daily bread

Hi :)

Yesterday {Saturday} while I was supposed to be cleaning I decided to bake some bread. And feeling a little adventurous I made a recipe for "wheat germ and honey bread" that I'd not tried before. I've made a number of recipes from this book and they've all gone pretty well including {plain} "fancy rolls", "farmhouse white loaf", "rapid light wholemeal loaf", etc., just some good toast and butter recipes. It has instructions for using a bread machine and for making all by hand, which is what I do.

One thing I really need practice with and struggled with in this recipe is shaping the loaf. This dough was a little dense or tough and I felt like I was having to box it into shape. I got frustrated. It's not like a soft cinnamon roll dough that just is so supple in your hands. Perhaps you bread bakers have tips on shaping?
Regardless, it still tastes quite yummy and we had some for brunch today.

Tonight I'm making a big batch of vegetarian chili, yum.
And oh, I stand corrected. My husband made dinner last week for us every night since Sunday, not just three nights in a row. I caught a little slack for that.

Thank you for sharing all your little joys, I've been returning just to read them.

till soon,
H

little joys

Good morning, It's Friday,

Some little joys from the week }

I discovered yesterday that some of my watercolors that I've had since I was eleven or twelve years old are still soluble.

The last three nights in a row my husband has fixed our dinner, with neither consultation nor help from me. Meanwhile I either finished up work on the computer, in the studio, or worked out during that time. I told him he could have that job permanently if he liked. :)

I am so loving our new Noticing Project this year. Each day is a discovery, a surprise and truly {I believe} a reflection of the moments we cherish in our days.

I never tire of a collection of doilies.

Although it is still rather cold here, I awoke this morning to a light, lace-like dusting of snow on the ground. The world looks like a powdered sugar cake.

And frothed milk in my coffee this morning. It is always such a treat.

Is there a little joy from your week you'd like to share?

Have a nice weekend,
H

today...

...it's rather cold here and I'm not even going to look at the temperature. Our kitties are glad we leave piles of clothes around as they like to make little nests in them. I just heated up some noodles for lunch, you know, like those Thai House packets, not exactly what I wanted but they were easy to prepare and hot. That's key. I think for contrast I'll make some hot chocolate and goat cheese on crackers to take back up to the studio for a snack. I'm working on various pieces today including the piece above which is part of the "whisper" series.

A friend pointed out the photography of Aya Brackett. I told her I could neither move nor breathe as I scrolled through those images. I especially like the rich green tones of "Letterdesk".

I know there was at least one other link to share, but now I don't remember.

I hope wherever you are that you are warm today,
H

sneak peek

Hi,

How are you today? Are you ready for a little sneak peek of what I've been working on? I guess the real question is, am I ready? {Thank you for asking about it and caring to even mention your interest my work. I appreciate the fact you'd like to see.}

So here's a little selection of recent pieces from the "finding winter, drawing spring" series. There is also a sub-series called "whisper" seen in the lower left. The sizes range from 5in. x 5in. to 12in. x 15in. and include graphite, watercolor, pinholes, letterpress, and blind embossing on paper.

Some of the smaller works will become available in my shop {soon!} and the larger works I'll think I'll be sending elsewhere. There's also another component to this body of work not shown here, I'll save that for another time.

I'm currently inspired by the sparseness of winter and a sense of newness and how that is {as I mentioned before} a state of the heart. These works are open in format and process and thus a reflection of the meaning. I've been incorporating letterpress with the mixed media {as an act of play but also} to add another dimension, as the pinhole does.

To see }}
} "Colors" by Jay Waldron {click the second image in "colors" on his site, love.} seen via Design for Mankind.
} An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton {thanks for the email Dallas!}
} We'll be posting about process this month at echoes. Next post later today.

Thank you for stopping by,
H