Adrienne dePitera

Let's talk about grilled corn on the cob...

2011-08-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

because who doesn't like corn on the cob?

A few weeks ago I ran into a recipe that called for soaking the corn in salt water before grilling. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe you guys have heard of that, but somehow that piece of info escaped my beady little eyes. I did my usual careful research and combining all my new knowledge, this is what I came up with:

I stripped the outer husks of the corn down to the paler ones. Keep in mind this was only two ears of corn. I left most the silk on as many sites promised it would pull right out after grilling (it did.) I crammed it into a pot filled with cold water and a whole bunch (about 1/4 cup or more) of salt for several hours.   It fit snugly in the pot which kept it underwater so I didn't have to turn it. If the corn doesn't stay under water, fill a jar with water and plunk on top of the corn keeping it submerged and saving you the time of turning.

I grilled my marinated pork chops first and popped them in the oven to keep warm and threw the corn on the grill. With only a few turns and after about 10 minutes we pulled off the husks, brushed on melted butter and some Kosher salt and enjoyed the sweetest and juiciest corn we've ever eaten.

I've since grilled corn this way several more times with the same wonderful results.

FAQ

1. Does the corn taste salty? No. Sweet, sweet, sweet.
2. Do you rinse after the salt soak? Not necessary.
3. Direct heat or indirect heat?   Either. I've used both and the only difference is the cooking time.

Next to try?

Bacon wrapped around grilled corn? What could go wrong?

The future of this blog:

Where am I going with this blog? Probably nowhere. I plan on starting a new blog with a new name. I have personal reasons to remove myself from the name dePitera (even though it's mine) and I plan on going in a new directions. When that happens I will have a permanent link posted here to my new blog. I don't plan on deleting this blog as I still get over several hundred hits per day (really??) with people looking for specific info.

I have a political blog that consumes the majority of my time. I believe that this country and our citizens are in danger of being consumed by "well-meaning" people who are essentially Marxist. I'm a conservative who believes the killing of children in the womb is an abomination. I believe that we, not the government, should be in charge of our own health care, and the federal government is not only out of control but acting in a way that is completely unconstitutional. It's really hard to concentrate on tea cups and draperies when we are in mortal danger of losing all of our liberties. On the other hand, recognizing the beauty in our world is more important now then it has ever been.

It's a conundrum....

Daylily Sale Saturday, August 13

2011-08-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

9am - 1pm

Can't make it on Saturday?

Give us call and we'll arrange another day and time

208-773-0645

4930 E. Horsehaven
Post Falls, Idaho

One mile north of I-90 on Hwy 41
Go east on Horsehaven (look for Pro Builder Lumber sign) to end of pavement
Straight ahead on gravel road
Second house w/ circular drive

What's on Sale?

Frans Hal

Houdini

Catherine Woodbury

Rocket City

Sunshine Splendor

Gentle Shepherd

Stella

Prairie Belle

Bonanza

Seurat

Little Missy

Red Rum

Red wine (available in bulk only)

Click on pictures to enlarge...

Bonanza planted en masse

Some of the daylily beds in full bloom

More fields in bloom

See you Saturday...

Hyacinths part three

2011-02-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Jan. 28

Feb 19

Today

My purple hyacinth turned out to be pink

The scent fills the whole room...

The Nester has some interesting posts on thrifting:

Lately I've been witnessing a subtle change in many of the decor blogs from acquiring more to doing more with less.

Interesting, don't you think?

Secret Sunday

2011-02-27T07:26:00.000-08:00

From Seth's Blog:

Wonder and Anger

It's hard to imagine two emotions more different from one another.

And yet one can easily replace the other. A sense of wonder and grinding anger can't co-exist.

Great innovations, powerful interactions and real art are often produced by someone in a state of wonder. Looking around with stars in your eyes and amazement at the tools that are available to you can inspire generosity and creativity and connection.

Anger, on the other hand, merely makes us smaller.

What is an English Garden?

2011-02-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

While there is certainly such a thing as a formal English garden, when most people hear that term they think of lush curvy beds overflowing with fragrant flowers and dotted with evergreens and shrubs, winding paths, big shade trees, and benches tucked here and there. To me an English garden looks like someone went out and threw a huge bunch of seeds in the air and let them grow where they may.

The very best part of an English garden? When you pack in lots of plants there less room for weeds.

Could you live in 350 square feet?

2011-02-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

I did.

My first "big girl" apartment was about the size of one of the entrants in the "small and cool" teeny tiny division over at Apartment Therapy.

This apartment caught my eye because is was so like my first apartment layout which I dearly loved. As I continue to declutter I keep a vision of that dear little apartment, full of sunlight, and devoid of clutter in my mind.

I once had an apartment with a kithcen whose floor dimensions from counter to counter was 2 feet very much like this one. The stove was one of those miniature apartment sized ones. It was like working in a doll house. I loved it - and once cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner with just a bit of planning.

Too cute kitchen...

We currently live in a 4 bedroom house. Buuuuut - three of the bedrooms are devoted to our businesses. My husband runs our teaching and publishing business out of two and my daylily nursery is run out of the third one.

My question for the day is:

Where does all the "stuff" come from that we think without which our lives would be devoid of purpose and worth?

All picutes courtesy of Apartment Therapy - and we thank them. Take a look at some of the other "small and cool" apartments.

Why garden?

2011-02-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

Why not?

There are many reasons to garden. Some people do it for the food they produce and others do it for flowers. I do it because it is simply who I am. Poking around in the ~~dirt~~ soil is something I've done since I was old enough to crawl about the backyard.

My Mom, being the ultimate con artist, had me believing at about age two that pulling weeds was the bestest fun ever. Guess what? She was right! I still love to weed and in Idaho that ~~could be~~ is a full time job. We have more weeds per square inch than anywhere in the entire country.

One of the best reasons for gardening is what it teaches us about patience. Put a seed in the ground, water it, keep it safe from creepy crawlies, and soon you will see a little sprout emerge. In a few weeks you'll have a little bit of plant and in a few more weeks, or even months, you'll have a vase full of blooms or a luscious plate of fresh tomatoes. This is the complete antithesis of the 30 second sound bite text messaging world we inhabit. Something doesn't do well? Oh well - there's always next year.

Oriental Lilies, Liatris, miniature roses

Anyone can garden. And I mean anyone! I cringe whenever someone says, "I have a black thumb." There is no such thing. Do you really think that every thing I stick in the ground grows and thrives? That would be nice if it were true, but the reality is many seeds don't germinate, an occasional bout of blossom end rot strikes, or something weird strikes a tree branch causing it to rot and die.

With the advent of the internet learning about gardening seemed to become easier but often as not caused more confusion than help. Have a wart on a branch and don't know what it is? Pretty hard to find it on the internet unless you have honed your search skills. A few good books are still the best way to learn to garden.

My all time favorite for disease identification is still the Ortho Home Gardener's Problem Solver. Once you find your problem you can hop on the web and do more research.


For your indoor plants the Ortho Guide to Houseplants should do the trick.

And for inspiration you can't beat Tasha Tudor

I may have to start dressing like Tasha when I garden

Secret Sunday

2011-02-20T01:00:00.000-08:00

Find a quiet place to spend time with the Lord

Lady Hamilton Praying

George Romney

Book Illustration of Children Praying

Lizzie Lawson 1886

Virgin at Prayer

Giovanni Battista Salvi Sasoferrato

Some linky love and the hyacinths three weeks later...

2011-02-19T16:15:00.000-08:00

January 28th

Today...

helloooooooo flowers...

Maybe I should run a lottery on when the flowers will open.

Not sure what a hyacinth looks like? See some here

New addition to the blogroll:

Allow me to introduce Faded Charm which is full of shabby chic charm. I still can't figure out how other people's tarnished silver looks really cool and mine just looks, well, tarnished.

Feeling old?

2011-02-18T00:04:00.000-08:00

this should help.

Meet Sarah "Paddy" Jones, 75 year old salsa dancer.

Allow me to add that people mistakenly think the man who is doing the lifts is doing the real work. Wrong! The person being lifted is the one doing the really hard work. I would have a hard time with a few of those lifts and Paddy has 10 years on me.

As for me? I'll be spending some extra time at the gym today!

The Dust Ruffle...

2011-02-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

(which is really a bed skirt - who knew???) is finished. And boy am I ever glad!

Using the directions garnered from do-it-yourselfer extraordinaire Gina, over at The Shabby Chic Cottage, I managed to stitch together a lush king-sized bed skirt for $20.00. It would have been way cheaper if I hadn't over-scrunched the material when I was sewing it together necessitating adding another sheet plus 1/2 of a 5th sheet, but I love the lush over-done look.

It took 4 1/2 twin sheets which cost $4.00 each at WallyWorld. I had a bed skirt on the bed that cost $2.00 at the thrift store so I used that for the base and simply stitched the new folded over fabric right on top of the old stuff (which was ugly) and only had a 14" drop. My bed has a 16" drop plus I wanted some extra fabric to puddle on the floor. I was shocked at the cost of decent looking bed skirts online. Even Pottery Barn was in the $90.00 range.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, Gina has fabulous instructions here.

It's a bit like sleeping on top of a wedding cake...

The left over fabric will be used to form a ruffle for the footstool...

The top cover for the footstool will be the fabric that is being used to recover two more of my ugly "dentist office chairs" (which seem to have bred like maggots. These are the other two of the ones I already re-covered for the dining room.) It appears like the fabrics don't match but they actually match perfectly...

About the cover on the down comforter ...

Many years ago I bought a very expensive duvet cover. The down comforter was always slipping around inside and it was a hassle to remove and wash. This is the first time ever we have not had a couple of dogs but we still have two cats. The "fur-people" crawl all over the bed and therefore I'm not going to spend a gazillion dollars on a duvet cover that is inconvenient and can't be easily cleaned.

I love old sheets. They are soft and nicely faded due to years and years of washings. King sized flat sheets are readily available at the thrift stores. Bottom sheets not so much because they are the first to wear out. For years I've scarfed up old king-sized flat sheets, purchased a good coordinating fitted sheet and, voila, a king sized set for about $20.00 bucks.

For the comforter cover I simply throw a king-sized sheet over the comforter and fold it over the top of the comforter. It comes off every week and is washed along with the sheets. Simply and ~~cheap~~ inexpensive.

Another vintage sheet I use...

I've linked to Gina for Transformation Thursday. Visit her at The Shabby Chic Cottage for more wonderful ideas...

I've linked to My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday, too

Make big plans. We all need to hear this from time to time...

2011-02-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

I "borrowed" this word for word from Seth Godin's blog.

Make big plans

...that's the best way to make big things happen.

Write down your plans.

Share them with trusted colleagues.

Seek out team members and accomplices.

