Summer Days Countdown

I have been keeping a daily journal since I moved out here. Each day also has a countdown to the last day of summer. It isn't that accurate because here in the lower part of California, we have summer like weather sometimes until October. But it is encouraging the see the days dwindle down and know that eventually, I will be able to bake something, use our refridgerator again, and be able to go outside without having to run back and sit in front of the fan after only about 10 minutes.
I have learned to harvest and cook Palo Verde Beans! They are easy to harvest with a rake and a sheet. Just lay the sheet under the tree and rake the branches. They fall to the ground quickly because they are dry (a nice golden beige color) and many fall off of the sheet for the other desert denizens to enjoy. Hulling them is tedious, and I would have used a flail and basket type method, but some of the hulls had little holes in them and also little holes in the beans! Don't want all that work to be eaten up in the storage jar. They should be soaked before cooking, because those little suckers take up a lot of water. Even after soaking the ratio is about 5/1 for water and beans in the pan. They cook in about 2 hours, and are the consistency of corn kernels. But after that, you can add them to rice pilaf, or salads, or stews. I have used them as a garnish as well. They are black and add a nice contrast to the food colorwise.
Palo Verde Bean Rice Pilaf
1 Cup Cooked palo Verde Beans
1/2 Cup Chopped Onions
2 T. Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Canned Corn
1/2 Cup Chopped Tomato
Saute all in Cast Iron or heavy sauce pan until onions are transparent.
Add:
1 Cup Uncooked Rice
1 T. Chicken Boullion
Garlic Powder to taste
Saute with other ingredients for about 2 minutes.
Add:
2 Cups of liquid (water from the corn, stock or just plain water)
Cook on high until bubbly. then lower heat and place good fitting lid on pan.
Check after about 15-20 minutes, if rice is just starting to stick to the bottom and all the liquid is gone, turn off heat and replace lid. Wait 5-10 minutes before serving. this gives the food enough time to even out liquid wise and the rice will no longer be stuck to the pan. I think it is caused by condensation from the lid.
Garnish with: Chopped greens from the garden or chopped green onions.
Serve with tortilla chips or as a side dish.
We have been eating variations of this dish almost every night so far this summer. It is quick and easy and lends ittself to any extra items you might want to add.

Update from the Hot Desert

We are enjoying a little break of under 115 degree weather. It seems so balmy. Our outdoor bathtub has been our little dipping pool. But we realized we needed to shade it when I couldn't even put my feet in the water because it was too hot! So Stephen got a really cheap "gazebo" (I am using the quotes on purpose) to shade our tub. We assembled it that night. Next day was great, cool water all day. Then that night there was a windstorm just before sundown. Even though we pegged it into the ground, it flew up and crashed into the mesquite tree. The cover was surprisingly strong, only a few little holes, but the metal frame bent in a couple of places. After the storm, we put it back with some improvements, using the rope provided in the package, we tied the legs down as well as pegging them and included a couple of tires for balast. Next day, whoops. Now more metal is bent. The connecting roof tarp and the side stitching is coming apart. So we wedged one leg under the tub (cast iron with enameling, not going anywhere) and attached a coffee can filled with concrete to it. The north leg we left down (more shade in the late afternoon and weighed down with tires. The east and south legs are tied to tires and wedged with heavy branches. But because of the bent metal the top connectors keep coming apart, but that is easy to do during the many times we go out there just to pour cool water over ourselves so we can return to the little 12 volt fans in the bedroom and be our own personal water coolers. Today (2 weeks after purchase and original setup) we found all our tie downs broken and the whole "gazebo" upturned and heading for the mesquite tree again. I thought the dogs might have gotten tangled in it somehow, but when we went to retie the ropes they came apart in our hands! So evidently this fabulous outdoor convenience is only supposed to last a couple of weeks because the tie down ropes have begun to self destruct. I wish Stephen had remembered to put batteries in his camera, mine is still packed somewhere in a box. Also one day I was just sitting on the tub enjoying the breeze and shade and my feet in cool water and I spotted a tiny lizard on a branch near the ground. I was in the middle of telling it how cute it was when a gopher snake came out of the bushes and grabbed it and disappeared into the weeds. Well, there went a couple of mis assumptions, 1 snakes eat lizards! 2 snakes hunt in the hottest part of the day if there is shade! More to come.

I have Moved!!!!

