Month: August 2004

  •   Today I am trying,
    trying, to do an entire "run through the house and clean it all" cleaning.
    Kind of tiring when you have a 2900 square foot house.

      My mother-in-laws two
    sisters, one brother-in-law, brother and sister-in-law and sister-in-law’s
    step-dad are in town for about 5 days this week for a "sibling" family
    reunion. We are going to supper there tonight at about 5:30 and I have a
    turkey in the smoker to take over. Every time I go outside or even open a
    door I can smell the wood smoke. The whole neighborhood must smell it,
    honestly! lol It smells SO good. There is nothing like the scent of sweet
    wood smoke. The turkey is getting darker and darker and smokier and
    smokier and it is going to be yummy.

      Anywho, here is my
    list of what I need to do/have done. I need a visual so I can breeze
    through this (or limp through, whichever the case may be). My MIL only
    lives a mile away so it is very possible the family may wind up over here
    to see the house tonight. In case that happens, I need to have it "family
    presentable" ready. I wish they would wait a year, honestly. LOL we will
    have more rooms painted and new furniture, then I will have pictures and
    gegaws up on the wall. Right now it is just "eh".

      Ok…I know I need to
    get over it. lol On with the list. What is struck through is done:

    Living Room:

    -vac stairs, dust
    everything, vac floor, window ledges and sofa

    Family room:

    -vac floor and stairs,
    wash sofa cover, straighten computer desk, built in desk, dust, clean off
    library table

    Kitchen:

    -clean window
    ledge and doodads    , clean sink shelf and doodads,
    wipe counters and island down, empty icky stuff from fridge, vac
    floor    , mop floor, feed dogs before I mop floor, vac walls
    and ceiling    , vac top of fridge, start dishwasher, clean stovetop,
    catch up on pots and pans, empty drainer and put that away, wipe down
    cabinet fronts of fingerprints, wash front of fridge, water plants

    Dining Room:

    -empty and dust pie
    safe, empty and dust sideboard, dust and polish table, vac floor and
    window ledges, put shade tie hardware up, water plants

    Breakfast Room:

    -vac floor, dust, water
    plants, dust ceilings and walls, clean off tea pot shelves (UGH…lol)

    Laundry Room:

    -vac and straighten room

    Master Bedroom:

    -put away clothes, dust,
    vacuum, make bed

    Brenna’s Bedroom:

    -vacuum and make sure it
    is straight

    -hallway upstairs
    vacuumed

    -clean & vacuum a/c
    units

    Guest Room:

    -HA! Shut the door. Its
    hopeless until the room is totally emptied and redone.

    Main Bathroom:

    -clean tub, clean sinks,
    vac floor, clean baseboards, clean window, clean full length mirror, clean
    toilet

    Master Bathroom:

    -clean shower, vacuum
    floor, dust shelves, clean sink, put new toilet seat on

       I will post an update
    tomorrow on what I get done tonight. I know I won’t get it all done
    tonight but I should make a serious dent in it!


                                      Blessings..


                                                 
    Kathie






  • What kind of homeschooler are you?


    This is a fun quiz that was linked off of Anne’s Site.


    Go to here to take the quiz to find out what kind of homeschooler you are.


     


    Here are my results:


     HASH(0x8cfefe4)
    Salvador Dali Melting clocks are not a problem in
    your reality. You are an unschooler. You will
    tolerate a textbook, but only as a last resort.
    Mud is your friend. You prefer hands-on
    everything. If your school had an anthem, it
    would be Dont Worry, Be Happy.

    What Type of Homeschooler Are You?
    brought to you by Quizilla


    yeah that would pretty much cover my homeschooling!


    and my housework


    gardening


    sleeping


    life…



     


    Blessings,


                                  Kathie













  •      I don’t know about you. but I am always looking for new recipes to feed myself and my family. I LOVE to cook, and having been raised by a mother who has worked in restaurants until 3 years ago, I was exposed to chefs, cordon bleu culinary skills and great ingredients. That all rubbed off through osmosis. *G* I also was blessed to have friends from various countries and learned to love the foods of their cultures: Trinidad, Singapore, Korea, Jamaica, to name a few. I love Indian and Chinese food, Greek and Middle Eastern, and of course Italian! With such a variety of cooking styles out there and recipes to try, there is no reason for food to ever be boring!


