Playing with Distress Oxide Inks

I am having a great time learning how to use my distress oxide inks.

Here's a great blog post about using distress oxide inks.  https://blog.closetomyheart.com/2020/11/10/distress-oxide-ink-techniques-and-ideas/

This link explains the differences between distress inks and distress oxide inks and offers some great ideas for using them.  https://www.scrapbook.com/articles/distress-inks-and-distress-oxides

 

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Canada Has 10 Provinces and 3 Territories

 

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Northwest Territories
• Nova Scotia
• Nunavut
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon

from https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/prepare-life-canada/provinces-territories.html

This may not seem like exciting information to you but when I was young we only had two territories (Nunavut is the newbie) and Newfoundland and Labrador was just called Newfoundland.

Food Food Food ~ Baked Potato

Who doesn't love a delicious baked potato?  

Plain or stuffed with butter and chives, sour cream, chili, broccoli, cheese sauce . . . or whatever tickles your fancy?

My real question is do you eat the skin?

Here is my go to recipe for baked potatoes https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2019/04/baked-potatoes.html

Fall 2020 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ #9 Books and Magazines

 You may recall that Challenge #8 was organizing your paper cosmetics. I have a rather large collection although I am pretty sure there are lots of you with even more. But mine ARE organized.

So I am more than ready for Challenge #9 . . .

Books and Magazines

Inspiration for scrapbook pages is everywhere. But what is the best way to organize it so that it's actually USEFUL?

First consider cutting up your magazines and idea books, and only saving the ideas that you really plan to use. Magazines and idea books that just sit on your shelves aren't really useful. It can take hours to go through your books to find the one layout you remember. Having your ideas in a condensed form, arranged in a way that makes sense to you is much more effective. If you are able to cut up your magazines, here are some ideas for arranging them:

theme (holidays, birthday, babies, pets, travel etc)
number of photos used in the layout
journaling ideas
colours
quotes
techniques

Now that you've decided how to arrange them, where do you store them? A few ideas:

* a composition book or some other kind of sketchbook: you can sketch in there and adhere page ideas into it. It's also portable, so you can take it with you to crops!
* an index card box: adhere your ideas to index cards
* idea file folders. Place your ideas inside file folders and label the index tab. Store in a portable file box. Add categories as needed.
* binder with page protectors: tuck clippings into the page protectors

If you have decided you are NOT cutting up your magazines . . .

SORT: 

Make sure that the magazines and books are still relevant to you. If you are holding onto magazines more than a year or two old, REALLY make sure they still interest you. Sort them into piles: KEEP, DONATE, SELL, TOSS

PURGE: 

Trash the TOSS pile. Arrange immediate drop-off or pick-up of the DONATE pile. Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile.

ASSIGN: 

Sort your magazines/books by title/date of issue, and consider storing your books and magazines down low on your bookshelf due to their weight.

CONTAINERIZE: 

Store in boxes or magazine holders.

EQUALIZE: 

Consider getting varied colours of post-it flags, and setting up categories for ideas. Each time you get a new book or magazine, flag the pages you like according to your system, so that you an easily see from the outside of your books which one might have an idea applicable to the project you are working on.

Only one more challenge . . . 

how's your space looking now?

Share photos of your newly organized space with us on our Facebook group. 

Book Review: Pershing by John Perry

How can I say I enjoyed a book about war and an American general?  Because it is a well crafted story which carries you through the career of General Pershing, a man who has been somewhat neglected by history.  Pershing began his Army service in the Philippines, Mexico and Cuba. This  served as a critical training ground for Pershing.  When President Roosevelt promoted him to general in 1906, Pershing, who had been one of the army's oldest captains, was now one of its youngest generals.  Pershing became a legend in his own time and was the first man to be appointed General of the Armies.  

To rescue France and England, Pershing used the lessons he learned in other theatres of war to establish an aggressive strategy against the Germans that incorporated overwhelming numbers and comprehensive engagement.  Not only were there honor and order in his methods, there was victory. Attentive to the last detail, rigid in his expectations of drill and execution, and fiercely protective of every man he commanded, at one time more than a million soldiers followed him into battle and to victory.  

I just finished reading another book about the Great Wars from a Canadian perspective, Marching to War by Pierre Berton.  I was surprised by the similarities between General Pershing and several Canadian generals which leads me to believe that those that work hard and do the right thing are often overlooked in favour of leaders who are flashier and more reckless in their ideas and actions. Perhaps a lesson should be learned from this.

