Stencils!!!

Today, I spent the whole day peeling and chopping tomatoes.....the WHOLE day.  I did get about 20 cups of chopped tomatoes out of it, but by then, I didn't have time to actually cook and can them!!  It was supper time when I got the last tomato peeled and chopped!  PHEW!!!  You know, that's not in any of the canning books, either -- "peel and chop 12 cups of tomatoes, 4 hours later start cooking them on medium-low"!!
I do love peeled tomatoes, though!  They look SO yummy, it takes some self-control not to eat them as fast as I peel them! :-D

Anyway, I am NOT going to post about that tonight!  As I was working in my kitchen all day, I would walk by the library room, where some of my unfinished projects are sitting, and I'd look wistfully over at them, just itching to paint something!  So I was thinking, I still haven't picked out the stencils I want to use in the living room OR the library room.....I have been trying to work up the courage to "age" those walls (when I get time to do it), but I can stencil first, because I want the aging to go over the stenciling!

SOOOO....tonight, after dinner and dishes were done, and Hubby was in bed (he goes to bed early) and the kids were reading in their rooms, I pulled out my stencil box!......

You probably can't tell from the picture, but that box is 2ft by 1.5ft and 5inches high -- it's about as big as a couch cushion, and full to the top -- I've got alot of stencils!!! :-D

I LOVE STENCILS!!!!
I've cut most of those myself, and it's really easy!  I like cutting my own, because I can make them the size I want, and my material is MUCH thicker than the paper-thin mylar that stencil companies use.
Here they are all spread out......

I'm trying to decide which ones I want in here!

Puppy was watching me, and dying to get in on the fun.....

THEN, she couldn't stand it anymore -- she had to get herself in where my attention was focused.....

She is looking at me, unmoving, while I'm patting the couch where she was just laying, and saying "come on!"....she's not falling for it! LOL  (she's SO cute!!)

So I get the boys to bring her into their room (with the other dogs), and then I have to deal with this.....

*Sigh!*  Get out of the box, crazy cat!!! LOL  It's madness around here, I tell ya! :-D

Ok, order is restored, and here are my favorite stencils.....

I am leaning toward the middle one in the living room (the one that looks like a tulip), and maybe the one right above it for the library room (the Stencil Ease one).....of course, I also LOVE the swirl on the right, and the viney one on the left!!  Hmmmm.....!  Hey, I never can make a confident decision, as anyone who has read my blog is well aware of by now!!
Well, at least I have something to think about tomorrow while I'm cooking tomatoes and chopping peppers, right?!! ^-^

Not My Normal Monday...!!

If you read my post last night, you may have noticed that I didn't whine about it being the "end" of the weekend, when Brian goes back to work.  Well, that was because he had today off!!!  His work gives everyone the day off when......it's their BIRTHDAY!!!!  YAY!!!!! :-D  Happy Birthday, Honey!!!!!  XOXO

So, today was FUN!!  I love when he's home! :-D  We don't go overboard about birthdays around here -- I think they are VERY exciting, but I translate that excitement into giving the birthday-person what they want for the day (as much as I can!).  So today, Brian got to pick what we did (we went to Home Depot and another thrift store), and I made him his favorite meal, and the boys did ALL the yard work that needed to be done (just mowing around the garden), and I made him his choice of cake (more on that later)!!

At this thrift store, we felt like we hit the jackpot!!  There was an expensive paint sprayer there for $20!!!  They are normally $120!  He grabbed that!! (he's always wanted one! LOL)
And LOOK at what I found.....

Can you believe these books were donated??  There were two others, but they were more about contemporary hooked rugs; plus, these two cost $5 and that was the most I wanted to spend.
These two were the best of the four, just look at these pictures.....

Now I think I have to try rug hooking!! LOL  I have always wanted to try it anyway, now I have the books to inspire me!! :-D

The other VERY exciting thing was when we stopped at the grocery store, they had cherries - yummy, delicious cherries - on sale for 99cents a pound!!!  Can you believe that?  Normally, the lowest price I can find is $1.99!  So I grabbed two bags, and then I got an idea that I would make JUICE from them and can it!  Won't that be fun?!!  I've done it before with grapes and cranberries.....

See the jars on the shelf next to the pickles?  Those are (in order)....purple grape juice, cranberry juice, and white grape juice!  They taste pretty good, too, a little milder than store-bought juice, but still delicious.  I would LOVE to try grape-cherry juice, or cranberry-cherry!!
Here's what I've got to work with.....

