Today is the first day of the holiday season for me. I pack up everything in my house. Every accessory in the
Kitchen
Dining room
Study
Living room.
Next we will pull out Halloween decorations.
After Halloween... Thanksgiving,
then Christmas.
All of them get carefully washed and packed up. They don't see the light of day until January. I like to put them away. When I open the boxes in January, it is such a joy to see them. I edit what I don't love but also I miss seeing them. By packing them away, the accessories don't compete with the holiday items.
Try packing away your everyday accessories. You will get to see them in a fresh light.
Oh I love this recipe. It is so fantastic why didn't I make this recipe all the time.
Grease a 9 by 13 glass pan.
Take 9 eggs 1 c. cream 2 T. melted butter
1 t. Salt 1/2 t. Pepper
Whip the eggs and gently add the other ingredients.
At this point, you can clean out your refridgerator. I added 6 slices of bacon crumble, a handful of sliced mushrooms and 2 cups of cheddar cheese on the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
It makes enough for 8 servings and is completely delicious.... And it is fancy enough for company.
The first area finished in our bedroom remodel is this small table. I wanted an area that was pretty. I can store some bags for teaching, sewing, and smocking under the table, ready to leave the house.
The bowl will be filled with white pumpkins in October, leaves in November and Christmas balls in December.
Following the Nester's lead, I decided to price this little space and was very inexpensive to put together, thanks to yard sales and Goodwill.
This week, I am sewing curtains and dust ruffle for the bedroom, smocking one baby outfit, decorating the house for fall, cleaning out two flower beds, planting 6 flats of pansies and 250 tulip bulbs. We are also heavy into planning a birthday party and the holidays. My students will be getting another exam next week so I have a great deal of prep work. October 12th, I am giving a speech so I need to finish up the speech and practice.
This week's menu plan:
Sunday: Chicken Quesadillas
Monday: Pork Chops, Twice Baked Potatoes and Broccoli with cheese sauce
Tuesday: Lasagna Rolls ( leftovers ) , Cesar Salad
Wednesday: Church
Thursday: Croque Monsieur, fancy ham and cheese sandwiches, and spring salad
Friday: Antipasta Salad
Saturday: Pasta with Broccoli and Tomatoes with garlic infused oil
Chicken, already cooked
Lasagna Rolls
Ham
Potatoes
Croque Monsieur, Ina Garten
Ingredients
nocoupons
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.
To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.
Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.
Serpico Please don't eat the daisies... Actually, anything Doris Day did or wore, I wanted to do and wear. And she was married to David Niven, ah be still my heart. An Old English sheepdog in the movie
and the TV show!!
One of my favorite cartoons.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
The Little Mermaid!
But as beautiful as those dogs were in movies and TV shows. I was unprepared for how much character these dogs have....
My first Old English Sheepdog.. He was quite the character. If I cried, he would bark at my husband. Obviously, it was my husband's fault.
They let me dress them for work at Burger King! Dickens was a fabulous dog and is greatly missed.
They let me put hair bows in their hair... even though they have all been boys. Churchill as a puppy.
They always let the kids, lay on them as pillows.
They loved the snow!
And let me dress them in Halloween costumes.
Sat for Christmas pictures.
Found my slippers even as puppies.
Played soccer.
Watched me bake!
And fought like little Samari's
All in all, we have had six Old English Sheepdogs in 23 years. They have all been loyal, loving and faithful companions. Each one has followed me all over the house, yard and on errands. In fact I do not remember a time when I have not had a sheepdog by my feet, when folding laundry, typing on the computer or making dinner.
They have always eaten the same dinner without complaining, loved me even when I grumpy and think I am right even though I may not be.
If I am lucky, I will have six more!!!
Sorry honey. Don't mind him, he is not a dog person.
In honor of Halloween coming, I love spider webs!!! Fake ones....
This spider web was 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide.... How fantastic!
Okay, now I am going to find some fake spider webs and put them all around the house. We are having a Halloween party....
With dry ice With tons of pumpkins With dozens of cute Halloween treats With funny, scary and pretty costumes With spooky screaming music With Awesome Halloween decorations and most especially with ALL OF MY BLOGGING FRIENDS INVITED!!!
Oh the first days of fall make me want to bake bread, pies and muffins, slow cook Pot Roast, make piles of Chili, Beef Stew, and Vegetable Soup. So I decide to bake my favorite bread, Pumpkin Bread.
This recipe is a University of Tennessee Signature Recipe:
3 c. sugar 2 c pumpkin
1 c. oil
4 eggs Stir these ingredients together until well mixed.
Next the spices:
1 1/3 t. cloves 1 1/3 t. nutmeg 1 1/3 t. allspice 1 1/2 t. cinnamon
Next add 3 1/2 c. flour, 1 and 1/2 t. baking powder and 2 t baking soda.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Next add 1 t. vanilla and 2/3 c. water. I hand mix this bread as not to over mix. Quick breads, like muffins, need very little mixing.
Pour into either 4 large bread pans or like I did, 2 large bread pans and 4 small bread pans, that have been greased and floured. I wanted to share fall with a couple of neighbors and some of the workers at church.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
This bread is lovely and makes me want some apple cider and it was delicious with the Mushroom Bacon Frittata.
Whip out a can of Pumpkin and make this bread for breakfast this weekend!!! It takes no time to put together and makes you feel like fall....
Recently, I re-painted our bedroom and thought I would share some thoughts on the process. We are all saving money and rather than spend the money for a painter, it is an easy process to do a professional job. Also, I know everyone is busy, either working or raising a family. It is possible to paint a room in the middle of the week with your life going on around you.
Day 1: Clear as much out of the room as possible. As a part of the redecorating process, I carefully edited what was going to stay in the room and put it out of the way. The rest is either used throughout the house or take to Goodwill and will bless someone else’s home. In my room, this process took one and a half hour.
Day 2: Remove all nails, hooks and items off the walls. Fill the holes with light spackling for small holes and plaster for larger holes. Lightly sand and wipe up after the dust. Another hour.
Day 2: Cut in all the corners, baseboards, ceilings and electrical fixtures. We cut these in twice because our new spackling was hard and we had to replace it … We also painted all the way around the curtains, top and bottom. Two hours.My bed was in the middle of the room with all the dressers.Later in the evening, we put the sheers back up so I didn’t have to see the neighborhood or better than that, they didn’t have to see me.
Day 3: Roll the paint in a W pattern to ensure good even paint coverage.Two coats took two hours and fifteen minutes. Again, my bed is in the middle of the room.
Day 4: Next we taped with this new tape, Frog Tape. You can use this tape on at least 24 hour painted walls. One hour
Day 4: Painted baseboards, doors and ceiling molding. Two Coats and Two Hours
Day 4: Put back all electrical plates, pictures and furniture. One Hour
A professional would charge hundreds of dollars paint this room. We painted it for $73. The cost covered two gallons of paint, a new roller and the small jar of spackle. I already had the baseboard paint and brushes.
And a grand total of 11 hours with two people from beginning to this stage.
Well worth the effort.
Yes, I did feel like a princess with my bed in the middle of the room.
