Sunday, December 29, 2019

Movie Review: Nine Lives (2005)


Nine Lives.  Captivating.  Emotional.  Very different.  Those are the words I have come up with to describe this film. I don't think it will be everyone's cup of tea but I liked it.

The movie is actually a series of vignettes about turning points in various women's lives.  Some of these lives have a connection, albeit tenuous at best, but most do not.  They are just a study of pivotal moments.  The filming is quite interesting.  Each vignette is continuously filmed rather than a series of scenes.  And when the story ends, that's it.

The cast is totally all-star:

GLENN CLOSE
ROBIN WRIGHT PENN
HOLLY HUNTER
SISSY SPACEK
KATHY BAKER
AMY BRENNEMAN
ELPIDIA CARRILLO
DAKOTA FANNING
LISA GAY HAMILTON
MOLLY PARKER
MARY KAY PLACE
AMANDA SEYFRIED
STEPHEN DILLANE
WILLIAM FICHTNER
JASON ISAACS
JOE MANTEGNA
IAN MCSHANE
SYDNEY TAMAIIA POITIER
AIDAN QUINN
MIGUEL SANDOVAL
LAWRENCE PRESSMAN

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Scrapbooking ~ where do I begin?

Design Strategies for Scrapbookers

Paperback, 47 Pages 

Price: $15.28
Prints in 3-5 business days
Do you ever sit and stare at your scapbooking supplies and wonder where to begin? Do you believe your friends are more creative than you are? Do all of your scrapbooking layouts look the same? Are you in a scrapbooking rut? In my many years of scrapbooking I have learned a few things that will make all the difference to you. So take a deep breath, relax and go to page 1 of Design Strategies for Scrapbookers.

Also available in black & white for $7.68 or large print for $9.01.

Sketch Challenge 28 Dec 2019 ~ 4 photos 1 page layout


Thursday, December 26, 2019

Online Pyjama Party Crop Coming SOON!!!


I almost can't believe it but it has been 15 years since we hosted our very first online crop in 2005!

I hope you can join us New Year's Day at 11 am EST for fun and adventures in scrapbooking.  There will be all kinds of challenges to make the day fly by. There may even be a prize or two. Can you think of a more perfect way to start 2020 than by scrapbooking?

Join us on Facebook.

Old-Fashioned Chicken and Rice



from "Frozen Assets Lite & Easy" by Deborah Taylor-Hough

2-1/2 cups canned fat-free chicken broth
1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1-1/2 cups long-grain rice, uncooked
1 cup onions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 small red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 (6-oz) jar sliced mushrooms, undrained
1 tsp pountry seasonings

In large saucepan or Dutch oven, bring broth to a boil. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and return to boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover tightly and cook 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is tender. Cool. Place into labeled freezer bags; freeze.

To serve, thaw. Place into large skillt; heat over medium heat until heated through.

Per Serving: 301.9 calories; 1.7 g fat; 30.2 g protein; 43.3 g carbohydrates; 53 mg cholesterol.


Quick and easy and tastes delicious.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Movie Review: Phoebe in Wonderland (2008)



I am so glad I can find interesting movies like this one online.  I'm still reading 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen by Leonard Maltin and have to say that Maltin picked another winner.  This is the type of movie I love to watch.  It has a great story and it is told well.

9-year-old Phoebe is very tough and combative, especially with her sister and classmates.  When Phoebe is cast in the role of Alice in the school play by the new drama teacher, she begins to control and channel her imagination into the play.  Phoebe's problems are not over though.  Her focus is easily broken, leaving her fragile and unable to control her quirks again.

There are several lovely subplots in the movie to give it some depth.  The acting is quite superb.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Great ideas for great scrapbooking layouts

Scrapbooking with Sketches #4

Paperback, 200 Pages 

Scrapbooking with Sketches #4
Price: $20.00
Prints in 3-5 business days
Sometimes those piles of photos and scrapbooking supplies can become overwhelming, actually making it harder for you to be creative. It is okay to let go of creative, labour intensive layouts and make some layouts that are crisp, clean, and simple. Simple layouts allow your journaling and photos to take centre stage on your pages. Let the ideas in Scrapbooking with Sketches #4 help.

