Last day 30 Days of Creativity - Creating a garden

For the last day of 30 Days of Creativity I have the thing I am most excited about having created. The garden that I planted in May is going great guns now.

I had to add hoops and netting to keep the squirrels out.

Here is a breakdown of what I planted.

You can see how much it has grown!

I am seeing signs of bounty - grape tomatoes popping out.

The strangest growth is the asparagus. You don't harvest asparagus the first year you plant. You get weird dill like stems at first. Can't wait to see what it looks like next year!

And that's it! I did all 30 Days of Creativity!

Day 29: 30 Days of Creativity - Pet of the Week: Nom nom nom

Apparently someone likes his greens. I added a little extra embellishment to the photo for Day 29 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Bruno #13264649

Bruno is a handsome 5-year-old, male Pit Bull mix. He weighs about 50 pounds and has a big doggie smile! Bruno came to Lollypop Farm because his family had too many pets and could not care for them all. Bruno is an energetic dog, but he is super sweet and a very well behaved boy! He loves to play and run and would love to find an active family who will spend time with him doing fun stuff inside and out. Bruno previously lived with another dog and a cat and enjoyed their company! A home with children over the age of 12 is recommended since he has no history of living with young children. Bruno must meet any resident dogs in the household just to be certain that everyone will get along because he is such a playful dog. Bruno can’t wait to meet you!

Honey Bee, the cat from last week is still waiting to be adopted.

Day 28: 30 Days of Creativity - Color arranged bookshelf

For Day 28 of 30 Days of Creativity I arranged my books in order by color. I would have like to have done the rainbow from start to finish but I am limited to what book go on what shelf by shelf height so I had to do it on each shelf.

I think it looks cool. It remains to be seen if I'll be able to find the books I'm looking for now.

Day 27: 30 Days of Creativity - Pet Pillows

For Day 27 of 30 Days of Creativity I made the boys pet beds. Well, I made them a bit ago, but I'm finally blogging about them.

You see once upon a time these poor animals had nothing but the hard cold floor to lay on. They would huddle on the heat vents for warmth.

I started with one pet bed. Cute fleece sewn up on my sewing machine and stuffed.

Problem was they had to take turns on it.

That wasn't going to work.

There was always jealousy directed at the one that got the nice soft pillow.

So I made each of them their own bed and now they can sleep away happily ever after! The end.

Day 26: 30 Days of Creativity - Ljc's summer skillet eggs

Day 26 of 30 Days of Creativity - Getting creative with breakfast. I threw together eggs, dill, seasalt, pepper, grape tomatoes, swiss cheese and dill. I think I will call it ljc's summer skillet eggs.

Day 25: 30 Days of Creativity - Caterday

Day 25 of 30 Days of Creativity - Caterday - Stewie in a sunbeam.

Day 24: 30 Days of Creativity - Night concert

I took the day off and went on a road trip with Tina, Chuck and Lauren to Binghamton to see Maroon 5. We were lucky the weather cleared up for the show which was outside. It was so nice watching the sunset - I feel like all concerts should be out under the night sky.

This pic is my Day 24 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Maroon 5's biggest little fan.

Day 23: 30 Days of Creativity - Strawberry basil jam

I have a lot of strawberries from strawberry picking last weekend and they were starting to go bad so I needed to use them fast. First up was a batch of strawberry freezer jam. While I was making it I was staring at the basil plant on my counter and thinking about how much I like strawberry basil lemonade. So I got creative (Day 23 - 30 Days of Creativity) and added some chopped up basil. I'll let you know how the strawberry basil jam tastes on toast!

I figured the perfect thing to go with the strawberries was some rhubarb. Luckily I have a nice big rhubarb plant growing in the garden.

Three rhubarb stalks later and I had a batch of strawberry rhubarb pocket pies. I love strawberry season.

Pet of the Week (Day 22:30 Days of Creativity - Pirate Kitty)

Poor Honey Bee - such a cute name but she has one bad eye. But that's okay... she can be...

Pirate Kitty! Garrrr.

Honey Bee #12710018

Honey Bee is a 5-year-old female tortoiseshell kitty. She was brought to Lollypop Farm with her 3 kittens due to allergies in her previous home. All of Honey Bee’s kittens have been adopted, so now it’s her turn to find a loving forever home. Something happened to Honey Bee’s left eye prior to arriving at Lollypop Farm. Unfortunately there is no treatment for her eye, but it doesn't seem to bother her. Honey Bee is a quiet girl who is a little shy when first meeting new people. It doesn't take her long to warm up and come over for some loving! She loves to be scratched around her ears and under her chin, and she will purr for you when you do that. If you are looking for a quiet, friendly kitty, Honey Bee is the one for you. Come out and meet Honey Bee…you won't be disappointed! Don’t forget that June is Adopt-a-Cat Month! Lollypop Farm is celebrating in a big way this year -- with Kittypalooza! Throughout June, cats aged one year and older can be adopted for just $35, while kittens younger than one year can be adopted for $35 off regular fees.

