Sure As Eggs

St. Valentines Day Project

2012-02-11T23:35:00.001-05:00

I finally got to take some photos of my St Valentine's Day crafty that I made.

I've had these paper heart shaped doilies for years. I cut out some of the centers and I cut some hearts out of the sheet music I got from my dad's house last week.

I remember when I was a kid, my mom had some large round paper doilies. I loved to take skinny markers and color each circular level a different color. :)

Anyhoo, I attached these hearts to a skinny red ribbon.

Just for kicks, I took two sheet music hearts and stapled them together. Then I separated the hearts and made it 3-D. I attached them to the doily hearts with some monofilament.

This week was crazy, and I was having some eye problems. But all is well again. One thing that was on the to do list this week:

Rory went to the groomer.

She ran around like a mad dog when she got home and then went to lay under the dining room table. Then she looked like she wasn't happy about it.

Ooh, is she ever soft after her bath. My sweet little puppy. :) I took the bow and such out of her fur. Then she went and rubbed her head along the side of the couch and she rolled around on the carpet.

Hope you enjoy your Sunday!

Friday Treasures, Saturday's Words

2012-02-04T11:48:00.002-05:00

Once again this week I went out estate sale-ing and thrifting.

At the estate sale I found these...

...two folding rules, two foot long.

They unfold in two directions, if you can see here.

Next I went to a thrift store in the city. I love this store because its huge and they have more furniture and dinnerware than some of the ones nearer to my house.

I found...

...a big Buffalo China platter.

If you remember my recent post with the painted china platters, I said if I found a bigger platter I would want to keep it and not paint it. Well, I found one and now I'm not sure what to do with it. lol

I also picked up this really cute chair for $6.

Little V needs a chair for her desk, and since her room is ultra tiny, it has to be a folding one so it can be stowed away. (The desk hangs on the wall. My dad made it. Maybe someday, if she cleans it off, I can show it to you).

Anyhoo, I'm not a big fan of the green, and her room is pink for the time being, so I will probably paint it white. I've been looking for a homemade chalk paint project anyhow so, for a few dollars, this can be it.

I have joined the Sister Bloggers at SaMiE Designs . Check out this program if you get the chance. They pair seasoned bloggers with newer bloggers to help each other along. I am excited to get started with this. Please check out my new sister Danni at Silo Hill Farm .

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl. Hope you enjoy the commercials and drive safely!

Have a great weekend!!!

Thank you for dropping in to see what I'm up to. It really means a lot to me. :)

Foggy Weather and A Project At Dad's

2012-02-01T22:10:00.000-05:00

Today the weather started out warm, but got colder as the morning went on.

A light fog came in.

I went out to my dad's house to work on a project. He said he would help me. :) As I was driving down his street, I stopped to grab a few shots of the foggy morning.

The farmer's field.

So, I hate to have to admit this, but I am a procrastinator. I'm sure anyone who has been following me for a while will attest to that. I have not started to work on my bentwood chairs that I posted about a long time ago. I really don't have a good workspace and definitely don't have the tools. So my daddy said he would help me and I should come for lunch too.

Here are the chairs before we started.

The caning is all broken, and my dad already cut me some plywood circles for new seats. I originally wanted to paint the chairs black, and I even bought the paint. But for some reason, I changed my mind and now I want them stained.

My dad cut away the top of the seat, but the caning goes in and out of those little holes four or five times each. We used a nail set/punch to push it through.

Here is one without the caning.

It took us about and hour and a half to get it all done. We put a coat of paint stripper on the one chair to see if it would work. My dad had this stripper for a while and we didn't know if it was any good. Turns out it wasn't so we have to get some new stuff and try again. We watched The Price is Right and had lunch.

Right now, my dad's own project is a rocking horse for my niece's son.

It's nearly done, just has to be varnished and put together. Oh, plus it needs a tail and a mane.

While I was there, I looked through my mom's recipe box and found a bunch to copy. I also went through some old sheet music and grabbed a bit of that for a craft project.

Stay tuned for more on the bentwoods. Now that my dad is involved, they will actually get done!

Thanks for stopping in!

Snowy Sunday Night

2012-01-29T19:26:00.002-05:00

This was a relatively quiet day on the weather front. But all of a sudden, it began to snow. My cherry tree looked so pretty, I couldn't resist a snapshot.

I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for stopping in!

Quick and Easy Project

2012-01-26T14:38:00.003-05:00

January is boring to me.

I don't ski or ice skate. Besides, this winter has not really afforded the weather to do those things anyway. At least when there is snow, the landscape is white and pretty and you can get some nice pictures if you go out for a walk. But now, everything is grey, it's like the longest spring ever. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just bored.

So, I have nothing to do but go out and shop and go to estate sales.

In my travels last Friday, I spotted some small platters but they were very beat up so I passed them up. Friday night I was looking through an old Pottery Barn catalog and spotted some platters that were painted like chalk boards. So, Saturday, I went back and bought the platters and began this project.

I bought four of them, but I only painted three.

I taped off the whole area, then cut away everything that didn't look like a chalkboard. :)

I put an enamel undercoater on them to help the paint adhere to the china.

Then I put on three coats of chalkboard paint.

The end result!

I think they came out cute, but I think if they were bigger they would be better. Only problem is, if I find a big platter like these, I probably will want to use it for it's intended purpose. Hopefully I will get these into my etsy shop, but I'm having some confidence/knowledge issues with the shop right now. Hopefully I will overcome the problems soon.

Hope you have a nice day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to:

Baking State of Mind

2012-01-19T21:22:00.000-05:00

So this week we had weird weather. Last Friday we had snow and wicked high winds.

Since then it all melted, we had some warmer weather, some heavy rains, it turned cold again, in the 20's, and now it's snowing again. This is the weather we expect here.

Weather like this makes me want to stay in the kitchen with the oven on.

So, I've been baking.

I made focaccia.

I never made it before, but it was easy. I just mixed the dough together, then kneaded in sun dried tomatoes and basil.

Then I put chopped prosciutto and Parmesan cheese on top.

This recipe called for making eight individual breads. I think next time I will either make a huge one on my jelly roll pan, or make two big rounds. One time we bought some fresh focaccia at the farmer's market downtown and they were thick rounds, almost like a cake. Perhaps I could put it in a spring form pan. Any ideas from anyone on that?

I took some time out to go to a great basketball game...

...made a banana bread...

...and made a chicken pot pie.

Now, I will admit, this pie is the lazy cook's chicken pot pie, but still delicious. It always seems to hit the spot.

When Big V was the only V and was brand spankin' new, my sister-in-law Donna brought over this pie for us to put in the freezer for a day when I was too harried to cook. (I have to say, V was born in February, and I was harried until July.) She also included the recipe in the package and I've been making it ever since.

Veg-All Chicken Pot Pie

1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of celery or cream of potato soup

1 16oz can Veg-All, drained

2 cups cooked diced chicken, or one large can canned chicken or two small

1/2 cup milk

shake of thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

1 egg, beaten

2 9in pie crusts

Combined soup, veggies, chicken, milk, thyme and pepper in a medium sized bowl. Place one pie crust into the bottom of an 8 in pie pan. Spoon filling into the crust. Cover with second crust, crimp edges to seal. Slit top of crust and brush with egg, if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 min.

Let cool 10 minutes before cutting.

Note: In my area it has been hard to find Veg-All lately, so I just buy a can of mixed vegetables and it does the trick.

Try it! It's really easy to make.

Have a good day! :)

Jewelry Trellis

2012-01-15T17:04:00.000-05:00

Here it is! I finished my jewelry trellis.

Remember, this is where I started.

I cut off the broken parts and shortened up the other end too.

I turned it sideways since there were four strips of wood to work with instead of the three I would have had if I hung it rightwards.

I got these great s-hooks from Ikea years ago. Wish I had bought more because my local hardware store didn't have these.

So I bought some white cup hooks instead.

I connected some of the clasps right around the wood and put my cuffs around it too.

Now my dresser is clear except for some broken pieces and earrings that I don't know how to hang. Maybe I'll take it back down and staple a piece of screen to it to hold the earrings.

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy your day!!!

Linking up to

Winter's Return and a New Project

2012-01-14T20:22:00.000-05:00

So winter has come back and we finally got some snow worth talking about. I would have ventured out to take a better picture than this, but it's really cold. I guess I'm a baby.

It's nice to let the dog out and she doesn't come in covered in mud.

Now it's a different process of clean up, but its a clean clean up, not a dirty one. It just involves getting all the snowballs off her paws and face, at the same time as she is trying to eat them.

Anyhow, I have been looking around here for a project to do (that I like) and I think I found one.

This is my dresser that my daddy built me.

The most pronounced thing on my dresser is this pile of beads, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. I'm terrible about taking things off and just throwing them on the dresser.

Ever since I started making jewelry and buying more, I've run out of room to put it all.

A solution is coming...

...in the form of an old trellis that my dad made for my mom's rose bushes a long, long, time ago. It was behind the shed and got a little beat up. I once had it next to the screened porch for a clematis I was ~~killing~~ growing.

Curious about what I'm doing with it?? I will have to show you tomorrow because I have one more thing to go get and also, it got too dark to take good pictures. So come by tomorrow and see the result!!

French Onion Soup

2012-01-11T19:53:00.001-05:00

Today I made French Onion Soup for dinner.

I got this recipe from Food Network. It is by Tyler Florence, my favorite TV chef. ;)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle

3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 quarts beef broth

1 baguette, sliced

1/2 pound grated Gruyere cheese

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When you are ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.

Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Here I'm floating French bread slices on the top. My girl Big V took the pictures of me in action. (She also took a video of me with the iPad while I was dancing to Michael Jackson and grating the cheese.)

After it took me 10 minutes to grate up a bunch of the cheese, I remembered the cheese shop lady telling me to use a peeler to get thin slices of cheese for the top. So I peeled some to put over the edges.

I put it under the broiler to get the cheese all melted and bubbly.

My sweet husband made the sandwiches.

Good dinner for a Wednesday. My dad is not here for dinner on Wednesday and usually my husband is at work so the girls and don't usually eat that great. But I've been wanting to make this soup for a long time. It was really good but needed a little more beefy flavor. I just don't like using too much bullion because of the MSG in it. Little V used to have a very bad reaction to it so I still avoid it as much as possible.

Maybe you can try making this soup, it was pretty easy to make

Have a great night!

Knitting Project No. 2

2012-01-11T11:18:00.000-05:00

As promised, here is Knitting Project No. 2.

I made this sweater for my great-nephew, Maddox. He was due right around now, but he came along six weeks early on December 3. Of course, I was sick for most of December so I couldn't go see him. I also couldn't finish the sweater and being the procrastinator I am and thinking I had six more weeks to work on it I didn't have it done before he arrived. Now it is nearly completed. I just need to sew on some snaps and I maybe some buttons to make it look good on the front. The pattern calls for ties, but I'm a freak about ties on baby clothes. Better safe than sorry. If my niece will allow, I will post a photo of the sweater with the baby in it. ;)

I am especially proud of this because I never made a sweater before, and I rarely finish a project at all. Also, I thought my mother would be proud that I actually, finally, got the hang of it after years of sitting next to her on the couch trying to knit. Eventually I would hand my project over to her to fix it or go back three rows to pick up 5 dropped stitches, finish an area of it or loosen my stitches that were so tight you couldn't even get the needle into them. But I never finished anything. In fact, I was up in a bedroom closet at my dad's house looking through all the yarn and I found a project I started at least 20 years ago. So funny. I also thought that if my mom were here she would be the one making a sweater for the baby, but since she's not, I will.

Here is a sweater my mom made for one of my brother's twins. By the time I started having babies, my mom couldn't really knit any more. Thank God my sister-in-law thought enough to send me one since she knew I wouldn't have a sweater knit by my mom. I really love it, and hopefully one day, my girls can put it on their babies. But not for like, 15 or 20 years.

Since this post was supposed to be yesterdays, I will tell you what I did yesterday.
I made bread.

Last week I found a recipe online that was super easy, but it didn't really tell you how much water to use. It said to follow the yeast package, but that only called for 1/4 cup. Once I started mixing in all the other ingredients, it was dry. I baked it anyway and it came out fine but I was still concerned about it. So I went on the yeast website itself and found this recipe that called for 1 1/2 cups of water. It wound up making two loaves.

I usually use my breadmaker to mix the dough and then I knead it, let it rise, shape it and bake it myself, but I have been wanting to do the whole process myself so I looked online for a recipe. I wish my grandma was around to ask if she ever made bread.

