Bread and the Beach

Last Sunday I spent several hours baking to get ready for the annual family party this Saturday.  Made 10 loaves of cardamom bread, a huge batch of potato candy, and almost 20 pints of Friendship Tea.

To elaborate, first off I did not spend hours and hours mixing, raising, proving, and baking the bread. I'll admit it - i took the cheater's way out! Bought 10 loaves of frozen Rhodes bread dough, let thaw, mixed in a few teaspoons of cardamom, reshaped and baked. Hot out of tue oven I brushed the tops with Karo syrup and sprinkled with colored sugar.

For the potato candy, I used instant mashed potatoes and mixed ith chocolate and slice into pieces. My twist was to roll them into small balls and dip into dark as well as semi-sweet chocolate so they are more like a Mounds truffle.  Turned out perfect!

Decided to make Russian Tea mix, which also goes by Friendship Tea.  Picked up large canisters of Lipton Iced Tea mix, Country Tome Lemonade, and Tabg. Yes Tang!  I can't helieve that stuff is still for sale!

Mixed up two batches of one canister of Tang to half a canister of iced tea and one-quarter canister of lemonade, added 2 cups of sugar, about 5 Tbs of cinnamon and 3 Tbs of cloves and mixed well.  Made a trial cup and it was pretty tasty!  Filled the jars, topped with a fabric square and done!

Tuesday we celebrated Candy's 50th birthday at Teri's restaurant. Haven't been there in years but will definitely be returning.  

Winter is here and it's been raining every single damn day!  Did take a cute photo of a hummingbird perched on the front bush, looking stately as he sat in the rain to determine his next adventure.

Friday we meet with the Blue Jacket Divas for dinner and the gift game. Then Saturday we make our our way to brother Jay's house in

 Cannon Beach for the family Christmas party. Rented three rooms at The Inn at Haystack Rock so we could all relax at the gathering and not rush home.  I'm looking forward  the mini-vacation at the beach!

Happy Thanksgiving 2025

Hard to believe 2025 is nearing to an end!  

We are hosting Thanksgiving this year. Manny did the cleaning and I'm doing the cooking. Planned ahead so potatoes, stuffing, and sides just need to be popped into the oven. To make it easier I bought smoked ham and turkey so they just need to be warmed up.  Also decided to play the white elephant game to add some fun to the event.

I've been feeding the neighborhood stray cat but have noticed the food is gone in the morning. Caught a raccoon a few times digging into the kibble so knew it was him. Stopped filling up the dish at night to avoid his plundering. Last night came outside and looked up to see Mr. Raccoon and his girl peering down at me from on top of the roof!  They were definitely begging for food! That's the first time I've ever seen one of those varmits on top of a roof.

Have been spending my free time drawing Wizard of Oz characters on 4x4 mini canvas.  Not sure what I'll do with them but sure is relaxing.

Surprised Manny this week with some Portugese food for Thanksgiving. Ran across shopportugese.com and purchased sweet bread, fava beans, linguicia,  sardines, and custard tarts. He was very surprised and in heaven!

Picked up some brand new timer lighted glass balls for $7.99 from Goodwill. Turns out they are worth $75!  Set them in my flower box.

Jordan gave me a nautical lantern and I turned it into a lighted display.

Have also been on a big kick with creating beach lighted displays. Me thinks it's time to refrain as there is only so much table space available!

Recent awesome sky display with incredible colors.

Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone!!

Come One, Come Owl

We've had ducks, we've had deer, we've had squirrels, birds, hawks, cats, and racoons. But last night was the first time we had an owl!!

Around 8pm we walked out on the porch. Moments later Manny said "wow - look at the owl!"  The owl had flown across the yard and perched himself atop our fence. He sat there and observed the yard, turning his neck back and forth. He even let me get close enough to take a few pictures, including some with the flash!

After about ten minutes, Mr. Owl flew from the fence and departed across the lawn back into the dark.  Perhaps he will visit again.