Shun the non-believers. They won't be easily convinced, but they can be ignored.

Is there any doubt that making big plans increases the chances that something great will happen?

Is there any doubt that we need your art and your contribution?

Why then, are you hesitating to make big plans?

Thank you, Seth...

Don't throw away those orange and grapefruit peels...

2011-02-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

throw some in a little dish and give them a twist during the day to release the wonderful citrus aroma. Sniffing citrus scents helps release stress and can give you a boost in the afternoon if you're feeling tired.

Tea tree oil also works wonders for an added boost in energy but many people don't like the medicinal smell. I love it (but then I also love the smell of oil paint and WD-40) and will often put just a drop on my left wrist so I can have occasional whiffs during the day.

Valentine Inspiration...

2011-02-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

"I want to be an encourager. Too many people in today's world have no gumption and no purpose. The more you do for somebody else, the more God will bless you." Diane Rose

H/T Creative Minority Report

Jane Austen movies at the library...

2011-02-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

for free - which is best of all. We don't have cable and dropped Netflix because most the movies are so lousy we were having trouble finding stuff to rent.

Last week I rented the 1981 BBC production of Sense and Sensibility at the library. I found it thoroughly enjoyable. While I love looking at the pretty clothes, I don't think they would be much fun to wear.

Have you checked your library lately for good movies?

Click on picture to enbiggum (the colors are outstanding)

The Empress Eugenie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting, 1855

Franz Xavier Winterhalter 1805-1873

Everyone's so serious today...

2011-02-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

which is not a bad thing at all.

Frankly, I can handle only so many posts on granite counter tops (without which lives are empty and sad - or something.)

Debra, over at Bodeci Body has a wonderful post on validation - Happiness or Validation
and Bliss, over at Stepping My Way to Bliss, is starting a new series and brings up some very important questions about the way we live.

As for me? I'm, busy building ritual which sounds so much better than forming a habit. Remember the book I had my hubby read while managing to keep my big yap shut? Well, in "The Way We're Working Isn't Working" the author refers to habit changing as "building ritual." Since last week we have been to the gym for eight straight days. Allow me to repeat that. We have been to the gym eight straight days. If you ask hubby why - expect to hear, "We're building ritual."

So glad I kept my mouth shut and allowed hubby to "own that book."

About that book I just bought and something I didn't "need"...

2011-02-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

but acquired anyway.

De-cluttering continues but last week I hauled something into the house I really didn't "need", but wanted. Sigh!

After buying myself a "much needed" large glass cloche (often called a bell jar), I spotted this little item at the thrift store. No, not the cute little figurine. That was my mothers from the time I was an itty bitty girl. The glass thingy that may or may not have been some kind of candle holder or something. I have no idea.

Hmmmmmm. If that had a knob on top it would be a cute little cloche.

It sure wasn't expensive...

Now what do I have for a knob. Oh, I know. I have a bunch of vintage glass drawer pulls. There's a bit of rust from the screw that needs to be cleaned out from this one and it will be perfect.

I usually use silicone glue for this sort of thing but while cruising the glue section I found this...

After gluing the knob on top of the glass thingy, the plan calls for filling the center hole with tiny little glass beads and gluing a pearl or something on top.

I'll be showing you the finished product in a few days and letting you know how the glue works (I'm not locking myself into promising a "next day" post because it never works out and than I feel bad.)

About the book from yesterday "The Spiritual Art of Being Organized"

While it's a nice book with good advice there are ones on the market that I think are much better. Now I may be saying this because I've probably read every book on organization and clutter control known to man, so it's pretty hard to have something new to say to me.

My number one recommendation would be:

For more nuts and bolts get this book - it's excellent...

and this book:

A new book, an update on my "Christmas tree", and the art of keeping your mouth shut...

2011-01-31T14:27:00.000-08:00

This year we didn't put up our Christmas tree and I can report there have been no long-lasting negative ramifications to our mental health. Actually, the first of January rolled around and I was pretty happy not to have to put the tree and decorations away.

A friend of ours was so disturbed by our lack of a tree she gifted us with a dwarf Alberta spruce with appropriate decorations. I've since removed the decorations and that cute little spruce is growing up a storm.

Check out all the new growth

Our Christmas cactus bloomed heavily ~~this spring~~ in the late fall and just a few days ago it put out one lovely perfect bloom...

That's pollen dusted on it's petals...

And the book?

I went a bit crazy at Amazon last week and ordered three new books. Absolutely outrageous for ~~cheap~~ thrifty little moi, but since we have met and exceeded all our Dave Ramsey goals I figured it was ok. The Spiritual Art of Being Organized arrived today. I won't offer a yay or nay until I've finished reading it (which will probably be later today.)

How About Keeping Our Mouths Shut?? (which is almost impossible for me)

Another book I ordered is "The Way We're Working Isn't Working", which I've mentioned before. It was a library book and I was quite impressed. I gave it to my husband to read (a workaholic) and managed to keep my mouth shut (we women talk way too much) the entire time he was reading it.

I never questioned him (a miracle) or worse said, "See - I've been telling you that stuff for years" (waaaaay not good!) After reading the book for about a week I witnessed him closing down his office at a somewhat normal time and actually sitting in the living room reading a book. Hmmmmmmmmm. Still, I said nothing. About two weeks after that he started quoting stuff from the book. Whoooooooooeeeee! Still, I said nothing.

At the end of last week I mentioned I wanted to re-read parts of the book but it was due back Monday. Veeeerrry nonchalantly he said, "Maybe you should get us our own copy from Amazon." Still, I said nothing. Aren't you proud of me?

It's out in paperback now...

Growing bulbs indoors...

2011-01-28T07:37:00.000-08:00

is super easy.

While picking up a few things at the hardware store I came upon some bulbs that were on sale for $2.00 per package. Some of them had 6 bulbs, some 8, and the tulips had 12 bulbs.

There were packages of purple and white hyacinths which I dearly love for their wonderful fragrance. The bulbs were large and already sprouted, so I grabbed a few packages.

I rooted around (no pun intended) and found a nice low clay pot. After putting a bunch of broken clay pieces in the bottom for drainage, I added a bit of soil and stuck in the bulbs. After covering the top with bark the pot was watered and placed by the window. When I'm bored I can always sit and watch the hyacinth grow.

Hyacinths come in many beautiful colors

My pot will have a mixture of white and purple

Hyacinths and other bulbs can even be grown in water. My grandma used to put them in a beautiful low bowl surrounded by rocks with just a bit of water. They also make cute little bulb vases.

In just a few weeks I'll have a beautiful blooming pot of fragrant hyacinth for about $1.50. The bulbs I didn't use for the pot will go outside.

Secret Sunday

2011-01-23T00:05:00.000-08:00

Find a quiet place to sip a cup of coffee or tea with some good spiritual reading and pleasing music.

I'm being harassed by fellow bloggers and it's not pretty...

2011-01-21T13:22:00.000-08:00

sigh...

Angela, the Parisienne Farmgirl (of the beautiful kids, lovely chickens, and honey lavender ice cream), is "requesting" to see my chandelier after it's paltry makeover. This re-do is more a case of "anything would be better" than "isn't she just amazingly clever."

To save you time here's the "old" very ugly cheap chandy with it's too small shades. Love all the extra chain and wires sticking out...

Original plan? Redo the shades in a cool fabric to match the burgundy trim on plate and paint the chandy white (via Jan at Bobby Pins Boardwalk)

Shortly thereafter, a quick trip into Tuesday Morning unearthed two darling little shades. Ooooops. I need four. The manager overheard me saying something to hubby (angel intervention alert) and she said,

"Did you see the 50% off ones in the back?"

"Why, no - no I didn't."

Buried in a bin in the back of the store were 5 high quality white shades. Final cost after the additional 50% off?

$1.50 each

See how much bigger they are?

After slapping some primer on the chandy, I knew white wasn't going to work. I got out my acrylics and started mixing until I matched the plate and voila - burgundy chandy (Jan will be proud)...

The fabric I originally purchased for the shades will become the cord cover...

De-cluttering continues with the question, "Does a 65 year old woman really need her eighth grade report card?" Purely rhetorical as it already hit the trash can.

"Global warming" is falling all over North Idaho...

2011-01-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

which means you'll have to wait to see the chandelier make-over in the kitchen.

One more cup of coffee before spending quality time with my Snow Joe (I heart my Snow Joe!)

Black-capped Chickadee

Last week we put out two of our bird feeders. The sparrows are so agressive and territorial that the liitle blackcapped chickadees and finches are relagated to eating the scattered seed off the deck. That became a problem this morning as the "global warming" started piling up so we threw a bunch of seed on our deck table and the chickadees are eating up a storm.

I grabbed a few shots through my kitchen window...

Feeding frenzy...

Check out that twittering tail on the top bird. Click to embiggen and you can see a seed in his ~~mouth~~ beak...

One more cup of coffee before heading out...

Living the Savvy Life Review

2011-01-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

Living the Savvy Life

The Savvy Woman's Guide to Smart Spending and Rich Living

Melissa Tosetti, author of Living the Savvy Life, has done a remarkable job of making what many think is a complicated and boring subject not only easy to understand, but actually fun. While the book is chock full of ways to save money it is, more importantly, about how to live richly and enjoy your life to the fullest.

The first five chapters cover how money affects everything, the philosophy of the "savvy life", our habits, where we spend our money, and the golden rule - "spend less than you make."

The following chapters give you concrete ways in which to do this. There are chapters on home, entertainment, wardrobe, and food. Melissa teaches about savvy shopping and gives us tricks to stay motivated.

Chapter 12, "What is Important to You", was one of my favorites. It gives you a blueprint to work through to help you define in what areas you life is working and identifying the areas that may need a bit of attention.

Listen to what Melissa says in the beginning of Chapter 12:

"You may have a general idea of what is important to you. You might have goals that you want to focus your spending on such as a house, a dream vacation, or something as simple as updating your wardrobe. As you have already learned, defining those goals and writing them down will help you achieve them faster. But have you ever sat down and looked at your life as a whole and how you want to live it - then planned your spending to achieve it?"

"This type of thought and planning allows you to live a more purposeful life. Instead of going where the wind takes you, you have control and can direct your life according to where you want to go. Of course you want to be flexible and leave room for serendipitous moments, but having a design in mind for what you want your life to be like and how to achieve it is powerful."

Melissa proceeds to give us wonderful questions to work through in order to help us define who we are and what we want out of life.

Her Favorite Resources in the back of the book is a goldmine of excellent and motivational reading, including many of my favorites.

I'll leave you with this wonderful quote from the closing page of Melissa's book:

Remember that Living the Savvy Life isn't just about money. It's about turning your home into a sanctuary. It's about taking pleasure in every moment of your time off. It's about building a wardrobe and beauty routine that make you feel gorgeous. It's about nourishing your body and soul with delicious food.

