Blurry Photography

Sometimes getting that BLURRRRRR in the photo is a good thing!

Click here to view more blurry photos that were recently entered in a contest held by Gizmodo.

Chicken Pot Pie

I Love Pot Pies. And here's a recipe than can be baked in a pie plate like the one below or in a cast iron skillet with a pie crust top.

2 Tblspn Butter                                           

1Onion, chopped

4 carrots, sliced

2 ribs celery, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 potatoes, diced

1/2 tspn salt

1/2 tspn pepper

2 Tblspn Flour

3 Tblspn milk or cream

2 cp chicken broth
1 cp frozen peas or lima beans

4 cp chopped or shredded chicken

I like to get my chicken on the bone. I will boil the chicken & debone it. Reserving the chicken broth for later use.

Preheat oven to 400 deg. Heat butter in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, carrots and cook until the carrots begin to soften. Season with salt & pepper.

Reduce the heat and stir in the flour. Then stir in the cream and broth until combined. Cook several minutes until slightly thickened. Add chicken, frozen veget, potatoes. Remove from heat.

Place pie crust over the top of the chicken mixture. Cut vents in the top of the crust. Bake approx. 35-40 min. or until the top of the crust is browned.

**NOTE** Cooking time will be longer when baking in a pie plate with a top and bottom crust.

Faery Stockings & what's brewing....

I know all those inquiring minds out there are just "DYING"  to find out what I have been up to (besides cruising the internet for the odd & unusual...). I have been trying hard to finish up a few creations that have been languishing on my work table. But before we get to them, let me show you my latest!

Fairy Stockings! 

Complete with a faux sucker and faux candy canes (or are they fuzzy candy canes?). I've got them listed on eBay. Click here.

Wouldn't they look cute on a tabletop Halloween tree ??? HHhhmmm ...... gives me an idea.....

                                     But back to those poor languising projects. First we'll stop at my Pumpkin Patch where some JOLs are drying . Some are going to be vintagesque candy containers & a couple are just plain old JOLs (they still have all their brains about them!).

And that leads us to my Goddess. She sat on my work table for almost 6 months! Poor thing! And what was even worse she was in the guise of a man. No wonder I never could quite work the sculpt - the gender was all wrong & the intent of the piece wasn't correct. Once I decided to create my Tree Goddess, she has literally jumped from my hands with life! She's still not quite finished - I'm working on giving her 'clothes' (bark). But I'll let you have another peak when she's dry & before she gets paint.

Re-purposing Light-bulbs

Here's a link to ideas for reusing those old light bulbs when they burn out. Click here.

Growing Art ~ in the Rice Fields

In 1993, the villagers of Inkadate, Japan, in a beautification effort, planted an artistic design in a rice field. The subsequent publicity led to more designs being planted in the surrounding rice fields. And now this temporary artistic work can be seen in various places around Japan.

Different varieties of rice are planted, by hand, to achieve the designs. The finished work is not completely visible until the young shoots have begun to grow. And even then, the complete design can only really be viewed by climbing the village's watchtower or by aircraft.


Many of the rice varieties are ancient strains that range in color from red to yellow to brown.

To read more about this incredible art form, CLICK HERE .

What's the opposite of Etsy????

Regretsy

Where DIY meets WTF !

Check it out!

**WARNING!!** This site might contain some items offensive to some folks!

New Creations!

Wishing it was Halloween??? 

Here's a few items to satisfy that need!

Here's my latest eBay listings....a JOL Witch & a Steampunk Father Time Fairy Door  Click here!

And new in my Etsy Shoppe are a Haunted Halloween House and a Wicked Leaf Picture.  Click Here!

The Haunted Halloween House is covered in glitter to give a ghoulish glow. The roof comes off so that the flicker light (included) might be turned on for night time enjoyment. Skellies, tombstones, bats, a cat & a spider lurk in the yard around the house. A great addition to anyone's Halloween decorations.


The Wicked Leaf picture is based on a vintage Halloween design.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Throw me some beads Mistah!!!

Today is Mardi Gras! A jubilant celebration held before the Lenten Season begins. Mardi Gras is celebrated in many areas of the the USA but the Louisiana celebrations are the most well known. 

