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Yesterday was actually a good day, though I had my doubts when it started out. George and I had been invited out to a barbecue at Doug Wheatley's house, and he and his wife Angela showed us a remarkably good time, including juicy steaks and a trip out to the Forks market for gelati afterwards. I showed Angela how to make good mashed potatoes (boiled with the skins on, and plenty of butter and milk and a hint of chives), which was a trick she hadn't known before, and something she plans to eat frequently from now on because it turns out her pregnant stomach actually tolerates it well. I also showed Doug a barbecue trick I learned from a TV show, of all places, for testing the doneness of steaks on the grill:
Touch your left thumb to your left index finger and, with your right index finger, poke the muscles at the base of your thumb. That degree of firmness in a steak indicates that it's rare. Now repeat the action with the middle finger of the left hand: that's medium rare. Now the ring finger of the left hand: medium well. Finally, the little finger of the left hand: that texture/firmness means the steak is well done. Doug tried it, and turned out, he said, the best-timed steaks he's ever made on a barbecue without having to cut them open and thus dry them out. *grin*
At the Forks afterwards, we had coffee and gelati and walked down to the riverfront, where we were saw several plump ducks floating in the water near the docks; why they were plump became apparent after we sat down nearby and one of the drakes flapped up out of the water and approached us, hoping for crumbs! Alas, we had nothing to offer him, and he quickly lost interest. Hopefully some of the many other people taking advantage of the fine evening to walk beside the river were able and willing to fulfill his little desires. ^_^
Afterwards the four of us wandered up to a King Tut exhibit on the second floor of the Forks Market building, made up of museum-quality replicas of the statues and funeral goods, with an entry fee of only $5. We were very impressed by what we saw, including some lovely statues of various deities from the period and full-sized replicas of Tut's sarcophagus, funeral couches, throne, jewelery, and other artifacts such as chairs and paint-pots. They had a particularly lovely collection of Bast statuary in all sizes, including a style of seated-cat statue I'd never seen before and a cat's head as large as a human head. On the way out, I purchased a mass-produced papyrus, about 30 inches long, featuring Isis with Osiris, Isis kneeling with her wings spread, and Ma'at, in vibrant color with gold and rich blue pigments. (Once we've got it mounted under glass, George and I intend to put it up over the line of coat-hooks in our hallway, which are bright brass and really bring up the gold in the artwork.)
Gelati consumed and eyes filled with wonders, we went back to Doug and Angela's place to watch a movie, "Ever After", a retelling of the Cinderella story which features gorgeous costumes and cinematography and which I'd highly recommend on artistic merits alone, though it was also quite well-written. It was 1 am before we finally got home, bearing a couple of steaks that Doug and Angela had sent home with us as presents. Earlier in the day I'd been afraid that I wouldn't be able to handle the socializing, but I actually ended up having a very good time, even though I'm not feeling so hot today.
Ah, well -- at least I just finished the last in the current batch of Star Wars flats for Chris, and Doug says that he'll have more up to the FTP site for me to flat early this week. (Bad news: the next few pages will be as insanely complicated as the scene I just finished flatting. *twirls finger in air* Yay!) Doug also reminded me yesterday that I haven't yet invoice Dark Horse Comics for six pages of Star Wars: Ep III flats that I laid on spec from another artist's work; hopefully it's not too late to pick up that $240... ah, well, Doug's editor is coming into Winnipeg sometime in September, so perhaps I can get the wheels moving on it then if the cheque is being held up in the works.
Touch your left thumb to your left index finger and, with your right index finger, poke the muscles at the base of your thumb. That degree of firmness in a steak indicates that it's rare. Now repeat the action with the middle finger of the left hand: that's medium rare. Now the ring finger of the left hand: medium well. Finally, the little finger of the left hand: that texture/firmness means the steak is well done. Doug tried it, and turned out, he said, the best-timed steaks he's ever made on a barbecue without having to cut them open and thus dry them out. *grin*
At the Forks afterwards, we had coffee and gelati and walked down to the riverfront, where we were saw several plump ducks floating in the water near the docks; why they were plump became apparent after we sat down nearby and one of the drakes flapped up out of the water and approached us, hoping for crumbs! Alas, we had nothing to offer him, and he quickly lost interest. Hopefully some of the many other people taking advantage of the fine evening to walk beside the river were able and willing to fulfill his little desires. ^_^
Afterwards the four of us wandered up to a King Tut exhibit on the second floor of the Forks Market building, made up of museum-quality replicas of the statues and funeral goods, with an entry fee of only $5. We were very impressed by what we saw, including some lovely statues of various deities from the period and full-sized replicas of Tut's sarcophagus, funeral couches, throne, jewelery, and other artifacts such as chairs and paint-pots. They had a particularly lovely collection of Bast statuary in all sizes, including a style of seated-cat statue I'd never seen before and a cat's head as large as a human head. On the way out, I purchased a mass-produced papyrus, about 30 inches long, featuring Isis with Osiris, Isis kneeling with her wings spread, and Ma'at, in vibrant color with gold and rich blue pigments. (Once we've got it mounted under glass, George and I intend to put it up over the line of coat-hooks in our hallway, which are bright brass and really bring up the gold in the artwork.)
Gelati consumed and eyes filled with wonders, we went back to Doug and Angela's place to watch a movie, "Ever After", a retelling of the Cinderella story which features gorgeous costumes and cinematography and which I'd highly recommend on artistic merits alone, though it was also quite well-written. It was 1 am before we finally got home, bearing a couple of steaks that Doug and Angela had sent home with us as presents. Earlier in the day I'd been afraid that I wouldn't be able to handle the socializing, but I actually ended up having a very good time, even though I'm not feeling so hot today.
Ah, well -- at least I just finished the last in the current batch of Star Wars flats for Chris, and Doug says that he'll have more up to the FTP site for me to flat early this week. (Bad news: the next few pages will be as insanely complicated as the scene I just finished flatting. *twirls finger in air* Yay!) Doug also reminded me yesterday that I haven't yet invoice Dark Horse Comics for six pages of Star Wars: Ep III flats that I laid on spec from another artist's work; hopefully it's not too late to pick up that $240... ah, well, Doug's editor is coming into Winnipeg sometime in September, so perhaps I can get the wheels moving on it then if the cheque is being held up in the works.