        I am not big on packaged and prepared foods. They just don’t taste “good” to me…or real. I would much rather make something simple and fresh using fresh ingredients, over a choice of boxed foods full of preservatives and such. My pantry is full of all sorts of bits and odds for cooking “ethnic” . Keeping a well stocked pantry makes it easy to make Indian curries and chapatti bread, stir fries with rice, stuffed peppers with a tomato sauce, soups and stews, quesadillas filled with cheese, grilled vegetables,  etc. If I have all the basics, I am never at a loss to cool a good meal that makes everyone enjoy sitting down to a meal together.


      I am trying to make a habit of using my crockpot when I am going to have a busy day and dinner might get lost in the mix. Last night I made a great pork chop meal, grilled zucchini and drunk candied yams. Mike and I were able to sit down and have a “just us” meal as Brenna was spending the night at my mom’s. This is a great main course for those watching their carbs. Drop the yams and add some steamed cauliflower or salad or another favorite veggie and you are in low-carb heaven! And what is better, its a meal that cooks with nothing from you but your initial prep for the pot.


     Here are the basics for this meal :


     



    Crockpot Pork Chops


    –>6 pork chops…this works with any pork chop cut, bone-in, boneless, whatever you prefer or have on hand


    –>one can *approximately 2 cups* low salt chicken or vegetable broth *don’t use bouillon cubes, it will be TOO salty. You can mix your vegetable and chicken broth too. I use my frozen or a good canned stock.


    –> 2 medium onions, halved and sliced


    –>3 cloves garlic, minced


    –>1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp salt (I always use sea salt and fresh ground pepper)


    –>1-16 oz. container of sour cream, or yogurt with the juice of one lemon added


       This recipe is easily adapted to whatever you need to feed your family. 6 pork   chops of a medium size will feed our family of 3 with maybe some leftovers, but you can easily add more ingredients and increase your portions. This is not an exacting recipe . Just remember that  liquids don’t evaporate in crockpots like in stovetop or oven cooking, so don’t increase your liquids too much or the end result will be too soupy. 


      Put a layer of onions in the crockpot, then chops, then onions, then chops, continuting until you end with onions over your chops. Carefully pour in your broth and all additional ingredients except the sour cream or yogurt. Reserve that for when the meal is finished. Put your crockpot on low if you are going to let this go all day, or high if you start this about noon and plan to eat 5 or 6 o’clock.


      Then meat will just about be falling off the bone when this is done. If you are using boneless pork loin, the pork will be fork tender when it is ready. Take about 2 cups of the “pot liquor” as we say in the south, and mix the sour cream in. Serve your chops with the onion and this sauce served over it.


       Mm, MM, MM , MM, mmmm.


     



    Grilled Zucchini


       For a simple and delicious summer dish when zucchini is in abundance, you can grill it inside or out.


       When I cook mine inside, I “grill” mine on the stove on a cast iron griddle. This works on any pan you can heat high that will nicely brown your zucchini.


       Simply slice your zucchini into rounds for inside, or lengthwise for outside. If put the zuch slices in a bowl and lightly oil them with olive oil, and add a crushed garlic clove or 3. You can also just oil them and then, after they are cooked, season them with garlic salt or Adobo seasoning. That is a particular favorite round here.


      Cook each piece until nicely browned and tender, and when you put them in a bowl toss with a bit more extra virgin olive oil in addition to the seasonings of choice. Keep them nice and hot and don’t make more than you will use. These are best fresh.


     



    Drunk Yams or Sweet Potatoes


     Peel and slice 4 medium sized sweet potatoes or yams.  Boil them until they are fork tender.


     While the potatoes are boiling, melt 1 stick butter *butter is best for this!*, 1/4 cup bourbon, 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 tsp orange extract. Bring it to a boil for about 8 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick or burn. Keep your heat set at medium or thereabouts or the butter and sugar may burn. Keep it *just* hot enough to be barely boiling. Think candy making here. You want it to thicken so that it will cling to the potatoes like a thin caramel sauce.