Your are the artist and a savvy life is yours to create.

Melissa's website

And while you're at Amazon allow me recommend Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley, aka FlyLady. Melissa loves Flylady, too!

Let's finish up with our New Year decisions...

2011-01-04T20:44:00.000-08:00

so we can move on to a more productive 2011.

You've done your Brain Drain. You picked out some major categories and everything from your Brain Drain is transferred to a category. Each of these things have a number denoting their importance from 1 - 4. Now what?

So far we've been just done a bunch of really, really fun stuff. Now I'm going to ask you to think a little bit (ok - you're going to have to think really, really hard, but it's still fun!)

In each category pick out the top three number one items that you wish to accomplish.
Re-write each of those to be specific.
If you wrote "lose weight" re-frame it in specific terms such as, "I want to lose 25 pounds."
Give that decision a time frame which is realistic. "I want to lose 25 pounds by June 1st."

So far pretty easy.

Now ask yourself this most important question and key to most of our failures.

Ready?

What is keeping me from attaining this desire?

When you identify what is standing in your way, you will automatically know how to proceed.

Ten things that could be stopping you from attaining your goals

lack of information
fear
poor time management
unrealistic decisions (goals)
lack of proper work space or tools
lack of funds
over-extended in your activities
lack of motivation
indecisiveness
maybe you don't really want it after all...

Let me repeat this most important sentence:

When you identify what is standing in your way, you will automatically know how to proceed.

You may want to take a few days to mull over this sentence...

So now I have pages of "Brain Drain" - what do I do next?

2011-01-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

Kitty doing Brian Drain

I generally end up with about three or four packed pages when I complete a major brain drain. Not sure what a brain drain is? Check out these two posts: here and here.

What are we going to do with all this information? Simple. We're going to put each item in a category. The categories are up to you. Most books and articles on goal setting have about six to eight categories which I find cumbersome. I have five areas that my brain drain items fit into: garden, house, business, financial, and personal. Common sense and personalization is the byword on this step. If you don't have a garden, you wouldn't need a garden category. No house? Leave it off your list. Is travel very important to you? You may need a travel category. Here's an idea of some categories you could consider:

Physical
Career/Work
Education
Spiritual
Family
Personal
Home/House
Relationships
Creative

I strongly suggest you not have a gazillion categories. I put spiritual, creative, family, and physical in my personal category. It keeps things simple for me. Pick out some categories and head a seperate sheet of paper in your notebook with the name of each of your categories.

Take some time now to go through each of the things you've written in your Brain Drain and write it in a category. This shouldn't take you longer than 20 minutes even if, like me, you have three or four pages of items from your Brain Drain.

Next look at each item in each category and decide how important it is to you. Number them 1 -4 using the following scale:

one is very important
two is sort of important
three is really nice but not all that important
four is for the "someday", "maybes", or "were you having a cocktail when you did your Brain Drain?" - sometimes called the "what were you thinking" items. If you have some of the "what were you thinking" items just cross them off.

Finished? Good. Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and come back tomorrow when the real work will begin. Oooooops! I didn't mean to say "work." Trust me (said the spider to the fly) - it will be fun.

The obligatory "it's my birthday - hoping for a gazillion people to line up to wish me well" post...

2010-12-31T12:15:00.000-08:00

even one or two would be nice...

To my loyal readers and blogger buddies extraordinaire, I wish you a safe and fun New Year's Eve. Each of you has brightened my life and inspired me...

I'm headed out to a wonderful birthday lunch and perhaps a few bookstores. See you next year...

Decision Making for the New Year

2010-12-29T08:15:00.000-08:00

Did you start your Brain Drain like I suggested yesterday? No? That's ok. You can start today or next month, or never start at all. It's your decision. Now isn't that a liberating thought?

One of the top things women (and men) would like to improve in their life is the feeling of being organized. You can not organize your life without organizing your brain. One of the reasons for the Brain Drain is to get it out of our heads and onto paper. If you are working on your list don't forget to include absolutely everything. Don't worry about having "build a new house" right next to "go to the gym three times a week." We'll sort out all that pesky stuff later.

Today will be perfect for me to work on my list because it's snowing. It feels like a good project to nibble away on while watching the snow fall (and maybe I'll get to use my brand new cute Snow Joe blower.)

New Year's Resolutions and Living the Savvy Life

2010-12-28T17:20:00.000-08:00

Most people cringe when they hear the term "making New Year's resolutions." And they are correct in reacting that way. We all know how well that works out - and, yes, I'm being sarcastic. During the final days of one year and often extending into the beginning of the new year, I spend time working on a yearly plan, or as I prefer to say, "making decisions." As an adult with ADD, this is an important step in keeping somewhat on track.

Don't "Set Goals"

In addition to the word "planning", I'm also not fond of "goal setting." It smacks of hard work Who needs more work! When I posted on my weekly homemade appointment book, I mentioned writing the motto, "I Decide, I Choose, I Will" across the middle of the page. So instead of "setting goals" or even "making a plan", how about just making some decisions? Doesn't that make you feel much more like you're in control?

Over the next few days I will cover some of the ways I make decisions for the upcoming year. Do all of these decisions turn out just the way I envisioned or, dare I say, planned? Heck, no! But how many would have gotten done at all without some advance decision making? Not many!

Step One - Brain Drain

I'm not sure where I acquired the term Brain Drain - perhaps David Allen, of the very complicated and popular Getting Things Done system. But I liked the term it and it has become very important to me.

A brain drain consists of merely getting everything you'd like to accomplish down on paper. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Please don't turn this into a huge chore. Keep a notebook with you and whenever something pops into your head (which happens way more often than you suspect), write it down. Think of this as a grocery list for your life. Wish you could go to Italy? Write it down. Paint the living room? Write it down. Lose 10 pounds (doesn't everyone?) Write it down. Wish you get more organized (another no-brainer - who doesn't?) Write it down. Don't worry about sorting this out for now. We'll get to that next. As David Allen says, "Just Do It."

Moving on to:

Living the Savvy Life

Yesterday, I received my advance copy of this snazzy book which is due to be released January 11th. One of my favorite blogger buddies, Adrienne, over at Rich Life on a Budget, did a wonderful review of this book. Melissa Tosetti, the author of "Savvy", found me by way of the Adrienne's blog and asked if I would also do a review. Obviously, this lovely lady has a thing for Adrienne's (proving she's smart as well as lovely!)

I've already made my way through about half the book and will finish tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to doing the review.

Inexpensive firestarters (not the most glamorous post but kinda cool)

2010-12-27T00:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Jan at Bobbypin's Boardwalk for saving us money, time, and irritation. Her guest poster on November 2, the clever Suzy from Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom, did a wonderful post on making beautifully colored pine cone firestarters for gifts.

We use our wood stove almost every day and for years and years our preferred firestarter has been a Duraflame log cut up into pieces and dropped in a inexpensive lunch bag. This year the logs took a HUGE jump in price and seemed to have gotten much harder to cut up. Hubby finally took the last one to the barn and attacked it with a saber saw which made a disgusting mess (not to mention gumming up the saw.)

After looking at Suzy's pine cones I thought, "Hmmmmmmmm, maybe I should Google fire starters." Holy cannoli - there were a gazillion sites eager to help us make firestarters. The most popular seems to be the cardboard egg carton/dryer lint one. Do I need to tell you not to use a Styrofoam carton? I didn't think so.

I happened to have two cardboard cartons just waiting for some lint. I kept the cartons on top of the dryer and until all the compartments were filled with lint.

This is an egg carton (in case you've never seen one) getting it's little compartments filled with lint.

I grabbed some paraffin (usually found where the canning supplies are located) and plopped it in a small can. I stuck the can in a saucepan with some hot water to melt the paraffin. Old candle stubs can be used and will save even more money. Do not overheat the paraffin as it can catch on fire.

Paraffin...

Olive can to melt wax (although a bean or corn can would work just as well. Let your imagination soar on this one)...

When the paraffin was melted I spooned a bit into each compartment. Most sites recommended pouring it in but that approach seemed mighty sloppy to me. After the wax cooled I cut the carton up and, voila, twelve cute little firestarters. Guess what? They work every bit as good as the Duraflame chunks and cost about one cent apiece.

Cute little firestarter ready for wood stove...

Since most our eggs come from Costco and are in Styrofoam cartons, I'm branching out into toilet paper rolls sliced in half and stuffed with the wrapper and our used paper napkins. When I have a bunch ready to go I'll pull out the paper and spoon some paraffin on and stuff it back into the rolls.

Toilet paper rolls waiting for wax (tell the truth now - don't you sometimes wonder about uses for all those toilet paper rolls that get pitched in the trash?)

Our whole world is becoming consumed with stuff for firestarters. When I was gathering up some pistachio shells to pitch in the waste basket, hubby suggested putting them in some toilet paper rolls with a used paper napkin on each end to keep them from tumbling out. Isn't he clever?

Pistachio shells waiting to be of service to mankind...

If all this seems a bit "over-the-top" consider this. Most commercial firestarters cost anywhere from .50 to.75 cents each. Even using the lower figure that adds up to a whopping $15.00 per month versus about .30 cents per month for these cute little homemade ones. Now imagine if you could save $15.00 per month on 20 items or expenditures without a great outlay of time (this project took about 15 minutes.) That adds up to $300.00 per month in savings. Could you use an extra $300.00 per month?

No tree - no problem and Christmas Eve Supper

2010-12-26T01:00:00.000-08:00

When my husband brought in the boxes of decorations from the tool shed and I gazed on that stack for about half a day, I finally told him to put them back from whence they came. I opted for a no tree Christmas and guess what? We were just fine. We have a live evergreen on the buffet gifted to us by a friend and it was more than sufficient.

Late afternoon supper was enlivened by the presence of some home-baked French baguettes. I used the recipe from Beth Hensperger's book, "Baking Bread - Old and New Traditions", now sadly out of print. There are plenty of used copies available at Amazon and I highly recommend this book.

There are many great recipes online and I plan to try different variations. When adding the flour I lost count of the number of cups of flour already doled out. Note to self: pre-measure the flour and put in bowl. Duh!

I spread one of the loaves with a mixture of garlic infused olive oil, chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and a sprinkle of Parmesan before rolling up. It came out quite good and certainly looked lovely.

While the crust was quite good, I was hoping for a better appearance. Next time I'm going to use my baking stone and remember to add some water (in the form of ice cubes or a small pan of boiling water) to the oven.

Supper:

Crudites (around here it's called a plate of sliced vegetables) with bread and herb infused olive oil dipping sauce
Baked Ziti
Italian Sausage
Candied nuts and fudge for desert

Now we look forward to the visit of the Magi on January 6 when Our Lord and Savior will be revealed to the world.

