In My World

Challenge #3 So, your paper is beautifully organized, your scraps carefully stashed or purged, and your desk is gleaming!   I've posted photos in our  Facebook group  but you are also welcome to post links to your challenge photos as a comment here. You are starting to be organized.   Doesn't it make you feel creative? Don't you want to get cropping? Well, you CAN'T scrapbook without PHOTOS! Our third challenge is to organize our photos. Here is an excellent article to get you thinking about how to organize those precious photos before we  S.P.A.C.E.  them: https://www.scrapbook.com/articles/organizing-and-storing-your-photos-and-negatives SORT : Gather together all of your photos, and sort them into categories that make sense: TRASH (it's okay to throw out photos with bad colour, expression, or composition. Why keep them? You're not going to scrapbook them), TO SCRAPBOOK (the shots you know you are going to use), TO STORE (photos that need to be kept, but ...

We love this excellent beef stew-ish recipe. https://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/harvest-pot-feu Quantity : 4 servings Preparation : 15 min  Cooking : 3 h 370 calories/serving Ingredients 1/2 onions, finely chopped 100 g 2 cloves garlic, minced 750 g blade pot roast, cut into large cubes 2 tbsp olive oil 30 mL 2 tbsp white flour (all purpose) 16 g 2 1/2 cups beef broth 625 mL 2 1/2 cups water 625 mL 1 bay leaf 0.2 g 2 tsp herbes de Provence 2 g 1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g ground pepper to taste [optional] 3 carrots, cut into large chunks 300 g 2 rutabagas, cut into large chunks 300 g 5 1/2 cups Savoy cabbage, cut into large chunks 400 g 8 small potatoes, whole 360 g Method Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Cut the meat into large cubes. Heat the oil in a casserole dish or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the meat and brown thoroughly on each side until golden, 7-8 min total, then take the meat out of the pot and set it aside. Add the onion and garlic to the pot, then sau...

https://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/asian-chicken-vegetable-soup Quantity : 2 servings Preparation : 10 min  Cooking : 10 min 380 calories/serving Ingredients 1/2 tbsp canola oil 8 mL 1/2 shallots, finely chopped 20 g 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tbsp gingerroot, grated 7 g 1/2 dried chili peppers, minced 0.2 g 2 cups chicken broth 500 mL 1 cup water 250 mL 1 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla) 15 mL 1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g ground pepper to taste [optional] 160 g chicken for Chinese fondue 80 g rice sticks (noodles) 1 carrots, grated 100 g 1 green onions/scallions, thinly sliced 4 button (white) mushrooms, thinly sliced 55 g 1 1/2 cup soybean sprouts 100 g Before you start Individual 500 ml (2 cups) serving bowls are needed. Method Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallot, then sauté 2-3 min. Add the garlic, ginger and chili pepper. Sauté 3 min with stirring. Pour in the broth and water, then add the fish sauce and a little salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lo...

http://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/simplified-no-crust-quiche-light Quantity : 2 servings Preparation : 10 min Cooking : 40 min Cooking Dish : 18 cm diameter 180 calories/serving Ingredients 3 eggs size large 1/3 cup cottage cheese, 1% 80 g 1/3 cup Cheddar cheese, grated 24 g 4 sun-dried tomatoes (oil packed), finely chopped 16 g 1 serving Oven-Roasted Peppers (recipe at the bottom of this post) margarine non-hydrogenated , to grease the pie-dish 1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g Before you start Peppers must be roasted in advance. Method Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F. Grease a pie-dish. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes and chop them finely. Peel, clean and pat dry the roasted peppers, then cut them into strips of about 1 cm. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the cottage cheese using a fork. Add a little salt. Mix in the grated cheese, peppers, and tomatoes. Pour into the prepared pie-dish and bake in the middle of the oven 35-40 min until firm. Check with a tooth-pick or knife if it is cooked t...

https://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/sole-fillets-mushrooms Quantity : 2 servings Preparation : 10 min  Cooking : 10 min 350 calories/serving Ingredients 8 button (white) mushrooms, thinly sliced 110 g 1 tbsp Italian parsley, fresh, chopped 5 g 2 sole fillets 300 g 3 tbsp white flour (all purpose) 24 g 2 tbsp butter, unsalted 28 g 2 tbsp canola oil 30 mL 2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed 3/4 lemon 1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g ground pepper to taste [optional] Before you start Keep the serving dishes in the oven at the lowest setting so they are warm when you serve. Method Preheat the oven to the lowest setting. Prepare the mushrooms: slice them thinly. Chop the parsley. Set aside. Rinse the fillets and pat dry. Add salt, pepper and coat with flour. Melt the butter in a pan over high heat. Add the fillets and cook 2 min on one side, turn them, and cook 1-2 min. Put them on a plate and keep them warm in the oven. Add the oil to the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook 4-5 min over high h...

