Seriously... we've had high wind gusts all day. Seems when the wind is out of the Northwest and is blowing rather hard... it filters through the Plexiglas in the front storm door and sounds very much like the pitch pipe the music teacher use to use in class.
Since I've listened to it all day I figure I may as well share.
For your listening pleasure... I bring you the wind...
Here's Wishing Y'all a Very Happy New Year!
Have you ever been sitting someplace while a couple kids proceeded to be loud and annoying to each other and everyone else?
That just drives me nuts... especially those kids (mostly boys) who seem to take great delight in annoying a sister while the parent is blind to the activities or absent all together.
Such was the case last week when I went to pick up my glasses...
I sat down amongst several other adults and 2 kids who had taken up residence in two small kids size chairs parked in front of the TV showing something about the Great Apes on Animal Planet. Now I would have been happy to sit and watch had it not been for the constant poking and slapping occurring between the boy and girl. A few minutes later in twirled the Mom chasing after a toddler who's hands and face were covered in green goooooo - I kid you not - Green Goooo.
The forth child was the one there for an appointment and was apparently changing from one little exam room to another... so Mom and green gooey baby (thankfully) disappeared. The older two continued to jump up and down, pick up and whack each other with the 'free calendar cards' on the counter and other such nonsense.
I don't know about you but several years ago (I think about the time I hit 50) I stopped sitting by and watching stuff like this.
So I leaned forward and I said in a firm voice...
"Knock it Off, Sit Quietly or Go Sit With Your Mother"
Those two kids never even turned around to see who it was that had just issued that edict. They immediately stopped their noise - sat up straight facing the TV. They didn't even look at each other...
A little while later the Mom came back in and called them into the next waiting area... you know the place with all the toys to play with eye glass samples to try on. I resisted the temptation to wave when they turned to look at me as they followed Mom out.
Does stuff like that drive you nuts too?
Judy from Patchwork Times has asked about our favorite quilts... and I thought I'd jump in and tell ya about mine. I posted about this quilt back in May. It's what I call my Mothers Day Quilt because I made it from a quilt book my daughter gave me for Mothers Day back in 2001 when I began my quilting journey.
I love it for a lot of reasons. It's the first real quilt I started working on (not the first one I finished though). I learned sooo much in working on it.... let me tell you - I was a newbie and probably shouldn't have been given a rotary cutter to use.
Here is my favorite quilt that I made for a gift. It's the quilt I gave my granddaughter after her birth. A few weeks ago she brought it out for the Visiting Nurse to lay her new baby brother on. My daughter said she announced to the Nurse that "this is my Turtle Quilt my Granny made for me... she's a very good quilter!" OH My... I do love that little girl.
Another quilt I love - it was the first real quilt that I finished. I loved picking out the fabrics for it - it was a challenge as I was still a newbie. It was for the first quilt class I took and it was the first quilt I sent out to be quilted. My class 'neighbor' was a longarm quilter. I enjoyed her friendship, appreciate her talents as a quilter, and enjoyed her as a student several years later when I began teaching at that same quilt shop! So this quilt has a lot of great memories...
Oh and it was the first of many "there isn't a border I can't screw up". Sometimes you cannot take shortcuts... like sewing the inner 
Finally... I love the scrappiness of this Broken Dishes quilt. The blocks are from a year long block swap that went on at the quilt shop - and I only used about half of them! Although I didn't make all the individual blocks - 
These are the individual blocks that I made through the year for the swap - there was a different color each month. I learned to hate lots of half square triangle methods... and learned to love the Triangle Square Up Ruler.
Well that's it... my favorites... sorry Judy I couldn't pick just one!
Today... I turn into a human tornado. I've got to finish up getting ready for the 2 kiddos to arrive late tonight just before midnight... so I've really got ALL DAY! The only hitch in my get along is I've got to drive out to the old vets office before noon to pick up anti-anxiety meds for the dog that didn't get sent by the online store I usually get them from. I only ordered them 2 weeks ago (bad planning on my part I guess) and when the package finally arrived on Monday... her meds weren't there. Frankly - killing the dog over the holidays doesn't make for happy memories... so either she gets her meds or I get some. And she's the one with a prescription. So I'm off this morning in this sleety, rainy weather to pick some up.