Sketch Challenge 21 Dec 2019 ~ 7 photos 1 page layout


Thursday, December 19, 2019

Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potatoes


Quantity : 2 servings
Preparation : 10 min Cooking : 20 min
330 calories/serving

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1,5 cm pieces 360 g
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pork tenderloin, cut into 2 cm slices 300 g
1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g
ground pepper to taste [optional]
1/2 tbsp canola oil 8 mL
1 tsp butter, unsalted 5 g
1 pinch cayenne pepper 0.2 g
3/4 tsp dried oregano 0.4 g
1/3 cup grapefruit juice 85 mL (I used orange juice)
1/3 cup water 85 mL
4 tsp pine nuts [optional] 10 g
4 tsp fresh mint, chopped 4 g

Before you start
Put a serving dish in the oven at the lowest setting to keep the meat warm while the sweet potatoes cook.

Method
Prepare the vegetables: Cut the sweet potatoes into pieces, about 1,5 cm. Mince the garlic.
Cut each tenderloin crosswise into 2 cm thick slices. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the pork slices then sauté until golden-coloured, about 4 min per side. Take them out of the pan and set aside on a plate, keeping them warm in the oven.
Add the garlic and cayenne pepper to the pan, then cook 1 min with stirring. Add the sweet potatoes and oregano, then sauté 2 min with stirring. Pour in the grapefruit juice and water, then bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 12 min.
Put the pork slices back into the pan then heat them through, 2-3 min. Sprinkle with pine nuts (optional) and chopped mint, then serve.

https://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/pork-tenderloin-sweet-potatoes

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Movie Review: The Pledge (2001)


The Pledge, directed by Sean Penn, is another pick from 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen by Leonard Maltin.  I think Maltin has a bit of a dark side because all the suggested movies I've seen so far have had a really dark side to them.



The Pledge is no different.  It is the story of retiring detective Jerry Black, played by the amazing Jack Nicholson, who decides to check out one more murder--the brutal murder of a little girl.  When the detective meets the parents they make him promise to find the killer.  Shortly after a suspect is picked up but commits suicide.  Black doesn't believe the dead suspect is the killer and can't let go of the case.  When several similar unsolved cases come to light, he begins digging deeper into the crimes.

Time goes by and life goes on.  Black buys an old gas station near where the murders had occurred and builds a new life.  He meets a young waitress with a little girl and they become a family.  You will just begin to think that the murders are forgotten and then events bring them back into the foreground.  The detective just can't let go.  When each lead doesn't pan out, the murders go to the background of the movie again.  The movie takes its time in revealing clues and between clues we get to enjoy the peace and quiet and beauty of the locale and we get to meet some great characters, played by some well-known actors like Helen Mirren and Sam Shepherd.

The ending is very surprising.  I was expecting a great guns-blazin' finish but that's not what happens.  What we learn is that there are no easy answers.

This movie is not for everyone but if you enjoy a good mystery-drama I think you are going to like it.  Jack Nicholson is awesome.

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Art Journaling Beginner Toolkit


Originally posted here https://pageflutter.com/beginners-toolkit-art-journaling/  Check out Page Flutter blog for more great ideas.


The Beginner’s Toolkit for Art Journaling


Art Journaling Beginners Guide - Fox + Hazel for Page Flutter
Today’s post is an extra special treat! You may have noticed I’ve been taking an interest in art journaling recently. I’m already a raving fan of this style of journaling, but I’m also a Newbie with a capital “N”. Sooooo, I enlisted the help of a very talented lady to show us the ropes. Over to you, Torrie!
Hi there! I’m Torrie of Fox + Hazel, and I am super excited to be sharing my love of art journaling with you. It can seem overwhelming to know where to start when it comes time to put paint to paper, and I get that! I was there once, too, when creating “art” seemed so out of reach for me. Now I can’t imagine my life without art journaling (just look at my Instagram feed – that’s pretty much all I share!) Today I want to show you that you really don’t need a bunch of fancy art supplies to get started in an art journal. Everything on this list is affordable and really easy to get.
Art Journaling Beginners Guide - Fox + Hazel for Page Flutter

