YOOOOHOOOO

hey. ya'll...

things have been awfully hectic around here & thus my disappearing act...but I'll get it together here shortly...

I have managed to fit in a little Blog Reading Action but I know I'm waaaayyyyy behind in that area...

Thanks to Miss Beaufort Belle for the Christmas Award...I have got Christmas on the Brain right now, like every one else I imagine...

I keep thinking of GGIs (Great Gift Ideas) that I promptly forget since I don't write them down...it may be a Socks-and-Underwear kind of Christmas around here this year if I don't get it together...

TIE & I'll be back soon :)

A Beautiful Thing...

I found this old crib at one of our few local thrift stores...for only $32...can ya'll believe it?! there were a couple of women circling it while I stood considering...
so I hefted it up (it is very light, considering the overall dimensions) and walked around the store totin' it until a nice man asked if he could sit it up by the register for me...I think he had Visions of Me Wreakin' Havoc in the place...and I would say his visions were probably correct...



its intended purpose is to be a place for the cats to hang out so they don't all try to sleep on me, beside me, on the nightstand next to me when the weather cools down...any time I sit still for more than a couple of minutes, I become a Multiple Cat Magnet...

this is why I no longer wear Black...



so far, I've only seen 1 cat at a time in there...I think this is a case of King of the Mountain-cum- Crib...whoever gets into the crib first defends it against all comers...



(close up of the pretty detailing on the legs)
and here is a shot of the beautiful Man Chair DH discovered at the same shop... ummmmmmm, boyyyyyyy...mighty fine, mighty fine...sigh...this is one of those times I had to browbeat myself into graciously acquiescing as DH's name is on the mortgage too...

"TIMBER!"

so do lumberjacks (or Tree Guys as we call them around here) actually yell "timber" when they're about to topple a tree? or is that just a Piece of Myth?

I expect here in Georgia it might go something more like "Iffin I wuz you, I reckon I'd be thinkin' about movin' some time here shortly"...HEY! it is part of our charm :)

just askin' because this Friday, we're having 2 of our Big Georgia Pines (loblolly, accordin' to the Tree Guy) taken down due to Ips Beetles... and their tag-a-longs, the Ambrosia Beetles...

apparently, that munching sound that I had been hearing for the past week or so wasn't a squirrel havin' a High Ol' Time with some pine cones...I kid ya'll not...you can hear them (the beetles) from Y-A-R-D-S away...and, apparently, by the time you realize that white stuff that looks like sawdust around the bottom of the tree probably isn't from squirrels and their raging pine cone habit, the tree's death warrant has been writ...fin-ay...kaput...

discussions waxed and waned around #17 since we moved in about havin' a goodly portion of the pines removed from the back anyway...after one fast movin' thunderstorm when I stood at the back door and watched the tops of the pines flailing back and forth like the Flying Dutchman theme-park ride at Six Flags over Georgia...but I just couldn't bring myself to give the go-ahead to takin' down healthy trees...even 80-foot high ones that could easily wind up in our attic during a wind storm or a hurricane...

so I'm a little sad to see them go...but a little relieved too...

only about a dozen or so more to worry about all of the 2008 Hurricane Season...

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Hey, Miss Pat...Your box went to be mailed this morning, but I'm afraid the postal service took a holiday today...so it'll be mailed out tomorrow :)

and The Clock Struck 12...

this is the really cool clock DH & I picked up this past weekend at a little shop in Black Mountain...love it (it is double-faced)...and since I was trying to not rack up a lot of $ on the Visa, we had to go back to Bramblewood (the shop's name) on Saturday after I made sure this was what I liked best...after I dragged Hubby to all of the Biltmore's shops to make sure this was what he liked best...

actually, I really wanted a pair of ceramic Pekingese dogs at the Bookbinder's shop on the estate, but Hub took a distinct disliking to them...

actually, I wanted the dogs and the clock...

I did buy this little wreath holder at one of the Biltmore's shops...maybe the garden shop? anyhoo...it was only $8 and I haven't seen the little ones like this before & it is the Perfect Countertop Size...bought the orange dried flowers from a little lady's booth at the WNC Farmer's Market...love that place & make sure I get there each time we head to Asheville...

On the Home Front...finished painting the mantel piece black & the interior bricks a soft white...thought about black for the brickwork but decided that would probably look like a Big Gaping Maw...

and this is the piece of tin after I rubbed it with Antique Gold craft paint...I was outta Copper Paint and no way was I driving allllll the way to H/M for a dollar tube of paint...I'm not happy with this but since technically I got to mark off it The List I'll live with it until I finish up other projects and can revisit this...actually, I'm thinking Brick Red with Black rubbing or Gold Rubbing...we'll see...the wonderful thing about craft paint is it is so Darn Cheap...

enough of all that...

Congratulations to Miss Pat of Back Porch Musings! I used a random number generator and Miss Pat's assigned number came up :) as the winner of my Fall Give-A-Way...

Two...No, Three Things...

First...ya'll are entering this thing, right?!

if not, get thyself on over to HGTV and do so...you can enter once a day, every day until the first of October, I think...

I probably shouldn't say anything because now I probably won't be the Grand Prize Winner...hah...but I'm makin' a List just in case...

Second...It Is Only 3 Months Until Christmas!!!! Can you stand it?!!!!! shriek shriek shriek...

true, I did cut the Season's Opening Ribbon around here a little early by listening the the Elf soundtrack...in July...I'm not much on Will Ferrell* but Elf is one of those movies...you know...the ones that get Funnier each time you watch them...

but before we know it, Halloween, then Thanksgiving...and then Christmas!!!!...!......

(New Year's Eve/Day is sort of the unloved holiday around here...since we have dogs and since people love to get rowdy, shooting off fireworks and firearms and sech, we tend to stay home & be in bed at our regular time...we may whoop it up by havin' Mexican Take-Out...although, I have to say, I love watchin' the Rose Bowl Parade...and I keep entering HGTV's Rose Bowl Parade contest in hopes of winning tickets out West...)

