Just for fun . . .
Posts Tagged ‘tattoos’
What is tattoo Tuesday about?
January 10, 2017
Kazuaki Horitomo is a California-based Japanese artist who combines two of his great passions – tattoos and cats – into one. As an illustrator and tattoo artist, Horitomo is steeped in the Japanese tradition of tebori (a technique of tattooing by hand) and his illustrations reflect that. Some of our favorites works are the humorous and surreal depictions of cats performing tebori on other cats.
What am I celebrating today?
January 3, 2017
Today is the Festival of Sleep . . . so grab your warmest quilt and your softest pillows and celebrate! (This photo was taken of someone, somewhere in Edinburgh.)
It is tattoo Tuesday . . .
Who do we celebrate today?
December 13, 2016
“St Lucia was a young Christian girl who was martyred, killed for her faith, in 304. The most common story told about St Lucia is that she would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians in Rome, who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. Lucy means ‘light’ so this is a very appropriate name.
December 13th was also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the old ‘Julian’ Calendar and a pagan festival of lights in Sweden was turned into St. Lucia’s Day.” – Christmas in Sweden
Whose birthday am I noting today?
December 6, 2016
Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers and students in various cities and countries around Europe. Today is his feast day. Christmas is just around the corner.
Whose birthday am I noting on tattoo Tuesday?
November 29, 2016
Today is Louisa May Alcott’s birthday. She was born in Philadelphia in 1832.
“Alcott, a suffragist, abolitionist and feminist as well as a writer, was born in Pennsylvania in 1832. She volunteered as a nurse during the American Civil War and was active in the women’s suffrage movement; she became the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Mass.
As a novelist, Little Women was her first success. The book is a semi-autobiographical account of the lives of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March, from childhood to womanhood. Written in two parts in 1880, the novel was so successful initially that it sold out and it has remained a popular children’s classic more than 100 years later.” – Time
This quotation is from Little Women.
What did I see on tattoo Tuesday?
November 22, 2016
This morning on the way to work at Fancy-pants University, which is in what we call an urban setting, I spied this guy off on the grass – actually there were two of them. I quickly took a photo and if you zoom in on it you will see . . .
I don’t know where they came from, but clearly they were making a break for it.
What am celebrating on tattoo Tuesday?
October 18, 2016
“… in Sitka, Alaska, on October 18, 1867, the great land of Alaska was transferred from Russia to the United States.
The Russian Double Eagle was lowered for the last time, and the Stars and Stripes made their first appearance over Alaskan soil in a ceremony formalizing the transfer of the territory of Alaska from Tsarist Russia to the United States of America at the incredible purchase price of approximately two cents per acre.”
I suggest celebrating with a . . .
Or, get a tattoo . . .
Whose day am I noting on tattoo Tuesday?
October 4, 2016
Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. Born in 1226, St. Francis is the patron saint of Italy, of animals, and the natural environment. He is also the founder of the Franciscan order of friars. Although he followed an ascetic life style, it is rumored that he had a fondness for honey cake. Here is a recipe (which is also appropriate for Rosh Hashana):
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee or strong tea
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup rye or whisky (or orange juice)
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (optional)
Preparation
This cake best baked in a 9-inch angel food cake pan, but you can also make it in a 10-inch tube or bundt cake pan, a 9 by 13-inch sheetpan, or three 8 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the pan(s). For tube and angel food pans, line the bottom with lightly greased parchment paper. For gift honey cakes, I use “cake collars” (available from Sweet Celebrations) designed to fit a specific loaf pan. These give the cakes an appealing, professional look.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Make a well in the center and add the oil, honey, sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee, orange juice, and rye or whisky.
Using a strong wire whisk or an electric mixer on slow speed, combine the ingredients well to make a thick batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s) and sprinkle the top of the cake(s) evenly with the almonds. Place the cake pan(s) on 2 baking sheets stacked together and bake until the cake springs back when you touch it gently in the center. For angel and tube cake pans, bake for 60 to 70 minutes; loaf cakes, 45 to 55 minutes. For sheet-style cakes, the baking time is 40 to 45 minutes. This is a liquidy batter and, depending on your oven, it may need extra time. Cake should spring back when gently pressed.
Let the cake stand for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
What is tattoo Tuesday about?
September 27, 2016
Wouldn’t the debates be more fun if our presidential candidates were tattooed like Vladimir Franz who is in third place in the Czech presidential race?
Gunsmoke and Knitting 