I made stuffed shells and this definitely went well with it.

Big V was very hungry after basketball practice. lol She almost couldn't wait.

Today we are using the second loaf for panini sandwiches and I am making French Onion soup as well. After I make it, I will post the recipe and a picture.

Enjoy your day!

Technical Difficulties

2012-01-10T22:14:00.000-05:00

Please stand by!

I am having trouble uploading my photos so I am unable to complete my post.

Hopefully things will be fixed up tomorrow.

Sorry! :(

Busy Saturday

2012-01-07T16:02:00.002-05:00

First off, I will show you my AWESOME bargain I picked up at an estate sale yesterday.

I am so excited, I got this working vintage fan for $5!!! Last year, Nic and I were at a sale and we saw one but I passed it up. I have regretted that ever since. So now I found another one! It is really cool. A nice addition to my shelf.

Today I am putting away all the Christmas decorations. I hate this task. The reason I hate this task is because I have no closet or storage space in this house. The only closet that is not in a bedroom is my front hall coat closet. All the Christmas decorations are stored in this space. Therefore, I have to take out every coat that anyone in this house owns, plus the vacuum cleaner, a huge case of cassette tapes (don't ask), a bed tray, tripod, etc, etc, etc, to get everything put away. Add to this the fact that my husband can't stand having the closet laying all over the foyer and the living room and you can see why I dislike it so much.

While I was pulling out boxes, I rediscovered this cool coffee maker that belonged to my parents when they got married. My dad said it was a wedding gift.

I was puzzled with how it worked, but a few months ago I caught a bit of a story on the Cooking Channel about coffee made with coffee makers similar to this, using the vacuum principal. I asked Ron to help me figure it out and since the closet was pulled apart anyway, we might as well use it to make some coffee. So, we looked up a Cona coffee maker online and we found out they are still making them. There was an explanation of how to brew the perfect cup of coffee.

Step 1. Put hot water in the bottom vessel and turn on the heating element.

Step 2. Put the glass stopper in the funnel and add ground coffee.

Step 3. As the water in the bottom bubbles, it travels up the funnel and into the coffee.

Step 4. Remove the heat source and watch the finished coffee travel back down into the bowl at the bottom.

It still was bubbling when it all finished.

They claim it makes the best tasting cup of coffee.

I have to say, it was really good, and I'm not a big coffee drinker. I'm a tea person, based on the fact that since I'm half British it's in my blood. Or is there a saying that British people don't have blood, it's tea in their veins? I'm not sure, maybe I made it up. lol

So, continuing the day...

...someone said, "let the dog out in the back to run around." He will remain nameless, but here's a hint, he's the only man in this house. I don't really let her do that too often because the yard can get very wet and soggy. So, as we were researching this coffee making process, we were not watching what the dog was doing. She was digging a hole in the yard.

She was covered in mud. And grass. She had the second bath in as many days. But now she's clean again, and whining to go back out to finish her work.

After all the excitement, I am going back to the ever-boring-and-annoying Christmas un-decorating.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

See you soon!

Linking up to Debbiedoos Newbie Party !

January Sunset

2012-01-06T17:29:00.002-05:00

Today was back to warm here again, 50 degrees.

It was a good day for estate sales because it was dry. Always nice to not track snow and salt into someones house.

It's too dark now to take photos of my bargain, but I will post tomorrow.

I will instead post a photo of the most beautiful sunset tonight.

This is the start...

...this is the finish.

I love sunsets. They never cease to amaze me. It's like God's peace with the world at the end of the day. :)

Hope you have a nice sunset to look at today!

Knitting Project No. 1

2012-01-03T20:15:00.001-05:00

Even though I was really sick before Christmas, I was trying to keep up with my knitting.

Here is a project I've been working on .

It's a seed stitch cowl, or infinity scarf. Only thing is, I am at the end of the skein and I'm thinking I may just stop here and sew it up and wear it as a neck warmer. It is so thick and warm and I have short hair so it would be just lovely to have it around my neck when I take my puppy out. Especially now since it's 7 degrees outside as I type this.

On the other hand, double of this would be even better for warmth, but might be too thick with my coat.

My husband bought me all kinds of warm layers to wear under jeans and sweaters when I walk Rory. It has been so nice and cozy and now the wind doesn't go straight through me. But my neck is another story. Maybe I'll stitch the cowl up with a different color yarn so if I want to take it apart and knit more I will be able to see the stitching and undo it.

I will show you the result, whatever I decide.

Have to run, Rory needs to go out again! ;)

Stay tuned for Knitting Project No. 2....

A New Year

2012-01-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

I wish a hopeful and blesssed New Year to all of my readers and lookers. Thank you for any minute you have spent this past year stopping in here to visit.

Cold Winter Day

2011-12-29T14:54:00.006-05:00

It's really chilly here today. Normally, this would not be noteworthy. This year, however, has been so unusually mild in Western New York that a really cold to the bone day is a surprise.

But it's nothing that a loaf of bread hot out of the oven and some pear butter won't cure.

Oh, and I almost forgot the Tillamook cheese (my little "slice" of Oregon right here in NY).

Hope you are keeping warm today. :)

Christmas Blessings

2011-12-28T17:59:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone was able to have a peaceful Christmas. We were so blessed this year, as always.

We went to our favorite Christmas tree farm.

The girls wanted one of these little trees.

We brought our puppy with us too. I know, she doesn't even look like a puppy anymore.

All the newspapers and magazines said to "bring the outdoors in" for decorating this Christmas.

I made little wreaths out of pine boughs from my daddy's yard. My friend Nic and I made our pine cone swags last year. Mine fit perfectly on this nail.

I put a little "outdoors" on the kitchen table...

...on the kitchen window...

...in the dining room...

...and into the living room.

I'm so excited, I got a new iPad for Christmas from my hubby! I'm so glad we decided to cut back on spending this Christmas. He says that every year but he never cuts back.

The girls got all they hoped for and more. We ran around from house to house visiting and eating with relatives. You work on everything for a long time, and then it's over so quickly. Shopping, wrapping, making gifts, baking.

The only thing that's not over is all the sweets that have to be eaten. ;)

Hope you have a Happy and Blessed New Year!

Leaf Sunday

2011-10-30T21:43:00.000-04:00

Today we had our third annual leaf raking party at my father's house.

My dad has nearly an acre of property surrounded by trees and it is too much for him to take care of by himself any longer.

We decided we should all share in the job and keep him sane.

As always, I took the opportunity to look for interesting photo subjects.

This is some moss on one of my favorite trees.

We bagged 59 bags of leaves in an hour and a half and he still has two or three trees that are green and need to fall. Also, his neighors trees have not fallen yet and they never pick up their leaves so they all blow into my dad's yard. So, there is more work to be done.

It was a beautiful day here, a break from the rain we've been having. When we were done we went inside for hot cider and chocolate. Then we had a dinner of homemade soups and subs.

Hope you had a great weekend! :)

Fluttering Beauty

2011-10-11T20:37:00.004-04:00

Today I had one of my favorite monarchs in the garden wafting among the last of my zinnias.

This lovely creature let me creep ever closer to it.

It even let me touch its wing a little before it flew away.

I noticed that the center of the zinnia contains a bunch of little flowers. The butterfly had this long tongue-like thing (it probably has a name) that it would stick into the flower to get pollen or nectar or whatever it was after.

Maybe in this picture you can see it coiled up. The butterfly was moving its food along the tongue-like thing into its mouth. It was fascinating. I couldn't believe I got this close to it.

Even though we have passed the end of summer on the calendar, we have had some great weather here for the past week. It was nice to spend some more time outside today. I feel like each day we have that is nice out also keeps winter away for one more day. What a nice treat for "end of summer". :)

Hope you are enjoying your end of summer/fall!

Busy Week

2011-09-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

So this past week I was able to get some things done that I wanted to do this fall. It has been hard to get anything done with this doggy around. I probably have been spending too much time with her since I can't even leave the room without her whining. That's a big clue.

I was able to make some caramelized pear butter. My friend Kathy gave me a huge box full of pears.

I don't feel that I have ever made it properly since I was told to chop up the pears and I never really pureed them. This year I had my brother's food mill so I tried it the correct way. It still didn't thicken the way I think it should, but I'm sure it will still taste great.

My brother also gave me a bushel of tomatoes. He made tons of sauce this year since he had 32 tomato plants in his garden.

So I washed them up and made sauce too. He gave me his recipe but I followed the procedure in the Ball Blue book. I was concerned about the flavor, I hate bland sauce, but this came out very flavorful. I was happy. :)

For all the tomatoes I had though, it sure didn't make much sauce. But, it's still better than no sauce at all. And, it was free.

I saved some of the tomatoes to roast.

My neighbor was telling me how she had roasted some of her leftover tomatoes with some olive oil and salt. I slow roasted them for about 11 hours at 200 degrees. The house smelled wonderful! Of course, I forgot to take a picture of them after they were done roasting and I already froze them. But I tasted one and it was delicious.

So, any of you who know me will know that if I have a change around here it totally throws me off. As you can guess, the dog has affected me. But, I'm sure it will be worth it.

She tries to bite the camera so I have to hold it high above my head and just shoot. I really don't want a big nose print on my lens and all my photos. Lol! I promise I will get better pictures. And, I will put up some photos of my summer. I did some fun things.

Thanks for continuing to stop in here, even though I've been MIA.

See you soon, I promise.

Am I Crazy??!!

2011-08-03T14:50:00.001-04:00

So, I had my last day of work last Thursday. It was sad to say goodbye to the people I have worked with for so long. I hope to stay friends with them, but it will be hard at times since the pharm is open every day and most days til 9pm. It seems like if we ever wanted to get together, someone couldn't make it because of work.

Anyhoo, I was looking forward to having August to get all my projects outside done. Do my spring cleaning and relax with my family while we got ready for school to start.

Instead, we got a puppy.

This was the scene in my living room on Thursday morning.

And on my last day of work, I didn't even have one hour of being able to relax and enjoy, when we picked up our new baby.

Rory.

I must be crazy.

But she's really sweet, and she really is trying to get outside to go potty. And keep her teeth off of us. And not drag her water bowl around the kitchen and spill water everywhere.

Okay, I have to go, she needs to go out. Be back later!

Flower Power

2011-07-23T22:09:00.001-04:00

Holy Hydrangea! I had to cut some of these and put them in my ironstone pitcher. I was dreaming of filling it with flowers the day I bought it.

And to make all things sweeter, I had a monarch on my white cone flowers!

The monarch is my favorite butterfly and I haven't had one in the yard in a couple of years.

We are back from Cape Cod and I have some great photos to share. But, of course I have to unpack first. I'll be back!

I'm so thankful for a safe trip home (I really can't stand thruway driving, it's so harrowing). :)

Coastal Decor

2011-07-14T22:29:00.000-04:00

I love to decorate my house for summer.

I think its because I looooovvvvveee seashells.

(Must be the Pisces thing)

(Two pictures taken by my girl Big V)

I have little dishes and jars of them all over the place.

Here is a great little memory I made with a jar of things collected on the beach.

The shells and rocks that are in the jar are from our first trip to Cape Cod. The kids were little and we went with some really good friends of ours. I filled the jar with the shells and rocks and put a picture of our girls and our friends girls dancing on the dock inside the jar as well.

Then I wrote the place and the year on a tag and tied it around the jar.

It has been a source of much admiration since I made it.

It always makes me smile at the memory of a great trip with our friends and how cute the kids were.

Hope you are out there making good summer memories!

Phase Two: Complete

2011-07-10T22:50:00.001-04:00

The porch floor is finished.

I love the color. I have used a similar color in both my living room and my back hall.

I'm so excited that things are getting done around here. Next my dad and I are going to do some repairs to the wood frames and then I will start painting that and the screens.

It's nice to see some results and be able to check things off my list.

We will be going to the Cape soon, so this week will be hectic. But the end result will be a great vacation so I'm looking forward.

See you soon!

Floor Painting

2011-07-09T14:02:00.000-04:00

Today we moved e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g back out of the screened porch so I can start painting the floor. (Phase 2)

If I decide the floor needs a second coat, this will all stay here until tomorrow.

So here are the before photos of the floor...

...and here is the color that it will become.

It's called "Pebbled Path" and it's a cross between gray and brown.

Off I go, have to get this finished. Then I can move on to the next phase. Lol.

New Directions

2011-07-06T22:13:00.003-04:00

So today I am celebrating new directions.

Today I gave my three week notice at work. I have decided that I cannot keep working in such a stressful job, it is affecting my health. When I first started there, my fibro was mild. But I really think that my job is the reason that I have been having so much trouble with my pain management lately.

