Archives: 2013

July 4, 2013

July Creative Challenge Day 4: PRIDE

Well, it’s the Fourth of July and here in America that elicits a lot of PRIDE in our Founding Fathers. So for today’s challenge I did a word collage based on the Declaration of Independence and the original signers.

My Declaration word collage.

The Declaration is an amazing document and it is worth a trip to the National Archives in Washington DC to see it in person (along with the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the 1217 Magna Carta. I’d also strongly suggest a trip to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA where the Declaration was debated and adopted.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Like the Bible and the Constitution people read the Declaration in different ways, often to fit their specific needs. Indeed, when Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Livingston and Sherman put their heads together to come up with the document they had their disagreements, and before the Second Continental Congress finally adopted it copious compromises had to be accommodated. Alas, certain races and sexes had been edited out of the “all men” altogether (not that women were ever really in the mix to begin with.) Yet, despite it’s flaws and the flaws of the men who signed it, the Declaration remains one of the best treatises on the rights of individual man and of independent states ever written.

I encourage you to read it in its entirety. Here’s a full transcript of the Declaration. Or to listen to it HERE from NPR.

The Assembly Room inside Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The Assembly Room inside Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

For more information on the signers I suggest delving into the profiles posted on The Society of The Descendants of the Signers of the declaration of Independence. Click HERE to read about John Penn from North Carolina (who I picked at random). John Penn was instrumental in organizing the North Carolina delegates to vote for Independence. He:

He served in the Continental Congress for six years
He signed the Declaration of Independence
He signed the Articles of Confederation
He signed the Halifax Resolves (the North Carolina Constitution)
He was virtual dictator of North Carolina at what arguably was the turning point of the American Revolution in 1781-1782 [DSDI1776.com]

John Penn (Continental Congress) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3 Comments | tags: American Revolution, Continental Congress, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, United States Declaration of Independence | posted in American History, History, July Challenge, postaday, Thought of the Day, United States, Writing

July 4, 2013

July Creative Challenge: Day 4

By ritalovestowrite

The Creative Challenge prompt for Day 4 is:

PRIDE

Show me what you got. Send visual or written responses to my email.

Cheers,

Rita

Leave a comment | posted in Thought of the Day

July 3, 2013

Farm Fresh Challenge: Fava Flavor

By ritalovestowrite

Yes! Fava Beans were featured in this week’s CSA box from Calvert’s Gift Farm. They are a little labor intensive, but the taste factor is worth it.

Bounty from the box. This today I’ll used zucchini (far left), basil (leff), fava beans (top), onion (bottom), garlic (2:00). We also got broccoli, cukes, lettuce and eggs.

Welcome to another edition of Farm Fresh Challenge / Chopped Parkton.

[Not associated with the real Chopped, the Food Network or Ted Allen.]

FROM THE BOX:

2 lb Fava Beans

1 Large Zucchini (or 3 small Zucchini)

1 medium Onion

1 Garlic

Basil

FROM THE PANTRY:

Olive Oil

S&P

Garlic Salt

Lemon

Paper Towels

FROM THE FRIDGE:

Grated Italian Cheese

1lb Beef Cubes

Directions:

1. Fava Beans are kind of a pain to prepare, so stick with me. First bring a large pot of water to boil. Shell the outer pod of the Favas and discard the husk. Put the beans in the hot water to par boil them for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until they are cool enough to handle.

Fava bean with par boiled shell still in place.

You aren’t done yet. Peal off the outer shell to reveal the inner bean. This lighter green Fava Bean is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Top — Fava good
Bottom — Fava bad (well Fava still in the outer shell, and it will TASTE bad if you eat it.)

2. Dry out the pot and add 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil. Heat to hight.

3. Dice Onion and mince Garlic. Add to the Olive Oil. When the Onions are translucent toss in the Fava Beans. Sautée for 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer all the ingredients to a bowl lined with a paper towel.

4. Mash and squeeze in the juice of a half a lemon and mix. Cover to keep in heat.

Sautéed Zucchini

1. Cut the Zucchini into strips 4″ x 1/2″ x 1/2″. Add to the already hot oil in the pan (add more oil if necessary.) Sprinkle with Salt, Pepper and Garlic Salt. Cook each side of the Zucchini Strips for 3 minutes.

Transfer to paper towel lined plate and pat with additional paper towels to remove excess oil. Transfer to a bowl and top with Italian Cheese. Repeat with all but 1 cup of remaining Zucchini. Cover bowl to retain heat.

2. Set remaining Zucchini aside to serve uncooked.

Sautéed Beef

1. Carefully place the Beef Cubes into the hot oil. Sautée for a few minutes on each side until brown. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and pat dry to remove excess oil.

2. Plate quickly before he beef gets cold.

The final dish has Zucchini two ways (Sautéed with Italian Cheese and raw), Sautéed Beef, and Fava Mash.

This was delicious, but frankly I’ll never cook Zucchini this way again. Too much trouble and too much oil for me. The Beef with the Fava Bean was fabulous.