Yeah so far this sounds a lot like my post about Timing being everything... remember those glasses that fell apart? I got a call at 3:00 PM yesterday afternoon. Good news! My glasses were ready and the guy who does all that stuff would be in until 5:00 PM. Great - but I had pies to make and cleaning to do... so I asked what their hours were on Wed... thinking they would maybe be working a half a day. "We are back on Monday" she says... ?What? So off I went on my little trek to retrieve my glasses... which by the way is only about 15 from the vets office I have to visit today. Yeah that timing thing isn't working in my direction this week.
But you know - this is the Holiday Season and none of this stuff is important in the end. My kids will understand if I don't get the kitchen 'de-cluttered' - and we can cook the pies tomorrow morning as I think we are going to have our Christmas Feast for Supper... it will just make things easier and I'm all about easy.
I do appreciate all of you who take the time to come and visit and comment on occasion.
I would like to WISH ALL OF YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS... and the VERY BEST OF A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Another of my favorite holiday foods...
I received this recipe from a nice lady I worked with once upon a time... it was cheaper to give me the recipe than to continue to bring Spiced Nuts in for us... we were shameless beggars.
For a batch you will need....
Beat egg white until foamy - not as heavy as meringue but certainly to the fluffy stage without being too dense.
Add Water and Dry Ingredients (I mix the sugar and spices together first). Toss in nuts and coat well. Spread on a greased cookie sheet in one layer - use 2 cookie sheets if you need to because you want them to dry out completely. Bake 45 minutes in a 275 degree oven. Turn the oven off and leave nuts in for another 30 minutes to cool.
I made a triple batch Sunday... hey don't go looking at my dirty oven or my 'geez don't ya ever scrub those' cookie sheets. I've had those cookies sheets for more than 30 years... they are well seasoned... just like me. I put all these in and set it for convection baking.... sweet! Nothing got over or under done... I'm liking my new oven!
I like to loosen the nuts from the pan with a spatula after this 30 minutes and when completely cooled store them in a covered tin or glass jars. Please don't try to do this without greasing the pan... between the egg whites and the sugar IT'S GONNA STICK! Ask me how I figured that out? I've never tried those silicone baking sheets... they might work.
These Spiced Nuts make nice gifts... one I certainly enjoyed receiving long, long ago!
It just doesn't seem quite like the holidays if I don't make some Cranberry Orange Relish.
I have decided that I need a new name for this because a relish means... Something adding a zestful flavor; a condiment eaten with other food to add flavor.
This is good enough to eat all by itself - just you, a bowl and spoon. I've never made just one batch a season... usually I make several and almost always in a doubled batch.
This morning I made a single batch - because I only had one bag of cranberries in the fridge and it was snowing outside.
It's easy... wash a package of cranberries. You want to sort out any that have gone soft and squishy.... I usually find them pretty easy while washing by taking a small amount in my hand and rolling them around. You'll pick out the soft ones pretty quick.
This was a 12 oz package which gave me 4 cups - just what I needed.
Grate 1 Tablespoon of orange peel... (this is optional - sometimes I do and sometimes I don't if my oranges aren't pretty)
Then cut the peel off 2 oranges... I use to peel them by hand and spend a lot of time trying to make sure all the white stuff was removed... but have you ever tasted a fresh cranberry? Exactly... a little bit of orange peel isn't going to make a difference... it will be fine. Then cube it up - not too small because we are going to throw them in the food processor anyway. Make sure you remove any seeds.
Put one cup of walnuts in the food processor and chop.
Dump those into a big bowl and then add half the cranberries and half the oranges.... pulse to chop.
Then do the other half and add that to your bowl. These cranberries aren't finished yet...
Add 1 cup of sugar and stir.