When I was a stay-at-home-mom, my friend Amy worked and she used to say that her employer got the best part of her every day and that she didn't have much to give her family when she got home. I started feeling the same way lately. Always coming home crabby and complaining. Never getting anything done. I still have to spring clean and it's July.

Yesterday was especially difficult. It was the day after a holiday, and for some reason, everyone needs their medications on those days. So being busy and short staffed, I couldn't eat when I was hungry and got a migraine. Also, from all the working about the house for the party this past weekend, and walking to the fireworks and back, my hip was killing me. Then, this sweet lady comes in and starts telling us how her husband is dying. She cried. I cried. (My head throbbed). Some things her husband is going through remind me of how my mom suffered. I couldn't take it any longer. Not that I am unfeeling, I think I feel too much. We have lost some of our favorite customers, some wonderful blessings to this earth. Every time we do, I cry.

I just decided that I need a break. I need to get into a job that is more creative. I need to spend time on my Etsy shop. I need to get out there and find a place for me that allows me to make something beautiful, or make something look beautiful. My life will take a new direction.

So, today, I feel better :)

I came home from work all giddy, my kids were laughing. They thought it was weird that I was coming home from work in a good mood. My dad asked if I was drunk! Lol! Then the girls laughed even more. I feel like a giant weight has been lifted.

Remember last summer I was marveling at the hydrangeas on Cape Cod? And I was going to disguise myself as a local and go to a garden center there to try and get their secret for growing plants just covered in flowers? Well, I figured out the secret!

I just don't know what it is yet.

This thing is covered in flowers/buds. I don't have any idea on this planet, what I did.

It also amazes me how each flower is a different color. I know, it's all about the acid in the soil. But, it still is a little mind boggling that a plant can have so much variation.

Light pink, dark pink, green, pinkish-purple, darker purple, a tinge of blue on one side of the plant...

...white, pale purple with pale green on the other side. Just amazing. I've been putting things on the top of the soil like pine needles and coffee grounds. Maybe that's why its so varied, those items may not be hitting all the roots. This fall I will work the soil around it and add a bunch of stuff. Maybe I'll get solid blue next year then. Although, I really think the varied colors are beautiful.

So, I am thankful today for a great husband who has supported me and put up with my bad moods after work for the last couple of years. He has encouraged me to do what I would like. He knows the old saying "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". Lol. But really, he's too good to me.

And I'm also thankful I had a job when many people didn't over the last few years. If any of you are looking for a job, pharmaceuticals is the place to be, cuz doctors are prescribing the crap out of them.

;)

Have a great night! Remember you are blessed!!!

(Gotta go get the girls from the movies)

Busy Holiday

2011-07-05T22:48:00.000-04:00

The 4th of July was very busy for us. I have my family picnic at my house and I am very particular about how everything looks and is set up.

I did get the wall painted in my screen porch, but I've decided that it will be an all summer project to get the whole thing done. So, unlike how I usually would, I am taking it a little at a time so I don't get stressed out.

So here is a partial look at the result of phase one.

The wall looks great. Since I didn't have much luck with growing flowers in it, I took one of my wicker planters and used it to hold things we may need out at the table, because the kitchen is not right inside the door. The porch is actually off the living room.

I made a muslin liner for the zinc insert since it was sort of corroded and rusty. Then I brought out plates and wine glasses, napkins and silverware.

The bottom was just the right dimensions to hold a French wine crate from one of my husband's previous trips.

I put in some of our favorite games to play out on the porch in the summer months.

It felt like I worked non-stop for five days to get ready for the party.

Then it came.

We cooked...

...swam and played...

...and tried to get the best action picture of Brian jumping in the pool. Lol.

We dropped into town and saw the fireworks, walked home and I went to bed. It sure is tough gettin' up for work in the morning after a party. Lol.

Hope you celebrated independence in the best way possible!

Ah, July

2011-07-01T23:18:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day of July and I can't believe how fast June went.

When I got up this morning, it was so nice outside, the sun was shining, no one was cutting the grass yet, the pool filter was off. It was so peaceful. A nice time to take a walk through the garden.

Some newly opened lilies.

Cosmos.

Verbena, one of my favorites.

A really cool petunia, dark purple, almost black.

I don't know what this plant is. A girl that I work with gave it to me out of her mother's garden. The Cape is loaded with them and so that's why I like them. If anyone knows what this is called, please let me know!

My purple coneflowers, already being attacked by Japanese beetles. Arrgggh!

This year I also have a white coneflower. Can't wait until more of them open.

It was such a perfect morning, we ate breakfast outside. The pool was crystal clear and Big V went swimming right after she ate.

It felt like I was on vacation. I thought, "How did I get so lucky?" I am truly blessed.

Girls Day Out

2011-06-25T17:56:00.002-04:00

I went out today with my friends Nicole and Tracy. We went to the farmers market and an antique and art festival in a town nearby.

The farmer's market was not too crowded. We got there earrrrrrly.

I love red. Especially when it tastes good.

There were so many beautiful plants...

...and vegetables.

We then moved on to the antique fair.

So many things to buy, so little time and money.

This event was held at a place called the Roycroft Campus. It is a very historical area of Western New York. In the late 1800's/early 1900's, a man named Elbert Hubbard started a guild of craftsmen who were artisans and wanted to live together and work on their crafts together. They started the "Arts and Craft" style of decorative arts. You can read more about the history of the campus here.

Some photos of the original campus buildings.

This particular building is being rebuilt. It was the original power house and generated heat and electricity for all the buildings on the campus. It suffered a fire in 1997 and some weather damage so it needed to be rebuilt. The project is nearly done.

Another part of the campus is the Roycroft Inn.

We usually come here for our anniversary to have dinner. It is so astoundingly beautiful inside, you can barely stand it.

We have never eaten outside. I guess we always go at a busy time of day and they put us inside. I also remember rain one year.

The gardens are something else.

There also was a craft show, made up mostly of people who are Roycroft artisans.

I absolutely love all the Arts and Craft style furniture and home decor.

The town this campus is located in is one of the most beautiful and unique towns around here. So many residents embrace the Roycroft history and have reflected this in their homes and gardens. If money were no object, I would buy an old bungalow there and fill it with Roycroft furniture. After spending a day there, I want to take my little Cape Cod home and remodel the whole thing into an Arts and Crafts home. Lol. (I think my husband would move out). I love the oak wood and how these artisans can make new wood look old.

So, in the long run today, I spent $47.50. I got...

Strawberries and cherries.

Shelling peas.

A new perennial called a Centranthus.

A really cool, milky type glass juicer (you know, the fetish).

A footed salt cellar for THAT collection.

A few prisms. I wish I would have gotten more of them but I couldn't because my arms were full of...

...THIS! I have wanted a cute old typewriter for so long. This was calling out my name.

I also spent $3 for a cheeseburger.

So, a day of fun with my friends for $50.50. But the fun with friends part, priceless.

I leave you with some of my crazy firework photos from last night. It was pouring so my dad and I sat in the car while the rest of the family stood out in the park in the rain.

I thought this one looked like a string of Christmas bulbs.

My girl thinks this one looks like a flower.

This looks like flying stick men to me. Lol.

The smoke couldn't rise because the clouds and rain were in the way.

I thought we had a great view from the car. Nothing was blocking our view. Every year we end up sitting behind the same tree and not being able to see. Now I know where to sit. Lol.

Now we are off to a graduation party! Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Summer Work

2011-06-24T17:07:00.003-04:00

This summer, I have several projects that I need to work on.

The first is a re-do in the screened porch.

We have vinyl siding on our house. It's pale yellow. I did not pick it out. The house was like that when we bought it. I have been dying for years to take the siding off in the screened porch to see what was underneath it.

This is it. Light yellow clapboards. I was hoping for barn red. Plain or varnished wood. Anything different. But its exactly the same. So I started sanding and filling nail holes. I'm planning on painting it all white.

Need to get the ceiling done.

When we moved in, there was a fiber board ceiling in here that we pulled down. I always wanted to have it sprayed white. But I am now looking for quick fix so I think I'm going to put bead board up.

The floor is in not-so-good shape.

It's "remnants of brown" brown. I'm leaning towards gray or bluish gray for the color. Only thing is, it's been raining again lately so it may not be dry enough to paint it. I'm hoping next Wednesday will be nice because I'm off work.

I also have this table and chair set that used to be in my kitchen.

I didn't like it when it was in the house and I don't really like it much more outside. I'm hoping to paint this as well, though I'm not sure I'll get to it since there is so much to be done. It has to stay since we eat out there everyday in the summer. It also serves as the game table when we play Dominoes or Scrabble.

One more thing is this glider I garbage picked a long time ago.

We have a big futon mattress we put on it every year, but it's really large and takes up so much space. I should probably buy or make cushions for it, but I have the feeling the family will be against that since the futon makes it really comfy and we like to take naps and read there. Maybe next year for that. I always debate painting it, but its such a cool old green and I really like it.

Wish me luck to get it all done before my 4th of July party!

Last night I went to the grand opening of the new Anthropologie store in our area. I am so excited to get a new retailer in our part of New York. The store was quite beautiful visually and all the clothing and home goods were wonderful. It will be nice to have a new store in our area to shop in. We never seem to get the really special stores that I would love to go to. It will be very hard to come away from the mall without picking up something there.

I loved this juicer I saw there. I have a fetish for them.

Photos from Anthropologie.com

This skirt I saw in the store was gorgeous. One of the sales ladies was wearing it and it looked great on her. Might just have to get it before the trip to the Cape this year.

Since we had some hot weather before the rain, my daughter was making cool drinks for us this week. I pulled out one of my old Martha magazines and we found three pages of cool summer drinks.

The first one she made was this blueberry smoothie.

All it takes is:

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup skim milk

2 tablespoons honey

5 small ice cubes

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately in tall glasses.

It was delicious!

The next day she made a sweet frozen drink called "Latin Lover", but I didn't get any pics of it.

Tomorrow I am off to an antique fair and artisan show with some friends. I will make sure to take my camera so I can show you!

Have a great Friday! Fireworks in my hometown tonight! Can't wait, it always signals the start of summer for me.

Catching Up

2011-06-18T00:36:00.008-04:00

So I've been away for a while. I've been a little out of sorts still. I don't seem to feel that I have the time to spend with my blog entries. I have barely even gone on the Internet much at all in the last month or so. My email inbox keeps piling up. Once again I've been keeping up with meals and the basics and that's just about it. We had such a depressing and rainy May here in Western New York that I didn't have the drive to do anything.

It could also be that danged fibromyalgia. It has never wiped me out before. I would get a flare up once every other month, pain in my wrists or knees or elbows. But lately, it has been giving me constant pain. I have really never taken anything for it. Working in the pharmacy has enlightened me to side effects from medications. It has always turned me off. But lately, I've been thinking I should go see the doctor and get something for this. I just don't want to become dependant on anything. But I really need to be able to live a better life I guess. I started taking Vitamin B12 and it seems to be helping me get my energy back. This past weekend I got my flowers planted and that made me feel a lot better.

So, here is what we have been up to.

We went to Colonial Williamsburg. It was such a nice relief from the terrible spring we had. Although, the weather took another month to get better after we came back.

It was beautiful there, as usual.

The gardens were amazing. Made me want to change my whole property.

The huge brick mansion would be a great start. Lol

Wouldn't it be nice to have this lovely walkway in your yard?

They really know how to grow things there.

I guess it helps when you have the sun. :)

We came home just in time for Easter.

There is no shortage of bunnies in my house.

Even ones that dance and serve tea at the same time.

I used the Meyer lemon juice I froze in March to make this delight.

Meyer Lemon Crepe Cake

One of those dishes that I define as "I can't believe I made something that tastes this good."

You can find the recipe from Martha Stewart here .

It was a lot of work. But worth it. Luckily I cleaned the house thoroughly before we went away, knowing full well I was having my family here for Easter, so all I had to do was food prep when we got home.

We had another birthday for Baby Girl.

She's a teenager now. :(

Red velvet cake. Mmmm. Also, my Mother's Day cupcake in the foreground there. All from our favorite bakery.

Then the day finally came when the cherry blossoms opened. I left the Christmas lights up so that I could see how this looked. It was beautiful. Now the flowers are gone but the tree still looks pretty all lit up through the leaves. The girls say it looks great so I'm leaving it for now. If it looked dorky or all "hey don't you know it's not Christmas anymore", they would definitely tell me.

