Catalphabet!! A Book in the Making....

I've been working away on a children's book recently. An alphabet primer called Catalphabet. It  has been a really fun project and harder than one might imagine. Alliteration that is interesting, not too simple and relates to the pictures takes work:) Fun though.

I made a VERY rough mock up to see if it might actually work as a book and yes, I am pleased with it. I've shared it with a few people and they have had positive things to say. With an editor and proper layout it will look great! I am trying to decide whether to self-publish, look for an agent or contact a publishing company directly. Wondering if any of you reading have experience or advice? I have talked to a few people already and am still weighing pros and cons. Any advice??

ALSO.....this is happening in two weeks! People are registering (Yay!) so if you want a spot, act soon!!! REGISTER HERE  or email me if you prefer not to register online or have any questions.

Sweet Potato Mash Lentil Shepherd's Pie!

I posted this a few years ago but I'm making it tonight to take to a dinner so thought I would repost:again. So delish! )Even better the next day. Just like a Shepherd's Pie but with lentils, peas and mushrooms. Fat free and loaded with fiber.

Sweet Potato Lentil Mash

Ingredients (serves 6)

Top layer 

2 12.75 ounce cans sweet potatoes ( I used 2 large sweet potatoes)

1/4 cup almond milk

3 T maple syrup 

Bottom layer 

Frozen apple juice concentrate for sautéing, or red wine. ( I did not have any so used some red currant jelly!)

1 cup diced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot, minced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced ( I didn't have any but I think it would be even better with them)

10 ounces peas, fresh or thawed

1 package Trader Joes pre-cooked vacuum sealed lentils (or about 2 ½ cups cooked lentils). If using canned lentils, drain and rinse before cooking ( I used canned)

½ cup red wine or broth if you don't have any

2.5 T low sodium tamari

½ tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

dash of hot sauce

8-10 ounces baby spinach, chopped ( I used kale becasue I had no spinach)

I drizzled maple syrup on top before baking  instead of mixing it in with the potatoes

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a hand mixer, blend sweet potatoes, almond milk and maple syrup until smooth.** I did not mix in the maple syrup, I drizzled a bit of it on top before baking* Set aside.

Sauté onion and carrot on medium heat in a little frozen apple juice concentrate until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic,and mushrooms and sauté another 5 minutes.

Add peas, lentils, wine, tamari, thyme and oregano. Mix well. Simmer about 8 minutes.( add dash of hot sauce if desired)

Add spinach in batches until it is wilted.

Spray the bottom of an 11 x 7 or 8 x 8 Pyrex dish. Pour lentil mixture into pan. Spread sweet potatoes on top of lentils. Bake 35 minutes. ( Iused a small square pyrex casserole dish) You could increase the ingredients by a third and put it in a 11 x 13 dish.

Hard to make a mushy dish look tasty but it was! It would be even better with mushrooms!

Happy Saint Gertrude's Day!

Happy Saint Gertrude of Nivelles's  Day! 

Patron Saint of cats, travelers, mental illness and gardeners. Meow.... Strange assortment. Connection somehow? There is a saint for everything!  Even the internet.... Saint Isidore of Seville Sactus Isidorus Hispalensis! 

 The wee picture at the top comes from Marys Prayers.

Close Your Eyes, Breathe....

 

Oohmmmm. I don't say that when I meditate. I just sit quietly. Eyes closed. I have started to do it as a practice again and already I feel the benefits. 20 minutes. That's all. I feel calmer, and a stillness pervades me that was absent for awhile. I welcome it. It is a contentment born from mindful focus on being present whenever I think of it. The meditation is helping. It is an oasis of peace that I am creating 20 minutes at a time. Me time. Universe time.

“I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought: So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” -T.S. Eliot

  There are many ways to meditate. I do mine very simply. I find a spot and sit in a comfortable position. Sometimes in a chair, sometimes on a low stool with back straight and legs tucked under me. I set the timer on my cell phone for 20 minutes. Close my eyes, take a deep breath and settle in. I don't focus on my breathing because it distracts me. I breath normally and as I relax and spend time sitting, it deepens naturally. I try to empty my mind and listen to the sounds around me. I don't label them but listen to them, wind, the furnace whirring in my house, cars outside, creaks in the house, the cat, voices in the distance, even the ringing in my ears...

   If I find myself thinking, I note that I am thinking and clear my thoughts and settle to stillness and listening, until I am aware I am thinking about something again and I have to clear my thoughts once more. It is a conscious thing and one has to do it over and over. Eventually the gaps between thoughts become longer. That is the oasis. As you sit you become more and more relaxed, the body and mind slow down. I stop listening. When the alarm goes off sometimes I am quite surprised, and would like to have sat a bit longer....

 There are days when it is very difficult to quiet the mind. So much to do, so many thoughts. Those 20 minutes seem like a lifetime. I have those days, but am glad for the sitting break....

and feel better for it. If you cannot find 20 minutes, find 10:) 

 You can meditate in 30 seconds! Right now. Stop. Pause. Become aware of your hands, the one holding the phone or on the computer mouse or laptop. Put your attention on your hands.  Feel them.  Be aware of them.  Breathe. See?  Your whole world just stopped for a second and you were present.....

 All photos copyright Shelagh Duffett 

I'm hosting a one day fun painting workshop! Sunday April 3. Find out details HERE>

PAINT DAY! WORKSHOP with Shelagh Duffett

Hey! My first painting workshop! 

ALL SUPPLIES AND LUNCH INCLUDED! 

Where:  

 Fruition Cafe, Coburg Professional Centre 

6389 Coburg Rd, Halifax. (Corner of Oxford and Coburg Road.)

 A bright sunny space with lots of room. It will be closed for the day.