We love to eat it just like this - but boy howdy is it good on ice cream... or cheesecake... or yogurt. You could mix it with some cream cheese and have a yummy spread or dip for crackers. You could gift some to a neighbor who will love you forever. You could use it as a relish and have a little with your holiday meal.... or you could do what my girls and I do and just eat a small bowl of it just like it is... YUM!
Should keep 2 weeks (LOL as if) in the fridge and freezes wonderfully! Freezing part of the batch is the only way I can stretch it out and not eat it until it's gone!
I modified a recipe from the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book.
Here was desert last night - Vanilla Ice Cream, Cranberry Orange Relish and some Spiced Nuts!
We all know and understand that concept...
You arrive for dinner someplace and sit right down and not 10 minutes later the place is full and people are waiting...
You get the last of the groceries in the door and the skies open up and dogs, cats, fish and a few hippos come raining down...
Some times these things work against you... like a car window falling out of it's track on Christmas Eve... as your daughter arrived home from finishing her holiday shopping with her bonus... yeah...
I took my glasses off yesterday morning and...
... yeah... just that easy! Good news is that I haven't had them a year yet so it won't really cost me any money. Bad news is that the eye place is back where we use to live - which will require another 35 minute trip when the new glasses come in - hopefully next week... but with the holidays and all... who knows?
Your kids want to drive down to visit for the holidays... and they are now forecasting snow for at least one of their travel days...
... this morning I couldn't wait and take the chance of not getting train tickets... so I booked them both on Amtrak and I splurged and put them in Business Class... that wasn't necessarily as much for their comfort as it was for mine. I won't have to listen to any whining when they get here about the train being over crowded.
I've got some baking to do today... there is pumpkin bread that needs to be made (the puree has thawed) and I'm thinking it's a great day for Corned Beef Stew... mmmm yeah that sounds yummy and will last us through the weekend for lunches too! I need to get the spiced nuts made too... that always makes the house smell yummy!
Boy that sure felt good... both physically and mentally.
I had resolved to exercise on a more regular basis... working on the third floor sorting out my sewing room has provided a lot of opportunity.
I get in a lot of squats and lifting weights boxes and I've done quite a bit of time on the stairmaster 3 flights of stairs.
It's amazing how much of a mess you can make trying to make things useful...
That's a box full of bubble wrap and paper on the floor that I'll smooth out and put in another box. I'd already flattened several boxes and those in the center there are empty and awaiting their turn at the knife.
Last night I was able to unpack several boxes of quilting books, quilt magazines, and craft books - they have all gone on the wood shelf set into that cubbie space on the right of the window. That space had previously been full of boxes - most of which are empty now... YEAH!
In the unpacking I found my Christmas CD's and the cable to my old camera - so now I can make merry music while I download pictures to my computer! I also found my mouse and keyboard and as soon as I unearth the computer desk... I'll be able to set up my computer area too.
There is still a lot of moving and shoving around to do... but it is progress... light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.
By the weekend I plan to have my treadle sewing machine set up and my cutting table and large ironing board set into place and operational. I will sew this weekend... yes I will!
Back in early September while poking around on the Internet I followed a link from Gizmo Quilts Blog to The Milk Man's Wife Blog.
There I found a post about canning Sauerkraut... and I have to tell you - I had never ever thought about how they make Sauerkraut. She didn't go into how she made it - she only showed that she canned the leftovers from her last batch.
My sauerkraut experience has been limited to eating it on hotdogs (think Costco) and on Reuben sandwiches (hold the cheese) - I don't think I've ever bought any to cook at home. But I do like it... so I was intrigued... and did some research.
What I learned was interesting... Sauerkraut is very good for ya and fairly easy to make if you have the right equipment. Homemade is suppose to be far superior in taste than the commercial stuff. All that made me want to try it out... except that I didn't own a crock.
One day in talking with my neighbor Mrs. B I found out that she use to make Sauerkraut each year and had her Mom's mandolin, crock, and stomper - items she said had belonged to her grandmother. She suggested we make some together!
