Restart

I am not a plant person.  My parents and my brother have lovely green thumbs, but that gene pretty much skipped me.  However, the one botanical endeavor I am willing put time and energy into is a vegetable garden. 

Years ago, my husband and I lived in a more rural area and we planted our first vegetable garden. And I learned to can green beans and tomatoes, make pickles and plum butter, and gained a great appreciation for all the work my ancestors did just to keep food in the pantry.  I also learned that, like making bread, seeing a row of jars of home-canned goods can be very satisfying.  Having said that, it is more of a been there, done that experience that I am not particularly interesting in taking on again.  

A few years ago, we decided to do another garden--small, just enough for two.  We planted tomatoes, green beans, squash, and peppers with varying success.  This was during my food journey, and I learned that most of the above were things I couldn't eat anyway.  With my husband's work schedule being what it is, most of the upkeep of the garden fell to me, and after a couple of seasons, we decided to let the garden space hibernate for a while.  

In the past month or so, though, I had an urge to get things started again, this time with a good handle on what foods are good for me.  My dear hubby gallantly scraped off the wood chips we had covered the garden with to hold back erosion and turned the soil. 

Then he worked in the mulch from our grass clippings.

We made a trip to the nursery and came home with all my greens for a winter garden and planted them together.  That was fun! :-)

Now it is up to me to keep things going, but it is a lovely feeling to see the garden planted again.  We will see how it goes….

A Simple Style Continued...

It is always the little odds and ends that take the most time to complete.  My dear hubby's schedule doesn't allow him much time to do the extra stuff, but he took some time during his last vacation to take care of some small to-do's around the house.  Several of the dowels that we use to hang my quilts needed painting, and there was one last quilt that needed to be hung above the fireplace.  Now that it is up, that space in the house is finished.  And again, I am loving this simple style.

A Busy Beginning

A Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday celebrations.  The new year has gotten off to a busy start for us.  For several months now we have been looking into replacing the flooring in our home.  The carpet is over 10 year old and we have had problem with the original tile floors cracking.  Just before Christmas we picked out the new flooring materials and right after Christmas we met with our installer.  Next week is the big install and our house is in chaos with all the packing and preparation.  

My hubby and I spent the week of New Years painting our new baseboard….lots of baseboard….720 linear feet of baseboard.  But much easier to do it laid out on the floor than to do it once it is installed. Our installer will put in the baseboards and caulk the nail holes, so all we have to do afterwards, then, is the touch up.  

The rest of this week--packing.  Two things I have thought of in this process:  I don't every want to move again and minimalism definitely has its appeal.  Though I keep things pretty organized, there is a lot of stuff I have in closets and cabinets simply because I had the space to keep it.  So, along with all this upheaval, in the before and after I am doing and will do a lot of cleaning out.  

I look forward to posting pics once it is all done.  Again, Happy New Year!

One of six bundles we did.

Technology

It is great when it works, but when it doesn't, it can be a little scary.  This past week, I was fixing my lunch as usual--heating up some acorn squash in the microwave and sauteing some asparagus on the stove top.  I pressed the button on the microwave to turn on the over-the-stove light.  The light came on, as well as the vent fan, and about 3 minutes was added to the cook time for my squash.  Okaaaay.  I stop the microwave, and consider my next move.  My squash needs a little more time to heat, so I push the number 4.  It shows up as 5 on the display.  Hmmmm.  Okay, I can go with 5.  I push another number and start.  The microwave tells me to enter a second cooking time.  All right.  It doesn't like 4 anymore.  I manage to finish getting my lunch ready and make plans to replace the microwave.  

Plan A:  Replace the mircrowave.  

Get on the internet.  Do a quick search at Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears.  The brand of the microwave we currently have has good reviews, so we decide to get basically the same thing we have.  Check on availability.  Alas, we want a white mircrowave, which is not the popular item right now and will have to be ordered.  No possibility of getting it until after Christmas.

Plan B:  Forget the microwave and just get a vent hood.

Certainly much cheaper.  Can I remember how to heat up food without a microwave? Worked through all those scenarios, even looking up how to reheat rice without a mircrowave on the internet.  (Everything is on the internet!)  Since there won't be a replacement until after Christmas, I will have to do things the old-fashioned way anyhow.   

Plan C:  Look at a countertop microwave/convection oven.

Dual purpose appliances don't get very good reviews.  Toss Plan C.

After going back and forth between Plan A and Plan B, we decide to go ahead with Plan A, since it would be something we would have to do anyway if we were to need to sell the house for some reason.  In the meantime, the thing that is driving me the most crazy is not having the light over my stove.  To make sure I don't accidentally turn it on, I did the Big X.

The one good thing is that over the stove microwaves are a lot less expensive than they were when we last bought one.  And that is a technological plus. 

Fireside Tale

Once upon a time, there was an ugly fireplace.  Now, it was not unusual in its ugliness.  On the contrary, many of fireplaces in nearby homes could claim the same.  However, the master of the house knew that this fireplace had potential for being a lovely asset to this home, so he began planning its transformation.  It took a number of years for the plans and resources to come together, but finally the day came for the grand plan to become a reality.

Here is the before.

 The old is stripped away and the new surround is framed up.

 A little primer...

 A little paint.

 A new hearth.

 Tile work is complete.

 An new mantle made of solid maple wood.

And a hefty bracket to hold it in place.

A warm stain for the mantle.

 So pretty!

The arch of the surround and the curve of the mantle and hearth echo the arches of the home's doors and windows.  Now the fireplace looks like it actually belongs rather than like an afterthought.  And the fireplace lived happily ever after.