Hope your Christmas festivities were wonderful...

I don't have this book but I'm planning on ordering a used copy from Amazon...

Rejoice! He is Born - Hallelujah

2010-12-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

Hallelujah Chorus -Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat 5th Grade - Quinhagak, Alaska

Hope your day was full of merriment...

O Holy Night

2010-12-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all my loyal readers. May your day be safe and holy...

Advent Drawing to a Close. Let the Christmas Season Begin...

2010-12-23T11:16:00.000-08:00

Soon it will be Christmas Eve and then Christmas day.

The actual Christmas Season in most Western church traditions begins at sunset on Christmas eve, December 24, and lasts through January 5 (the Twelve Days of Christmas.) On January 6th we celebrate Epiphany . The term epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal." On that day we remember the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King. It's for that reason Nativity creches are incorrect to have the Wise Men as part of the display. But..............between you and me, I would never leave out the Wise Men. Heck - they're the ones wearing all the cool bling and carrying gobs of expensive gifts. But, I digress...

For many of us Christmas ends on December 25th after the last feast or party. I even knew a woman who took down her tree and decorations on Christmas eve because she was "sick of the clutter." If you've put up your tree and other decorations the day after Thanksgiving, I can certainly sympathize with ripping them down the day after Christmas. Give some thought next year to delaying the tree and other goodies until closer to Christmas and leaving them up until Epiphany.

Both paintings by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (December 31, 1617 (baptized) – April 3, 1682)

Downsizing takes a nosedive...

2010-12-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

Sigh...

I made the mistake of wandering over to the Christmas Cloche Party at A Stroll Thru Life. The blame all goes to the sweet Glenda over at Dab of This and That. She posted pictures of her wonderful cloches and directed me to the Cloche Party.

It seems cloches, sometimes called Bell Jars, are popping up all over and are quite the rage. Now I don't need a cloche. Does anyone really need a cloche? Therefore, I had no plans to acquire such a thing. However, two weeks or so ago I made a quick stop at Tuesday Morning. I hadn't been in there for years since the store became so junky and dirty. Lo and behold, it was cleaned up and was stocked with some fairly nice stuff (most of which IMO, was still very overpriced.)

Sitting on a shelf were two cloches. Not ordinary cloches, but ones which lovely etchings on the the sides, a glorious huge glass nob on top, the bottom edge covered in silver, and standing almost a foot tall including the knob. It was priced at $19.99 which I thought was more than reasonable. Did I make the purchase? No. Aren't you proud of me?

Then..................................................I go to the cloche party and the fever for a cloche hit an all time high. I MUST have that cloche says I (while breathing rapidly into a paper bag.) Thinking it would be long gone I popped Tuesday Morning yesterday and discovered they were still there.

It gets better, though. One of them had a wee chip on the bottom. Did it mar the overall appearance? Nope, you can barely see it. So I headed up to the manager and asked if they discounted damaged goods. Why yes indeedy - they did. How about $15.00 instead of $19.99? Well, ok!

Now I have a cloche...

The chip that saved me $5.00

Tonight we'll be off to the 123rd annual Candlelight Concert at the beautiful St. Aloysius Church on the campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane.

For our "fine dining experience" after the concert, nothing compares to Dick's - a Spokane institution famous for the Whammy burger and the best fries in the entire world!

One down - three to go...

2010-12-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

First of three chairs is done, but not without an almost complete meltdown on my part. I forgot how miserable it was to cover those chairs. They need to be taken apart and when I reassembled them I put the seat on backwards. That's why the little piece of fabric is hanging down in the front corner. It was ripped loose when I crammed the seat back on. I'll repair it when I do the next chair. It's taken me three days to recover from the ordeal. At one point I seriously considered throwing the chair out in the snow bank. Really! Hubby hid in his office. Smart guy!

These chairs are my hubby's favorite because they have little rollers on the bottom. If the "design" looks familiar it's because you probably sat in one just like it in your doctors waiting room. After doing the second one for the dining room, I'll tackle the two that live in our bedroom...

And then................ in true ADD fashion, I'll touch-up the paint on the arms. What? Is there a better way?

Second Sunday of Advent

2010-12-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

Vintage Advent Calendar

Advent, the time leading up to the celebration of the birth of Our Lord, is not just about the perfect table setting, wonderful decorations, and finding the perfect gifts for our friends and family. While all this things are fun and can be worthy of doing, too often they can detract from the watchful anticipation of the main event.

"Advent is a time of restoration and renewal for ourselves. It is a time for us to put an axe to the root of every tree in us which is not bearing the appropriate fruit. You don’t need me to tell you what these might be. Just close your eyes tonight before going to bed and ask the Lord of truth to show you what things in your life you need to stop doing, and what things you need to start doing. He will tell you because he wants one day to be able to gather you into his barn." Father John Speekman - 2nd Sunday of Advent.

With a little help from our friends...

2010-12-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

decisions can be made.

After much help from Jan at Bobbypin's Boardwalk, I was able to make a decision on my ugly kitchen chandelier. Her comments forced me to think a bit deeper and I decided to re-do the shades before deciding on the color for the chandelier.

Voila. Like magic the perfect fabric jumped into my cart last night at WallyWorld. When viewed in person the green is very, very muted - almost a sand color and will probably be the color I paint the chandelier - cream with a the barest hint of beige/green.

While I mull over how I want the shades to look and in what manner I will make that happen, I must cover two chairs in the dining room.

This disgusting mess...

(Do not, under any circumstances, embiggun this photo. Really!)

should be covered in this...

(you may embiggun this photo by clicking on it)

What color should I paint my chandelier? w/ Update

2010-12-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

This is undoubtedly the ugliest and cheapest chandelier ever manufactured. I've decided the only way to even partially redeem it is by slapping on a coat of paint. I'll be adding a cord cover to mask the sloppy job the previous owners did on installation.

I'm happy with the little blue shades I added but the cheap fake brass needs paint. I will not be taking it down but using a footstool and a paint brush. First I'll do primer and then any color I want because I can mix it with my acrylics.

I thought about a black undercoat with a chippy cream topcoat. Your input would be much appreciated.

As always you can click on picture to embiggem. You sure don't want to miss the wire sticking out of the side of the cord (and maybe a dust bunny or two.) If you're wondering about the wicker looking thing on the ceiling is (of course you are), it is a blind over the sky light. All my life I wanted a skylight. Now I have two - the other one is in my bathroom. Guess what? When the sun is beating down in the middle of summer it will fry your brain.

The wall color in this photo is pretty true. Sort of a coffee with lots of cream.

I really like the little shades...

So what color should the chandelier be?

From the combox:

Jan of Bobbypin's Boardwalk said:

Well, Adrienne, you know you can never go wrong with white. The only other color that grabbed me was in looking at your picture I saw a plate on the wall. It appeared to have a burgundy trim. Boy that trim really stood out against those walls beautifully. I wonder if that could be an option. However, since you are keeping the darling blue shades, I think I would probably do white. I also like yellow and blue, but don't think the yellow would work in your kitchen. Yes, I keep coming back to white. Can't wait to see how it ends up.

Oh wait! I don't have to keep those shades. Really! So I popped online to check out different shades. Prices? Outrageous! The current shades have the top ring and lamp clippy thing. The bottom ring is being held on by the stiff fabric. It would be easy enough to attach the top and bottom rings with some wire and recover the lampshades with whatever I wanted because I really like the idea of burgundy for the ugly chandelier. I remember hanging that burgundy trimmed plate and thinking the same thing Jan did.

Thanks, Jan

Guess What I Got?

2010-11-30T11:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the help and encouragement from a lovely lady I met at Costco yesterday, I was able to make a decision on a purchase. It's the smaller decisions that befuddle us ADD'ers and some help is always appreciated. I may take her with me whenever I shop!

No fair peeking at the end of the post to see what I bought...

A little closer...

A snowflake?

Another one?

What's this?

Did you guess?

Luxury weight! Whooooeeee! We only have one pair of flannel sheets which I ~~cheaply~~ frugally purchased at an estate sale over 12 years ago. They were premium J.C. Penny sheets and are still in good condition but I've wanted a second pair for several years. This set was only $34.95 and they are extraordinarily heavy. Don't you love the colors?

It's snowing again (what's up with that???) and so I am finally going to finish some projects that have been on the agenda for at least a year.

In case you missed it:

Parisienne Farmgirl has decorated her chandelier and it is gorgeous! Be sure and check out her living and dining room while you're there. It is exactly the way I want my house to look.

Need some inspiration? Check out Entry Hall ~ The Woodland Tree by Adrienne over at LaVie Quotidienne

Looking for help in getting started with a project? Gina over at the Shabby Chic Cottage and her hubby re-did their bathroom (down to the studs) in TEN DAYS and the results are outstanding.

Some good words of advice from Cherie over at Renaissance Garden Christmas and Our Health

DON'T MISS Jan's Boardwalk Bragfest. There is a plethora of great ideas...

Secret Sunday

2010-11-27T22:28:00.000-08:00

First Sunday of Advent

Advent (from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming") is a season observed in many Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas.

Homily of Father John Speekman for the First Sunday of Advent

Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-161Thessalonians 3:12 - 4.2Luke 21:25-28.34-36

Too many people live either in the past or in the future. Very few of us live in the present.

Those who live in the past or in the future live in a world which doesn't exist, and because it doesn't exist it has no ground for them to put their feet on. They are doomed forever to float, unable to land.

What is more, Christian faith can be exercised only in the present moment. The present moment is real time. We should all have our watches set to it. In real time the sun shines golden, the rain falls fresh and every breath is a blessing. Even when real time turns sour - when the Babylonians attack, when persecution comes, or even, as in the Gospel, the end of the world begins, we can still stand confidently, our heads held high, because our faith in the word of God is undiminished and promises safety.

The readings from Scripture today invite us to remember some moments from the past and some moments from the future but only so that we might become more firmly grounded in the present moment. Ironically, only those firmly grounded in the comforting reality of the present moment are ready for the future, and do not fear it.

The First Reading takes us back to an anguished, dark moment for the Jews when Nebuchadnezzar was besieging Jerusalem. Their world was falling apart and their lives were on the line. The enemy was sweeping in from the north and in those days it was better not to be taken prisoner. In the midst of the chaos Jeremiah speaks a prophecy - an inspired word about the future: I will make a virtuous Branch grow for David ... Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell in confidence.

A branch from the stump of David will shoot forth and save his people so that they may dwell in confidence! We know this Branch is Jesus.

It is by remembering the loving plan of God in the midst of the troubles and catastrophes of our life in the world that we are given strength to live the painful present moments of our journey.

Jesus, too, in the Gospel today, prophesies that we will be saved (liberated) so that we may stand (dwell) in confidence before him - and this prophecy, too, is made in the context of a fearful catastrophe - the world's final destruction.