The bag of cranberries is mine, from the freezer, and I bought the purple grapes at the store with the cherries.  Hmmm....decisions, decisions!!  I have a few days to figure it out....I've got to get back to TOMATOES tomorrow -- I have TONS again!! LOL

So.....THE CAKE.
Brian's favorite is Strawberry Cake, and actually, it's everyone's favorite!! :-D
I'm sorry that I don't have pictures of making the cake....I always forget to take pictures of things that I want to put on here! :-P

First, this is what you need.....

....along with normal cake ingredients like oil, eggs, and powdered sugar (for the glaze/frosting).
Mix the white cake with the jello, and add 2 tablespoons of flour.

Drain the strawberries.....

.....then measure the juice and add enough water to it to make 1cup, and pour that into the cake mix.
Then add in 1cup of oil and 3 eggs, and mix it all up.

Pour it into a greased 9x13 dish.....

.....and bake it at 325 for 40-45 minutes.

When it's done, and cooled.....

....make the glaze!

Chop up the strawberries that you drained.....

.....add in 1/4 cup of melted butter.....

....and we like a runny glaze, so I only put in 3cups of powdered sugar....

.....if you like more of a frosting, just add another cup or two of powdered sugar.  This is what the glaze looks like while my dearest daughter helps me with the mixing! :-D

When it's all mixed, pour it over the cooled cake.....

YUMMY!!!!

I think the reason this tastes SO good is because of the jello and the strawberries....it's not strawberry flavoring, it's real strawberries!  Like I said, it's a favorite!! :-D

So, it sure looks like this has morphed into a cooking blog, doesn't it?!! Haha!  It won't stay that way, that's for sure -- right now my days have to be filled with cooking and canning, but next will be the house again, and then crocheting projects and other crafts that grab me!  I still have to make my cupboard and paint those baskets and drawer chest (that I glued).  A few years ago, I was making DOLLS, soft cloth dolls for my daughter and nieces (and their friends), and sewing all the clothes!! LOL  

See why I think I have ADD??? :-D

Anyway, I had such a happy day, with my husband home and making the cake with my daughter, and the boys playing board games in their room with their friend from across the street -- great, happy times!!

But....I have ALOT of cooking to do tomorrow.....maybe I'd better talk about something else tomorrow night...?? ^-^

I Should Have Posted Last Night.....

......because then I could have bragged about how good I was, how strong I was to walk PAST the paint counter at Lowe's - I was even holding the Benjamin Moore Historic paint brochure - and DID NOT succumb to temptation, DID NOT buy ANY paint samples, because I haven't used any of my other paint samples.....

I would have liked that post.  I would have felt good about myself, for doing what makes sense, for doing the right thing.

Instead, I have to post about today....I have to talk about.....THIS......

I COULDN'T HELP IT!!!!! 

After resisting so well yesterday, I thought it was safe to look at the colors this morning, and saw this gorgeous color, and saw the name -- Greenfield Pumpkin.....how is a girl supposed to resist that???  I don't have any pumpkin colors here....I was a goner....I HAD to have it!!  If only Brian didn't have to go back to Lowe's today...... *Sigh!*
Of course, the other one needs no explaining, you can see the discounted price, and it's a great tan color!
I promise, promise, promise to paint something this week!!  Keep checking back, you'll see!!!! :-D

So while we were at Lowe's, I thought I'd take a picture of the plywood section....

There it is, on the left (middle shelf)!  It's almost gone - are a bunch of people around here reading my blog and making plywood floors???  LOL  Oh, how I wish I could have bought one or two sheets today....but really, I have GOT to finish the jobs that I have wood for - baseboard trim and kitchen cupboard!  I don't want to start any more projects until those are done!!  So, I settled for my precious paint samples!! :-D

We also went to the thrift store today!! 

Look at all that junk! LOL   You have to be willing to DIG at my thrift stores!!
I found some pretty good stuff.....

Do you see the small brown basket??  It's the smaller twin of the one I found there in the beginning of June, remember?!!  I was so surprised to see that there!  And I'm going to paint that red basket (pumpkin?? haha!) - it's GREAT!!  I think my favorite thing (if I can even pick one!) is that little wood shelf!  I actually want to make a bigger one, maybe even a round one, like I've seen in my magazines!!  But this little one will be perfect, somewhere!! :-D  Everything here, except the wreath was 80 cents or less, and the wreath was $2 -- can't beat that, right?! 

