How to cut a Prickly Pear (Tunas)

As a young girl I grew up eating Tunas in the summertime and now I am passing this delightful tradition to my girl. The ruby red ones are delicious too. My mother was the one who usually cut them for us because they have tiny bristles or thorns (espinas) that can be irritating if you pick one up right where the bristles are. Eventually I learned how to cut them with a little tutelage from my mother. At the beginning there were many espinas to remove from my fingers with eyebrow tweezers. I'm a pro now.

These were washed with the rubber gloves I wear to wash the dishes with.

Cut the ends off. It's easier for me to hold from the ends to avoid the espinas.

Cut across lengthwise. About a quarter of on an inch deep.

It's a blurry shot, but you can see how far to cut-Right where the fruit begins.

Gently pull the skin back. The fruit will stay intact as you continue to pull all the way around.

Pull the pear shaped fruit out and you are done. I put the peels in the compost. Nothing wasted.

They are ready to eat.

I've cut this one in half so you can see that it has small seeds in every bite. Don't try to chew them because they're hard. It's okay, you can eat them whole. Some people are uncomfortable about eating the seeds. I've never had a problem eating them. They are juicy, sweet and very refreshing on a hot day. Enjoy!

KarmaTube: Alan Watts on Life and Music

KarmaTube: Alan Watts on Life and Music

A sketch called Ambrosia

Ambrosia

This is a sketch that I've been working on a bit at a time. I'll be approaching this in a different manner. Thinking about adding color on the bond paper. I'm usually transferring a pencil sketch to a watercolor block and adding watercolor and gouache to the second generation. I don't want to go through that process with all this detail. I did the pencil sketch about two months ago when I got sick with a cold. I then went over the pencil sketch with a black art pen. This took several days to do. Now, I've been visualizing how I'm going to add color. It'll be different than my usual applications.

Her feet remind me of my mother's feet. Especially her big toes.

Painting her view.

Ambrosia

My Little Helper and The White Oleander

Here's Dorothy washing dishes. The ball has ended and it's back to work for my chickadee. It's not all glamour around our home. There are responsibilities to be taught and learned. I probably give the impression that I'm always cracking the whip with my Toot. No, I enjoy having her next to me while I'm washing the dishes and she practices on a cup or a spoon. She loves the idea of helping with the dishes. Most of the time she's playing with the suds and water. I do like that her Dorothy dress became her very first apron-Why not.

These are the Oleanders that have been on my mind. I found out that these healthy looking flowery bushes are poisonous. When I found out about this I couldn't sleep that night. All sorts of horrifying thoughts flashed across my mental screen.

They grow on both sides of our backyard. This is a bush growing over the fence from the neighbors yard. Ominous....I try not to look, but they are there and I'm trying to figure out what to do.

Here they are next to my compost bin. Could I have raked some of the flowers and leaves and mixed them with my compost? I haven't used any of my compost on any plants. It's still pretty low, and now I'm afraid to use any of it. Honestly, I haven't had anytime to garden. Anyway, I'm thinking about starting over and moving the bin to a new location.

The movie that kept me up and lost sleep over was White Oleander. I was fine until I watched the bonus features and heard that it grew abundantly in California. It's everywhere! So I looked it up and there it was The White Oleander. Scary and at the same time so interesting. Plants, I mean. I just want to grow a couple of herbs, but I didn't realize that there could be some evil plant putting its noxious branches around my harmless rosemarie. I've got to rethink this whole set up and process.

I think they call this a "Meme"

Tantra tagged me

Well, I've been tagged and Tantra Flower has got me out from hiding - at least for today.

Here are the rules:

1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention & add one more question of your own.

2. Tag eight other people

What is your current obsession? Recycling and reusing - It's a lot of fun trying to come up with new uses for old things.

What are you wearing today? My old faded blue work pants and my washed out yellow t-shirt from Old Navy that I purchased 4 years ago.

What’s for dinner? beans (w/cheese) and rice burrito...watermelon.

What’s the last thing you bought? groceries - yesterday.

What are you listening to right now? Pandora - Lila Downs (Station). I don't buy music-unless I like something a lot. Pandora lets me listen to other artists that are similar to my taste. I also love the variety and unexpected surprises.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Machu Picchu - When the tourists and film crews are not there.

Which language do you want to learn? Sign Language. It's nice and quiet, but loud visually.

What do you love most about where you currently live? The backyard. We lived in an apartment last year and we had no yard or a patio.

What is your favorite colour? Green! Has been for a long time and it's nice to know that more people are realizing the importance of Green.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? My apron - It has become my second skin.

Describe your personal style? An inquisitive hermit.

If you had $300 now, what would you spend it on? Sweets from different countries and share with my family and friends.

What are you going to do after this? Put my girl to sleep with a couple of books we got from the library.

Your favorite smell? Guavas!! My mouth waters whenever I'm lucky to get a whiff of this unusually scented fruit.

Do you collect anything? Plastic insects - I especially love winged insects.

What makes you follow a blog? Bloggers who enjoy doing things for themselves. Makers and creators who aren't looking to get rich or famous with their blogs.

Do you like to comment on blogs or just lurk? a little of both. When I see that they already have more than 10 -20 reader comments on every post they make, I don't bother commenting. What can I say that hasn't been said.

What’s one thing you dream of doing? Printmaking in my own studio. I already have an etching press, but I've never had a place of my own to claim a studio space. I keep my dream and my etching press...someday.

What is your biggest regret? Not saying goodbye to my mother when she passed away in the cold hospital.

What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day? Listen to the sound of rain.

Do you have a tattoo? Sort of....The letter "S" under my left toe. "S" for Spinach. Barely visible now. Self made with an exacto blade, black ink and a bottle of XXX.

Do you play an instrument? Yes, I have two harmonicas that I like to blow just for the fun of it.

[Replacing "left or right" hand question]

This is my question for the next person....

Who was your hero or shero when you were a child?

These are the people I am tagging:

Pura

Liz

Cindy

M Lou (a lurker)

Ralph - He hasn't posted in a while and I'd like to read more in his blog.

and i guess I'm mostly a lurker because I'm having a hard time tagging people that I sometimes visit or I hardly ever comment on their blog. I feel like an intruder. Let's see who responds.

I'd like to go back in my shell and hide now.

Just kidding! I've got some photos of Oleander plants I've got in the backyard, that I'd like to post. I didn't know that they're poisonous. I've got much to learn about gardening.