Christmas Dreams - and Quick Cheese Layer Bake

Christmas Dreams

Oil on canvas, 10x10

I don't do many abstracts, and most of the ones that I do, I don't like much. I usually destroy them. But this one, I do like - at least in part because it arrived in my consciousness with the "Christmas Dreams" title.

And Christmas, of course, is coming - as is Hannukah, which starts on Thanksgiving Day. I'm hoping that this year, lots of you will give paintings as presents!

In addition to any of my available paintings, you can also give:

• a pet portrait (please let me know ASAP if that's what you're planning - there's still time, but we're cutting it close), 
• a gift certificate for a pet portrait
• a gift certificate for a painting from my upcoming trip to Arizona... more on that in my next post. 

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On the Easel

Nice, huh? What you don't get from this is how big this sunflower painting is - 48 inches by 48 inches! Whee! I'm painting it for my first 2014 show, the Southwest Arts Festival, in Indio, Calif. 

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Quick Cheese Layer Bake

The memory of this, a childhood treat, came to me Sunday morning as I was looking in the icebox and thinking about brunch. I called my brother and he found the recipe - in my grandmother's handwriting. 

Here it is: 

12 slices bread

1/2 lb Kraft Old English sliced cheese

4 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

salt and pepper

mustard

minced onion

Arrange 6 slices of bread in a greased 12x8 baking dish

Cover with sliced cheese, then the rest of the bread, in another layer. 

Beat eggs, milk, seasoning, pour over bread and cheese. Let sit for one hour. Bake 50 mins in a 325-degree oven. 

I used a smaller pan, less bread, less milk, and whatever cheese I had in the house. Also, I used dried onions, and no mustard. It was fabulous! Not healthy, no, but delicious. And easy. 

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Dog of the Day

I was at the vet's office the other day, when a man came in with this little kitten in a crate. A few moments later, a mother and her little girl came in with another crate. The man gave the kitty to the little girl, who wasn't so sure, at first, that she wanted him. Then she decided that she did, but she was going to change the kitty's name from Friday to something else. I suggested "Saturday." 

Want your pet to be the Dog of the Day? Send me a jpg at carrieBjacobson@gmail.com