I can't help pointing out that Jesus twice exhorts us to stand - erect and in confidence - and I can't help repeating that only those who live in the present moment can stand because they have their feet on the ground and can therefore exercise their faith in God.

There will always be disasters in our lives. There have been disasters in human history and in the personal lives of individuals ever since the creation of Adam. These will continue to the end of time. Our only real security in all our troubles is in the word of God. Even in the midst of the most cataclysmic signs of the end of time which lie in the future it is the word of God which proposes itself as our rock of safety but only if we listen to it now, in this present moment.

The cosmic nature of the signs which will shake the powers of heaven, which will cause nations to be in agony and bewildered by the mounting tide of chaos (the clamour of the ocean and its waves); which will cause men actually to die of fear as they await what menaces the world - is set against the unbelievably simple word of God which will ensure confidence and survival - PRAY!

Can you believe it? God's advice for overcoming fear and death in the midst of disaster - pray!

But beware - pray now not just then.

Pray in the present so that in the future you will stand in confidence before the Son of Man.
Those who do not pray will not have the strength to stand, they will either die of fear or find themselves trapped in their sins, unworthy of the presence of God.

Let us go to the Responsorial Psalm for some good advice as we begin the period of Advent. You will notice once again that the focus is on where our feet are:

Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.
The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray,
he guides the humble in the right path;
he teaches his way to the poor.

I pray that for each one of us today our Advent journey will begin with a fresh resolve to walk in the paths of the Lord.

Bliss

2010-11-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

Some people might think champagne and chocolates equals bliss. In my world a new washer and dryer is bliss.

Angela says goodbye to the old washer and dryer...

Look, Ma! No knob...

Hellooooooo , Lowe's

Yeah! Clapping enthusiastically. A dryer with knobs (and a LIGHT inside. How cool is that???)

This is more like it....

Everything is washed, dryed, folded and put away. Time for champagne and cholcolates ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our hero John came to dig us out from the blizzard. He told us the road was way worse than two years ago.

Here comes John. Hi, John!!!! (waving energetically from the deck)

Almost to our driveway...

Wow! That's a heap of snow...

It's 300 feet to our driveway. John still has another almost 1000 feet of road to plow to get all four houses. His reward? He gets to do our driveways. And what does it cost for all this loveliness? Only $130.00 - the bargain of the century. I see to it that John always goes home with a big basket of goodies and a very nice tip.

The piles on the side of the road are about 20 feet tall. It is so much fun to drive through the tunnel to the main road. I made a quick dash to the grocery store and had a splendid time visiting with all the people (and even splurged on a magazine.)

And guess what's it's doing now???

Snowing!

On the upside, there's no wind so we won't get snowed in.

On the downside, we won't be going out to eat today. But - not to worry. We have some tri-tip steaks, vacuumed sealed and calling out to us from the freezer.

Costco started it's sale early and I was able to order my Ultra Snow Joe a few days ago. It's only $189.00 after $30.00 off. It shipped yesterday so maybe we'll get it by Monday or Tuesday. At least we won't have shovel the sidewalks and two huge decks. It will also probably handle in front of the barn and a patch of driveway in front of our entrance.

And why is this so important? Look at this from the National Weather Service (with a few pithy comments added)

Winter Storm Warning (such fear mongering!)
Hazardous Weather Outlook (only if you don't know how to drive in snow)
Thanksgiving Day: Snow. High near 22. South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible (we've already had more than that and it's only 1:30)
Tonight: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a temperature rising to around 26 by 4am. Light east wind. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Wow! (26 degrees? A warming trend.)
Friday: Snow. High near 31. East wind 6 to 9 mph becoming south. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible. (We don't like the word "wind" - not one teeny bit!)
Friday Night: Snow. Low around 29. South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. (I keep seeing that word "wind")Saturday: Snow. High near 32. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. (That's better - "calm wind")
Saturday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 24. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. (50% chance of snow means they don't have a clue)
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 27. (Isn't usually "mostly cloudy" when it snows? Duh!)
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.
Tuesday: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. Chance of precipitation is 70%. ( Hmmmmmmm - at 70% chance snow would be "likely')
Tuesday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. (I'm no math wizard but I'm counting this up to be about 20 inches of snow. Ugh!)

Thanks for all the lovely comments

and Happy Thanksgiving...

It's November 22 and we're having a BLIZZARD!!!

2010-11-22T22:47:00.000-08:00

What's up with that???

Me and my big, huge mouth! Soon after telling my Aunt my washer would never break (see yesterday's post), I proceeded to tell her about the mild winter we were going to have. I need to stop talking. Really!

I've already sweet talked Anderson Excavating Company because we will no doubt be snowed in by morning. The wind is blowing so hard you can't see a foot in front of your face. Anderson's will start plowing at 4 am and get to us about 10:00am.

This is what it looked like the last time Anderson had to bail us out several years ago. We won't have near this amount of snow (I hope) but I've never seen the wind blow as hard as it is tonight.

I've read all your lovely comments and will get to them in the morning (if we still have power.)

Next up? No doubt the electricity will go off...

My closest blogger buddy Mark (in Spokane) over at Ordered Liberty will probably have the day off tomorrow. Have fun , Mark!

Be very careful what you say in earshot of your appliances, what's up with the snow, and a fun view from the bedroom window...

2010-11-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

While talking to my Aunt the other evening, I mentioned that my washer and dryer, Maytags that were purchased used 23 years ago making them about 30 years old, were never going to die thereby allowing me to purchase a new washer and dryer. I told her that I'd probably have to take the washer out and shoot it with a shotgun to get rid of it. Well, the washer heard me and was so frightened that the next day it spewed water all over the floor.

Off to Lowe's we went yesterday and snagged a nice set for $550.00 total with all the necessary accoutrement like drain hoses and such. Upon returning home we stuck the washer on the deck, where it is getting buried in snow.

You can click on pictures to embiggum, however I suggest you skip that step with the laundry room. It's waaaaaaaay too ugly for a Monday.

Why? Because when we re-tiled the kitchen we didn't do under the washer and dryer figuring when they were replaced we'd do it then. Well, then is now...

This is one messy sight...

While at Lowe's imagine my ~~cheap~~ thrifty little soul strangling with astonishment at the prices on some of the washers and dryers. Five or six thousand dollars to wash clothes? Nothing personal if you have one of these "Cadillac" sets, but I find that a strange way to spend money. Just my opinion.

And what's up with the snow? It's only November 22. I hope this isn't a preview of the rest of the winter. Look at those two goofy willows that will not drop their leaves.

Bedroom window view. Not sure what those blobs are?

Better?

How about a bit closer?

Closer still...

We have hundreds of quail that live on our property - mostly in our burn piles which means they never get burned. I think we have nine huge piles now that have become quail homes. Oh, well!

First Snow

2010-11-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had our first snow but it melted poste haste. It is lingering on the "mountain" behind our house and made for a pretty picture. We gauge the weather by what's happening on that big hill.

Click to "embiggun"

While the folks living up there may have a nice view (when they're not engulfed in clouds), they also have a much longer winter. I prefer being a "prairie dweller."

Winter for those of us that live where it gets cold is a great time to sit by the...

sip on this...

and peruse a great art book (this is one of my favorites)

or even make our own art...

or write in our journal...

or sew something pretty...

We can eat our dinner by the fireplace...

We can even nap...

Have a wonderful weekend...

Good Grief!!

2010-11-17T23:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since November 2nd. A gremlin must have stolen some of my posts.

While the weather was holding I managed to get more work done each day. I spent a few days ~~butchering~~ pruning trees and have all but 5 or 6 done. Luckily hubby runs around with the truck and picks up the piles of limbs. All I have to do is make a mess. But now there is snow on the way and my outside garden days may be over for a few months.

There have been some very interesting posts up about the coming holidays that I will be linking to in the next few days as well as adding some of my own thoughts. For now I will leave you with some items of interest.

In case you missed it:

The lovely Fiona at How to be Chic has been doing a series called 30 Chic Days. Do not let the fact that she is on day 17 alarm you. All her posts are concise and informative. You could easily read through them in no time at all. Or you could read two a day for 15 days or 4 a day for - never mind - you get the message...

If you are not ADD and prefer to start with the first day - here it is 30 Chic Days - Day One

Debra over at Bodeci Body explains her absence in 11 Days to Fit and Fabulous, Then Life Happened.... and shares some wonderful news.

The Parisienne Farmgirl has finally unveiled her big gardening project and you can color me impressed! Urban Homesteading - Pariesienne Farmhouse Style

And last years tips for a organized Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving Dinner Preparation Tips

First thing tomorrow I will finish my Thanksgiving cards and letters so they can be mailed on Thursday. The envelopes were all addressed days ago. Over the years I've discovered that doing the envelopes one day and the letters and/or short enclosure notes on two other days makes this a really fun endeavor.

November 2, 2010

2010-11-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Have You?

Do you eat breakfast?

2010-11-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

During my single years breakfast was usually a bottle of Tab (are you old enough to remember Tab? I still miss it!) Not a great way to start the day.

Now my husband and I always sit down to a nice breakfast. I like a lot of variety of things to eat for breakfast, so I have learned to cut down on the size of the portions and we never eat things like muffins or sweet rolls. The closest we get to a big sugar fix is to occasionally have homemade jam or jelly on our toast.

Today was a fairly typical breakfast - two slices of cantaloupe, 1/2 container (4 oz each) of lite blueberry yogurt, one soft-boiled egg served in an egg cup, cracked wheat sour dough toast.

I love eating soft-boiled eggs in an egg cup. I used to have some really ugly wooden egg cups that I finally threw away, which meant that I had to find new ones. Since I am ~~cheap~~ thrifty the number one priority was cost. Number two was they had to be nice - please, no plastic. Trying to find egg cups is hard enough without all those mandates.

Last month while perusing the mark-down stuff on the end-cap of Ross, I spied a box of four white egg cups. Wow - those are not bad looking. It was the only box there and when I flipped it over the mark-down price was $2.99. Well, ok then! I can do that...

The little silver spoons are demitasse spoons my great-grandma brought over from the old country. Perfect size for egg spoons.

A really fun place to visit is a site called Jennifer Causey's Simply Breakfast. Jennifer is a professional photographer who also maintains the blog Simply Photos (there's a link on her sidebar.) You lovers of all things French may want to add her photographic journey of all things Paris to your Christmas list. I ~~stole~~ borrowed a few picture and I'm hoping she won't mind.

Head over and check out her blog, her shop (fabulous prints for sale), her books, and her wedding portfolio.

Other photos by Jennifer...

I'll be doing a bit of housework this morning since it's raining again. Yesterday I managed to get all the extra Siberian Iris planted in the wildflower/grass field (we call it the "gully") and finished cleaning the cutting garden. Next year, in addition to bearded iris blooming in the "gully", there will also be hundreds of Siberian Iris.

