WOYWW 296 coloring book for adults

Hello desk hoppers.  I'm still away from home. I'm in Holland but we will be flying back to Spain tonight.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, have a look on Julie's blog (www.stamping-ground.blogspot.com.es) as she has organized this worldwide desk hop.
So I have no desk, but I do have a few things to show you. I bought a colouring book for 'big kids'.

This looks like real fun. I will be able to practice my non existing colouring skills. Here are a couple of pages

Earlier on this week I went to a shop that sells my favorite paint. By this I mean paint to paint furniture with. It's 'idiot proof'. No priming or sanding, it's water based and it goes a looong way. It's called Annie Sloan chalk paint. There is a shop near Rotterdam that sells it. When I bought some I was told there was a workshop the next day. So my friend and I went to that. 

we were taught all sorts of techniques like crackling, decoupage and gilding and using templates. Great fun! The result is that old looking shabby chic type finishing.

We will be home tonight, where I can recover from this horrible cold I've got. (I blame it on the pressurised cabins on aircraft, concentrating everybody's bugs!)

I'm looking forward to visiting everyone again this week. I'll try and visit as many as I can inthe course of the week.

Have a great week everyone,

Lisc

WOYWW 293 from Holland

.

Hi peeps,
I'm a bit late but I've been travelling today. I'm now in Holland at my mum's in Rotterdam. This is my mum's desk. She is nearly blind. The computerscreen is huge and has a zoomtext software so she can read emails. Next to it is an electronic magnifier, which she uses to read documents and letters.
Sorry, I've not been able to upload the photo  of above described desk. I have a Samsung tablet (android) and after two years I still don't know how to use it. What a nightmare (and waste of money!) It takes beautiful photos but I can't do anything with them... (Does anyone else have that problem?)
So I'm now going to use my mum's computer to write more and to post this. 
Here was my desk yesterday. (These photos were still on my camera)

I've been trying to do some 'messy'stuff with deli paper and a brayer. Of course in Europe we don't know what deli paper is, so I'm using baking parchment... not quite the ticket I think. It's not working. And I haven't got a brayer so I'm using my pastry roller with cling film around it haha! It did work although it's a bit big!
My first ever attempt to mixed media is a journal page following the first prompt (and video) from ODLP. I was asked to use book paper and the prompt was 'Guarding your own goals'. Well, I'm not guarding  them. My goals I mean, you can all see them here:

I'll be busy packing boxes and helping mum move house on Friday so this week I won't have much time to visit any desks (unless I can get some sense out of my tablet...)

Have a great week all of you,

Lisca

WELL DONE ! St Peters Hospice scrapbook page

WELL DONE ! St Peters Hospice scrapbook page

I love doing the scrapbook challenges of CSI (Color, Stories and Inspiration). One of their latest case files was this one:

Here is my solution to case file 150, which had subtle Christmassy colors. But as Christmas this year was a non-event for us, I have no photo memories to share. Instead an image of my three colleagues.  

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to ‘get messy’ and to that end I have modestly splashed some paint around on my black page. Well, I’ve got to start somewhere!

I’ve used the Sketchability sketch nr  130. (No idea if it is a recent one but Lynette Jacobs used it and I  liked it, so...)

I’ve used all the colours and quite a few bits of evidence: dots (sorry, I don’t know what Swiss dots are), arrows, a banner, holiday accents, decorative border, a (crooked haha) ribbon, I heat embossed the word ‘lovely’, and there are two pompoms. The testimony is inspired by Bzoink prompt: ”Have you ever seen a dead person”.

The journaling hides behind the photo and can be pulled out. It reads:

“I read through the Bzoink prompt for some inspiration and I came across the prompt: “Have you ever seen a dead person?” That’s a pretty grimm concept but strangely enough it was part of my work. For the last 22 years of my nursing career I worked at a hospice for people with a terminal disease. We help them get on top of nasty symptoms (we specialize in pain control and symptom control) and help the family cope, and we sort out complicated social scenarios. (amongst other things). It is a great job, in a positive atmosphere, full of laughter and joy. Part of my job was being with the patient and their loved ones at the end of the journey. That was an immense privilege, as you can imagine. A very private and emotional time.

During those 22 years I worked alongside these three ladies. Pat Gane on the left, Paula Murphy in the middle and Jan (Janice) Little on the right. Jan was ward sister and recently retired after 35 years in the job. She very deservedly got a Lifetime Award shortly after (autumn 2014) and I feel very proud having worked with such great people.”

This is the hospice I worked at. It's St Peters Hospice in Bristol.

If you’d like to read a bit more about St Peters Hospice, have a look at this link: http://www.stpetershospice.org.uk/about/#!prettyPhoto

There is a delightful 5 minute video which is well worth watching. It’s a really lovely place to work.   

Bye for now, have a great week,

Lisca

WOYWW 292 - Three kings and a potato salad

WOYWW 292 Three kings and a potato salad

Happy New year everyone!

This is the potato salad I make every New Year’s Eve. (The pink colour is due to the beetroot.) We had it at midnight with a glass of champagne.

 It’s Wednesday so that means we bloghop from one desk to the next (See Julia’s blog if you don’t know what I’m talking about).

I’m sure we’ve all got hopes and expectations for the new year, even resolutions and targets. My promise to myself is that I’m going to have a go at mixed media! I’m taking the plunge and I’m going to get messy. 

I’ve joined The Original Documented Life Project™ and here on my desk is the start of my first art journal page, which is drying. The theme for January is: How to face a blank page, and the art challenge this week is: use book paper.

