When I saw these..here..
I must have been trying to get to sleep..and stayed awake..
I mean..look...at her post..breakfast was but 9 hours away..:)
I have a bad habit..after my 1.5 hours of TV at night..I go to bed..resolute to read..on my mini..
I think I will switch to my Kindle..because the Mini Ipad..has way too many temptations for me..
Blogs..emails..IG..Pinterest..
I end up not reading and planning the next day..a new nib for a pen..a new painting tutorial..an email from one of my girls..
my head just stays busy..
as in the case of the above muffins:)
Give them a try if you like muffins..pb and jam..use your best pb..and jam..I used muffin liners..sprayed..but I would not again..I would just spray the heck out of the mold..I made 5..halved the recipe and it gave me 5..
lovely warm..the next day pop into the micro about 12 seconds.
I have been practicing w/ manual settings..I have only ever shot w/ A or P..never all manual..
well all manual gets my Olympus to to want to play....whereas in automatic ..or the P or A..it would not..always in different light conditions..now it plays with me..
so it's a learning curve..but I love it..
one thing that can be discouraging..is finding out which camera/lens someone you admire has..
and discovering..it's in the THOUSANDS.
Jacques is very supportive of my blog...he says..it's not like you would ever want to sell any anyways..and he is right..
One thing I would like to try though..is getting photos larger like on Wordpress..because try as I might here..it doesn't work..they are HUGE..then on the other computers they are all cropped off..
so I stick to what Blogger lets me do w/out knowing what I am doing..
After the brocante Saturday ..I stopped by such a favorite place of mine..the park at the lake..there is some land art and it is so nice and natural there with the wildflowers..
I spotted the newer Inukshuks right away..I had not been in a little while..
we went more often when the boys were not at camp..
I don't think I went once with Jacques this year..first of all it has been HOT..ter than usual..
and I love to dawdle and take photos..when the leaves will change and it will be cooler ..he'll come walk the trail with me..
there's just something about the water that attracts me like a powerful magnet.
I met a man who was with his binoculars..,camera and monopod in tow..very nice..we started talking and he showed me some of his photos and the practicality of a monopod.Fun to learn..another nice young man was there..you never know who you will meet and who will just help make your day a better day.
I loved seeing the lady reading also..all by herself..so peaceful.
Some people know how to make a day better on their own.
It is a beauty of a spot♥
The next I painted on Fabriano cold press/rough grain..I am not crazy about it..too grainy..maybe for flowers it would be better..then I tried w/ ink first..on the rough again..not good either..so this is the only one that caught my feeling of the lady reading.lots of stamping going on to detract..
So Sunday..I stayed in..in the last few years I have bought a few watercolor how to books..
I am not experienced enough to give reviews..but I am going to:)
Just in case there are novices like me..who would like either a new book to be inspired by or new paints or paper..
nothing deep..and not many..maybe all in one review;)
Review #1..not Fabriano grano duro block..too many craters..for a day at the park:)For a novice.
I love your watercolor more than the photo, Monique. It has such a softness about it. Your photos have a nice clear crispness to them, which to me makes them great, too. Hope you have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laurie..How is your garden?:)
DeleteWell, I'm still getting tomatoes and okra. I have a volunteer cucumber plant to come up after I pulled all the others out, so I'm going to just let it grow and see what happens. After nothing from my bell pepper plants all summer, they are starting to produce little babies. And, a nice surprise is that I have little white pumpkins growing from my compost bin. I'm amazed!
DeleteThe white pumpkins will be great fall decor:)
DeleteIt's funny when i was a kid i didn't like peanut butter and jelly but now i love it and those muffins just look so very very good. and your watercolor captured the day just perfectly.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a good week
To me..you are a little kid:) Young and young at heart:)Everything is relative ..so to me..being 62..you are a kid:)
DeleteI hope you have a good week too:)
What a beautiful spot to go! And then voila, you went home and painted it. You run rings around me Monique. Today I have to pull weeds (and don't tell my husband) spray some herbicide next to the pond that I can't reach without falling in. Then call ADT (the house protector) that isn't working. They always want to walk you through it to fix so they won't have to come out. I wish I had a muffin right now. It is still cool outside so I'm spending a bit of morning on the porch. I just can't seem to get it all in gear. I've been using my IPhone for my camera for so long. It's not as good as my camera, but usually have it with me. Have a wonderful week with lots of fun it looks like.
