Creations

I was a busy little bee last weekend. I scrubbed the kitchen floor, scrubbed the lower cabinets in the kitchen (whoa! They're white! I wasn't sure anymore...), vacumned all to hell and beyond (dog hair will eventually take over the earth, it really will), organized all my art stuff (which is now un-organized), cleaned out the refrigerator, and made THESE:

Crow earrings. The birds are polymer clay, with gold leaf paint. Strung them on pins and made skinny coiled wire beads for under and over.



Lightbulb earrings. I was saving these burnt-out flashlight bulbs to use for something else (I was thinking boobs for an art doll), when a little light(bulb) went off in my head, and I thought, "Hey! Earrings!" People laughed, but liked them, anyway. And so did they. 2 ladies asked for a pair. And I've since gone back and re-strung them-- the tops are actually coils, now, but I didn't take a pic because I'm wearing them and forgot to!

Tangly wires-- I like these the best. Saw something in a magazine, Lisa Niven Kelly's "Tornado Beads," and fell in love with them. So, decided to see what I could do just by looking at the picture, and ended up with these. I honestly have no idea of the technique she used, but I knew how I wanted mine to be on each end, and worked from there. I made the ear wires, too, because the ones I had didn't match my wire very well-- too silvery. So I formed mine around one of my many paintbrushes.


And last night, Daughter #1 and I made Hot & Sour Soup. You get to see my really atrocious semi-printing. I went online and looked up about 15 recipes for the soup, and wrote down the common ingredients plus a couple that some Asian friends said they knew were in it (like the tree fungus and lily flowers). Gotta tell ya-- the prep time is pretty long, all the soaking and julienning, but the actual cooking time is short, and this stuff turned out exactly right! It was too good to only have one bowl. (The stuff in parentheses is how much I actually ended up using, and the comments on the bottom are my thoughts on it.)

I was really amazed at how inexpensive the exotic ingredients were-- I thought I'd have to pay an arm and a leg, but it was more like a pinky fingernail. We went to an Asian market (in fact, that's what it's name is, "Asian Market") and they had everything we needed, including the chicken broth (2 cans for under a dollar). The store also had a bunch of other inexpensive things, like pretty serving spoons and soup spoons (you know those kind, look like a longish bowl with a handle?), so we got some of those. The whole shebang was only $7! Got 6 quarts of soup out of it, and still have the ingredients for a whole 'nother batch. (Except for the broth. And the tofu.)

Also, if I ever become a Buddhist or decide to practice Shinto, I'll know where to go for my prayer materials.

I think the next time one of us had a head cold, I'll make at least the broth for this soup, and put a lot more chili paste in it. The spiciness is good for clearing a stuffied-up nose, and it tastes just so unbelievably good!