THE BEGINNER’S TOOLKIT FOR ART JOURNALING

Art Journaling Beginners Guide - Fox + Hazel for Page Flutter

A JOURNAL

You’re going to need a place to put all your awesome work–this is called art “journaling” after all! There are no rules and you can use whatever you want. If you’d like to start using more wet mediums, like watercolors and acrylics, you will want thicker pages that can stand up to paint. I recommend a sketchbook with mixed media paper in. I’ve also used Moleskine Cahiers for journaling, and they work awesome for more collage/drawing type journaling. Just glue every other page together to strengthen the pages and to prevent any bleeding.
Art Journaling Beginners Guide - Fox + Hazel for Page Flutter

WATERCOLOR PAINTS + A WATERBRUSH

A cheap set of watercolor paints from your local craft store will be just fine to begin with! Watercolors are super versatile and are an easy way to get color on to your journal pages. The water brush is also really handy because it has water inside the handle, so you can travel and paint anywhere with your watercolors! Art journaling is a great way to document travels and adventures too, and a travel paintbrush makes it that much easier to do.
First things first: you're going to need a journal!

MATTE MEDIUM AND GESSO

Okay, so these are the only two really ~artsy~ supplies I think are a must have. Both can be found at Michaels, so they are still easy to get!
Matte medium works as an adhesive and is the best for collages. It doesn’t wrinkle your paper and you can seal different mediums underneath it. Think about Modge Podge – it’s used in the same manner.
Gesso (pronounced jess-o) is used in about a million ways, but it’s main purpose is to prime your page to receive paint. It’s a thick and very pigmented white acrylic paint. It’s perfect for prepping pages so none of your paints seep through the paper, and it is the world’s best white out for covering up mistakes! You can use it as a base layer, to cover up parts of your work, mix it with other paints to lighten them, even as an adhesive.I use gesso in every single page I make and I consider it an absolute must have for art journaling.

ACRYLIC PAINTS

Acrylic paints come in a million different colors, hues, sizes, viscosity , brands, etc. The selection can be overwhelming. I’ve found that buying just 2-3 tubes of your favourite colors that compliment one another is the best way to start. If you chose colors that “go” well, it makes it really easy to put paint on a page and have it look great right off the bat. I really like the Liquitex Basics line because it’s affordable and great quality for the price!
Art Journaling Beginners Guide - Fox + Hazel for Page Flutter

BLACK WATERPROOF PENS + WHITE GEL PEN

You’re going to need some pens to add in your journaling and details to your pages. It’s best to get a black pen that is waterproof so it doesn’t smudge when paint comes into contact with it. I really enjoy Micron pens, as well as Tombow Fudenosuke pens. My other must have item is a white gel pen. A little bit of white can go a long way in creating constrast on your page and making details really stand out. I love love love the Uni-Ball Signo Broad pen, but you can also get white gel pens by Sakura Gelly Roll as well.
Art Journaling Beginners Guide - Fox + Hazel for Page Flutter

OLD MAGAZINES, BOOKS, TICKETS, CALENDARS, PICTURES, ETC

One of the easiest ways to start art journaling is by starting with collage. You don’t need to be a master illustrator or painter to create a killer art journal page because there are literally thousands of awesome photos in magazines to use. I collect fashion magazines, National Geographic’s, photography magazines, special interest ones – you name it! Browse through some old magainzes for images that catch your eye and cut them out to use in your pages. You can usually get this material for FREE because who doesn’t have old magazines in there house? You? Um, I’m just gonna pretend I don’t have 3 years worth of cooking magazines hiding in my shelves. Then cut them up for my art journal!

Art Journaling Beginners Guide - Fox + Hazel for Page Flutter
With just a few supplies you can start to create some really wonderful art in your journal! It’s a versaile hobby that you can have a ton of fun with and express your artsy side with. So now that we have supplies figured out, you might be going “But where do I start!?” Don’t worry – I got you!
If you’re stuck on what to even start making on your pages, some prompts can really help get the creative juices flowing. Here are some prompts for you to help spark some ideas.

ART JOURNALING PROMPTS

  1. Try to re-create your last dream you remember.
  2. What does happiness feel like? Warm? Shiny? Interpret it into an abstract image and use colors that reflect that feeling.
  3. Create a pattern that covers your entire page.
  4. Cut out images from a magazine and draw over them with a pen. Add to faces, create new shapes, change the picture completely!
  5. Who is your #1 supporter? Mine is my husband. Create a page all about that cheerleader in your life.
  6. Use a pen to scribble all over your page. Now paint in the negatives spaces a la 90’s kids computer art making (like this – you remember it, don’t you!?)
  7. Paint shapes on your page. Now use a pen to turn them into people, animals, objects, whatever!
  8. When was the last time you did something brave? Use colors you associate with brave and create a page honoring that time you were awesome!
  9. Cut out words from magazines to create a ransom letter or short story.
  10. Get in touch with your inner 5-year-old and do some finger painting!
If you want to see more art journaling goodies, you can see it all over on Fox + Hazel! I have a really easy step-by-step art journaling tutorial, some unconventional supplies to try and a whole series of tiny art journals I did! I can’t wait to see what you come up with as you venture into art journaling.