ReplyDeleteI would use an Iphone if I wasn't stuck to my dinosaur:)
Deletemy kids take great pics w/ them..they seem like fun too so spontaneous!
I'll be starting the garden clean up soon..it's just that everything is stiil so bushy..it seems easire when we have a had a frost..
I'll see..
Don't fall in!!!
Beautiful painting - you are really so talented. You truly captured the spirit of the woman sitting on the shore reading.
ReplyDeletePB & J muffins - I wish I lived next door! xo
I would bring you some:)
DeleteThank you Susan.
Well, if that was your FIRST, I'm curious about the second and third versions because I'm not sure how they could be lovelier. Of course, we always see the difference ourselves, don't we?!
ReplyDeleteYour day at the park sounds lovely and so do those yum PBJ's. I like a recipe you can easily halve. And by the way, your photos look great on my computer. My photos are also large and I notice on Rick's tablet they size down (I'm blogger, too). I suppose it depends on the device viewing and their parameters. But your blog always looks wonderful to me.
You are so positive Jeanie!
DeleteI just find there are some bloggers I follow that the photos are larger and clearer..it seems mine are clearer larger..once they get on my blog..the sharpness leaves.
I guess I want to feel new:)
Yet I am not..
I love the photo with the blur of sailboats... I love the reader by the water... Oh, my! I especially love your watercolor!
ReplyDeleteWe were having water..boat..blue sky moments you and I..You have way more variety!
DeleteI am getting addicted to painting..:)
Love your photographs and your watercolor. I would like to give water color painting a try, but don't have very much money to invest in something that I may be horrible at doing. I was very interested in your review of the paper you painted on. It made me aware of something else I need to check about before trying my hand at watercolors.
ReplyDeleteSusie..I find watercolor much more economical to start than oil.
DeleteI was going to recommend a very inexpensive watercolor set but then the words of watercolorists resonated in me..they say to buy the best you can afford.
If you are in the US..I find you can get nice sets..on Amazon even quite reasonably.
Most watercolorists recommend Arches paper and you could buy just one sheet and tear up..I absolutely love the make Fluid and I will talk about them.everyone's tastes are different.
I am happy you are interested.Thank you.
Good evening Monique...
ReplyDeleteFirstly.."I followed your link....such a pretty witty blog...I bookmarked that recipe....looks easy!
Your Lake photos are beautiful...but I especially like your painting....such feeling in your work.
I have had a very busy few days...I am pooped! Hope to get a post out soon!
This weather is fabulous,eh?
Cheers!
Linda :o)
I just read your note..you haircut is so youthful..I am surprised you were not happy.One girl in the photo looked like she could be related to you..the blonde with the glasses?
DeleteI am probably wrong..great pic!
Hope you had fun with Martha and we hear about it..
You must be pooped..you were on antibiotics last week and then social social..rest up!
Linda so right about the weather..still so hot and sunny..several degrees above normal they say..I just want. Heist as to be white..last year we had green grass and the Littles playing football..I think I need snow..it' QC after all.
DeleteThat would be Debbie...my husbands sister....you think she looks like me?
DeleteNever heard that before!
My hair is too short on the face...the bangs...my face just hangs there!
Still on antibiotics...3 more days...coughing a bit today....geesh!
I enjoyed Martha's company...she is a lovely lady!
Hopefully cottage on Wednesday for a few days....and some sunshine!
Not looks alike alike but related:)I think it was the blonde hair and glasses:)
DeleteYour face does not hang there!
You need to finish those antibiotics and feel great again and you will:)
Cheers to that!!!!!
