Writing and Painting Inside - Forget it !

This author finds that with the advent of summer and its warmer weather, the nesting habits of birds and natures' radiance is much more conducive to being outside than typing on a computer inside.
As I lazily daydream through a recently cleaned and sparking windowpane at the lovely trees and flowers, butterflies and other flying creatures fluttering about, no thoughts of yesteryear come to mind. Writing another book seems a waste of time when one could be outside enjoying the sunshine. Or is that just an excuse not to write?

I have yet to find a publisher for my first, but definitely not my last, book. A publisher recently told me that it was a myth regarding someone else picking up the tab for printing and distribution of books even those from best seller writers of today. I believe him now, although I did not at first. Nothing is free in this life and that goes for publishing and printing a book it seems. It is discouraging of course to a would-be writer, because lack of funds should not stop one from being published and heard or recognized for one's writing abilities. However, I know I will find away around this ghastly problem eventually and will not stay discouraged.

Am I dreaming to think that everything on my message board will come true? Getting my book published, printed and out there for the world to enjoy as it conveys my philosophy on my life's issues are on the board big time, up there right along with money and good health as a primary goals in my life.

I have hear that everyone needs at least ten minutes of sunshine daily to get nourishment from the sun's rays. Therefore, as my neighbor tells me to do, I will get out there and sit a spell in the sunshine to soak up its warmth and feel better about myself and the economy can go to the devil.
God Bless and Keep You All
Your friend, Cooky

2014 Halloween At Jelly Stone Park, Luray, VA

Well, the yearly Halloween festivities at ole Jelly Stone park, near Harper's Ferry, in the Blue Ridge are usually booked solid this time of year. However, its fun for all, lots of happy campers and kids all scampering all over doing the hay rides and decorating pumpkins.

Many campers decorate their site in various Halloween fashion trying to win the prize for best decorated.  There's lots of activities for the kids, including but not limited to carving pumpkins and hayrides. The weather varies from being extremely cool the last few years - to mild and utterly gorgeous some years.  Leaves go swirling and floating around in their beautiful fall, gypsy colors and the smell of autumn campfires abound. Folks are happy and pleasingly festive during these two or three weekends that the park is open for Halloween and this Fall celebration.  Many book their site a year in advance like my family does.

 If you are lucky enough to get an electric cart to ride its easier on the knees for us oldies.  Cabins are available that accommodate families who stay together in a row.   Grand kids, cousins, all end up sleeping in the cabin and watching tv, with a lovely fire and relative comforts of home.My granddaughter's birthday was celebrated at their camp site last year.  I couldn't make it for the last few years because of my health.  I did send lots of treats and presents for all of the grands.  Seven last time I counted. My grandson's run a muck in their Halloween costumes and everyone totally enjoys themselves. The campfires are warm and welcoming and being out in the elements is not so bad after all. The mountain air is fresh and clean and its delightful to feel the fall breathe in the air. Just the drive up there is usually a feast for the eyes and well worth the trip.

 Sorry I'm going to miss it this year because my ole arthritis is acting up but...maybe next year.

School Time Again - Sep 2014

School buses:  The beginning of school  is a happy time for parents and children. Not for me.     I say, "humbug" to school buses, not necessarily schools.  They are big, loud, rumble and clank along in the early morning hours, then comes back during the evenings to do it all over again.The noise wakes me so early and breaks up my sleep.  Parents and children wake me up talking and yelling happily and excited.  Gosh forbid a bus is running late.  The commotion among riders and parents is really loud at bus stops.  Of course, there are always bullies or kids picking on each other making squealing noises.  "You forgot your lunch, is another favorite saying of parents.     Buses that come near your street, or home, are definitely heard by all.  Buses and trash trucks could wake up the dead with they noisy operations.One picks up children and the other picks up trash.  It seems that's the way society rolls in this day and age a well as, many years ago.     One can hear their brakes squeal and loud clanking of doors, as they open and shut on roads and in neighborhoods well before the sun comes up.  They squeak and shake noisily as they rattle along streets  picking up children at corners and bus stops.    Noisy parents and children start heading for bus stops with no regard for sleeping neighbors.   Now, not everyone is that way.  It is an exciting and gleeful time for parents and children as they walk in the cool mornings and warm evenings in flocks or singularly towards that big yellow bus.   Bus stops are on each corner, off of highways, on side roads and in every nook and cranny.  You just can't get away from them. They obstruct traffic when they stop and it is the law, one must stop behind them.  Have you ever been behind a school bus on a long, country road with a gazillion stops along the way? It is exasperating to say the least.   "Patient,"  is a good word to describe bus drivers, bless their pee picking souls.  Take care
and keep the faith.

