Rain

Its been raining lightly here, all morning long. The dog is eagerly staring out the sliding glass door, watching the birds peck at the wet grass. I'd let him out, but then he'd want to come right back in again. The 'walk' sort of got lost in the midst of this sleepy starting day.

There's a stillness that creeps up to me right now, inviting me to feel its void with creativity, a skill that seems somewhat long lost to me right now. I am slowly trying to recapture this butterfly though. Time has made time for me to do so.

Maybe, this quest will just start simply - (really, why do I always think that creativity = writing poetry and painting in watercolor?)

Let's start with the basics, and then I will feel like I am making a little more progress in this department. Basics, eh? Like making the front porch more agreeable. We worked a lot on both the front and back yards these past weeks - if I can dig up the camera, I'll get a picture of that work's results.

I'm getting there

Strawberries and Sunsets

I made chocolate-dipped strawberries this past weekend. Accompanied by brownies, we had some sweet post-Valentine's treats. . .

But the sweetest thing was this stunning sunset we saw on our walk :)

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

Christmas Decorating :)

We need a stocking for our pup ;)

Sweet

While researching some fun Christmas recipes, I stumbled on this goldmine of a recipe site - mindspring.com.I did find something rather delicious, which I am very eager to try out on my hubby. I'll let you know how it goes - this looked a little more complicated than the twisted bread recipe I mentioned (which is (as I remember it) basically bread dough twisted together and glazed in a butter/sugar mixture and baked till golden) but sounds even more delicious.

Almond Pastry Ring - Mandelkrans

Makes 1 large or 2 small

• 4 cups flour
• 2 eggs -- beaten
• 4 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 package dry yeast
• ½ cup warm water
• 2 cups butter

• 1 cup raisins -- coarsely ground (hmm . . . not a big raisin fan - maybe I'll try craisins :)
  
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons almonds -- finely chopped
• 1 lemon rind -- grated
• 6 eggs -- beaten
• 2 egg yolk -- optional
• 2 tablespoons almonds -- ground

• 8 egg whites -- beaten stiff
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup almonds -- ground

PASTRY RING

Mix flour, eggs, sour cream, wine and salt, blending well.

Soften the yeast in the water. Add to above mixture and blend well.

Knead until bubbles appear on the dough.

Roll out to ¼-inch thickness. Place the butter on the dough, fold over completely, sprinkle with flour, roll and beat gently with the hands until very flat.

Fold the 4 corners envelope style to the center of the dough and roll very thin. Repeat this procedure 4 times. The dough will be very flaky and rich. To make the ring for which the Danes are famous, fill as follows:

FILLING

Blend first five ingredients together well. Line a baking ring pan with half of the pastry dough. Place filling over this evenly. Cover with rest of pastry dough.

Brush with the beaten egg yolks and ground almonds to make the ring more decorative if you wish.

Let rise until doubled in bulk in a warm place.

Bake 40 minutes in a preheated 325º oven.

Pooch Pillow

UPDATE: This looked hopeful ;)

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Okay, to my dog-loving audience - (or, to those who love sewing things of this nature)

I have a little problem. He's my four-legged, adorable, BUT shedding monster who sleeps on our couch. I don't like this one bit. I always make sure that I have a protective sheet over the couch, but I am getting tired of spoiling him like this. Plus, I really want my couch back! And fur-free!

I want to make this pup his own place to plop. I am reluctant to throw down $60-100+ for a dog pillow, and I am feeling like it'd be fun to make a him cedar chip-filled pillow, just in time for Christmas. Strong fabric is a must - chew-proof would be nice too.

Any ideas? Thoughts? 'Amy-just go out and buy a dang dog pillow' s? ;)

Re: I wish I wasn't so blond. . . .

Au Contraire ;)

Today I got my hair 'lit' - she went all out - my hair is rather sunny and this picture doesn't even do it justice. . . trust me. I am blond.

Get some 'Hairapy'

Need a little 'pick-me-up'? This site is so much fun & too hilarious - It absorbed me for an hour! Go get a makeover

What I've been up to lately . . .

