Out with the old

Pardon the break, but I took a few days off! Couldn't resist taking a picture of the cookies. A very dear friend came over before Christmas and we spent the day baking cookies. I then made more on my own and tried out a couple of new cutters including the mitten and the gingerbread people. Christmas has never been Christmas for me without spritz either...yummy! One other new recipe, which will be a yearly addition to the goodies is Peanut Butter Cheese Fudge. It is a Paula Deen recipe and it is yummy. Yep! Butter, Velveeta cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar along with vanilla and nuts. Now out with the old and in with the new. My kitchen and dining room floors are finished. After painstakingly removing the first layer of parquet, the mister was left with lots of glue in the floor. He started by using a belt sander, but the friction heated the glue which became gummy so we used the heat gun and scraped. (The glue curled up like wood chips.) What a chore, and it took several days. The installation of the new floor wasn't without problems either, but it is beautiful now that it is installed. Will post pictures later. Anyway, with the old year about finished (and it didn't end really well did it?) we can only hope that the new year brings with it a brighter future for us all.

If walls or floors could talk

This is the area of floor in my studio with some definite cracks. Brown branches and one stroke leaves and stenciled roses were a great camouflage for the imperfections. It was also cheap. I like to think I am being thrifty and practical, but it probably is just cheap. As most of you following this blog know, this is the 7th home we've purchased...camp #7. Each time we begin to explore our new digs, we dream of finding that lost fortune in the walls or some great treasure at the least. I can't recall ever finding much except perhaps a tool left behind in the rafters by an absent minded construction worker, but as the Mr was installing a new sub-floor in the dining room this week, he decided to go to the basement to see how far the screws extended. Future construction will necessitate installation of a ceiling downstairs. After peeking into the area under part of the flooring he discovered a jar of what appeared to be homemade jelly. And there was more! We discovered 2 more canning jars of a mysterious substance and decided to explore more of the spaces. Next was an old 8-track tape. Then a block of wood with 4 pictures of a small boy decoupaged to the sides and the quote "Chip off the old block". Finally a rental tape of a porno film! Obviously this had been a hiding place for someone, but who? Previously I had discovered a small plastic bag on top of my bathroom medicine cabinet with a beaded necklace and bracelet. A forgotten gift perhaps for a child or teenager or a stolen item from a sibling? Again it was clearly put there for a hiding place and long since forgotten. One room in the basement was a recording studio and the ceiling is insulated with egg cartons. When we approach that project we may find more hidden treasures. Who know? The second picture of the kitchen floor demonstrates clearly the ugly task the Mr. has encountered in removing the first layer of parquet flooring which was securely glued to the first. The underlying parquet was laid so that the cupboards were installed on top, so that layer has to stay. We are now ready to install the laminate and pictures will follow. If floors could talk this one would surely say "ouch."

Things my father taught me.

As my siblings and I were growing up, my father was the best teacher in lessons of life. Reading our local paper this week, I stumbled onto an article about being happy. Surround yourself with people who are happy, people who have a positive attitude toward life, people who can laugh. Our father had the best outlook on life, but it came from lessons learned and being true to himself. As I have approached the twilight years (maybe just the afternoon years) of life, I realize that not everyone I meet has a chair at my table. I don't have time or energy in my day for negative people. No longer do I feel guilt for removing them from my life. It is a choice we need to make. It is a choice you need to make and for goodness sake don't feel guilty. You cannot please everyone and you shouldn't. Daddy was not a religious man, but he did live and teach by some pretty good guidelines. He always said "A man is as good as his word." He lived by that. There were lots of other pieces of advice he gave us and he was as good as his word. Some of the things he taught me were:
Don't complain about your spouse to your in-laws. Don't talk about yourself when you meet people and definitely don't talk about your ailments. Everyone has them. Don't complain about your money problems. Don't give your grown children advice unless they ask for it. (This is a sure way to alienate them.) There is no material thing that is more important than your children's love. Things can be replaced, children cannot. Treat others the way you wish to be treated. If you don't vote, don't complain. These are a few....more will follow later. I have siblings with very serious health issues, but they keep a positive attitude and don't spend time dwelling on them and don't bore others with their problems....something no doubt learned from Dad and his outlook on life. So we surround ourselves with people who make us feel good and people who aren't looking for sympathy. I miss my painting groups, they were people who didn't complain and who made me laugh, but they are still at my table. Some very good friends whom I have known forever are still at my table. Daddy was an honest man, a hard working soul, but he knew how to have fun and knew how to laugh. He was not a complainer. Now for these confusing pictures. I have been painting the floor in my craft room. I am not sure how these pictures will come out but there are three which will show the contrast in the bare cement and the finished gridded squares. I marked 18 inch squares to resemble tiles. They were masked and then painted with a contrasting paint. I uses floor paint and it was odorless and dried fast. Where all of the branches are, were the inevitable cracks in a cement floor. I added leaves and a few stenciled flowers. I normally wouldn't stencil, but this was a pretty monumental project and quite frankly, I was tired of the whole thing. However, I must say that I am really pleased with the final result. Will post another picture later.

Fuzzy Bunny Slipper

We got a ton of snow this past week! I know the interstate was closed last weekend as we had friends who spent the Saturday night with us and had to wait until Sunday afternoon for the roads to open up and today is the first day that we haven't had snow. We must have gotten about 8 inches total and after the wind came up, it has been a mess for travelers. However, for us, we just snuggled down. It was cold too! It actually got down to 1 degree last night. The Mr. was able finally to get the driveway cleared with the snow blower and I couldn't resist getting a couple of pics of the skinny bitch bringing me a stick to throw. REALLY! We took Hojo, our cat to the vet for removal of a tumor from his hind leg and he was a grump for everyone. We don't have the results of the biopsy back and his stitches come out on Monday, but look at his foot! He has such big feet that he appears to be wearing a bunny slipper. He hates the oral medication we have to force down him and he is just not happy. The vet shaved his leg which adds to the funny appearance. Poor thing! ~"If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it." --Erma Bombeck