Kinda Ironic

I get a lot of spam comments which I try to weed out before publishing the comments. I thought this one was funny.


Hi there, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam remarks? If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can suggest? I get so much lately it's driving me crazy so any support is very much appreciated. 

Caran d'Ache at the Swap Meet

I never thought that it would happen . . . Caran d'Ache at the swap meet. 

But there it was in a cardboard box on the ground. What had caught my eye was the distinct "CARAN D'ACHE" label on the inside cover of an open tin. I kinda lost my breath when I saw it. Maybe I gasped.

Caran d'Ache is a company in Switzerland that makes high-quality writing and drawing instruments which are impossible to find here and expensive even on Amazon.


When I closed the rusted cover of the tin I saw that it was an 80-piece set of watercolor pencils.  The pencils were actually scattered about, with some fallen out into the box. I wasn't sure if the set was complete.


It was complete.

Here it is cleaned up and made all neat by me later at home. A new set sells on Amazon for $131.71.


Also in the box were two tins of older versions of Caran d'Ache's Neocolor II water-soluble crayons. 


A tin of 30 sells on Amazon for $45.42.


Also included in my bundle deal were these artist-quality colored pencils made by the Derwent company in England which I found at the bottom of the box.


And how much did I pay for the bundle, you're wondering?

$10.

AGU

After art class last week Erick and I went to AGU for some ramen.

I had the citrusy Jidori Yuzu ($14.25!). It's my favorite . . . but . . . ho da price! 


Erick had the Tonkotsu Miso ($16.50!!) . . . more worse da price.


We shared an order of gyoza ($5.50).


I had planned to treat, but after I saw the prices I changed my mind. Erick musta thought the same thing because he neva treat either. Hahahaha.

I thought this was funny.  Try guess whose chopstick wrapper is whose. 


The 

one

on 

the 

left 

is 

mine.

Bee Paper

This is my favorite watercolor paper. I get it from Amazon for $14.87. I've heard that the Arches brand is the best, but it's too expensive for me.

This Bee Paper Aquarelle suits me fine.


And I like it so much that I make use of all the scraps. 

Kuretake #13 Brush Pen

My favorite brush pen for drawing is the Kuretake No. 13. At $14.99 on Amazon it's also my most expensive brush pen. 



The soft brush holds its shape well and is great for varying line widths.


It came with three ink cartridges. The ink is not waterproof, but I've read that the waterproof Platinum Carbon Ink cartridge also fits if you prefer.


I think that it's totally worth the price . . . if not for you, then as a gift for some artistic friend, 'cause not only does it work well . . . it just looks so damn good.

Valentine's Day Surprise

When I got home from Day Care on Valentine's Day, I saw that the mailman had left a couple boxes at our front door.  One box was a Sketchbox art box. Whaaaaat!!!???  It was addressed to Wendell. Whaaaaat!!???

Wendell had bought me a 3-month subscription to Sketchbox . . . for Christmas . ..  with the first box arriving . . . maybe more appropriately . . . on Valentine's Day. 

Wow.

Latest

This is the latest from my Sketch A Day sketchbook. The reference artwork is from a book called The Art of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I used Copic and Prismacolor markers to color.



I got the book yesterday from Idea's Movies and Books on Auahi Street for $15.95. Idea's is a good source for used books. 

Easy Sour Cream Pound Cake

I wanted to use the free sour cream that we got with Safeway's monopoly game piece so I decided to bake a cake. 

The easiest thing I could find online was Paula Dean's recipe found here.  It called for only 1/2 cup of sour cream so I'll probably make it again one more time. It was a bit sweet so maybe just 1 cup of sugar is 'nuff. Baking time for me ended up at 1 hour. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 large eggs 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 cup sour cream 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 1 cup room temperature butter 
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with eggs, beating in each egg 1 at a time. Add vanilla.

Pour the mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Conté Crayon Drawing

Last week's lesson in art class was negative/positive space drawing.

Our assignment was to do a drawing using white Conte crayons. Conte are compressed pastel-like crayons that kinda work like chalk but aren't as "dusty". I liked using it.

We could use our imagination or we could pick a photo that the instructor provided. 

Here's Erick's drawing.


This is Cleta's.


Here's mine. I sneaked in Baymax under a tree. 

Fuji Apple Drink

After I smashed the can I realized that I should tell you about this drink. It came free with the scones that I bought "for Wendell" at Ohana Marketplace.

I actually chose water as my free drink but changed my mind at the last minute. I'm glad I did. I like it . . . very refreshing and not overly sweet.

Wendell's Scallops

Wendell whipped this up last night, and it was very, very ono.  He kinda followed an Ina Garten recipe that can be found on Food Network here. 

Ingredients

1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

All-purpose flour, for dredging

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 lemon, cut in 1/2

Directions

1. If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each 1 in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.
2. In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Monopoly!

Now is the time to do your marketing at Safeway because it's Monopoly time!! 



My family just started collecting game pieces from last week, and already we're this close to winning $20 cash. That's free money, peoples!


And look at our Instant Winners! Hoo hoo, right?!


The game ends on 5/28/2019 so you got plenty time/chance to win! Join me in the fun!

Learn Finnish with a Toddler

I'm learning about Finland from a bright and funny boy named Kirikou and the brother he always wanted Nanook.

Here are three episodes where they teach you their language.



You'll need to click on "CC" for the English translations for this video.

Ohana Hale Marketplace

Ohana Hale Marketplace is where Sports Authority on Ward used to be. I met da sistahs there yesterday. 

Sweetie found out that there's a craft fair every second Saturday, and that's the vibe you get while walking through the aisles . . . craft fair with food.

I bought this for Landon from Sarah's Poke ($9.95). Lan said it was ono.


I also got Blueberry/Lemon scone(s) for Wendell (2/$5.00).  I was gonna have just one bite, but was ono so I ended  up eating a whole one. 


I got my lunch (and dinner) from here . . . japchae noodles ($5) and gimbap sushi roll ($5).


There were a lot of empty stalls and quite a few that weren't even open yet even though we were there at around 11:00 on a "craft fair" Saturday. Made me wonder how little action there'd be on a weekday. I would still go back for the food, though. Plus, got one Ross right next door, and you know how much I love Ross!

At any rate, here are a few shots that I took while walking around.