Artsy Fartsy

I am easily swayed. Some may call it gullible, I prefer “easily motivated”.

When I was thirteen I stopped eating meat because of a letter-writing assignment I was given in school. The assignment was to write ten letters to politicians or heads of companies to express our opinion against their business practices. I chose animal testing and animal rights and after writing my ten letters to Proctor and Gamble and Maybelline, I decided that if testing products on animals was bad, eating them was worse, and I was going to stop eating meat. I continued to be a vegetarian for about ten years. All because of a seventh grade writing assignment. Well, that and the fact Bop! magazine said that Cory Feldman was a vegetarian, and I looOooOved Cory Feldman. (Shut up, I was thirteen!)

When I got married and moved into my first house, I vowed to be environmentally friendly and use only non-toxic cleaning products. I loved Real Goods catalog and dreamed if having my own solar panels. I reused plastic bags and bought canvas bags to bring my groceries home in. I went out of my way to buy Doc Bronner’s soap to use for laundry detergent and I never bought paper towels or napkins. Then life got busy, and that wonderful Doc Bronner’s soap is expensive, and I fell in love with soft, cottony Marcal paper towels. Sometimes I’d wash my plastic bags to reuse them, sometimes the bag dryer would sit on my counter for months without being used. I still brought my bags to the grocery store and separated my recycling, but the other stuff sort of fell to the wayside.

Then last week I listened to a presentation about sustainable design. The speaker talked about how much of the stuff we buy (especially packaging) is designed to be thrown away, and how plastic is here forever, and how so much of it ends up in the ocean where it breaks down and is eaten by the fish which are in turn eaten by us. Something in that presentation flipped the “Save the Earth” switch in my head and I now have a renewed fire to do all those things I used to do to use less and reuse more. I’m also constantly aware of how much plastic is around me and how I can’t get away from it.

Like I said, I bring my bags to the grocery store, I’ve replaced my old canvas bags with all of the long-handled green bags the grocery stores sell now. They’re great, but there was still one thing that was bothering me. It was the plastic produce bags I was brining home. It seemed backwards to fill my reusable shopping bags with plastic that I was taking home to throw away. I saw some great reusable produce bags on Etsy but they were sold out. Being the impatient one that I am, I couldn’t wait for her to make more so I made my own out of some scrap fabric and an old laundry bag. Neat, huh?

I’m very excited about them. Last night I made a small one, about 11 x 10″ and a larger one, about 11 x 14″. I used my favorite bias tape maker to bind them, and I think they’re perfect! Tonight I want to make a couple more and hopefully this weekend I’ll test them out at the local farmer’s market (the link says they don’t open until June but they had signs up saying they were open last weekend). Maybe it’s time to dust off those old Birkenstock’s and look into that solar panel again.

Remember my completely lame post about my new lamp wherein I forgot to take a picture of my lamp?  Well here it is.  So what do you think?  I think I’m getting used to the size of it and I like it again.

And while we’re talking about the past, look!

On Friday our deck railing was delivered.  Yay!  Somehow I expected the railing for a 40′ x 14′ deck to be in a bigger box.  It’s really only 33 lengths of cable and some hardware. See?

The posts have been ordered and if all goes well, Luke might start putting it together this weekend!

On Friday we also had to say good-bye to our good friend Megan (the shorter one with the glasses) as she ventures off to a wonderful new adventure as Programming Queen of Philly, or whatever her new title is.  It was bittersweet seeing her go but knowing how awesome this new job will be for her.  What made it a little easier was the always adorable Miss Jane.  And of course, it was nice to see her mommy, too.

On Saturday I was taking pictures of the wildflowers growing in the yard.  I am obsessed with the native woodland plants and flowers in our yard and I am determined to one day find a Ladyslipper.   No Ladyslippers spotted Saturday, but I did see one giant dog.  Oh, wait, I recognize those ears.

She’s so nosy.  And the Toad Lilys are a-sprouting everywhere, they’re so pretty.

And now we’re back at the present where it’s raining and it’s cold and it’s raining some more.  Boo.  Looking ahead…  I can’t believe it’s almost May.  Exactly a month until my birthday!  Hint, hint!

