Wait a Second!

When the phone rang and the voice on the other end identified herself as one of the judges who had interviewed me the day before, my heart skipped a beat - had I won??? And then I heard the dreaded words, "runner-up". My heart fell to my shoes but her words penetrated my 17 year old mind, "You were my first choice, but the three men on the panel went for Suzie." (Name changed.) I thought, "Of course they did. Suzie is cute and vivacious."

The woman's voice continued, "I felt so strongly that you were the best choice because your competitors forgot the competition to validate you during the interview." She then reminded me, "When you said you wanted to one day write and illustrate children's books they all got excited and said that you should do that! I have never seen that kind of peer support exhibited during a competition before."

She continued, "So I have conferred with the other regional judges and you will be the Reserve for the entire State of Texas. Should anyone be unable to go, you will attend in their place, so pack your bags and be ready to go."

Wow. The situation put me in one of the most awkward positions I have known. Should I pray for one of the regional winners to get sick or injured? I wasn't sure what to do but I surely do remember packing and hoping, and then with a heavy heart unpacking it all later.

What was all the fuss about? I had interviewed for a place in the Oddfellow's United Nations Pilgrimage for Youth. The adventure of a lifetime. It had begun with a written essay and a submission of a resume. I was then chosen, along with four other classmates to attend the deciding interview, ultimately losing to the bubbly and wide-eyed Suzie.

A very merry UN birthday

I share my birthday with the United Nations. Not terribly exciting, but it had put the UN in my thoughts every year. By the time I reached High School I decided I should learn Russian and maybe become a UN translator. It seemed a very exotic career choice at the time. I didn't get very far in my Russian language study as I worked through the one library book I could find, but I enjoyed reading Tolstoy and listening to Tchaikovsky and I even taught myself to play "Laura's Theme" from Dr Zhivago on the piano. That was about as Russian as I got.

I often wonder if my life would have been much different if I had boarded one of the buses bound for two weeks of behind the scenes exposure to the United Nations, New York City and Washington DC. I know I would have enjoyed the speaking tour after my return more than Suzie appeared to. Unlike almost everyone else I knew, I enjoyed public speaking and the idea of writing and delivering a speech to an interested audience was appealing. Perhaps Suzie quickly realised that there were few in our High School audience who were truly interested.

Part of the allure of the United Nations was the idea of so many cultures coming together in one place seeking common ground. I found the world a fascinating place with amazing diversity and while I had patriotic pride for my homeland, the wider world also held great appeal. Perhaps I had a bigger voyage to make. Maybe it was just a part of preparing me for living abroad. It certainly did not escape my thinking as I packed my bags for Australia and boarded the plane with my Aussie husband. This time I had not won a competition - it was for real. There were many behind the scenes things for me to learn and see, and I was with my first choice partner (and vice versa) for the adventure of our life together.

However, I am still to write and illustrate a children's book. It is on the Bucket List.

Layout created with digital paper from the kit "Steampunk" by Nicole Young.

When in Rome

Good things take time. After all, don't we often quote, "Rome wasn't built in a day," to make us feel better when something difficult takes longer than expected?

As it turned out, this was not the right month for me to learn that I had to "hurry up" my Italian holiday photo book. Yes, I had repeatedly postponed its completion. After all, it is a personal project and as such the deadline is completely capricious allowing me to come and go as I wish. Goals are good, pressure is not. I thought everything was just fine, as long as it was finished by Christmas.

And then a spanner came along. Two weeks ago, you may recall, I got notice that the final 40 pages had to be completed and the whole 100 page book edited, proofed and off to print by the end of this month. I was so overwhelmed that I simply ignored it for a couple of weeks. Hoping, I suppose, that somehow I would find adrenalin induced powers to acheive the impossible this weekend.


By tonight my folly was evident. It took all day to complete this layout - which features my own digitally designed 'paper' - which will be used for all the Rome pages. Now, designing the paper was no easy task. Foundational things rarely are. In this case, I spent several hours going through my hundreds of photos looking for something that would work as a pattern. I originally thought marble, or columns. Then I saw a photo I took of the pathway into a recently discovered banquet hall in the Roman Forum. At the time I took it my thought had been that this was truly ancient paving that we were trodding upon, so I paused and snapped a photo of the worn mosaic style stones. The photo was modified in 'paint' mode and then made a bit transparent to help fade it back. The same overlay as on my Tuscany pages was applied, recoloring to match the new colour scheme. Voila. I just love serendipity! The rest of the layout just fell into place!

Having said all that, while today was focused on this layout, it was hardly just about this layout.

I also spent an hour or more with each of the following:

• walking our dog to the vet for an emergency visit (he is fine now, thanks!)



• monitoring our bathroom renovation (sadly the toilet didn't get installed today - wrong one delivered)
  
  
• processing my CM order



• doing some background work for my job



• chatting on the phone with a sick friend who couldn't join me for lunch as planned



• doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen and cooking dinner



• catching up with the kids and hubby when they got home
  
  
• writing a few friends by email and on FB, and
  
  
• accidentally purchasing my first free kindle book on Amazon (don't ask!).

