Thank you all so much for reading my Cooking Up Art blog. I’ve been busy writing and working on a new website. This blog was a stepping stone in launching a dedicated blog site where I actually own the domain. Since my MiLadyCarol.com is dedicated to my jewelry site, I needed a new domain. Cooking Up Art was taken, so I decided upon GreenTeaLady.com. What do you think? I’m still putting the finishing touches on the blog, yet I’ve ported over all my posts and have quite a few new ones wholly or partially written. I’d love to hear your feedback.
To read my further adventures in food, fine art and tea, please join me at
GreenTeaLady.com
I can be found on Twitter at GreenTeaLady
And I am on Facebook as Green Tea Lady
Thank you for your continued readership and support. I look forward to your comments and suggestions.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sunday Relaxing Squirrel
The entire family is currently relaxing on the Majestic Garden Deck at home. By the entire family, I mean our squirrel friend, too. I'm sitting here writing come content for the blog to be posted later, and I've been feeding our pregnant squirrel. I guess she's comfortably full. So full, she just plopped across the railing and stayed. With my camera through the doors right beside her, my only option was the photo machine on my laptop, so the quality is poor. I missed capturing the moment of her right arm also spilling over the edge of the rail. Still, I present our family squirrel draped languidly on our railing after a nice meal.
Adorable.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Adorable.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
MiLady Declares a War on Aphids
I’m sitting on the deck floor with my laptop, sipping tea and editing some text when I look lovingly over at my strawberry pot and see, much to my dismay, aphids. Gah! My strawberries! The nerve!
Did you hear that clatter? That was the sound of the gauntlet clanging on the ground.
In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, "This means war."
I had seen a few on my roses and put some aluminum foil on the ground under them and I’ve been knocking them off daily with water, but when they dare to encroach on my food sources, the gloves come off and there is nothing save annihilation that will do. So, off to the kitchen to arm myself went I.
Into my old spray bottle I mixed dishwashing liquid, garlic oil and water. I emerged from the house like an old west gunslinger with an eye for business. *cue the ominous whistle* I sprayed my concoction over every leaf on the strawberry pot, lined the edge with aluminum foil, then headed over to the roses to draw yet another line in the sand – or soil, as the case may be. I’ll give the leaves a healthy shower tomorrow morning when I water and then douse them with my Potion of Aphid Annihilation.
I’ll report more from the trenches as the battle progresses. Rar.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Did you hear that clatter? That was the sound of the gauntlet clanging on the ground.
In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, "This means war."
I had seen a few on my roses and put some aluminum foil on the ground under them and I’ve been knocking them off daily with water, but when they dare to encroach on my food sources, the gloves come off and there is nothing save annihilation that will do. So, off to the kitchen to arm myself went I.
Into my old spray bottle I mixed dishwashing liquid, garlic oil and water. I emerged from the house like an old west gunslinger with an eye for business. *cue the ominous whistle* I sprayed my concoction over every leaf on the strawberry pot, lined the edge with aluminum foil, then headed over to the roses to draw yet another line in the sand – or soil, as the case may be. I’ll give the leaves a healthy shower tomorrow morning when I water and then douse them with my Potion of Aphid Annihilation.
I’ll report more from the trenches as the battle progresses. Rar.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Art of Loafing: A Sourdough Tale
One of my other new fascinations is bread making. I received a sourdough culture from my dear friend and have been playing with the art for the first time. And it is an art, I assure you. In previous years, I’ve not had the best luck with yeast breads, so this is a leap of faith and determination. MiLady Carol: Bread Warrior. Rar.
I have decided to stick with a basic French bread, nothing fancy, until I understand what I’m doing. I don’t want to complicate matters with heavier grains, herbs and nuts – though that’s the goal. My first attempt saw a great rise and made a lovely interior bread, yet the crust was far too hard. I chalk that up to me following the baking time on the recipe and my oven having a vastly different notion.
