From my sketchbook-botanicals

For this one I looked for inspiration on the Internet in the old time botanical drawings.

Cold summer soup

Hi, guys, long time no see. You know how sometimes life throws at us little things, not big, just little ones but they take away all our time and energy. That was the situation with me. Now when I got my  time and brain back I started thinking about my next blog post. It is going to be a recipe that I have always wanted to share with you. It is so delicious , I am addicted to it!  It is a simple cold soup called TARATOR , a Bulgarian staple that screams "summer" and brings a lot of memories to every Bulgarian. I don't know why it reminds me about summer camps at the sea side ,about that happy and carefree time in my childhood when everything was a discovery and everything was about fun, lots of fun!
So, let's begin. You will need:

1 big or 2 smaller cucumbers finely chopped
2-3big cloves of garlic, crushed with some salt
3 tablespoons  of vegetable oil, olive oil is the best
2 cups of plain yogurt
2 cups of cold water
a small bunch of fresh dill
salt to taste
a handful of walnuts, chopped-this one is optional

In a big bowl combine crushed garlic, chopped cucumber, oil and yogurt and stir. Thin the mixture with the water and stir it again. Add the dill finely cut and the walnuts if you have some.
*Now if you like your soup creamy the ratio yogurt-water is2:2.If you prefer it more liquidy  the ratio can be 2 cups of yogurt:4 cups of water.
The soup tastes better after being refrigerated for at least one hour. You can keep it in the fridge for up to three days. It tastes even better on the next day. Enjoy and let me warn you something: it is addictive. So delicious!

Puppy

The last tree or four weeks the topics at the Illustration Friday did not inspire me very much and I did not participate.Anyway I did  some drawings inspired from different ideas. This puppy though is an old one, done in June. It was completed in watercolor straight with the brush. For a reference a used a photo from Country Living magazine , the British edition.

Holiday Trip-2

Some more pictures from our trip to Stillwater, MN. The Mississippi River was above its flood stage so all the walks along the river were under water. But as you can see it could not stop people from enjoying this beautiful day in the park by the river.

Holiday Trip

One day trip to Stillwater, MN during the long holiday weekend. Beautiful drive along the Mississippi River. I could not get enough of the amazing scenery. The waterfront ,the hills, the woods, the picturesque little towns, the boats ,the birds !!!
My girl couldn't wait to reach the destination for the fun to begin. Too young to realize that the journey is the greater part of the fun.
We ate lunch at a great restaurant at the water front-The Freight House,  browsed in some gift and antique shops and got carried away buying candy in one of the most amazing candy shops -Candy land.
Next time I am going to post some more pictures from our trip.

Summer

We had a few warm and sunny days. The nice weather  calls our names and we spend more time outdoors. Walks, bike rides ,hanging out in the back yard with the guinea pigs or watering my little veggie patch. No much time for sketching or drawing. The drawing in the first picture is an old one. It reflects my mood at the moment. The red shoes remind me about the pain in my right foot I am dealing with. I haven't been to the doctor yet hoping to walk it off but if it goes on like that I will have to go. I do not let it stop me from doing fun staff though. It is summer!