The "Gully" late spring

Have a nice day...

And...don't forget to vote tomorrow!

If you need a reminder of why, take a look at this wonderful photo journey of women's suffrage:

The Right to Vote is the Obligation to Vote

Secret Sunday

2010-10-31T00:05:00.000-07:00

Find a special place for some time alone. Bring a cup of tea or coffee and even a cookie if you wish. Read Luke 19:1-10. Think about what jumps out at you about those verses.

To help you ponder this wonderful verse my Aussie friend Father Speekman has some words of wisdom.

[...]When we read Scripture we usually find that a word or phrase or image will capture our attention. For me this week it was a ‘moment’, the moment when Jesus reached the spot under the tree and looked up. I found myself happy to just sit and ponder the beautiful face of the Lord.
And don’t ask me exactly why it was that little moment which fascinated me. Was it the loving gaze in the eyes of the Lord looking up at Zacchaeus - or maybe his gentle smile? Or perhaps just wonderment at the goodness of the Divine Shepherd who comes to seek out the poor lost sheep even in the branches of a sycamore tree! read the entire article here

Sycamore Tree of Zacchaeus in Jericho

Autumn in North Idaho

2010-10-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

Great autumn color depends on moisture. We had lots of rain this year and together with my constant watering, it has produced one of the most beautiful autumns I can remember.

I headed out with my camera between the raindrops and took a stroll on the property.

(as always - you can click on picture to enlarge to really, really huge so you won't miss any weeds or other ugly stuff :-) Ok - so I just took my own advice after publishing this post and enlarged the pictures. Waaaay cool!)

Even the red twig dogwood in the backyard produced some fun color...

A young Radiant crab apple framed by the gate

Amur Maple peeking over the top of some lilacs...

The Amur Maple hedge from the other side...

Amur Maple leaves...

Two of the young Mountain Ashes dressed up for fall...

One of the young maples "strutting it's stuff"

Wow! Just look at that Cherry tree. It's right outside our bedroom window making for a very nice view...

Some Cherry leaves...

Lots of color in the front to greet visitors...

Common purple asters...

Peeking into the back yard through the bushes...

Amazing color...

Time for a French Press coffee (made with fresh ground caramel flavored beans), a biscotti, and a peek at Victoria's special edition magazine that just came in the mail. Then off to church...

Does life get any better than this?

Last Snapdragons, First Fire, and Decorating Rules...

2010-10-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

After a few days rain break, I was able to get out and do more fall clean-up work. I cut back the snapdragons (or as my hubby calls them - dragonsnaps.) He never knew you could make the flowers "talk" by squeezing the sides and every year he is delighted by their chatter. Sometimes they even give him little flower kisses or bite his nose. Ok - we're easily amused around our house.

You can click on the pics to enlarge because the good Lord knows you wouldn't want to miss any dust bunnies, crumbs, or pink cat toys (next to stove.)

That cute little 4 cup teapot came from T.J. Maxx and only cost $8.99

This little glass dome is a cheese dome that fits on a marble vase. Sometimes I put a heavy candle plate on top on a candle holder turned upside down. I haven't found the need to glue the two stand pieces together which means I still have a candle plate and a candle holder to use.

The first fire in the wood stove is always a big day. We received several extra cords of wood for free this summer. With electricity prices going up so high we will be doing a lot of our heating with the stove this winter. It should save us about four to five hundred dollars.

Decorating 101

Always match your pet to your decor

Angela enjoying the back of the sofa

Some of the things I'm reading now:

It's raining, autumn work almost done, and some cheap pot (no - not that kind) tricks...

2010-10-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

About the time I was ready to fall on my lips - it started to rain, which means I get a few days break from outside work. Planted another 200 or so daylily divisions and we finished restructuring the cutting garden by widening the center path. Hubby re-cut the wood edging to fit. To show my gratitude I slapped a bunch of stain on the faded boards. He's happy!

Outdoor office with yet another pile of daylilies to be planted.

Each year I bring in geraniums so I have cuttings in the spring to replant. I cut them way back meaning by Christmas they will be grown back and blooming - an added bonus. This year I wanted smaller pots and finding none in the potting shed I did a bit of shopping. Everything was too expensive.

One of my other goals has been to use up all the half-full cans of spray paint that have accumulated. Hmmmm - I have a gazillion ugly black nursery pots. Wonder what's left in spray paint? Olive green? That will work. I used up what was left of the green paint.

Bonus? The pots fit on my window sills so they won't all be crammed in the dining room.

Ewwwwwwwww.....what about those huge holes?

Your pot planting friend. Coffee filters...

In the spring I'll take cuttings...

Within about a week they'll have lots of roots

Last year I ended up with about 125 geraniums to plant in my yard. Savings? About $250.00

My favorite is the variegated pink geranium...

Debra over at BODECI body has started a series of 40 days to Fit and Fabulous. Head over if you haven't been there. It's inspirational stuff!

Autumn work, pricey pepper, last of the veggies, and adventures in tortilla making

2010-10-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the wonderful weather we've been having, our autumn outside chores are perking right along. The daylily dividing and the moving of two entire beds is almost complete (which is good because I can hardly bend over to plant the little rats anymore.) I've planted about 800 daylilies so far and have about 200 to go. Piece of cake!

Last week I headed over to our local Kitchen Collection to see if they had a lettuce knife. They did and I got one. It was only about $3.00 and I managed to snag a lime green one just like the picture in my other post.

I also splurged and bought a tortilla press. I had an antique one when I was in my early twenties and tried making corn tortillas. It was a fiasco and I never tried again. Last night I mixed up Masa Harina (do not substitute corn meal - it's not the same thing) with water and dash of salt, stirred it up, and made little balls of the dough. I put heavy plastic on the press (top and bottom) and squished out 20 perfect tortillas. After a quick cook in a dry cast iron skillet set to medium high (about 40 seconds each side), it was time to make enchiladas. I used cooked chicken breast, which had been marinated in lime, oil, and cumin. Mixed the chicken with cream cheese, a can of green chilies, and sauteed onions and garlic for the filling. Baked for 30 minutes with a topping of enchilada sauce and shredded cheddar. Fresh homemade tortillas made a huge difference. Can't wait to try tacos.

Saved the last of the veggies a few nights ago before our first hard frost. I'll miss fresh tomatoes.

The priciest pepper, evah! Can you believe I paid $6.99 for this pepper with orange and lemon peels in it? I can't either - but I did, and it's wonderful!

Thought for the day:

Only about nine weeks until the winter solstice when the days will start getting longer again. Since we're having such a long autumn, this winter will just whiz by...

Vows are sometimes meant to be broken...

2010-10-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Last year I banished all the silk flowers from my home except for one large Capodimonte vase in our bedroom and one vase that sits on a little shelf in the living room. I vowed to never buy any more dust catching silks. Ha! Last week found me at Michaels buying some additions for my living room vase and my old autumn wreath.

I rarely start from scratch on any project but instead recycle and add a few new embellishments. My motto is "quick, easy, and cheap."

The dried flowers that were in my living room vase were utterly disgusting and I couldn't get them in the trash pile fast enough. I picked up a few very inexpensive flowers and tall squiggly things that matched my cute little wall lamp shade (you can read about that cute little lamp here) and stuffed them in the vase. Time and money spent (other then shopping)? Maybe 5 minutes and $4.00.

My fall wreath, languishing in the barn got a few new fall leaves and a ribbon from the Dollar store crammed on it and hit the wall. Time and money spent? 10 minutes and $2.00. Ah - that's my kind of decorating...

Introducing another Adrienne.

Good heavens! The Adrienne's are multiplying like flies or mice - or something.

La Vie Quotidienne (which means "daily life") is home to Adrienne of the pretty red hair, 100 watt smile, and a flare for all things French. Adrienne can make beautiful clothes, has designer mice in her house, and has a scarecrow that's better dressed than moi.

I threw in the moi (sole extent of my French) so Adrienne wouldn't think I was a dummy or something. After all, she and Parisienne Farm Girl have potagers. I only have a garden. Sigh...

Meantime, Roz, over at La Bella Vita is whipping up one of my favorite breakfast or brunch items - frittatas. As usual she has explicit instructions and great pictures. I posted a simple "clean out the fridge frittata" a few months ago.

It has not been a pretty week...

2010-10-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

but considering the alternative - it was ok.

Both hubby and I came down with the flu, but not before the belt broke on my lawn tractor (the really, really important one that make the blade go whiz-whiz and cut things). My email was totally messed up due to the incompetence of Frontier who took over Verizon, and hubby's whole computer had a major melt-down.

The good parts? Ace Hardware had our belt in stock. My tractor guru was able to put it on with a minimum of fuss. My email is fixed thanks to the assistance of our local email provider, and our computer guru had hubby's link to the outside world fixed and up and running in record time. Our flu only lasted 24 hours (I'm still tired, though) and hubby did a fine job of wielding a mop when I didn't quite make the sink (how embarrassing!!!!) I have three plump perfect eggplants waiting in my garden to be transformed into something wonderful, and Best Buy bacon (not my usual bacon but not bad for the price) was on special for $1.28 per lb at the store. It's rained for a few days so I didn't have to hit the gully and water all the new trees and shrubs, my lavender crop is outstanding, and the library hasn't run out of books.

Slap it all on the scale of life and I'd say the good outweighs the bad by a bunch!

I love the view of our back mountain when it's partially hidden by clouds.

Have a wonderful weekend...

How about a bunch of random (and not very good) photos for Friday?

2010-09-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Signs of autumn are everywhere. Thank goodness I don't have to rake leaves. I grind them up with my lawn tractor and blow them where I want them to go. Simple!

Lest you think you may be going blind, be informed that half these photos have a slight bit of fuzz to them. As always - click to enlarge (if you dare)

This spring we extended the little path in the front yard to include the west side of the entry. The front "yard" is not very deep because I wanted a really large circular drive. It makes me feel rich...

The west side of entry...

The east side of entry. My entry trellis used to be completely covered with honeysuckle. Last year it mysteriously died - on both sides. How weird is that? I finally replaced it with a red Japanese honeysuckle which should cover it pretty much next summer.

Purple petunias in the planter area of the meditation garden in honor of my mother who loved purple. Big mistake. Deadly and dull. Never do that again. My Mom would be the first to agree.

My glamorous outside "office." I used to take everything to the potting shed for dividing. Now I take my vintage metal kitchen cart to where I'm working. Much easier.

I love my circular drive...

I darken this pic up so you could see the strange rainbow shaped light in the sky.

I also darkened these photos so you could see the moon. It was actually still really light outside. I love it when the moon sneaks up like that...

