Thinking of Spring

I have been gathering and cleaning thoroughly, recyclable containers for the sole purpose of planting seeds for the garden this year. The weather doesn't indicate that any time soon will be spring and neither does the calendar for that matter. However, my fingers are itching to do something along that line! Below is a wonderful wind chime made from recycled kitchen items. My friend Pat received it and brought it to me this fall so that I could use it for inspiration for my own. When she and I went to Ault last week to an antique shop, I found a wonderful green enameled lid. Now that I see this, I may need to find another smaller lid also. I am also getting anxious to paint some plant labels on all of the old CD's I have accumulated. If they are heated (I use the sun when it splays hot rays through a window) or you can use a hair drier or heat gun if you are careful, they cut easily with a large scissor into any shape you like when warm. I prefer to keep them in a shape similar to a seed packet. A hole or two can be drilled which will allow them to be fastened to a stake or hang from a metal plant marker. I may have posted this in one of my earlier posts, but will do it again when I do one.And speaking of windows!! The windows in this home have broken seals permitting moisture to accumulate between the panes. They are also 30 years old and not very energy efficient. The Mr. can do just about anything, but we have large windows, 4 of which are on the second level. After much discussion and contemplation, we have decided to bite the bullet and replace them all in addition to two patio doors. We are not doing the work ourselves so the bullet is a hard one to swallow. It will be nice however, to finally be able to actually see out and be able also to wash them. These for the most part are so cloudy, they obscure the view. It will enable me to look out my windows and see all of the new plants, started from seedlings, which will be blooming in profusion this summer. (Optimist that I am.)

"Flowers are love's truest language." ~ Park Benjamin

Biscotti

I love coffee! It gets my heart pumping in the morning and if I can have a piece of biscotti ...even better! This is the finished batch and they came out perfect. I promised the recipe and this is the one I used. Guess what? It wasn't the cardomom recipe that I was using. (I thought it was). After I decided to keep the recipe and declare it a success, I discovered that I had used a Pecan Biscotti recipe and used cardomon in place of cinnamon. The recipe had been printed some time ago, was faint and had gotten water on it. (Water on printer ink tends to wash out the ink.)
Never the less, it is the best recipe ever!Pecan Cardomom Biscotti:
2 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 T cardomom,. Combine these dry ingr. In bowl cream 1 cup sugar with 1/2 cup butter or (50/50 smart balance). Add 3 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla. (Add 1/2 tsp almond ext. if desired also.) Stir in dry mixture.
Toast 1 cup coarsley chopped pecans and add to mixture. On floured board, roll into 2 rolls,
1 1/2" by 12" and place 1 1/2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 30 min at 325 degrees.
Cool slightly and slice diagonally into 3/4" slices and return to oven, baking 10 min on each cut side.

We now have doors on the bathroom downstairs. Since this is bathroom #3, it isn't critical, but it is one more step to being finished!! Since nothing is plumb, level or whatever, the Mr. had a lot of trimming and shimming to do. We have tiling to do and beadboard and trim and then painting. Seems like a slow process, but it will get done. Yes!

"To live long, it is necessary to live slowly." ~ Cicero

Biscotti anyone?

A few weeks ago, daughter,Erica sent me a recipe for Pecan Biscotti with cardamon. Cardamon? Never had occasion to use it and as it is a spice, decided to try this (new to me) flavor. However, being the very frugal gal that I am and upon discovering that it is a very pricey spice, at least out here in the wild,wild, west, I just couldn't bring myself to spend $10.00 on a little jar of something I might not like. We don't have Costco here in Wyoming, but at Christmas, we visited one with our son, Mike, and found that cardamon is priced very reasonably there and for a rather large jar too! Soooo...I tried the recipe finally today with great success! I will post the finished biscotti next time as I didn't want to wait forever to download all.
I will also post the recipe. I found that it is a very basic mixture of ingredients and after making batches with Sal before the Holidays, with so many varied recipes, some of which were crumbly, or spread too much, or just plain didn't cut very well, realize this can be adapted. Although it calls for pecans, cardamon and cinnamon, it is so basic. It cuts well, spreads on the pan nicely and didn't crumble. We made an espresso, a chocolate, and a walnut recipe and this could be used with any of those.
So much for baking. Yesterday we plunged forward with the bathroom project. With old clothes on, and the toilet and the sink and the light fixtures covered we sprayed texture on the ceiling and the walls. The Mr. brought the large air compressor from the garage into the basement and after mixing the gunk with what looks like a large version of a food emulsifier, filled the hopper and sprayed!!! I hit it with a wide flat drywall tool and wow! Does it look good. But we had that stuff everywhere. Took pictures, but until it's painted, the pictures don't look very great. Too much white I guess! This was a first for us, although we have done just about everything else in the home remodeling area....but now we know how it's done and we have the equipment and we saved a bundle by doing it ourselves.

"Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you."
~Aldous Huxley

AFTER

OK...this is the after. Looks a lot different and just in time for the sub zero temperatures. He will have to start wearing a coat. I went to my quilt meeting and we all shared low temps. Ours here, much closer to the equator was 5 degrees and farther out (10 or 15 miles or so) had -15 and -13. The other "afters" will be much later. So much for the critter pictures...now not much happening here. The Mr. started a batch of elk jerky and the aroma is driving us all crazy. As the new year is beginning, I intend to blog a little more regularly and put some more projects on here.

"A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains." ~ Dutch Proverb

Before and After

OK, I am up and running again after taking time to spend with family in CA and with friends back here for the New Year's arrival. Had an absolutely great time with family, but the drive back was a little stressful with snow, wind, and long hours on the roads. Good to be home, but more cold and snow with wind is predicted. The Thimbleberries quilt here is being "sandwiched" with backing, batting, and top and I will start quilting it soon. So this is the BEFORE. AFTER will follow much later. This week we will begin the quilt for 2010.

Unlike Erica, my New Year's resolutions are limited. Good grief, she has a bunch and knowing how goal orientated she is, I have no doubt that she will succeed. My one and only resolution is to lose the poundage that I put on the past two months. Really!!! I couldn't keep food from just leapin' into my mouth. I have a new pair of shoes!! Those "shape ups" by Sketcher are a bit weird looking, but I love 'em. With a fused ankle, it allows me more freedom to "rock" forward and puts less pressure on my knee. Along with that, Santa brought us a new tread mill. While at "Mike and Maggie's", I tried out theirs and decided that it was just the ticket to counter act all the food I inhaled. Erica brought goodies and Mike's neighbors and relatives brought food and he made yummy candy, Maggie made a chocolate tart which was to die for, not to mention all the other wonderful food we had. So the extra fat is my "BEFORE".

Little Spencer traveled with us and was a terrific little guy on the trip. In the car, he slept as soon as the engine started and woke up only when we stopped. He did his business on command practically and in the motels, he was a perfect gentleman. What a joy!! He is long overdue for a haircut and will be getting that tomorrow so this is the BEFORE and tomorrow I will post this AFTER...Stay tuned for the others.

"Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion." ~ Leigh Hunt