Dining with the President

Dining with the President...

O Lord, no.  Not THAT President. I have better things to do with my time.


This President....

Thomas Jefferson, 

our third President

Ok, maybe I didn't exactly dine WITH Mr. Jefferson himself (which would have been a little creepy since he's been dead since 1826) but I did dine with his dishes.  Or maybe dishes named after him. Doing a little research now, what I always thought were reproductions of the White House dishes might just be dishes named after the Pres. O well. 

Anyway, back at Christmas time, Belle showed up and saw Mina eating off a saucer in the kitchen. 

Fluffy cat eating off the good 

Lennox Jefferson china.

Now, these are dishes that I have had for Belle's entire life. 

She exclaimed "Wow! Where did these come from? Why didn't we ever have decent dishes? We only had the crappy pottery ones."  

And then it hit me. These are the "good" dishes. The fine china. Got the set when I got married, got the set when I got divorced. And in that 31 year period, those dishes were probably used maybe ten times. Obviously Belle did not ever remember seeing them.  WHY?? 

Tonight's dinner. 

Using the china and silver.

On the gorgeous antique dining table.

(Click here to see the table refinishing project) 

These dishes are beautiful. I love them. Even after 31 years. Bone china is practically indestructible. I know. I've dropped them on the wood floor. Hand washed them in my sink which is legendary for chipping dishes. They don't break or chip.  Yet, they've been safely tucked away in their little quilted storage bags waiting for "special occasions". 

Salad from Moonlight Pizza, 

napkins from Target's Dollar Spot, 

silver from old family friends.

And at that moment, Belle opened my eyes. 

Why am I saving the things I love? Why am I not using them? 

I vowed that starting in February for President's Day, I would get out the good china and use it all month.  Now that February is almost over,  those dishes aren't going anywhere. 

Sometimes even Carlos gets to use them.

Seize the day. Spoil yourself. USE the good stuff.  Break out the crystal for that glass of wine. Put on the diamonds. Wear the silk and cashmere.

What's the point of having beautiful things if you don't enjoy them? 

Thanks, Belle. 

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And speaking of enjoying beauty, look what I have on my windowsill. 

My own private Spring. 

The temp out right now is 20º.

It is the dead of winter in Colorado.

But back when I moved here, I brought this Aloe Vera plant from Texas. In my travels, the plant tipped and dirt spilled out.  Once I got settled, I went to the shed and grabbed a handful of dirt out of a plantless pot. 

Guess there were some petunia seeds in that dirt. At first, I thought there were weeds coming up. Then I recognized the leaves. 

Beautiful, no? 

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I'm headed to Texas at the end of the week.

Probably won't post the first week of March. 

See you when I return with tales of rodeos 

and friends.

Love, Death, Kindness

Love and Horror and Hope....


On Valentine's Day this year, the same day that an expelled student took a semi automatic rifle, pulled the fire alarm at his former school to get the kids out into the halls and then gunned down 17 innocent lives, a former high school teacher took 15 dozen long stemmed roses, tied a love note to them and passed them out randomly to the public servants, nurses, teachers and neighbors in his small town.

Lyrics from Burt Bacharach's song "What the World  Needs Now" graced each rose. 

A timely reminder. Love for everyone. 

I was the recipient of a rose.  When I asked him why, his answer resonated. It spoke to the day, Valentine's Day, and to the alienation that many high school kids feel.

He said when he was a teacher, every year, the cheerleaders would sell flowers as a Valentine's fundraiser that the kids could then send to friends, significant others or those they hoped might become significant others.  He said he always knew which kids would get all the flowers and which kids would not get any. He could empathize with the kids that didn't.  

About nine or ten years ago he decided to just do something to make up for it.
He bought 5 dozen roses- he thought that was a lot- and passed them out.
Each year, the number grew.
About 175 roses this year. He says he's got a system to tagging them, adding the water reservoirs,    getting them ready to distribute.
He came into our clinic and handed out roses. Many of the nurses exclaimed "this would be the only rose" they would be getting this year. Some of them teared up. The newer nurses asked"who is this guy?" while the nurses that had been there a while explained "he does this every year".
Most did not know his name.

A beautiful and random act of kindness with perfect timing.

On the day we devote to love, one person trying to counteract the disenfranchisement of many.

Who knows what drives kids to pick up a gun and kill?  For many I think it's a feeling that they don't belong. For others, the gun is a symbol of power that eludes them in daily life.

I don't know. I was lucky. I got flowers on Valentine's Day back in high school.
(Now Middle School, that's a whole 'nother story.)

I do know that if I hear "praying for the school/children/world" one more time I will scream.
I have an idea.
How about praying for our government to enact change?
How about voting for change?
How about calling your representatives?

No one wants to take away your hunting rifles.
I'm a Texas girl.
I know tons of hunters. Related to a few.
Not one of them is out hunting deer with a semi-automatic.
And when you have prayed and voted and called?
Go out and perform your own random act of kindness.

I asked.  "Who do you think gets more out of it? You or the recipients?"

Figure out the answer for yourself.
Act. Do. Share.

(My random acts of kindness - No. 47 on my list- which seem pretty paltry in comparison....here and here. But you know what? They all count. They all make a difference.)