Third...do not try to put a contact in your eye when you already have a contact in your eye...just sayin'...

Oh...there is a Fourth...but I'm guessin' ya'll knew that, right? LOL...a friend gave me the heads-up yesterday (shhhhh...very hush hush...only many many thousands of people know) that Jan Karon's newest book Home to Holly Springs is due out October 30th...this kind of throws a monkey wrench into my rereading all of the Mitford books beginning on the 1st of October...now I don't know if I would finish them too early...or too late and have to wait to read Home to Holly Springs...

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*like I said, Will Ferrell isn't any one I'd cross the street to say Hi to because, well, we don't know one another, but Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is Absolutely Laugh 'Til You Cry Funny...if a little vulgar...and stupid...in parts...

I Do Try...

truly I do...

my Linen Closet is freshly organized, laundered and smellin' sweet...my Pantries are also organized and filling up nicely...my Seasonal Decorating Plunder in the garage has been edited, organized and re-stored...and my clothes in my closets hang organized by type, colour and on the same colour hangers...

but keeping my bedside table lookin' nice and neat eludes me on all but the best of days...


Here at #17 life and projects are rollin' along...against his better judgment, DH agreed to paint the casing around the Newly Removed Wall Opening black...upon completion, the grudging comment "it looks better than I thought it would" brought a smile to my face :) ...if he only knew the Thoughts of Other Black Casements dancing through head...and, yes, that is Fred's big butt parked in my chair...I have lost that battle...a moment of Brotherly and Sisterly Love this evening...Henri Henri and Cynthia snuggled in our bedroom window...and would ya'll look at that mess too...DH getting ready to watch Kelly's Heroes...I'm not much on war movies...life is too tough anyway and pretty much you know how they all end...but I'll admit Kelly's Heroes has some funny moments...Don Rickles has a part and just his facial expressions are funny...like watchin' Jonathan Winters...or any other truly funny person...

plus...Carroll O'Connor plays Maj. General Colt...and I love Carroll O' Connor...the spittin' image of my grandaddy...

the new pound cake recipe I took out for a trial run...not overly impressed...but then again...I did "tweak" the recipe...and I know I shouldn't do that the first time out with a new recipe...but I absolutely could not find the box of brown sugar DH put away...so I subbed half of the brown sugar called for with white granulated and added a little molasses...and I think the big can of Crisco might have been a tiny bit, um, old (should I even tell that?)...and I cooked it 20 minutes longer than supposed to because I was uncomfortable with the silicone form I used for the first time...and I added extra vanilla...and probably should have used the Big Batter spindle...instead of the Whip spindle...

Hmmmm...guess I should be glad it was even edible...this morning I came across this large pressed tin for $5 at the thrift shop...some patient person painstakingly hand painted each little stylized flower, the little leaves and the fleurs-de-lis...unfortunately, in pretty pastels suited to a little girl's room...all for me to happen along with a can of white spray paint...

Since I'll probably be waitin' a while on that custom forged firescreen (unless I find some serious change buried in the backyard), this'll work...

DH cut out those little feet for me...and I'm planning to rub a copper glaze alllll over the white paint to highlight all of those beautiful little details...I guess ya'll can tell I haven't painted the little feet just yet...

I know...I'm the Queen of Showing Photos of Half-Done Projects...but that is just the way things work around here*...

and speakin' of Half Done...a test patch of black paint on the mantel...I'm feelin' it...

GSU's Botanical Garden held a plant sale this week...DH & I went on over...lots of people, sipping wine by lantern light, nibbling on free hor-derbies...but more importantly a nice big selection of native plants and some old pass-alongs in addition to some more easily picked up at chain stores...

We have yet another banana plant (we'll talk about DH's growing obsession with these crazy plants another day), another Century Plant (my answer to the Barren Zone out front) and our first Paw Paw...exciting stuff...

Sweet Autumn Clematis and a Beauty Bush were on my Want List but no go this time 'round...maybe the fall sale in late October...

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Thanks for everybody droppin' and sayin' "Hi"....makes a body feel loved :) ...

*I'm a Big Believer in not tryin' to Always Present a Perfect Facade...just makes everybody feel inadequate and unhappy with their lives...I know...been there, got the t-shirt and will probably visit again...so I'm willin' to do my part in Keepin' It Real :)

HAH HAH (and a Surprise at the Very End)

...[jumping into ya'lls sight from behind the door]...I'm back :)
(fall stuff out front...I can't make up my mind how to treat the concrete slab...paint it? stain it? cover it with brick pavers?)

I've missed ya'll!...and felt like such a Bad Blog Mamma...but the back is slowly getting better and my battery recharger has been replaced...of course, I need a new digital camera because the little battery compartment cover that was cracked when I loaned to the monkeys came back with half of itself missing...so now I have to Very Firmly Hold The Half-a-Compartment Lid in place with one finger while focusing and shooting with the other fingers...

I ain't the most talented photographer in the first place...

but I persevered and I got some photos to share with ya'll...

Here is Jamie's t-shirtwell...I don't know that it is actually Jamie's t-shirt...but it is a t-shirt with Jamie's logo on it...and it is pretty darn spiffy...there are little rhinestones on the front...but I'm pretty sure that my less-than-stellar photography skills preclude ya'll seeing those...Jamie sent this along, all wrapped up pretty like she mails her items (the woman has a black-and-white jacquard patterned mailing tape...does that speak volumes or what?), just because she's a sweetheart

Thanks again, Miss Jamie :)

and this is a beautiful little cloche from HomeGoods...I try to steer clear of HomeGoods...I find myself suddenly realizing all the things I desperately truly need...like I need this darlin' little cloche...and there was the identical but monster-sized one that I just about grabbed and stuffed into the buggy too...but I managed to control myself...although I do daydream about that bigger one...
(the bottom is actually pottery not resin...)