DeleteMe voici revenu dans la vie réelle ! ;-) Et la première chose que je fasse, c'est me jeter sur ton blog ! Je sens que je vais avoir d ela jolie lecture ... Allez, je continue ...
ReplyDeleterevenuE ! ;-)
DeleteHihihi,,tu devrais voir mes erreurs typographiques avec mes claviers "anglophones"..Je me suis ennyée de toi!.Le monde virtuel n'est pas aussi "cozy" sans toi.
DeleteThose muffins look fabulous and even though I should not be eating anything at all ike that I just had to print! Maybe like you I will halve the recipe so I am not overly tempted to overly indulge! Love reading how you spend your days. Your life seems so calm and sweet. I can picture you striking up conversations with the people you meet, who are suddenly strangers no more. Love your sharing the lessons you learn also. Love also that you are brave enough to play with the manual settings on your camera. I am not tecchie enough. Your sweet painting is so lovely. I truly am in awe of your many talents dear friend. xoxo PS - Love also that Jacques is so supportive. So is Todd. We have good men. xoxo
ReplyDeleteHe is..when I tell him how many beautiful blogs there are..he says but I don't read those..:)
DeleteSometimes he laughs out loud..many times he says you're so honest lol..and many times he says he likes a photo.
If I photographed our hot meals and was waiting..he may not like it as much;)
It is a very quiet..simple life..
I am so okay with that.
Have a wonderful day Marie..you are a wonderful artist..that bunny:)
Such a warm and fuzzy post Monique.
ReplyDeleteI too would like to try those yummy muffins!
Just love the water colour..a lady of so many talents all mastered to perfection.
'Sigh'
Shel
Jack of all trades.
DeleteI know it.
Hope you have posted..so much I still want to know!
Totally understand why you couldn't resist making those treats! They look very delicious!
ReplyDeleteWell, to be honest, as Autumn is drawing near I am craving nut butters like peanut ahah ~
:) Our tastes do change..w/ the weather..they deepen..deeper flavors..colors..
DeleteA good fall to you Camille.
What a lovely spot to go and beautiful painting. You already had talent and I can see your dedication to painting and learning.
ReplyDeleteThe PB & J muffins look yummy -- did the grands have one: :-)
Can't believe that tomorrow is the last official day of summer....what an idyllic summer we both had.
I know Debbie..and I am sure the arrival of your first little grandson made this particular summer the best:)
DeleteThis is one beautiful watercolor Monique!!
ReplyDeleteNext time dont put the date stamp inside the aquarelle SVP!!!
Mon dieu
LOl..ok..I love when you give me tips and tricks:)
DeleteLove your watercolor Monique. And I admire your attempt to learn your camera. It is so easy for me to just stay on the "Close Up" setting. I know I should try harder to learn about light. The muffins look great!
ReplyDeleteFor the first time..ever..I read a French blog I love..Chef Nini..I have made some of her breads:)desserts ..a few weeks
Deleteago she started a photo blog..and for the first time something clicked..pardon the pun..so far I finally get it..I get how to change the light..which I could do on Aperture.etc..but manual..gives you more..still not spot on..but it makes my brain work harder..without the way she explained it..I would not have gotten it..
if someone goes into too much technical detail..I tune out..she said the right words..in an easy manner..
You know what they say.."When the student is ready..the teacher will appear".
So lovely, your pictures (both watercolor and photo) of the water. I am so like you in being drawn to water, always! As September rolls along, I plot to go back to Como Lake for one last visit before the cold winds come. And now must go see your recipe - I almost always have bread and jam for brekkie:)
ReplyDeleteI love a half bagel w/ jam..I alternate my reakfasts:) I live dangerously..a few mornings my yogurt w/ chia seeds..my grapefruit..the days I live dangerously;)..the bagel..I love jam now. Loved it as a child too..the water speaks to us:)
DeleteI still only know less than half of what my camera is capable of doing but it was a revelation when I learned to control the manual features. You will love playing and your camera playing with you :) It takes longer and many photos get sent to the Recycle Bin but so worth learning. There are so many lenses that I would love to have too but many are out of reach financially. Love your beautiful photo of the muffins. Wow, they look and sound like winners! That place by the shore is so beautiful and the watercolor you made of the scene is lovely! Fall tomorrow, really? We have had some warm, delightfully warm days recently.