Oh, so pretty. Too bad the rain started again two days later and pulled all the blossoms down before they could be pollinated. I hardly saw any bees. I'm not sure if there is a problem with the tree or what, but I sure miss the cherries.

My crazy brother Michael came to town for a day. Long story short, he came to pick up a piece of furniture that my Dad made since his friend had a rental truck that was going from New Jersey to Idaho and this was his only chance to move it to Portland.

His son met him in Idaho with his truck and loaded it up for the remaining drive to Oregon. Michael also picked up my grandparents old radio to take to my other brother Donald in Washington.

Isn't it so cool?

So my Dad's house is two pieces of furniture lighter. Lol. 600 to go.

I bought some new hostas for my front gardens. I was more concerned with how the water stayed like this on the leaves than anything.

Anyhoo, these plants were huge so I divided them and got six instead of three.

We also had a dance recital.

Flash photography was not allowed and it was very dark in the theatre. So, sorry, the pic is not exactly what I wanted it to be.

We never had a recital before. Watching Irish dancing was never really promoted and at competition you are not allowed to record since there must have been some cheating and copying of steps in the past so grandparents and aunts and uncles never really got to see the team dances unless there was a special occasion.

Big V joined a local dance studio with some of her old friends from Irish dance so they had a lot of fun. Hip hop is sooooooo different. Much more relaxed.

So, that is it my friends. Two months gone by. Not too much to report.

If anyone is still tuning in here, I am thankful for you.
I know my MIL is. She's sticking with me. Lol.
Thanks Flobie!

Always Near

2011-06-16T22:55:00.004-04:00

You may be gone but you are not forgotten. Always in my heart and in my head.

I can still hear you calling me to get up for work in the morning even though it was 18 years ago.

I am still picking on Daddy for you.

Remember how you used to tell me I was just like my father when I did something that annoyed you? Well, last month I told him he was just like himself. He knew I was speaking for you.

He knows he's in trouble for the other day when he said you wouldn't let him play games with us and that's why he didn't know where you kept the Spill and Spell.

I can see myself becoming just like you as I get older.

I was looking for something the other day and I found it in my hand. (I heard you say "I told you")

I saw a butterfly the other day and I knew you were there.

I now have your knees.

Margaret told me I have your feet, too.

I miss you so much it hurts.

I can't wait to see you again.

When I die I expect to hear God say "Your Mother is hilarious! Come on in and laugh for a while."

Love you Mama. Hope you are experiencing peace like no other and that there is tea in heaven.

Sorry about the picture, I cannot ever get my scanner to work for me.

A Hopeful Project

2011-04-14T21:51:00.006-04:00

I rescued this frame from my dad's basement and from certain trash pick up on a Wednesday morning. :)

It's pretty large, so I think it might make a nice chalkboard. My dad got me a piece of plywood so I can paint it with chalkboard paint. My hope for this project is that I will get it done. I never seem to get anything done around here. I either don't have the time, or when I do have time, I either have a migraine, don't feel good, or I'm in a funk and I can't get up the ambition to do anything other than make dinner.

I think that is my problem lately, a funk. That's what I call it when I don't feel like doing a thing. I used to get them so severely that I wouldn't even clean the house. I haven't been that bad in years, but I think it's a funk none the less.

I obviously haven't been on here at all. I'm not working on any projects. I'm just blah.

Not good, not bad, just- just.

I was looking at some things coming up in my garden. It makes me excited that spring is finally here. We had one really warm day last weekend and that was all it took to bring things up out of the ground.

A lupine. I planted this last year, so I'm happy to see it come back up. I don't always have the best luck with perennials.

Coral bells.

Stirrings from my hydrangea.

All these plants have seemed to escape the wrath of those cute little deer I posted about last month. But, the tulips have not fared so well.

Now, my neighbor across the way gave me these bulbs last year. She has hundreds and hundreds of tulips and daffodils. Once she is blooming over there, I will post a pic of her garden. It's really quite something. Anyhoo, she gave me the bulbs and made me promise to plant them. Once I did, the squirrels dug up and ate about half. The ones that were left have now been eaten by the deer. This sweet neighbor of mine never has any of her tulips eaten. My neighbor next door has a bed of tulips. No one eats them. I have about twelve tulips left, and they are all eaten right the way down. Can anyone tell me why? Please? Mr Murphy, is it one of your laws?

I just want to mention that a friend of mine passed away last week. Her daughter was in my oldest girl's class from K thru 8th grade. I think it's so terrible for a 14 year old girl to lose her mother. I'm still recovering and I was 40 when my mom died.

My friend had cancer and suffered a lot. The funeral was quite sad, but also it was special because she had planned most of it and wrote a letter to everyone that was read aloud.

She had a very strong faith and the letter was so hopeful for all us to have the same kind of relationship with God as she had. We had all come to be supportive of her family and grieve, and we wound up being uplifted by her words.

May we all have that special peace in our hearts every day.

The End of Ski Season

2011-04-05T20:59:00.001-04:00

Some close friends of ours belong to a local ski club. They have been members for about 10 or 11 years. This past weekend was one of the last for skiing at their club. Every Friday night, they drive south for an hour and stay in their cabin until Sunday night. They are on the slopes by 9 am on Saturday and Sunday.

Part of the end of season ritual includes "Pond Skimming". Contestants dress up in some kind of costume, ski down the slope, and ski across a man-made pond at the bottom. The object, of course, is to make it all the way across and out of the pond back onto the snow. This, is not always possible. Most people get very wet. My friend told me that when she was skiing in the morning, she saw people raking the ice out of the water! Brrrrrrrr.

My family and I went down to witness and join in the festivities.

The contestants.

The first competitor made it across, but not quite out. It was still an impressive start.

This year there were a lot of people who made it across. Maybe after 6 years of watching people, the secrets of success have been discovered.

This man made it all the way across, they say he has never gotten wet in all of his years as a competitor.

It was fun to watch, but cold. The wind was wicked. I can't imagine being in that water. Yikes!

The clown was nearly the only person to make it over and out on a board. The consensus is that it's much harder to do because your legs are not independent of one another.

We headed inside the chalet to warm up and get something to eat.

Then we went back outside to enjoy the sun and the fire.

Holly and Amy.

Dan and Ron.

Even the dogs came out to enjoy the day.

The thing with belonging to a private club is that you have a level of trust that is quite amazing.

You don't have to lock up your skis, your equipment or your cooler full of beer. When you put a tablecloth on a table in the chalet, no one else tries to take your table. When you cook burgers on the grill, no one takes your lunch. Everyone lines their crock pots up on a shelf along the wall near the electrical outlets and no one helps themselves to your meal. Your kids are safe. It really is quite nice. Amy's kids have grown up here. They've made many friends.

This year the members have gotten their money's worth since it's April and they are still skiing. Last year it was 79 degrees on pond skimming day. That seems so far off to me right now since it's still in the 30's here now. :(

Hope you are having a good week so far!

Chicken In The Pot

2011-03-28T22:08:00.003-04:00

Did you ever make a dish that tasted so good you couldn't believe you made it?

Chicken in the Pot was that kind of meal for me today.

First I cut up and browned the veg...

Here's the infamous preserved lemon that gets added to the veg...

I put the browned chicken pieces on top of the veg...

...and poured the wine and broth over that...

Then I put the dough on top.

I put the top on and threw it in the oven.

I didn't really get the dough on the edge of the pot very well. Next time I guess. I was in a hurry because my husband had two meetings and I wanted to get the pot in the oven so it would be out in time for him to eat before he had to leave.

It came out so well, I was astounded. Lol.

As promised, here is the recipe.

This is a Dorrie Greenspan recipe that I cut out of the Buffalo News, Wednesday, Nov 10, 2010.

Chicken in the Pot: The Garlic and Lemon Version

1/2 preserved lemon (see note)

1 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and each cut into 8 same-sized pieces (white potatoes may be substituted)

16 small white or yellow onions or shallots

8 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and quartered

4 celery stalks, trimmed, peeled, and quartered

4 garlic heads, cloves separated but not peeled

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

3 thyme sprigs

3 parsley sprigs

2 rosemary sprigs

1 chicken, about 4 pounds, whole or cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup hot water

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Using a paring knife, slice the peel from the preserved lemon and cut it into small squares; discard the pulp. Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, drop in the peel, and cook for 1 minute; drain and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetables and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and saute until the vegetables are brown on all sides (if necessary, do this in two batches.) Spoon the vegetables into a 4 1/2- to 5- quart Dutch oven or other pot with a lid and stir in the herbs and the preserved lemon.

Return the skillet to the heat, add another tablespoon of oil, and brown the chicken on all sides, seasoning it with salt and pepper as it cooks. Tuck the chicken into the casserole, surrounding it with the vegetables. Mix together the broth, wine, and the remaining olive oil and pour over the chicken and vegetables.

Put 1 1/2 cups of flour in a medium bowl and add enough hot water to make a malleable dough. Dust a work surface with a little flour, turn out the dough, and working with your hands, roll the dough into a sausage. Place the dough on the rim of the pot - if it breaks, just piece it together - and press the lid onto the dough to seal the pot.

Slide the pot into the oven and bake for 55 minutes.

Now you have a choice - you can break the seal in the kitchen or do it at the table, where it's bound to make a mess, but where everyone will have the pleasure of sharing that first fragrant whiff as you lift the lid with a fourish. Whether at the table or in the kitchen, the best tool to break the seal is the least attractive - a screwdriver. Use the point of the screwdriver as a lever to separate the lid from the dough.

Depending on whether your chicken was whole or cut up, you might have to do some in-the-kitchen carving, but in the end, you want to make sure the vegetables and the delicious broth are on the table with the chicken. Makes 5 servings.

Note: Prepare preserved lemons by cutting deep slits in lemons and burying them in salt and their own juices for at least three weeks.

If you can make this, you should. It took quite a bit of prep work and if I didn't have other things going on at the same time, as usual, and a time constraint, as usual, it would have been more fun. It still was fun, though, because I was already excited about using the preserved lemons that I made.

To read my post about preserved lemons, click here.

I'm working for the next 3 days so unless there is some miracle of an extra hour or two in the day, you will not see me until Thursday night or Friday.

Have a great week!!!

A Finished Task

2011-03-26T21:12:00.008-04:00

So. I finally, finally, made the lemon curd with the Meyer lemons!

It was so easy. I have no idea why I've been putting it off for so long.

They always say you should get everything ready and measured first. Mise en place.

So first, I zested and juiced the lemons. How come you always zest your finger a bit? Ouch!

Then I measured out all the ingredients...

Cooked it all up...

Put it in the jars...

Then I processed them in a hot water bath and I. WAS. DONE.

This may replace my jams and such as the Christmas gift of choice for my friends. It was so easy. No fruit to cut up. No fruit flies. No mess. I will be making more soon since there are only two jars and I know we will be going through it quickly.

You too can make this lovely lemony delight. I followed the recipe here.

Also, the preserved lemons are ready and I am going to attempt to make a most difficult meal with one on Monday. I will be sure and post the recipe here and show you how it comes out!!

Yesterday I went to my dad's to help him start going through the countless things my mother had saved.

There were bags and bags of gift bags and gift boxes and wrapping paper. Some bags just had crumpled shopping bags in them. In one bag, that I'm sure he was going to throw out, I found two head pieces. I think one was my Auntie Margaret's from her wedding and the other was my mother's from standing up in the wedding. I also found an old crinoline. Could have been from my mother's wedding dress.

I forgot to take my camera with me, but next time I go there, I will get pics of these things. Silly me, my mother always told me to never go out without a camera. If I had a nickel for every time I missed a good picture because I left my camera home...

I found this old, deep frame. It may look nice with a coat of white paint.

Also, I found a cute tea cozy that my aunt made.

It's a bit wonky. Somehow the spout opening is too low. Perhaps she made it for a specific teapot with a low spout. Maybe I can open up the seam and sew up the bottom a bit to move the hole higher. Its the perfect size for my little teapot I got from the Buffalo China tent sale a bunch of years ago.

I wanted to mention that I have been keeping up with planning meals for the week and I will say that I am spending waaaaay less money. When I am done with work, I leave the store and go home. I am not spending the $25-$40 each day that I was spending last fall and over the holidays. I am so proud of myself. I also have been writing it all on calendar sheets so I can make sure I don't keep repeating the same meals. I also noticed that we are not going out to eat or ordering in nearly at all because everything is figured out. If you can try to do this, you should. Especially since the price of food will be going up as the gas prices continue to climb. I have found plenty of great recipes on foodnetwork. I will try almost any recipe from Tyler Florence. He is amazing.

