Wednesday, June 25, 2014

And the Painting Continues...

Once the living room had been repainted, the dining room was next on the list. One of the many things I love about this old house is the 9' ceilings and the big windows. The dining room only has one window, but it's a big  picture window that lets in lots of good light. It faces west and brings in lots of the afternoon heat which is really nice in the winter, but not so much during the desert summers. Thus the glare -


Still, the paneling made it feel like a cave and my mission to banish all 70's paneling must continue. I guess it was kind of cozy, but all of our furniture just felt like it was invisible against the brown. Here are the before shots:



Since its just the 2 of us these days, I don't keep any leaves in the table, but I have 2 large leaves that I add when I have a crowd:


I have 2 hides that I keep under the table too, but they were out on the fence waiting to be whacked with a rug beater. One more wall waiting for Kilz:


I used a color called Heath:






The red curtains have to go now.


But this room is done. Up next - the kitchen. I hope to tackle it after the 4th.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Lemon Meringue Cake

We're working cattle again this week so I'm back in  the kitchen and prying my eyes open at 2:30 in the morning.

I just wanted to pop in and let y'all know that our boy did get back to Camp Pendleton safely. Thank you so much for putting up with a Mama's worry and for your thoughts and prayers. I truly appreciated them. He called along the way a couple of times when he stopped for fuel. He's a good boy. :) We called him when we calculated that he ought to have arrived and he picked up saying, "Hey, I'll call y'all back in a minute. I've got to get a haircut." LOL. He drove directly up to the barbershop and squeaked in just under the wire before they closed. He had to be on post early on Monday morning and that haircut had better be up to regulation. He had a good trip and is making plans to fly back and pick up his truck next chance he gets. We would go pick it up and bring it back home, but that would add another 4 hours to the trip back for him.

I thought I'd share a recipe with y'all today. I made this this afternoon for dessert tomorrow.


This is another one of those recipes I've been making for over 20 years. I found it in a Farm Bureau Cookbook and it is a much requested recipe by the crew.


 Lemon Meringue Cake

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1/2 C softened butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/3 C sugar
1/2 C cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 C water
4 eggs, separated
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp grated lemon rind
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 C sugar

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Stir cake mix, butter, and egg together and press into 9 x 13 cake pan. Set aside.
*Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water  in a saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
*Add the egg yolks quickly and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
*Stir in butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice, and pour everything over crust.
*Beat the 4 egg whites together with 1/4 tsp cream of tarter until frothy. Gradually add the 1/2 c sugar and beat at high speed until stiff peaks form.
*Spread over lemon filling and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.



I'm serving barbecue sandwiches, coleslaw, corn on the cob, potatoes, and jalapeno poppers for dinner.

Come and get it!




Saturday, June 14, 2014

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends and the Good Lord

The boys designed and built a contraption so that our son could haul his bike back to California and he loaded it up yesterday:



He headed back to California this morning, but we squeezed in a few rounds of skeet as soon as the sun was up before he headed west.



4 hours later he called with transmission troubles. Finding a transmission mechanic on a weekend - not so easy. We don't know anyone in that town, but we called our friend Matt who went to school there and knows people everywhere. He knew a friend who knew a friend and phone calls were made. The friend of the friend - Wade - is a mechanic. He was at a friend's house in El Paso, about 40 miles from where our boy was. He drove back and opened up his shop to help out our boy. Alas, a new transmission is needed to the tune of $1400. Our son needs to be back on post on Monday morning so he was just going to leave his truck, jump on his bike and head back, but Wade, a former Marine, insisted on him staying the night with them and then our son could head out fresh in the morning. So, how's that for God's hand orchestrating the situation? Pretty awesome. Thank you Wade, and praise God.

He'll have to fly back at some point when he gets a day off and pick up his truck. Another option I like is that we drive down when his truck is fixed and I drive it to California and fly back.

So. I'm asking for prayer for our boy as  he heads back on that new bike of his tomorrow. I would sure appreciate it.

The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore. Psalm 121:8

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Quick Donation Quilt Using 2 1/2" Strips or a Jelly Roll

How about a sewing post? Sewing? Yep, I still do that every now and then.

I'm still working on that UFO list and these 2 quilts were on it. Well, 'working on' may be a bit of an exaggeration. Somewhere in the blur of the last 4 months I managed to quilt one of these and get them both bound.


The tutorial for this quilt is from the Missouri Star Quilt Company and you can find it here.  I just really like the pattern and its becoming my 'go to' pattern .This pattern works up so fast and I stitched these two up to have a few quilts on hand for when a need arises. Seems its hard to whip them out when something comes up.

 I like the way the diamonds add a little something extra.


These made decent sized lap quilts, about 45 x 58. I have to remember that not everyone needs humongous quilts like I usually make and I'm hoping these will eventually find their perfect home.


I backed this one with some Minky I had left over and I did have Jackie quilt it because I was afraid of the Minky. :) She quilted a simple rose pattern that made this quilt really shine:

I thought the colors were fun and made for a cheerful quilt.
Here's the second one. Golly, it was a pretty morning! I was out taking pictures at 6 and even the mosquitoes weren't out yet.