On Saturday (remember back then when it was sunny and warm?) we had a wonderful late afternoon of sitting on the deck with friends and enjoying the homemade hummus I had just whipped up in my food processor. I know some of you are rolling your eyes, but seriously, if you love hummus, you need to try making it yourself. I found the recipe in this month’s Cooks Illustrated magazine. It requires simple and inexpensive ingredients and I made it in about two and a half minutes. The most exotic ingredient is Tahini which is a sesame paste that’s very much like peanut butter, and can be found in almost any grocery store. I bought mine at Stop & Shop in the natural foods section. It comes in a container the size of a jar of peanuts and should cost less than $5. Go find it, then make this hummus and die happy.

Restaurant-Style Hummus
from Cooks Illustrated May/June 2008

I added a bit more water than the original recipe suggested (1/4 cup) because I like a softer texture to my hummus. With 1/4 cup of water the hummus was still tasty, but it was dry and more of the consistency of paste.  You can decide what texture you like your humus and alter your water accordingly.

3 tablespoons lemon juice (or the juice from two lemons)
1/4 - 1/2 cup water (see note above)
6 tablespoons Tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 14-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
pinch of cayenne

1. Combine the lemon juice and water in one small bowl (or measuring cup). Combine the Tahini and olive oil in another small bowl (or measuring cup).
2. Process the chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in a food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the bowl, then with the machine running, pour in the lemon-water mixture and process for one minute. Scrape down the bowl again, then with the machine running, pour in the Tahini-oil mixture and process for another minute.
3. Transfer mixture to a bowl, cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to let flavors blend. Then eat the whole bowl yourself, or be nice and share it with friends. It’s perfect with my new favorite chips, Tostitos gold corn chips. Mmmmm….

It would be nice if I had a picture of the hummus to share, but I was too busy shoveling it into my mouth to stop and take a picture.  Yes, it was that good.

I was going to ask you all for your opinion of my new lamp today but SOMEONE forgot to take a picture of it this morning.  Who could that be?

I bought a big, beautiful lamp last night for one of our bedside tables and I was completely in love with it at the store.  Then I got it home, within the scale of our home, I looked at it and thought, “holy crap that’s a big lamp”.  Then Luke woke up, sneered at the lamp and said “where’s THAT going?”  Now I’m doubting my purchase.

I really wish I had a picture, that would make this all make much more sense…  This lamp is exactly the style, but my lamp has a clear glass base.

I’m unsure.  I’m usually 100% sure of everything I pick out but this time I don’t know.  Considering the fact that my lamp cost exactly $100 less that that lamp I linked to, I probably shouldn’t even bother doubting it.  This morning I kind of liked it, maybe tomorrow I’ll love it again.  I’ll take a picture tonight so you all can see what I’m talking about.

In other house news, are you considering painting a room in your house?  Not sure what color to choose?  Check this link out (thanks to Design*Sponge for pointing it out):  Domino’s 50 Painted Rooms.  Fifty pictures of painted, decorated rooms with the paint source noted for each picture.  I’m in love with 32, I’m totally painting my kitchen that color.

My attention span has been severely shortened by the combination of my constant desire to go outside and soak in the sunshine, and my recent massive doses of allergy medication.  On that note… wait, what was I saying?  Oh right, so here are just a few short ADD thoughts for today.

I stayed late at a work event last night, and when I got home around 9:30, I sat out on the deck and watched the heat lightning.  OK, #1, I SAT OUT ON THE DECK (yay) and, #2, heat lightning?  That happens in July, not April.  What’s going on?  Whatever it was, it really was beautiful.

My beloved Treo started to act up yesterday.  It was locking up and switching tasks slowly, then the battery went dead for no reason.  I charged it the night before, what the heck?  I tossed the dead brick in my bag and went to listen to a lecture on sustainability in which the subject of planned obsolescence was discussed, including the example of cell phone companies designing their phones to die in 1.5-2 years so we will always have the need to buy new phones.  Coincidence?  Well, um Palm people poking at the voodoo doll of my Treo - it hasn’t even been a YEAR!  Luckily it seems to be behaving today, which is good because I have to keep the Treo until Sprint becomes an iPhone carrier, darnit!