And, oh yes, I made some brownies, too! To cut the stress. And because I needed chocolate since the adrenalin had not kicked in. Yes, I am an emotional eater. After all, comfort food is ... comforting.

So that really only left a few hours for my digital scrapping! Isn't that how it usually works when you 'work from home'?

So, sometime after 10pm the layout was finalised and approved by family. Now, only 39 more pages to go.

Heart racing. Breathing shallow. Nope. Sanity prevails. Just because "all roads lead to Rome" doesn't mean I have to go there right now! So I am leaving Rome. I am going back to Tuscany to finish polishing it off. After I send that book off to be printed, I will return to Rome and Venice - and the rest of that wonderful holiday as Volume 3. After all, one of the best things about travelling is remembering it later.

I intend to enjoy that process to the fullest extent possible. I think the Italians would approve. In fact, they might say, "Rome wasn't built in a day - take-a your time!"

Salud!

Products used in this layout:
Colour modified freebie overlay from Creative Memories. For instructions on how to make extractions (or embellishents) see my webinar link at right.

Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie

I am up to my eyeballs in software programs - learning this and learning that. My brain is now officially mush.

Not a good place to be when it is time to write my weekly post, so I'll just go with the mushy flow and share a pumpkin recipe.

Yes, I know, I haven't posted recipes before. Maybe that is because I am not a great cook. I do cook, though, and I have some killer dishes that can be whipped up if I am in the mood. I'm just not in that kind of mood very often.

Cooking is an artform. And it takes time and passion. I suppose I would rather invest the time and passion in other directions, unless I am really craving some Toll House
doughcookies.

However, as a nod to the Northern hemisphere and all the big, bright orange pumpkins popping out in autumnal decorations, here is my offering. It is my adaptation from a label I saved from a can of Libby's pumpkin pie filling during our posting in America a while ago.

By way of explanation for my international friends: there is no canned pumpkin in Australia and all my American pumpkin recipes call for canned pumpkin. So you can imagine my dilemma the first time I wanted to make a pumpkin pie down here. It was very similar to when I was asked to make mashed potatoes and I couldn't find a box of Hungry Jack Instant Potato Flakes. (Perhaps moving to Australia was a GOOD thing in that respect!)

The REAL pumpkins I use in my recipes are Butternut and Queensland Blue. The Butternut has a creamier, milder flavour (and is called a squash in America). The Blue has been known to grow in our garden.

My Aussie Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups mashed REAL cooked pumpkin*
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup evaporated milk

1 defrosted Shortbread sheet for pie shell

Optional: serve with a dollop of whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 425F or 220C (do not use fan forced). Preheat cookie sheets if you are using metal or foil pie pans (do NOT use cookie sheet if using ceramic or glass).


2. After boiling and draining the pumpkin, puree it. Then reduce it down over a low heat for about 5 minutes, keep stirring. Let cool.
3. Combine filling ingredients in order listed.
   Pour into pie shell(s) (2 if shallow, 1 if deep dish - the recipe makes about 4 cups of filling).


4. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350F/180C and bake an additional 20-30 minutes or until pie test as done when an inserted knife in the center comes out clean.

Serve with toppings if desired. Delicious hot or cold.

*Cooked pumpkin: Cut away the rind and remove the fibrous center with the seeds, then cube and boil in water until soft, and then drain and puree. (If making soup, I boil in stock.)
NOTE: Since there is no food coloring in REAL pumpkin, your pie may not be as orange as you are used to. But it will taste a whole lot better!

---

Hope you enjoy it - there is something satisfying about making something from scratch. Leftover pumpkin (and there will be some) can be baked/roasted with dinner or turned into soup (one of my secret killer recipes). Yummmmm.

Now that I have enticed you to read this post with a promise of a sweet treat let me end with another of my favourite memories.

The Birth of the Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie

When my son was in Year 1, his teacher asked if I would speak to the 1st and 2nd graders about the American tradition of Thanksgiving. I happily agreed and we turned it into a full afternoon activity. I made patterns for them to create (with varying degrees of success) Pilgrim hats and collars or Indian feathered headbands from cardstock and paper serviettes. Two classes participated and half the children were Pilgrims and the other were designated as Indians. They enjoyed wearing their costumes and coloring in their hand-traced turkey drawings and then they settled down to hear my version of the Thanksgiving Story, which most had never heard before. As they were leaving each child received a mini pumpkin pie that I had prepared earlier. Most didn't want any at first. Ewwwwww. But then a few brave ones took a bite and came back for more. Needless to say, I went home with empty trays and the sense of a successful cultural exchange.

Enjoy the Great Pumpkin season!

Off With Their Heads!

As Spring unfolds around us in the Southern Hemisphere and the flowers bloom, the birds sing sweetly and the sun spreads its golden rays of happiness, I am always reminded of ...

THE MASSACRE OF '94

When we bought our home, the selling point was the back garden. It had everything that I felt a curious and happy child would want.

Grassy areas to run in, a veggie patch to dig in, secret nooks to hide in, stairs (just a few) to skip up and down, trees to climb and rocks to perch upon. The original owner (a landscaper) had used some lovely techniques to divide the odd shaped area into five distinct sections on three levels. Our son had turned two just before we moved in. I was jealous of him and the fun I knew he would have growing up with such a magical place just outside his back door.