 The backing for this one came from my stash too.


I really wanted to use a pretty blue, but in the spirit of working from my stash, I used what I had. I even made due with the binding. I was one strip short so I dug around in my brown stash and found something that I think works.


I just quilted a loose serpentine stitch across the quilt on my home machine in an attempt to get some free motion quilting practice in. Next time I need to increase my stitch length.


I also stitched up 10 really fast blocks for Kevin the Quilter about 6 weeks ago. He's having a block drive for QOV here. So pop over and give him, and a special organization, a hand. Its a great way to thank our servicemen and women for their service and sacrifice.


I can now cross off 3 and 4 from my UFO list. Slowly... very slowly... but surely, I am making progress. I might even have to start a new project! :)


Sunday, June 8, 2014

It DID Get Better!


 Yep! BOTH kids are home at the same time!! (Photo from last year) This Mama is over the moon! And just last night we had another incredible rain. Roads under water and washed out and dirt tanks spilling over and draws are running. From what we COULD see, we had from .4" to 3".

Lots to be thankful for. Our cup of blessings truly runneth over...in many ways!


Our girl came home after Finals and it has been so nice having her here. Then our boy flew home on Saturday for his post deployment leave. He's been in Okinawa since September.

Lots of good, quality time as a family Soaking in every moment. Lots of teasing and laughing and cooking and eating. Firing up the smoker and the fire pit. Baking favorites. Its all going by much too quickly. Our girl had to leave on Wednesday. She headed to Colorado for a wedding and then turned around and headed to Lamesa to begin her summer employment. I know we'll see her at another wedding  later this month, but I'm thinking she's going to be pretty busy in Lamesa.

She's been helping move and wean cattle. That means 4 am wake up calls and the mercury has been hovering at the 106° mark in the afternoons. Kind of wears a body out. On Wednesday, she was horseback at 4:30. Came back to the house at 9. Packed and left at 10. Drove 150 miles to her apartment. Packed again and left for Colorado...another 5 1/2 hours. Makes for a long day. She's young, but I'm betting she's still tired. She likes her sleep and with hours like that, there's not a whole lot of time for snoozing.

Our boy will be here for a few more days. He was excited to pick  up a new toy he'd been saving up for, for a long time:


Yes, this Mama's hair is turning grayer with his newest acquisition, but I also know our boy. He's got lots of common sense and is a master at situational awareness. Still, I am stepping up my prayers and asking God to add another layer to the hedge of protection I've been praying for him.


He's wanted a bike for a really long time. This is a touring bike and he's planning on using it to decompress from Marine life.


 I get that. Our girl has her horse. DH likes to shoot. And I've got my quilting.

DH and he spent lots of time discussing the details:


DH even settled in to learn the basics


We're excited for you, Son...and that pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)... it's happening.

Monday, June 2, 2014

My Kind of Cookbook

So we had one day worker left last Friday morning and seeing as it was too wet to tear up the roads, he and DH sat at the dining room table and visited for much of the morning. We love Tye. He's living in the mountains now. hunting bear for a living. Yes, you can make a living doing that and Tye is a master at it. He invited DH out for a bear hunting expedition and I know  how  much he's going to love that. I may have to go drag him off of the mountain.

Closer to noon, our college girl ran off with her Daddy and they headed east to check on the rain. DH called me soon after and said one of our friends who helped us work this week, was headed out to visit. LOL. They just keep coming back. So I pulled out leftovers and paper plates and another extended visiting session ensued. But Matt's like family, as is Tye, and our door is always open.

Weather is always a pertinent topic in these parts and it made me laugh to see these two comparing radar maps. Neither one is particularly tech savvy, but they are both avid weather watchers:


Matt brought us this:


A few weeks ago, when he and Amanda were over, they brought up a cookbook they had run across at the vet supply store in town. It piqued our interest and we planned on asking about it the next time we were at Paul's, but Matt showed up with a copy for us on Friday.

This is my kind of cookbook. Its got history  and stories

                          

and recipes that are shared in the best way!

 

I love how they just photocopied the actual recipes from the recipe cards or from pieces of paper or from wherever the recipes were found.  The handwritten recipes and added notes and additions or substitutions scribbled in the margins add such a personal touch.


So much more charming than having everything typed and orderly.


I have already decided that I will need a few more copies of this book for gifts. I haven't had the chance to really devour it yet, but it is waiting in the wings for those spare moments between batches of rolls and sinks of dishes.

Through the years I've collected a good number of recipes that have made it to the best loved recipe book:

                           

I posted about a few years back here.

Now that we are empty nesters, our eating habits have changed. I no longer have a need for washtub sized casseroles or desserts that serve a small country. However, I still find myself searching out new  recipes to add to the collection. I still love cookbooks, but I have learned to be much more selective of those that will earn a spot in my cookbook library.

 This one has earned a spot.
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