Also, just wanted to have you check out my friend Susan's 500th post on her blog and a giveaway. She has made some very nice things to give away for this special occasion!

I need to mention that I am sooo thankful that my nephew has just returned from Afghanistan unharmed. His unit came back the other day. Sadly, they lost a man about a month ago. So tragic to make it so close to coming home only to lose your life. I am so sorry for his family and am keeping them in my prayers.

Hope you have a good night.

Old Friends

2011-03-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

This past Friday evening, my nephew, Reed, was playing out at a local coffee shop. I don't get to see him much because he's finishing up his teaching degree with student teaching and school keeps him very busy.

He's on the right in this picture. Also, his girl Valerie sang a few songs with them, but I can't seem to get the pic to upload. I'll keep trying.

Then Saturday, my old friend was in town with her family, including her new baby. I held him for a bit, but he didn't want me to hold him.

He wanted his mommy.

It was so great to see the whole family, I think it's been about 18 months since the last time I did.

Also this past week and weekend, we have seen the return of so many of our birds. We happened to notice some red-headed woodpeckers making a hole for their home in one of our trees.

I tried to get some good pictures.

I just noticed that both the male and the female are in this picture. One is up near the hole on the right and one is down to the left side of the tree.

The male has such a bright head.

He was throwing beakfuls of sawdust out of the hole. Then he saw me and was checking me out.

Sorry about the wires, kind of a necessity, and I couldn't move them out of the way or else I would have. : )

As I was heading back into the house, I heard a cardinal in my neighbor's back yard. So as I walked next to my garage to look back there, I saw some other visitors.

I didn't even see the obvious one who is right in front of me, I only saw the deer in the bottom left walking across the yard. Then as I tried to get around the patio furniture to get a good shot, I saw the one in the hedge row, about the same time he saw me.

He didn't want to turn away, he was waiting to see what I would do. I decided to leave them alone, but a neighbor was walking up the street with their dog so the deer took off anyway.

Hope you have a good week!!

Thank You, Sweet Friends

2011-03-19T21:23:00.004-04:00

I know I haven't been around this week, but I worked a lot and now that I'm OLD, it really saps my energy. : / (If anyone knows what gives you energy and it's legal and won't give me a heart attack, please pass on the info. Thanks!)

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their encouraging comments to my blog posts lately.

I hope I didn't make everyone think that I am selfish. I don't want you to think that I believe no one else has problems and tragedy, and I will feel terrible if that's how I came across. I know that there are far worse things than this. I suppose it was the building of all of it, you know, sometimes you just can't take it anymore. I thank you all for perspective and for your support. I was also handed my ass by my daughter who was not happy with me for being mad at God. She was far more mature about it than me and part of me thinks my mother was yelling at me through her. Lol.

I know that He has a plan, I've always known. It is just hard to follow where he is going with it.

Anyhow, I want to say thank you again to everyone, it means so much to have all of you behind me. I promise I will 'get on with it' and will post something tomorrow. I just have been so beat, I haven't done anything worth posting about (except make food for hungry people and clean the kitchen). : )

New Look

2011-03-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Sure As Eggs' new look! I was getting tired of the dark brown background and I was ready for a change. I hope you like it!

I went to a couple of estate sales on Friday and I got some really nifty things.

First off, I found these really neat industrial looking tins. They are old film canisters. This one in the front appears to have had masking tape around it that was pulled off, leaving an interesting pattern.

I found this great folding rule.

Then I found two wind up tape measures.

I also found the most darling little purse.

It's lined with brown satin and has a small mirror inside.

Then I found this old thermos in perfect condition.

It's still in the box!

I also found this telephone message pad. It is so sweet. It reminds me of my grandmother who had a telephone answering service for years and years. She had this great little wall mounted cabinet with cubbies in it and the messages would be written down and put in the person's cubby. They would then call in and ask for their messages. When she passed away, the cabinet got thrown out. Much to my dismay. We do have her paperweight that was on her desk. It has a little gold telephone suspended in Lucite. If I can get my sister to let me take a picture of it, I''ll show it to you some time.

I also found this shabby tray at a thrift store on Friday. I love the grapes and vine pattern around the edge.

I will probably be listing these items in my ETSY shop. I've been checking out the vintage sellers on there and they seem to be doing well. Just thought I'd give it a try.

Well, I'm off to plan my dinner menu for the week so I can go to the grocery store. Fun! Now that I work in the store, I hate going there. Wish you could email your whole list and go to a drive up window and pick it up without having to go inside the store. I would so do that!!

Enjoy your Sunday!!

Discontent

2011-03-12T09:05:00.002-05:00

I hate to be a downer, but I need to vent. And this is, after all, my online journal.

Did you ever want something so bad for your child that it hurt? My girls have gone to private Catholic school all their lives. Pre-K thru 8th grade. We live in a town that seems small, but really isn't. The public school is very large, nearing 500 students per grade.

My oldest daughter thought it would be a challenge to go to this school, to go from being #16 alphabetically in her class to being #359. She familiarized herself with the school, her locker combination, the 1/4 mile walk from her locker to her last class of the day, and her whole day's route. She never got lost once.

But that seems to be where the good part ends. She has been trying and trying to get involved in things. She went out for basketball, didn't make it. Wanted to go out for the musical, was told there were only 20 or so chorus spots that they would be giving to the kids in chorus, which she wasn't in. She applied and jumped through hoops to get into a thing called the "Leadership Academy". Did she make it? No. Which, by the way, all of her friends made any academy they applied for.

My girl has been playing softball since she was 5. To me, this constitutes someone who knows what the hell they are doing. She's been running, going to batting clinics and watching what she eats. She went to five days of try outs in which she caught, threw, batted, dove into the hard floor of the field house and ran up and down stairs in the school. But of course, she didn't make the team. This lousy coach said she needs to work on her arm strength.

Now I have to say that is ridiculous and I know this because I am one of the people in this house who cannot play catch with this girl because she throws so hard, it makes your hand hurt when you catch it. I am so disgusted with this whole thing and this rotten school that has all but spit my daughter out on the sidewalk and run her over with the snow blower.

Now, we are second guessing our decision, which was primarily financial, to send her to this horrible school. Oh, and let's add the fact that all her friends from grade school have abandoned her as well and most of the other kids are so stuck on themselves they won't even giver her the time of day. Isn't this perfect? It's making me sick. I don't know what to say to make it better, like my mother would have. I can't say all this crap about how "God, (whom she has faithfully and dutifully served and followed and believed in, for her whole entire life) has a reason why he wants you to be as miserable and unsuccessful as you possibly can." Now I'm even starting to second guess my faith. I prayed so hard, I couldn't pray any more than I did. And it feels like no one listened. Like there was no one to listen. It's starting to remind me of when my mother was ill and dying. No one listened then either.

Sorry for this somber post, but I don't have anything really good to say today. :( Thanks for listening.

Spoke Too Soon...

2011-03-06T12:16:00.004-05:00

Of course, I should have knocked wood yesterday when i was going on bragging about my high-falutin' day of spring rain. AND the fact that my grill is uncovered. I now have to change that to 'my grill WAS uncovered' yesterday because, sure as eggs, the rain has changed to snow.

We got about 4 or 5 inches. I think we were lucky because I heard one of the southern counties could have gotten up to 10 inches.

It is quite beautiful, though

I went for a walk in the park.

The birds were all chirping noisily, almost as if they were complaining about the snow that we all just got rid of. But spring is still trying to push through. There seems to be three seasons in one on this branch.

Leaves from the fall, snow from the winter, and buds of spring trying to get the new leaves going.

I hope you have a peaceful Sunday, with quiet moments to help you charge your batteries for the upcoming week.

Rainy Saturday

2011-03-05T22:23:00.001-05:00

Boy, is it dreary here today.

We are supposed to get three inches of rain today. This is what we call "speed melt" mode. There are two good things about all this rain. One: It could be snow. And if it was, it would work out to be way more than three inches. And two: the grill is no longer under the cover of white. I'm sort of getting sick of the same old dinners. Maybe this week we can cook out!

My yard is extremely wet. It's hard to think ahead, but I'm excited about getting out into the garden. It hardly looks bloom worthy. I'm so jealous of my blog friends who live in the south. It's nice to hear about their 70 degree spring days and I laugh that I'm out walking on a 38-45 degree spring day that seems so wintry in comparison.

Wet, wet, wet. I feel like I could write a Dr. Seuss book.

Wet, wet, wet, How wet can one yard get?

I can't see through the window yet. Wet, wet, wet. LOL.

Ok, I'm losing it. I need spring bad....

Fishy Friday

2011-03-04T23:41:00.002-05:00

Today my husband made his special salmon for dinner.

He coats each piece in pan searing flour and sears it in the heavy frying pan. He steamed some green beans and then threw them in the same pan after the salmon was done cooking. After the beans cook for a few minutes, he adds a spicy orange sauce to them.

The crust that forms from the flour is delicious. It's amazing that something so simple can make something taste so good. Last week I made some tilapia with the same flour and it was good too. And another time my husband used corn starch as a coating and that was surprisingly good too.

Add some fresh mashed potatoes and the meal is all set.

Hope you have a great weekend!!

Cabinet No. 2

2011-03-01T21:35:00.003-05:00

Here is this week's featured cabinet made by none other than my sweet daddy.

This console table is similar to one I had seen in a *ahem* catalog of a popular store located in my local mall. That's all I'm saying. It's similar.

It's pretty close to the front wall of the house so I couldn't get a good front facing view of it. We have used it for storage of school items and arts and craft items when the kids were little. The canvas baskets are quite handy for coloring books and crayons, extra loose leaf paper for homework and any school papers that we didn't want thrown away by my husband (he probably won't look in there for anything).

This is one of only a few pieces of furniture that my father has actually painted. He is a lover of the wood he uses to build with and usually refuses to use paint, only stain. He made my lower kitchen cupboards which you can see in an earlier post here. Those are painted, but I painted them. My dad did not. So, any other furniture made by my dad that you will see, will not be painted. Oh, one other thing he has painted is any vanity cabinets he has made for bathrooms.

I also had some time to work on some ideas for my etsy shop today.

Here's a sneak peek...more later on that.

Also, I was looking through a shoe box full of post cards that was my mother's. I found some beautiful cards and photos of France.

I was thinking of framing some of them for the shop and maybe some for myself. My mother went to Lourdes with my Nana and her sister and brother-in-law (Auntie Margaret & Uncle Bob) when she was 19. It was a pilgrimage they went on and they picked all these up when they were there in France.

Oh! I forgot to post some pictures of Big V's birthday celebration.

Her sister made a sign...

She sat in her usual spot...

And opened lots of presents from her lovely family.

It was a fun party and my house was nice and clean. : )

I just realized that I'm sick of taking pictures in the dark. It really is hard to get good shots with so little daylight here in Buffalo, and I refuse to use the flash. Bleh.

Thank goodness I had the day off today to get things done. It was so different from last week. There were too many distractions. But today was nice. The weather was sunny and V and I even went for a walk. She made me run though, and I'm not really a runner. I had some chest pains and back spasms, but I lived.

Thank you for coming by to see me. See you again soon!

Some Vacation...

2011-02-24T23:16:00.021-05:00

Since the chicklets were off all week on their winter break, I thought I would take the week off as well.

I had visions of a lovely drive through Canada to the Ikea store, crafting beautiful handmade things for my etsy shop, of gently washing all the glassware and china in my china cabinet, carefully brushing glossy white paint on the window trim in my living room, spring cleaning the cobwebs from my dusty bedroom...

...and i didn't even mention the bentwood chairs that need to be lovingly restored with black paint and new fabric...

But I have children. And they have bigger and better social lives than I. So I didn't really have one good day to get anything major done around here. I haven't even had time to blog! A whole week off and this is my first post!

Also, we have a flat roof on the garage and it needs replacing. But while we are at it, we thought it might be fun to look into raising the roof and add some storage to our house. There is a door from our bedroom out over the garage and I thought it would be an easy way to get to the new storage area. So, long story short, I have had builders here looking at the job to give us estimates this week.

One thing I did get done was to make preserved lemons.

I was looking at Katy's blog and found some interesting info about Meyer lemons. Katy referred me to another woman who does a lot of canning because I want to make lemon curd with the Meyer lemons I bought at the grocery store.

In the past I clipped a recipe out of the paper that called for a preserved lemon. Well, it takes 3 weeks to make one so needless to say, I haven't made that recipe. This lady, Marisa, who does all the canning, had a post on her blog on how to make preserved lemons. I was so excited! Apparently you can use them for all kinds of dishes and in salads. So, today, I started it.