Revisiting the kitchen cabinets...if ya'll remember, we painted the cherry cabinets this cream colour, took out the center panels to add the kitchen wire & glass...and I had to have those rooster pulls...sorry if that just falls to far into CuteNess but I ams what I ams...anyhoo...then I decided a distressed look would really work well with the chicken wire...I'm a little torn...can't decide if I like this or not...[intoning from behind my large curtained off area "Ignore all the Junk, Ignore all the Junk]

Here is the mantel we picked up from Habitat a week or two ago...just stopping by to drop off some donations when this was brought in off the truck...and naturally I had to have a closer look...DH & I had just had the conversation about how I really really really wanted a mantel up by Christmas Time...I'm sorry, but a woman just has to have a mantel decorate at Christmas...at least this woman does...try to ignore the filthy insides of the fire place...I can't decide if I want to find someone to make a curved custom fire screen or if I want to sink that money into a nice fire back...

DH suggests painting the bricks inside of the mantel's opening the same colour as I will be painting the mantel...just cream, nothing fancy...of course, that suggestion came on the heels of his opening [volley] request that "could you please not paint the mantel black?"...how did he know? ...now I'm waffling between painting only the interior brickwork or painting the entire fireplace along with the mantel...

thoughts?

the other Here Lately Big Project...we took down the wall between the kitchen-and-breakfast area and the dining area...neither eating area were overly spacious...in fact, they were just kind of awkward...at some point, I'm hoping to find a nice bookshelf to "build in" between the 2 spaces, using columns to add serving space while keep the open feel...the casing is still bare wood (as you can see on the very edges of the photograph)...I'm of the mind that it would look Fabulous Painted Black...DH is of the mind that I've lost my mind...there is one more Project-In-The-Works but I'll spare ya'll...

movin' along, I decided it is just ridiculous how I can hardly focus long enough to get through a book...I used to read allll the time...some of the Book Reading Slump can be attributed to the time I spend messin' around on the internet...but reading is something special so I'm rededicating myself to a literary life...of sorts...

ta-dah...the Fall Season Book Stack...

the List: Reflections: Life After the White House by Barbara Bush

Leaving Cold Sassy by Olive Ann Burns

Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

Get Out of that Pit by Beth Moore

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

The Heart of Islam by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Rosemary and Bitter Oranges by Patrizia Chen

The Beans of Egypt, Maine by Caroly Chute

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

on the shelf below the stack are my Mitford books...I plan to commence reading them (as is now my Fall Tradition) come October 1st...

now for my Surprise...I'm doing a Fall/Halloween Give-A-Way...of these

I've had these about 2, maybe 3? years and they've been in the shopping bag I brought them home in the whole time...I took this as a sign that perhaps some one else might enjoy havin' them around a little bit more than I have...I think I was just overwhelmed by all that glittery magical black, er, glitter and Had to Have Them...I don't really "do" Halloween since the Bird got all grown up...

I'm not sure what line they are...Wendy Addison? I wouldn't swear to it, but I think so...anyhoo...the biggest tree has a little break at the back support so he has to be propped up against something...I didn't notice this until I decided to find out what was in the Pretty Shopping Bag that had been in my office for months...and months...and months...

anyhoo...today is the the 18th, right? so drop a comment between now & the end of September to have your name in the drawing...I'll draw on October 1st and if the winner gets her (his?) name & mailing address right to me, then the pieces will be around in plenty of time to enjoy for this year's Halloween...well, unless the winner lives overseas...that might be cuttin' it kind of close...but we'll see :)

So Sorry...

I haven't forgotten my photographs...I just have 2 minor issues right now...

Issue #1...my battery recharger (borrowed by Son & Fiancee for the Con) apparently decided to go Walk About in Atlanta by itself...and got lost...so I have dead batteries in my camera and no recharger...

Issue #2...I began to paint the backside of the house on Tuesday and my back wasn't too excited about that...and then on Wednesday I drove down to Savannah for lunch & fun with a friend...and my back was even less excited about all that time in the car after already havin' remarked to me That I was Pushin' My Luck...so now I'm a little Back Impaired...

So...no stinkin' charged batteries and a painful back...

But...I expect that I'll be better in a few days after layin' around like a Beached Whale...Thank You that I'm actually not at the shore or else people would keep tryin' to drag me back into the water...hate that....

and I expect DS will have replaced my battery charger some time this weekend if he ever wants to borrow something of mine again*...

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A Note to Jamie of Simple Me Art....You Sweetheart...I got your package...what a nice treat & a surprise :) and the t-shirt is adorable...I plan to post a pix of it as soon as, well, see above about battery charger...

and gave me great incentive to have steamed squash with my veggie burger patty for lunch instead of those baked fries I planned to have...now if I lose that 10 lbs, I'll actually post a pix of me wearin' the shirt!

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*I am really cheesed about the whole battery charger thing...DH is plannin' to take down the wall between the kitchen & the dining room this weekend and I would love to be able to record that so ya'll can see! hey...maybe I'll just steal the AAs outta his remotes and/or whatever else I can find...

Cheesed....

I am completely cheesed...I work myself into an early bedtime last night, getting the front porch cleaned and re-arranged...putting my terracotta pumpkins out, taking the bunnies in...pavin' the way for my annual September 1st Celebration...the celebration that includes not just celebrating that September, an Official Month of Autumn, is here but that, thank you, August is gone...and that I made it through one more time without requiring Professional Medical Help or Legal Representation...

only to get up early to have a cup o' coffee and monkey around with my template...deleting Summer Green and adding Light Goldenrod(EEDD82), Dark Goldenrod 2 (EEAD0E), a little BloodOrange (CC1100)...to find it is still August...

oh the Gods of Irony are sniggerin'...

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well...I'm off to sulk now...Pumpkin Pixs and Stuff TOMORROW...