Sketch Challenge 14 Dec 2019 ~ 4 photos 1 page


Thursday, December 12, 2019

Peppery Tuscan Beef Stew "Peposo"



Quantity : 3 servings
Preparation : 5 min Cooking : 1 h 50 min
260 calories/serving

Ingredients
600 g blade pot roast, in large chunks
3 cloves garlic, whole
1 cup red wine 250 mL
1 pinch salt 0.1 g
2 tbsp peppercorns 20 g
1/2 tsp potato starch [optional] 1 g

Before you start

A casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid is necessary for this recipe.

Method

Preheat the oven to 135°C/375°F.
Cut the beef into large chunks. Place all the ingredients in a casserole dish.
Cover and cook in the middle of the oven. Calculate about 3 h per kilo of meat.
If there is too much liquid at the end, transfer it to a small pot then cook on medium heat until reduced. If needed, potato starch may be added to help thicken the sauce.
Serve the meat with its cooking juices.

Observations

This stew can be prepared a few days in advance and brought to a simmer before serving.



Sunday, December 8, 2019

What makes Ontario voters tick?

#onpoli - a TVO newsletter
Thursday, November 14, 2019

Hello, #onpoli people,

Canadians in other parts of this great country often find Ontarians a bit arrogant. Perhaps our fellow citizens are right that we could do with an extra dose of modesty. But let’s face it: We’re pretty darned important.

At least, we’re important when it comes to securing political power in this country. Ontario has more than a third of the seats in Parliament, which makes it hard to win an election without doing well here. In fact, in nine of the past 10 federal votes, the party that has won the most seats in Ontario has gone on to form the government. (The one exception was 2006, when the Liberals winning the highest number of Ontario seats wasn’t enough to keep Stephen Harper out of the Prime Minister’s Office.)

So as much as it might irk Canadians outside the province, Ontario is a hot topic in political circles following the Oct. 21 election results. It should come as no surprise, then, that #onpoli podcast hosts Steve Paikin and John Michael McGrath have been spending some time this week looking into the message that the province’s voters have sent to the Liberals, Conservatives, New Democrats, and Greens.

Should Conservatives drop their fixation with smaller government?

Taking a look at the disappointing showing of Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives in the province and the Ford government’s retreat on planned spending cuts, John Michael McGrath concludes that the right’s decades-long focus on shrinking government is out of sync with today’s voters:
“The Liberals actually provide a lesson for conservatives here: for most of my adulthood, the party of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin was proud (to the point of obnoxiousness) of their role in ‘slaying the deficit’ and balancing the federal budget. But 2015 was a generation removed from Chrétien’s first election win, and Justin Trudeau correctly judged that deficit-fighting wasn’t paying dividends for the Liberals anymore and that voters weren’t quite as terrified of the prospect of deficit spending as they once had been. Objective factors changed — Canada’s fiscal situation went from terrifying to managed — and so the Liberals changed with them, and they won.”
In a follow-up article, John Michael also suggests ways the Conservatives could offer compelling ideas on issues such as child care, housing, and climate change while still staying true to their values.

Why the NDP was such a bust in Ontario in the 2019 election

After winning 40 seats in last year’s provincial election, the NDP had high hopes for Ontario going into the 2019 federal campaign. However, Steve Paikin writes that after the New Democrats managed to hold on to only six of 121 Ontario seats in the October vote, party insiders are trying to figure out what went wrong.

According to NDP sources who talked to Steve, a number of factors came into play. They include an inexperienced leader in Jagmeet Singh; fear of a Conservative government, leading to strategic voting that favoured the Liberals; and perceived double standards around how the “guy with the turban,” as one New Democrat described Singh, was asked to respond to Quebec’s controversial religious symbols ban while other leaders “got a pass on it.”

