Here I Am!!! :-D

Well, I'm finally back to my regular self over here!  Actually, I started feeling better yesterday, but I fell asleep on the couch earlier than usual, by accident, so I didn't get a chance to post anything last night!! LOL  Oh well - I must have needed the sleep!

I was able to get most of my clutter put away yesterday - PHEW!! - and I worked on my wooden box again....

I'm still not sure about this arrangement, either....I think I need to get some candles to mix in there!
Remember this mess??.....

I got all those papers put away!  Now I just need to dust and maybe move my jars around - I LOVE my jars!!! :-D
I set this up on my side table.....

.....but I don't think I like it....the toaster is hideous (why aren't I hiding it somehow?), and it just doesn't seem to look right....hmmm!  This space definitely needs that dry sink that I posted about a little while ago....hee hee hee!!
OH!!!  I forgot to show you something that we did last weekend!  It's no big deal, but I was pretty excited about it! (it doesn't take much)  Remember my laundry room pictures awhile back, and I think I mentioned that I wanted to get these special hooks that I loved to copy that magazine that my design was based on, well.....I got the hooks!  I found the exact ones I wanted on etsy (of all places) after searching online for a few years!  The originals I had I bought at a Country Store in Massachusetts, and I was getting ready to call them, but the same guy is on etsy, and he made a special order for me, and they got here last Saturday.....

YAY!!!  So Brian put them right up for me.....

Aren't they GREAT!?!! :-D  (Pay no attention to the attempted aging on the light switch - it was my first attempt a few years ago....not good!)  Now I just need to repaint the beadboard (it's way to white, I think), and get a hanging cupboard for in here!  Fun fun fun!!

I know I said I was going to share a bunch of recipes I already made, but I don't have time tonight to show them all, but I WILL show the Spiced Caramel Pear Jam I made last Sunday (just as I was starting to feel bad).....it came out perfectly! :-D
I started with my chopped pears, I left the skins on them because they are so thin it doesn't really matter, and I added the sugar and molasses.....

I stirred that around and around and then let it cook over medium-high heat until the sugar melted and the pears started releasing their juices -- WATCH.....

That took about an hour!  I turned the heat down after it started simmering, to medium-low.  Then after it got to this point, I mashed the pear chunks with a masher and let them simmer for another hour or a little less....I'd stir it occasionally and watch how it was thickening up - that was what I used to tell how long to cook it more than the clock.
Once it was thick enough, I added my spices.....

That's actually a tiny glass bowl!  It's cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, and I stirred them into the simmering pears and cooked them a bit longer, maybe 10 minutes, then I ladled them into my canning jars and boiled them up to seal them!!
YUMMY!!!

I have more foods to share in the next post, but I'm not sure if I'll get to it because guess what day it is???  It's Thursday night!!  That means Brian is home tomorrow, and we might be running some fun errands that I'll want to share instead of recipes....we'll see! :-D
I want to check out candles at the dollar store, and stop at the thrift store, and maybe get a piece of plywood for my wood floor.....wouldn't that be fun??!  Stay tuned!!! ^-^