I wish I had a picture of the Crock and stomper she had... I guess I never paid any attention to Crocks - I didn't know they came that BIG! And the stomper was impressive... kinda like a tapered cylinder wooden head on a long heavy pole. She didn't think we should make too much so she only got 9 heads of cabbage... yeah - 9 heads of cabbage is apparently not a lot. LOL Who knew? And these were giant heads - they all had to be at least 12-14 inches diameter.
Last night Mrs. B made pork roast & sauerkraut for us for dinner with homemade applesauce and mashed potatoes. YUM!
I went over this morning with my 10 quart 'Red Pot' to fetch my portion. She filled it up! I had to transfer it to a 12 quart pot so that I could heat it up for canning.
But first I ran to the store for some hot dogs and buns...
Because this looked and smelled too good... I had to have some for lunch.
I almost forgot to take a picture... I splurged and had two dogs on my roll... with some stone ground mustard... Yuuummmmm!
I didn't even want to wait for the dogs to cook so I split them so they'd cook faster....
Did I say this was Yummy?
And look... I've got 19 pints!
So do you make Sauerkraut?
The exercise ball was just 19 dollars at WallyWorld and it comes with a DVD. It's the Golds Gym 'Stay Ball' - which means it's got some sand or something in it that keeps it from rolling away and gives it a little bit of weight.
Care to join me?
Just Look at those two sweet faces...
I'm not sure I can wait for them to come here next summer - I might just have to go to Hawaii to snuggle on them.
And did ya see that cute Little Tiny Hawaiian shirt he's got on!
We have 2 dogs.
One I believe is part Texas Junk Yard Dog... she is certainly the protector of her little part of the Universe which unfortunately includes all that she sees and hears - and she hears very well.
'Last Call' in our house usually involves me having to wake the girls up and encourage them to go outside. It's getting to be a bit more difficult as it has gotten colder... which I understand because I no longer go out with them and just watch from the door. No sense them wandering around the yard forever afterwards because I'm ready to lock the door and head to bed.
Last night I sent TJYD out and she stopped right outside the dog door... and just stood there. "Hurry up - get out in the yard" I had called several times while holding the dog door open with my foot... "Hurry Up!"
Absolutely no response from her... she just stood there and stared out across the driveway towards the school next door. There had been activity at the school earlier in the evening but everyone was now gone. But something had her attention. If she actually saw someone I knew she would be barking... and BARKING... and barking! But she was just standing... and listening...
Curious as to what had her attention I ventured outside... "Hurry up - get out in the yard" I said again to no avail as she stood and listened. But then I heard it... actually I heard it as I opened the door but thought it was a noise the door had made.
So I listened... TJYD and I standing and listening intently... it was close... I could tell, it was very close - but I couldn't yet see it.
Whoo, Whoo, Whooo.... Whooooo... Whooooo........
That totally had TJYD confused as she's apparently never heard an Owl... up close and personal like that. I could tell it was very close.
After just a minute of listening and looking I found it in a branch overhanging the driveway to the school - probably not more than 20 feet above where we stood.
After some research this morning I've decided it was a Great Horned Owl.
It has a 'white collar' under his face... and that is what I could see in the dark last night... as he(she) turned to look at us. He was just a large dark shape on the branch except for the faint reflection of light off his collar.
I'll have to keep an eye and ear out for him and see if I can get a picture...
So do you have owls near you?
These herbs worked nicely together with my turkey carcass to make a yummy pot of soup. I really have not worked with fresh herbs much... so I'm pretty happy I didn't screw it up.
I'd be happy to post a picture of 'My Red Pot' of soup... however... I can't find the cable to transfer pictures out of my old camera. Our new (since June) camera seems to be missing... not sure what happened to it as we've looked everywhere. I'm almost afraid to think that one of the workers who were here to install a water heater may have lifted it... not sure what good it will do him because I've still got all the cables to recharge it and upload pics. And all my pics of cooking up a couple pumpkins and making puree, or canning apple sauce, butter and jelly... I hope he enjoys them.