The wreath is grapevine, with little white lights around it (and all that ugly garland and ribbon).  I planned on taking ALL the stuff off of it, and using dried flowers or something, but when I saw all the lights, I wasn't so sure.....

It's kind of pretty!!  I might want to keep the lights on it....I'm not sure yet....so I'm leaving it for now.  It's really heavy, with lots of grapevine wound together!!
These were on it, too, and I think I should keep them, they are actually pretty!!....

So it was quite fun today!!! :-D

At home, I clipped a few hydrangea blooms.....

.....and put them in one of my wonderful stoneware pitchers.....

....so pretty!!
 (of course, I've had to kill four ants on the table, but I think I got them all now! LOL)
I actually can't wait until they dry, because the color is a brownish-pink, and so rich looking! (I think I might have mentioned that already...)

OH!!!  The best thing.....I think the brutal summer heat/humidity has finally broken for the year!!!  Today, it was hot (low 90s), but the dew point was in the mid-60s - normally that would feel bad, but not after weeks of mid-70s!!!  Tonight, it is actually cooler outside than in the house!  YAY!!!!  And when I went up to water the garden at 8pm, it felt wonderful out there!  I don't mind summer temps, I can take low 90s for the summer, but PLEASE....let the air be dry!!  At least most of the time! :-P

It might turn out to be a pretty nice August!! ^-^

GRRRR!!!! Can You Believe THIS...??

LOOK AT THOSE!!!!  All those beautiful tomatoes, ruined....by BIRDS!!! :-P  All that rot is from them pecking holes in them and then the heat and humidity causes the rot to start and spread, the hotter, the quicker!  Well, at least I managed to cut the rot off of them and salvage a part of each of those tomatoes - I froze them, so I can wait until next week to can them.  And these are part of another whole basket that we picked this morning, and the rest of the tomatoes are perfect, so I don't need to be TOO upset.....wouldn't it be funny (and ironic!) if the little baby birds from my porch were the ones eating my tomatoes?? LOL  Really though, I think they only eat bugs...I think....! :-D

AND....I'm going to have to clip these early this year.....

I don't usually see these blooms until the end of August -- that's one month early!  It's ok, I guess, I'll just have to have them hanging all over with the basil!!  Haha!

Look at how big the blooms can be.....

These are wonderful bushes to have if you like dried flowers -- they are SO easy, I just put them in crocks or pitchers or one year, I filled a basket with them and put it on my hearth!  They just dry right where they are, and they take on a lovely pinkish-beige color - soooo pretty!!

Of course, they aren't very pretty in front of the house, are they?  Rather unruly and gigantic!  I am thinking that I should clip them down and move them this fall, in the cool weather.  They are part of a larger problem I call "The Front Of The House" -- I really have NO vision for how it should look out there, what kind of plants would look best, what I should do with the ginormous bushes that are out there now.....I'm bewildered by it all!!  *SIGH!*  So I just leave it! :-P   Well, I'm busy struggling with decisions about the inside of the house, I'm not ready to try and tackle the outside yet, I think my brain would explode!! LOL

But you just watch.....it will be in a blog post sooner or later!! :-D

So tomorrow isn't supposed to be as humid as it's been ALL MONTH -- finally!  It even felt better tonight when I took the dogs out at 11pm, cooler, drier....phew!!  Relief!
I am thinking we might stop at the thrift store tomorrow, but I'm not sure....I'm trying desperately to resist another paint sample....!!  LOL  I really want one from the Benjamin Moore paint colors that I talked about a few posts ago, but I want to stop myself until I know WHAT I need it for, and until I actually use up ONE of my other paint samples!   I'll let you know how I do with myself tomorrow..... ^-^

Pickles!!

I got the pickles done!! :-D
These pickles are our family favorite - Garlic Dill Pickles - they have the best flavor!  The dill and garlic aren't too strong, and they are somewhat soft, but juicy -- I wish I could make them a little crispier, but I don't want to change anything about them, and everyone loves them just the way they are!!

The best thing about canning these pickles is that is SO quick and easy....it took me less than two hours from start to finish!  That's because it's a cold-pack recipe, meaning I fill the unheated jars with the cold, cut-up cucumbers, and pour the unheated vinegar/water liquid in, then boil them.....can you follow all that?? LOL
That's ok, I took pictures! :-D

Here's the pile of cucumbers I've picked and saved in my fridge.....

I'm sure there are more that are ready to pick in the garden, but I don't want to know about that right now!

