What I've been up to

Hello people.  Last night was the first time in weeks that I picked up the needle.  If I start a little Christmas project I will never finish Sally so I will try my best to continue.  Then have a little party when it's done.

 

I've had quite a few appointments lately and we've been working on the kitchen cupboards that Dominic will never get to.

 

This is the time of year that Mark ventures into the woods to pick mushrooms, as his grandfather and father taught him.  His grandfather was from Czechoslovakia and his grandmother would string the mushrooms to dry for soups and dishes throughout winter.  He has his favorite types but enjoys the tradition of that walk in the woods to find the reward.  Coming across a hunter is always a concern.  He went on Sunday to avoid that encounter and brought back some bags for me.  Black walnuts for making another batch of dye.  I have since moved them to a large box since they are starting to rot, ready for the pot.

 

I've had this chair in my garage for a few years and love the colors of paint showing.  It makes a mess with flaking off, even after wire brushing, so I sprayed with a matte acrylic sealer.  Never did this before and I'd like to bring it in the house so I'm hoping the sealer stops the flaking.

 

My sister is finally getting rid of some things and she came across a set of pillowcases that she received as a wedding gift 45 years ago.  Beautifully hand embroidered, still in the original box with label from Madeira.  I need to check EBay and see if anything like this is being purchased. 

 

As for the cupboards, I painted and we used the originals, adding the bottom area for microwave and open storage.  This is similar to what we drew for Dominic and it would have been one large unit instead of pieces.  A strip of moulding was to cover the seam between the top cabinets and the bottom area we added but I didn't like it so I'm using one-part Bondo (for cars) to fill and level the joints.  Hopefully, you won't be able to tell at all that they were joined.  If not, the moulding will go back on.  You notice the right side is not the same backing as the left.  That's because we cut into the wall and boxed it to add a few inches of depth for the microwave.  This allows it to be flush with the top cabinets.

 

Mammogram at 7:30 am tomorrow so I'll miss the Golden Girl reruns tonight and am already dreading Hallmark's program change to 24/7 movies for two months.  Still having major problems with the computer(s) browser and now Firefox won't open items when I click them either.  Disgusted enough to be missing a lot of posts and updates.  That's not helping my disconnect to stitching at all.

 

It's late and I have to color my very noticeable 2" gray at the roots.  I hope all is well with everyone.  I feel like I'm slipping further away since the tech troubles, kind of like a kid who is changing schools.  I'll do my best to get back to stitching and call the computer guru back to help me again.

 

Take care!  Thanks for visiting.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What's this here chop?

Worcestershire pork chops

My husband's favorite.
 

Dip chops in beaten egg.

Coat with Gia Russo Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

I always use waxed paper to bread meats.  Spread the crumbs, add the meat, top with crumbs, folding the paper over and pressing the crumbs in, turn over and do again.

Saute in a little oil over medium high until browned.

(Love electric fry pans)

Put 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (Lea&Perrins!) in a measuring cup. Then add water and fill to 3/4 cup.

Pour over chops, reduce heat to low (250-275 on my pan), cover and barely simmer about 40 minutes for thick chops, turning once.

If making four chops, use 3 Tbsp and water to make 1 cup.

 

 

 

My repaired computer is fine EXCEPT I cannot post!  The cursor will not show up in the post box to type and I haven't found a cure yet.

 Wrangler Kate you are no-reply. The heart pouch in previous post is Lori Brechlin's free chart. 

 

Chop chop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who do we

 

 

 

 Miss Lori of course.

 

vote

*****************************

 

 

Stinky

Greetings folks.  A little excitement yesterday created a real stink in the house.  Our new smooth top stove has burner knobs in the front which can be easily moved by Keebler hips.  The first time, it was Mark, while he was installing the backsplash in the corner near the range.  We caught it early enough to not set the pot holder on fire, only take the color off and make it very flat. 

The second time was when I was priming the backsplash after moving items from that area onto the stovetop.  If I hadn't smelled the stench, I may not have turned around and things would have been worse.  The apples' plastic bag with the cardboard inside melted to the smooth surface and ignited the cardboard.  The apples cooked on one side too.  We immediately starting scraping the melted plastic with a razor blade before it could harden.  Many applications and scrubs with Affresh finally removed it all but the top isn't as black as before.  Usually, a melt such as this permanently damages the top.  We have now taken the knobs off and will only use them when we are cooking.  I also need to have someone come out and check the temps because I can't even saute onions on Low without burning.