And having lived in SW Louisiana for several years, I can vouch for that fact! No one knows how to party like them Cajuns! And can they cook!

Here is a recipe for Crawfish Etouffee, a Louisiana classic. It can be served over rice or even over a steak. Mmm, Mmm Good!

• 2 pounds crawfish tails
• 1/4 pound butter
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup minced bell pepper
• 1/2 cup minced celery
• 2 tablespoons crawfish fat
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• Creole seasoning blend, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Pinch dried thyme
• Pinch dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf

Season the crawfish tails with salt, plus a little black and cayenne pepper. Heat the butter in a saute pan and saute the onion, bell pepper and celery until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the crawfish fat (or extra butter if you don't have any), plus 1-1/2 cups water. Add the Creole seasoning, thyme, oregano, bay leaf and crawfish tails. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Dissolve the corn starch in the remaining 1/2 cup water and add to the mixture. Add the green onions and parsley, and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve over hot long grain rice.YIELD: Dinner for 8, with leftovers.

**What's a crawfish (aka -  crawdad or mudbug) you ask?? A freshwater crustacean found throughout the world. The meat from the tail is what is eaten and crawfish fat comes from the head - thus comes the saying, "Suck a little head and eat a little tail." {Now Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter!}

A Heart....

For You!

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

February Give-away Winner!!

And who is the Lucky Winner of this Magic Heart Wand??

Michelle of See Chelle Smile

Do stop by her blog and say "Hello!"

She has the cutest post about naming the family car. We always do... name the car that is. DO YOU?

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone!!

WildWoods in Winter

All A Flutter...

My art group, Prim and Whimsy GirLs is having an art challenge. The theme is All A Flutter. So many wonderful things come to mind...birds, butterflies, a kite, laundry drying in the wind.... I could go on.

All this week our members will be listing their wonderful creations on eBay. Just use the search term, PWGL Flutter to see them.

And what did I create you ask? Butterflies. This frame of butterflies seems to have an escapee....

Each butterfly is cut from an aluminum can.

Cornbread ~ One Man's Trash...

Is Another Man's Treasure.

I know you've heard that expression before. And are probably wondering what it has to do with cornbread. Usually that particular expression pertains to junque. Well, let me explain...

A few years back, Hubby and I had the pleasure of getting to know a German exchange student, Sascha. He was staying with a neighbor of ours. The neighbor happens to be a single man who also teaches at the local school. And, well, most single men aren't really 'into' cooking and this man isn't any exception! So, Sascha spent a fair amount of time over at our place - especially around mealtime. He thoroughly enjoyed American food. And like most teenage boys, he could EAT! And having raised 2+ boys, I knew how much food they can stow away and I enjoyed cooking for him.

Sascha liked it all. But his favorite was cornbread. He had never had it before. He had never even heard of cornmeal. And to Sascha, cornbread was like cake. Hubby made it often and Sascha devoured it! (Hubby is the Cornbread Chef in our house!)

A food that so many of us take for granted, was a treasure to Sascha.

Here is our recipe for Cornbread ~

1 cp flour

1 cp corn meal

1/4 cp sugar

2 tspn baking powder

1/2 tspn salt (optional)

1 cp milk

1/4 cp vegetable shortening (we use bacon grease)

1 egg

Heat oven to 400 deg. Melt vegetable shortening in cast iron skillet in oven - swirl melted grease around skillet to coat sides and bottom (let grease cool before adding to other ingredients). Combine dry ingredients. Stir together milk & egg. Add to dry ingredients along with oil. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared skillet. Bake 20 - 25 min. or until light golden brown and wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm, slathered in butter!

** A cast iron skillet will give you cornbread with a browner crust. Try adding chopped jalapenos or onions. Even green chili makes a nice addition.

Did I hear Spring?

I need to give you folks a weather update.... What really happened in January compared to the predictions made???

January on an average is our coldest month with just a little over 3" of rain.

We had quite the extremes this past month. From quite a few above normal temperatures to even more below normal temperatures. But on an average it was colder than normal with slightly more than normal precipitation.

And as for Mr. Groundhog?? Well, he didn't see his shadow when he woke up on Tuesday. Spring may be just around the corner.....

A Walk in the Icy WildWoods

Let's go for a walk.....