Completely Off Topic...GO PHILLY!!!!

This one is for my husband. He is a staunch Philadelphia fan. Basketball, hockey, football, and yes, people baseball. We live in New England, so he has been surround by, well, you know, for the past 7 years that we have lived in Providence. He has been generous and a good sport, and has managed to hold his own, no problem. But, last night when Philadelphia WON THE WORLD SERIES, he was speechless, he was stunned. I jumped up and down like a kid in sheer delight of the moment, for HIM. So, again, this one is for my husband!

Wordless Wednesday

There she goes again.....

Walk for a Cure, Juvenile Diabetes

I know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I am a huge supporter, as my Mother is a breast cancer survivor of over 40 years. However, any of you who may have read my bio or have been following this blog for any stretch of time know that my 19 year old son Edward, has Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes. Yesterday, in the beautiful Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI, we had our annual 'Walk for a Cure'. There were close to 6000 people ( many of our 4 legged friends as well) at the event! Walk for a Cure is an annual event which takes place throughout our nation. The goal is to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. JDRF is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease that strikes children suddenly and requires multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump. Insulin, however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications that may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation. Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.16 billion to diabetes research, including more than $137 million in FY2007. In FY2007, the Foundation funded 700 centers, grants and fellowships in 20 countries.

I want to give huge thank you thank you thank you to Jenny Mello and Mary Ellen Rivet from the Rhode Island Branch for their tireless efforts to raise a ton of money for research to find a cure. Thank you is not, and will never be enough.

Catching Up...

My public 'thank you' for these awards is long over due, so I seize this quiet moment on a Saturday morning to give a very hearty and humble 'thank you' to two gals who are brilliant artists, kind and loving human beings and in both cases, I feel most honored to call friend.

Thank you Kim, from Laketrees, for the Arte y Pico award and to Triz, from Beading Mania for the Brilliante Weblog, 2008 award.

I might add that Kim also from Top Artists' Directory has posted a piece of my artwork for this week. Have a look/see when you get a chance!!! More thanks to Kim!

Words for Wednesday: Comfort and Ceramics

I am back home in Providence, after being back home in New York City since last Tuesday, when Mom was released from the hospital. She really needed someone there, ie, moi, to help get her back up on her feet, literally. Mom is a small person, so her weight loss of 10 pounds is ALOT. This weight gain calls for drastic measures and that falls under the category of COMFORT FOOD!!! In our family (extended as well), that means 'Grandma's Spaghetti'. 'Grandma's Spaghetti', is a baked casserole dish with lots of cheese and other ingredients that will most assuredly raise your cholesterol with just a few bites. But, every now and then it is a must. THIS was certainly such a time. Mom lives in a great building in Battery Park City, called the Hallmark. It is an independent living building for Seniors. I refer to it as a dormitory for 'Seniors'. So, when I needed a casserole dish in which to bake our famous family recipe, her good friend Phyllis Morse (and my friend too...hi Phyllis!), offered up a beautiful hand thrown ceramic casserole dish, that her companion of many years, Arthur Pogran, (who is 95 and a well known ceramist) crafted. For Phyllis, in return, a hearty portion of 'Grandma's Spaghetti', of course! The casserole always looks beautiful after I take it out of the oven, but this time, it looked especially beautiful in Arthur's dish, so much so, that I had to take photo of it....so, ta daaaa.

Here is the recipe:
1 lb pasta (the 9-10 minutes cooking time kind)

2 bricks orange extra sharp cheddar cheese

2 cans Campbell's tomato soup

milk

Crisco solid
Pre-heat oven to 350 and put down a piece of foil in case of spill over...it happens..

Take the cheese out ahead of time to be room temp. (it's just easier to cut) and cube into about 1/2" pieces...set aside

Open up cans of soup

Get milk and Crisco ready

Boil pasta according to directions...no need to salt the water as the cheese is salty...drain pasta and put back in pot.

Throw in the cubed cheese and 2 cans of soup

Add 1/2-3/4 can of milk. ...use the tomato soup can for measuring...swish is around to get out all of the soup

Add 2 'almost' tablespoons of the Crisco solid...there's a certain feel to how much...

Get some good mixing spoons and mix everything thoroughly... the Crisco will melt...make sure of that..the cheese won't melt but make sure that you really stir it up from the bottom.

That's it...put in to casserole baking dish...round is good

Bake for 1 1/2 hours...the top should be nice and dark and bubbly and crispy...

ENJOY!!!

Swans...oooops, Gourds!

I had a field day at Schartner Farms last Sunday. It was a perfect, and I mean perfect fall afternoon on the farm. There were hay rides, kids everywhere, pumpkins, mums, and gourds galore. I could not help but revert back to thoughts of my warm summer days, remembering the great show that the swans offered up. These gourds MUST BE swans in disguise, certainly!

Wordless Wednesday

Pawtuxet River, R.I.

The fresh river water meets the salt water...bash!

White Pumpkins...and Mom?????

My Mother is being released from Rusk, the Pulmonary/Cardiac Re-hab Unit of New York University Hospital on Wednesday! She has benefited so much from all the re-hab while in the hospital, but she will still require bi-weekly visits, as an out-patient to NYU for the next 6 weeks, re-hab at home and an aide. I will be headed to New York City tomorrow to be with her, probably through to next Monday. I will continue to post, but I may not be able to make my daily drops on you fellow Entrecard-ers, due to lack of an appropriate computer. Please, help a gal out, and continue to drop on Amy Lilley Designs!!! Thank you all, again for your support and prayers for her!

The white pumpkins are FABULOUS! There was an entire cart of them...I just can't get over how gorgeous they are. I have MORE goodies that I will be posting from my afternoon at the farm!!! The photo can be seen in my Etsy shop and would make a great set of cards!

If I Had Wings...

...no one would ask me, could I fly,

the bird sings, no one asks why...

Amy Lilley

Win a Free Portrait for Christmas #3

PRIZE:
A free portrait of ONE subject of your choice....you OR...your partner OR.....your son/daughter OR...your grannie OR...your favourite pet!!!
value: $6,000+ plus free postage (including international)
size/medium: Acrylic or Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas/90cm x 1m
Judge - Jan Dean

Entry Details:
1. → Post about the competition on your blog with a link back to laketrees

<a href="http://laketrees.blogspot.com/">laketrees</a>

2. → Subscribe to laketrees by Email

3. → Comment in this post to let me know when you have done 1 and 2 and write a short paragraph describing who you would choose for your portrait and why...

About the Judge:

As a resident of Cardiff, Lake Macquarie, Jan Dean has published widely in journals, anthologies and the literary pages of newspapers. She has won prizes in local and national competitions, and her poems have been selected for inclusion in the Best Australian Poetry (UQP) and The Best Australian Poems (Black Inc).

Wordless Wednesday

Calendula Bud

Pen & Ink
AmyLilley

Autumn Hydrangea

Autumn is in full swing in New England. Although, I have to say, my impatience, my overflowing impatience in my window boxes, are still hanging on. These are photos of the same hydrangea which I took during the summer. Their deep purples, blue tones and green hues make for quite an eye full. I have cut them back and have them hanging upside down on the wall right above my computer. For me, a very symbolic sign of entering into the new season!

My Mom is doing better and is in a brand new wing of the hospital for pulmonary/cardiac rehabilitation. She thinks it is so beautiful, that she may not mind staying for 2 weeks! Sense of humor, still intact!. Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers for her. I simply cannot thank you enough.