***Pumpkin Pixs update....well...to put it plainly...I lied...no pixs today or tomorrow and possibly Monday...DS & Fiancee borrowed my digital camera for their trip to Dragon Con...I've been to the Con a few times...If you are a fantasy or science fiction fan, then you must go to a Con some time...

Hubby & I took DS to the Con when he was in high school...mostly he was interested in the gaming competition (yes, the boy is good)...but we also took in some of the Tolkien Track...which, BTW, if you think you are a Tolkien Fanatic of the First Order, lemme tell ya'll...you ain't seen nothing until you attend a lecture on the Eleven Language of Tolkien's Word...and hear a room full of grown-ups burst into riotous applause over the Pronunction of a Vowel Sound based upon one of the appendices of the Silmarillion...it was like Tolkien Nerd Heaven...and I thoroughly enjoyed myself...

Of course, the Xena track had Ted Rami just across the hall...and they were hootin' and hollerin' it up too...both rooms packed to the gills, people linin' up around the perimeter of the rooms and stuffed into the doorways...people kept stoppin' to see just what Big Celeb was in our room...hah hah....

And then when the spy photos* came out...this was during the filming of Peter Jackson's LOTR movies...Mass Frenzy...what a blast...

So there...ya'll know...I'm a bit of a Nerd...

*spy photos largely consisted of a vague bump on the ground which was reported to be a part of Hobbiton...things like that....but it was still Great Fun...in fact, if air fare to New Zealand wasn't so outrageous, I'd probably take this tour...

Normal is as Normal Does...

to deliberately paraphrase that paragon of common sense Forrest Gump...

Jayedee (of life in the lost world ) tagged me to tell of what is Normal to me...and then pass the tag along to 3 other bloggers...

so here goes...

Normal is:

Constantly battling Fat Cells
Loving Christmas...and the realization that it is so much more than the lights, carols & packages
Always findin' room for One More Furry Baby
Too many books waiting in the To Be Read Stack
Buying a Special Ingredient for trying out a new recipe...and then losing the recipe

Being hopelessly addicted to about 15 movies...and watching them over & over & over again
Being also hopelessly addicted to Coffee, Cream Horns and Apple Pie
Always havin' a Home Project lined up...or two...or three
Cutting my hair off...and then growing it back out...and then cutting it back off
Pining for Autumn about 6 months out of the year

Hating when Life demands leaving #17 on Mondays
Deciding to be Frugal...and then desperately wanting a Beautiful New Grey Cashmere Sweater
Always ordering the same thing at a restaurant...after studying the menu for at least 20 mins
Forgetting a Really Good Joke...almost instantly
Loving the part of a cake that is between the Icing & the Cake...and Corner Brownies


Always sayin' a prayer when DH or DS leaves home
And Almost Always remembering to say one of thanks before I close my eyes at night

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Now...whom to tag? Serah of Honeysuckle & Cupcakes, Cathy of Domestic Bliss and DaisyJen at Daisy's Delight....ya'll are It :)


***oh...my bread starter has died...so we are breadless yet again...

Long Time No See...

I've been in one of my August Slumps...similar to a July Slump but accompanied by more anti-social tendencies...

But...I've picked up little signs that summer is waning...even if the thermometer is supposed to read 103*F by the time all is said and done this afternoon...even if the bleepin' a/c unit for the back of the house...read "Bedrooms"...has apparently decided today would be a lovely time to go on the blink...

Sheila's Top 5 Signs that Summer Will Be Gone*...after a while...

1. if I get up early enough in the morning and step onto the back deck, I can catch a soft cool breeze

2. the singing bugs (I have no idea..frogs? crickets?) are carryin' on something fierce...

3. the crows from the woods next door are, well, more crow-ish

4. the evenings are softer...still hot as...but now the evening light cuts across the pines with a soft gold colour...lingers a while...and then slowly dark comes on, fading in from a soft-then-deep purple...In high summer, the evenings are more like Hot & Bright Then Bam Dark...

5. I'm getting in the mood for baking...and deep cleaning...and making "things"...early stage prep work for holidays and cool weather nesting...

The evidence:

Faux sourdough bread...from a recipe from a friend that uses a starter made of instant potato flakes! well, I never...I managed to goof this recipe half a dozen ways and the bread still came out wonderful...I'll post the recipe if any one wants it...

half of one of the loaves disappeared like *this* [imagine snapping fingers]...part of that, I'm sure, was the great bread...the other part was, I imagine, due to the fact I would not buy any bread at the grocery store...I was determined the next loaf of bread used at #17 would be made my own 8 fingers and 2 thumbs...and since I kept goofing up the time table, we were without bread for, oh, just over a week or so...

the most heard question/remark at #17 this past week: "Are you baking the bread today?"...and then I'd lie and say "yes"...because I kept thinkin' I could bake the bread...until I dragged the recipe out and re-read the directions...and the bread is resting in a new-to-me bowl bought from the Antique Mall up the road...love it...I want to branch out my yellow ware collection into the green bowls, but still love the yellow ones so much that this is sort of a compromise bowl...sort of a transition piece...

oh yes...it is possible to justify just about anything, isn't it?

movin' smartly along, I finally washed the fabric I will use to begin a quilt...I was thinking "yo-yo", but maybe I should just do a patchwork...this is going to be my first quilt...but I still need to iron the fabric...that fabric has been sitting waiting on the iron for over a week now...I hate to iron...well, that isn't true...I just hate wrestling with the ironing board...

and here is Mr. Brown...he came by way of Gretel and her Marchpane Pig etsy shop...and, by the way, reading Mrs. Appleyard and I, led me to uncover what "marchpane"** means! I'm feelin' a bit smug about that right now...Mr. Brown is an example of scherenschnitte...but more importantly, the moment I saw Mr. Brown and his companions out and about in the evenin' time, his story popped into my mind...and I love when a piece of art just comes to life like that :)

bless his heart...I wish we could all be so self-satisfied as Mr. Brown...

now I'm off to refresh my coffee...actually, to turn it into an iced coffee...and catch up on my blog reading!

