Wattamelllllllllloooon Soup!

Watermelon is one of the fruits that remind me of when I was a kid and lived in Baltimore City. The A-rabbers would come past the house with carts and horses saying, "Wattamelllllooon" or "Straabeddies, chaahahdies". I loved hearing the clipclop of the horses and the sounds of the A-rabbers. I really missed that when we moved to the "country" (not really the country but it was to us).

So today I have the recipe for one of my favorites....Watermelon Soup!!!! I love cold soups. So here's the recipe

Ingredients


4 cups seeded watermelon cubes
1/3 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice for a little twang!
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
1/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt (optional too--I'm not a plain yogurt fan!)
Balls of watermelon

Preparation
Process first 5 ingredients and honey, if desired, in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Cover and chill 1 hour. Serve in individual bowls with a dollop of yogurt or balls of watermelon.

A little shameless self promotion. The ACEO show of the horse is available for sale in my Zibbet Shop---it's framed $12.99  http://www.zibbet.com/ArtByJYWheeler

Nothing Better than Chocolate!

You've probably all seen that email that circulates that chocolate is a vegetable and laughed I'm sure. But you know what, it is made from plants so it has the same benefits as vegetables...or am I dilusional?  No there are lots of antioxidants (8 times the amount of strawberries I read!) in it from flavinoids!  Dark chocolate is good for the heart! Those little flavoids are good for easing that high blood pressure and reduces your bad cholesterol! 

Soooooooooooo grab a piece of dark chocolate everyday....and while you are at it, you can make some oreo truffles...however....the truffles are not heart healthy....lots of fat, but awlfully tasty!

Oreo Truffles
1 bag of oreos ground up in food processor until powdery
12 oz of cream cheese
Dark chocolate melted

mix the oreo powder & cream cheese with a beater until you can't see the white oreo filling anymore. Form into round balls (it helps to refrigerate it or it gets a little sticky) and then drop them into melted chocolate and put them onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Fathers Day Gifts

Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope. ~Bill Cosby

This quote cracks me up. I think of all the crazy gifts we've given my Dad and he always acted as if it was the gift he always wanted.  And I have given him the most bizaar gifts. I remember years ago, I don't know what I was thinking, I gave him a trowel painted with an acrylic landscape (the painting was quite good). Now those of you who know my family know my Dad was a bricklayer--hence the trowel. But he's never been an art afficionado. He kept that crazy trowel near the fireplace for years. I know he was probably thinking "what a waste of a perfectly good trowel. I could use it for laying brick".

Then there was the time I was taking a drawing class at the college and drew a very large 18x22" pencil drawing of bricks....I framed and gave it to him for Father's Day. He smiled but I know he must have been thinking "bricks are meant to be made of  clay and laid and not drawn and hung"...but he kept it hanging up for years.

When they moved to the house they are in now I was older and wiser and said, maybe we should put these away and he diplomatically agreed with me. He was probably thinking inside...yayyyyyyyyyyy finally!

So this year I'll listen to his suggestion...a gift certificate for a restuarant....not exactly memorable but certainly more useful!

Going to the Birds....

...or at least that's the way I feel.  About 2 weeks ago my Jazzercise class started a new routine. That was the start of it. Numbness in my arm. So I go to the doctor who says pinched nerve and gives me some prednisone...it's been almost a week and it's no better.

So I'm thinking this morning, it's hell getting old. The aches and pains, the pulled this muscle or that muscle...now pinched nerves! It's irking my last nerve! But I guess the alternative to not aging isn't good either so I'll make the best of it.

Speaking of birds. I love birds. I have this little "island" in my backyard for birds. It brings quite a few of them in. I love to watch them.
So today I give you tips for attracting birds to your yard...you know it's like people it's all about food, water and shelter! 

Birds like people, like to eat so you gotta feed them so put out bird feeders. But when you put them out think about what kind of birds you want to attract. Maybe you want a variety. So put out a feeder with general mix of wild bird food. You might want another one with thistle  to see some goldfinch or even one with necture for hummingbirds. I like to leave an open dish of peanuts in the shells for my bluejay buddies! The squirrels also love them which is okay with me too. I'm not anti-squirrel.

All that food makes them thirsty so a nice bird bath will do the trick for a sip and a quick bath. I love watching birds flap around in the bird bath.  But make sure you keep that bird bath clean. We don't want dead birds in the bird bath! Of course with water comes mosquitos. I use a mosquito control rink that I put in the bird bath. It's safe for birds and it keeps the mosquito larvae away. Here's a link to one I found online:
http://www.shop.com/Mosquito_Control_Rings-73114744-90743006-p+.xhtml?sourceid=298 

So now their bellies are full and they need a place to rest their weary heads from all the flapping around in the bird bath. That's where the shelter comes in. Add a bird house or two but if you don't want to mess with the birdhouses even providing shrubbery, grasses or some trees will go along way.
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If you like the bird house pictured above. It's available in my Etsy shop. It is not suitable for outdoor use. It's purely for decorative purposes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have 2 bird houses in my shop. Here's the link for the one above:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/33502861/handpainted-bird-ofgsfc

Some Times I Feel....

...like this butterfly.  Trying to balance on a petal!  My life is a balance act these days. Between my children and my parents. I know what they mean about the sandwich generation.  I seem to be always running parents to doctor's appointments and cleaning, weeding and whatever else they need.  Then there's the kids. Waiting for repairmen for my daughter. Helping my son get things together for the house he's buying...running paperwork here and there, meeting contractors & inspectors, shopping for appliances and whatever else he needs (which is pretty much everything!)

But just like this little butterfly, I'm hanging on.  I love my family as much as this butterfly loves her flower and I'd do anything for them.

If you like this ACEO, it's an original watercolor available in my new Zibbet Shop.... http://www.zibbet.com/ArtByJYWheeler

Blog Give Away Winner

The winner of my blog give away is from Cleveland Ohio. Her blog is JewelKnits. She didn't post her  name. I'll have to email her for that I guess! :)

Thanks to all the people who entered the give away. I was blown away with how successful it was. Look for another give away to come!

Olive Oil, My New Best Friend

I've always from time to time used a tiny amount of olive oil in my hair when I wash it. It's an Italian thing. A dime sized dot goes into in my palm, and  I rub my palms together to warm and distribute it in my hands and then run it through my hair especially close to the ends. My hair is so dry & it really helps condition it.

So the other day as I'm putting the olive oil in my hair, I'm looking at my over 50 face and thinking, even using the emu cream (which in the past has worked wonders on me) above my eye looks droopy and saggy. And I think to myself, well if it does such a great job with the hair, what about the face. So I take another tiny dot and do the same thing on my face. I did it 2 days and I'm telling you it firmed up the upper lid eye area! My tired eyes don't look tired anymore.

Then I think, well maybe I should google it since I don't want to clog my pores and end up with teenage acne or something.  And what do you know, I find out that olive oil has been used on the skin since the times of the Egyptians...who knew?

After that I spent time working it into the laugh lines and lines around my lips and down my neck and you know what? It really does look better.

So girls go get your extra virgin olive oil out of your pantry and give it a try..........it's so much cheaper than face and wrinkle creams!