My second attempt saw a much better exterior crust – I do sometimes learn lessons – yet, the interior was rather dense. This, I surmise, was a direct reflection of the lack of the dough’s enthusiasm in rising. I noticed the proofing didn’t really show a pronounced effort to froth, yet I hated to waste all that flour, so I forged ahead to rather lackluster results. It was still yummy, yet the slices needed to be quite thin -- did I mention it was a dense bread?
I also have noticed that both times, when I free-formed the French loaf, the dough spread out as much or (as in the second case) more than up when it rose. I’m not sure if this means I need more flour in my mix. Maybe. All these recipes say the texture of the perfect dough should be “satiny.” Well. I guess a satiny texture is in the eye of the beholder, for I’ve not noticed anything I would describe as such in what I’ve made to date. Perhaps with more experience…
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
I have decided to stick with a basic French bread, nothing fancy, until I understand what I’m doing. I don’t want to complicate matters with heavier grains, herbs and nuts – though that’s the goal. My first attempt saw a great rise and made a lovely interior bread, yet the crust was far too hard. I chalk that up to me following the baking time on the recipe and my oven having a vastly different notion.
My second attempt saw a much better exterior crust – I do sometimes learn lessons – yet, the interior was rather dense. This, I surmise, was a direct reflection of the lack of the dough’s enthusiasm in rising. I noticed the proofing didn’t really show a pronounced effort to froth, yet I hated to waste all that flour, so I forged ahead to rather lackluster results. It was still yummy, yet the slices needed to be quite thin -- did I mention it was a dense bread?
I also have noticed that both times, when I free-formed the French loaf, the dough spread out as much or (as in the second case) more than up when it rose. I’m not sure if this means I need more flour in my mix. Maybe. All these recipes say the texture of the perfect dough should be “satiny.” Well. I guess a satiny texture is in the eye of the beholder, for I’ve not noticed anything I would describe as such in what I’ve made to date. Perhaps with more experience…
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Black-headed Grosbeak
This morning, I had a new visitor to my Birdfeeder Buffet: a Black-headed Grosbeak. Flanked by camera and tea with the laptop on my knees, I finally was able to capture a shot of him after setting up shop on the deck.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sock-cess!
I’ve been very busy with all my projects. One of the all-encompassing projects has been knitting socks. I had it in my mind to knit Mom a nice pair of socks for Mother’s Day. The only problem: I hate using double pointed needles*. Really hate. It’s not that I’m inept with them, it’s more that I have a very different reason for knitting that tends to interfere with using double pointed needles. The whole reason for my knitting is to give my hands something productive to do while my brain is busy listening. I have always listened better while doodling or making sculptures from kneaded erasers during history class – yes, kneaded erasers can be shaped into schnauzers wearing berets. It took most of the Hundred Years War, yet it can be done.
I digress.
I took up knitting because it’s portable (I can mush a ball of yarn, a set of needles and my project into a plastic bag, shove it into my purse and not worry about wrinkling the yarn), lightweight and easy to stop and resume so I can take notes or participate in the matters at hand. Therein lies the crux of my hatred for double pointed needles: once I transfer my project to them, I must commit to finishing it in one sitting. If I try to place it on the table and walk away, there’s nothing preventing those stitches I’ve worked so hard to put in place from slipping off one end or another. It’s bad enough using them to finish a hat, but socks require them almost exclusively, thus socks have always been avoided with a studious intent.
The thought of socks ran through my mind as a possibility when I heard about a book that teaches how to knit socks using two circular needles. I found it in the library and I taught myself the technique. Then, when I went to the local shop to buy some really red yarn to knit Mom’s socks, they told me how I could do the same thing using just one really long circular needle. Well. It was like a genie decided to grant me a wish when I didn’t even know there was a lamp there to rub. Magnificent.
The only hitch in my grand plan was that Mother’s Day was a mere few days away and I my previous socks were all learning experiences (read: practice socks and a couple of false starts regarding sizing – Mom is not in need of socks that could fit over clown shoes). I hunkered down and finished one sock and had only the leg and cuff to knit on the second.