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*feel free to share any signs you have seen that autumn might be comin' along here shortly

**adding "marchpane" to My List of Favourite Words

AND...I forgot to mention Toni awarded me with this! Thanks, Miss Toni and I should pass it along? I believe this is the first award I have won since my Senior Superlative...(should I share that? is that mildly-to-awfully embarrassing?)

wait...is a Senior Superlative even really an award?............................................

Faux Sourdough Recipe, courtesy of Miss Suzanne over at Southern Inspiration

Starter:
1/2 c. sugar
1 pkg. yeast
3 T. instant potatoes (flakes)
1 c. warm water
Mix in jar. Let stay 3 to 5 days in refrigerator. Use 1 cup to make bread.

Part 1
1/2 c. sugar
3 T. instant potatoes
1 c. very warm water
Remove starter from refrigerator in the evening and set on cabinet overnight. Next morning, mix Part 1 ingredients well and add to starter. Let stand out of refrigerator all day. (It will bubble) At the end of the day, use 1 cup to make bread. Return remaining starter to refrigerator, covered with foil. Keep in refrigerator 3 to 5 days (I usually waited a week and started bread on the same day every week) and feed again. If not making bread, give 1 cup to a friend or throw away. Starter must be fed every 3 to 5 days (or weekly as I mentioned).

Part 2
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. corn oil
1 T. salt
1 c. starter
1 1/2 c. very warm water
6 cups bread flour ( I used a combo of reg. white and whole wheat....usually about 1/3 to 1/2 of wheat flour; didn't use bread flour)

In a large bowl, make stiff batter of Part 2 ingredients. Grease large bowl. Put dough in and turn over (the batter, silly, not you!) Cover lightly with plastic wrap. Next morning punch down and knead 3 to 4 times. Divide into 3 parts and knead on floured board 8 to 10 times. Put in greased loaf pans. Brush with oil. Let rise 4 or 5 hours (or all day), covered with wax paper(spray the wax paper with cooking spray to minimize chance of the paper sticking to the dough). Bake 30 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove and brush with butter (I didn't do this.)

This bread is very flexible...can use varying flours, can stretch the times it suggests, and you can use 2 larger pans than 3 regular for bigger size loaves. Try it --it makes a moist, kind of dense bread that is good for sandwiches and toast!!!

Suzanne says you can also use this dough to make cinnamon rolls...I was so caught up in just tryin' to get the bread done I completely forgot all about that...but I'll remember for next time ....thanks, Suzanne :)

When Will I Ever Learn?

nothing a human being does should ever shock me after livin' on this planet for 42 years-and-some-odd months...and yet...time and time again, I have to ask myself how a person or, in this case, people can be so lackin' in anything remotely possible of being called Compassion or Love...

some people just need to get outta the Gene Pool...

this is an excerpt from the Ozark Mountain Basset Rescue Group's home page...

"On Friday, July 27th, Sherry, OMBR’s President, received a call about a man running a puppy mill in Oklahoma who was disposing of 30 adult bassets and assorted puppies from 9 weeks old and up. Sherry was told that if we did not pick up these bassets by Monday morning, he would shoot the ones that were left. So on Sunday afternoon, Sherry, her son Matt, and Phil, OMBR’s founder, went out to pick up these dogs. We didn’t know where we were going to put them – all our foster homes are full – but we couldn’t’ let them just be killed. So Sunday at 8 a.m., OMBR had 19 bassets in its care. By Sunday at 5 p.m., we had added 24 more – we had more than doubled our numbers!!!! The miller had given and sold breeding pairs, groups, and puppies to anyone who would take them. At this point, only 14 adults remained"

To read the rest of the story click here...

and if you're in the area, maybe you could find yourself a beautiful new basset hound to love...

or maybe ya'll would like to make a donation to help OMBR deal with this huge influx of bassets all at one time...I decided to fore go a new Southern Living at Home Door Basket and a Real Simple subscription (love that mag, but not like I don't have a flood of magazines comin' to Number 17 anyhow...) so I could send a little pocket change their way...

I'm just dying to bring home one of these little babies home to Number 17...but we're kind of Full-Up here right now...9 beautiful tiny little Red & White bassie babies! can't hardly stand it, can ya'll? LOL...I like the little fat one 4th from the right in the group photograph...well, "like" isn't really the word, is it? I absolutely love that little chub...

Signed,

Mom to 3 Wonderfully Amazing Rescue Bassets and Others (Including the Perfect Gillie the Corgi)...a.k.a. the Woman Who Would Occasionally Like to Sit on Her Sofa...

Bowls Bowls Bowls

What is it about bowls that makes so many of us love them? collect them? um, hoard them?

There must be some genetic coding passing down through the ages that creates a Bowl Collector...of course, that means there was a Very First Bowl Collector...wonder who she was?

But, in reality, I figger (love typing "figger"...such a grammatical no-no...but I do say "figger" so why not write "figger"?) the Whole Bowl Thing probably ties into memories of our older women kinfolk working in the kitchen with their Workaday bowls to fix up somethin' good to eat...and maybe special Holiday Bowls that came out for Holidays and Company...and maybe even the Old-Wooden-Dough-Bowl-Cum-the-Kitchen-Table's-Fruit-Bowl creates some buried (or not so buried) memories we attempt to revive through our own collecting of bowls...

I expect there are volumes writ about The Bowl and all of the Meaning tied to it as a symbol...fortunately, I haven't given it all that much thought...so ya'll lucked out this time...or maybe not...