First, wash your lemons. Then, cut the ends off the lemon and cut the lemon into quarters of sorts, but not all the way through...

...then you layer them in a jar with sea salt...

...put the lid on the jar and leave it on your counter for three days.

Give it a shake a couple of times a day. This will mix up the salt and increase the juices. Over the next three days, the jar should be filling with juice. If not, open it up now and then and squeeze the lemons a little with a wooden spoon or even your hand. On day four, the lemons should be covered with their own juice, if not, add some juice to the jar. Then, put it in the back of the refridgerator for three weeks or longer. By then, they will be ready to use. The lemons will keep for about 6 months. You can check out Marisa's post here.

I will post the recipe for the chicken dish that calls for the preserved lemon when I make it and other recipes I find or try.

Today I am thankful for my lovely daughter who turned 15 today. I will post pics of her birthday after the party on Saturday night.

Thanks for stopping in, I really appreciate it!!!!!

A Great Birthday

2011-02-19T22:35:00.004-05:00

I had a wonderful birthday today.

It started out with me shopping all by myself at a local antique mall. I got the pitcher I mentioned a few days ago. It's a Johnson Brothers Ironstone. I'm so thrilled with it, it's in fantastic condition. AND...I got it for 20% off!!

Then I found a couple more...

The scallop-y one has no markings on the bottom but the small one on the left is Buffalo China. I'm guessing it's a creamer. It's about 4 1/2 inches at the top of the spout so it may be large for the creamer. Anyway, I can't wait for my garden to be in bloom so I can put fresh cut flowers in them all.

I also bought a flower frog for Big V's makeup brushes. Little V got the last one I bought.

Speaking of flowers...

Here's how the Valentines flowers opened up. I love them.

Then I got some new flowers today...

Isn't my husband the best? If there could be such a thing as vintage roses, this is what they would look like. Faded, with a hint of green and a hint of beige. Just gorgeous.

Since my husband couldn't get the night off from work, Nicole decided she should be the best friend ever and take care of me on my birthday. We went to church and then Nic got a pizza and some cupcakes and we celebrated.

The flowers are RINGS! Isn't that cute? We all got one. It was a girls night in, my girls and I, Nic, her daughter and her friend.

They sang wonderfully and I was able to blow out all 6 candles.

Please, no comments on how the girls are taller than me. It's a touchy subject.

Then the girls went and goofed around and Nic and I made jewels for the upcoming theme-tray auction at school. Here's what I made.

I like them so much, very springy. I think I"m going to make another pair and put them in my...

NEW ETSY SHOP!

I haven't mentioned that I fulfilled one of my January 1 resolutions. I finally got it set up, with the help of my friend Susan. I'm really not as good as I should be on the computer, so she offered to help me. Anyhoo, the name of the shop is Gabrielles Daughter and you can find it here.

All in all, it was such a great birthday, and tomorrow I get to sleep in and go to my favorite restaurant in Buffalo, Panos, for dinner.

Today I am thankful for the wonderful people in my life and the love they all give me. Also for my Mom who put up with getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom when she was pregnant with me and I was sitting on her bladder. You never appreciate someone until you find yourself in their shoes someday. Love you Momma, thanks for my life. : )

Finished Hutch and Winds of Change

2011-02-15T16:52:00.004-05:00

Here are the finished pictures of my freshly stocked hutch cabinet.

I realized I am lacking in the pitcher area. I have a glass one on the middle shelf, but I have my eye on an antique ironstone one that I can get on sale this weekend. Since it will be my birthday, I just may treat myself.

I saw an antique hutch in a book once that had a mirrored back on the first shelf and under cabinet lighting. I loved the look, but I cannot modify this piece of furniture by gluing mirrors to it. So, I did the next best thing and put mirror tiles in the plate rail on the back of the middle shelf.

Now everything is within arms reach. : )

Now on to the winds of change. They are blowing through our bathroom.

Here is what it looks like now.

Our house is old and it's small. It's tiny. It's wee. As is our bathroom. We have one small closet in the hallway facing the door to the bathroom. It is supposed to serve as our linen closet. Since we remodeled this bathroom the last time, I have come to miss the storage a vanity and sink provides. All toiletries are in the cupboard over the toilet and in the linen closet. I was so stuck on having this period sink in my house that I didn't even think about the storage space I was giving up. I would love, Love, LOve, LOVe, LOVE having my linens in the closet again. They are currently in a cupboard in my dresser. It doesn't really have enough space or air flow for linens.

Anyhoo, we purchased a vanity/sink combo and we will be putting it in the bathroom soon. I'm so excited for the space. More on that when we have some progress to show. I want to put in a new toilet and tile the floor. That will have to wait til summer so the girls can take a bath in the pool and we won't have to get ready for school. I have never done tile before but our friend Bob said he would show me how and help out. I am excited for the tile too. If I do well enough, maybe I'll be able to do the tub area as well.

Today I made a corned beef for dinner. Since we are missing Irish dancing, we are eating Irish instead.

I put peppercorns, garlic, bay leaf and cinnamon sticks in the coffee filter and tie it with butcher's twine. Put it in the braising pot and cover it with water. You're supposed to cook it for 4 hours, but I don't think it will take that long.

Once it's done, I make a glaze with brown sugar, dry mustard, ground ginger and ground cloves.

I put it all over the meat then put it under the broiler to melt the glaze. Yum! It's so good.

Even though it was early, we enjoyed our St Patrick's meal now.

Hope you get a chance to make a corned beef this season. It makes me feel like spring is in the air. Could also be that we are in a thaw of sorts and I'm so excited. I can't wait to get out and walk again.

Thankful for the beautiful sun today! I've missed you!!

I'll be back in a couple of days, have to work tomorrow and Thursday. Have a great week!

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T23:20:00.004-05:00

Today is Valentines Day and I started out having breakfast with my sweet friends, Valerie, Maria, Nicole and Susan. We went to Panera and had a little knit fest. We really did more talking than knitting.

My husband brought me flowers...and took me back to Panera for lunch. Lol. I thought the lady working there was going to say, "Don't you ever make a meal at your own home?" But she didn't.

I can't wait for the lilies to open. Sadly, it's not warm enough here to make them open, and as you maybe can see out my window, there was no sun today either.

I made this delicious apple cake for dessert tonight.

It warranted seconds. Here is the recipe:

Apple Cake

9 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 Golden Delicious or Gala apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

2 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Cinnamon, for dusting

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add apples and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a 6 cup Bundt pan. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat remaining 8 tablespoons butter with the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. Using a wooden spoon, beat in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk in two batches. Stir in apples.

3. Scrape batter into the pan and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick stuck in the center of the cake comes out clean, 50-60 minutes. Turn out on a wire rack and cool. Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar and cinnamon. Serve with creme fraiche.

p.s. I used an angel food pan, so it's a little flat. It will look much prettier in a Bundt pan.

Too delicious.

Speaking of cake, we had a visit from Bob and Nic recently and Nic made a double layer cake that was to die for. It was so tall, we had to measure it.

No wonder I can't lose any weight. Hmm, maybe I should make some changes to my diet. I have to think about that one.

The night was topped off with a good old fashioned Catholic school basketball game. Complete with opposing coach who thinks his team is playing for a college scholarship and that he is trying for a job in the NBA.

Little V is 00 there. Going for the rebound. We lost, of course, and I hate losing to jerky coaches.

All in all a nice day. So thankful for my good friends and my loving family.

Have a good night!

Empty Shelves

2011-02-08T11:20:00.022-05:00

Since Christmas decorations were taken down, I have yet to put anything up on my dining room hutch.

I will give you a little history of the piece.

My father built this cabinet the year I was born. So, it's not very old. Twenty something. I'm just saying, that this piece of furniture was born the same year as me. It started out as a stereo cabinet. The two doors in the middle on the bottom housed the stereo and record albums, (lol, still, not that old, vinyl is making a comeback) and the end compartments were actually speakers. Well, due to my dad putting in a fireplace at their house, this cabinet no longer fit in the living room. I somehow was lucky enough to get it. My dad took the speakers out and put drawers in their place. Then he put a wood panel where the speaker fabric had been and made those into doors. Does that make sense?

Over the years the arrangements on it have varied. I'm sure when I first got married it had brass stuff and cut glass Mikasa bowls on it. Candles, dried floral and things like that. Then I moved into a period of displaying different teapots from my collection. After the teapots, I was in a vintage glass phase. Cake plates and compotes. Pitchers and creamers and sugar bowls.

Lately I have, due to an influence from Pottery Barn, been using it for the original "hutch" purpose of a utilitarian piece, to hold everything needed at meals so I wouldn't have to keep getting up and going into the kitchen to get things I forgot.

Well, when holidays roll around, I need the space for decorating so, everything is put away. But I'm tired of the empty shelves, so my project for this week is to stock it once again with all the mealtime necessities. I'm tired of getting up from the table to go get something I forgot. Of course, I sit the closest to the kitchen. Not that I don't need the exercise, I just would like to eat a hot meal once in a while.

Check back to see how it comes out!!!

I am planning on doing a post every week with a piece of furniture my dad has made us. He is amazing and I need to share.

Thanks for dropping in!!

Meet Gary

2011-02-02T22:03:00.002-05:00

Meet Gary.

This is our Kitchen Aid mixer, Gary. When Gary first joined our family, he was so shiny and smooth that we decided he was too pretty to not have a name. So, we named him Gary.

Today the kids were off of school for the big storm that sort of fizzled out when it got here. The school supers got scared and closed schools last night before it even started snowing or sleeting. So the kids got a free day and I stayed home too.

You see, even though most people have lived here all their lives, when they hear the word "snow" or "storm" they freak out and run to the store and, the pharmacy. Last time we had a "non-storm" (a predicted storm that turned out to be nothing), the pharm was packed the day before and when I went to work the next day, no one came in. Thus, I was sent home after working 45 min. This time, I called before I went in to see if that might happen again. One of the pharmacists, Sherry, said to just stay home and she would call me if it got busy.

So, we got Gary out and started baking.

Big V helped me make a lovely banana bread. I always use the recipe in my Mom's old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Don't let the name fool you, it's OLD.

But, it has some great recipes in it and many basics.

We put all the ingredients into Gary's bowl...

And beat it till it couldn't talk no more...

Poured it into Grandma's glass loaf pan...

Put it in the oven and...

...delicious banana bread.

Hope you had a nice Wednesday!

Thankful for a nice snow day to make this great banana bread with V. We have fun together cuz I'm a little insane and I make us both laugh. She has picked up on my sense of humor and she makes us both laugh too.

Enjoy the weather, wherever you may be.

Kitchen dilemma

2011-01-30T17:43:00.004-05:00

Most of you who know me may think I'm referring to my cooking. Or lack of knowledge in cooking. Or my lack of trusting myself in cooking to not measure every little thing other than a pinch. If you are, ha ha, very funny.

My real dilemma lies in painting cupboards.

A couple of years ago, I saw a kitchen pictured in a Good Housekeeping magazine.

It had hardwood floors, green lower cabinets, white upper cabinets and a dark counter top. The point of the two colors was to bridge the color gap between the white cupboards and the dark counter.

I got married in the '90s. Dark colors and jewel tones were all the rage. I painted every surface in my kitchen white, got a dark green counter top, a dark green linoleum floor and painted ceiling trim and baseboards dark green. I started to tire of it, especially the contrast between the white and the dark green.

I began to think this new color combo would work in my kitchen. So we installed bamboo hardwood flooring, and I painted my lower cupboards green.

Of course now I want new lighting and stainless steel appliances, but that's just the beginning and still, this is not my dilemma.

My dilemma is that I'm not sure if it looks okay to have the upper cupboards white. Some people have asked me if I just didn't get to painting them yet. So, I am asking if anyone has an opinion on this matter.

There are some schools of thought on this subject.

I think I should leave them the way they are and it will all look fine when I get the stainless appliances.

My father thinks I should add white paint to the green and paint them a lighter shade of green.

My friend Kelley suggested I paint just the panel of the cupboard doors green.

Another thought is to paint the area above the cupboards, I believe the soffit, with the green.

It's a very small kitchen and in a perfect world I would have blown out the back wall of my house and added the monster that I want and need and I'll even say deserve.

You see, this is it. No more, no less. I have also toyed with the idea of adding a glass front to some of the doors. That might break it up some. I'm just not sure if it's too small for the different colors.

