Separating Egg Yolks from Whites - Novel Trick

I borrowed this yummy looking photo of an almond angel food cake from myrecipes.com. Looks like something I'd love! I love angel food cake! I only buy them though - don't bake them. BUT - if I were ever to bake one, I feel sure that the task of separating the egg yolks from the whites would be made much simpler with this little youtube video I picked up from Facebook. (Thanks to my Australian friend Champagne for the original share.) I do occasionally bake pound cakes. They usually require only yolks, so this same tip would work for them too. Meringues take only whites too, and I make angel cookies every Christmas using egg whites. I am trying to think of all the uses for this novel trick.

All you need is - raw eggs - two bowls - a clean plastic soft drink bottle

Really! Don't let the foreign language trip you up. It's all in the video. You can do it! If you don't need to separate eggs, it's fascinating to watch anyway. Enjoy!

Click on this link to view the very short video.

Mamacita

My little mother. She is so dear to me. I took her to the eye doctor on Monday morning. We had 19 minutes to spare when we got to the street where the office was. I noted that to Mom, who replied, "We aren't there yet." Is she prescient? We actually walked into the doctor's office 1 minute late (20 minutes later.) By the time we found the elusive address, finding a parking spot was even harder. I dropped Mom off and searched for a parking spot. Had to park a half mile away and trudge back to her in 100 degree heat. Then the doctor was running late. Good visit though, finally. The story gets worse due to the half mile walk back and then car trouble (my car is still in the shop and still not fixed!), but I had her to my sister's house by then, just houses away from hers, so it could have been worse.

This is Mom with my oldest son at his recent college graduation.)

While in the doctor's very crowded waiting room, we had two seats near the door. After a time, an elderly woman with a cane made her way to the door followed by her husband, whose vision was impaired. I stood to open the door for them and held it for both. They thanked me sweetly and I sat back down next to Mom. She said, "Thank you, Jan. That was so good of you." I responded, "You raised me right." She liked that. It was true. We had a great day and a very good visit. She was more lucid than she's been in awhile.

UPDATE, 8/21/2012: Since this post Mom had eye surgery to remove scar tissue following a botched cataract surgery some twenty years ago. She has been living with a very annoying 'wrinkle' in the vision in one eye. Until recently there was no acceptable surgery to correct it. Her wonderful doctor performed the surgery as an outpatient and she handled it very well. The gas bubble (injected to allow access to scrape away the scar tissue) is still there, but is dissipating and getting smaller every day, and she already sees much more clearly from that eye. She is thrilled!

Happy Father's Day to Two Great Dads

Happy Father's Day!

Each generation owes something to the one before. Here are three generations. Two fathers, two sons, one grandfather, one grandson. Happy Fathers Day to three of the most important males in my life.

Dad, meet your very first son.



Steve was a natural.



He still had the touch when his first grandson arrived.





Son Steve carries on the tradition. He is a great father and son, who loves his son completely.







Steve went back to school - what a great dad to show his son the importance of education and following a dream, and making it come true.



Grandson 'helping' his Pappy.



They love to play together.



A familiar sight in the early days. Both guys always liked bedtime.



Newborn photos have changed a lot since Steve was born. Here are Steve and Chris in their hospital photos followed by Jace in his newborn photo (not in the hospital.)





I love all of my guys!

Summertime - and the Swimming is Easy (if you're two)

We got Jace's pool ready one morning last week. I put a new sliding board together to add a new twist to the wading pool fun for Jace.







He even had a snack in the pool - and promptly dunked his Oreos in the pool.



What a little athlete he is! So strong, he could jump in and out from a crouch over the side of the pool and land on his feet! The truly strong people in life always have a bit of compassion and gentleness, and Jace is no different. He worried over his Pappy's booboos on his left knee and kissed them. (He loved having his Pappy in his pool with him.)



Just as he was getting tired of the activity I introduced belly sliding to him. I lifted him up onto the slide on his belly and scooted his body to the incline. He loved it! He climbed out and back to the sliding board for at least another half an hour, always saying 'belly' when he got to me.

Recently we bought him a Hohner harmonica. He had a plastic one that was a lung-burster to get even a squeak out of. This one was like magic to him. He loved it! Here is a snapshot from the first time he played it.



It's so much fun experiencing these little pleasures with a two year old again. We're looking forward to the next pool time.

NuLu Flavor

On a recent trip to the NuLu area of near-downtown's "New" Louisville art district, I spotted some cool signage. I don't know if the Decca sign is original or a reproduction. I don't remember having seen it before, but it looks authentic.

These signs made from bourbon barrels are in the parking lot where a bourbon tour embarks.

I love artistic recycling!

Congratulations, Graduate!

