International Fake Journal Month

The month is over and I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Aix-en-Provence, France and the surrounding area. I used cotman watercolors and a maruman folding sketchbook. The sketchbook was quite fun and I will probably have to order another. I ended up doing 23 different pictures in the 30 days which is great for me. Several of them were worked on over the course of two or even three days so I was pretty close to doing something in this journal nearly every day!

I really need to invest in a photo editing program so I can actually work with my photos or scans. These are scans and they really didn't turn out that well but my camera needs really good light in order to take nice pictures of these and I just haven't had time during the day to do this.

Cloister of Saint Sauveur

Four Dolphins Fountain


Glass from a cafe and a statue in the market square of a boar. The statue looked very out of place among all the tables, boxes and trucks.

The Cours Mirabeau is the main street in Aix and is lined with beautiful large trees and several fountains in the center of the wide street. This one is a thermal, moss covered fountain that is ancient.

Store front and Senanque Abbey near Aix

Wine with dinner and a market vendor

Fountains in Aix - the Rotunda fountain, fountain detail near Hotel de ville and Hotel de ville tower

Couple at an outdoor cafe and fountain near the Hotel de ville

International Fake Journal Month

So, today is the first Day of April and also the first day of "International Fake Journal Month." Mike and I have decided to have fun with this together. While I was considering my options he just couldn't resist and we've both decided to spend the month in Aix-en-Provence. He picked out his new journal last Friday night at Borders. Since he's a writer, he picked a nice sized lined moleskine that came in a pack of three. I guess he'll find another way to use the other two. I ordered a lovely fold out Maruman sketchbook. I've always wanted to try one. I picked up a pack of Sanguine (love that name) pitt pens and am planning to use real watercolors (not just the pencils I tend to carry with me). Now, off we go...

And a little bit of fun in my real journal, though again, not much sketching from real life going on at the moment. This first one is cheapo markers, something I've never used in my journal before but I liked the brightness of the yellow.

"Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes and annual free trip around the sun." This was inspired by an quote (origin unknown) in "The Awe-manac" by Jill Badonsky. This has me stuck with Monty Python's "Galaxy song" in my head.

Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving

And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour,

That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned,

A sun that is the source of all our power.

The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see

Are moving at a million miles a day

In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour,

Of the galaxy we call the "Milky Way".

Just a few random journal pages

I haven't felt much like sketching from life so here's just a few odds and ends.

A Renewed Dedication to Art

It's been THREE weeks since I posted anything here and much longer since I posted anything concerning art. I haven't quit sketching, just posting. The new year actually had me making a resolution to sketch at least three times a week. I've kept that up now for three months. April brings a new challenge thanks to Roz at Roz Wound Up. I'm still going for at least three times per week but hoping for five as I'm trying to gear up for May's Challenge "Every Day in May".

So here's some April Fools Fun:
April is International Fake Journal Month

And in honor of this month I'm going to actually post some stuff online at least once a week.

Spicy Curry Beef Stew

I'm a little mixed up on how I'm approaching Suppa Club this month. I haven't yet made the Salmon but I've moved on to the stew. I really wanted to try the Salmon last weekend but had guests. I remembered one of them not being all that fond of Salmon so I opted for something else. I found out later that she thought that particular recipe sounded good and she would have tried it. Oh well.

The Spicy Beef Curry Stew was fun to prepare and smelled marvelous in the crock pot. I chopped everything up the evening before and pre-measured all my ingredients so that morning preparation was very quick (about 10 minutes). This recipe reminded me of a cuban stew I'd made a few years ago that also included peppers (I wonder where that recipe is), so I added red and green peppers as well as onions to the crock pot. The only other change I made was adding a few more tomatoes and skipping the beef broth.

I served this with white rice, tortillas, shredded cheese and green onions so you could either make a soft taco out of it or eat it with the rice or both. I did both. I thought that the "spicy" was a little lacking and will probably either try more jalapenos or add red pepper flakes the next time I make this. Adding the peppers was great though and it didn't need beef broth. This will be great as leftovers too.

Spicy Beef Curry Stew for the Slow Cooker

INGREDIENTS

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 pound beef stew meat
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 onion, sliced and quartered
1 cup beef broth

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and brown the beef on all sides. Remove from skillet, reserving juices, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno in the skillet for 2 minutes, until tender, and season with curry powder. Mix in the diced tomatoes and juice.

Place the onion in the bottom of a slow cooker, and layer with the browned beef. Scoop the skillet mixture into the slow cooker, and mix in the beef broth. Cover, and cook 6 to 8 hours on Low.

The Salmon will be made on Saturday for my husband and I. I will probably pop in some fish sticks for the kids. I didn't like salmon as a kid either so there's still hope for them. I am planning a side of sweet potato fries and a lovely salad (as soon as I find the perfect recipe).