I got up in the middle of the night and the moon was peeking out from a bunch of popcorn clouds...

Tomorrow is hubby's birthday. We're headed for a cruise on Lake Coeur d' Alene for a "meet and greet" with Senator Mike Crapo. We cruised the lake two weeks ago compliments of our local library when I won a drawing. Since I am not a picture person the camera never made it into my purse. I'll do better this cruise.

This is the boat we'll be on. It holds 400 peeps. The Coeur d' Alene resort is in the background...

This is just a small slice of Lake Coeur d' Alene, which is 25 miles long.

Have a wonderful weekend...

Plums, comments, magazines, and some linky-love

2010-09-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

I am obviosly way behind on addressing all my fine comments, but I promise you I will get to it later or sooner (I like to put the most likely to happen in first place.)

We had some of the last of our plums for breakfast this morning. I chopped them up, put a dollop of plain yogurt on top, and a sprinkle of cinnamon/sugar for appearance and a bit of zip. Lovely and delicious.

Last weekend I picked up some beets at the Farmer's Market in Coeur d' Alene. And lo and behold, what does Roz over at La Bella Vita post but some excellent beet recipes including Beet Salad with Avocados and Machego Cheese. Thanks, Roz. Even if you hate beets and, trust me, people either love them or hate them, you must see Roz's pictures. All her pics are the best!

The "other" Adrienne at Rich Life on a Budget offers up Tasteful vs Tacky, Fiona at How to be Chic gives some hints for Instant Chic , while Debra at Bodeci Body brings us Of Women, Wine and Weight Loss - three fine posts that compliment each other nicely. I keep these ladies in my Google Reader section labeled Inspiration for good reason.

Introducing:

The Parisienne Farmgirl

Spend some time perusing this lovely blog. It's fun, elegant, and informative. According to her profile she likes: Family, Gardening, NASCAR, Fashion, Politics, Cooking, and Bordeaux Wine. My favorite thing about PF is her ability to be real. No playing Miss Perfect for this smart and very pretty lady. She also has her very own on-line shop full of very cool things at super reasonable prices. And do be sure and tour her garden while you're there.

Magazines

Last week I received one of those "subscribe to our magazine for really, really cheap and we'll send you this bonus whatever for free 'cause you know you really want to do this since it's only twelve cents or less per issue" offer. It was Victoria, a mag I like anyway and have subscribed to before, so I sent in the postage paid envelope and am eagerly awaiting my first issue. Ladies, show some patience when it comes to subscribing to mags. Sooner or later you'll receive an offer you can't refuse.

From their website:

Simple, soft, and elegant...

Lunch is served...


Love these glasses...

Beautiful simplicity

The garden awaits. See you later...

Dancing with the Stars

2010-09-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

Every year I tell myself I'm not going to watch Dancing with the Stars, and every year I end up watching it, due in most part to having been a ballroom dance instructor myself.

I taught ballroom dancing at the old Dance City, USA in Houston, Texas for quite a few years. Dance City was the largest dance studio in the world with 64,000 square feet of studio space and other amenities. There were over 125 teachers and there has never been a studio as large since 1964.

Corky and Cloris Leachma

The studio was owned by George Ballas whose son, Corky, has been on Dancing with the Stars for one or two seasons. I think they dragged him on to dance with Cloris Leachman (what a nightmare for Corky.) Mark Ballas, a regular on the show, is Corky's son.
Corky was just a little guy running around the studio when I was teaching there but was already dancing.

George Ballas

Mark Ballas

We rarely saw George as he was always busy inventing things in his offices next door to the studio. One day he called all of us in for a meeting because he had something to show us. It was the prototype for the first Weed Eater that he had built. He had just gotten a contract from the city of Houston for a bunch of these newfangled string trimmers. He asked us if we wanted to buy stock in his newest company. Well sure, George. So all the teachers at Dance City became the first stock holders of his new Weed Eater company.

Another reason for watching this season is Jennifer Grey will be dancing . Jennifer starred with the late Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing. Patrick's mom, Patsy had a large dance studio in Houston at the same time I was dancing. She also was the founder and director of the highly acclaimed Houston Jazz-Ballet Company. Patrick was already a well known dancer and Patsy was revered by all of us dancers. She was, and still is, a great lady. We all mourned the death of Patrick, a great dancer and a lovely man.

While I am not a big fan of the skimpy outfits on Dancing with the Stars that detract from the dancing, I do admire the fine professional dancers on the show (many of whom were trained by Corky)

Beautiful form

Waltz postures

This is the only picture I have of myself dancing. It's rather lousy because it's a picture of a picture. The young man was my first dance partner, Larry. Larry and I won the US competition dancing waltz and samba.

Dancing an exhibition quickstep at Dance City, USA to Deep in the Heart of Texas (hence the rhinestone cowboy hat)

It's a fairly small world sometimes...

Learning about faith and patience from a kitty

2010-09-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

Erica's Story

Erica

As we came down our road one night in the spring of 2007, a little creature hopped across the road. I thought it was a rabbit and was pretty amazed, as we had never had rabbits on or around our five acres before.

It was several more days before I saw the tiny cat in our back field and realized it was the hopping creature I had seen. For many days I saw the little cat but could not get close to her. She was wearing a collar so I wasn’t too concerned. After several weeks I started to become a bit worried because she was always on the property following me around at a distance.

Finally I decided to put out some food to see if she was hungry. Of course hubby was screeching and jumping about saying, "if you feed her she'll never go away."

"Hmmmmmmmm, hon. She's been here for weeks without being fed and hasn't left so what do you want me to do?"

I put out some food and she couldn't get it down fast enough. After many more days I was finally able to pet her and was shocked to discover she was a skeleton wearing a fur coat. The first time hubby petted her he changed his tune and was very glad we had given her food. I didn't think an animal could be that thin and still be moving about.

As the weather became colder, she was given a bed in the barn. Soon the bed was put in a large computer box. As the temperature dropped even more the box was wrapped in insulation, and shortly thereafter, my own heating pad made its way into the bed. By now she had a name; Erica.

Every day Erica sat by our back door and gazed into the house already populated with two dogs and another cat. Her face said it all, “I want to be part of this family.” One night the temperature was to drop very low and yes (you can hear it coming), Erica was allowed to sleep in my office. And that was that! She became an official member of the family on that evening.

Probably due to her early months, Erica remains a tiny little girl, barely weighing 6 lbs. Even the vet marvels at how delicate and tiny she is, while still being extremely healthy. Our pastor, who lives next door, calls her "petite."

I’ve thought often of the faith that little scraggly cat, who grew into a beauty, demonstrated. She knew in her little animal “soul” that she would have what she desired. She was always calm and quiet as she watched through that door. Her persistence and patience paid off.

Erica taught me about patience, persistence, and most importantly, about the power of faith. How would our lives change if had just a little bit of what Erica had? Be vigilant for you never know who or what is going to teach you a lesson.

P.S. Erica is named after the Phantom of the Opera, Erik, to whom she bears a striking resemblance.

Erica with her "friends"

So I got this award with a whole lot of difficult stuff to do involving a certain number of words, and something about Cilantro...

2010-09-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

For heavens sake - I'm Italian and now I'm expected to give my life philosophy in FIVE words??

This is the award!

Debra who hangs out at Bodeci Body has both honored and challenged me with this award. She received the award from (the other) Adrienne over at The Rich Life on a Budget

The rules:

Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using five words. And then pass it on to another blog which you feel has real substance.

Giving my best shot I came up with...

Philosophy: We are children of God

Motivation: Our prayers are always answered

Experience: Don't put anything in writing

Ok, ok - the last one is only kind of silly. It sounds silly because we are all writing, writing, writing and publishing it on the world wide web. What it means is don't put anything in writing you wouldn't want your Mom or Dad to read. Simple!

So many of my excellent blog friends don't "do" awards, so I'm going to pass it on to all my favorite friends (you know who you are)

Take a moment to let us know if you participate so we can visit you.

Cilantro in Bloom

A few weeks ago some of my cilantro had gone to bloom. I walked by it for several days before I really stopped and observed the flowers. Hmmmmm, those are really pretty.

I picked a bunch and put it on my windowsill in the kitchen. It not only looked pretty it smelled divine. And next to it a sprig of basil in my Mother's little green shoe vase. I keep basil handy for our tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and putting fresh basil leaves on a peanut butter sandwich is deliziosa!

It's 6:30 am and I've been up since about 3am. My hubby has been having a near death experience the past two days (what the rest of the world calls a cold.) Sigh...

And now I must rearrange my entire schedule because it is raining (finally!)

All in all, it's going to be a wonderful day. Really!

Why don't I have a plastic lettuce knife?

2010-09-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Probably because I never heard of one. Duh. The Rich Life on a Budget had a great post on keeping fresh veggies and such cut up and ready to go in the fridge so we wouldn't be so tempted to grab the chip bag when we were hungry.

In the com-box the discussion turned to salad spinners, an item that I thought was the height of silliness until a friend showed me how hers worked. After buying a cheap one that broke posthaste, I invested in an Oxo salad spinner, which actually costs less now then when I bought mine. It was one of the best investments I ever made.

Frequent commenter, LRS2Amanda, gave a hearty thumbs-up to the Oxo salad spinner and then said, "I also bought this serrated plastic knife that cuts the lettuce without turning it brown if prepping ahead."

Whaaaaaaat? A special knife for lettuce? I must look into this. I headed to Amazon, and there it was. Cool. I need one of those. Last time I bought three heads of Romaine at Costco, I got the bright idea to cut it all up and put it in individual two serving plastic bags. Honestly - I KNEW BETTER. Within a very short time all the lettuce was brown and yucky. What was I thinking????? Generally I tear my lettuce but with Romaine, the lettuce gods demand it be chopped up with a knife - or something.

And look - it's lime green. How cool is that?

How many of you have a salad knife??

Never Forget...

2010-09-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

September 11, 2001

Computer humming along...

2010-09-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Adrienne has a chat with her computer...

My wonderful computer guru was here to clean up the old beast and it's running like a spring chick - and my new Logitech mouse, with a functioning wheel, is better than sex (almost ). However, somehow my Adobe Flash player disappeared. I remember having a nightmare of a time installing a flash player with Firefox many years ago. Nothing has changed!

I know, I know - all you techie types are ROFLAO at my inability to solve my little problem. I've spent several hours reading all the help sites, tweaking every system that can be tweaked, pleading with Adobe, and lighting candles to the computer gods - all to no avail. Videos will not play. Period.

I shall overcome my embarrassment at being "technologically challenged" and email my guru who will, no doubt, fix the problem with a few little simple instructions. Want to know the best thing about my guru?? He never, ever laughs at me - at least to my face.

I'm going to go to the store and buy a couple of new toilet seats to soothe my soul (no jokes, please!)