When I stop to think about Significant Bowls of My Past I only come up with a few examples to share...There was Pink Granma's set of 4 different coloured Pyrex Bowls...the ubiquitous Yellow, Green, Red and Blue Set...Yellow was always used for Potato Salad (and at Christmas, ambrosia)...that's it...just Potato Salad...and my Granma made a Killer Potato Salad...her potatoes were never ever mushy, a problem I still struggle with...I get bored and wander off, leaving the potatoes to their own devices and wind up with Potato Sludge...that means, of course, Mashed Potatoes instead of Potato Salad (I have recently solved this little problem by roasting red potatoes for salad...always...instead of even trying to boil potatoes)...the Green Bowl was primarily for Mixing Up Ingredients...the Blue Bowl always held Early Little Green Peas or Yellow Corn...the only 2 vegetables Brother One would eat...peas & corn...to this day, I dislike peas and corn...and Veg-All Vegetables...but that is another story...

Took me a while to recall what went into the Red Bowl...it was Granma's Gumbo...after there wasn't enough to have in the Big Pot or even the Green Bowl...Granma's Gumbo was out of this world...I wish I knew how to make it...well, technically I do...but I don't even waste time tryin' because I believe the secret probably laid with that Huge Old Pressure Cooker...with the wooden handles...there was a Layer of Black on the bottom of that thing that would not come out...and when Granma's pressure cooker started whistlin' and shaking on the stove, I could find somewhere else to be...

To this day, when I think about that pressure cooker I am still amazed the thing didn't just blow up one day and kill somebody...or a lot of somebodys...that didn't have the sense God gave a rock to get outta the kitchen when that cooker got to movin' about on the burner...

My mom cannot really cook so not a lot of FFM (Fond Food Memories) or Bowls filled to the brim with Um Um Good Things there...she can bake, but I have only 5 words for ya'll...Hamburger Helper & Fish Sticks...the 2 main food sources of my childhood...until we got a Sam's and a microwave...then microwaveable corn dogs became the favourite item of the household...

Well, there was a Really Huge McCoy pottery bowl that for the dogs' water...that bowl was the very devil to lift, clean, rinse and fill...but at least there wasn't a problem with the Dogs' Water getting knocked over...slopped over maybe...when I would try to fill it so full that I didn't have to go through all that routine to refill it again any time soon...

Okay...in all fairness, I guess maybe if the Kitchen Aid Mixer Bowl counts, I'd say that would be the Significant Bowl Memory tied to my mom's kitchen...because since she did bake a lot that thing was constantly in use...and I was constantly pressed into service to help her clean up...Kitchen Aid mixer bowl and all...but that should have logically driven me screamin' in the other direction from Bowl Collecting since 1) our kitchen was a tiny tacked-on affair at the rear of our old shambling Victorian and 2) cleaning up behind a messy baker is not one of Life's Big Fun Moments...more often that not, I ended up with a couple of weeks' worth of restriction for runnin' my smart mouth...I believe I largely spent the years 14, 15 and 16 on restriction just for mouthin' off...

My Granny had poor health, bless her heart, so there wasn't a lot of cookin' going on...but 1 day a couple of years before she passed on, I was cleaning up around the place and moved onto the utility shed (hey...when I get bored, I clean)...where I found 2 old wooden dough bowls...one of her mama's and one was hers from days gone by...I asked if I might have 1 and it now sits on the dining room table...

And then there is Aunt Cat's dough bowl...when my Aunt Cat's estate was being divided, I asked for a few things...a few old kitchen utensils and her dough bowl...one of the old hand-chipped shallow wide bowls...I believe my relatives thought I'd lost my mind...I have that bowl sitting in a stand on the drop-leaf in the dining room...Aunt Cat was a Hoot...quick to speak her mind and living in a neat & tidy little Mill House in Experiment, Georgia long after her husband passed on...with a mean little Chihuahua named Chiquita...Chiquita had a Bite First, Ask Questions Later thing going on...mean little dog...but the apple of Aunt Cat's eye so I'm glad they had one another...

Well...long story short...Darla over at Bay Side to Mountain Side showed off her newest Bowl and I took that as a sign that I should share my favourite bowls...

love yellow ware bowls with blue striping...there are more but, say it with me, I take such rotten photos that I gave up getting a good shot of the stack o' bowls sitting at the bottom of the cabinet bookshelf...that shot involves kneeling on hard tile and holding the camera out in front of me where I can't see the viewer and clicking...not good...


Granny and Aunt Cat's dough bowls...and Mungo, of course...because Mungo wants to be...and tries to be...in every photo taken in the house...and I love him so much that I can't shoo him too often...and because after you shoo him too often, Mungo takes offense, drops to the ground and rolls over so he can attach hands and feet to my shooing hand...and then he hangs on...

Little Cheapie Bowl from HomeGoods...but I love it...the colour is much richer (see above mention about crappy photo skills) and it is the perfect size for grabbin' for lots of use in the kitchen...and I'm a Bowl Hog so I bought two...

(oooh, and those are two little Buffalo China dishes sittin' to the left of the Everyday Bowl...you can't see the 2 little BC custard dishes because those are in the drain basket...I have a problem, don't I?)

Proof Positive

Need I say Anything at All?

Harry Potter and an Orange Cat...

DS's fiance relaxin' in my new chair with Henri Henri and Harry Potter...

apparently, my new chair is the Hot Spot at Number 17...

Fred the Basset Hound makes no bones about his liking my chair...gives me a flat very unfriendly stare whenever I sit in it and he is relegated to the floor...

in fact, this morning when I rounded the corner into the kitchen (which is where The Chair resides), there he was...in my chair...head flopped over the side...for all the world lookin' like a great big innocent furry spotted rag dog...and yet managing to give me a Deep Freeze look which was worth a thousand words...

or at least a couple of choice ones...

but that's ok-tay...because when Fred's chubby butt got down for breakfast I flopped two big cushions into the seat so no more Basset Hound Butt in there for at least a while...

the bassets already lay claim to the sofa...and the reading chair...and our bed if they can manage it...I did insist Mr G do away with the bed ramp...

seriously...havin' to try to beat 3 bassets and a corgi into bed every night so I could claim the very edge of the bed just wore thin...especially when many a night I would awake to find my left leg hangin' off of the bed, bracing myself so I wouldn't fall onto the floor...

this chair will be mine...

