Take Time.......

Texture Tuesday..... 'Take time to love the little things in life'

Kim Klassen's textures 'waterfront18' and 'februarymagicedges'.

Brian and I went for a walk yesterday along a path that was a sea of cow parsley.......

(photo looks a bit like the parting of the sea ;-)

 Such a pretty, underestimated flower......

When we got back the Abel and Cole delivery had arrived and in it there was a gorgeous bunch of young asparagus (Brian's favourite)......

.......just the inspiration I needed for cooking dinner.  Luckily I already had the other ingredients.
I put this photo of the ingredients on my FB page yesterday and promised I'd add the recipe to my blog today....... (taken on iPad with Hipstagram app).

Pea, Mint and Asparagus Risotto (for two)

1. Fry a small finely chopped onion (or a shallot) in some olive oil (I use a large frying pan for this).
2. When it starts to go transparent, add 130g of risotto (arborio) rice and fry it gently for a couple of mins with the onion.
3. Cut up the asparagus into 1cm pieces and cook in a separate pan (or microwave) with a handful of peas till tender (amounts are up to you!)
4. Add a small glass of white wine to the rice and stir. Continue stirring and adding liquid gradually (450ml approx chicken stock) for 15 to 20 mins until the rice is cooked but still nice and moist.
5. Stir in a big blob of creme fraiche.
6. Add the cooked asparagus and peas, along with some chopped mint, parsley and lemon rind. Stir.
7. Finally, grate some parmesan cheese on top.
Wonderful!

We only recently discovered risotto.....can't believe we've missed out for so long! 

(I always thought it sounded a bit yukky....sloppy rice ;-)

We also love the smoked haddock version......and chicken with lemon.
Further recommendations gratefully received!

Texture Tuesday......

A day late again....here's my contribution to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday.
The theme is..... Black and White and Textured  (and a few shades of grey in my case).

I took the original using Hipstagram on my iPad and toned down the colour to almost black and white using Photoshop, then finally added Kim's texture 'Simple' at colour burn blend 76%.
You can see the original photograph in my previous post.

I have very few china, pottery or glass ornaments in my house......but lots of driftwood, pebbles and shells.
Not everyone's cup of tea I guess....but definitely mine ;-)

Simple Joys

Kim Klassen's theme for this week's 'Texture Tuesday' is..... simple.

(Photo altered in PSE using Kim's textures 'greydayslate'. 'pinitonly6'. 'derek' and 'febmagicedges')

For me, the simple joys of a garden in Springtime mean so much; even the green bullets of the hostas pushing through the gravel are beautiful and make me happy. Spring flowers are my garden favourites; tulips, cowslips, muscari, forget-me-nots, clematis montana....... and very soon my aliums will be showing off their beauty. Bluebells are just starting to flower and then not long after the lavender will take over.
It's simple......... I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be at this time of year.....
And Angel agrees......

No positive news on the health front I'm afraid....when I go quiet at least you know why. I can't seem to focus on arty stuff and blogging when I don't feel good. Are you like that too?

But I have managed to finish my five needlecases which I hope to sell on etsy very soon. I just  need to make a few more to go with them ...... ;-)

Such a problem deciding on a price.........I spend ages on each one. I can't bring myself to ask a lot though; I'd be too embarrassed.

Here's another view of my own little bluebell wood :-) We are very lucky that we only live 20 mins from some beautiful bluebell woods in Leicestershire. Can't wait to visit this weekend.

Hopefully back soon......

Texture Tuesday......Quiet

I bought this lovely pot of white muscari at my local garden centre this week for only £1.40....bargain!
I have a garden full of the blue version which, although we moan about it, I do actually like very much.
But this white version is very special, it seems to have a special serene quality.....and it smells lovely too, which is a bonus.
So above is my offering for Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday....I have cheated slightly and used the word 'silence' instead of  'quiet'  ;-)
I used a few of Kim's textures, but the main one was 'Phoebe'.

Muscari Aucheri 'White Magic'

Still plodding on with my needle cases.

These two are almost finished....

 And my fabric weaving now feels like a single piece of cloth.......ready for embellishment.

Off now to look at my Bloglovin' list. 

Have you discovered it yet? Its a great way of keeping up to date with your favourite blogs......and for finding  new ones.

Back soon....

Texture Tuesday.....Colour

Kim Klassen's theme this week is colour....not a problem for me ;-)
I like to take colour schemes from nature whenever I can and one of my favourite examples is pistachio nuts; I'm always amazed by the funky colours inside those shells.

Gorgeous, aren't they?
(My own photo above altered in PSE using Kim Klassen's texture 'Phoebe'.)


I love working with shades of purple and green......

My latest needlecase collage (still under construction)

I've been struggling with the usual health problems again for the past fortnight and have decided to see a nutritionist. He's incredibly knowledgeable about the workings of the digestive system, so I am feeling hopeful!
I have lost almost two stone over the past 18 months and am now down to 7st 10lbs, which I really don't want to be, and I'm starting to look scrawny :-(
When you get to my age you need a bit of flesh on your face!
I am excluding carbs from my diet, eating organic food,  keeping a food diary, cooking with coconut oil, using Ecover cleaning products.......if anyone has any other suggestions I would love to hear them!

Back soon with an update.....

Texture Tuesday....Pure Beauty

Here's my contribution for Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday ....photo altered in PSE using Kim's textures: 'wonderful magic_stars', 'february magic edges' and 'yesteryear'.
I buy flowers for the house every week and usually go for blues, purples or pinks (never yellow...except for in March when I have jugs of daffodils everywhere). For a change this week I decided to go for white roses and gypsophila .....they look so peaceful; I love them. One of my most popular and re-pinned pins on Pinterest is this photo I took of a flower shop in Harrogate......where they only sell white flowers. The inside of the shop was even more beautiful.

Hah...I've just noticed our reflections in the glass :-D

I'm very fussy about flowers (my husband would groan and say 'I'll vouch for that' if he was reading this ;-) I don't like chrysanthemums or carnations. (And you can imagine what I think of yellow chrysanthemums and carnations....)

Before I go....just a quick peep at my latest project.
I'm making needle cases and books; mixed media collage on hand-made felt.
The felt is only rough cut here and I still have lots of stitching to do......my favourite part :-)

And that's my job for tomorrow! (After I've taken Mum shopping.....)