Well, I finally got my camera back, and I had fresh batteries too. . . These are some pics of the house, in a new coat of color, some parts still have yet to be finished, but, you get the picture ;)
*(Some of these pics are a little bit blurry)

~Living room~

(I still need to hang my wrought iron candle sconce back above the fireplace);)

~Bedroom~

~Master Bath~

(for the 'Befores' go here)

Pink Clouds & Socks

The sky was cotton candy pink tonight. Bubblegum, ballet shoes, a string of pearls, bridal pink - soft and inviting, like a down comforter.

Sorry, floating in la la land here.

While folding my laundry this evening, a stowaway brown sock, fitting a foot belonging to my husband fell out. Sigh. A lone ranger it was, no other sock to make it a pair. Kinda like him and I when we're apart.

No boohoo-hooing here. The man has safely arrived in Pennsylvania after a 30+ hour drive and the days are flying by like sparrows in the sky.

Gentle Cycle

My meditations on an ordinary laundry day:

We all know the routine. The break up of the darks and lights, the stain stick being liberally applied to those articles of a more soiled nature. With one basket on each hip, I carefully make my way down the stairway, over a 73 lb labrador and through the kitchen only to be met by one final obstacle. . . the garage door. PUtting both baskets down, I brace open the door with an agile foot and push one basket after another through. Whew.

I tip in the first load, cascades of smelly clothing fall in. The trick is to settle all the clothing in a centered ring around the middle to prevent the 'hiccups' that sometimes happen in unbalanced loads.
Now to select the settings. . . hmm. Always seems like such a gamble, but I test the water for the "Cold" setting. Didn't mom always say that that cold would keep the colors from bleeding? Or was it warm? Oh well - we always find out the hard way, right?

Water starts filling the full barrel. Time for the best part - detergent. The smell is absolutely intoxicating. . . if I didn't hold myself down to sanity, I'd be washing my hair in this stuff. After filling a cup halfway, I make three circles of dribblings all over the clothing. Then, I slam down the lid and pull the lever for a majestic finish.

Time for the washing machine to do its magic. Who ever said doing the laundry was a monotonous chore?

Trying to get back to the place you helped me to find

Hi.

Its funny how I can't remember what life was like before marriage. And mind you, I was not a miserable single.
I didn't expect to get married right after college, it just sort of . . .happened. No, it was not a mistake either. Haven surprised me out of the blue. Or maybe I was just a daft gal. At any rate, single life shriveled quickly right after we graduated.

Anyway, I don't want to ramble on being alone - I might as well go sulk in some puddles while I am at it ;)

I am watching 'Shall We Dance' right now. Anybody seen it? I dunno if I like the premise so far.

So, I am working on several little projects while my DH is away. No peeking ;) Hint: it involves color (what else is new?)


Okay, there are all thoughts random. I am off to walk-take-off-on-a-dead-run my hyperactive dog.

Goodnight :)

Paint

We like color - we just added two more colors to our house palette. . . a coffee brown and fern green are now adorning our master bathroom. I have great visions of creating a lovely escape in there. Cattails and ferns, vanilla, and some sheer curtains . . . Ooo la la . . .

GREAT ESCAPE ;)

My hubby is off to get a Harvest wheat frozen pizza - (MMMmmm good)


Oh yeah - and some brownie mix for chocolate cravings. ;)

Happy Sabbath evening and Memorial Day Weekend :)

Home Improvements

Well, remember this post?

We decided to paint the stairway wall Marmalade - very bright, cheerful

Mural, mural, on the wall

So, I have this vision. The vision entails lots of vibrant colors, paintbrushes of many sizes, a whole lot of patience, creativity & and a certain scene yet to be seen.
Three bare, white bathroom walls are desperately in need of restoration. A large mirror with Grecian-looking decals greets you when you are, ahem, doing your business in our 1/2 bath downstairs.
Not that I mind the mirror all that much, but it would be nice to have a beautiful mural on the other walls (to be reflected in the mirror as well).

Anyway, I am eager to find Mediterranean-ish'oceany,Italian-villa-ish-overlooking-the-oceany sort of mural (ha, if that at all describes anything).

This will be a fun project. :)

*This is the mirror with the Grecian decals ;)


*I already started on a corner, sketching some trailing bougainvillea which creeps up over the door.

And the bare wall, in its nakedness