3 Comments | tags: Fava Bean, Zucchini | posted in Farm Fresh Challenge, Fava Beans, postaday

July 3, 2013

July Creative Challenge Day 3: EXPLORATION

By ritalovestowrite

Welcome back to the July Creative Challenge. Today’s prompt is: EXPLORATION.

I invite you to send in your visual or written entries.

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I knew when I came up with this prompt that I wanted to do a title graphic that evoked a 1970’s TV SciFi space exploration program, and that sent me on my own exploration of sorts. An EXPLORATION of type.

As a graphic designer I have hundreds of typefaces on my computer, and millions more are a few clicks away on the internet. Most are utilitarian stalwarts with proper serifs or a crisp no nonsense ariel-esque san serif style. And I use them day in and day out for communicating proper, no nonsense things. But I’ve got a special file with oddball typefaces like Legion and Comic Age incase Gene Roddenberry should come back from the grave and stand at my desk demanding “Damn it Rita, I need a logo for space ship, not a newsletter!”

Then I could whip out that special file and present him with something like this…

“Exploration” in Comic Age

Or this…

“Exploration” in Legion

Of course I’d spend a lot more time on a real logo than I did these quickies, but Gene would no doubt be impressed enough to reward me with a red shirt and a one way ticket with the Away Team to Alpha Centuri Seven, or something.

When I teach Graphic Design to young people they always go for either the typeface that has the name that is closest to their own (I suspect it makes the typeface easier to remember) or the typeface that is the wildest, funkiest, and busiest. I try to assure them that if they stick with design they’ll have 4 or 5 decades to explore typefaces, and they don’t need to put every trick into this one pony.

You’ve got to fit the typeface to the project or the only thing you are communicating is that you are a bad communicator.

What message would it have given the reader if I’d ignore the obvious choice for the TUDORs yesterday (Goudy Text MT) and went with something less appropriate…

“Tudor” in Goudy Text MT and GiddyUp. King Henry is NOT amused.

Sometimes when I’m in the processof picking a face I employ the guitar tuning method. I type in the word (as I would pluck the guitar string) and then I try a face I KNOW is wrong (just as I turn the tuning peg on the guitar too far so it is too flat). KNOWING it is JUST TOO WRONG helps me find the true tone (both on the guitar and in Font Book).

Want to “explore” some fun, funky typefaces (aka waste an afternoon)? Visit this site… They have 1,001 “free” fonts.

The Art of Typography (tigerprint.typepad.com)
Moving Type (dropsomespecs.wordpress.com)
July Challenge Day 2: TUDOR (ritalovestowrite.com)

3 Comments | tags: Gene Roddenberry, Graphic design | posted in July Challenge, postaday, Thought of the Day

July 2, 2013

July Challenge: Day 3

By ritalovestowrite

I hope you are warming up to the Creative Challenge. Remember you can do anything creative. Just get those juices flowing. (And keep it clean.)

The challenge for tomorrow is: EXPLORATION

I’m interested to see what you come up with. Written responses can be left as a comment. Images… you can email me.

Cheers,

Rita

ritaLOVEStoWRITE@gmail.com

Leave a comment | posted in Thought of the Day

July 2, 2013

July Challenge Day 2: TUDOR

By ritalovestowrite

Here’s my post followed by some early entries to the Creative Challenge, day two…

[Background image: Pembroke Castle; courtesy: Wikimedia]

[My contribution to the Creative Challenge… a logo for a BBC style documentary on the family. Background image: Pembroke Castle; courtesy: Wikimedia]

I’m not a Tudor expert. Other people with a lot more knowledge of British History have written volumes and volumes on Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and the rest. Today’s blog doesn’t come close to telling the whole story of that family. But it is the birthday of Elizabeth Tudor, Henry the VIII’s little sister, so I thought I’d tell you a little bit about her.

English: Portrait of the Royal Tudors. At left, Henry VII, with Prince Arthur behind him, then Prince Henry (later Henry VIII), and Prince Edmund, who did not survive early childhood. To the right is Elizabeth of York, with Princess Margaret, then Princess Elizabeth who didn’t survive childhood, Princess Mary, and Princess Katherine, who died shortly after her birth. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

She was born in 1492, one year after Henry. Although she was just three years old when she died she was already a pawn in the marriage game the Tudors were so very “good” at playing. She was to be wed to Prince Francis. Had she lived she would have become Queen of France to his King Francis I. Alas the little girl died of atrophy in 1495.

Elizabeth spent much of her short life at the royal nursery of Eltham Palace, Kent, with her brother Prince Henry (the future King Henry VIII) and her sister Princess Margaret (later Queen of Scotland) under the guidance of a Lady Mistress, presided over by her mother. Elizabeth’s oldest brother, Prince Arthur, as heir to the throne, was brought up separately in his own household. [Find a Grave.com]

Her death, she was the first of the children to die young –Edmund and Katherine would also die in infancy — effected the family greatly. Her parents spent a lavish amount of money on her funeral and tomb. And Margaret and Henry were devastated by the loss of their little sister and play mate. (He was only 4 at the time.)