      Prepare a casserole pan…about 10″ square in size but not too shallow. Put a layer of potatoes, spoon a generous amount of the bourbon sugar topping over. Repeat the potato layers and topping, finishing with topping. Put this in a 375 oven for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbly again and the potatoes are browned from the glaze.


      This glaze, by the way, is GREAT on the pork chops. I can only imagine it would be booty kickin’ on some ham. I will be buying myself a large bottle of bourbon to try it!


      This glaze is also good on vanilla ice cream, BUT be sure to use unsalted butter. Making the sauce with salted butter makes it too salty for use on ice cream. Ask me how I know. :o p~~

     








  • Ok this is a bit goofy, but this is my kitchen window and sink. I was cleaning the area and a friend wanted to know what it looked like, so here it is. In the sink is a chicken for roasting for tonight, and a turkey which will imminently be put in a smoker for supper tomorrow night at a family reunion supper. Icky 1940s Formica which will eventually be going the way of the wind when I put recycled wood on the counters. The left side of the counter will also be expanded to include a built in dishwasher. Right now it is a roll-away type, work works pretty well, but is older and isn’t the best. Someday!


    Today I was doing a bit of “deep cleaning” in the kitchen which includes the removal of all the jar, plants and doo-dads on the window ledge and sink shelf.


    Anyone want to tell me where all the cobwebs came from?


    The lil bitty spiders?


    All the dust and gerb that was collected around the plants and bottles. Blech.


     Those spiders didn’t know when they rose with the sun this morning that they would be going on a wind tunnel ride in my Riccar vaccum. SWOOSH. Bye-bye arachnids.


    Speaking of vacuuming, who ever thought up the idea of textured ceilings? It had to be a man who had never done housework. Those things collect dust mercilessly. And if you try to sweep it, then all the points break off the texturing and land on your head, in the sink, on the floor, in the fish tank, on the sleeping dog, in any open container….


    Well you get the idea.  I hate textured ceilings.
    At some point someone who owned our 200 + year old house with a 100+ year old kitchen, decided that the tin ceilings were a bad idea. Let’s take them off! *weeping*


    I plan to put a tin or copper ceiling, or a faux finish facsimile there of. The kitchen will soon be undergoing a renovation into its Euro-county incarnation. I have been slowly planning and searching and I think I am at the 90% ready point. Now all I need is energy. :o D Anyone have an idea where I can get that from??


     


                                              TTFN


     


                                                          Kathie


     

  • This is pretty cool…I got this from Quiltinmomi’s site . 


    Which “Natural Wonder” are you?


    I chose Fire, Spring, Green, Ebb/Flow.


    I’m a Tropical Rainforest.


    Yep..that is me. :o )


     


     


     








  •    

    I did
    something today, that for some reason, I have put off for 3 months! 
    The cabinets we bought a
    couple of months ago for the dining room have now been shimmed *200 year
    old wood floors are NOT level….whoda thunk it?* and I have filled the
    top three of the four shelves with china and crystal. It looks pretty! I
    elected to NOT put anything breakable on the lower shelves because of the
    rugrat factor. ;o) Most of my friends have very young kiddoes, and to
    alleviate the temptation I am not putting anything breakable down there. I
    think I will buy some silk ivy and put them in a cool Indian style
    container of some sort and fill the space up. The green will add a nice
    touch to the cabinets too. The cabinets flank a window that overlooks a 30
    x 50 area that will one day be my cottage garden with a fountain, wisteria
    arbor, and roses.


           

     



    And yes, the ceiling in this room IS metallic gold. ;o)


      
    The china was all wedding gifts. Its a Noritake pattern, Stanford Court…
    that is no longer being made so if I want more than 8 places settings it
    is going to cost a blue fortune. :o ( Hate that! It is available on eBay
    and vendors like Replacements, LTD but man can it be expensive.