My Glories: Aug 2014

 The Morning Glories on my porch are less this year.  They are still beautiful to look at with their vibrant colors early in the mornings.    Each morning, I must glance out the window to make sure they are still there as if during the night they might disappear.     By mid-day when the sun is high, they are closed tight with just the green leaves and vines showing.    Usually, we leave the vines up throughout the winter and the seeds fall in front of the porch.  However, last year, we removed most of the dead vines before the seed-pods opened.   I did manage to pot a few seeds, that had fallen on the table.   I was afraid we wouldn't get many on the porch rails this year.  Thank goodness, some survived. One large vine is actually crawling on the ground around the outside of the deck.     I might try planting moon-glories next year for blooming at night.  
Keep The Faith

Thanks To My Better-Half

My Better Half:
I recently got out of the hospital once again.  Different medics, hospital, illness, etc.  Out of all this help, it is husband's daily ritual of giving me an IV that most amazes me.   His very large, beautiful hands with the largest fingers I have ever seen, fingers that has helped so many people during his lifetime, are now nimble enough to clean and feed tiny tubes into place, that give my body the fluids and antibiotics that it needs to recover.  When people say, I am lucky to have him, I counter, that he is lucky to have me also!  However, I do realize just how lucky I am to have him in this late part of my life.  Not exactly sure how, I could have managed without him.  He walks with a cane and has the same age-related problems that I have, some are even worse than mine.    Yet, he continues caring, loving and helping me and all that need him, without complaining, day in and day out despite his own handicaps. He brings joy to my family and many others daily.

Recently, he flew to his Canadian home town to console and visit a beloved brother-in-law who is dying of cancer. While there, he helped his sister plant at least four-hundred potato hills among other things, discussed how to correct problems that his brothers were facing and generally helped wherever he could.    He always stops to visit folks in our own neighborhood where we live. Normally, folks around home seek his knowledgeable brain-data base of experience and information regarding anything and everything.  My adult children call him "McGeiver" after the TV series depicting a man who always comes up with the right answer to solving any problem.

Surely God has a place in heaven for my hubby.  He is not exactly a saint, but Oh,  what a strong big heart he has.   Thank you my love for marrying me and for all you do for us.  God Bless you,  hugs and kisses,

Your wife. :)

Summer Heat

Hi folks ! Can you believe another 4th of July is here. In addition and right on schedule is the summer heat and thunder storms, that come at the end of a long hot day.  It was 102 degrees today and you could have fried an egg on any surface outside.    Hopefully, the rain will help cool things down a bit and give the grass a good drink.  Wishful thinking: "Maybe the rain won't flood every river in America wiping out houses and  creating mud slides?"  Thank goodness, the National's baseball game wasn't rained out. 
       Thank goodness inside is cool and inviting. The elevated electric bills are worth the comfort.  Especially, when we barely notice the heat outside, until we walk and get into the car for a quick shopping trip to wally world, our one stop store for all our needs, then the heat blast you like a furnace taking your breath away until you turn on the air conditioner in the car.   Despite the traffic and packed parking lots, we reached our destination and enjoyed  a couple hours of shopping and people watching.  Love to people watch !
       Such a diverse-looking crowd going in and out; it's like a three-ring circus. I love to watch all the nationalities, different sizes, shapes, outfits, families and all the diversity of folks shopping there. It relieves me to know that, I fit right in with the crowd !  No matter how we are dressed, how much money we make, the color of our skin, our shape and size, or how we are dressed - it all boils down to how polite we are to
each other when its that crowded.  Unlike some days, I am glad to report that, my experience today revealed the crowds to be mostly peaceful, as we sidestep each other in the aisles - and  mostly polite to each other while sharing the same space.   Keep the faith.  

  
  

Apple Cider Donuts Recipe - Oct 2013

Found this wonderful recipe for apple cider fried donuts on pinterest   Just bought a deep fryer and will let you know how they turn out.  Recipe follows:

Apple Cider Doughnuts
Adapted from A Bowl of Mush

Ingredients:
1 cup apple cider
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (softened)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 1/2 to 4* cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Vegetable oil for frying (You’ll need a lot!)
1 cup cinnamon and sugar, mixed

Directions:
The directions start off with boiling the apple cider until it reduces to about a quarter cup in size. I eyeballed it, so it was probably closer to half a cup, and things worked out OK. Allow this to cool completely.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar with the butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs. Add the buttermilk and reduced apple cider.    In another bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.