Sweets for the Sweet

Sweet treats...


because it's Valentine's Day on Wednesday, of course.

At Christmas Belle brought me some cookie cutters, which reminded me that I used to make elaborate sugar cookies for all of the holidays. Haven't done it in ages.

So it was time.

I'll take them to work, share with the neighbors, pass them out to friends.

Sugar cookies are a bit of a process since the dough has to chill so I planned on making the dough Friday night and baking the cookies Saturday morning.  Snow was forecast for Saturday afternoon so I would ice them then. What a plan.

After the dough was made, happily cooling in the fridge, I mentioned to a friend that I was making cookies and he said "Can you bake at this elevation?"
Shit.
Yes, I can but I know good and well I need to make adjustments. And I definitely did NOT make adjustments for this recipe.

(For more reading on my adventures with high altitude baking, click here and here and here.)

So Saturday morning the dough was thawed, water was added, then it went back to the fridge to chill again.

Kinda set my schedule back.

But eventually the dough was ready and I got out the world's most adorable cookie cutters.

These hands are my kids from when they were 1, 3 and 7. (Heres a link to a company that will make some for you. Fabulous baby present.)

I also have a collection of hearts although really wouldn't it have been perfect if I had THIS one?

An anatomical heart cookie cutter. 

Wish I had one yesterday.

I mean, I do work for a cardiologist.

The dough was rolled out. That required sprinkling flour everywhere. I'm a messy cook.

Rolling out the dough under the watchful eye of the plastic parakeet. 

Soon enough I had hearts and hands baked and waiting for icing.

Cookies make it easy to hand over your heart.

I had great plans. Rings for the hands, bracelets, maybe a watch. Then reality set in when I discovered the only food coloring I had was neon pink, orange, purple and green. Guess the good food coloring was lost in the move.
O well. Pink hearts and flesh colored hands, sprinkles and sugar confetti would have to do.

And the final product? Pretty cute, huh?

Literally sugar, flour and icing everywhere. 

Had to mop the floor today. 

Here's the sugar cookie recipe. I doubled it for this batch. They aren't too sweet so they really need the icing.  If you are baking at a high altitude like I am, add 2-3 tablespoons of water. I didn't add extra flour since I used flour on the rolling pin and counter (plus floor, me, cabinets, etc) when the cookies were rolled out.

Ingredients:

⅓ cup butter

⅓ cup butter Crisco shortening

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

1 TBSP milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Cream the butter, sugar and shortening. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix well.

Sift together the dry ingredients and add slowly.

Chill for at least two hours or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Roll and cut the dough.  Bake for about 10 minutes. 

For high altitude I added a couple of tablespoons water, lowered the oven to 340º and baked them a little longer. 

Sugar Cookie Icing:

3 cups confectioner's sugar

¼ cup water

1/2tsp vanilla

I usually add a little lemon juice to the water to give it a little edge.

Mix all until smooth. It should be thick and white. Color as desired. 

To thin, add water, drop by drop. It doesn't take much. 

To decorate, I use paint brushes. Just paint on the icing. It works. Just make sure you get all the paint out of them first. 

Happy Valentine's Day all!  Wish I could send cookies everywhere.

Ms. Handy Man?

Ms. Handy Man? 


At the rate I'm going, I'll be able to take this cabin apart and put it back together all by my lonesome.

The most recent home repair? The back door knob (lever)  was coming off. Easy enough it would seem. I already knew the basics.

 The outside was loose...

 But the inside was dangling.

I know for a fact those screws inside should not be visible.

Undo the set screw, remove the lever, remove the trim, tighten everything up and reverse.


So that's what I did. And guess what?   The door wouldn't lock. It was nice and secure, but it just wouldn't lock. Hmmm.

A quick text to my contractor friend and I had the answer. Look at the online manual.  Ok, that wasn't what I wanted but he also pointed out that some doorknobs require you to assemble them with the key inserted.

I did check the online manual and it was clear as mud. Some vague photos but one pic did show a key inserted. And then it showed the key turned. So was that explaining how to use the key? Or how to install the lock?

Seriously, what do figures A, B, D, E and F mean? 

I have no clue. 

Whatever.  It was getting too dark and too chilly to redo it on Saturday so I risked not having the back door locked. Fortunately the bears are asleep so I was safe.

Sunday I undid the set screw, removed the lever, took off the trim piece, pulled the whole sucker apart and started over WITH the key installed.
Guess what? It worked.

The door needs painting inside and out but at least the doorknob is tight. 

The door knob is secure.
The cabin is secure.
Knowledge is power.

Want to see more projects? Click here and here and here and here. I need Lowe's or Home Depot to sponsor me at this point.


Also... I finished my vanity. It's awesome. That chalk paint can be addictive.  Quick to paint, quick to dry, simple to finish. I'm eyeing a couple of other pieces of furniture for re-do status now.

The finished vanity. 

Isn't it cute? 

(I cropped out the paint splash.)

Love these fan pulls. 

I was hoping they were brass, but no.

After lots of polishing I thought to try the magnet test on them.

The magnet stuck, so not brass.

But still cute. 

Next up?  My office/sewing room. What a disaster.