Halls...

Halls

The wind always blows there.
It is empty most of the time
and a little lonely.
I run through the halls, large
halls, cavernous and square.
The door shuts behind me
with a click and a clunck simultaneously.
Ah, there it is a little brown
piano. I used to play it. Or, thought that
I did.
Eerie, lonely, there should be music here. Where is it?
Just the wind...
People laughing but, where?
There were people performing on
the street, juggling, singing, dancing!
Men who had a way with the
crowds. They come and go...
       on the edges of things.

Many moods of many cats...

Many moods of many cats...

Many people believe cats are indifferent

I say they are not paying attention

Cats love you so much they are over come by it.
They are like, I love you so much I have thrown myself to the ground and I am rolling around
I love you so, much I might eat you...
I am grabbing your fingers biting, licking and chewing on them.
Then I look around, What am I doing?
Possibly, I run away.
I love you so much, sometimes, I must follow you every where
you go.
Winding about your legs, sitting on your lap when ever you sit down.
Or, on your book or computer.
I love you so much I am purring and my whole body is vibrating!
I sit quietly behind or beside you content just to be near.
If I am an anxious type, I may push you with my head and run away self consciously.
I am nestled in the covers beside you, or sprawled out belly in the air.
I am wrapped around your head, chewing your hair or burying my little head in your shoulder.
I love you so, much when you make music I might sing along or even try to play the piano.
If I go hunting I share it with you, I scare away or catch mice in and about the house.
I might like to ride on your shoulder, and
I may tear you up trying to get there.
I love you so much, I reach out and put a tiny paw on your cheek, gazing into your eyes...
For a second the claws come out, just to remind you
You are mine
I will not let you go.
I once met a cat so smart, he, gave me a warning when I was giving him a bath,
Instead of going crazy and running away
He bit my hand with out hurting me then he looked up at me as if to say...
Enough, you are crossing that line and you know it.

It was hard to tell how he felt the rest of the time...

Acrylic paint on card board!

Having fun with silver acrylic on card board.

Flowers...

Sat out side and drew things this morning...here are some flowers, clovers and, what used to be a tree. The rest are one the 20 minute blog. Thank you, for visiting!

More photos...

Cool tree, my cat Rosella who always looks like she is scared or trying to scare you...and Grey Beauty plus, some of the story about how they came into our lives...
Rosella came from the humane society. I bought her as a present for my daughter for Christmas. I picked her up to pet her at the humane society. She was friendly and purry. She was also the largest one as far as kittens go. We had 2 large dogs so, I wanted one that could defend themselves. Rosie, couldn't come home right away because, she had not been spayed. One of the people who worked there pointed out another kitten. He was a tiny grey puffball that curled up into my neck and put a lump on my throat immediately. I talked about the dogs but, they said he was feisty. I decided to get them both. The humane society is depressing I didn't want to leave anyone there. Plus, Grey Beauty as my daughter later named him could come home right away.
Well Dahlia and Grey Beaty became the best of friends. He was feisty and friendly. He enjoyed riding on peoples shoulders even when he weighed 19 pounds. Sometimes just leaping onto your back from the floor which could really hurt. Dahlia at that time used to call petting him vibrating him. He became a kind of a surrogate mother to another kitten we got later. Eventually to a bunch of kittens earning the name Uncle Beauty.He also defended his territory and friends faithfully even though he was pretty regularly getting his behind kicked by our neighbor's really tough black and white cat and also had allergies.
Poor Rosella, I don't know what happened. After she was spayed we brought her home. First she lived under my bed. Then upstairs with my room mate for a bit. One day she got out side. At first I thought she was agoraphobic. After she moved out side, she became a normal cat. You could even pet her. She just didn't come inside. After a while we moved. We had to start again. She lived in the basement and you could only pet her if she sat on a specific pillow. Moved again twice...now, Rosella is almost a normal cat. Inside, out side, all over the house, follows me around and loves to keep me company when I play the piano. She sits on my lap when I write and behind me when I play or practice.
Rest in peace Grey Beauty...

A walk at twilight...

Home, home...
I am alone, I walk the halls of a forgotten land.
Out door halls, an open sky above, pale, clear and full of longing...
Cracked pavement, flowers, bricks
Street lights...ghosts, some smile, some look familiar...

Went for a walk the other day, very dramatic lighting!

Figure drawings...

Figure drawings from when I was young and, one ink still life with one of those bamboo pens I really like.

Enchilada pie and congratulations...

This post is for enchilada pie and a congratulations to my daughter! This recipe was originally a Veganomicon recipe. It was the potato and kale enchiladas. Dahlia didn't like the idea of potato and kale. I didn't like rolling enchiladas. So, they turned into black bean and corn enchilada pie. Dahlia is quite talented when it comes to food. I am hoping to get some of her bread recipes up here because, they are amazing! I made this enchilada pie the other day.
Dahlia is a really great cook. We have been cooking together since she was very young. She makes some really great and unusual breads. Like a brown sugar and beer bread, feather bread, I love it when Dahlia is around because, I get to eat all kinds of fresh bread!
Dahlia has really helped me out a lot when it comes to this blog and my shop on etsy because, she is really great at computers. She is very smart and creative, she also has a lot of common sense. She is great at 3 dimensional art from sculptures to building sets, knits, crochets, can make all kinds of things out of rope and string.I really feel like I lucked out in many ways. She can even use power tools and prevented me from cutting my own leg off with the hedge clippers. Dahlia did not skip school, she got pretty good grades. Didn't really get in too much trouble as far as I know. As you know if you have been reading this blog she is now in college hopefully having a great time. So, I just wanted to say to her. Congratulations and thank you! for all your help! Plus, share this recipe...