How did you make out on the first challenge?  It's not too late to share your photos.  Doesn't it feel great to start the new year with a clean work surface? Let's move on to the next challenge . . .  Challenge #2 Here is this week's challenge: Your challenge this week is to  S.P.A.C.E.  your paper - - and I mean ALL of your paper: cardstock, patterned paper, specialty papers, and all those SCRAPS! Scrap cardstock Extra cardstock SORT : Bring all of your paper to one area. Sort it all into piles: KEEP, SELL, DONATE, TRASH PURGE : bag up, and assign a price to paper bundles that you want to SELL at a garage sale or online, and put the bags in the garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up the DONATE pile and immediately make arrangements for drop-off/pick-up or put in your vehicle. ASSIGN : separate your paper into categories that make sense to you. For example, you may want to divide it simply into cardstock and patterned paper. If you have a huge stash o...

https://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/flemish-beef-stew Quantity : 4 servings Preparation : 15 min  Cooking : 2 h 30 min 380 calories/serving Ingredients 800 g blade pot roast, cut into cubes 1 tbsp butter, unsalted 14 g 1 tbsp canola oil 15 mL 1 1/2 onions, finely chopped 300 g 2 tbsp white flour (all purpose) 16 g 1 1/3 cup beer 330 mL 2 bay leaf 0.4 g 1 sprig rosemary, fresh 5 g 1/2 tbsp brown sugar 6 g 1/2 tbsp wine vinegar 8 mL 1 rutabagas, peeled and cut into large pieces 150 g 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces 400 g 1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g ground pepper to taste [optional] Before you start A baking or casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid is necessary for this recipe. Method Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF. Cut the beef into large cubes, about 4 cm, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Finely chop the onions. Heat the butter and oil in a casserole dish over high heat. Add the beef cubes in batches, turning them until dark brown on all sides, 5-7 min. Take the ...

My husband and I attended the September 4th, 2018 meeting regarding amendments to the original Ontario Municipal boards order as it applies to the former Alma College site.  An official from the City of St. Thomas explained the details of the original OMB order which was issued January 15th, 2008.  It allowed that the buildings could be demolished. The north central entrance way has to be retained and the north facade was to be replicated excluding the belfry and spire.  The order required the property to be measured and documented and for the city to repeal the heritage designation.  On May 26th 2008 Alma College burned to the ground. The remains were demolished the next day. In January 2018 the Alma College property was purchased by Patriot Properties to develop 430 new high-end multi residential units in three separate buildings. Research has shown that there's a desperate need for higher-end rental housing in St. Thomas.  After seve...

Places slices on preheated broiler rack, 3 to 3-1/2" from heat source. Broil at moderate temperature for 1-1/2 to 3 minutes per side, turning only once. This bacon needs no draining.  If only a small quantity is prepared, a shallow pan with a wire rack may be used.

Challenge #1 September. Kids going back to school. You may even find time for some crafting now. But first you really need to get your craft space organized. The first challenge is to clear off your crafting work space. Maybe you have a desk committed as your craft space, maybe you have an entire room, or maybe you have taken over the dining room table. Wherever you craft, completely clear off the entire surface of your work space, dumping everything into a big box. Give your surface a good scrub and polish, removing every speck of paint, adhesive, and uh.... is that chocolate???? Take a photo of your newly scrubbed craft space and upload it to your blog or other online sharing site. Don't forget to post the link to your photo here in the comments section. Here are my BEFORE photos: My big ugly table  My genealogy work space  My computer work space  And now for my AFTER photos: Okay, now it's your turn. Let's get to work on that big box of stuff you just remov...

Although I do enjoy the challenge of a really complex layout once in a while, in general I prefer my layouts to be clean and simple.  This is why I love 4 x 6 Photo Sketch Blog for inspiration.  

It has been a rather quiet couple of weeks . . . which is really weird in my world.  Because of the peace and quiet I have been able to do some serious crafting on both big projects and small.  Three whole art journal pages . . .