     



         Our
    dining room is slowly coming together. Next month I am going to buy saris
    to make into curtains for the windows. I also want to put all my plants in
    pots that match the dining room *or paint/decorate the pots to match the
    room*. Gee, it only took being married for 14 years to buy our first real
    furniture! Lol


       
    Here is the table we
    bought at a local outlet center, which is the same place we bought the
    cabinets from. It is absolutely gor-ge-ose let me tell ya! I lightened the
    image to try and show more detail on the table but it still isn’t showing
    up because of the glare from the windows. It is a marquetry style wood
    veneer in diamond patterns.



     

     

     

     

     

     

     


     

    The saris
    will probably be a purple with gold on them to add another bright color to
    the room. We found the cabinet we want to replace the pie safe. The
    pie safe is was my husband’s great great grandmother’s and is an antique.
    I am going to put that in my guest bedroom and use it as a TV cabinet. It
    will fit great with the "shabby chic" style I plan to do in there. 


     
    This cabinet
    is from Pier One and will match wonderfully with the rest of the dining
    room furniture.. I love Pier One. LOVE IT.


     <–This
    is the cabinet we are going to get from Pier One. I am going to take some
    of the sari fabric and line the inside of the cabinet doors so I can store
    *schtuff* inside and it can’t be seen.  This is the perfect last piece for
    the room!



     
    Well, we are
    getting a mirror from Pier One for the room too, and chairs of course,
    eventually. The chairs that are in there are inexpensive ones from the
    dinette set we bought when we first moved in the house. They are barely 3
    years old and are starting to break already. Its a shame because they
    really ARE pretty chairs.



      
    This is the
    mirror we plan to get.from Pier One for the dining room.

     

     

     

     



    I found chairs I like…



    <—I like the shape and iron in the chair, but I don’t know if the color
    will match the rest of the furniture and they probably aren’t “dressy”
    enough though. I wish I had somewhere else to use them, but I don’t. Ah
    well.


     
    The other chairs we REALLY like are by American Drew, and were designed by
    Jessica McClintock:



     
    Yep…totally different style, much more expensive but MAN are they
    gorgeous. GORGEOUS. One can dream… :o ) Ya never know…these may be the ones
    we wind up with. One a year for 8 years…lol But we could get them! I don’t
    know if those are TOO fancy for the room. I need to find a middle one that
    I will fall in love with I guess.

     


     

     



    Another recent purchase is chairs for the library table in the family
    room. We bought four of these.
    I have to make cushions for the seats, but they are surprisingly
    comfortable even without cushions. Just skip the shorts or miniskirts til
    I make cushions. *G* I will make cushions after we get the new loveseats
    for the room and that will give me a better idea of what color to get,
    between the sofas and curtains, etc.

     

     

     

     

     

    Yes…more Pier
    One! I
    love
    Pier One.

    Did I mention that
    ?

    Since I rearranged
    items to the
    dining
    room cabinets, I also put the sets of Japanese and Chinese dishes we have
    into my breakfast room corner cabinet. Doesn’t that cabinet match the room
    wonderfully? Would you believe it was given to me from friends? It was
    Jack’s mom’s cabinet that his dad had given her. They no longer had room
    for it and gifted it to me. It is a cedar cabinet and Jan had painted it
    quite a while ago. It looks like it was planned to match my breakfast
    room!


    Here
    is a picture of the other cabinet in the room that shows the wall color.


    Other than
    putzing about doing regular housework, taking care of website stuff for
    our homeschool group —



    http://www.gracechristianacademybelair.com     
    and watching the radar to see what Charley would do, that was my day.
    Charley just brought light rain and cloudy skies through for us, thank the
    Lord. We actually had more and harder rain from Bonnie when it broke up
    the other night! I can’t say that the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the
    coastal areas are faring so well. We should know soon as the storm is more
    than half the way past us. I pray that everyone that was in Charley’s path
    has found safety and a dry place to lay their heads.


    Blessings! 

                 
    Kathie

     










  •      I
    am very late in posting about it, but VBS was a hit!  We had over 199 kids
    registered and 60 helpers. It’s the biggest VBS our church has had so far.


