Why is this???? There are certainly adults along the autism spectrum, and the children that everyone seems so very single pointedly focused upon do tend to grow up when ones back is turned. And gee, they become adults. I truly applaud the efforts of parents to help their children and the network of information that has ensued. I guess what I’m grousing about is the dearth of stuff available to many adults that need it….and I know many.

While I understand that statistically speaking there are a whole lot fewer girls than boys that are AS/Autistic, I also understand that it tends to manifest very differently in girls and women than in the male of the species due to gender based neurological differences. Speaking statistically again, girls are far more likely to be misdiagnosed due to these differences in manifestation. I know that was certainly the case in my life.

I’d love to hear from y’all adult spectrum specters. Have you found resources? Diets that work? Coping Mechanisms? And how about the stuff that doesn’t work?

Inquiring minds want to know

On a side note I had my first GFCF dinner party the other night…oh and add VEGAN to that as well.

I did a lasagna that was pretty darned good, if I do say so myself. BUT the crowning achievement of the nite was dessert…rich chocolate layer cake , filled with marion/raspberry filling, coated with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache and decorated with fresh berries. This was served with a very rich bittersweet coconut/chocolate ice cream that I whipped up. It was good by any standard, let alone gfcf.

I’m insufferably pleased with myself at this point.

If you’re on a gfcf diet what dishes do you miss the very most?

If you’re NOT on a gfcf try and extrapolate…which dishes would you miss the most?

Beer doesn’t count, people

Sound off! I’d really like your input on this one!

You can check it here.

Liz, the site owner has cram packed her site with loads of interesting articles relating to the arts of all stripes.

Thanks Much!

It’s amazing just how much more time I have to produce.

As I had mentioned in a previous blog, I am now writing down all of my GFCF recipes as well as devising new ones. My goal is for dishes that aren’t just “good for what it is” good but rather “OH MY GAWD that’s good” good.  I did a ‘cheese’ sauce based Potatoes Au Gratin with Ham that fit the bill this last week.  It made my gluten and casein consuming husband very very happy.

I’m not only transcribing existing recipes but devising new ones as well. The idea in my little brain is that since I cook all the time anyway, I might as well put it all together into a cookbook. If any of you have leads on publishers that would take such a manuscript I’d gladly accept any information.

My mom seems to think that I could do this with one frying pan tied behind my back. I’m not so sure.

My big issue so far has been which things to leave out. Only a bit over a week in and I’ve got 10 pages just on sauces, and I’ve only covered 2 of the French mother sauces and a few variations.

Iwillnotobsessiwillnotobsessiwillnotobsess

She has been foolish, er, KIND enough to let us paint the place in whatever colors we choose so long as we put it back to white when we leave. This is a very nifty thing for me as the place has very high ceilings and architecture of this sort tends to look a bit institutional if left all white, IMO. Well that and with my previous 6 winters in Alaska , I’ve seen about as much white as I care to , thanks very much.

I decided I wanted a deep red kitchen. Now deep red is a problematic color even with the best of paints, but more than a royal pain in the butt with Home Depots supposedly premium paint, Behr.

After the first coat my kitchen looked like the inside of an autopsy. I sort of expected this considering the walls are textured. Disturbing visually, yes. Unexpected, no.

After the second coat the walls looked like the floor of an abattoir. Wasn’t expecting this one

3 coats in and it started looking as I wanted it to, barring the need for a few bits of touch up even after that 3rd coat.

I’ll never buy Behr Paint again. It ran, lifted, sagged and streaked and is hard to clean up.  So much for premium paint.

On the good paint side of things, the new VOC free FreshAire paints are awesome even if they take some getting used to in the handling. It’s sort of like painting with Elmers glue. BUT, no smell and awesome coverage even with extreme color changes. Cleans up super easy too.

Valspar from Lowes is absolutely phenomenal in coverage and handling. It’s not VOC-less unfortunately.

Can’t beat the price though!

Our furniture finally comes tomorrow (keep in mind we’ve been in state since the 28th of May) and I can then stop painting walls and get back to painting for real.

Part of me is happy to be going to a place where it doesn’t get below 20F often and one doesn’t have to shovel out in the winter or worry about avalanches, volcanic eruptions, frozen pipes and automobiles or getting stomped on and/or mauled by wildlife.

Another part of me is sad to leave a place of such breathtaking beauty. This place fills up my soul through my eyes.

Living in Alaska pushed my work into areas that I said that I would never go, mainly into landscape.

I don’t know how I could have avoided landscape work living here. Every day brought a different and more intensely beautiful vista, even in the middle of town.

I think it’s all about the light. There is a color of light that’s pervasive here that is usually reserved for a few fleeting days in the very early spring in environments further south. It’s a sort of pinky- golden color and being as there are so many white barked birches , it’s reflected back everywhere. In the winter even snow dumps acquire alpine glow. Add to that the extended sunsets (hours and hours!) and well, even the big 64 box of crayons wouldn’t be sufficient to render it. The sky is always doing something utterly amazing.

One thing that I found impossible in working on the Northshore series was capturing the sheer magnitude of the larger views. Trying to catch color as it was ended up looking garish on the page. Seriously…the color is so very intense that even photography doesn’t seem to quite catch it or ends up looking less than, well, real.

There is not a film on the planet that can even approximate the living blue of glacial ice.

It seems that Alaska will not allow itself to be taken out of context.

In response to this I ended up focusing on small moments rather than the grand view.

This is an example of that and is the last piece in the Northshore Series:

Barnacles, Bladderwrack and Basalt

Mixed media on Paper 2008

Okay before you say “gee it looks just like a photograph” Look here:

Barnacles, Bladderwrack and Basalt detail

Mixed Media on Paper 2008

I’ve heard Alaska described as brutal, savage, and uncompromising. I think it’s more supremely indifferent. It has an extreme and vital sense to it that is separate from human doings. The place thunders under ones feet.

I’ll miss it….except for when the mercury hits -50.

Imagekind does very high quality prints at reasonable price points. Gotta love that.

As of this morning I was chosen to be a featured artist! This is a big deal to me as there are so many very talented people with their stuff posted on Imagekind and very very few are selected to be Featured Artists.

You can check it  here

woohoo!

Most of the rice and soy creams out there are pretty rank. It seems that if one doesn’t eat dairy one requires copious amounts of sugar.

Not so with Good Karma desserts, which I glibly call my favorite Rice Cream. It’s smooth and has the unctuous mouth feel of full fat dairy ice cream. It’s not too sweet. It has add ins like chocolate cookies…..

AND it’s organic, gfcf and works for sustainable farming practices.

What’s not to like?

You can access the company’s website here for more information about their products

I always have to fight the urge to judge my past work by current standards and the subsequent urge to rework a piece. Repeatedly. To the death.

The question is, is it ever appropriate to do so?

I have to be very careful about allowing myself that liberty. It IS however, at least in my world, OCCASIONALLY warranted.

I’ve just completely reworked a piece that I had deemed finished in 2005. Why?

Well after spending 6 months closely observing the Northern Lights I felt I could do the subject more justice without ruining the feeling of ‘wildness’ of the piece. In short, without overworking and waxing too technical, reworking with restraint. HA! No sticks or shouting required.

If you’re interested in taking a look, the piece has been posted here

I welcome your comments and opinions.  Feedback helps me to be a better artist!