Wheelchair accessible, with gender-neutral and accessible washrooms on-site. 

When:  

Sunday April 3 from 10 am until 4pm 

What:

A day of painting , chatting, good music and lunch!  We will be recreating this painting!

We will be using Acrylic paint on an 11 x 14" wooden canvas with 1.5" sides. You can use as much artistic license as you please to make it yours. I will guide you through it step by step:) No experience needed but if you do have experience and want to join us for a fun day, all the better!

We will stop around 12 for a lunch break. Soup and a grilled wrap, quiche or sandwich. You choose when you get there. Tea and coffee available but only dairy free milk options. 

Please bring an apron or wear something an errant drop of paint might enhance. Casual comfortable,crafty clothing encouraged.

COST:

$69+tax 

HOW:

Registration in advance is required, space is limited. Please sign-up by popping by my upstairs table ( Alice in Paris) at the Seaport Market on Saturdays or purchase your ticket online at Eventbrite Here

ALSO>>>BONUS..there is a private FacebookGroup set up for workshop participants only.

If you have any further questions, please email me: shelaghduffett@gmail.com

15 Min. Corn/Veggie Chowder!

Ok. Quick comfort food. Something to tuck into this week's arsenal of meals:) My version is fat free and still tastes great but if you want to sauté the onion and garlic (and peppers, celery if using) in some butter or olive oil first that's fine too!

15 minute Corn/Veggie Chowder

1 carrot grated

1 large onion chopped finely 

1 large potato cubed in 1/2" squares

1 red pepper chopped finely (optional)

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped (optional)

1-2 garlic cloves minced or 1 tsp. garlic powder (I didn't have any real garlic)

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of creamed corn

Veggie broth or bullion cube

Almond milk, soy milk or regular milk.

1.Put everything except milk and creamed corn into a heavy pot. Add veggie broth or water/bullion cube to barely cover the top of veggies. 

2. Cover and simmer until potatoes and veg are cooked.(about 10-15 min)

3. Add creamed corn, salt and pepper to taste and heat.

3. I add the milk at the end, not much,  just to make it the consistency I like. I sometimes just leave it up whomever I'm serving it to to add the milk directly to their bowl instead; my daughter prefers real milk and I like almond milk:) 

You could  not add the milk at all to make it more of a brothy soup if you like. 

I add some smoked paprika and a dash of Siracha cha cha sauce to mine:). Yum. Enjoy!

Say Cheese!

I collect quirky old photos from junk shops and yard sales that catch my fancy. This one is a favourite of mine! Such fun. Especially the  bag lady in the back row! Heh. 

Wish I knew what year it was, where it was, who they were, what the event was.........

But that is what gives these photos some of their allure, isn't it? The mystery. The untold story. A moment captured and preserved on a piece of paper. The current of life frozen for a second and visible forever.They were all so chuffed with themselves. Well, most of them...the girl at the lower right is a bit pensive. 

We get to imagine the details. Create a story for them. 

Here are the  names listed on the back of the photo.I wonder how many of them are still alive.....did they have happy lives? 

Saturday musing

Isn't this a cool photograph? I took it one afternoon in my kitchen because the light was so compelling. It kind of looks like an old masters painting except that it's a random photo of what happened to be on my counter that day:) Light can make everything beautiful. 

I'm typing this on my phone at the Seaport Market so the formatting might be off. I think the type is centred but I can't change it. Oh well.  

So how are you today? I  used to write all the time and felt grounded in this blog. I took a break for a couple of years. (Did you miss me? Did you know I was gone?)  So here I am, back again! The place is a bit dusty, needs a bit of spring cleaning. I'm posting frequently to push out the cobwebs and fill the place with life once more! It takes time out of my day but it is great creative and mental exercise! I hope you enjoy it too. 

Are any of you reading this now original readers of this blog? Just curious. The blogging world has changed so much.

Sea Breeze, Original Painting (sold)

Finished this painting a couple of days ago. 15 x 13 x 1.5" The sides of this piece are painted iridescent gold to compliment the soft sky. For sale in my etsy shop here.
If you live in the local area, message me and we can bypass etsy and save on shipping etc.

Ch ch changes....

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called The Tipping Point. It is about how things change from one state to another. Life, business, health, anything really.... "that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate.." 
In our personal lives, it's that small change that tips you over from making excuses to taking action! How do we do it?

One example in the book comes from a study of tetanus education at a university. They were interested in learning if creating fear about tetanus would encourage more students to get vaccinated against it. The fear education program didn’t seem to make any difference in students getting vaccinated, BUT when they made one surprising change, it did!  Adding a map of the university campus showing the health center and the times vaccinations were available increased the vaccination rate from 3% to 28%! That is huge.
Takeaway from this.....

If you make a tiny change that makes it easy enough to take action , you’ll actually follow through.

So, how can we do it in our lives? 
Here are a few examples to get you thinking (I do these)...

Want to floss more? Buy a LOT of floss, put in discreet places, somewhere near where you watch TV, in your purse, briefcase, next to the computer. If you see it, you are more likely to do it.

Want to exercise first thing? Put your gear out the night before and put it on first thing. (Also set an intention before you sleep,mentally tell yourself tomorrow I will exercise:)

Want to drink more water? Fill a glass and keep on your kitchen counter, drink every time you see it, on your desk, in a water bottle. 

Stay on top of ideas? Buy a small notebook and pen, put elastic around to keep em together( so you always have a pen), and carry with you. I tend to be a "real" notebook person rather than a smartphone note person, but if that works for you, great!.....key is remembering to jot them down!

It is all about making things you want/have to do, easier to do and using visual reminders as cues when you can.  Are there any that you do?

All photos copyright Shelagh Duffett.The sculpture of the man and woman above can be found at the North End Library in Halifax