by Susan Lobb Porter | Food, Life |
I’m writing this post on Thanksgiving day. Got one pie cooked (pumpkin), another in the oven (apple). We did the turkey thing last week when family was in town. Today we’ll dine on roast beef. And veggies, LOTS of veggies. Carrots and onions roasted with the beef. Broccoli and salad served on the side. And pie. Don’t forget the pie. A lot of food for just the three of us–Mr. Spouse, Darling Daughter and myself. Enough leftovers to take us through the next couple of days. Which is good ’cause most days I’ve got better things to do than hang out in the kitchen.
Like make art. I’m itching to do that right now. And I quite possibly will. It’s a low key kind of day, you see. Guests were last week. I could slip away and no one would notice. Mr. Spouse and Darling Daughter are happy watching football while Studio Grande calls to me. It’s a good place to be on a rainy, cold afternoon. A quiet place for meditation, introspection, creation.
But for now I’m in the kitchen, sitting at the table. My favorite place to write. I can look out the window. See the forest. And the gray skies. Check out the ever changing parade of wildlife. Deer. Coyotes. Jackrabbits. Squirrels. Sometimes a bobcat or a bear.
Or I can look to the right, at the purple wall I managed to get past Mr. Spouse’s conservative paint sensibilities when we repainted last spring, and enjoy some of my students’ art.
Sophie was sitting on Mr. Spouse’s chair until she was displaced by the spouse himself, come to check his email. We both leave our laptops on the table, you see. Now she’s awake and concerned…there’s a couple of pies cooling on the stovetop–the apple came out of the oven since I started this– and she can’t have at them.
Sometimes it’s tough being a dog.
I’ve got a couple hours free now that the last pie is baked. Mr. Spouse is back on the couch watching the game. Sophie has given up on the pie. I’m heading down to Studio Grande to meditate. Love on Studio Quat. And quite possibly, paint.
Before I go I’m leaving you with this. A marvelous video courtesy of my friend Judy Shreve. It’s short, under 10 minutes. And watching it will change your day for the better. Guaranteed.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Photography |
One day last spring, turkeys came a courtin’.
At first the girls had eyes only for dinner.
The guys, like guys everywhere, had something else in mind.
They had to show off. Strut their stuff.
Pairing up. Umm-hmmm. She chose this fella over the others ’cause she liked his car. Or something. The climax was anti-climatic. Trust me. Cause I’m not going to post photos of poultry porn. It would put you off turkey for ever.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
First day back at work after two weeks vacation at the scenic Studio Grande. Hello world…back to teaching at the Neighborhood Center of the Arts, a day program for adults with developmental disabilities. I’ve been there forever, love what I do but still…coming back after vacation….
I decided to make it a productive play day. Had a whole bunch of brown craft paper sitting around the studio. I order most of my supplies online and they all come packed in this stuff. And who can throw away paper?
First thing we did was lay out the sheets on the tables.
Then we took crayons, plain old cheap crayons, and went to town SCRIBBLING. Lots of energy here. Had some salsa music on. Dancing, scribbling, nobody sat down.
Next thing we did was paint. I dribbled some acrylics in random patterns, gave the artists some rollers and let them have at it. But still, something was missing. Music at this point was North African Groove. Fun stuff.
Dots! And squiggles. Credence Clearwater Revival. Loud.
Then it’s time to hang ’em up to dry.
Hand painted wrapping paper for sale by the sheet. Just in time for the holiday show and sale opening next week.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Food, Life |
Family was in town over the weekend. We took advantage of the opportunity and celebrated Thanksgiving Saturday night. The whole non-enchilada enchilada. Turkey. Dressing. Mashed potatoes. Pumpkin pie. And yes, there were vegetables. Lots of greens–mustard, turnip, collards, kale–all chopped up and lightly sauteed in olive oil and garlic–the only healthy thing on the whole table.
I ate too much, felt like crap and swore off all non-essential edibles for maybe 12 hours. Typical post Thanksgiving pig-out remorse. Before going to bed I threw the remains in the stockpot and set the stove to simmer. By the time we woke up Sunday the entire house smelled like turkey soup.
But I was sooooo DONE with turkey.
I drained the stock, stuck it in the fridge and hoped it would just go away.
By Monday afternoon I was feeling kindly towards turkey again. So I took out the stock, dressed it up and turned it into soup. Some sort of cross between turkey and minestrone.
Check it out. Carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, kale, beans, turkey and stock. This is towards the end, after I tossed in a handful of Italian herbs.
Here is is with some shredded Parmesan cheese. Sourdough baguette, a little butter and that was dinner. Another option is to drop a big spoon of plain yoghurt right smack in the middle. Mmmm…yum.
And by the time Thanksgiving rolls around we’ll be done with the leftovers. YAY!!!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Dogs |
Sunday night. I’m needing inspiration. When in doubt, pick up the camera. Aim it at something. Sophie was too busy but Benny, AKA Bean. AKA Precious Man Dog, was hanging out on the sofa. Been a long day for him, way too much football. He’s such a couch potato.
Just look at that face. At that ‘stache. Inspector Clouseau, no? Next thing I know he’ll be woofing with a French accent. But he is half poodle so I guess that’s to be expected.
And this is Benny’s ear, top of his head. Against the back drop of the sofa cushion. It’s a way comfy, squishy kind of sofa. I’m looking at this photo thinking there’s something arty about it. I was going to tell you to squint to imagine the painting. But I did one better. Went on photoshop and played with a couple of filters.
This is Photoshop cutout filter.
Drybrush filter. Monkeyed with the color too.
Paint daubs filter. Hard choosing the right level of squiggle on this one. Loved ’em all.
But this one is my favorite, the pallet knife filter. Played with the options to get this effect. Practically a painting, don’t you think?
