My Pie Theory of People

I think people are like pies. Are you conjuring up images of luscious cherry pie in your mind? Really?

Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind! I was thinking of a pie that looks more like this:

And this really does explain an awful lot about the many differences between folks. Because you just can't have more than 100%. That's all there is and there is no more. Just 100% to go all the way around into the many facets of who we are as individuals.

So it just stands to reason that if a person is really good at one thing, that takes up a lot of their 100%, which leaves less for everything else. Make any sense to you? It does to me.

Take engineers for example. These guys are blessed with brains and book learning. They eat calculus as an appetizer. And they design and build amazing things, from tiny little devices that hold and play an amazing amount of music to buildings and bridges and roads. They also tend (note I said tend) to be dull as dishwater socially. But all those social grace percentages got shifted over to their thinking and learning percentages.

Take artists as another example. We are blessed with creativity. But that high percentage of artistic abilities that we have leaves us a wee bit short in other areas. Know what I mean?

But hey, the world needs both engineers and artisits. And all sorts of other types as well. We just all have different strengths and weaknesses, and that's OK. In fact, as someone once said, "It's a good thing!"

Oh Blessed Summer!

At long, long last, summer has finally come to the Pacific Northwest.  While the rest of the country has been baking and sweltering under a rather destructive heatwave, we have been ridiculously cool, cloudy and wet.  But now, now we have summer.  We will actually be in the 80s for several days in a row, and that hasn't happened since last year!  We normally would have even had some 90 degree days by now, but I don't need it that hot. 

A juvenile Anna's comes in to eat the
early Lucifer Crocosmia blooms.

This is the kind of weather that makes you remember exactly why it is you live here and put with all of the rain!  Because right now, the weather is perfect; the sky is blue, blue, blue; the grass and shrubs and plants are green as can be; flowers are blooming everywhere and little hummers are regular visitors in my gardens.



This flower garden is off the back patio. 
I can see it from the kitchen window too.
It has taken several years to get it to look this way.

This hardy geranium grows like a weed!
It even grows right up into the hibiscus.



Lady Euphoria, my fairy maiden.
She peeks out from behind plants
and now has Scottish Bluebells growing
beside her.

Lucifer Crocosmia in my patio garden

A Lucifer Crocosmia bud has just popped out of the leaves.

A more mature flower bracht with one bud about to open at the base.

An immature female Anna's hummer guards her supply of Crocosmia, which is in my patio garden, just outside of the kitchen window.

A Gutsy Easy Pasta Maindish Salad for Summer #2

OK folks, my motto for hot weather is 'summer is for salads'.  And I don't mean tossed green salads either!  I mean a salad that eats like a meal.

Once again, I started with one of those Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad mixes; this time I used Bacon and Ranch.  I also cooked the pasta just 10 minutes instead of the 12 minutes they suggest.  Al dente pasta is much healthier, and mushy pasta in a salad just doesn't appeal to me in any kind of appetizing way!

Now comes the good part, all the added stuff:  chopped bell peppers, grated carrots, chopped black olives, grated Tillamook cheddar (I live near Tillamook), chunked up chicken breast and some extra bacon. 

For the chicken, I like to use the frozen Foster Farms Chicken Breast Grilled Strips. You can thaw just what you need in the microwave, and if you have a Costco nearby, they sell large packages much cheaper than the small packages that grocery stores sell. In fact, I use this chicken in a lot of different dishes. It's really good quality and so convenient to use.  For the bacon, I also take the easy route and use the already cooked real bacon bits.  In the summer I hate to heat up the kitchen any more than I have to.

I made the dressing in the box according to the directions, but then I added some extra ranch dressing (I use lite, but not fat-free), and a little milk to make it creamier.  Just wing it here!

So there you have it.  QED!  :)



Favorite Shops

I have recently been spending a lot of time on Etsy, where I have my shop.  Good thing huh?  I'm part of a great team our fearless leader A'esha calls Madcap.  We have our own Facebook pages, blog, and twitter account.  And then one day she asked for suggestions, and I suggested, being a good team member, and she made me a team leader!  So one of my favorite places to shop these days is on Etsy. 

Which is where I found the following two photographers, on Etsy.  Now, being a photographer myself, I'm pretty picky and exacting.  And these two photographers can really create some beautiful images.  So I want to spread the word, because as a fellow artist, sometimes you have to live on a lot of kudos between the pesos!

The first shop I found is Dave Dilli Photography at http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaveDilliPhotography?ref=pr_shop_more.

              

Above are just a few of the beautiful images Dave has created.  Dave lives in the desert southwest, so the majority of his work is of the gorgeous scenics you find only in that part of the country.  Beautiful, beautiful use of light and spectacular composition.  You really must check out his shop!

The next amazing photograhper I found is Larry Lynch at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Larry727?ref=pr_shop_more.

              

I just really, really like the way Larry sees the world and the images that intrigue him.  And his ability to capture that image and share it with all of us.... well it's just plain old excellent! 

So everyone hop over to these shops.  You won't be sorry!

A Gutsy Easy Pasta Maindish Salad for the Summer

OK, so I whipped up this dish over the weekend for my hubby and me for dinner, over the weekend, and it was so easy and turned out so well, I thought I would share it.  It's easy, healthy, and appeals to many taste pallets.

So I started with one of those Betty Crocker Classic Suddenly Salad Mixes you find in the grocery store.  Cook the pasta a minute less than they say; it's healthier that way and won't fall apart on you when you make the salad.  I made the dressing as directed, but I added some fresh chopped flat Italian parsley from my garden, and whizzed it all up in my mini-Cuisinart, because I could! 

Now comes the good part!  In a medium mixing bowl I put some chunked up cooked chicken breast.  Then I grated in one carrot, and added some frozen white corn, frozen peas, canned white beans drained, chopped tomato, shredded Italian cheese, and sliced Kalamata olives.  Adjust the proportions to fit your own taste, but I was going for a variety of healthy goodies that would blend well and not over power each other.  And I also had them in my kitchen at the time!

Now add the dressing and mix well; then add the pasta and gently mix.  Chill well, the salad and yourself, and enjoy!  The colors in the salad are really nice and bright and you've just turned a basic box salad into a great meal!

Four new bracelets at Art by Andrea

 Pearls

Swarovski

Peyote Stitch