Over the Garden Gate...

or, in this case, the Chain Link Fence...that if I weren't tryin' to curtail my use of spray paint would have already been sprayed Black...

this is the Kitchen Garden...called so not because it is, obviously so, where we veggie garden, but because I can see it out of the Kitchen Window...

Kitchen Windows are important...a woman spends a lot of time standin' at a kitchen sink...so I hope ya'll have wonderful views out of yours :) for about 13 years, my kitchen sink had a lovely view of a Flat Kitchen Wall...that was our first home...and being so, there were lots of things it never crossed my mind to find issue with...at home, our sink looked out over the backyard...I didn't realize how much I'd miss a Kitchen Window until I found myself staring at Painted Sheetrock...under one of those loverly fluorescent lights used beneath a kitchen cabinet...ummmm, booooyyyyy

So....Kitchen Sink with View became an Important Item on the Ever Growing Mental List of If We Ever Build a Home...right along with No Bathtubs Right Up Against the Dang Toilet...Particularly the End of the Tub Where One's Head is Resting During a Soak...that can ruin a good hot water soak faster than just about anything else...I mean, I keep a pretty clean house...but ugh...the Funk that Finds Its Way to Rest on those little ledges at the base of toilets...

And I don't care to have my head restin' eye level with a toilet seat during a soak...just ruins the whole atmosphere of the thing...

So...Kitchen Window View and Toilet/Tub Thingie are Big on the List...

Now, I'm always takin' notes so feel free to pass along any of the items on ya'lls lists if you want to :)

More Pixs from #17 this morning:

Mr Toad laid claim to the bottom of the cracked terracotta pot I use to elevate the FBDs food bowl (you should always elevate your dog's feedin' bowl so 1) the poor little things don't get a pain in the neck and 2)you reduce the risk of bloat...something certain breeds are more prone to than others...but why even take the smallest risk?...anyhoo...movin' back along to the point)...I carted him down the yard a few days ago...apparently, my eviction notice didn't make much of an impression...oh well...

(SOOOOO CUTE)...just looks disgruntled, doesn't he? I imagine I'd be disgruntled too if some Big Honkin' Lady yanked the lid off my house and then blinded me with a SuperNova Camera Flash...

The Feeding Pot's new location...

(edited to add: I do not feed the FBDs out of the mouldy old saucer...that is just where to rest the food bowls)

One of my Shade Tents decided to take a rest...what a pain...I tried to get it righted...but it is a 2-person job...Mr G, unbeknownst to him, signed up as my helper for this evening...




and one of our Visiting Hummers...last year, I think I had only 1 Hummer all summer long...now several visit every day...

this is one of the little females...there is an even smaller female who comes and I just love her...she brings out my Protective Mother side...

Last year, the 1 Lone Hummer would come by once in a while & not even stay but for a few seconds...no photo ops...now the Hummers come for a sip, sit & rest a while and even perch up in the dogwood once in a blue moon...and they've gotten very comfortable with me movin' about in the kitchen...

The Cats Who Love to Hang Out in the Window are, naturally, ecstatic about this turn of events...Mungo & Henri Henri (nee Henry) spends hours perched in the window waiting for their Hummers to pop in for a drink...I'll get a pix of Mungo one day...it is pretty darn funny how he leans up on the sill, arms folded and stares out of the window...

That's all (did you think I'd ever shut up? :)

******

(oh...still on the fence about the sweet potato pie recipe...I'm not sure I'm wild about it...it is good for a light fix when you have to have some Pie...luv pie...but it def isn't a Blue Ribbon sort of Pie)

If Wishes were Horses...

then I'd have a Flock o' Horses in the backyard...

I wish August had Come & Gone...

I wish the septic system had not gone haywire causing the ruination of the hallway flooring...when we're not halfway finished with repairing the dining room flooring from the Great Washing Machine Flood '07...

I wish I could motivate myself to keep on my diet and lose this 20 pounds instead of monkeying around with the same dern 3 lbs...

I wish August had Come & Gone

I wish that pitiful Mama Dog would not keep haunting my thoughts...the Mama Dog who I saw months of ago with her adorable fluffy puppy bounding at her side...and the first patches of hair beginning to fall out from what is probably a God Awful case of mange...

I wish Mr G had caught Mama Dog yesterday...then I would have joined him early this morning to tramp through Rattlesnake Country to find her babies (because I have boots now...got 'em for Christmas)...I'm terrified of snakes and even more terrified of tramping through piney scrub during the Georgia Summer when the snakes are out & about and nearly as cranky as I am...

I wish I was in charge of What Happens to Stupid and/or Evil People...like Mama Dog's Slack-A**ed Owner...and Michael Vick...

I wish August had Come and Gone...

This Vent Session brought to ya'll courtesy of Typical Hot Humid Late Summer in Georgia...

Truly, I cannot help myself...after a lifetime of being a Georgian I ought to be able to rise above July & August...

a Few Snaps of Life at Number 17 here lately

(concrete slab with old adhesive where flooring used to be...Piper looking at the floor as if to say "this reminds me of my old drainage pipe")


Kira...our newest kitten...well, DS's newest kitten...whom I literally snatched out of a Grand Prix's engine (it wasn't runnin' at the time) at DS's workplace...and yes I got bit...poor Kira...her tail had been badly injured so she had surgery last week to remove most of it...makes my skin crawl to just think about it...but it is better than than the Mess That Was Her Tail...that's a double ugh...

Kira has a little clear c-collar to wear but is allowed to sit around without if she is being held or eating...

What an Absolute Doll

Next post, I'll share a light Sweet Potato Pie recipe with ya'll...yep, I'm channeling Fall again...

No Photos in This Post...

My Camera and our son (and his fiance and their Band of Friends) headed off to the big city of Baltimore this weekend for Otakon.