University of Louisville. Speed School of Engineering. Graduation, May 12, 2012.

Congratulations to my son, Steve Hurst, who graduated with honors and now has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering! Steve left a good job that he hated to go to school as an adult to earn his engineering degree. While raising a son and working at least part time for the years it took to earn his degree, he was able to keep his GPA high enough to graduate with honors. (This took much patience and forbearance by his fiancee Sandy too.) We are all so proud that he has accomplished his dream!

Here are some images from April 2011 of the Speed Scientific School at the University of Louisville:

Steve and Jace in April 2011 - looking ahead to graduation in 2012.

Graduation 2012 Crowd:

The grads of today were texting and iPading during the ceremonies. It was easy to see the laptops and phones because the Yum Center was so dark! One smart grad had the top of her mortarboard encrusted with shimmery 'jewels', making her easy to spot.

Steve and proud Mom.

No more homework.

No more classrooms.

Oh! Except for Masters' classes, starting this summer.

And here is the next generation with graduation in his future.

I love my guys!

Hold the Presses! (1 & 2)

Hold the Presses - 1: I was asked several months ago to submit a typical script envelope for a new book written by Peter E. Taylor of Queensland Australia. I am pleased to announce that his book is now in publication and may be purchased through many online sites, including Amazon.com, Amazon UK and The Book Depository. The book, Calligraphy for Greetings Cards and Scrapbooking, was written to appeal to beginning calligraphers and non-calligraphers who want to learn, but there may be pages of interest to long time calligraphers as well.

This photo (used with permission of the author) shows the cover as he submitted it to the publishing company. It looks like a lovely collage with beautiful lettering.

Hold the Presses - 2: The following press release has been posted on many sites today. It's fun to see just where these things turn up. Here is the body of the article:

Even After Years of Lettering, Calligrapher Continues Her Studies Louisville, KY, April 25, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Jan Hurst, a calligrapher for decades, continues to study with master calligraphers to hone her skills. A recent trip to Nashville TN included a workshop with master brush lettering artist, Carl Rohrs, sponsored by the Nashville Calligraphy Guild. Next month Hurst will attend a workshop sponsored by the Memphis Calligraphy Guild featuring the Belgian calligrapher, Yves Leterme. Hurst, a calligraphy teacher herself, says that to stay fresh with her lettering skills, she continues to study and learn from and with fabulous calligraphers from all over the world. “The calligraphy world is fairly small now with Facebook and the internet making communication so easy,” Hurst says. “Cyberscribes, a once private online calligraphy group, introduced calligraphers around the world. Facebook has continued the trend on an even larger scale.” Many calligraphers begin their calligraphic careers after having studied in college, but most of the best also train similarly to apprentices of old, studying with the masters. Opportunities abound, including an annual international conference (this year’s is in Portland, OR), a pointed pen conference, Iampeth (this year’s will be in Milwaukee), a few different retreats, including Cheerio and Ghost Ranch, among others. Various instructors travel to guilds upon invitation to share their knowledge with adult students, all calligraphers who enjoy the opportunity to study with exceptional calligraphers. Hurst’s skills include pointed pen, which is traditionally used for wedding calligraphy, and broad edged pen lettering. In March she took a journal making workshop in Carmel IN, and bound a leather journal with a map liner. "Calligraphy has opened the door to many other arts for me. I have taken watercolor workshops, pastel workshops, have branched out into collage and mixed media and even figure drawing." The Carl Rohrs workshop in Nashville was on brush lettering, as was the John Stevens workshop she attended at Camp Cheerio in North Carolina last September. She considers the Cheerio calligraphy experience one of the best of her life. Hurst continues, “I am friends with fabulous calligraphers from around the world, and know most of the best-of-the-best personally. I began studying calligraphy when my children were babies. Now I have a grandchild. I love the opportunity to study with instructors who are at the top of the field. It helps me improve, and I always learn something new.” Connections in the field are rampant. Yves Leterme, next on her schedule of instructors, actually studied with Brody Neuenschwander, a former Texan who has become one of the top tier calligraphers in the world. Hurst studied with Brody many years ago before he was such a popular teacher. She has studied twice with the British trained Sheila Waters, who is considered "the queen of calligraphy" by many. Ms. Waters will also be taking a workshop from Leterme, when he is in Washington DC next month. “Our connections are many. We are a fairly close knit group, even though we are spread across the world.” Contact Information Jan Hurst Calligraphy & Design www.weddingletterlady.blogspot.com www.picturetrail.com/letterlady

Easter 2012

We cut our Easter dinner crowd this year. House is too small, family has grown, etc., etc. It was a gorgeous day, however, and we still had a wonderful time.

Here are a few photos.