Sauce...
2 TBSP grape seed olive oil
1 onion, cut into small dice
3 large green chiles, chopped coarsely
2-3 tsp chile powder , preferably ancho
1 1/2 tsp chile powder, preferably ancho
1 tea spoon marjoram or Mexican oregano
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes with juice (roasted are preferred)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2-2 teaspoons salt

Filling...
1 lb black beans
1/2 pound sweet corn
3 TBSP grape seed or olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tea spoon ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
3 TBSP lime juice
1 1/2 tea spoon salt or to taste
12-14 corn tortillas

More toppings you can use...
vegan motzorella
toffuti cream cheese
tofu crumbled
vegan sausage

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Get a shallow cassarole dish.
Enchilada sauce...
1. Saute onions in oil until softened. Add the rest  of the sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer.
2. Remove from heat.
3. Allow to cool and adjust seasonings.
Filling... 
1. Saute garlic in oil.
2. Add beans and mash them a little.
3. Add lime juice and veggie broth.
4. Add corn and seasonings.

Assemble...

1. Layer a little sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 11 and a 1/2 inch pan.
2. Layer some tortillas.
3. Add some filling then tofu cheese or whatever...
4. Then add more sauce and tortillas. Keep repeating this...

* I try to make sure my top layer is tortillas sauce and then cheese or tofu if you use it.

Windows, Some cool and recent photos!

This is a photo I took down town of Christmas lights but as you can see it is spring and I think the flowers and lights are a beautiful combination. I am also looking at my mom's old photos today and I came across this beautiful white cat. I took a picture so that I could have one and I found that the reflections made even more interesting.

More tales...

These are tales from a recent sketch book!

Velvet markers...

Okay, these things are silly but, also fun. My daughter is quite good at them. Blending colors and everything. Velvet marker! The markers that come with them don't usually work that great. I am not sure what she did these with... ours or the ones in the package. Any way, my velvet marker things don't come out as good as hers. Still fun though.

Tales from sketch books past...

Still cleaning, found some more art!

Best cream soup ever...

All decorated for spring! Hope you like it! Okay, this soup was basically an accident. I just made soup out of what was lying around my kitchen. A collection of strange ingredients. You would not think olives and ginger would go together but, some how they do/did!
Ingredients

1 red potato
1 can canalleni beans
4 green onions
5 stalk celery
5 clove garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 inch fresh Ginger grated or minced
Maybe about a TBSP of dill
5 black olives or might have been calamata
2 TBSP of margarine
About 1/2 a gallon of almond milk

Directions
1 make roux with margarine, sauté celery, garlic, ginger, olives and potatoes.
2 salt and pepper.
3 Add almond milk and dill.
4 Simmer about 20-25 minutes, then add green onions and simmer a little longer, about 5 minutes.

Lucky's

This is loosely based on a place I used to hang out at in New Orleans called Lucky's. It was a bar with pool tables, red lights if I remember correctly. You could also do your laundry which I thought was great! Once, I was really soaking wet because the rain can come down there like crazy sometimes and a bartender who worked there who could be very nice literally tried to give me the shirt off of his back...

Technical difficulties...

Well, I am having technical difficulties. My computer is broken...so, I am not going to be able to post new items in my shop on etsy for a bit. So, I am going to post a few things here and if you are interested in purchasing any thing you can contact me via email. Also, everything that was in my shop is still there and you can purchase them if you want.
This is a 2.5 by 3.5 inch Aceo size painting in oil.

Looks like candy, because it is candy!

Okay, I am about posted out and am going to watch Project Runway soon. This is a picture of candied blood oranges that my very talented daughter made over Christmas. I think it was Christmas, or Thanks giving. Basically, you cook them in simple syrup about 15 minutes. Then dry and coat with sugar. After that you cover them in chocolate. It takes a long time for them to dry and turn into candy. This recipe is kind of rough. I am going to have to look it up or consult my daughter. Looking it up didn't work. Can't find it!!! I really like the picture and the oranges so, I wanted to share them with people. Official recipe pending...

Snow sculptures...

Mother nature/ the powers that be made these snow sculptures that my daughter and I saw on our walk. Can these be possible? Pretty cool!

A very shiny Christmas...

The pink tree is our Christmas display...might not be tasteful...but, we like it! Most of this was bought by my daughter on sale at borders. The other photo is my mom's house. She has good taste...

Stars are out weather is on the way...

The stars are out, there was some lightening which I love!!! I think there may be a storm on the way...yay! I stood out side in a storm the other day because the hail was the size of marbles and I was like I bet that hurts. I only stood out for a second, hardly any of it hit me and it didn't hurt as bad as you would think! I know storms can be terrible and do awful damage but, at the same time you have to be impressed! So any way here are a couple of pictures of the calm before the storm... my mom and I walked my dog earlier, here are some pictures of a beautiful sunset!