Monthly Archives: August 2017

More Juvenile Non-Fiction

More Non-Fiction Children's Books ~ Lifeofjoy.meThese are two other books I found in the non-fiction section of the children’s portion of the library. Although parts of the Pepsi one was rather dry, I did enjoy finding out about how the product came to be, how it changed, and such. Overall, it was an okay read. I wouldn’t call it exciting but not boring either. ;) There were some boring bits with dates and stuff but overall, it was interesting to me that Pepsi of today is NOT what it was created to be.

The cooking one has about four recipes to try. This one was good more for the information about the White House and how Pres. and Abigail Adams were the first to live in the new building in D. C. I found it interesting and a short read. The print in this book was large so it isn’t too overwhelming for the younger readers and has great information for all readers. Unfortunately there are only four books in the series but I would recommend them.

So I think this little foray into the non-fiction section of the juvenile portion of the library yielded wonderful results. I believe your children could find some interesting information within the pages of some pretty good books. So, on each trip to the library, take a little browse in the non-fiction stacks and if you are lost on where to start, all these were found in the 900 section.

Until next time, God bless,

 Michele ºÜº

GoTo and Lisbon Diva Dance

Several months ago Tangle It! Pattern-Collections.com started a . . . oh, I don’t know what to call it :D . . . a tutorial, a focus, a challenge. The idea is to increase the number of go-to patterns you use and to play with patterns to see where you can take them.

I managed to complete the first week but got derailed after that. I really have to work hard to participate in daily challenges. Well, I felt like working through it on my own pace, even though I’m twelve weeks behind. ;) Ina provides some instructions and seven different strings. It really is a great free “class” and you don’t have to be a part of the facebook group to play along, as she has it all on the website.

Last week I did this tile: The tangles are Ropuz and I played with Strircles using rectangular shapes instead of spheres.

Tiles ~ Lifeofjoy.meHere it is shaded . . . not much difference.

Tiles ~ Lifeofjoy.meThe one I did this week was much more drastic. Tangles this time are Ropuz Fill and I played with Nipa using the shape of the string provided.

More tiles ~ Lifeofjoy.meI have several pictures of adding the shading. I started by trying to give those odd shapes some 3D look and outline the string to give those shapes definition.

Tiles ~ LIfeofjoy.meNext I added just a bit of shading on Ropuz Fill.

Tiles ~ Lifeofjoy.meFinally I added in the shading in the ‘waves’ of NIpa.

Tiles ~ Lifeofjoy.meNow on to this week’s diva guest challenge from Henrike Bratz, who created the tangle Lisbon and challenges us to use it with Diva Dance. Now I thought it was specifically Rock-n-Roll we were supposed to use but I later realized it was not.

I decided to try to go for a flower and trellis look. Then I decided it was too much work to try to figure out exactly how to draw Lisbon to make it look the way I wanted and just went with the flow instead.

Here is the tile before shading.

Tiles ~ Lifeofjoy.meI’m not very good at shading Rock and Roll Diva Dance but here it is finished.Tiles ~ Lifeofjoy.meUnfortunately this didn’t lend itself to enough shading to hide my wonky lines. At one point I considered darkening in the background but I used pencil to see what it would look like in one tiny spot and I didn’t care for it at all, so I erased it. I have to admit that the shading does look better in real life, as it is a bit darker all the way around. It is always after I scan it in that I can tell where I should’ve used more shading. Hmmm, maybe I’ll go back and add a bit more, but knowing myself as I do, I probably won’t. :D

Thanks once again to those wonderful few that take the time and effort to leave comments, they are most appreciated.

I hope you have a great week.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

 

Pork and Sauerkraut ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Pork and Sauerkraut

Tender, savory roast with mild cabbage/sauerkraut.

I know, I never cared for it myself and when I heard it suggested that we incorporate more fermented foods into our diet I was not amused.

Unfortunately I got a urinary tract infection, I believe. Michael did some research and found that I should take as much apple cider vinegar as possible. To say I hate the stuff is an understatement. I have NEVER liked vinegar . . . at all . . . not in barbecue sauce or dressings . . . nothing. As a matter of fact, when I mix up Good Seasons dressing, I even use less vinegar than it calls for. Most recipes that call for vinegar, I cut the amount in half. I don’t even really care for pickles; the only ones I tolerate are bread and butter pickles.

So, I bought some sauerkraut and a pork roast. My mom used to make pork and sauerkraut when I was a kid but . . . I hated it. But thought I’d give it a try. So yesterday I  put a jar of German Sauerkraut in the bottom of the crockpot, sprinkled it with a little sugar alternative (Sukrin:1), put in the roast and seasoned it with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Then I let it cook all day long. For all of that roast, I should have put in the whole two jars though because it was hard to find any.

Pork and Sauerkraut ~ Lifeofjoy.meI have to say, that I really enjoyed it. I only hope that the qualities of the fermentation are not killed by cooking it. :D I wonder if the brand had anything to do with how mild it was.

Notice in the following picture that there is a bit more meat than in the first one? I couldn’t resist, even way after dinner. :)

Pork and Sauerkraut ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Pork and Sauerkraut

Ingredients

  • 1-2 jars German sauerkraut
  • pork roast
  • sprinkling of alternative sweetener (we used Sukrin:1)
  • salt
  • pepper
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Pour the sauerkraut in the bottom of a crockpot.
  2. Sprinkle with a tablespoon or so of alternative sweetener.
  3. Put the roast on top of the kraut.
  4. Season with a sprinkling of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
  5. Cook on low heat 6-8 hours or high for 4-5.
https://lifeofjoy.me/pork-and-sauerkraut/

Until next time, God bless,

 Michele ºÜº