I used six quart jars, and I dropped 1 1/2 tablespoons of chopped garlic in each one.....

I buy the large jars of garlic that are already chopped, so it's super easy!

I cut the cucumbers up in round slices, because that's our favorite way to eat them, and I like to make the slices thick.....

I fill each jar with the cucumbers, and stuff a few sprigs of dill in each one, too.....

Or, they can be put in first.....

I LOVE the smell of fresh dill, especially mixed with the garlic smell!!!!  YUMMY!

Then it's time to make the brine - 8 1/2 cups of water + 2 cups of white vinegar + 1 cup of kosher salt.....

Pour it in up to the top!!!

Stick them in the canner....

....boil for 10 minutes, and they are done!!!!

They should sit in the pantry for 2 - 3 weeks before opening them, just so the flavor of garlic and dill can get strong and saturate the pickles.  These are SO delicious!!

(pay NO attention to the Gooey Butter Cake in the background....if that's possible...! :-D)

Here's what I had left in the cucumber pile.....

Six quarts took nearly ALL of those cucumbers!!  Actually, that's great - quick and easy (and yummy!) vegetable storage! :-D

Soooooo....the weekend is here again!  YAY!!  Unfortunately, the heat and humidity are still here, too -- the dew points have been 70 and above (today it was 73!) for two weeks now!  I've had ENOUGH!! :-P  When I was outside today (for a moment), the grass was still wet, from the dew I guess, but it was 3:00pm and sunny - it's too humid to dry the dew in the grass!!!  YUCK!

Anyway, I don't know what we will be doing yet....probably trying to stay inside somewhere!  I might try and get him to help me tackle a few projects on my list (remember that? LOL), wouldn't it be nice to get back to that for a few days!! ^-^

No Pickles Today!

Well, today I've been battling an awful head/neck ache which started last night, and woke me up a few times, too!  I've only been able to knock it back with advil and tylenol all day!!  It's probably from all the chopping, lifting, bending I've been doing for the past week.  So I decided to take a break today -- I got the jars cleaned and ready, and the cukes are washed and waiting.....I'll get it done tomorrow, for sure!  It will be nice to have my vegetable drawer back in my fridge! :-D
Instead, I did laundry, and cleaned the bathrooms.  I guess I must get regular jobs done around here, too.....it's just no fun to do that stuff!! LOL

So I thought I'd show you my plans for the family room floor that I talk about all the time (but never start work on.... :-P)!
What I want is wood floors, stained wood floors....my only problem is that there is NO WAY I can afford to buy wood boards, especially the kind I want!  I could do laminate, but that's also very expensive.  So I came up with an idea --- PLYWOOD.  Here's what I did, I bought plywood sheets; I had Brian cut them the width I wanted, then I sanded them, stained them, and covered them with 2 coats of satin polyurethane, then we nailed them down!  We did it in the living room first, and I loved how it came out!!  Here is a BEFORE picture.....

That's the sub-flooring, after we pulled up the (hideous) rug.
Here is the first piece down....

LOVE that dark stain!!
And finally, here is the finished floor.....

I love how it looks!!  I used Minwax Early American stain, and the boards are cut to 10inch and 8inch widths, because I didn't want it to look too even, I like the different sizes next to eachother!
I had to draw out a whole plan for it, so I knew which board would go where, and that made it so much easier!
And here is the chart and floor plan for the family room floor.....

Can you see those??  The first one is the floor plan, the second one is the board plan! (LOL)  That's how I figure out how many plywood sheets I need, and how they should be cut!!  Aren't I clever? :-D

And we also put down a plywood floor in our library room, that I painted and stenciled....here's the rug BEFORE....

We had just built the book shelves, but you can see the rug that we cut out!

Now here's AFTER.....

This bottom picture I had taken facing the opposite direction, so it would show more of the floor....I LOVE it!!  I cut that stencil out myself, too!  And I want to use painted and stenciled plywood in all the bedrooms, it's so pretty!!

So there it is.....plyWOOD floors! :-D   And that's why I want to get started on staining the family room wood - I want to buy one or two plywood sheets at a time, have Lowe's cut it in widths (checking my board plan to see how), then I'll stain it and seal it and stack it, then Brian will nail it down, and it will look just as nice as the living room looks!!  These picture are 5 years old, so the floors have been down for that long, and they look as good as they did when they were first done....a little scratched in places, but the plywood has held up perfectly!  And it works out to be about 55 cents a foot - can't beat that, right?!!

If I can ever get it started.....! ^-^