Add the flour mixture slowly to the liquid mixture, and mix enough to combine. You want the dough to not be sticky any more. You’ll be spreading it out like bread or cookie dough on the counter, so add flour as needed to make it the right consistency. Transfer the dough to a floured board and knead slightly to combine well without over working the dough.

     Roll or pat the dough to a 1/2 inch thickness. At this point, you could use two circular cookie cutters (one larger than the other) to create doughnut circles. I just made little doughnut holes instead: use your hands to create small balls of dough.
     Place these doughnuts, a few at a time, into a deep pan  that’s been filled and heated with enough oil to fill it approximately three inches deep.
     Fry a few doughnuts at a time, turning once or twice until they are browned and fully cooked through. Allow the hot doughnuts to drain on some paper towel. While the doughnuts are still warm, coat them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Enjoy

Pictures: Courtesy Of Alexandra's Kitchen Blog

Found these delicious looking apple cider donuts, along with an easy homemade yogurt recipe, on the Alexandra's Kitchen blog. I follow her cooking style and the many recipes that she posts. I can't wait to try these donuts.

Hello folks ! So good to see you. Happy Fall harvest pumpkin season. Vegetables this time of year are nice, healthy, warming food for the soul and body. Roasted is my favorite that are simply delicious to my palate. Having time to kill, I am continually trying new recipes from Pinterest and the Food Network. Cooking is my passion for the moment, in between creating and working on digital art projects. I'm no cook, although my alter ego is named "Cooky." Some of my ideas turn out alright and others are not so good. Here are a few mentionables.

First, I made a dump cake from a recipe on Pin. It was something I wanted to try but never had. Yuck ! It was the worse tasting stuff ever. I re-read the recipes and looked at dozens of pictures. Yep, I had made it and it looked like the pictures. Although, I had been sceptical about spreading dry cake mix on pineapple covered with bananas (a deviation from the original recipe) to say the least of my problems with the recipe. Second, I didn't like the mushy texture, nor the harsh flavor.

Subseqently, with a whole cake pan full of this stuff, I had to do something to save it, if possible. Luckily, I found another recipe on Pin for Cinnamon Bread Bread Pudding offered by a lovely young lady, and was able to reconstitute the entire dump cake mess into something very delicious. It turned out to be a delightful, pleasant tasting banana-pineapple-coconut bread pudding. Whew ! Another cooking disaster saved at the last minute.

Second, a previous failure had been trying to make cinnamin rolls from cresant rolls. It was a disaster because the butter, sugar and cinnamin didn't combine very well on those small scraps, that stuck together of cresant dough. So the leftovers went into the above mentioned bread pudding. That worked out nicely. Another previous food recipe success was the squash pie made from acorn squash. Now, that was very successful and delicious.

Third and fourth were successful craft and painting ideas. I made the coffee-filter flowers that turned out beautifully. Luckly, my daughter had done it before and she dipped each flower tip gently into food colors. My hubby then attached them to skewers and pushed them into a small pumpkin for a really AWEsome display. This lead to my painting with the left over food colors. See the results for yourself. I kinda like them. Well, tc and keep the faith. Your friend, Cooky.

Autumn's Gypsy Colors and Hues

Wow, how I love this time of year! October is a colorful and exciting season full of festivities, end of summer yardsales and preparations for the holiday seasons - Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Sundays are the very best. Being home watching football, drinking beer or wine, eating pizza or ribs with your hubby or significant other. A full belly and roof over your head makes for a peaceful scenario free from the fast paced political campaigns and not worrying about the four hundred dollar electricity bill looming in the background. American life has and hasn't changed much from the old Jimmy Stewart movies shown every year about miracles at Christmas. Do you think our economy will improve in the future - its very doubful. Keep the faith.

Designs & Pictures By Cooky

Hello folks, so glad you could stop by. Get in touch with your creative side and pick up the ole paint brush, pencil, pen or whatever, and just do it - start painting, it's that easy !

Wish you were there right now?

Mountain View - Mother Nature Series;
Let these pictures take you to a quiet place in your mind. Serene, peaceful, feel the tiny bubbles of early morning mist gently floating in the air.  Take a deep fresh breath of cool mountain air and relax from your busy schedules.

Greeting Card Originals
Ethnic Series - "Main Street"

Original/sold, prints available