National Bison Range

Bison were grazing on the hills. This is what it would have looked like before settlers came west. There is nothing to interrupt the view.

Fishing in the Bitterroot

This is another part of my Montana sketchbook. Today we went on a float trip with Wapiti Waters and our guide was Jay and his dog Ruby. We floated from Darby to Wally takeout and it was about 11 miles and fished the entire time (a lunch break was provided). I hooked into a 23" Brown Trout and hauled in 2 small cutthroats and hooked an 18 inch trout. Bryan had more fish but I had the biggest hit of the day. I learned the fly fishing technique of stripping in, mending the line for dry fly fishing. Jay observed that the fish were eating golden stone flies and tied a fly on for us. We fished from 9:30 am to 7:30pm and got back in time for dinner on the deck: a delicate beef dinner with wild morel sauce, corn, green beans, salad and homemade bread then blueberry custard for dessert

Montana sketchbook

I was reminded of our trip to Montana when I received a letter in the mail yesterday that the lodge is for sale. Here are a few pages from my sketchbook: Sunday July 27, 1997- Today after french toast we hiked just over a mile or so to a waterfall on the property. There were "shoots" of water on the flat rocks that one could swim in but the water was too cold. We ate raspberries and saw ripe thimbleberries. We also saw a male rufus Hummer 3 1/2 inches, a Pine Grosbeak and a male evening Grosbeak. I could identify some of the plants: Beargrass, Sulfur buckwheat, Baneberry (poisionous) woods strawberry, raspberries, huckleberries,Fireweed, Horsemint (looks like bee balm). I pressed some twin flower in the book. So many things that I saw I couldn't identify.

Well it is about time

This past year has been all about change. We started the year off with a career change for Bryan, got our house ready to be sold, the big move to Denver and now the launch of my new site and blog. This will showcase the very latest new things that I have been up. My focus these past few months have been learning XHTML, XML, CSS Flash. I did the site design myself and now it is live. While I love technology, I still enjoy sketching and working with handmade works of art. The blog will be mostly a showcase of my sketches and my fine art. Here is a sketch from one of my trips to Dominican Republic. On this cold February day enjoy a bit of summer.
Becky

Vegetarian Times

Loved Loved Loved working with this magaazine.

Vienna

Last week was spent sipping Cafe Melange and eating a wide variety of desserts in Vienna. My life was changed when I tasted the plum cake at Cafe Sperl . And the hot chocolate at Demel.

Bryan attended the http://www.scope.at/
Scope Conference, while my mother-in-law and I expored Vienna. But we were able to attend the Scope opening keynote speech by Harvard professor of Humanities Homi K. Bhabha. He explored the concepts of cultural respect and the appropriation of the past. What is worth being a part of our cultural heritage. Death and display and curatorial choices and the museum as a condemed site.

Preserved Lemons Recipe

This fall I have been making Moroccan dishes that call for preserved lemons. You store them in sea salt in a jar in the refrigerator. They are really easy to make and are a great gift for a friend who likes to cook and eat. I use organic lemons since you eat the skin. I bought a clamp style glass jar to store them in. Just put a little sea salt, the coarse kind in the bottom of the jar. Then pack the quartered but intact lemons in adding salt all around. You want them also covered or touching the salt and/or lemon juice. Sometimes I add extra lemon juice. Use a wooden spoon to push the lemons lightly into the salt. I do this every few days for about a week just to make sure that they have contact with the salt. If mold ever grows on it (this has never happened to me) just cut it off. This would be due to lemons being exposed to air and not juice and salt.

See the sketch for an idea of how to cut them. I am not sure why they leave them in tact because you never use a whole one, more like 1/8 or 1/16 or so per recipe. I preserve about 6 at a time and it takes me a year to use them up. But I see that the recipe book says they are good for 6 months. The ones I make are so much better than if you were to buy them in the store. I use them in soup, potato salad. I also wash off the salt from the lemon before using. Fantastic with lamb or chicken stew dishes. A little adds something unique to your normal dishes.

I learned this from a Sur La Table cooking class by Kitty Morse. I highly recommend her reasonably priced books "Cooking at the Casbah" and "Couscous: Fresh and Flavorful Contemporary Recipes". I use them regularly. She is a wonderful teacher. http://www.kittymorse.com/

Paris Journaling

Here is a journal that I made to take to Paris. I bought an existing photo album and took it apart, decorated it using vintage perfume labels and hand dyed ribbon and then and put in my own sketch paper. Viola! I had alot of fun making this but it was big and heavy to haul around....thanks Bryan. Paris was hot hot hot! We found ourselves seeking coolness in museums, galleries, and under the awning of bistros. Besides hanging out in Paris one day we took a 45 minute train ride Monet's home and gardens in Giverny. I loved seeing the espalied pears or apples made into a living fence. Monet diverted a river to create his famous pond and it is truly magical. I enjoyed seeing the water lilies and the little man in the green painted boat that took care of the pond and lilies. Ok there were tons of tourists but we got there right when it opened so it wasn't too bad. There was a lady tourist that showed up in a perfect garden dress and hat that dressed specifically to be photographed in Monet's garden. What a brillant idea.....wish I had thought of that! Although she kept on making dramatic poses and it took my eye away from the garden....kind of maddening. I was surprised to find an Impressionism museum and gardens next to Monet's property and garden. It is definitely worth a visit. I enjoyed the white garden and eating lunch under the trellis overlooking the gardens.

What is in a name?

The name "Twisted Leash" came to me while I was walking my two toy fox terriers Mango and Molly. They get tangled like "Keystone Cops" going after sleepy old cats and fluffy tailed squirrels. A whispered word of "rabbit" sends them into spasms. My "Twisted Leash" walks are also a time to clear my mind and to contemplate new ideas. I recently picked up this leaf and noticed a modern composition created by a grate.