Of Fishing, Food and more...

This last weekend, we had a good friend and his brother visit Tybee Island. Daniel and Joel actually have been friends for a good bit longer than I have known Daniel. I met both of them at the same time in Fort Worth 24 years ago!

We got to spend a lot of time with them last weekend and had the best time chatting, sightseeing and eating some great food! On one of the days the three guys went fishing and had some great success (as well as a lot of fun!).
As a result, our freezer is filled with many pounds of the freshest trout fillets. And yesterday, we found a wonderful Moroccan recipe, which even used some of the preserved lemons I wrote about here.
It's so easy, I thought I'd share it with you:

Skate with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives (from Arabesque)
(This calls for skate, but it's delicious with any white fish fillet)
Serves 4

4 TS extra virgin olive oil (I used Moroccan olive oil - delicious!)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
a pinch of each ground ginger, ground cumin and ground chili pepper
about 2 pounds fish fillets, skinned
salt
juice of 1 lemon
peel of 1 preserved lemon, chopped
8 to 12 large green olives, pitted and chopped
2 TS chopped flat-leaf parsley or coriander
To serve: 1 lemon, cut into quarters

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet and add garlic, ginger, cumin and chili pepper just before adding the fish fillets. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook over low heat for 4 minutes, then turn over, add the lemon juice, and cook for another 4 minutes, or until fillets are done.

Add the preserved lemon peel, green olives, and chopped parsley or coriander and let them heat through in the oil and juices. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Wonderful!!
This morning, I felt inspired to decorate our dining room table with fall colors. Decorating does not come easily to me, so I always really love it when something comes together and looks pleasing to me.
I love all the little pieces (they all have special meanings) and the flowers and peppers mixed in.
I hope you are all having a wonderful autumn day!

P.S. I haven't had time to touch my paints in a few days, but am itching to create something very soon! I'll keep you posted!

Knit, Knit, Knit...

Some of you may have been wondering where I've been lately. Things have been so busy here between friends visiting this weekend and then lots of projects I had to get knit. I made the baby booties for our neighbor's baby shower, which was this afternoon. Aren't they so cute?! I love knitting little things with such tiny needles.
And then I had a run on my scarves on eBay. I like to knit ahead, but here I was just knitting to keep up. I'm not complaining though - it's nice that they are selling! When I looked at the little dish I put all the yarn snippets in, I just had to take a picture, they looked so colorful!
And this is the only scarf I knit that isn't spoken for and is going in my Etsy knit shop tonight. Even though it was warm, warm, warm today, I needed to knit something for fall and winter. It's that time of the year, right?!
I am so happy you still visit my blog even if I haven't had time to come by yours. I miss you all and will be by soon to read what you've been up to!! In the meantime, I send you all a big cyber hug!

Illustration Friday - Germs

As the golden sunlight washed over her, she felt the tiny germs of her new life take root and grow.

I wanted to participate in Illustration Friday this week, but wasn't so thrilled about the theme of germs...until, that is, I remembered that the word germ can have a very different meaning from the one we are so used to hearing now during flu season.

I had fun with this painting, using lots of patterns again instead of the molding paste. I used a good bit of gold, which looks beautiful in the original painting, but doesn't quite show up in the scan.

Your comments on my last post were just wonderful! You all enrich my life in so many ways for which I am extremely grateful! Here's to an amazing week for all of us!!

The Joy Diet - Chapter 2 - Truth

This week's chapter in The Joy Diet, hosted by Jamie Ridler, was about truth, and more specifically our own truth and the stories we tell ourselves.
I find that I often hear about "the truth" as though it is something absolute. I don't know about you, but I find truth to be highly subjective. And because of that I try to never presume I know someone else's truth.
I have trouble enough knowing what's true for me... I realized many years ago that lying to myself doesn't help me or anyone else, but still sometimes I tell myself a story and don't even know it.
Last March, for example, I was talking with an artist and professor at the school, where Daniel teaches. When he asked me if I was also an artist, I told him no, that I wasn't. At that moment I heard a very clear inner voice saying: "Stop lying to yourself." To say I was startled was an understatement - I don't usually hear voices...
The very next week I started painting and now I know that I have been an artist all along, even when when I was telling a different story.
The thing is...I didn't even know that I was telling myself a story until I was startled enough to see my truth!

Just this week when I was taking kayaking lessons, I was confronted with another story I was telling myself, namely that I don't really like being on the water that much. The truth, however, (my truth) was that I just have some irrational fears to overcome and when those were confronted, I LOVED being on the water.
So, even though I try to be truthful to myself, I still have stories I make up and that's fine.
We are all trying to do our best with the baggage we carry, the things we've learned and unlearned along the way, the relationships we are trying to form, the situations we are dealing with in our lives, and the many fears we all face every day. At some point or another, we've all been injured and many of the stories we invent have helped to protect us.

(All photos were taken when we traveled in Ireland in August of 2008)

So when I tell myself a less than truthful story, I try to remember to be kind to myself. I know that when I'm ready, I'll change that story, and as soon as the story changes, so will my life!

Like Two Kids in a Candy Store...

Once a year, the Savannah College of Art and Design, where Daniel teaches, organizes an Art Material Trade Show, open to the public. For three days, quality vendors set up booths and sell their art materials for 50-80% off retail prices. They are available to answer questions, do demos, and even give away freebies.
Daniel and I were in 7th heaven. He talked to many vendors about their products and using them in his classes, to past and present students and to other professors. I got to meet Mark Golden of Golden Acrylics and buy all kinds of supplies at super low prices. What a day!! Can't wait to use it all tomorrow and paint, paint, paint!

Hope you are all doing well! I'm looking forward to visiting your blogs this weekend.