Canadian Artists and Bands ~ Alyssa Reid

Alyssa Ashley Reid (born March 15, 1993) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in 2011, following the release of her single "Alone Again".

Reid was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in Brampton, Ontario. Her family moved around Canada often. Reid stated that it gave her the life experience she needed to enter the music industry. She wrote her first song at the age of 7 and started vocal lessons at the age of 9. From then on, she has continued to develop her voice into what has become a singular vocal style.  (from Wikipedia)

Scrapbooking Challenge: Club

Scrapbook a layout about a club you belong to.

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

I don't belong to any formal clubs . . . but I certainly do enjoy a well made clubhouse sandwich!  

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Macaroni and Cheese

Canada consumes more mac and cheese annually than any other country!

The product known as Kraft Dinner (or KD) in Canada, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner or Kraft Mac & Cheese in the United States and Australia, and Macaroni Cheese or Cheesey Pasta in the United Kingdom is a nonperishable, packaged dry macaroni and cheese product by Kraft Foods, traditionally cardboard-boxed with dried macaroni pasta and a packet of processed cheese powder. It was first introduced under the Kraft Dinner name simultaneously in both Canada and the U.S. in 1937.

The product's innovation, at the time of the Great Depression, was to conveniently market nonperishable dried macaroni noodles together with a processed cheese powder. The product is prepared by cooking the pasta and adding the cheese powder along with additional perishable and/or refrigerated ingredients such as butter (or margarine) and cow's milk. The product is thus a simple-to-prepare, affordable, and meatless family dinner.

Kraft Dinner has been called the de facto national dish of Canada. Packaged in Quebec with Canadian wheat and milk, and other ingredients from Canada and the US, Canadians purchase 1.7 million of the 7 million boxes sold globally each week and eat an average of 3.2 boxes of Kraft Dinner each year, 55% more than Americans. The meal is the most popular grocery item in the country, where "Kraft Dinner" has iconic status and has become a generic trademark of sorts for macaroni and cheese. It is often simply referred to by the initials K.D.  (from Wikipedia)

Food Food Food ~ Sweet Potato

I do love a good sweet potato . . . plain or in a casserole . . . I've even had it with the melted marshmallows on top.

Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potatoes https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2019/12/pork-tenderloin-and-sweet-potatoes.html

Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2019/04/sweet-potatoes-with-marshmallows.html

Chicken and Sweet Potato Bake https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2018/07/chicken-and-sweet-potato-bake.html

Sweet Potato Muffins https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2018/03/sweet-potato-muffins.html

Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole is a personal favourite https://inmyworld-pam.blogspot.com/2017/10/sweet-potato-pecan-casserole.html

Fall 2020 Craft Space Organization Challenge ~ Challenge #8: Paper Cosmetics

How does it feel to know we are nearly done?  Your crafting space should be looking a lot better by now.  I bet you aren't opening 15 different containers while trying to find that one item you need anymore.

Time for Challenge #8

It is time to organize our "paper cosmetics": paints, inks, embossing powders, mists, and other products that add that little something special to our pages.  If you do mixed media or art journaling I bet your stock of paper cosmetics is pretty substantial.  Let's get started.

SORT: 

First go through each of these items and make sure your colours haven't expired.  Are ink pads still juicy?  Are lids still intact? Do paints still mix together when shaken? Are your chalks still intact enough to use?  Sort all of your paper cosmetics into TOSS, KEEP, SELL, DONATE

PURGE: 

Throw out the TOSS items.  Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile, and put them immediately in your garage sale box.  Arrange for pick-up or drop-off of the DONATE pile.

ASSIGN: 

Sort your KEEP pile into categories that make sense to you.

CONTAINERIZE: 

Inks last longest when stored horizontally, upside down on a shelf, in a drawer, or maybe a cassette tape holder?  Paints could be stacked on a narrow shelf, on a tiered rack, in spice racks, etc.  Embossing powders, chalks and other cosmetics could be stored in well-labeled drawers or bins.

EQUALIZE: 

Take a few minutes at the end of each scrapping session, when you return from a crop, or return from a shopping trip to put your paper cosmetics away where they belong.

Share your accomplishments with us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1190893587663199

Scrapbooking Challenge: Easy

Scrapbook a layout about an easy breezy time you had.

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

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ World's Longest Border

 The longest border in the world is the Canada-USA border . . . 

Canada – United States 8,893 Kilometers

The longest international land border in the world between two countries, Canada and the United States, is officially known as the International Boundary. The extensive boundary also includes the border that Canada shares with Alaska. A total of thirteen U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces and territories are located along the border. Throughout history, the border has undergone several changes with various treaties being signed. However, on April 11, 1908, the Treaty of 1908 was signed between the United Kingdom and the United States to survey and delimit the boundary between the two North American countries through the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes.