 

Now, the new dishwasher is a different odor, more like Rodent Rendezvous.  Bosch, smelled terrible when we received it with inside paperwork damp (they physically test each one which is why it was wet).  After using it the odor disappeared but with only two of us, it's not run every day and that stench is back.  I have to air it by keeping a paint stick in the door so it won't close.  What I'm trying to tell you is - my house reeks right now.  Good thing I have Misi Axel's scents in my linen drawers.

 

And here's a tip for you.  So you're not happy with your new car's center console.  You want to see the interior of a different car that's parked in the same lot.   You can't see inside very well so you need to lean in with your hands shading your eyes and resting on the window.  Don't do it.  Just sayin'.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crabass

Hey.  What's happening?  Nothing interesting happening here which I guess is good.  Interesting can sometimes require deep thought and crabs just wanna crab, not contemplate.

 

 I installed the hard drive and downloaded all the drivers to get the Dell up and running but now I have to get all the programs and set up mail and such.  What a pain in my Pecan Sandies butt.  This old laptop's touchpad button needs to be pounded in order to work and I haven't been reading and visiting much at all.  Seems the stitching slump is leaching into blogging and computer time.  Big confession is, I have not picked up a needle since.... I don't know.  But with my memory problems, who knows?  Maybe it's only been a couple of days, maybe a week.  For the first time since I quit stitching all those years ago, I am not purchasing any new charts.  I have enough samplers to last quite a while but that never stopped me before.  I love what I see but don't feel that I will be stitching much longer.  That's scary.

 

 

We're getting the brats set up in the garage for cold weather and Yellow Cat is still terrorizing.  Bud has been oozing from a huge bite infection and has wounds all over.  He's on an antibiotic but the buildup continues faster than the draining.  I've used all the good flea products faithfully and have food grade diatomaceous earth on their carpets and bedding, but they still have fleas.  All it takes is one bite and I break out with 50.  I don't know how that's possible but I attract those little bastards and must have an allergic reaction to their bites. Comparing their itch to a mosquito bite is like Moby Dick to a minnow.  Mark has NONE and Bud lays on him every day.  I walked through the garage and came in with one in my sock.  My mom loved polka dots and that's what I look like from the knees to toes.

 

We're finishing the stove area and microwave cabinet after giving up on Dominic, should be done in a few days.  The duct work and vent for the fan is the final problem and because I chose a model from a manufacturer that no one local deals with, no one will do the installation.  Bite me. 

 

Maybe we will have sunshine and warmer temps this week. 

Hope your week will have some bright spots too.

 

Later pals.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The pants dance

Hello folks.  Enjoying the Fall weather?  Our beautiful week is over and dreary rain has moved in along with chilly temperatures.  October.  What a bitch.  Anyway, I've decided to keep at Sally which isn't that far from completion.  Foolish to quit now, but I plan to work on a smaller project at the same time and trade off.  I'm a one project to completion stitcher but I did take a short break for a small recently and I handled it better than expected.  What I expected was to continue finding smalls in order to avoid going back to the large.  So now I'll try the small one evening, and the large the next and see how that goes, afraid to put Sally aside completely. 

 

I forgot to mention that the day we came home from the car exchange, the lamps flickered for a moment, and shortly after I smelled my mom.  Distinctly.  She never really wore perfume but always had a lovely scent which was unmistakably hers.  I felt my parents telling me they were pleased.  And here we go with the weepies again.  I do have her Evening in Paris talc, still full, and for some reason cannot locate the little blue cologne bottle.  For decades they sat on her dresser, even when we brought her here, and I've kept them together ever since.  But it's gone.  My mom always saved things "for good", as did my grandmother, thinking they may never be replaced.  Neither had any spare money to spend on themselves, whatever little they had went for the children's needs.  I inherited that "save it for good" philosophy unfortunately, and also their lack of money for replacements.

 

Most of you are probably smarter than I am and sit down to put on your pants.  I do the pants dance.  Standing, right leg in first and then I raise the left, expecting it to easily enter the leg opening as it did all those prior years of youth when hormones were plentiful and limbs were limber.  Sometimes it makes the leg opening, most times it doesn't.  This starts the pants dance.  Hopping on the right leg trying to keep balance, hunched over and holding onto the pants, tapping the left foot on the floor after every failure. I really get a good rhythm going.  This dance move has me hopping and tapping while my body continues moving to the right until a wall intervenes.  This is my own style of hip-hop.  Why the hell don't I give in and sit down? 

 

Maybe next month.

 

Have a great week and thanks for visiting.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~