Light and Blooms

      Success! Alphabet Chicken Soup       This recipe was a real winner. It made a full pot of a hearty, flavorful soup.   We have eaten it for several more meals and I have a container in the freezer.   It heats up well and the flavors become more bold with time.   This one is in my soup file.       

  Even though I don't have any little ones in the house anymore,  I still love the simplicity of A, B, C's.   But we can always do it in a grown up version.  Add a little  sophistication to the simple.   Which brings me to Day 2 soup.   Alphabet Chicken Soup   It is already on the stove simmering. Easy ingredients, easy prep. No mess, unless you want to make one.   Below is recipe and source. Tomorrow...Results.           Alphabet Chicken Soup   http://www.myepicureanadventures.com/2013/05/homemade-alphabet-chicken-soup.html Ingredients: 12 cups water     5 tsp bouillon (Use Herb Ox , which is MSG-Free) 2 cups chopped up chicken, cooked 1/2 cup letter pasta, uncooked 1/4 cup barley, uncooked 1/4 cup rice, uncooked 1/2 cup diced carrots 1 onion, diced 1/2 cup broccoli slaw, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp salt ...

Results of Day 1 Beef Barley Soup     A winner for  Day 1      If you are not a big mushroom lover, either skip the mushrooms or dice them up.  I love mushrooms so I used sliced ones.  The family, not so much.  I will dice them next time.   This recipe is copied and in my file.   Let me know if you try it and what you think.   Enjoy!!          

  I would love to say that I could focus enough  to do a whole year of something, everyday, but I cannot.  I like too much variety.  I enjoyed watching Julie and Julia, and was inspired by it.  To have the focus and determination  to keep cooking a new recipe a day  for a whole year is awe inspiring.  Just not something I aspire to do.   I do however love the idea of trying new things and learning.  So I am going to take things down a few notches  and say I will do something new  for  30 days, everyday. One day at a time.   And to break it down even further,  I will do a category a week for 4 weeks  until 30 days is complete.   Which brings me to my first day, today. My first week, my first category.   Soups. Soups you say?  In the middle of summer in Florida? Yes, soups. It seems like a good idea to me.  At the end of a week, I will have 7 new soups ...

I have been enjoying gathering up all my paper crafting supplies and getting them into an environment that says "CREATE". I have been spread out all over the house and garage these past four years and have found it to be disjointed and cumbersome to be creative when I don't have my supplies handy. I have taken my time to evaluate my supplies and see what I do use and what I can live without. It has been an adventure to uncover some long forgotten once favorite tools. It has also been an adventure to find some long forgotten tools that never did the job. Good bye to them! I have also taken the time to read some good magazines and books on organizing craft spaces and have found it helpful to see what others do. I think I have made this space reflect me and am looking forward to spending some good time  there creating. It is also a nice space to share with Jackie, my daughter and paper crafting partner. Let the creating begin!!

    This is one magazine that I choose to keep most past copies of. Paging through this magazine is a calm oasis in the busyness of days and is a source of inspiration to do things a little bit nicer, a tad more elegant, with a little more style.    It does not mean complicating things with cumbersome details or busywork in the midst of a simple project.    It does mean looking at the details through an enjoyable process of creating. Whether it is making a  meal, making a bed, setting a table or walking through a thrift store, it is about doing it with simple style and grace.   The photography and writing in this magazine are done with excellence and each contributor is a delight on their own for their efforts.   If you come across a copy of this magazine, or begin your own subscription, enjoy it from cover to cover and be prepared to come back to each issue time and time again.   Enjoy!     ...

I may not be totally content with my creative work space, but I am getting there. As I explore what I like, my resources to create it and the desire to be in a space that reflects who I am and what I create, I am getting closer to my ideal. I suspect there will always be a sense of "almost" and "not quite yet" in the space I create, for it is a space to me that is ever evolving as I evolve. This book is a peek into the lives and creative spaces of many women, beautifully written, expertly photographed and inspirational on every page. As I am reading this book, one woman at a time, I find myself running in and out of my creative space and adjusting my things as I am inspired to do so. Putting things in place, adjusting the light, providing inspiration, are what makes creating a unique, one of a kind experience. In reading through this book, I may not find myself all wrapped up in one woman's experience, talent or style, but put together, I see glimpses...