        Here
    are the promised photos. I didn’t take many because I was busy with the
    store and helping with other things. We also did the biggest store sales
    ever! I think it was almost double what had been in other years! WOO HOO.
    That is great because it helps pay for the VBS. Our church’s VBS is free
    and is paid for by
    donations and through the sale of items in the VBS themed store.



    This is the
    stage:



      
    Here is the tunnel we always put up at the entrance to the sanctuary. The
    kids always really enjoy that! We even left it up for Sunday service last
    weekend! The 2nd picture is how we did the halls. It is cloudy
    because we had smoke machines running! lol

    Was
    it worth all the work, lack of sleep and early rising!

    DEFINITELY!


    Blessings! 

                 
    Kathie

     


  •  







       Today was another long day. We went to the 10:30 service at church and Brenna and I stayed to help with the decorating for VBS. Brenna had spent the night at her friend Becca’s house so she came to church with her family. Those of us that stayed this afternoon finished all the decorating and preparations.

       
    Everything is ready to GO!

    Tomorrow, Lava Lava Island
    begins! The stage looks great, the tunnel is terrific and the halls are loaded with fun! I have no
    idea what the basement looks like but I am sure it looks terrific! I am going to pass on going down there. I just can’t risk exposure to the mold spores.


      I really will take my camera tomorrow. In fact…*pause*….


     I just picked up the camera and set it with my purse so I won’t forget it! Pictures are on the way…I promise!





     


    Blessings! 


                  Kathie


     









  •  

            Today
    hasn’t been very eventful. I slept in late, because I needed it. Isn’t it
    great when you can do that and not feel guilty about it?

         OK, well I did
    feel a little guilty about it. My darling hubby was outside early in the
    sweltering July heat and humidity *oh the joy of July weather in Northern
    Maryland*. He has been working like mad to get the yard into shape, and I,
    unfortunately have been no help at all.  I had strep for the first time
    since I was 5 years old that went systemic. Four weeks and 2 courses of
    antibiotics later I was finally over the strep, though my energy level was
    non-existent. The antibiotics were something new for me too. It had been
    almost 9 years since I had taken one. We are big on herbs, homeopathic
    remedies, holistic remedies, etc. Pharmaceuticals and I don’t get along
    well together at all and I do my best to avoid them whenever possible. If
    you are looking for a natural antibiotic remedy, Colloidal Silver has
    become a staple in our household. For sinus infections, ear infections,
    bacterial infections, fungal infections, etc. colloidal silver is
    AMAZINGLY effective. I think I could have fought the strep with the CS,
    except I didn’t have the usual kind I use and the concentration I was
    using wasn’t great enough. *sigh* I will be getting my own silver wire and
    making my own. When I do so I will post instructions, information and
    pictures. It can be done simply, cheaply, and effectively! My daughter has
    only ever taken 2 antibiotics and she is now 9. If I had known about CS
    sooner, she wouldn’t even have had those two as a toddler!

      Anyway, back on
    track. We are having the house appraised because we are refinancing with a
    cash out. The slate roof needs new flashing in several places, and we are
    opting for copper.
    While the roofers are up there working we are going to have them go ahead
    and replace all the flashing on the slate part of the roof, seal the slate
    and repair any damaged slate. It will be cheaper to do it now, and barring
    any damage by an unexpected source the roof with then be good to go for 50
    years or so. I can handle that.

      We are also
    going to finish out the garage so I can have a studio. YEAH. When we
    bought our house, it was amazing because not only could we afford it, but
    God blessed us in that it was
    under market. Many of my friends wanted to know " Well, what is wrong with
    the house?" NOTHING. Not a thing. I totally believe the Lord saved this
    house for us. It is amazing because we have just about everything we
    wanted on our ”list" for our dream house. I can honestly say we won’t be
    moving unless for some reason a huge amount of money rains down on us and
    we can build exactly what we want. In the meanwhile, we have over an acre
    of land, a house that has 4 bedrooms *really 5 but one is being used as a
    closet because old houses didn’t have closet space*, 2 full baths, a large
    country kitchen, wood floors, a bay window in the dining room, we back to
    a meadow, the garage is BIG and has a loft for storage….I could go on
    and on. God blessed us abundantly and above what we every thought we could
    afford or would ever find. It was a stressful road getting through the
    financing and purchase of the house, but we made it!