Anyhoo... I'm all about not cooking anymore this weekend. Yesterday (Happy Thanksgiving!) after The Engineer cut up the turkey I threw the carcass into my new Red Pot - added water, carrots, onions and walked away. It sat and simmered all afternoon. After cooling it for awhile outside I poked it into the fridge.
This morning I pulled the meat off and discarded the bones. Then I tied a bunch of fresh herbs together, threw in some garlic, and cut up half a package of smoked sausage. By the time the rice was finished cooking I was some kinda hungry - Yummy! You just can't beat a hot bowl of soup.
I've got pumpkin bread in the oven and with those and the turkey leftovers... I should not have to cook the rest of the weekend.
As much as I'd love to go take a nap... I think I'll end up going and hunting around the attic to dig out the holiday stuff... ok maybe after my nap I'll do that.
And yes I'm still waiting for more pics of that cute little grandson... it's hard living in this digital age.
We have a new little one in our family... and with being born the day before Thanksgiving this year I think that makes him a Little Turkey.
He's a big boy at 8 lbs 6 oz and about average height at 19 inches.
I think his Momma must have been eating a lot of spinach because he's got some biceps going don't ya think?
It's not the best picture but it's all this Granny has got right now and I'm pretty happy with it...
Well it makes ya nuts if you do the same 8-10 rows over and over...
Since I needed something new to totally waste time, stimulate my mind, give me something to do until I unpack the sewing room - I stopped in a local knitting shop yesterday.
I've seen those cute knitted wash cloths and have read many a blog raving about those cozy knitted socks. I have about a dozen socks that I love to wear during the winter... just your basic sportswear tan and olive green, hiking type, wool blend, sweat wicking, cushioned socks. Nothing fancy... or cute - just warm. So I thought it would be fun to try making a pair of socks and signed up for a January class.
Since it would be nice to kinda look like I knew what I was doing I purchased a skein of Hemp/Cotton/Modal yarn, some tiny needles and received a free wash cloth pattern. You see I had decided a washcloth would be a good place to start... and that's all I've been doing... Starting - over and over.
The pattern has you knit 2 rows, then there is a 8 row (knit & purl) pattern repeat... when those are done you repeat the 8 rows again until the item is the size you want and then you knit two rows again... easy right? Right? Nah... not so much - especially if you don't really know what you are doing.
I did check out some knitting videos... I found these very helpful to remind the 'girl scout' in me that learned to knit eons ago. First I had to figure out whether I was a 'Continental' or 'English' knitter - who knew it mattered... seems that I'm 'English' as I hold the working yarn in my right hand. Then I checked out the Casting On video... followed by the Knit and Purl videos.
What I need to find is the "apparently I can't count' video, and the 'did I just drop a stitch' video which should be followed up with the 'why did I think that would fix it' video.
I've got the casting on down pat... I've done that 4 times now.
Last night I got through 7 3/4 rows of the 8 row pattern before I screwed it up... Then I got completely through the 8 row pattern and into the 2nd row of the repeat when I realized I had messed up something because I had one too many stitches?? Do I need to tell you that the yarn and needles are too tiny to try and take out a row and put anything back on the needles... so you end up having to start all over... again. And Again!
But I've got too many things to do here to be wasting my time knitting... like touch up paint in the guest rooms so that I can seal those cans for storage... start the prep work for painting the master bedroom... wash off and store those 16 half-pint jars of Cran-Apple Butter that I canned on Monday (yeah they are still sitting on my kitchen table)... peel and process the last 12/15 lbs of apples in my refrigerator... repack into foodsaver bags and label the many pint containers of pumpkin puree, mashed cauliflower, apple pie mix in my freezer... cook or freeze those 10 lbs of chicken parts I purchased yesterday...
Not to mention the idea that my Grandson will be born in Hawaii sometime in the next couple weeks... is his quilt finished??? NO... is my sewing room unpacked... NOOOOO!
It's not like I didn't have enough to keep me busy... I don't need to be fussing with this knitting stuff...
I hadn't really meant to stay away so long...