The Ontario NDP are trying to figure out what October’s results mean for their chances in the next provincial election, slated for 2022. However the party chooses to react to what happened on the federal scene, Steve writes, one thing seems clear: Current leader Andrea Horwath isn’t going anywhere.
“Horwath has already led her party through three general elections. … She has certainly grown in the job since she won it 10 and a half years ago, appearing more confident and communicating better. Her performances during question period (clips on the nightly news presumably being how most people see her) are calmer, stronger, and less annoyingly sanctimonious than those of other NDP leaders in the past.”
Assuming she stays on, she’ll be only the third Ontario NDP leader to helm her party through four elections.

The next Liberal leader’s daunting task

While the federal Liberals are looking strong in Ontario, winning 79 out of 121 ridings on Oct. 21, the same cannot be said for their once-powerful provincial counterparts. Taking stock of the Ontario political landscape, Steve writes that whoever wins the provincial Liberal leadership next March “will undoubtedly take on the most daunting mission of any leader the party has had since George Brown became its first standard bearer in 1857.”

Steve lists a litany of problems, including a lack of cash, a small membership, and serious challenges in finding people willing to run under the Liberal banner. He also paints a picture of a party that is struggling to mount a decent ground game in much of the province:
“There are 124 ridings in Ontario, and I’ve heard estimates that the Liberals are just plain dead in one-third to one-half of those ridings. That means no riding association president, no treasurer, no money in the bank, no volunteers. The situation is dire.”
For those reasons and more, Steve says he’s almost startled that five people are actually running for the leadership. He wonders if this will ultimately be a contest where the winner winds up envying the losers.

Elizabeth May’s Green party legacy

The outgoing federal Green party leader sat down for an interview with Steve this week on The Agenda. While she didn’t address the party’s performance in Ontario directly, she did go over some factors that hurt Greens across the country, including in this province. Two things she blames for the party not winning as many seats as hoped: our electoral system, and the NDP.
On The Agenda this week, Elizabeth May explained to Steve Paikin why she believes now is the right time to resign as leader of the Green Party of Canada.
That’s all for this week. Stay in touch by writing to us at onpolitics@tvo.org.

Daniel
#onpoli producer

How we do what we do

TVO is funded as a public agency by the government of Ontario. But when we do something new, like the #onpoli podcast and this newsletter, we often rely on generous donors like you to get it off the ground.

If you like what we're doing with #onpoli, please make a donation to keep it going. We'd like to feature the donors who make our work possible on future episodes of the podcast. So, if you make a donation, please write to us and let us know what you like about #onpoli at onpolitics@tvo.org.

Movie Review: Raising Victor Vargas (2003)


When I first turned this movie I nearly turned it back off again because there was some pretty offensive (to me) language. Not to say that the language wasn't appropriate in the situation. I just have a lot of trouble hearing certain words. Fortunately I didn't turn it off because I found myself involved in a lovely and touching movie about an old-world grandmother trying to raise three teenagers on her own. Apparently none of the actors were professionals which really added to the sweetness and reality of the film. And apparently this film won several noteworthy prizes. I'm not surprised. A film that is this "different" is hard to forget.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Journal Challenge 5 Dec 2019 ~ Your Name

Scrapbook a layout about your name's origin.

Don't scrapbook?  Journal about your name or create a page in your art journal.  Just get creative!



Sunday, December 1, 2019

Christmas Movie Review: The Dog Who Saved Christmas (2009)


The Dog Who Saved Christmas is cute . . . very very cute.  Not that this is a bad thing especially when you are watching a Christmas movie.  Zeus is a police dog who screwed up and caused his human partner to become injured which would keep him from firing a gun straight for the rest of his life.  Because of his guilt, poor old Zeus ends up unable to bark and in a city pound.

One day in walks George Bannister, looking for an early Christmas present and home security dog.  George's wife isn't so happy when Zeus and George come home but the kids are thrilled.

While the Bannisters are away visiting Grandma burglars hit their home.  Zeus gets past his guilt and pain, learns to bark and (a la Home Alone) saves the day.

Cute.  Oh yeah, Zeus can talk but only other animals and I can hear him.  Listen close.  You may be able to hear him speak too.

Art journaling finish November 2019

If you need any proof that November was a very tough month for me, here it is . . . the only creative thing I did in November . . .