Well, it was really amazing trying to get 9 years of living and creating in boxes and out to the desert house in 30 days. We went a few days over and still have some things in the shed, but I am now going through all of those boxes (that I didn't label, I know, I know). It is kind of like opening presents. What's in this box? Alright the kitchen dishes, and pots and pans. I really missed my glass measuring cups for a while. Now I am hoping to find my video games box, I think I packed it with clothing, but I can't remember. It was all so harrowing!
For the first week, I slept a lot just catching up. Now I have a routine that involves domestic duties and unpacking or cleaning. The ex just kind of let things go, so Wow, there is another job. But it's okay because there is no deadline. It is getting into the 110's degree wise so that pretty much slows down any laborious jobs, so I am just doing what I can and trying to stay cool. I love sitting in the old clawfoot tub at sundown taking my bath and looking at clouds. The summer sunsets here are spectacular with pinks and golds. I will post pics as soon as I can.
Happy Summer everyone.

My Watercolor Technique-A Free Lesson

I have just posted this on Flickr.com, it is one of my favorites. It is a demo painting that I do, I have always had fun with it. First, you place the torn masking tape down for the fence, then wet the paper with a big soft brush. Then mix a wash in the lightest color you will use in a small dose cup and pour it over the paper, leaving some white where the sunlight will be coming from. After the shine disappears sprinkle with salt and let dry. After it is dry brush off the salt and rewet the paper gently, using only one stroke at a time so you don't disturb the underpainting. Mix another wash in a dose cup of the second lightest color. Repeat these steps until you have done the middle darkest color.

After it is dry and you have brushed off the salt, carefully peel off the masking tape and paint shadows and details using the colors you used in the washes and greys made from contrasting versions of those colors. I used yellows so my greys and darks were made from mixing violet and yellow together. You will love the opportunities to play with this technique, do a lot of these. Enjoy.

Moving Blues

I am so stressed I can't sleep until I drop off. I have been just packing, cleaning and sleeping for the last few days. I don't know what time of day it is half the time, I just want to be out of here. I am leaving most of the electrical appliances because I won't be able to use them at the desert house with the limited solar energy. I am freaking out that I won't have enough boxes, or time to do this cleanly. The 31st is less than a week away. Yikes.

Kitty Boy Floyd

When I was taking care of my Mom while she was going through several operations in 1999, I was staying at her house in Riverside and driving to my studio at Palapas in Palm Springs every day. The hour drive was good for thinking and planning, however sometimes at night it got a little scarey. I hadn't lived in Riverside for many years and it was a big city to me by then. When she went in for one of the surgeries, I was told she would have to be in a nursing home for a month. This frightened me because I was worried about her and had never been in her house alone before. The night before the surgery, I was sitting on the patio having a cig, and this little tiny black kitty appeared and jumped up on the table and started rubbing on me and purring. I thought it was late for a little guy like that to be out, so I went around the neighborhood to find out if he was lost. One of the neighbors said a cat had had kittens in a shed next door. So he was feral but had been around people before. I went to the store and got supplies and he moved in. I always thought it was so cute that he would be playing outside, and want in to use the kitty box and then run back outside again. We slept together and played together. I always had someone to come home to during that month, and when Mom returned she fell in love with him too. Which is remarkable because she has never had a pet of her own. When she was all put back together again it was time for us to move on. I had separated from my husband by then, and we found this place. I had also adopted 2 other black cats by then. When they first got introduced, Kitty Boy Floyd had already become quite large and they were still kittens so they were afraid of him. He crouched down low on the floor to make himself smaller so they wouldn't be afraid of him. Eventually Gizmo and Kitty Boy Floyd became buds, but Mut (a female) never really took to him. If she was close by, Kitty Boy would walk very slowly looking straight ahead and not at her. I always thought this was funny because he was twice as big a she was.

If people came over to visit, he would be the first to greet them. He like certain dogs but not all dogs. When one of my rescued cats had kittens, he acted like they were his and cared for them and groomed them and played with them. Evidently he was attractive to other lady cats because he always has a little personal entourage of Lotus and Isis with him. When I came home from petsmart, he would immediatley fish into the bag and grab the little white fur toy mice that I bought for him, he knew they were his. He was a sucker for catnip. He had a little bat toy that I could refill and he loved it. He was always friendly, a pest if you were drinking milk or eating ice cream, and I loved him dearly. We had been through a lot together and I will miss him every day.

He passed away today due to illness. He is now in my heavenly home waiting for me. I love you Bubula and always will.

Big Sale on DaWanda even More Downloadables

I have so many more downloadables on DaWanda, come and see. All during the month of May they will be three for 4 Euros.

http://en.dawanda.com/shop/Donnalda