It's funny to look at how small it is. When I'm in it, I don't think about it. You should see us on holidays, lol. It's hilarious. I need double ovens and tons more space for Easter as I have about 20 people and we all know that Easter in WNY is an inside holiday. So, either I'm bumping into anyone who wants to help or, I'm doing everything myself and none of it is done at the same time.

One good thing that's happening in my kitchen is taking place in the other half.

In July, I posted a pic of this new bench my Dad built. I made the pillows and my sister helped me with the cushion. Now, my good old Pop is just putting the finishing touches on a kitchen table he made for us. He had some old oak flooring from the 60's that he wanted to use for something, so he made a tabletop with it. He said he should be finished this week.

In the meantime, I have some bentwood chairs in the basement with cane seating in them. My Dad and I picked them up at a garage sale about 17 years ago and I have yet to do something with them.

Don't get me wrong, the caning wasn't always bad. We have used them. I don't just hoard stuff and not use it. Mostly.

Anyhoo, since the cane is all broken, I am going to make new solid seats for them and cover them with the fleur de lis fabric on the bench. However, I want to paint them black first. So I have to get to the hardware store to get some black paint.

My little Daddy also made Big V a new dresser so we have to pick that up too. I'll post pics of it all when it arrives.

OH, an update on my "resolutions".

I have been planning weekday meals for three weeks now. I'm proud of myself and less hurried.

I set up my esty shop and I'm in the middle of getting all the paperwork done for it.

I've stopped eating everything in site and have exercised twice (usually on a Monday).

I have started to "get on with it" esp at work. It seems to be working to keep me from getting upset about things beyond my control.

I'll let you know how any of the rest of my resolutions are going when I do something about them.

Today I am thankful for this new program on the new PC called Microsoft Surface Globe. You can see the satellite view of the entire earth. I've been spending a lot of time on it lately. I've been everywhere!! It's so cool! I went to the Cape, of course, the Grand Canyon, out to Oregon to see my brother, up to the Arctic circle to see the ice, across the pond to England to look for Auntie Margaret's street. Then Ron took me to France to show me all the places he went when he was there. Then to Oman and Turkey to show me those places as well. It's quite amazing. Technology these days. My grandma would be amazed.

See you soon! Have a great week!

Lazy Sunday

2011-01-23T21:47:00.002-05:00

This was a VERY lazy Sunday. I have had a bit of a cold for the last few days and I took a half dose of Nyquil last night. That stuff knocks me out and I slept til 11:40!!! I hope I'm good tonight because if I take it again, I will not be getting up with kids for school.

Today it was zero degrees here. I did not go out at all. The furthest I went was out into the garage to put recycling in the bins and sweep my back hall.

Yesterday I made some chicken soup. On Friday I roasted a chicken and truth be told I have never made chicken soup before. I called my sister to ask if you make the soup from the chicken carcass. She told me no, but you can use the lefover chicken to put in it.

So then she told me how her granddaughter makes it with boullion, noodles and frozen vegetables. So there I was, on Saturday afternoon, taking cooking advice from my 15 yr old great-niece. I used chicken broth and cooked up some carrots and celery in water. I threw the noodles in the broth while it was heating and then added the veg with some of the water they cooked in. Then I threw in the chicken and voila! Chicken soup. It was quite tasty for the first effort.

Last night my boss had the whole pharmacy over for our holiday party.

We had a lot of snacks, then dinner, then desserts. I was stuffed. Good thing I'm on that diet...

The kids played games...

...and so did the adults.

It was nice to get out of the pharmacy and have a good time with everyone for a change. It's very stressful there and sometimes we forget how well we like each other.

In light of some of my friends and acquaintances being struck with cancer, I have decided that it is time to reconnect with old friends that I haven't seen in a long time. I mainly have two days off during the week and I feel I should be devoting a day to having lunch with each of these people. I have several in mind. I recently had lunch with my friend who lost her 14 yr old daughter to a heart attack about a year and half ago. I need to keep connecting with her as life is not very easy and maybe I can lighten her load. At least to give her an ear to listen.

I know by spending a day week away I will not get much done around here, but am I really anyway? And I've been thinking about stress. I'm always stressed about things and I wonder, if I was inflicted with some grave illness, wouldn't everything just stop for me anyway? How much does all this matter? Any thoughts?

Oh, today I will be thankful for the cold since at least it is killing all the bugs that we have here in the summer so they can't keep growing bigger and bigger and bigger and take over the world.

Open Spaces

2011-01-18T21:56:00.010-05:00

Sorry I haven't been here in a while. I've been busy working and have had a few migranes over the last week. Hopefully I am better for now.

Since the Christmas tree is on the curb (not where the girls and I want it to be), there is a new space in the living room that I need to fill.

Here's the other angle.

I'm not sure what to do. Big V says to put the couch on an angle into the window and slide the white chair over more. Maybe I've just got a little too much furniture. I'm sure my husband would say yes. You see, for some reason, I have the need to fill every space with something.

Here is the front corner and two pieces of furniture I need to move or place differently. I don't know if I should leave the couch the way it is and put the hope chest in the window, or put the couch in the window and put the hope chest aginast the wall more. I have wanted the couch in the position it's in for a long time. I just never thought about the other furniture. Maybe I should just leave the window empty for now.

Any suggestions???

I was out at an estate sale with Nic and scored this great jar of keys for $2.

Then, because I couldn't find anything else at the estate sale, I went to an antique co-op out in the country with my brother.

I got this wonderful wire basket.

And a flower frog for make up brushes and eye pencils.

This antique co-op had soooo much in it, I couldn't see it all. We looked around for two hours and I know I didn't see it all. This place has everything. Definately a revisit is in order!! The only problem is it is an hour away. :( But, if there is a nice day when the driving is good, I will try to take a ride and it is a beautiful one. Plenty of good photo ops!

Today I have to say that I am thankful for my health and the health of my family. I have been hearing bad news every day about people I know having cancer. Its scaring me. Then I'm reading blogs from these poor people who's children are so sick. I feel like I live in Fairy Tale Land. Everything is so good. When what's really happening out there in the true world is so sad.

Hug your family tight tonight!!

Comfort Food and a Surprise

2011-01-10T23:16:00.005-05:00

Today was freezing here. Less than freezing, as a matter of fact. I am longing to go out and walk, but even on a sunny day, it's just too cold to bear.

That's why I make meals such as this Lobster Mac 'n' Cheese.

This is an Ina Garten recipe that I found here . Man, oh, man, was it gooooood. It made so much that I was scrambling for enough bakers to put it all in. We had lots of leftovers. Definitely a nice dish to take to someone who needs comforting.

I was grudgingly taking my tree apart when, SURPRISE! I found this precious little nest.

I just think this is the sweetest little thing ever! I can't imagine how tiny a bird lived in here.

I really don't want to take my tree down. It is in the best condition of any live tree we have ever had. We have watered it every day since the first Saturday of December. It is still soft, the needles are barely dropping and it still smells wonderful. So, I took everything off except for the lights and the angel.

I put all my decorations away, but, as sure as eggs, I forgot something. I do it every year.

My ornaments on the kitchen window sill. I swear, I walked through the kitchen and looked around to make sure I got everything. I guess you become so accustomed to looking at something that you don't see it anymore. In fact, my Dad was washing his hands at the sink today when I pointed them out and he said he never even noticed them at all! Lol. I guess I will put them somewhere else next year. Lol.

Today I am thankful that Baby Girl is healthy since she passed out on the altar while serving mass yesterday morning. I didn't even see her go down. I felt so bad. But we took her to the doctor today and he said she is fine. Thank God. I was a little worried. :{ But today she is feeling much better so, back to school tomorrow.

See you soon!

Brightening Up Winter

2011-01-05T17:14:00.026-05:00

Here in Buffalo, winter lasts FOREVER. As I mentioned before, we had a Lake Effect snowstorm during the first day of December. BUT, winter doesn't start until Dec 21. So we had a lovely three weeks of heavy winter before we should have.

Anyhoo, I always get sick of it as soon as Christmas is over. Sometimes I get that Vitamin D deficiency thing where you are lethargic and sort of depressed without the sun,but it has not started yet. I'm hoping that finding other ways to cure the doldrums will keep me from getting it.

A huge bud grows into...

...a lovely winter flower.

This is my first ever amaryllis. I am so proud of this plant. It's definately brightening up my kitchen. I saved an article from The Buffalo News written by Sally Cunningham, our area gardening expert, telling what to do with these bulbs for the rest of the year. Here is what to do, for those of you who would otherwise throw the bulb away:

1. When the flower dies off, cut the stem off close to the bulb, but not the leaves. Leave it in a window and continue to water it and fertilize according to houseplant fertilizer instructions.

2. When the weather warms up, put the amaryllis oustide and continue to water and fertilize all summer.

3. When the weather begins to cool, slow the watering down. Before a frost, bring it in the house and cut off the leaves to the base. Let it go dormant for 8 weeks, in a cool location, watering with a few drops only when the plant threatens to shrink away from the sides of the pot.

4. In eight weeks or so, put it in a bright location and begin to water and fertilize again.

I would like to see if I can keep it all year long and bring it back next Christmas.

Winter also puts me in a knitting mood. It must be the coziness of yarn that makes me want to curl up with a blanket and knit something.

Last week I went to my sweet friend Valerie's house to knit. First she played the piano for us.

Valerie is an expert knitter. She puts me to shame. I wish I was good at it, there are so many things I would like to make. My mother tried to teach me, but I was too distracted or something. I kept making mistakes all the time and ended up ripping it all out and starting over. I am still doing that.

Val said she would show me how to knit cables. It is much easier than I would have imagined. So I started a scarf. I bought this yarn last year so I could knit a scarf to go with my long grey coat, but never made anything.

It's a lovely rich color and a soft merino blend. I can't wait til I'm done with it. My neck is cold!

Another bright spot in my winter is a book I got for Christmas that I am reading.

When we were in the Cape last summer, this book was in the cottage when we got there. I read about a third of it, but had to leave it behind when we came home.

Henry Beston stayed in his cottage on the beach for a whole year on his own from 1926-1927. The book is wonderfully written and the author uses the most lovely words to describe what he encounters in nature that year. It really makes you appreciate all of God's creatures. If you have the time, you really should read this book. I doubt you would be disappointed. Espcially if you have been to the Cape, or any ocean beach, for vacation.

So, this post I am thankful for Valerie, for teaching me cables. And for her patience with a sometimes hopeless student!

Hope your winter is cozy and warm and that you find some wonderful ways to beat the doldrums.
See you soon!

Resolutions

2011-01-02T15:21:00.005-05:00

Every year, when I was younger, I would make a New Year's Resolution. I scarcely remember following through with them.

This year, instead of making resolutions, I'm going to make what I'll call new habits. They say it takes 28 days to form a habit. Now all I have to do is choose which one I want to start with. Lol.

1. I'm going to stop eating everything in sight, like I've been doing for the last 6 weeks. This should probably be my first habit.

2. I'm going to do like my mother used to say and "just get on with it". My life is my life and I can't change much about it so I'm just going to do what I have to and trust that I am exactly where God wants me to be at each and every moment of the day.

3. Exercise. Yes, I know, sounds like a resolution. But, last year I was doing so well that I lost 10 lbs. Unfortunately, I gained it all back. I cannot let myself sit still so much. Besides wanting to fit in my clothes, I want to be healthy.

4. Plan meals weekly. This will save me money, I know. When I don't plan ahead, I stop after work EVERY day to pick up food for dinner. I spend $25-$40 a day. This adds up quickly.

5. Take a photography class, or classes. I need to get more info on this new camera of mine and I also got a great new zoom lens for Christmas. This is so important to me, it has to be done. This should probably be my number one habit to start, but, if I keep eating, I won't fit through the door to go to the class.

6. Give the girls jobs to do. One person cannot take care of this entire house. Maybe Daddy will get some jobs too.

7. Get my craft area set up in the basement. We cleaned out so much junk and old toys from our basement for our Christmas party that we now have plenty of room for a craft area. I plan on having one area for me and one for Little V. She is very creative and has been sitting on the basement floor for about 3 years painting and making Sculpey pieces and such.

8. Get my Etsy store up and running. I really want to see if I can make a go of it. I have so many ideas and things I've already made, it's such a waste to leave it all sitting here.

9. Put a little money away each week for next Christmas. I really need to start shopping earlier and, um, money is the key. I guess.

10. Try to see the good, hold my tongue, be a calmer driver, keep it around 1500 rpms(the price of gas is shocking here), be the best person I can, think before I speak, so I can maybe help my girls to be better people too.

