Friday, February 27, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - Signs of Spring!





I went for a walk yesterday on the grounds where I work. It was such a beautiful day. I enjoyed the blue sky and the clouds and the mountains in the distance, and was delighted to find a forsythia bush blooming and a tree with some tiny buds! Spring really is on the way!




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Rockin' Necklaces by Joy's Hemp Jewelry

How fun to see my work embellished by someone else!

Etsy seller Joy's Hemp Jewelry has bought some of my pendants to use in her gorgeous hemp necklaces, available in her etsy shop...except her own personal one of her dog which she says "Everyone loves!" I made a custom clay pendant for her from a photo of her adorable little dog Ash and she made it into this cool necklace.




How cute is that?!

Here are some more. She does a great job of choosing colors of hemp and sometimes beads to complement each pendant.

Tuxedo Cat Necklace



Music Necklace



I love the small moon beads on this Moon and Stars Necklace.



Bright Flowers Necklace



Sunflower Necklace



I love them all, but this might be my favorite. I think the necklace design on this one is fantastic! Note how the curves on the necklace echo the curves on the face.

Contemporary Face Necklace



The ones pictured have all sold, but if you'd like a similar one, contact Joy or me and we will be happy to create one for you.

Be sure to visit her etsy shop, Joy's Hemp Jewelry, to see more of her wonderful creations!

My etsy shop is Artsy Clay.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - Zoologist of 2025

My Fingerprint today is my granddaughter, Jocie, who is 7. She is always holding some kind of tiny critter or allowing one to crawl up her arm. No way did she get this from my genes. Shudder :) Her mom (my daughter-in-law) has taught her all the proper scientific names for every type of bug and critter that comes along. A moth will pause at the window and she will tell me that's a Luna Moth, or some complicated name I could never remember. Just amazing.



Jocie with my son Jeff



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Johnathan cooks!


Stuffed Shells with Tomato Sauce


My son Johnathan and his girlfriend are taking a Foods class in high school and made Stuffed Shells in class this past week. They liked the dish so much they wanted to make it at home Friday night, so they shopped for groceries and took over the kitchen.

Johnathan has always liked to cook and could easily be a professional chef. He searched through the drawers for a SHARP knife (something I never dare touch for fear of cutting off my own finger, haha) and it was amazing to watch him chop the garlic and parsley lightning fast. He looked just like Emeril! Here is their recipe.


Stuffed Shells with Tomato Sauce
Preparation time: approximately 45 - 60 minutes depending on how fast you can chop :)

Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
24 jumbo pasta shells
1 clove garlic, minced
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 sprigs chopped fresh parsley (2 sprigs for shell stuffing mixture, 1 sprig for tomato sauce, and 1 sprig to sprinkle over top after shells are baked)
1 cup each ricotta and cottage cheese
½ cup feta
1 egg
1 1/2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Optional: Italian Seasoning or Basil/Oregano added to tomato sauce, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes, or according to package directions. Drain the pasta in a colander, rinse under cold running water, and set aside to drain again. In saucepan over medium-high heat, heat diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and 1 sprig of chopped parsley (and seasonings if desired), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, cottage cheese, feta, egg, and 2 sprigs of chopped parsley. Dividing evenly, stuff each of the shells with the ricotta mixture. Place the shells in a shallow 11 x 7 baking dish. Pour the tomato sauce over the shells and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with 1 sprig of chopped parsley.

Serve with salad and toasted garlic bread.

Shells before pouring over sauce


Saturday, February 14, 2009

Friday, February 13, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - Remembering My Mom

My fingerprint of God this week is my mom. This past Monday was her birthday. She was born on February 9, 1916, and passed away on December 20, 2003 at age 87. I've been missing her a lot this week, and would like to introduce her to you. Her name was Bertha but she hated that and always went by B.

Here she is as a little girl...



...and here with her twin sisters and their dad, my Grandpa. My mom is at left, Dorothy in the middle and Alice at right. The twins were a year and a half older than my mom.



Another sister, Marian, came along when my mom was 9. From left, Marian, Alice, Dorothy and B.



Here she is as a young adult.



Here is our family when I was 5, on a vacation in Florida.



Here she is with me in 2002. She is wearing a pin I made. :)



She is the one most responsible for my love of arts and crafts. She was always making things, and was especially talented at knitting and crocheting. She made me gorgeous sweaters all through school, and gave away hundreds of beautiful baby blankets in her lifetime. She taught me to knit when I was 6, and invited me to paint my own canvas when she was taking an oil painting class. I remember the two of us creating an Easter hat out of construction paper and plastic flowers when I was a Girl Scout. When I was 13, she started a business, a craft and yarn shop which she had for about 10 years. It was so much fun to hang out there, and we made all the different kits she had in the shop, so she could explain them in detail to the customers.

She and my dad adored their three grandsons and we had many fun trips to Illinois as they were growing up. After my dad died, she moved to Phoenix where she lived for four years, then we talked her into moving here to North Carolina the last two years of her life, and got her a nice apartment in a retirement center about 10 minutes from our house. We loved having her nearby, and being able to visit often and go out to dinner once a week.

But we could tell she didn't feel well the last year or so of her life. She walked slower and slower, didn't want to go out to dinner anymore, and stopped crocheting. Then she found a lump in her abdomen in November, 2003, and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer Thanksgiving week and had to go into a nursing home for the last month. I visited every day and we had some precious time to reflect and reminisce and to say I love you. She said that she wasn't afraid to die because my dad was waiting for her. I think she could see him. She said, "I've had a wonderful life and got to meet my beautiful great-grandchildren (5 of them). Don't grieve for me. I am at peace."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Fingerprint Friday - Winter's Beauty



We got a light dusting of snow in our area this week, and early yesterday morning when I got to work, this is what I saw. Such beautiful fingerprints!



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Where do you see God's fingerprints? In nature? kids? animals? They are all around us!

Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.