At first I was busy pondering - you see I wanted to have a special post for my 100th post... but I haven't come up with anything special - so you just get "Hey... What Happened to October?"
Then it got real hectic around here...
Here's a quick review of what's been keeping me occupied the last month.
We had company the first 2 weekends in October -- which meant I had to get all the painting finished up in the guest rooms and get furniture moved and beds put together. Oh and doors... seems it is kinda nice to have doors on the bedrooms and the bathroom... so The Engineer had to finish cleaning up the hardware and I finished (sorta) painting the doors so they could be re-hung. Since I still have painting to do upstairs we just hid the painting stuff in a closet... shhh don't tell.
The first set of visitors were The Engineers sister, her son and his wife. They only stayed one night with us but it was good to see them.
In the middle of the week I took some time off to visit with some quilty friends who were 'shopping' the Lancaster area Quilt Shops. It was my pleasure to introduce them to a quilt shop they hadn't been to before. Hopefully it's a shop I can teach some classes at later in the winter or spring. I do so miss quilting!
My daughter from MA came in by train on Thursday to visit for a long weekend and my brother and his family from VA came in on Saturday. My sister Darlin and her husband drove over from NJ to join us Sunday morning. It was so much fun to have a house full of family.
The weekend included some shopping at The Green Dragon on Friday - a combination of farmers market, antique shops, and just about anything else that probably fell off a truck someplace... LOL. On Saturday my brother took us to some wineries that were having a Wine & Cheese pairing event - we only hit 3 of the places but had a fun time and we look forward to checking out the other places in the future. Before sitting down to a late lunch on Sunday several of us ran up the road to hunt around at an outdoor Antique place. Oooo so much cool stuff!
My brother and sister left late Sunday afternoon and on Monday I took my daughter back home to MA. I decided to drive her back so that I could: 1) make a quick trip up to Maine to visit with friends. 2) get a real hair cut! 3) visit some friends in MA. 4) pick up some things we had stored at my sons house - like the snow blower. 5) spend a little time yakking with my son. 6) work 2 wonderful days at the quilt shop during their Shop Hop.
I had a wonderful, relaxing, refreshing week! Which was good because I've been working my butt off since I came home.
This fall I've been canning, blackberry jams, jelly, & syrups; apple sauce, apple butter, and apples for pie. My neighbor has early producing fruit trees and she's been very generous. I returned home from my trip to find that my apple tree was ripe - so we've been picking apples. Ever see a 50 year old climbing around in an overgrown apple tree?? Tree climbing was sure easier when I was younger... and lighter... and braver! A ladder makes most of this easier - but the tree is so overgrown it's hard to get the ladder set up. Don't worry - I really do try to stay off the branches. This lovely tree is older than I am so I'm careful with her. She's got a long overdue pruning scheduled for later this winter... she's gonna be so pretty next spring and we expect less apples but bigger apples. Oh and did I tell you that they are yummy? Well they are!
We went and bought a small freezer - so I've also been freezing cauliflower and pumpkin. I'll be posting about my canning adventures later... when I have some time to think.
All I can say is this Domestic Diva stuff is a lot of work!
Um... well... actually I have a Vine in my Yard... which I guess one could stretch the concept of that into a Vineyard...
one could...
maybe...
if they felt stretchy...
Anyway, so there is this grape vine growing on an arbor attached to the shed. According to my neighbor Mrs. B they are concord grapes and are suppose to be very, very good!
We were quite excited earlier this summer as there were all these wonderful little green grape clusters starting to grow. I had visions of grape jam and jelly.
But look what happened during the summer... 
Some of the grapes in all the clusters went and shriveled up? This was not at all fair!
I've been keeping an eye on them and it looks like what ever happened didn't happen to all the grapes.
I decided to harvest what I could the other day - not an easy task because the vines are very over grown with a lot of dead vines. I was showered with debris as I was moving vines around and snipping clusters out.
As I was cutting out clusters I thought - 'gee it smells just like grape jelly here'. Well - Duh? I guess I just expected they wouldn't smell that good until they had been cooked up. It really was yummy smelling.