A decade later Arthur, the eldest and heir, would die too. Here is Henry with his surviving sisters Margaret and Mary.

English: Erasmus of Rotterdam visiting the children of Henry VII at Eltham Palace in 1499 and presenting Prince Henry (the future Henry VIII.) with a written tribute. Detail of oil painting in the Prince’s chamber in Westminster Hall. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When the Court was sure that Arthur’s widow, Katherine of Aragon, was not with child, Henry was made Prince of Wales and the heir apparent. He also became betrothed to Arthur’s widow Katherine of Aragon to maintain the political alliance of the marriage brought with Spain. (He was 15, she was 21).

Here’s my chart showing the marriages and offspring of the Tudors.

Henry VIII is, of course the central figure in this chart — I supposed that happens when you have six wives and change the church of a nation — but there are eight other heads of states on there (not including poor Jane Grey). That’s a lot of power in one family.

His older sister, Margaret, was married off to James IV of Scotland. She was the grandmother of Mary Queen of Scots.

English: A picture of Margaret Tudor from “Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth” Deutsch: Ein Porträt Margaret Tudors aus “Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

His younger sister, Mary, was married first to Louis XII of France, a man 30 years her senior. He died two months later and Mary married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, in a secret ceremony, and with out Henry’s consent. She was the grandmother of Lady Jane Grey.

Mary Tudor, Queen of France and subsequently wife of Charles Brandon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Thanks to Bill and KL for playing along on the Creative challenge today… I like the way you think!

Please feel free to join them by commenting with your creative take on TUDOR or sending me an email.

Bill suggests a VW Beetle as our Tudor (or is it two door)…

[Image Courtesy: TheSamba.com]

KL sent in this gif for us. You have to look closely at it to see why…

Liisa thought of a Tudor Rose — the rose that has red on the outside and a white center, the colors of the petals representing the joining of the York and Lancaster houses after the War of the Roses.

Tudor rose badge from the Pelican Portrait of Elizabeth I of England (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Book review: G.J. Meyer’s “The Tudors – The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty” (thoughtsonwritingandreading.wordpress.com)
A new emission from the Diaries of Henry Tudor (Part Three…) (professoranastasiavb.wordpress.com)
The King’s Deception and listen to my interview with the author (tillie49.wordpress.com)
Tudor portraits to be restored at National Portrait Gallery (telegraph.co.uk)

3 Comments | tags: Elizabeth Tudor, Henry VII of England, Henry VIII of England, Tudor dynasty | posted in Elizabeth I, England, Europe, History, July Challenge, postaday, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday

July 2, 2013

July Challenge: Day 1 Intro

By ritalovestowrite

HB graphite pencils Deutsch: Bleistifte der Stärke HB (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hi All,

For the month of JULY I would like to issue a challenge to all my followers / readers. Every day I’ll post a word or phrase prompt and I will ask you to reply with creative response. It can be a photograph, a piece of fiction, a costume sketch, a story intro, a graphic design treatment, an act of random kindness … anything you’d like that is based on the prompt. (Kindly keep it clean, this is a an all ages blog, after all.) Just report back to us as a comment to this blog.

The prompt for tomorrow, July 2nd, is:

Tudor

OK … show us what you’ve got.

4 Comments | posted in July Challenge

July 1, 2013

Muffin Monday Double Berry Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

Ohhh, I know I shouldn’t have favorites, but I DO love Muffin Mondays. We’re lucky enough to have a couple of mature blackberry bushes and a newbie blueberry bush in the yard. The berry yield for this pretties came from those obliging bushes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cup Fresh Berries (Blackberries and Blueberries)

1 1/4 cup Zucchini (Grated)

1/8 cup Rhubarb (Grated)

1/3 cup Sugar

I only had one stalk of rhubarb left from the other day’s recipe. That came out to about a quarter cup when grated.

3 cups White Whole Wheat Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Salt

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Almond Milk

1 cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 stick Butter melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare 18 muffin cups with liners and cooking spray.

2 .In a large bowl gently mash the berries with a spoon. Add grated Zucchini, Rhubarb and 1/3 Sugar. Mix.

Mashed berries, Zucchini and rhubarb.

3. In a second bowl combine the Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt.

4. In a third bowl (do you see a pattern here?) combine the Eggs, Milk, 1 cup of Sugar, Vanilla and Butter.

5. Add the Egg/Milk mixture to the Flour and stir until combined to form the batter.

6. Fold the Berries into the batter.

7. Divide evenly into muffin cups. BAKE for 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean.

Fresh from the oven muffin-y goodness.

8. Let cool 5 minutes and remove from muffin cups. Enjoy with some butter.

No taster quotes today as Maggie is at work… so you’ll have to take my word for it… these muffins are yummy, light and the perfect moisture level. My only complaint would be the number of bowls I had to employ to make them.