One of the things the previous owner pointed out to us was that he had planted "hundreds" of daffodil bulbs in various gardens around the house. Nine months later we discovered that he had not exaggerated! One featured daffodil bed was even wreathed in heavenly-scented grape hyacinths. Beautiful.



The following year as Spring arrived, my mother came visiting from America to meet her eighth grandson who was born four months earlier. To be sure that she and her husband got a decent taste of Down Under while they were here, we hired a van and went on a road trip down along the Shipwreck Coast, up through the Adelaide Hills and inland to the outback of Broken Hill (and the gallery of Pro Hart).

The four month old was a fairly good traveler, and our almost-four year old was blissfully happy at the back of the van with his supply of audio tapes, a monstrous pile of classic children's books such as Pinocchio and Alice and Wonderland, and his newest imaginary friend Simba (yes, the lion cub) to keep him company.

When we arrived home after two weeks on the road, we sighed that sigh one finds inside a home-in-waiting. The sun was setting and as I opened windows to air the house I noticed that our garden had sprung into life in our absence. The cheerful daffodils were grinning huge smiles of welcome, and the tiny purple grape hyacinths seemed to be dancing in circles around them. Yes, there is no place like home.

The next morning I was anxious to enjoy this lovely domestic view over breakfast with my mom. I drew back the curtains in the kitchen and to my horror saw that all the hyacinths had been executed! Their bright purple heads strewn helter-skelter on the lawn!

Aghast, I cried, "What HAPPENED?" My almost-four year old followed my eyes. He had been playing in the back yard since dawn. "Oh," he chirped, "I picked them all."

"WHY???" I implored. This child was not known to be destructive and my mind boggled that he was responsible for such a murderous act. Half expecting him to make up a long and delightfully imaginative story (that would implicate Simba) I was not ready for his blunt answer.

"I didn't like them."

"Oh."


Well ... Hmmm. I guess this is what you get when you fill a child's head with stories of fancy and precocious behaviour! His nose had not grown like Pinnochio's. It wasn't Simba's fault at all. It was mine ... and Lewis Carroll's. The Queen of Hearts had planted her catchcry in his little mind. "Off with their heads!" she had cried with each reading of the story, and now he finally had found an opportunity to swiftly execute her royal decree.

My poor little hyacinths didn't get a chance to embrace their full potential that Spring. But a certain little boy learned very quickly that picking flowers without permission is NOT a good idea.

The lovely display garden has since been paved over, but as the hardy descendents of the survivors of the Massacre of '94 begin popping up around our yard this Spring, I can't help but remember ... and smile.


The featured layout uses digital product from Little Feet Digital Designs, Creative Memories and Irene Alexeeva. The Queen of Hearts illustration is from a card posted on Lambsworld.

Sweet Blogs

Another 'blog award' came my way recently. Pamela Jo from Theres Just Life sent this lovely sweetness my direction and has just written a poignant post on being exceptional. Pam's ability to see both sides of the coin and deliver her observations with humour and simplicity is what makes her blog a treat. Thank you Pam for thinking my blog is also worth visiting and introducing me to some new fun and interesting people as well!

So now, in the tradition of these awards, I will pass it on. Pam chose to award "Craft" blogs and I think I will do the same. One of the lovely things about Craft blogs is that there are usually lots of pictures and much happiness. So this Sweet Blog award seems to be quite at home there. My picks are:

Christine Lothian at Christine's Creative Capers. Chris is a very creative lady. She gained fame in Creative Memories designer circles, and is currently on several digital scrapbooking creative teams. Recently, she also began branching out with hybrid card making and is particularly enjoying her copic markers! Take a look at her work. It will bring a smile. Promise.

Janet Carr at Little Feet Digital Designs. What can I say about Janet. She is the very embodiment of sweetness as you will quickly discover by visiting her blog. Janet is the creative spark behind Little Feet Digital Designs, which you often see featured in my layouts. Be sure to take a look at her portfolio! Janet is actually responsible for my blog, too. She made me do it! So thanks Janet for opening this door of wonder to me.

These two sweet ladies have been great friends and as we have branched out into the blogosphere together, it has been wonderful to share in the journey with them.

Time Out for Italy

A friend currently travelling in Italy recently posted photos of her stay in Venice and arrival in Rome. After enjoying her notes and lingering over the memories her photos evoked of our trip there last year, I suddenly realised I have to get to work!

You may recall that a few months ago I said I would be attempting to finish our Italian Holiday book by the end of the year. However, a couple of days ago I learned that the book printer is decreasing their page limit from 100 to only 80 from November! Oh, dear! I finished page 61 a couple of weeks ago. Now I must hurry up and somehow get the last 39 pages done in the next few weeks (and edit them) in my spare time. Talk about pressure. Not feeling too confident (with everything else that is happening) that I can do it, but if the adrenalin kicks in, who knows!

So, I will keep my post brief this time and simply share a few of the pages I completed a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it will inspire me.