Oh! I forgot to mention, this book also taught me how to knit from the toe up so I could be sure the sizing was right before I was 1/3 into the knitting. Brilliant! Plus, the cuffs and legs are the easy part. I’m all about doing the hard stuff first. It’s like they know me!
Back to Mom.
So, on Mother’s Day, I presented her with a handmade card and a little bag of goodies. In the bag of goodies, there was the one finished sock. This caused a great deal of joking about how it was so beautiful she’d be happy to just hop around on one foot to wear it, etc. I took out the second sock and promised it would be finished before she left, and it was. I sent her home with a pair of socks in bright crimson red and she has already worn them. Success!
I’ll see if I can convince her to wear them here so I can grab a picture of them. Or, perhaps I’ll just knit myself a pair. I don’t think I’ve ever owned a pair of bright crimson red socks. Maybe it’s time.
* For the uninitiated, double pointed needles have nothing stopping those precious little loops of yarn from falling off the ends while working on a different needle. Usually, 4-5 of these little menaces are used in knitting in the round on an area too small for a circular needle. They are necessary for finishing hats and socks.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
I digress.
I took up knitting because it’s portable (I can mush a ball of yarn, a set of needles and my project into a plastic bag, shove it into my purse and not worry about wrinkling the yarn), lightweight and easy to stop and resume so I can take notes or participate in the matters at hand. Therein lies the crux of my hatred for double pointed needles: once I transfer my project to them, I must commit to finishing it in one sitting. If I try to place it on the table and walk away, there’s nothing preventing those stitches I’ve worked so hard to put in place from slipping off one end or another. It’s bad enough using them to finish a hat, but socks require them almost exclusively, thus socks have always been avoided with a studious intent.
The thought of socks ran through my mind as a possibility when I heard about a book that teaches how to knit socks using two circular needles. I found it in the library and I taught myself the technique. Then, when I went to the local shop to buy some really red yarn to knit Mom’s socks, they told me how I could do the same thing using just one really long circular needle. Well. It was like a genie decided to grant me a wish when I didn’t even know there was a lamp there to rub. Magnificent.
The only hitch in my grand plan was that Mother’s Day was a mere few days away and I my previous socks were all learning experiences (read: practice socks and a couple of false starts regarding sizing – Mom is not in need of socks that could fit over clown shoes). I hunkered down and finished one sock and had only the leg and cuff to knit on the second.
Oh! I forgot to mention, this book also taught me how to knit from the toe up so I could be sure the sizing was right before I was 1/3 into the knitting. Brilliant! Plus, the cuffs and legs are the easy part. I’m all about doing the hard stuff first. It’s like they know me!
Back to Mom.
So, on Mother’s Day, I presented her with a handmade card and a little bag of goodies. In the bag of goodies, there was the one finished sock. This caused a great deal of joking about how it was so beautiful she’d be happy to just hop around on one foot to wear it, etc. I took out the second sock and promised it would be finished before she left, and it was. I sent her home with a pair of socks in bright crimson red and she has already worn them. Success!
I’ll see if I can convince her to wear them here so I can grab a picture of them. Or, perhaps I’ll just knit myself a pair. I don’t think I’ve ever owned a pair of bright crimson red socks. Maybe it’s time.
* For the uninitiated, double pointed needles have nothing stopping those precious little loops of yarn from falling off the ends while working on a different needle. Usually, 4-5 of these little menaces are used in knitting in the round on an area too small for a circular needle. They are necessary for finishing hats and socks.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Backyard Eden: A Work in Progress
Marilyn, this video is per your request. I really ought to make a new one, as this was a few weeks ago. Most of my daffodils are gone and many of my tulips are fading. My veggie patch has grown, and the Lilac Corner is much changed. Perhaps I'll take another video in the morning.
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.
MiLady Carol
www.miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!
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