Elephantastic Cards

I had to post today or it would never happen. I promised myself to do one productive thing a day to avert my mind from wandering – this laborious mind needs a break from mundane thoughts. And I didn't want to miss another month without blogging.

December is probably one of the most popular months for greeting cards. Thousands of cards are being sent and received every day. But the hardest part is choosing the perfect card and sometimes can be daunting. It's probably better to make your own if you have copious spare time or take advantage of digital technology; however, if you want to design your own card, you really need just one or two elements – for example: flower and elephant.
I had to create thank you cards for work and I came up with two random things not knowing what to do with them. Consequently, I started playing with colors and hierarchy. I only needed one design but I decided to make two, then four more!


Designing cards was exhilarating! I could have created hundreds more if I wanted to but I'm going to stop at six for now. It's very important to enjoy what you do or your mind will go stagnant. Creativity comes easily when the mind is relaxed, and it's something that I need to practice more often. I hope you guys enjoyed my designs.

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!
~Hamilton Wright Mabie

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Mushroom Madness

Have you ever spent countless hours on writing a blog just to be deleted in a second? It happened to me last week, everything that I wrote completely vanished just before I was about to publish it. I thought I was writing on the actual template and didn't realize it was temporary. I wrote a conclusive paragraph about mushrooms and how I obtained them; unfortunately, I couldn't retain what I had written, so I have to write the laconic version of the previous document.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a week of pouring rain, it literally rained every single day. Most people did not like it but I enjoyed the rain immensely, so did the plants in our yard and the surrounding trees. The best part about the rain was the emergence of mushrooms throughout the neighborhood. My sister and I picked some oyster mushrooms in our lawn and I found white mushrooms near my neighbor's sidewalk. We cooked the oyster mushrooms with bacon and once the bacon crisped, the mushrooms were nearly invisible. I tasted the remnants of the fungi only to find out it was infused with bacon flavor – I could not distinguish between the two – they were both crunchy and porky. The remaining mushrooms were simply steamed and they tasted like portobello. For those of you who want to embark on wild mushroom picking, make sure to identify the fungi species before ingesting them. I found this great virtual wild mushroom field guide to help you on your adventure but I recommend something tangible to take with you. And if you want to expand your knowledge on mushrooms, this one is a good resource.

I hope you enjoyed my mushroom post. Did you know that mushrooms multiply during a thunderstorm according to Koichi Takaki, an associate professor in engineering at Iwate University? You can find this article on National Geographic website.

“If only one could tell true love from false love as one can tell mushrooms from toadstools” 

~ Katherine Mansfield

The Vine that Ate the South

When you remove the risk, you remove the challenge. When you remove the challenge, you wither on the vine.
~Alex Lowe

After I got off work last Saturday, I went to check the backyard garden for plants in dire condition but I saw something a lot worse than wilted plants, the kudzu behind our fence was starting to devour the trees planted alongside it. I immediately ran to the carport, grabbed the pruners and gloves, changed shoes and started cutting the vines. After a couple hours of battle, I finally freed the trees from being ingurgitated by this voracious plant. The vines were vicious; I inherited scratches that felt like hundreds of tiny cats had clawed me but it's worth the plight.

While I was cutting the vines, I thought of ways of how to get rid of them or at least prevent them from climbing over our fence and all I could think was, could I eat them? lol. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate everything about kudzu – when they flower, my backyard smells heavenly – I am lulled by its intoxicating fragrance. It's actually the only time when I look forward to seeing it thrive – to watch kudzu flower. So for curiosity's sake, I looked up recipes for kudzu and to my disbelief, kudzu is safe for consumption and I am so excited to share these recipes I found online:

KUDZU RECIPES

Kudzu Quiche
Makes 4-6 servings.

1 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup chopped, young, tender Kudzu leaves and stems
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground pepper to taste
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 nine-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream, eggs, kudzu, salt, pepper, and cheese. Place in pie shell. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until center is set.

Rolled Kudzu Leaves

Kudzu Leaves 1 can diced tomatoes 2 teaspoons salt 3 cloves garlic, cut in half Juice of 3 lemons
Bacon Grease (optional)

Stuffing ingredients: 1 cup rice, rinsed in water 1 pound ground lamb or lean beef 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon of allspice Salt and Pepper to taste

Gather about 30 medium-sized young kudzu leaves. Make sure area has not been sprayed with chemicals to kill the Kudzu.

Wash leaves. Drop into salted boiling water. Boil a 2-3 minutes, separating leaves. Remove to a plate to cool. Remove heavy center stems from the leaves by using a knife and cutting down each side of the stem to about the middle of the leaf. Combine all stuffing ingredients and mix well.