      Now, back to the garage * boy I do keep rambling…sorry*. The garage is
    a free standing building, just 3 steps from the family room door. It is a
    cinder block building and it is close to 30 x 30 on outside measure. It
    has a full bathroom in it, a sliding door in the back, a door on the side
    and a regular garage door on the front, and two windows on the front.
    There is a loft for storage and a chimney for installing a wood burning or
    pellet stove. The garage is large enough that we can put a wood shop in,
    an area for working on cars and storing tools and other auto do-dads,
    and my studio! I can teach art classes, sewing classes, quilting,
    photography, etc. I am SO excited! God planted this in my heart many years
    ago and it will be coming to fruition. I have had people constantly asking
    me when I will be teaching my art classes, and if all goes true to form I
    may be able to do so by the turn of the year. I am starting to get
    psyched!
     

      I have a name all
    picked out: Frog Town Studios. See, our house was built in 4 or 5 stages,
    like all old farmhouses. The oldest part is dated at approximately 1774.
    The kitchen section is 100 years old, and the bay window off the dining
    room was added on then. A porch was put on sometime in that 100 year time
    frame or so, but then it was enclosed and a room added above it. Then
    approximately 5 years ago the last section was added on. That section
    gives us a large (16 x 28 ) family room, our bedroom *same size*, the
    laundry room and the master bathroom, and the stairs going down to the
    family room. It is unique but attractive in the style of a rambling farm
    house. Many friends have gotten lost in my house on their first few
    visits. *G* So, back to Frogtown…


      Our back yard is approximately 1/2 acre, and we have two 100 year old
    apple trees that sit just our side of the meadow to which our property
    backs up. It is Chesapeake Bay Preserve land and cannot be developed!  One
    of the main creeks in the country runs through the meadow (I am not sure
    where its source is…I need to look into that) and ends on the Chesapeake
    Bay. Every spring we are greeted when the weather starts warming by the
    sounds of thousands of Spring Peepers…
    Let me tell ya..for one inch long little guys they are LOUD. But the sound
    is soothing and familiar and every time I hear one sing it makes me smile.
    I found out last year that the original name of the exact area where our
    house is was Frogtown. No surprise in that. I am more surprised that the
    name was lost somewhere along the line. When I was watching the weather on
    the local news out of Baltimore one evening last fall, the map showed
    Frogtown! Inspiration struck and I am working on a logo for
    the end of the driveway. My plan is to make a sign that says "Frogtown
    Circa 1774" with a frog of some sort on it. Our house qualifies to be in
    the National
    Registry of Historic homes, but that would mean for any work, enlarging,
    etc. we
    would chose to do on the house the Historic Registry would have to approve
    the
    construction. No thanks.  I waited 35 years to live in a house * I grew up

    in an apartment* and my husband and I will be the ones to decide what is
    done to
    our home. Well, within the bounds of dealing with the local codes and
    ordnances.
    :o p~~


       So while hubby has been working outside to insure the landscaping looks
    maaahhvelous for the house appraiser, I have been working inside.
    Today
    I didn’t
    work
    on the house, I worked on the furgirls. Furry dogs require pampering,
    pawdecures and scissored coats. Tomorrow I will bathe them and put
    Frontline drops on them to protect them from the deerticks and dogticks
    that have been so terrible in our area the last few years due to the
    amount of rain we have been having. They look so beautiful when they are
    all groomed, even before being bathed.

     I hate
    cutting their black nails. I am terrified of cutting the quick and hurting
    them. It wouldn’t be so bad if I was more consistent about cutting their
    nails so the quick pulled back more. I did great today though. Two dogs, a
    total of 37 nails, and I only had one bleeder. I hate that I had even one,
    but I think that is pretty good!

      Oh by
    the way, if you wonder where 37 comes from, 20 toes on Shia, only 17 on
    Kylea. She has no dew claws and had a toe removed due to a tumor on it
    some 6 years ago or so now.


    Blessings! 


                      Kathie