Costco and Cheese

2010-09-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has been here more than twice knows I "heart" Costco. One of the reasons is the wonderful cheese selections they carry at super reasonable prices.

Last Sunday we popped in for a quick shopping trip and they were demoing Cambozola cheese made by Champignon. One bite and I had to bring some home.

From Wiki:

Cambozola is a cow's milk cheese that is a combination of a French soft-ripened triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola.

It was patented and industrially produced for the world market by large German company Champignon in the 1970s. The cheese was invented circa 1900 and is still produced by Champignon. In English-speaking countries, cambozola is often marketed as blue brie.

Call it whatever you want - it's delicious. Not as much bite as blue, but peppier than brie...

Lunch yesterday was Cambozola cheese, my favorite crackers (from the Dollar Store, believe it or not), and San Juan canary melon.

It spreadable right out of the fridge but for best flavor let it come to room temperature (about 15 minutes)

And for the "hearting" Costco part? I checked online and couldn't find any of this cheese for under $15 and some odd change per pound (Amazon)

Costco price? $9.69 per lb. Big difference!

The Champignon website has some fun recipes. And if you Google Cambozola a gazillion recipes pop up. Isn't the internet great?

What's your favorite cheese??

Wedding in "Big Sky" Montana...

2010-09-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

I didn't take a ton of pictures at the wedding. And while the inside of the house was gorgeous (including a two story ceiling to floor waterfall in the living room) , pictures would have been impossible (if not downright rude - except the bride is so sweet she probably would have given permission, but I didn't want to ask) because of all the people milling about.

They mowed down a portion of one of the fields for parking. The house is located on 40 gorgeous acres. I snapped this pic after parking the car. The house faces this direction...

(as always - click on pictures to enlarge)

The caterers were very busy when we arrived. You can see the stage for the band is already set up (on the left.) During dinner we had a strolling singer named Sergio. The tables were eventually set up in the large driveway area and each had a lovely centerpiece and three candles.

Dinner was a served buffet of salad, lasagna, three cheese ravioli, ham, scalloped potatoes, pasties, and huge platters of crudites. There were three different selections for cakes along with raspberry tarts, cheesecake, and assorted chocolates. Trust me - no one left hungry...

The front of the house with a wrap around veranda...

I think the flower baskets are bigger than my whole house. The kids have already strung the whole house with little white lights. The wedding was at six and the dinner reception was outdoors so the thousands of lights were very festive.

The back veranda faces west...

The beautiful door on the back veranda. The front door was equally beautiful...

View of the wedding area from the back veranda...

Sweet little fire pit area...

The bridal couple with her daughter, son, and daughter-in-law to the left..

On the right is the groom's two daughters and son. All the children lit the unity candle along with the bride and groom to show the joining of the two families.

The girls looked so cute in their little black dresses with super sparkly belts.

Off to Montana...

2010-09-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

for a wedding.

I've been incredibly busy this week and expect it to continue for at least another three weeks. By then the outside autumn chores should be completed. I'm moving and dividing Siberian Iris right now but will switch back to daylilies later this weekend.

I've read each and every comment and will respond shortly. Please know that you're not speaking to a "vacuum."

For your viewing pleasure - last nights sunset taken from our front drive. I'm taking my camera to Montana and I'm hoping to capture an awesome sunset in "big sky country."

To the west...

To the northeast...

While you're "out and about" take a moment to visit Debra over at BODECI body

Have a wonderful weekend...

Heading Outside...

2010-08-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

which I should have done 2 hours ago. Sigh. Much outside work to do. I'm moving a gazillion daylilies to different beds.

Earlier this year a 3 foot strip was added to one of the beds...

A cart full of daylilies that have been divided and are ready to be planted. When you order daylilies from me this is what you can expect to receive. The only difference would be the shipped daylilies are washed, treated in Clorox water as a precaution, tagged, and wrapped like a bunch of fresh flowers.

A trench is dug and the daylilies are placed (thrown) in the trench. Then I move down the row, stand them up, and pull up the soil. This is a time that being short is a real advantage...

In they go...

My husband remarked on my "high tech" string line...

And most important - the label...

Next year the Custard Candy will bloom...

So far, about 300 hundred daylilies have been divided and planted...

Blogs of note ...

2010-08-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

While wandering the inter-webs, I've run across some very fun blogs. I've even started a new category in my Google Reader and these ladies are some of my first entries.

First up is "The Rich Life (on a budget)" by a beautiful young lady named - ta da - Adrienne, from Sonoma Valley, California. Her motto is "Spend Less, Live Better"

In her words:

"Living a rich life isn't about money. It's a mindset; a lifestyle. You can spend less without sacrificing quality. I will show you how! I live in the beautiful Sonoma Valley. Travel, books, cooking, exercise, wine, foreign flicks and a love for simplicity and sophistication is my rich life."

Adrienne has two darling Yorkies and a couple of bigger doggies, she likes Costco (and we all know how I feel about Costco!), has a handsome husband, and a little blue dress. You'll have to go over there to find out about the little blue dress. She is also over 6 feet tall to my lowly 5"2", but I'm willing to overlook that 'cause she's such a nice lady.

Here's Adrienne and her handsome hubby in France for her birthday trip...

While hanging out over at her place I noticed she follows the wonderful Diann at The Thrifty Groove, another great site.

Next up is Fiona (don't you just love her name??) at How to be Chic. We'll let her tell you about what she's up to:

"In real life, I don't live in a chic Paris apartment. I can make my real life more fun without having to move countries though. All I have to have is a little imagination. This is my online inspiration journal."

Pay this ladies a visit and plan to spend some time reading their delightful posts...

Pizza on the Grill and Homemade Sweet Cherry Tomato/Pesto Sauce and an Update on the Garden Tool Belt

2010-08-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

It started when I stopped in the Grocery Outlet and checked out their basket of "fresh stuff that really needs to go away before it starts to smell" cart. There was a whole bunch of organic cherry tomatoes that were perfectly fine as long as you planned to use them immediately. Due to our erratic weather this year, my garden has not produced one tomato yet, so I scarfed up two packages for $1.00.

I remembered Roz over at La Bella Vita posting a recipe for sweet cherry tomato/pesto sauce. I washed my tomatoes and popped them in a grill basket on the gas grill and ran out and picked a bunch of basil to make the sauce. Then it hit me. Hey - how about pizza on the grill since it's so dang hot in the house? I've always wanted to try pizza on the grill.

I pulled out my favorite pizza crust recipe and started a batch. When the dough was ready, I cut it into four pieces, patted it out, and brushed it with extra virgin olive oil. While it was resting on the cutting board I had the gas grill heating out on the deck. Even though they were liberally brushed with olive oil, to be on the safe side, I sprayed the grates and threw on the small pizza rounds. All it took was about 2 minutes per side. Very rustic and ready for toppings. Next time I'm going to make the crusts much thinner and make sure the edge is more raised (but they were still great!)

After just a few moments on each side they came back to the kitchen and we piled on the wonderful sauce, pepperoni, sweet onion, olives, and fresh grated whole milk mozzarella. I turned off one side of the grill to cook with indirect heat and turned the other side to medium. I put them back on for about 5 minutes to finish cooking the crust and melt the cheese. Deliziosa!

We couldn't eat more than one each so the two bare crusts pictured above are for tonight. The left over toppings are ready to go. Tonight we'll just pop them under the broiler for a few minutes. Instant dinner...

Next I'm going to try making bread on the grill...

Roz also is starting something really fun called Fresh Friday. It begins on Friday, August 27 for any blogger that has a post related to anything fresh.

What does that include?

Roz says:

fresh scent/s
freshly prepared food
non-packaged or preserved food (however canning or freezing 'fresh' food can be included)
fresh new look/outfit/design/decor
a fresh new quilt made, or any new hand-made treasure
a fresh new beauty/exercise routine
fresh cut flowers
fresh new outlook, beginning, start, idea, experience, goal
anything recently made or produced
newly harvested
fresh, clean and pure: water, air, make-up, rain, products you use/recommend
anything unused and free from dirt, soil, impurities

Well that about covers it all.

Read more at La Bella Vita and say hi! to Roz...

Update on Garden Tool belt

Tried out my new garden tool belt from Avon yesterday. Wow! It was better than expected. Nothing fell out and it felt light as a feather when it was on. My husband said I looked really serious while wearing it...(I think that was a compliment)

From the cutting garden...

2010-08-23T00:05:00.000-07:00

A really, really nifty garden tool belt. Really!

2010-08-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Avon had this clever little garden tool belt on sale so I took a chance and ordered it. When it arrived, I was so impressed that I ordered two more.

I carry a lot of stuff when I'm out working. Some areas are quite far away from the house (and a bathroom - sigh) and there are many tools needed for different tasks.

This is pretty typical of what I carry.

I've been using an Ace hardware apron. The pockets were not deep enough and stuff was always falling out. Plus there wasn't enough pockets and the string going across the back of my neck was causing pain.

And this apron actually gets washed ever so often...

Wow! Look at all my stuff in the new garden tool belt. And there's room for more things...

If you need something like this the price has been reduced from $9.99 (which really is not too expensive for the quality), to $6.99. I checked and they are not sold out. If you don't have an Avon rep, mine is blogger buddy Elizabeth "Ebeth" Weidner

On the Avon shopping page put "garden tool belt" in the search box and it will take directly to the page without having to page through the entire Outlet brochure.

A Simple Lavender Wand...

2010-08-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

very simple, which is my preferred method for doing anything.

While the heavily braided lavender wands are quite pretty, I actually prefer this simple type because the lavender blooms are not covered up (and, of course, it's much simpler)

I picked some lavender this morning while it was still cool outside. I have a bumper crop this year. This is just one of about 5 or 6 plants...

Here's enough for two wands...

Grab some ribbon from your ribbon collection. I used 1/8" inexpensive ribbon. I buy it on sale and keep a drawer full. The 1/8 and 1/4 inch is all I use for packages.

Measure off a hunk that when doubled over is at least 6 - 8" longer than your lavender stems. In this case the lavender stems are 14" long and the ribbon ended up 40" (20" doubled over) total (which is probably going to be overkill) ...

Tie the ribbon around the lavender right below the blooms and knot it...

Pull the ribbon up through the middle of the blooms...

This is the part that confused me (I'm very easily confused) until I actually did it and saw how simple it was. Hold the lavender upside down and fold the stems down over the blooms forming a little "cage" around the flowers...

Cute...

Now simply wind the ribbon around the stems and tie in a bow on the bottom.

I made the other one in a different colored ribbon...

I like to display them in my antique celery dish (which I don't think has ever had celery in it). I usually keep my fountain pens in the dish...

I linked to My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday. Stop over and see all the great links...

Coming up:

New garden tool belt
Pizza on the grill