Ouna, the dog from last week was adopted!

Day 21: 30 Days of Creativity - Chalkboard candy jars

I made little goodies for my peeps that went strawberry picking. Chalkboard paint to the rescue!

Super simple. Painted the lids of some cute mason jars with chalkboard paint, filled them with strawberry candy, then drew a soggy looking strawberry on top. I wrote candy just to help solidify what was inside.

This is sort of retrospective but it's Day 21 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Day 20: 30 Days of Creativity - Homemade crackers

I was thinking about having cheese and crackers for my strawberry luncheon and the idea of making crackers from scratch struck me.

Now previously I had toyed with the thought of making homemade crackers but categorized it with making your own deodorant or sewing your own underwear. Fact is since then, I have seen people online do both and it seemed like it worked out great for them.

I found this parmesean and thyme cracker recipe and gave it a shot. They didn't turn out as crackery as I expected. They are much too crumbly for speading cheese on... more like a cookie than a cracker. But they are delicious.

I am now on the hunt for a more crackery homemade cracker recipe. After that I may be mixing up my own shampoo.

Making your own crackers is definitely Day 20 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Day 19: 30 Days of Creativity - Father's Day Tribute

We had a cool campaign at Kodak where we asked for pictures of Dads on Facebook then featured them all week on the kodak.com homepage. I submitted a picture of my dad on the beach with Wally. It's on the kodak.com homepage today and on the Kodak billboard in NYC Times Square.

Happy Father's Day!

Creative Father's Day idea - good for Day 19 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Day 18: 30 Days of Creativity - strawberry shortcake

It's srrawberry season here and we had an expedition out to the strawberry fields.

This pic cracks me up. Look at the lil peeper peeping behind them.

When I was at Wegmans getting ingredients for strawberry shortcake, I saw this issue of Fine Cooking. It seemed to be divine intervention so I got it.

The shortcake recipe turned out to be great. My cakes didn't rise super high but they were so flakey and tasty - so much better than the prepared mix I used to use.

Strawberry shortcake tastes like summer.

My shortcake creation was Day 18 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Day 17: 30 Days of Creativity - chalkboard kitchen jars

Now I am on a chalkboard painting rampage. I painted two more jars, for brown sugar and salt.

Looking for more things to paint. Considering Aaron's tool chest...

Chalkboard paint again the focus of Day 17 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Day 16: 30 Days of Creativity - chalkboard flower pots

It's been awhile since i have painted something with chalkboard paint.

I just moved my big pots of rosemary and sage outside for the summer and the kitchen counter seemed so empty. So I planted two smaller pots of rosemary and basil. I've been itching to paint more chalkboard stuff so I painted the rims of the herb pots so I could write down what was growing.

And that is Day 16 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Day 15: 30 Days of Creativity - morning beach photos

I have a lot of pictures to upload from the beach and I am slowly working through them cropping and whatnot. I can't help but share along the way.

Each morning at the beach I got up early with my dad and the pups. Those who know me well know what an accomplishment this is. I am not good at getting up early. At the beach though - it works out ok.

There are two times of day I love to take pictures. Sunrise and sunset. The light is unique. Morning light to me seems extra sharp and prone to contrast. Sunset light seems warmer and softer. Maybe it's all in my head.

Look how Oscar and Hugo are standing side by side in the above photo - cracks me up.

During the early hours of the morning on the beach there are few people around and we can let the dogs run free. Hugo sprints like a racehorse. He loves to tease Wally until Wally chases him.

I am not a morning person but I am glad I got up to capture these photos. These are for my Day 15 of 30 Days of Creativity.

Day 14: 30 Days of Creativity - shell stop action animation take 2

For Day 14 of Creativity, I added more to the stop action animation video I posted a few days ago. I found the beach writing photos I took and added that at the end.

Sometimes creativity means rework, readdressing and revisiting.

Pet of the Week

Looks like Ouna has a coat perfect for Rochester weather! Look at those juicy eyes!

Ouna #13128793

Ouna is a 3-year-old, 52 pound, female Siberian Husky/Retriever mix. She came to Lollypop Farm because her previous owner felt she wasn’t getting the time and attention she deserves. Ouna has a beautiful thick coat that will need grooming to keep it in good condition. During quiet time, Ouna enjoys like being a lap dog, being pet and nuzzled. Ouna has lots of energy and loves to play. She would love an active owner who will spend lots of time with her outside doing fun things! Ouna has spent most of her life as an outdoor dog. She’s keeping her paws crossed that she’ll soon have a comfortable spot in a new home. A home with children over the age of six is recommended. If you are interested in meeting this sweet girl, bring the whole family out, including any resident dogs to make sure they will be friends!

Day 13: 30 Days of Creativity - beach haiku

For Day 13 of 30 Days of Creativity I wrote a haiku inspired by the box of taffy I brought back from the beach for my office peeps.

Salt water taffy
Full of sea breeze and sunshine
Taste sweet memories