Pretty aren't they
?
I cooked them down and strained them through a jelly bag... I knew I wouldn't have enough to get 4 cups of juice out of these so I added some apple juice as they were cooking.
The juice is suppose to sit in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours so that you re-strain and remove any tartrate crystals that form. I had to go and look up what a tartrate crystal was and why I needed to be concerned about it.
So what do you suppose I could make out of this lovely fluid?
Grape Jelly? Grape Candy?
Do you know what the difference is between Jelly and Candy?
I'd say about 10 minutes...
Yep - cook it a little too long and you get candy...
No this isn't slow motion photography... it was that thick.
To salvage it I dissolved the 'candy' in apple juice and re-cooked it back to the jelly stage... and canned it again.
From this years harvest I have a couple small jars of Grape Jelly Grape/Apple Jelly Grapple Jelly. But next year... I'm going to have lots of grapes and make lots of just plain ole Grape Jelly and Jam.
There has been a little bit more than 365 days of change since I began this blog on September 10, 2007. So in no particular order... here is a look at some of those changes.
Then: I was living in Massachusetts... Now: I live in Pennsylvania.
Then: I was living in a wood frame house that was about 75 years old... Now: I am living in a Stone House that is 152 years old.
Then: After living with us for several months while
attending a graduate program my daughter and granddaughter had left to go live in San Diego... Now: After visiting with us for a couple months they have left to go to Hawaii to live.
Then: Our son-in-law was a sailor in the Navy... Now: he is an officer in the Navy.
Then: I had a shed full of vintage sewing machines that needed to be packed up... Now: My basement is full of those boxes.
Then: I was working at a quilt shop but had only a little time to sew... Now: I live very close to several Lancaster Co. quilt shops but still don't have any time to sew.
Then: I was living the last few days in the house we'd had for 16 years... Now: I'm at the beginning of what should be many, many years here at the Stone House.
Then: I was living in a house full of boxes that we had packed preparing to move... Now: I am living in a house full of boxes that are waiting to be unpacked.
Then: I spent my free time with a paint brush in my hand... Now: I spend my free time with a paint brush in my hand.
Then: I was painting over colors I liked with colors I didn't like... Now: I'm painting over colors I don't like with colors I like.
Then: I painted myself out of a shower in the old house... Now: I've also painted myself out of a shower as we've fixed and primed and painted the walls surrounding the tub here.
Then: I had people in and out of my house getting it fixed up to put it on the market so I could move out of it... Now: I have people in and out of my house getting it fixed up so that I can live in it.
I have enjoyed Pondering out loud here... I had hoped it would help me keep my sanity... but that was silly of me to even consider that a possibility.
Yep, Apple Sauced!
Last Saturday evening my neighbor Mrs. B came across the driveway asking me if I could help her out. She had a bucket full of Jonathan Apples that the wind and rain we'd had earlier that day had knocked off her trees and she already had '2 bins full and can't use no more'. So in the interest of being a good neighbor - I took them!
Things here at the Stone House are not all fun and games painting and fixing these days... I've managed to fit in some other things - like canning.
Yes, canning! I had done a bit of that years and years ago when we lived here in PA and my husband was a college student. There are a couple stories from that era I'll have to tell y'all another time.
A couple weeks ago I found my canning pots (yes I seem to own 2 - although I think one was something I got in a box of stuff at an auction a couple years ago) and dug out some other supplies I still had. Bought a new Ball Blue Book of Preserving, a variety of jars, a Food Mill, a thermometer and a few other little gadgets. You know it's all about the gadgets... right?
Anyway last night I had 12 pounds of Apples to contend with... 
these are the second batch ready to be washed and cut up into quarters. Into the pot they went with a bit of water to soften up.
Since I had loaned my food mill to my sister Darlin' for her canning adventures I was going to go and purchase another one... but then I saw a 'Sauce Master Food Strainer' for about the same amount of money... so I got it. Didn't think to stop and take pictures of using it... boy does it work quick. 
