‘Having Projects’ Living

I don’t know what causes

my ‘I better get this done’ mode to strike,

but I sure do enjoy it when it happens.


I have shared before that my parents

modeled

‘having projects’ living.


I am so glad they did.


It is SO satisfying.


My home has been a big hot mess

for two weeks while I rearranged, painted, and happily stewed,

but today

my intentions

and

my home/my friend

finally surfaced.

(flea market find- just visiting until it goes to Daughter #1)

My staging process , created by accident, has worked like a charm.

As I moved things out of a room, I put them on a table in the dining room.

Remember this?

That lessened the distractions and bird walking I tend to do-

as in

‘what is this?’

‘who bought this?’

‘where can I put this?’


I have , with Benny’s help and lots of

Diet Coke and iced tea worked so hard

I can’t walk.

I have:


*discovered a new favorite lamp, in pale turquoise- at the flea market

*had the kitchen painted SW Kilim beige

*had a nervous breakdown about the paint color/sought your opinions

*left it for another day… a much later day

*had the master bedroom painted SW Morning Fog

*had master bath painted the same color

*repainted the master bath a darker shade

*had daughters screen my calls because a million house questions seems to get on their nerves

*decided something paranormal is happening- no matter what paint color I pick, my bathroom looks blue

*had dimmers installed in our two dining areas- everyone looks better in dimmed light- who needs to see?

*realized I may need to wear a miner’s lamp

*had a small chandelier hung in the hall bath- I can’t get enough sparkle

*had a toe to toe discussion with Benny about the taping and floating that was needed- I let Benny (Eldon) win…

*broke my toe ramming it into something on the floor that was NOT on my staging table

and

*had another strange photographic experience.


Does this ever happen to you?


My house – like me- is NOT always photogenic.


Do you ever look at pictures of yourself and feel confused because you THOUGHT you looked one way but the photo says something altogether different?

My house is the same way.

I think things look great, I take a picture, and everything looks

uhmm..

slightly off/goofy.

But all is not lost-

I listened to Michael McDonald and danced (on one  broken toed foot)

anyway.




Pictures tomorrow- right or wrong.

Maybe it’s the photographer?

 

My Kitchen’s Historic Marker

(pecan pie )

Doesn’t this time of year just

connect it all?


Very soon for me ( and for you as well I am sure), it will be about

planning and cooking and preparing.

(flat apple pie)

I have decided, because Thanksgiving is

so meaningful and historical,

and because it honors good cooking

in my family,

especially from women who are no longer here,

I need one of these

in my kitchen.

Instead of ‘Lincoln slept here…’

it would reference

memories.

*the yellow Pyrex mixing bowl that belonged to my mother

*my Mamaw’s secret ingredient for cornbread dressing- dried hot dog buns

*wrestling with the turkey at 5:30 am while the rest of the house slept

*Grandmother Mills’s rolls and cinnamon rolls

*Mamaw’s pumpkin roll

*my mother’s coconut cream pie

*someone saying ‘can you put ice in the glasses?’

Connections.

Ranch Recipe #6: Vanilla Wafer Cake

my parents, 1950

 

As the month of October flies by,

I thought I’d share one of my favorite

fall desserts.

(source)

Vanilla Wafer Cake!


It is an honorary member of my

Ranch Recipes’

collection,

which is all about ranch living, South Texas, my parents (in the photo above),

family, and friends,

because:

a.  it is easy

and

b.  it is delicious.


I discovered it years ago in one of the

all-time BEST

Junior League cookbooks,

La Pinata

from the Junior League of McAllen, Texas.

Here it is!

Vanilla Wafer Cake

2 sticks butter

2 cups sugar

6 eggs

1 (16 oz.) box vanilla wafers, finely crumbled

1 (3 1/2 oz.) can Angel flake coconut

1 cup pecans, chopped

 

Cream the butter and the sugar together.

Add the 6 eggs, one at a time.

Add the vanilla wafer crumbs, the coconut, and the pecans.

Bake in a greased bundt pan at 275 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.


Serve with a delicious cup of coffee, sitting across the table from a friend or

a family member.

***

 

I am linking to LaurieAnna’s :

On a Roll and a Tip

I read a quote recently that

started my engines.

                                                                A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something. 

                                                                                                  (Frank Capra)


As a result

my house is a big hot mess.

I am on a roll,

and if my Bee Gees painter

Benny doesn’t divorce me,

some things may get done.


He is a grumpy artiste

who says three things to me:

“You got the paint?”

”When you make up your mind.”

and

”Why don’t you like the color?”

I don’t know why I don’t like the paint color,

I just know that when I stand in from of the

paint swatch strips at Sherwin Williams,

brain cells start leaving my body.


I am not kidding.

It may as well be geometry class,

or horror of horrors,

word problems.


Tomorrow is a new day though.

I will not be intimidated.


Now to two important tips:

I began my project of rearranging

and freshening things up

by

(wait for it…)

1. REMOVING THINGS.

(nothing is arranged in this room)



Removing things lead to my next step-



2.  SET UP A STAGING TABLE.

I edited first, but I needed a place to put those things

until I could deal with them later.

A library table in the center of my dining area worked for me.


So there is a plan.


I have studied the gallery wall tutorial

and tomorrow is the day.


Every tutorial I read included the word

frustrating.


Perfect.

 

The DugOut

During our Chicago visit for the marathon,

one of the many

be still my beating heart,

life changing things I witnessed

was this.

My husband sitting in the

Chicago Cubs’

dugout,

thinking

whatever one thinks

when faced first hand with

something you have loved

for a very, very

long time.


He quietly said,

“I wish I could chew on a blade of grass,”

and off I went

to make that happen,

by first asking permission.

I should have squatted and reached under

the rope

and tugged- which is far more my style.

The answer?

“Uhmm, no .”