This information came from this very interesting article . . . https://wowtravel.me/the-12-longest-land-borders-in-the-world/

Food Food Food ~ Cheese Quesadilla

I do enjoy a good quesadilla with sour cream and salsa.

Here's a very quick quesadilla recipe . . . but read past the recipe for all the potential upgrades!  I don't have a tested recipe for quesadilla but here's the recipe for a Mexican Rice side dish that will go well with your quesadilla.

Goodreads 2020 ~ #122 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

I've read Memoirs of a Geisha (1997) by Arthur Golden several times in the past few years and really enjoy it.  I have no idea how "real" it is or if the author made up a lot of the things he wrote about becoming a geisha and about Japan at the time of the novel.  I did not read it for historical accuracy.  I read it for the first time because it was recommended to me by quite a few people.  I read it each time since just because it is a good read; quite a lyrical style in fact.

Memoirs of a Geisha is the story of a little girl, sold off by her father, who is trained to be a geisha.  Her life is not luxurious but rather strenuous, difficult, sad and harsh.  Reading the back story and then reading glamourous paragraphs about her as a geisha are the two sides of her story.  

The one time I read the book was for an informal book club I belonged to with several friends.  I was host of the month we discussed "Geisha".  As part of the refreshments I painted orange blossoms on little shot glasses and served sake.  The funny faces of some of my guests were photo worthy.  It also turned out that I like sake.  Who knew?

I have watched the movie version a couple of times and, while it is pretty good, it did not come close to the depth and beauty of the book.  

Enjoy Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

Big List of Canadian Artists and Bands ~ Alysha Brilla

Alysha Brilla is a Canadian musician. Born in Mississauga, Ontario and raised in Brampton, Ontario, she started singing in her early teens in local bands and at festivals. In 2010, she was signed to Lava Records/Universal Republic. Brilla was a featured performer at the 2010 Kitchener Blues Festival and Gala. 

Brilla writes all of her own music and lyrics. She cites her influences as Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, Joni Mitchell, and Indian and African Music. She took a production co-op in high school and was accepted to Seneca College's Production degree, but opted to study Jazz at Humber College. All of her releases have been self-produced. In 2010, she signed a contract with U.S. label Lava/Universal Republic Records. She moved to Los Angeles and began recording and collaborating with American producers Brian West, Rick Nowels, and Sam Farrar. She left the label in 2012 and started her own Sunny Jam Records and has released all of her albums on that imprint. Three of them received JUNO nominations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alysha_Brilla

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Literacy

lit·er·a·cy

/ˈlidərəsē,ˈlitrəsē/

Learn to pronounce

noun

1. the ability to read and write.

   Similar:

   ability to read and write

   reading/writing ability

   reading/writing proficiency

   learning

   book learning

   education

   scholarship

   schooling

   letters

   Opposite:

   illiteracy

   • competence or knowledge in a specified area.

     "wine literacy can't be taught in three hours"

Choose languageAfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBanglaBasqueBelarusianBosnianBulgarianBurmeseCatalanCebuanoChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDutchEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKinyarwandaKoreanKurdishKyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianLuxembourgishMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianNepaliNorwegianNyanjaOdiaPashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSamoanScottish GaelicSerbianShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSouthern SothoSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTatarTeluguThaiTurkishTurkmenUkrainianUrduUyghurUzbekVietnameseWelshWestern FrisianXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu

Definitions from Oxford Languages

Canada's literacy rate is over 99%.

Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.

Canada literacy rate for 2018 was 99.00%, a 0% increase from 2015.

Canada literacy rate for 2015 was 99.00%, a 0% increase from 2010.

Canada literacy rate for 2010 was 99.00%, a 0% increase from 2005.

Canada literacy rate for 2005 was 99.00%, a 0% increase from 2000.

(https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/CAN/canada/literacy-rate#:~:text=Adult%20literacy%20rate%20is%20the,a%200%25%20increase%20from%202015.)

