a bit of warm naan, to sop up the sauce.

Shakshuka With Feta
from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes
4-6 servings

3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne, or to taste
1 (28-oz.) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped
3/4 tsp. salt, more as needed
1/4 tsp. black pepper, more as needed
5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
6 large eggs
chopped cilantro, for serving
Hot sauce, for serving

Heat oven to 375 F.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook gently until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes; stir in cumin, paprika and cayenne, and cook 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes and season with 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in crumbled feta.

Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with hot sauce.

Bon Appetit!