Lemon Tree

I've wanted a lemon tree for the longest time.  My cousin "Kitchen" and Auntie Carol had one, and it produced the most beautiful Meyer lemons.  However, the trees are expensive, and I was afraid I'd kill a small lemon tree plant (the reasonably priced ones).  I am terrible with plants and flowers. (Although I do better with them when they are outdoors.  I took care of the garden in Watertown, and it did just fine!)

One day last summer, however, we found a Meyer lemon tree at Market Basket.  It was a decent size and only $17 bucks, I think.  We brought it home.

Well, there are lemons all over it now, and it goes through phases where the flowers smell so nice!  I love this little tree!  I will admit that Carlos waters it and takes care of it, which is probably why it has survived.  But I'm so glad we have it.  I hope these little lemons develop into big, edible ones someday soon!

My photos suck, as always.  Sorry!

The tag on the tree said it could stay in this pot, but what do you think?  Time to move to something bigger?  I really really really don't want it to die!

Whole Life Challenge Favorite Recipes

I'm now more than half-way through the challenge.  I've had to drink more water, sleep more, and meditate, and I'm feeling better for having done it all.  Next week's challenge is to *read* 10 minutes a day, anything I find inspirational, whether it be a blog, book, magazine, etc.  Awesome!  My clothes do fit better, although I still haven't dropped a ton of weight.  But I honestly do think my body is functioning better, and I definitely feel stronger.  I went from barely being able to do a modified push-up to knocking out 20 at a time (still not that impressive, but I only do them on weekends) and then another 10 after doing 30 seconds of another weight exercise in between.  So that is definitely measurable progress.

My go-to recipes throughout all this have been these, along with some other favorite recipes that I was able to keep eating by just modifying the ingredients slightly.  For example, we can keep eating buffalo chicken.  I just make it with Frank's Hot Sauce instead of the buffalo wing sauce I was using before (the buffalo wing sauce had chemicals in it.  Frank's is just vinegar, water, and chile.).

Banana Applesauce Cookies

Flourless PB Banana Muffins

Baked Salmon with Garlic and Dijon

Greek Marinated Chicken 

1 cup plain yogurt 2 Tbsp olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced ½ Tbsp dried oregano 1 medium lemon zest juice from 1/2 lemon ½ tsp salt freshly cracked pepper ¼ bunch fresh parsley 3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces ~ Combine marinade. Place pieces in marinade in gallon ziplock. Bake 375 45-60 minutes or grill

All of these recipes are good enough to remain in my repertoire even after this challenge is over.  And the good news is that there are many more things out there to try--I just haven't been as adventurous for the past week or two about exploring new things and have relied heavily on these standbys.

I actually have LOVED doing this challenge and will consider doing it again this summer, or at least at the start of every year to get back on track after a tough fall work-wise and heavy eating for the holidays.  

Gattas Gallery of Art, New Collections

I am extremely proud to share with you the Gattas Gallery's newest collections of fine art by Adrian and Sebastian.

These are the last works of art done by Adrian and Sebastian during their residence at the Kindercare Institute for Fine Art.

Yes, the surf board is supposed to be upside down.  That's part of this work's brilliance.

In "Apple Trees in the Breeze" Adrian has captured the graceful movement of the apples and tree branches in the early fall wind.

In "Rotten Apples" Sebastian portrayed rotting apples, left on the tree by apple pickers at the end of the season.

These plaques were provided by the Kindercare Institute for Fine Art when A & S left.

Here at home, the boys are receiving art master classes from Natalie.  They have been prolific producers of art of all kinds.

Notice the green leaf below (representing the shy, developing side of Sebastian's personality) is eclipsed by the gigantic yellow leaf (representing his gregarious, outgoing side).

Adrian chose leaves of vibrant colors that provide nice contrast next to each other, another representation of personality.  In his case, his fiery stubborn side is overtaking the peaceful green and cautious yellow sides.

Amazing placement of foam shapes in these two works of art.  Wow.

I like the technique Adrian used on the thumb here to add to the perception of the ghost's ephemeral nature.

Sebastian sure knows how to use googly eyes for full effect!

Lovely mosaic of candy corns, one by each boy.

In "Along Came a Spider" Adrian gracefully depicts the hatching of a hideous black spider from a nest of gross spider eggs.

Sebastian uses similar colors and supplies to portray the tree in which the spider nest is located.

The boys' art was resplendent at Thanksgiving, a reflection of how excited they felt to eat turkey, birthday cake, and Christmas goodies all within a short period of time.

Both boys studied traditional Native American headdress construction techniques to compose these modern renditions with construction paper and glue sticks.  And tape.

Inspired by their success with the mosaic candy corn, the boys attacked construction paper once again for these mosaics of corn.

"Seaweed and cattails on the  beach" (top) by Adrian and "Green meadows in Galicia" (bottom) by Sebastian

One day, the boys and Natalie decided to create artwork out of whatever they could find.  They started with rotini pasta.  They put a piece of paper in a container along with some paint and some rotini and shook it up.  Brilliant.

After the invigorating experience of with paint and pasta, the boys brought their blood pressure back down to normal with peaceful crayon drawings on construction paper.

In the next two works, the boys attempted to depict their brother's personality in a painting.  Sebastian composed trees blowing in the wind, gulls in the air, and a mess of autumn leaves on the floor of the forest to represent Adrian.

Adrian drew a massive bonfire.  Both works are telling.  Very telling.

"Coral Reef" by Adrian

"Hades" by Sebastian

 As a subtle but brilliant commentary on the importance of recycling and their disdain at their mama's affinity for the bottle, the boys used beer bottles to make circles (just kidding).  Adrian's painting resembles a decomposed chain link fence,

while Sebastian depicted Pig Pen riding a bicycle.

One week, the boys took on forms of transportation.

In their pair of paintings entitled "Wheels on the Bus Don't Go Round and Round" the boys used art as a means of political commentary about the poor shape of public school buses these days.

The following two paintings are the best of a series called "Thomas.  Boom.  Crying."

Sebastian's plane painting depicts the transportation of oranges and citrus fruits from Florida to Massachusetts during a long winter, a reflection of how much he loves "naranjas" and hates winter.

Adrian opted to depict the ocean in his airplane: sand, seaweed, and water.  He is clearly pining for summertime at Grumpy's house in Hull.

"Garbage trucks in Easton."  One by each boy.

Here, Adrian and Sebastian were once again inspired by Natalie to take cars, trucks, and trains and run them through paint.  The result was an explosion of lines the convey movement, speed, and power.

Bass Pro Shops hired the boys to do catalog collages.  Brilliant.

Finally, some untitled, unsigned works of art.  These appear to be practice sketches for some big paintings that have been commissioned.

The boys will be busy all spring with all the work coming their way, but they are sure they will continue to explore new mediums and techniques under the study of their master teacher Natalie.  

*Admission to the Gattas Gallery of Art is free with a donation of food to the boys, who are so busy painting, sculpting play-doh, and wreaking havoc that they often don't have time to cook.