The Life of Mrs. Miles

YOUR PHOTO STAMP ELEMENT

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Hope you like the stamps - Miles to the rescue AGAIN! He's had this idea brewing in his head for quite some time and since I did not have any goodies left in my basket for you, he stepped in. We apologise for those of you who don't live in Canada or US - but who knows... if you made a request perhaps we might be able to accomodate?

CULINA MUNDI

(a gastronimic delight for the eye and tummy!)

We had a lovely day yesterday. Other than for some strange reason I was kind of snappy at times to my ever-so-patient husband. We had the first entirely sunny day since before I can remember and it made me industrious. Miles and I have figured out I must be solar powered. While he went to the gym for a workout, I did a practical workout at home - everything from chasing dust bunnies to dusting to laundry and on and on. It was a day to hang sheets outside in the fresh air to dry. It was a day for Miles to scrub the cinnamon heart stains off of the driveway from my Valentines day decorations... he he.

We drove to Penticton to have dinner and shop around. Miles bought me this amazing cookbook - Culina Mundi. Its filled with recipes from around the globe, featuring unique dishes from over 60 renowned chefs. Each recipe comes with interesting history of ingredients, beautiful photography and pictures which step you through each recipe. Normally this book would cost upwards of $80 USD new... we paid $18.99 CDN at a clearance store, still in it's wrapper. What a treat!

Thanks for all your stories about 'found' money - and related stuff...

Val j's Mother in Law keeps a jar used for 'found' money - buys a treat with it.

Saab, as a child found a wallet containing over $100 and did not receive a reward upon it's return (that sucks!)

Lucy did not find money, but once, while working as a hairdresser discovered a customer had left a $20 instead of what was intended to be a $1 tip - so she returned it to the customer! (some of our CDN dollar bills of different amounts does look sorta the same if your not careful to check!)

Elaine used to collect soda (pop, to us Canucks) bottles for extra money as kids. Boy, I sure remember doing THAT! I think thats why our ditches were so clean all of the time. Even now, there are one or two sort of 'professional' bottle collectors who bike around Osoyoos collecting bottles. They are actually worth something here. This is one thing Miles and I find very sad when we travel in Washington State, USA - the bottles are worth virtually nothing and we often notice the ditches are literally full of them... :(

Did you have chores or ways of making money as a kid? I remember the usual things like dishes, raking, folding laundry etc... I think if I recall correctly my allowance was something like 3 or 4 dollars per week....

COLLAGE FEATURE IN PICASA

I didn't tell you what Miles taught the other night for the workshop on Picasa. These are some of the cool features you can find in the program. This first one is the collage feature. You simply choose which pictures you would like to use for this look and then choose Collage and Picture Grid to create this type of a look.

CONTACT SHEET USING PICASA

Picasa easily allows you to create a contact sheet of the pictures you select. You again choose your photos, Collage and then Contact Sheet. The program automatically puts the folder name at the top, but if you saved this sheet and then took it back into the edits, you could easily crop the title off!

MULTI EXPOSURE USING PICASA

You can also create multi exposure effects in Picasa, using two or more photos. Again, you choose the photos you desire to use, choose Collage and then Multi Exposure from the drop-down menu. Yes, this program is FREE.

BARB'S HANDY TIP #204

Spice is Nice!

Make the most of culinary herbs and spices.

Sandra Bowens is a dedicated foodie with twenty years experience in the food service business. She now works as a freelance cook and food writer in Washington, USA.

This website is a labor of love that allows her to ply both trades at the same time. All of the recipes are original creations developed over the years.
"I've worked in a variety of situations that have allowed me the freedom to experiment with different flavors and ideas," she says. "I've also had the opportunity to work with incredible chefs who have taken the time to show me a few of their secrets."
Her favorite job has been with the Colorado Spice Company where she sold herbs and spices to restaurants. At the warehouse she learned about the product and in kitchens all over the Denver area, she learned how they were used. "The best part of that job was when we opened a barrel of herbs. You can't imagine the delight of leaning into 50 pounds of dried dill, fresh from the producer, to inhale the aroma."

A PINCH OF