Requests

I had mentioned that I had organized my studio closet somewhat for the time being, and there was a request to see it. Maybe I wasn't believed because of my earlier scary pictures at the other house. The studio closet....

Then we have the Pantry......

Yes Ladies, that IS the Jack Lalane juicer you are seeing there.

It does a great job, just don't have one every day, if you know what I mean.

This is why I don't watch QVC.

Sucked in every time.

The Coffee Bar and Cookbook Shelves.

 And Lastly the Mega Closet.

I am being very choosy about what to put in it. 

The baskets are at the top so they are easy to grab and use.

This end is all Toms'-Top to Bottom and Corner to Corner.

He told me to keep my crap off his shelves.

He's so touchy!

We are also getting the yard in this week.  The focus today has been on the basement window that will have a bricked retaining wall.  There is a whole lot more involved in putting in this yard than what we ever imagined. There is lots of equipment out in the yard, I think more than when the house was being built.

 There will be pictures to come.

Doing more than work

I needed to make a couple of cards to give away.  It was fun to play with my stamps again.
I do still have to hunt for things as they are far away from being organized yet. I do have my

stamp pads and ink put away though.

Here are the two cards with envelopes.

Stonewall was full of nosiness this morning.

Yes we do give him his own water bowl..

Then something smells pretty good on my camera bag.

I don't think I have a can of tuna in there.

Here he is again!

Sebastian found the new spot for the cat tree and decided to take his10 hour nap in the trunk.

I wanted to share this really cool thing with you.

Tom needed something on top to extend his desk.

He didn't want to get a new desk, just get a bigger top. 

We had asked Steve how they made the top of the fireplace

and could Tom have one too for his desk.

Steve was so kind to stain and clear coat it.

It turned out just beautiful!

It is a perfect fit and Tom loves the top. 

The Wreath Problem

I decided I needed to do a little fall decorating.  It is like a treasure hunt out in the garage and the basement and I had discovered (to my delight) a wreath that I had bought last year. I wanted to find a nice wreath hanger for my door. I had an over the door one at the old house but it scraped the paint off at the top and that always bothered me. I went to Joanne Fabrics and found something that was just perfect.

I thought this will be great!  No moving in the wind, it is really strong as I had to practically have someone help me get it apart!  The price was right, $5.99 and I had two to use. 

I got home and quickly tore the container apart and stuck it to the door.

THUD!

Good thing my toe wasn't in the way.

I tried it again.

THUD!

What is that Einstein quote...

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

That was me!

I couldn't imagine what was wrong.

Then stupid ideas come out.

The magnets must not be working.

Even though it is tough get them apart.

I will try it in a different spot.

So I went way low.

Still the same result.

I had a steel door at the other house 

why won't it work here.

Because Steve the Builder, uses those newfangled fiberglass doors.

Never gave it thought.D+U+H!

As God is my Witness,

I WILL have a wreath on my door.

So I got out my over the door hanger.

And it fit better than at the old house.

Those Steele doors must be Fat.

It looks beautiful on the black door.

This weekend we saw progress.

I have 1/4 of the house cleaned and organized.

Tom, Sam and Kevin worked hard outside and the result was two vehicles in the garage.

Look closely it's not the same vehicle.

I moved that big Ole cat tree out of my studio and into the Gathering  room that overlooks the pond.

Stonewall made do with the windowsill and was perfectly happy.

New Recipes

I have been enjoying my new kitchen.  It is pretty much put together where I can go right where the utensils are that I need.  Theresa's birthday was today and I made a couple of tasty new recipes.  Beware though, if you are looking for healthy and low fat these are not the ones to try, but they were so good!

Four Cheese with Bacon

Macaroni and Cheese

RECIPE

Ingredients

1 pound rotini pasta

6 slices of bacon

1 T butter

3 T flour

2 cups 2% milk

onion powder to taste

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese shredded

1 c shredded Colby-jack cheese

1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

8 slices American cheese

Heat over to 350 degrees.

Coat a 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray

Cook the pasta 8 minutes in boiling water then drain.

Meanwhile cook bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels.  Pour off drippings returning two Tablespoons to the pan and add the butter.

Whisk in flour until smooth and then whisk in milk.

Stir in onion powder, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. 

In large bowl toss together cheddar, Colby-jack and mozzarella.

Remove milk mixture from heat, whisk in American cheese slices and 1 1/4 cups of the cheddar mixture.  Break bacon into pieces with remaining shredded cheese. 

In pasta pot combine cooked pasta and cheese sauce. 

Pour half into prepared dish.  Sprinkle with a generous cup of the bacon-cheese mixture.  Repeat Layering.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cool slightly before serving.

It was a big hit at the office.

I had enough left to have some at home too.

Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie

Theresa loves pie and this is one of her favorites.

I found this recipe in a copy of Country Living Magazine.

It is from Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, Indiana.

RECIPE

Ingredients

1 9 inch store bought or home made pie crust.