In no time at all I had smooth sauce in one container and seeds and skins in the other... this is the waste from 12 pounds of apples - that's all that I threw away.
Here is the sauce cooking in the pot - the first batch was so thick I had to add back some of the liquid the apple quarters had cooked in - sure glad I saved some back. Even then it didn't so much as boil as it 'plopped plopped' and splattered sauce about.
I was a little more generous heaping ladles full of apples and liquid into the Strainer with the second batch - gave me something to bring to a boil easier.
I added a bit of sugar to each batch and added cinnamon to the second batch. What didn't fit into the canning jars went into some plastic freezer jars that we'll use up first - all total I have about 8 pints of each variety.
I have a much better appreciation for people who have a 'canning kitchen' - yep all this boiling water and cooking pots of stuff... sure does make it warm.
By midnight I was done and headed off to bed... here are the two batches this morning all cooled off and ready for labels of some sort. I need to look for some computer labels... of course then I'd have to unpack my printer and set it up too... maybe I'll just buy a new permanent marker...
Hey - did you see what I'm using as my lid-ring holder - yep my former paper towel holder... which I don't use for paper towels because I use my faux paper towels... a re-purposed device - cool huh?
Soon I'll show you what started all this re-newed Domestic Divaness on my part...
It's a sweet story with a sad part in the middle... very sad indeed... It's so hard to talk about... (gulp) maybe next time.
That was the local forecast this morning...
Abundant Sunshine...
not just 'sunny'... or 'mostly sunny'...
but - Abundant Sunshine...
I don't know why - but that just sounds like the most perfect kind of day don't ya think?
I keep saying it over and over in my head... Abundant Sunshine!
I guess I best get this abundant butt in gear and go enjoy me some...
Abundant Sunshine!
I hadn't really intended to hurt him...
I gave them all fair warning...
I told them all to get outta my way...
I even tried to distract them...
He just didn't get the hint...
... and again I'll say I hadn't intended to hurt him...
much less KILL him.
I swiped at him with the end of the paint roller to get him away from where I was working... I guess I had an awkward hold onto it and hit him a little harder then I intended... I just wanted him to go away.
... but did he really have to fall over on his back and kick his little legs up into the air... my goodness - the drama involved.
I felt so guilty... damn bug!
I sure do...
And this is just the first haul from Friday morning - 16 gallons and 2 quarts - all the paint we need to paint the rooms on the second floor and the kitchen... I went back on Sunday to get the stuff for the first floor - 5 gallons of primer, 7 gallons of wall paint and 2 gallons of trim. Oh and I had already picked up the bathroom paint - so that was another gallon and a quart, oh and 2 previous gallons of primer...
Let me see - that adds up to... 33.75 GALLONS of paint...
Don't ya just love the names they have for paints? And with the 'color matching' gizmo they have I can collect paint chips from everywhere and get The Home Depot to make it up in Behr paint. Here's what I've got picked out...
And do you remember the blue walls and built in cabinet in the dining room... yeah that awful pastel blue. In this picture you can also see my then freshly sanded floors... they have been stained and finished since and they are pretty! But the blue still stunk... LOL
I know - it sure sounds like A LOT OF COLOR... but The Engineer has been giving me a hard time for years about painting things 'different shades of white'. So this will fix him make him happy... and I'm happy about the colors too... they are all earthy and warm.
What's the sense in having all this paint and not having a helper?
My sister Darlin' spent several days here over the weekend. I had already primed this guest room and she's getting the pink on... and then we moved furniture from one place to the other and we she primed the office/guest room on Tuesday before she left.
As you can see I have lots of things started - but not much completely done.
The bathroom needs to be finished - it's high on my to do get it done list.
I wasn't able to paint in the shower area because you can't get the paint wet for 24 hours... and that's hard to do with 3 people living here. Now that The Engineer is out of town for the day and Darlin' is back home I can finish the painting in the shower area and make do without a shower at the end of the day...
I'll just go jump in the pool... aaaah!