Like I said, I'm not sure what order these will go in. It may change weekly. Or daily. Maybe the attitude changing ones should be first since some of the others will be easier to complete in a day or two.

If I think of any more to add, I will surely post them here.

Happy and safe New Year to everyone out there!

Christmas Past

2011-01-02T11:50:00.003-05:00

I can't believe the holidays are over. It just went so fast, it was a blur. I started out doing so well and getting ahead, but wound up out shopping for my last gifts just a few days before Christmas.

Here is the final Christmas card photo. I had it printed in black and white, because, sure as eggs, out of the 300 black and whites I took, the one I liked the most was in color. Typical. I was feeling so good because this was taken in November and I was soooo far ahead of myself...

Then we moved on to a big lake effect snow storm.

We got over 3 feet in our little village. One of the highest totals in the whole area. I love how funny the snow looks on top of my pergola! Just like an egg carton.

Check out that pile-up on the bar...its getting close to the top of the umbrella...

...there's nothing like 38 inches of snow to put you a little behind...

...but, we went out to get the tree just the same.

There were so many to choose from, and it was c-c-coldddd...

...so we decided to look in the barn and see if there were any good trees hanging around...

...we found one.

It was beautiful on this tree farm in the country, so we went for a walk...(Little V stayed in the truck to warm up).

...then back to pick up our freshly wrapped tree in the barn...

...we took it home and trimmed it.

Then we decked the halls...

...the hutch in the dining room...

...wreaths at the windows...

...with Grandma's old beaded silver wreaths...

...my little kitchen tree...

I made a bunch of beaded snowflakes that I joined together to create a garland. It will take many more of them to make a noticeable length. But, it's a start.

The coffee table had it's show of antique Christmas ornaments...

Even the basement was decorated.

We had a little gathering...

...so the pub was treated to some joy...

...and texture...

...even the villagers trimmed their tree.

Then we stocked up on warm blankets to get ready for the winter...(which, according to the calendar, didn't even start yet).

We decorated cookies...

...many cookies..........I ate some (she says in a Forrest Gump voice).

This tradition started when Big V was a toddler. My parents would come over and we would spread everything out for her to decorate the cookies with us. My mom and I were the ones who spread the icing and my dad and the girls always did the decorating. Many happy memories there...

It has been very hard not to eat them all in one sitting...

...and when they are gone I always debate making more...hmmm...

We even decorated Dad's house...

The trick every year with these little ladies is to see if my dad notices that we didn't spell NOEL with the letters. Last year we spelled LEON, this year Little V came up with LENO. My dad noticed right away.

All done.

After the remaining baking, shopping, wrapping, more baking and our annual Dec 23 friend visit where we drop off jars of jam with fresh baked bread, we were exhausted. Well, I was exhausted.

Big V left a cookie for Santa...

The presents were placed under the tree, I put out the lights and went to bed.

We are so thankful that we can provide this kind of Christmas for our kids. We have memories that some children never get to have with their parents, grandparents, siblings, and cousins. From the start of the season, we said we were going to cut back since we bought a new PC, but it seemed we were able to buy more than we thought. My sister told me she was having her granddaughters over to decorate cookies and that one of the girls' friends was coming too. This girl had never decorated cookies before. I was amazed. We always did cookies with my mom growing up, and now we have all carried that tradition on with our own kids and grandkids too. I can't imagine not having that memory.

Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed holiday.

Christmas Photo Shoot

2010-11-21T13:30:00.001-05:00

I took everyone outside to get a picture for our annual photo Christmas card. Everyone took a shower and put on their finest plaid. I set up my tripod and practiced taking pictures of the scene with no people, with my timer (so I could see if I could run around without tripping over the tripod), in color, in black and white.

Last year my niece put the Christmas card picture on Facebook before I sent the cards out, but this year, there will only be this preview on my blog.

This is the preview:

Ok, its a bit of a work in progress. After I pick the perfect picture, have the cards made and send them out, I will put the picture on here. No spoiling the surprise.

Oh, I almost forgot. My brother had the rock cut. No, not that kind of rock. The rock I held onto for 30 years while he has been on the other end of the country. Anyhoo, he sent me my half.

It's really pretty inside. I knew it would be. It was telling me itself while it was in my dining room hutch all these years. I'm so thrilled with the result. I'll take more pics later. It was hard to get the focus to go inside the rock. I just need more time to play around with the camera.

I'm getting my Christmas decorations up, but I didn't take pictures yet. I will do that this week, as I only have to work two days. Last week I worked four and it was exhausting.

Hope you enjoy your Sunday!

Getting a Jump on the Holidays

2010-11-10T22:26:00.002-05:00

Last year, Christmas was terrible for me. First of all, for the last few years, we have been going to Philadelphia over Thanksgiving for Irish dance regionals and I was totally behind the eight-ball when we got home.

Then, I was miserable without my mother. I think the first year we were all relieved that she was not in pain or suffering any more. But I've heard that the second year is the worst. And it was. I didn't really decorate my house, I barely baked anything and my husband did almost all the shopping.

This year is already different. My girls have both stopped Irish dancing so we are home for Thanksgiving. Also, I have started preparing for Christmas early. I have been making my lists and checking them twice. Lol. I started decorating outside when the weather's good and I've bought some gifts already.

Here is a project I am working on.

The possibilities are endless with these. Almost as many as there are real snowflakes. JK.

Another Fall Day and Project Spanish

2010-10-28T23:49:00.004-04:00

On this particular fall day, I went to work with a hooded coat on so that my hair would have some resemblance to the way I styled it before I left the house. It has been very windy.

But, back to nicer thoughts and visions.

This is one of the last few dahlias I was able to get off my plants before I dug them out of the ground to dry out for next year. These plants did not disappoint. They were huge and covered in flowers all summer long. I hope I am drying them out properly so that they will grow as well next year.

My neighbor has this lovely ivy growing up the chimney. I really liked the color palette it presents in the fall. Well in keeping with the rest of our neighborhood.

My girl is working on a Spanish project tonight. (I'm calling it "Project Spanish" in honor of the finale of Project Runway that we are watching.) She mentioned something about the "Day of the Dead". They had to build a diorama to remember one they have lost. She did her project for my mother.

Here is my interpretation of the items in the project. Once she reads my blog she can tell me if I'm right or wrong.

Starting at the top, left corner and going clockwise:
~lavender - my mother's favorite. I know I told the story already of how she would give me lavender water on a handkerchief to make me feel better. I'm thinking she had learned the same from her mother and always loved the smell of it;
~the Union Jack - my Mom was from England, and was proud of it until the very end. She used to say how she loved and missed her home, I wish she could have gone back to visit one more time;
~a rosary - she may have given this to my daughter, she was devoted to the rosary and at one point she was saying it three times a day, she believed it could save the world and I wish I were as devoted as she;
~two cherries - she had been in a nursing home that was a little slice of hell, and my Dad had had enough of it. He brought her home to take care of her himself, including giving her insulin shots every day which he never thought he could do. One day, when my bother came in from Oregon to help my Dad for a bit, I brought cherries for her to eat because she loved them so. Well, she got such a sugar high from those cherries, she was shooting about the house after my brother, with her walker! It was so funny. She was a riot. My dad, of course, scolded me because her sugar count was so high. But it was worth it to see some of her old spunk;
~a car - I'm not sure about the car, I'll have to get back to you on that;
~flowers - I'm thinking it reminds my girl of how much my mom loved flowers;
~a butterfly - my mother was enamored with butterflies. She took pictures of them all the time. When we were in the cemetery after her funeral, there was a monarch butterfly flitting around us, we were sure it was her as this was her favorite brand of butterfly. Last summer when my niece had her wedding at the lighthouse from my last post, there were two monarchs flying around us there, I had to hold my breath to keep from sobbing outloud. I wonder who the other one was? My Nana, perhaps, or Auntie Margaret;
~a sweater - as Gabrielle got older, she got colder, and she always had a sweater on. Sometimes she would come to our house and she would take the sweater off. When she would leave to go home, she would forget the sweater. My dad used to say she would leave it here to make sure she got invited back. Lol!
~a tea bag - being British means you drink tea. My folks came as many afternoons as possible so they could see the girls and we would have tea at 3:30; of course she tried to make tea drinkers out of us all and my kids were no exception;
~a ceramic turtle - these figures are given out in a box of Red Rose tea. She would save them and give them to her grandchildren. I don't know where this turtle came from but Big V must be saving them somewhere in this house.

Today I must be thankful that my mother made such and impression on my girl. It brings tears to my eyes. It is the same as the impression she made on me. I can only hope to be as much of a positive influence to my girls as my mother was and still is to me. :)

Lovely Views

2010-10-26T22:27:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, and so far this week, we have had lovely weather in Buffalo.

Big V and I went for a walk in the park near our home.

The park really is beautiful this time of year. All the summer picnic people are gone and the park is relatively quiet. Although, some people were blowing off rockets that came dangerously close to landing on us. My daughter thought it was hilarious watching me run back and forth to try and avoid getting hit by the falling rocket.

There is a lighthouse near the water. But I've lived here 17 years and have yet to see a ship in the lake during a storm that would really have a use for this thing.

This is the entrance to one of the hiking trails. I have many pictures of this spot. I think it's so beautiful that I have to get an image of it every year. lol.

I love the water. Maybe because I'm an Aquarius/Pisces cusp? My brother Michael says "If you're on the cusp, it means you're really messed up." Nice huh? Anyway, I should take a chair and go sit by the water. I can do that in the Cape, why not here? It's right outside my door. Something is holding me back. I think it will annoy me to have people walking by me, playing disc golf, walking dogs, kids fishing, snakes, weirdos. At least at the beach, most people are with their families. Or they came for a purpose, to swim or beach comb, or walk out in the tide. In the park, weird people are looking for other weird people. Maybe someday, I will go sit there. It is peaceful. But I do hate snakes. :(

Today I am thankful for all God's diverse creatures. Including weirdos and snakes.

Getting Things Done

2010-10-25T23:59:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited that things are getting done around here. Once the kids go back to school, I get antsy to close up the back yard and put everything away.

The pool is now closed and the patio is empty

I like to close up the screened porch and put all my furniture inside.

It's such a great feeling to get the garage cleaned out so I can park in there once the snow flies.

I know the garage doesn't look that great, but for us, this is. We have an old house so the garage is old and small. Trust me, all the cupboards in the back are organized and all unnecessary things have been thrown away (except for two bags of pine cones I've had in the cupboard for about 6 years. I USE them! They are not unnecessary.)

Now I can get started on the inside, fall cleaning and getting ready for the holidays.

I am working on starting an Etsy store and so I need to be in a good place with my house before I can really get into it. I guess it's the perfectionist in me that holds me back. Now, please don't think that I am complimenting myself. ON the contrary. Go to http://www.flylady.net/ and see what her definition of perfectionism is. It's a trait that holds you back. It keeps you from getting anything done because you are so nitpicky about the small stuff. My doctor claims this is what has caused my fibromyalgia. (I have some of my own feelings on that.)

Also, I think I have house guilt and that will keep me from starting my work as well. I have not been creating much of anything lately and that is not like me at all. Since I went back to work, I have been too tired to clean the house like I used to. If I am not keeping the house up, I feel like I shouldn't be fooling around with beads or making jewelry and accessories or anything else that makes me happy. Its all about levels. Almost like a video game. You have to get this done before you can move on to getting that done. So frustrating. But, I am optimistic about the whole thing.

I feel like I should have gone to school for some sort of design. I have received many compliments on things I have put together or made or arranged or planted. More and more each day, I am regretting the decision to not go to school for photography. I just thought that if I did, I would have to leave Buffalo to get a good job in the field, and the thought of leaving my parents and my sister was too much for me. Now, photography is all I think about. I even started looking in to going back to school for it. But I don't know how I would swing it with a child starting college 4 years from now as well.

I think it may be in my blood. My mother was a photographer's assistant in London before she met my dad. My uncle was a photographer for the war department during WWII. He also worked for Reuters as a photographer for his career. When I was a kid my mom bought me a roll of film and gave me her camera to use. I went about taking pictures of everything I thought was beautiful. When I was in high school I took photography. I actually just found my black and whites I took and developed back then. I don't know what I was thinking when I didn't follow that path. Now I feel horribly out of the loop. So much has changed in photography since I learned about it all those years ago.

I am probably thinking too much about this. I should just let myself get through the work I have put on myself for now and see where I can go with that. Baby steps, Mary.

Anyway, here's to hopes for the future and I will be thankful on behalf of all the people who are in a job they love and are doing exactly what they always wanted to do, even if that is not me. Yet...lol.