I watched La Dolce Vita this week, and by “this week” I mean it.  It took me four days to watch the whole movie.  I did enjoy it, but it’s LONG and in Italian with subtitles and I’m not used to sitting and watching (or reading) a movie.  I’d rather wander around the house sewing or cooking while watching a movie.  I wanted to watch it because after seeing Under the Tuscan Sun so many times, I was curious to know what the whole lady-in-the-fountain scene had to do with La Dolce Vita, as Francis mentions in the movie.   I still love the Under the Tuscan Sun movie, but after reading the book and watching La Dolce Vita, I don’t understand how they could call the movie Under the Tuscan Sun.  I think it was more La Dolce Vita than Under the Tuscan Sun.  I wonder if Francis Mayes is mad about that.

Hey look, it’s sunny out!  I think I’ll go for a walk.  More brilliant thoughts from my pollen-filled brain tomorrow.

Dust off those metal cobwebs, I’ve got some visual math for you.

What does this:

plus this equal?

This perhaps?

Ug. No that can’t be right… Oh, I know, you get this:

That’s better! That’s right, I’ve decided to do away with my Lisa’s Studio shop and combine it with my Jewelry by Lisa Gaumond shop. Since the new shop will carry not only jewelry, but also my artwork and prints, bags and purses, (and more!) I’ve had to give it a new name.

Welcome one and all to the Artsy Fartsy Shop. The new home of everything Lisa Gaumond. Go, browse, enjoy. I’m still working on the switch as we speak so both shops are still open, but as soon as everything from the Studio is merged, Lisa’s Studio shop will close. The tabs on this site have changed to reflect the new shop. Instead of a Gifts and a Jewelry tab, there’s just one Shop tab. See? Easy!

I hope you like the new digs, it’s certainly going to make my life easier, and it’s it really all about my happiness??

In honor of Earth Day, and to answer Paula’s question, let’s have a look at what’s going on in my yard right now.

The forsythia is in bloom, which makes me so happy.

The rhododendron is starting to bud.

Plants are waking up in the garden.

And the trees have buds. (ah-CHOO!)

Spring is here! Happy Earth Day to everyone and Happy Birthday to Alex!

I’m tired. My weekend was spent surrounded by boys. Saturday morning, my favorite boy pried me out of bed early to get coffee so he could head to the river and go fishing (it was opening day).

Nice waders, huh? I took one look at Luke and Roland in their fishing get-ups and thought: Frog and Toad! Am I right?

Roland caught one big trout and Luke caught two smaller ones which we cooked on the grill that night. Look how pretty they were.

After the fishing, my nephews came over for a few hours while Andrea was working and their dad was at a hockey game getting his nose broken (that’s another story). Luke was working on the deck and I was trying to spread mulch in my gardens and it was a struggle to keep the boys outside with us. They begged and pleaded and kept sneaking inside. They wanted to watch TV and play video games and do anything but be outside. Weirdos. It was tiring, but we managed to distract them and keep them busy. Cameron and I played cowboys and indians in the sand under the deck:

And Alex followed Luke around and eventually convinced him to pull out one of the motorcycles so he could sit on it:

I think he liked it. They begged some more to go inside and so I made a deal with them. We’d take a walk down to the river and then come back to the house and if they still wanted to go inside, they could. Let me add to this story that these two boys refused to put shorts on when they got to my house, even though it was about 80 degrees out, and Cameron asked for gardening gloves while paying in the sand. OK, let’s continue. So we went down to the river to do the thing all kids seem to love - throw rocks in the water.

Cameron’s wearing a headlamp because… well because he’s six and he doesn’t have to make any sense. We moved down river to look for more flat rocks (we were all practicing skipping them) and we found a nice sand bar that the current had made.

I took off my shoes to walk on the sand and something odd happened. Cameron wanted to take his shoes and socks off. Alex did, too. The boys who previously didn’t want to be outside, now wanted to touch the sand. Hooray. From shoes and socks, we ended up taking off Alex’s pants after he sat in the water, then Luke went to the house to get their shorts and not long after that, we witnessed this:

And this:

And (who the heck are these boys?) THIS:

And let me tell you, that water was COLD. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I still can’t.