Push cut sides together and fill with 1 teaspoon stuffing and roll in the shape of a cigar. Place something in bottom of a large pan so that rolled leaves will not sit directly on the bottom of the pan. Bacon grease is great for seasoning.

Arrange Kudzu rolls alternately in opposite directions. When all are in the pot, pour in a can diced tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 3 cloves of garlic, cut in half. Press down with an inverted dish and add water to reach dish. Cover pot and cook on medium for 30 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook 10 minutes more.

Deep Fried Kudzu Leaves

Pick light green leaves, 2-inch size.

Thin batter made with iced water and flour
Oil

Heat oil. Rinse and dry kudzu leaves, then dip in batter (chilled). Fry oil quickly on both sides until brown. Drain on paper toweling. Eat while warm.

You can find all these recipes at Southernangel.com. And for those who enjoy being inebriated once in a while, kudzu flower is great for hangover and alcoholism. If you want learn more about kudzu, check out the video below. Happy eating and hopefully you learned something today about the mighty kudzu.

Flashy

I finally got the courage to play with Adobe Flash CS4. Yesterday, I bravely opened the program which looked so foreign and the same time familiar while sitting on my chair glaring at it, clicking on every single button thinking I could figure it out on my own which resulted in total disappointment. I wouldn't say it was a total failure but definitely detrimental to my pride. After a few minutes of trying things on my own, I hesitantly opted to ask for help from the mighty Google and there it was (actually a few of them) - the tutorial. Subsequently, I watched a video and read maybe two or three "how to's." The video wasn't that helpful but having diagrams of the panels helped me remember how to do the most basic animation. I haven't touched Flash in a decade, so it looks a bit rough. I hope you enjoy my animation.

I had no idea this was extremely short; I'm going to do the next one a second longer (^_^)!

Everyone wants to understand painting. Why is there no attempt to understand the song of the birds?
~Pablo Picasso

Landscaping for squirrels

My boyfriend and I bought rocks for the garden. They were dropped off today by a mother and son who own a small nursery. Apparently they’ve been up since 3 am driving around and dropping off things to different houses. Then, we started discussing landscaping and he said “what if you had animals as your clients?” So, I thought, what would you ask squirrels if they were your clients? They don’t “own” a garden but they pretty much live in your yard.

Squirrels love Nuttal oak (Quercus nuttallii), which are also called Red oak, Red River oak and Pin oak. Nuttal oak is a bottom land species that grows along Gulf Coast Plain from Florida to west southeastern Texas. This fast-growing, water tolerant oak is a great choice for poorly drained soil such as clay. Like most oaks, acorn production is heaviest every four to seven years, known as mast year. Squirrels populations vary between these years – they are influenced greatly by the fall mast crop. A good mast production means excellent breeding conditions and healthier young. It is important to wisely manage your backyard if squirrels and other hardwood dependent wildlife is among your priorities.

Twinkle Twinkle

An older illustration from my sketchbook. I love watching the stars at night because it’s hard to see them at daytime. The only star you can see during daytime is the sun. We used to own a glow in the dark constellation book that we took to the roof top every night. I also made a star map out of cardboard and used the strings as coordinates. It was so much fun trying to locate them.

I know a lot about stars but know little about the nursery rhyme “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” So I did some reading and here’s what I learned:

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” was written by Jane Taylor and was first published in 1806 under the title “Star” in Rhymes for Nursery, a collection of poems by Jane and her sister Ann. The English lyrics have five verses; albeit, only the first verse is widely known.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveller in the dark,
Thank you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,—
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

The tune came from the 1706 French melody Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman, which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart later composed with twelve variations when he was 25. Many nursery songs are based on this melody including “ABC” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”

Visit Fun Trivia to learn more.

Doodles & Quotes

A sketch from my sketchbook that I scanned. I was doodling today, just trying various things. I experimented with different types a little bit and played with different colors. I love the retro feel of the illustration. I thought the quote by Mark Twain was perfect. It looks like the cat is trying to cheer her up.

More quotes by Mark Twain:

TOP 10 QUOTES


1. Education

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

Tidbit: Mark Twain, who is recognized as the “father of American literature,’’ was not educated beyond elementary school.

2. Courage

There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice.

3. Wit

One of the striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.

4. Friendship
The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money.

5. Humor
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.

6. Success

Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed.

7. Courage

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

8. Education

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.

9. Age

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

10. Health

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.

HAPPY THANKGSGIVING!

A page from my sketchbook.

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

~Ralph Waldo Emerson