Would you like to know what countries have near perfect literacy rates?  Check this out https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-highest-literacy-rates-in-the-world.html

Food Food Food ~ Brisket

This is probably the best pot roast I have ever made. Hubby is not a big meat eater and he had TWO plates . . . LOL. Served with cabbage salad and beet relish. The only thing I did different is that I put a lid on and cooked it in the oven.

https://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/braised-brisket-beef-alcohol-free

Quantity : 6 servings
Preparation : 15 min Cooking : 2 h 30 min
410 calories/serving

Ingredients
4 carrots, cut into large pieces 400 g
4 potatoes, whole or halved 800 g
3 turnips, cut into large pieces 500 g
3 stalks celery, cut into large pieces 200 g
2 onions, finely chopped 400 g
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

1.2 kg blade pot roast
3 1/2 tbsp butter, unsalted 45 g
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil 23 mL
1/2 cup beef broth 125 mL
1/2 cup water 125 mL
3 tbsp tomato paste 45 mL
ground pepper to taste [optional]
1 pinch salt [optional] 0.1 g

Before you start
A pressure cooker will reduce the cooking time from 2½ h to 40 min.

Method
Prepare the vegetables: peel the carrots, potatoes and turnips, then cut the carrots, turnips, and celery stalks into large pieces (about 2-3 cm thick). Leave the potatoes whole or cut them in half if big. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Leave the meat whole.
Heat the butter and oil in a pressure cooker or in a thick-base roasting pan over medium heat. Brown the meat thoroughly on each side until golden, 7-8 min total. Take the meat out and set aside.
Add the onion and garlic to the pressure cooker or pan and sauté 3-4 min until translucent. Add the other vegetables and cook 2-3 min, then pour in the broth. Scrape the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon, then pour in about 1 cm water. Add the tomato paste and put the meat back into the pan. Add salt and pepper.
If you are using a pressure cooker, cover and close, and bring to high pressure (*Follow the manufacturer's directions to determine when high pressure has been reached). Cook for 40 min. If you are not using a pressure cooker, cover the pan, lower the heat, and simmer for about 2 h 30 min.
Serve the meat and vegetables with the cooking juices.

Observations
This stew can be made a few days ahead and reheated over moderate heat.

Goodreads 2020 ~ The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

I have lost track of how many times I have read this book.  It is a fascinating story which earned the the author, Pearl S. Buck, a Pulitzer Prize.  Buck is also a Nobel Prize winner.  

That Buck lived in China is very obvious in her understanding and descriptions of the places, people and their lives.  The novel is about Wang Lung, a poor man, and his family who live through one of the most exciting and terrifying of times in China, the early twentieth century.  I feel like I know and understand the characters.  To me, that is the sign of a great novel.

Big List of Canadian Artists and Bands ~ Allison Crowe

Allison Louise Crowe (born November 16, 1981) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, whose home is Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Crowe began performing professionally in 1996 at the age of fifteen, doing regular sets in coffee-houses and bars of Vancouver Island. Her recording debut came in 2001 with the EP Lisa's Song + 6 Songs. Her first full-length albums, Secrets and Tidings, were released in 2004. (Tidings was originally released in EP form in 2003.) Allison Crowe: Live at Wood Hall, a double concert album, was released in July 2005.

Of Scottish, Irish, and Manx descent, Crowe grew up surrounded by jazz, classical music, and rock. She discovered additional influences, such as Ani DiFranco, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, and Counting Crows. On Amazon.com's downloads, she has simultaneously been in the top three on the Rock Singer-Songwriters, Hymns, Blues, Jazz, Broadway, and British & Celtic Folk charts.

She accompanies herself on guitar and the piano, on which she has been classically trained. She is largely a solo performer, though she has been part of bands as well, notably in a trio format as the Allison Crowe Band (2000 to 2003). Crowe mostly performs her own songs, which she has been quoted as saying vary among rock, jazz, and folk.

Crowe is also acclaimed for her interpretations of songs by a wide variety of composers, from Jerome Kern to Pearl Jam, including Lennon–McCartney and fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. Her version of Cohen's "Hallelujah" was named Record of the Week by Record of the Day (UK) in August 2004 and November 2005.  (from Wikipedia)

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Canada's East Coast was settled by Vikings around 1000 AD

Vinland (pronounced "Winland") was the name given to part of North America by the Icelandic Norseman Leif Eiríksson about year 1000. Archeological evidence of a Norse settlement in North America was found in L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada in the 1960s. Whether this was the Vinland of the Norse accounts is the subject of debate.

Landing at L'Anse aux Meadows reenactment 2000

Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland.

When Hal and I toured the east coast last year we wanted to go to L'Anse aux Meadows but to take the ferry, drive there, see the site, drive back to the ferry, and return to Nova Scotia could have taken as much as 3-4 days and we only had two weeks for our vacation.  We will go back one day.

If you'd like to learn more about this topic, please check out this link . . . https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/canadaweb/factfile/Unique-facts-Canada2.htm