After we recovered from watching the boys on Saturday, I got to see them some more on Sunday for Alex’s third birthday! Three already, where has the time gone?

I was glad he liked sitting on the motorcycle so much since this is what we got him for his birthday:

A new quad!  Yay.  Maybe next year we can get him a real quad!

Well anyhow, it was a full weekend and I am pooped.  We also did plenty of yard work and gardening and Luke made more progress on the deck, but I’ll have to tell you about all of that later because if I type any more you’re all going to fall asleep at your keyboards.

This has not been my week.  It started when I made a lasagna and realized, as I began to assemble it, that I forgot to buy mozzarella.  Next I took the doorknob off of the danger door so I could paint it and not only did the paint come out looking like crap, I now can’t figure out how to get the knob back on.  Then I cut out fabric to make two new tote bags, only to realize too late that I cut them out the wrong size.  Sigh…  This should have been a sign.  But no, I continued to try new things and, of course, screw them up.

I’ve had this idea in my head for a dessert that I wanted to make.  It’s based off of a candy-type thing a friend of my sister’s makes with crushed Oreos mixed with cream cheese and dipped in chocolate.  They’re frighteningly good and we call them Becky Balls.  I was wondering if I could combine other cookies with other cream cheesy things to make different varieties of Becky Balls and I decided to try making s’mores balls with graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow fluff.  Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Then I saw these adorable cupcake pops from Bakerella and fireworks went off in my head.  What if I put s’mores Becky Balls onto lollipop sticks?!  How cute would that be?   In my head it was cute.  In real life, not so much.

I mixed one sleeve of crushed graham crackers with 4oz. of softened cream cheese and about a cup of Fluff.  Then I rolled them into sticky little balls and put them in the fridge where Luke saw them and asked, “are those meatballs?”  No.  After they chilled and firmed up, I put them on sticks and dipped them in melted chocolate.  My hopes were high, I mean, see how fun they look?  And I just know they’re going to taste good.  Chocolate, graham crackers, cream cheese, and Fluff?  Yum.

Yum?  Yes.  Success?  No.  After the third pop was being dipped, I heard a “thunk” on the counter and saw that the first pop I dipped had fallen off the stick and hit the counter in a sticky mess.  Crap.  Maybe I pushed the stick in too far.  I tried a few more.  “thunk” “thunk” “thunk”.  GAH!  OK, maybe the chocolate is too warm and the Fluff is melting.  I stirred the melted chocolate to cool it off a little and I put the other balls I made onto sticks.  Those were the same graham crackers and 4oz. cream cheese with a cup of peanut butter.  Mmmm…  I dipped two peanut butter pops and watched as they both broke in half and slid down the sticks in slow motion.

So disappointing.  The sticks are obviously not working for these so I decided to salvage what was left and make them candies instead of pops.  Oh well.  They’re still yummy, just not as cute.  And the s’mores ones - they’re fantastic.  Better than the peanut butter ones, if you can believe that.

Maybe I’ll take the weekend off from trying new things and start over again next week.  My luck, I’ll set something on fire or stitch myself to the sewing machine table next.

Is it t-ball, or s it tee ball?  I think it’s t-ball and the “t” sands for TOTALLY AWESOME.  Yesterday afternoon I met my sister and family to watch Cameron’s t-ball practice.  The team is made up of 5 and 6 year-olds and they’ve been practicing for a couple of weeks now.  Cameron is number 6 (because he’s almost six, duh).

It was so much fun to watch these kids.  All team sports should be like t-ball.  Everyone was excited, everyone got a chance to bat, and everyone got a home run.  The kids cheered each other on and no one got mad if you missed the ball, if you decided to play air guitar rather than watch first base, or even if you were running the bases and decided to run after the ball and carry it yourself to home plate.

The coach is a saint and must be on some sort of tranquilizers, he was so patient and calm.   He didn’t even bat an eye when one of the players repeatedly swung the bat wildly and almost took out his kneecaps.

What a perfect afternoon, the weather was gorgeous, the sun was setting in our faces but we didn’t care, we were having fun.  I think I might have to go back next week and watch, too.

Go team Carvel!