the joy of POD books

Pen and watercolor illustrations for my next Blurb project.

The beauty of the software from the folks at Blurb is that you don’t have to know how to write code, or even have a background in layout design, to join in the immediate gratification of bookmaking. My experience with print production goes back to my early twenties, when I learned how to set type on keyboards that evolved into desktop publishing computers. Bottom line, I love typography and I love the process of assembling images and words into books. Eating Clean was my first formal bookmaking project, but that was in 2002, before the wide popularity of print-on-demand, not to mention digital book formats. There are no wholesale rates for the books made on Blurb, but if you’re not interested in the expense of inventory and relinquishing storage space to boxes of books-that-are-yet-unsold, the 1-by-1 pricing might just work for you. For now, that suits me just fine. I can keep playing and doing, which is where the joy in POD is for me.  Have you tried an online POD bookmaking service? Love to hear about it and hear your thoughts.

Saturday Afternoon

Creamsicle Smoothie

1 cup milk or coconut milk
1 Emergen-C packet (I used tangerine flavor)
2 scoops protein powder of your choice
1 orange, peeled and quartered
1/2 packet Stevia (optional)
3 ice cubes

I loaded up the VitaMix and let it whirr on high for 30-60 seconds. Absolutely delicious results. Creamsicles were my favorite ice cream truck/corner store treat when I was little = creamy citrusy comfort food.

Happy Spring Saturday — yesterday’s snow is almost all gone and the crocus are looking relieved.

Green Lemonade – a raw detox beverage

Green Lemonade on Thanksgiving

It’s all over the internet. There are how-to videos on YouTube. And my sister-in-law prepared a fresh batch for us yesterday. Absolutely delicious. And it’s transformed the health and wellness of a good friend of hers. The combination of lemon with apple (I’m told Fuji apples are the best because of their sweetness) and the quiet punch of fresh ginger is scrumptious. If you couldn’t see it, you wouldn’t know you were drinking a ‘green’ drink. Not a hint of grassy taste. … In fact, I can’t wait to brew up my own batch but I don’t have a juicer just yet. For those of you who follow Dr. Oz and/or Oprah, you may recall that he prepared a variation on this green drink on her show. His recipe can be found on her web site.

GREEN LEMONADE – the recipe:
Into your juicer put the following WHOLE fruits & vegetables:

• 3 lemons
  6 apples
  1 bunch kale
  2 heads romaine lettuce
  1 clump fresh ginger
  1 romaine heart

Juice together. Pulp can be used for baking or eating as-is. If you plan on using the pulp, it is recommended that you remove the seeds from the lemons and apples prior to juicing.