Happy 3.14 to all of the mathematicians out there!
Pi day is the only day all year that I bake pies.
Hubs likes homemade pie a wee bit too much, so I always wait until March 14 to bake a couple for him.
This year, it’s homemade coconut cream from scratch.
I predict that at least one of the three will be completely gone by morning.
The wall in my feature photo has bothered me for some time.
It was uncomfortably out of balance and felt awkward. I knew the basic thing that needed to be done (changing the elevation of the things on either side of the TV), but even when I did that, it still felt wrong.
I submitted the photo to ChatGPT, and with the suggestions it gave me, I was able to come up with an arrangement I could live with.
The pieces on the right are palm husks that I’ve painted.
These photos were taken at a different time of day (feature photo daytime with natural light coming in from the sides and this one early evening with light from table lamps coming from the front), thus the colour difference.
Last week, I made my annual Christmas macarons.
I make these every year as a part of our Christmas gifts to our friends here.
I decided this year to paint them with edible glitter paint. This was all good and well, until I discovered that the food grade paint brushes I purchased, were too thick for the designs I wanted.
I persevered. The red ones have a vanilla bean ganache filling. The painted tops were “supposed” to be gold ribbons and bows. Instead, they came out looking like mahjong tiles.
The white ones have peppermint white chocolate ganache filling. They’re “supposed” to have holly wreaths painted on them. They’re close, but not what I had envisioned.
The green ones have a rum/dark chocolate ganache filling and the painted designs are “supposed” to be abstract Christmas trees. Oh well.
The good news is, they came off the mats beautifully, they matured to the perfect consistency, and all of the fillings are delicious.
As the old saying goes, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.
Every year, before Christmas, we make the hour drive over to South Padre Island, TX to take in the new sand sculptures.
These amazing works of art are sculpted by sand artists from all over the world.
The only sculpture you’re allowed to touch is Santa’s chair, and I once again tried it out.
My cousin, Carrie has visited us in Texas a few times since we bought our place here.
Hubs and I have enjoyed touring her around and I’ve especially enjoyed the fact that she loves to walk and hike.
My feature photo was taken at Quinta Mazatlan, a fascinating and fun place to visit in McAllen, Tx
We found this mural while hiking the trails that surround the historic adobe mansion.
As I was making this post, I was reminded of the Beatles’ song, “All You Need is Love”.
… Not just for the many flavours of ice cream, like the fellow in the mural, but to get everything done that I want to in a day.
This time of year is usually busy for me, as I prepare for Christmas.
Either this year is busier than usual, or another year added to my age has slowed me down a bit. Hmmm – I wonder which is true.
My goal for tonight and tomorrow morning, is to try to get caught up with the bloggers I follow.
I’m out of sync with my regular post times this week.
This is a busy week, so today will be my only post.
On Saturday, we made the two hour drive to Kingsville, TX to take in the Ranch Hand Festival.
This was our third trip to the festival and our second trip there with good friends from home who winter in a park near here.
One of the demonstrations that was new to all of us was the one by TAMUK (Texas A & M University Kingsville) arts department Javelina Printing Club.
Their printing press was a steamroller! My feature photo is a screenshot from a movie I found about them on Facebook – not my own.
The process: Designs are carved into a block of wood, and then ink is rolled over the whole slab.
Once this step is complete, the slab is laid face up on the ground and a large sheet of paper placed over it, and then thick matting is layered on top of all.
The steamroller then drives over and backs up over the lot.
And voila!
It was fun and interesting to witness this unique process!
There were many prints done over the course of the day, and this was apparently their 12th year at the Ranch Hand festival.
I don’t know how we missed it on previous visits, but am happy we found it this time!
This mural, on the side of a roadside service station in Saskatchewan, Canada – although weathered, depicts some history of the pioneers and farming in our province.
We’ve been stopping in Llano, TX every year on our way south since 2019.
I found the subject for my feature photo during a walkabout on our first visit there.
Now that we’ve finally settled in to our winter home, I’m able to resume some of my normal routine for blog posts.
I still have several murals to contribute to my Monday Murals theme, and a couple of other travel posts to add to my 2016 theme.
The M/W/F posting schedule seems to be working out, so my plan is to continue with those days.
I’ll also continue with Foodie Friday posts.
The mural in my feature photo is in Weslaco, Tx (a town a few miles from here that we visit often).
The mural’s message is a good reminder.
Radically Retired 