ReplyDeleteIt just took one person to make me want to try..you are right it is FUN Susan..I love learning things..like you ..and although I am just beginning..it has made it more exciting for me..my cameras are old..this is like they went to the fountain of youth and came back:)
DeleteThey should have taken me;)
Your fotos are flawless.
♥
The muffins do look wonderful - I bet they were tasty. Good luck with the manual settings on your camera. Once mastered you'll never go back. I shoot manual 98% of the time and aperture priority the other 2% :) Sitting by a lake reading a book with the sailboats and blue sky - looks pretty wonderful to me! Your painting is perfection !
ReplyDeleteTricia,I just love the format of your blog and your photos.That is perfection.:)
ReplyDeleteIf you're a watercolor novice, I'd hate to think what I am! I think you're amazingly talented, Monique. Love seeing all your work!
ReplyDeleteI do like pb and jelly sandwiches and have made Ina's pb and jelly bars, but since I was a kid, my favorite sandwich has been pb and honey. For some reason, my mother made it that way (think it was my father's favorite) and it's stuck with me all these years. During hurricane Wilma, I lived three meals a day on pb and honey. No electricity for 3 weeks! We've been fortunate these many years, not to have been hit...knocking on wood again!
Think I am too old to fiddle around with a new camera. The light is not as good in my new place, but the photos work well enough. Nothing professional about them.
It's the pleasure we get out of taking the pics and sharing recipes:)
DeleteWhen I started blogging..I remember 2 ind.bloggers asking me what my long term plan was..what were my goals..aspirations..?
I truthfully admitted to having no aspirations..I had had my career and that was it.
I just wanted to connect with people that had similar desires to share..
and I meant it..
but it botered me that I always shot in A or P..I felt I was not trying..but I just didn't get it..and then Chef Nini..well I said that already,she made it so my brain connected w/ her explanations..I printed up her sheet..and tried..I am just starting and I still don't get it all..but at least I can take a pic w/ M now:)
You are really kind Barbara..:):)
We ate PB and honey too.. I confess to also putting a layer of chips in my PB sandwiches..:(
Not anymore..
I am glad you have not had any bad hurricanes either..I just Googled to refresh my memory..2005..11 years ago..
KNOCKING on wood too for you.
Hope you are enjoying your new home.
Your watercolors are beautiful. We are our own critics. Peanut butter and jam muffins, what a treat! This would be the perfect snack. In the winter, I do enjoy peanut butter and jam on toast with some ovaltine or cocoa. Your photography is always beautiful. More talented than most bloggers, including myself.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny..yet nice..that when we follow someone for a long time..we see everything with rose colored glasses w/out realizing it?
DeleteI will never forget the first post I read of yours that made me Follow:)
And we get to know people ..
If I entertained like I used to..it wasn't a lot actually..but..I would ask you to set my tables.:)
I know someone in my family (Meakin) would go crazy over your muffins. I have to practically hide the peanut butter from him. Fall is really lovely where you live Monique and I totally agree with Linda's comment above about your photography is always perfect and better than most bloggers, including myself. Your painting of the lady reading is gorgeous and reminds me of the French Impressionists. Hope you have a nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteSam
It was really nice to see a post of yours pop up..I can see how you were otherwise occupied..what a difference Sam:) You had a good contracto too;)
DeleteThe muffins look so divine ♥
ReplyDeletesummerdaisycottage.blogspot.com
Thank you summer.
DeleteThey look soooooooooo delicious ! Wanted to taste some :)
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend !
Marie
I think the muffins were worth being distracted from your reading!
ReplyDelete