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar for sprinkling

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla a extract

1 Tablespoon butter

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For filling in a medium bowl combine heavy cream, flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, milk and vanilla.

Fit crust into a 9 inch pie pan.  Dot bottom with butter.  Pour filling into crust.  Combine cinnamon and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and sprinkle on top of unbaked pie.  Bake pie until set and center is firm to touch, about 1 hour.  Cool on a wire rack. 

Simply delicious!

Enjoy

I had also doubled the recipe to have a pie at home too.

It was very welcome.

It's coming along

It's been a week since we have moved. We have had new neighbors bring over warm peanut butter cookies, fudgy brownie and sugar cookies. We have had friends bring housewarming gifts, and another friend celebrate his 21st birthday at the new bar.  We have a long way to go to get the boxes all unpacked but some progress was made this weekend.

All these are empty.

Then also there was a really cool bird walking the perimeter of the pond.

He was interesting to watch.

I am going to share a few pretty things that we have gotten together.

My table and chairs look pretty.

Tom has his bar stocked and all put together.

The beloved Detroit Tigers Fathead has been put on the wall.

I'm getting the dishes put in the hutch.

It's feeling more and more like home all the time.

The cats have adjusted  well.

Sebastian got out yesterday and then was crying frantically on the front porch.

They have lots of windows to look out of and also lots of room to run,

which at times sounds like horses galloping through the house.

The next picture is something that we don't see often.

 

Sebastian is on top and Stonewall is on the second level.

Must be because their belly's are full and they are mellow.

Stonewall doesn't usually let Sebastian get that close, let along be above him.

Rich who was helping us move made an observation.

It took one person to move our bed frame but two people to move the cat tree.

They are pretty important.

Marvelous Morning Glories

Before the move on Saturday I was walking around the house and realized that the morning glories decided to grown in this spot.  They probably really liked it because of the water spout.  I had never planted any

here before.

Just a beautiful creation!

I'm so glad I took the time to look at the flowers!

More Tiles

One of the last things that get done in a new house should you decide to do it is a back splash.

I had the birthday tiles for quite a few years and decided to use them.

I ordered another tile from the same artist.

Then we chose limestone rope.

I love the rough look of the rope.

The men, Nick and Todd are the same men who did the shower.

They do such neat and fantastic work and are also tidy.

I had three of these tiles that came from my Mother's estate. I had to find one that would be similar.

This one had similar colors and was done by the same artist that did the other tiles.

The tiling went all the way around. 

It is beautiful!

Moving Day

It has come and gone.  We had so much unbelievable help or we would not have been able to pull it off. 

We had 4 pickup trucks, a sprinter van, the explorer,a landscaping trailer and a farm truck. 

It took 3 loads with all those vehicles.

We looked like a Conga line going down Minnich road.

There were lots of unsuspecting people caught in our party that probably were not real happy.

19 years living in one spot and 30 years of marriage, one does acquire many things.

Picture of Darwin, the farm truck driver.

Tom, cutting up with the Isenbarger Brothers.

Tom and I spent two more days at the old house,

and he is now finishing it up.

The new owners want to paint and redo the carpeting.

Back On

Welcome Back!

We got the Internet installed today and it feels great to have it back.

We have been moving a few things in and here is what the front porch looks like now.

The pretty handles and kick plate were put on.

Looks like a door from Gettysburg-right Toni?

I saw a good idea today.

They put a round door knocker and and then hung their wreaths from it.

That way I wouldn't have to use an over the door holder that scratches the paint.

Tom has taken a couple of weeks of vacation to get us moved.

He has been working himself into a stupor practically each night.

I loved this picture of him up on the plant shelf cleaning that window.

He figured out how to get the plastic off of each window and it turned out so beautiful.

My Sister Linda stopped by on Sunday to see the house and she graciously helped me wipe down the pantry and many doors.

The carpeting is all put in and we are ready for the big move in three days.

We have 17 people lined up to help us.

How lucky is that?

Here is the sun room floor, won't it be really pretty when it gets cleaned.

See how shiny those sun room windows are.

We were really lucky to have Suzy Smith take her day to help us clean.

We can't tell you how much we appreciated that.

The gathering room fan finally lit.  It just needed a tiny battery that was such a secret the electrician didn't know about it.

It's mighty pretty.

Tomorrow direct TV gets installed.

Tom is hooking up the new TV on the fireplace and will stay the night.

He will be in heaven watching the Tigers on a 50 inch television.

Here is our new rug, all natural and earthy looking.

Through all our months of planning this house it has been a wonderful experience.

We have met so many new people through cabinets, carpet and the selling of our house and feel they have become new friends. The painters were already our really good friends. 

When Steve was packing his truck up for one of the possible last times both Tom and I were sad. You know you have had a good experience building a house if you feel that way.

This is a person who we have had contact with many times throughout the week and we could always get hold of him if we had a question.  He always was very easy to work with and made us laugh too. His crew is fantastic and the others that he chooses were certainly top notch.

So Steve.... you better come back and tip a few with us often!