Olo, Newest Wooden Man

Olo, Newest Wooden Man, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

The newest addition to my wood figure 'obsession' is also photographed with my new photography addiction. (I recently upgraded to an iphone and quickly discovered the joy of apps, specifically instagrams!)

Here's Olo, named by my daughter. Photographed as an instagram.

Sweet Little Color Break - Zinnia

Zinnia, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

A sweet zinnia from my garden. Played around in Photoshop a little. I just love zinnias and finally planted them again after not getting around to it for a few years.

I sowed a mix of several packets in an informal cutting garden. Some of my favorite varieties are "Persian Carpet" and "Cut and Come Again".

Love!

Black Spanish Radish

Many years ago I traded some of my garden seeds in an online seed swap. One of the seeds I received as a bonus from the swapper was for an heirloom called Black Spanish Radish.

Since I hadn't requested the seeds and my gardening plate was pretty full they were put into my 'maybe later' bag, which I store in my refrigerator crisper. Every year I would start seed shopping in late January and buy/acquire my new seeds, make my lists of what I wanted to grow, write up my germination plans and start sowing in March or April. Many packets of seeds kept getting bumped to the 'maybe later' bag and as luck would have it this year ended up being the 'use up the maybe later bag' year.

Last night we made a Black Spanish Radish Slaw/Salad using some other vegetables from our garden, our neighbor's garden, and what else we had on hand. Amounts are somewhat fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pantsish as we usually wing it on our recipes. We also believe in seasoning to taste so we highly recommend adding herbs or seasoning to make this to YOUR taste.

Black Spanish Radish Slaw/Salad

2 medium black Spanish radishes -peeled and shredded
1 large cucumber -peeled, de-seeded and cubed
1/2 c carrot rounds -thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)
1/2 c red bell pepper -julienned
2 scallion/green onions -thinly sliced
1 c sour cream -a little more or less is fine
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
other spices/herbs as to taste

Combine all and chill. Served here as lunch with a few fresh green pea pods and a sprinkling of black salt. Also good layered open-face on dense brown German bread with hard-boiled egg slices and some Havarti cheese.

New Tool Alert - Foredom Flex Shaft

My trusty little Dremel has been chugging along for the last 15 years or so. It came with a flex shaft attachment, but I never really found it comfortable to use - too stiff. I've done all my work holding the main body of the tool. I replaced the motor brushes once and now the tool is making similar straining noises, slowing down, and not working at variable speed - it holds just one speed.

Between the age of the Dremel, the problems it's having and personally being tired of the weight of the tool I've decided to upgrade.

Here's the newest addition to the studio...... my new Foredom Flex Shaft SR-2272. It has a variable speed foot control and a runs so smoothly! The flex shaft is very comfortable and seems much more flexible than the Dremel. I'm so excited I cleaned and organized the workspace - almost like I'm trying to impress. :^)