They left this morning at 3 a.m...oh for the days when my body could take that sort of abuse...working all day, going to bed somewhere around 1 a.m. and then easily rising out of bed to pile in the car and head off down the highway...after backing into my Cleveland Pear tree...and Runnin' over my Marigolds...

Yes, I did call and ask if Son did it...because there were 4 choices...the newspaper man, Son, Son's friend or Mr G...and I wanted to know whom to inform that if said tree dies, there will be a same-size replacement purchased and a Bill Presented...

Big Monkey...

Anyhoo...I don't actually think the days ever actually existed when I was good after 2 hours of sleep to head out on an extended road trip...I love my bed...and my pillows...and a good 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night...and I sort of morph into a Monster if I don't get my rest...

I managed to live like that when I worked my way through college...it was Not a Fun Thing...and it probably took at least a couple of years off my life...

I remember falling asleep during Anthropology class more than once...and crackin' my head against the cinder block wall...did you ever take those notes where you got home, flipped open your notebook to work on an assignment or study for a test and all you saw were long loopy squiggles across the paper? yep...

So I've never really (have ya'll watched El Dorado with John Wayne? well, there is this character Nelse McCloud...who is played by Christopher George...who I had a terrible crush on when he was in Rat Patrol...well, not when he was in The Rat Patrol but I caught the show as reruns...anyhoo...there is a scene where Nelse McCloud's drawls "Welllll, there Reel-Lee isn't very much I can do right now, is there Ja-son?...and that is how I am sayin' Really when I type it here...thought ya'll might want to know that...movin' along) done well with the Whole Lack of Sleep Thing...

Another Plastic Bag/Cloth Bag Update:

So....last weekend, Mr G & I did a run on H/M...and not until we were wheeling a buggy (yes, a lot of us Southerners call a grocery cart a "buggy"...because that is what they are :) of groceries Up to the Check-Out did I realize we had not brought the cloth bags...arrrrggghhhh...

I drive myself crazy...

I think we probably got about 12 or so plastic bags on that trip...sigh...

So, yesterday, doing my perishables run, I remembered my cloth bag! and I remembered to take all the plastic bags back for recycling...I fairly glowed from Smug...

another Thing I've Figured Out for using Cloth Bags....

Arrange your items on the conveyor belt so that the heavy items come down first and can be either put in the bottom of the bags or simply sat in the B-U-G-G-Y without bagging...

Put your delicate items and breads at the tail end of your Line O' Stuff...

This makes it so much easier to bag your own items without things being thrown all Willy Nilly about the place...and the cashier won't hate you because not only are you slowin' her down while you monkey around with re-arranging as you go but you're also tickin' off the half a dozen people behind you in line who are already More Than a Little Bit Cranky from July Georgia Heat & Humidity and she is the one who is going to have to deal with them after you Finally Move Outta the Way...

and you know what? if you have a Ton O' Stuff (and you remembered to bring your cloth bags), then you really can just load some of those items into the buggy as the cashier presents them to you, pay your bill, Put It In Gear and then just move out of the way to get your bags all set the way you want them before truckin' out to the parking lot...

An Aside: People who decide the check-out line, and more specifically the Pay for Your Stuff and Move Spot, is the best place to search for Exact Change in the Bottom of an Enormous Bag, Try to Reason with a Screaming Child Who Wants Something, Answer, Begin and Maintain a Cell Phone Conversation, Check the Receipt and Then Want a Price Check...AFTER THE TOTAL IS RUNG...well, all I have to say is There is a Special Place...

Just Get Your Stuff in the B-U-G-G-Y and Move...Now...before I break down weeping...

The only Sour Note: I can't find my bag of chips...unless the cashier just reflexively tossed those bad boys into a plastic sack, then I guess the lovely little Mennonite family behind me got my chips in with their groceries...and since I am not going back to the store for a lone bag o' chips, there sits my jar of salsa allll alone in the fridge waiting for my chips...

***Note of Interest: H/M (Wal-Mart) accepts other plastic grocery bags as well as their own***

Congratulations

So, Miss Mary B if you'll send me your e-mail, I'll get your package out some time this week :)



and if you want Debbie Macomber's Back on Blossom Street book, just holler and I'll toss that one into the box too :)



movin' along...



some garden pixs



These are my Beckys...I am overjoyed by these Happy Girls! In both of my previous gardens, I tried to get shastas to "do" for me...they laughed in my face...

I decided I'd give shastas 1 final shot here at Number 17...and LOOK! I love lookin' out the kitchen window at these :)



The Black Mission Fig...Black Mission Figs are borderline hardy here and this one got hit hard by our last Late Freeze...lost all of its new spring growth...but, tah-dah...the Black Mission is actually doin' better than the Brown Turkey Figs that are better suited to our area...I have 3 and this one

is, unfortunately, the best lookin' one of the bunch right now...I'm hoping they do better next year after settling in a bit...


verrrryyyyy clever of me to use the same colours of the cannas & whiskey barrel to camouflage the trash can...actually, I just needed somewhere to park those cannas in a hurry...but it worked out so well! sorry about the tatty lookin' Block o' Wood layin' there...but the driveway slopes off on that edge and whiskey barrel might just roll off into the lorapetulums...I need to get something that isn't so T-A-C-K-Y, don't I?

a ditch lily...dug this morning from a stand...there are a lot of them and we only took 2...

In Other News:

Mr G and I went for a walk this morning on the golf course just across the road...our lovely neighbor has given us permission to cross her land so we can just hop across to get in a good walk(this was the first time I've taken her up on her offer...Mr G went for the first time last week and wanted me to walk with him)...and while out walking I spotted what looks to be a citrus tree of some sort growing in the wild scrub at the edge of the course! so I'm going to keep an eye on it & maybe harvest a fruit or two for the seeds...I'm wonderin' if this is a Meyer's Lemon from a bird dropping...

and I saw wild grapes (probably scuppernogs) and a gone wild Passionflower Vine! I know that vine didn't get going from my Passionflower vine because my vine never flowered last summer...