My whole desk looks like this:

I’m doing a scrapbook page for the CSI challenge which is due in a couple of days.

Spot the out of place item.... 

baby bottle teats. Someone (I can’t find who it was... sorry...) had written about using baby bottle teats to cap glue bottles so that they don’t dry out. I watched a video too and it looked like a brilliant idea, so I went out to buy said teats. (see photo) But I got a shock when I saw the price! 7.50 Euros! That’s more than the glue! So I won’t do that again (and I’m too shy to take them back, besides it’s half an hour’s drive into town).

Yesterday was Three Kings (Los Reyes) festival here in Spain. Important for the children as that’s when they get their presents.  Wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. Popular legend have us believe it were three kings although this is not biblical. There are usually  parades with ‘kings’ throwing sweets to the children in the streets. In the bigger towns the parades are really spectacular, but here in our village it is all a bit more modest....

That’s it for today folks, thanks for visiting. I’ll try and visit as many as I can over the course of the week.

Lisca

WOYWW 291 Happy new year!

Hi deskhoppers! Better late than never!

I have no photo of my desk as there is nothing on it. Sorry, next week there will be something I expect.... all those New year’s resolutions about things I intend to do.....

Have you all had a lovely Christmas? Here in Spain they celebrate Christmas Eve and we were invited by friends for the late night meal.

On the way to their house we got stuck and had to wait until the sheep had cleared the road. Yes, it’s an unpaved road but we have a 4x4 car so no problem.

Our friends have a huge kitchen, and had a nice fire roaring. The table was laid and this was the centre piece. 

All married couples here in Andalucia have one as it is tradition to give this ‘ornament’ at the wedding. People then put money and trinkets in it for the newlyweds. It takes pride place in every household and each one is unique as they are handmade. (I’m sorry but I’ve forgotten what they are called).

Traditionally people eat fish and seafood for Christmas Eve but the economic situation being what it is, not many people can afford it, so we had seafood soup for starters and chicken as a main course. Very nice!

Here are my hubby and I just having a bit of fun by the fire.

We both wish all of you a very happy and healthy 2015.

CU next week, God bless

Lisca

WOYWW 290 - chocolate.....

Good morning bloghoppers! Happy WOYWW!

There’s nothing on my desk but my computer. I’ve been busy doing other things, like harvesting olives and slaughtering pigs! Well not literally, just watching and helping where I could. You can read about the pig slaughter in my previous blog.

Actually last night I was in the kitchen preparing a delicious chocolate dessert.

It’s called Tarta Tres Chocolates. It’s made with chocolate, milk and heavy cream. Yummy! It’s useless giving you the recipe as it uses an ingredient called ‘cuajada’ (curd) which apparently is difficult to find outside Spain. Certainly not in Europe.

This is what the finished product looks like.

We will be taking it to our friends where we have been invited to celebrate Christmas eve with a big family dinner. People celebrate Christmas eve here rather than Christmas day like in the UK. I will be able to tell you all about it in a future blog.

I wish all of you that celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ a very blessed Christmas. And if your thing is winter solstice... then I wish you a very happy holiday !

Have a very special week,

Lisca

Matanza: not for the squeamish

Not for the squeamish!

December is a busy month in Andalucia. Yes, I know it’s Christmas.... but here people are busy with other things: there is the start of the olive harvest and of course the fattened pig has to be slaughtered. It's called 'matanza'. The whole family gets together and helps (more or less). It’s a real family gathering. The children are all there every year and when they are adults they have seen it so many times that they can do it themselves.

I was privileged to be invited to such a family affair, and here are some photos:

This is one of the unfortunate pigs to be killed. (There were two one-year old pigs).

When the pig had been killed, all it’s hair had to be scraped off. Boiling water gets poured over and then everybody get his turn. Here is my husband reluctantly taking his turn.

We were at our friend’s parents’ farm. They have a little ‘cortigo’, and this is part of their patio (patio they call it, which is confusing as in UK a patio is outside the house but here a patio is inside the house although it has no roof. More like a court yard)

I helped preparing the parsley and the garlic for the sausages by the fire. 

We started quite early in the morning and it was still cold outside. As soon as the sun is high enough it gets lovely and warm and we can all go round in our t-shirts.

The kitchen is brick built. I took a photo of it because I will probably have a similar kitchen in our new house.

The water jars are now obsolete as there is running water. But not long ago this was where drinking water was stored and most people still have them.

Look at this beautiful piece of furniture. (Not a Christmas decoration in sight! They don't do this here. They have little Nativity scenes somewhere, but no decorations as we know them).

The men drink wine from wine skins. They squirt the wine in their mouth. I’ve tried it once and promptly had wine all over me! An acquired skill I would say....

There are turkeys....

And chickens. And a beautiful cockerel.

Here is the pig (now pork) hung up and the nice cuts of meat on show.

I helped with the preparation of the gut (for the sausages).

Look at those tiles. They are typical Andalucian tiles. I love them. They have them in the shed!!

Towards the end people began preparing the communal meal. Here is an uncle preparing ‘migas’. A (poor man’s) dish made with olive oil, garlic and flour poured in, as you see here. It ends up looking like fried breadcrumbs.

The meal was liver and onions with these ‘migas’ washed down with home made wine. Oh I love it here. This is the back yard of the cortigo. Isn’t it a beautiful view!

 I hope this was not too much of a culture shock. I really enjoyed my day with this family.

Thanks for visiting and reading this far. You're a trooper!

God bless and CU soon.

Lisca