Bringing Shawnee Pig to Life

Have a pig cookie jar that came from my Grammie Eilene years ago. It's a 1942 Shawnee model. Through the years the original paint slowly faded away and, after a certain ex-husband put it in the dishwasher (hello...1942 pig here) it ended up naked.

Naked pig

Original paint job example

I decided to decoupage and paint it so it would give it more oomph. Spent several evenings pouring over napkin styles on Amazon before selecting the right ones - hydrangea along with a western blue bandana.

Here's the after!  Turned out so cute! Applied a coat of triple thick gloss to protect it and bring out the shine. 😊🐷

Days of Racoons and Cat Food

We've got a little visitor who's been helping himself to the cat food!  We've been feeding a stray and lately we've noticed he's been chowing all of his food. Also, the feed and water dishes are knocked over in the morning.

Lo and behold we began seeing a racoon sneaking around the front yard and climbing into the large tree. Tonight, he ambled across the front lawn and made his way to the back yard. I knew he was headed to the cat food so waited until he appeared.  Took a couple of snapshots while he was in action.

Been into making tassles again - found a pair of silver shell salt and pepper shakers that I transformed with beads and trim into a tassle for the lamp. Picked up a big bag of trim from Goodwill that will come in handy to make more.

Grabbed some flocked pumpkins at Dollar Tree then decorated with beads, faux pearls, and other costume jewelry and shells to make fancy autumn decor.

A few weeks ago ran across these huge, and I mean HUGE, potted mums.  It started flowering so now it has become a mammoth spheres welcoming everyone to the front door.

Added more lights to the front flower bed. Piece de resistance is the lighted, floating rubber ball in the bird bath. Found it brand new at Goodwill - you plug it in to charge then it will last several hours before it needs to be recharged. Bought it for $2.99 and searched on line to find the actual price is $50. Bargain ball!!

This last Saturday we spent exploring downtown Centralia.  Been years since I've been to browse their antique stores.  Ended up with a few small items but it was fun digging for treasure.

Tomorrow is Monday already!  And October 1 arrives on Wednesday!!  

RIP Robert Redford

So many memories of Robert Redford - The Twilight Zone episode, Barefoot in the Park, The Way We Were with Barbara gently swooping the hair from his eyes, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and All The President's Men. The list goes on and on.

I was lucky enough to be at a conference in Las Vegas staying at the Hilton many moons ago when I crossed paths with him. He, Woody Harrelson, and Demi Moore were filming a scene in Indecent Proposal on the gaming floor. I stood and watched a bit then they broke for a break. He then passed by me within such close distance I could have touched his tuxedo. Be still heart!  Alas, I wasn't brave enough to speak to him or touch the seam of his coat I was so starstruck. But it's a moment I'll always remember!

Farewell handsome prince and may your legend live on.

 

Finished the Bedroom - Finally!

Finally finished the bedroom organization. Much better!  Here's the closet and bedroom before and after.

Auto Repair and Organization

Well this weekend has been jam packed!

To start with, on Thursday took the rig in to have the transmission fluid drained and refilled. The "See For Service Soon" light came on so it was time for a looksie.

Jordan and Candy referred us to Jiffy Lube. Great tech team, honest, friendly, and humorous. They fixed the problem, the dash message disappeared, and gave us a quote for additional belt and gasket valve cover replacement.

Appointments are not allowed as it's a walk-in business anyway so we showed up bright and early at 8am on Saturday when they opened. It was going to take around three hours so we walked to Pancake House for breakfast. It was raining so Jordan and Candy gave us a ride home. We left the house around noon to walk to Jiffy Lube as we figured the service would be done by then. 

Well no. Apparently they were having issues untightening the gaskets so it was going to be a bit longer.

Well that was an understatement! We ended up being there until close to 3pm. Jordan and Candy even stopped by to visit and bring us homemade meatloaf and cherry tomatoes from their garden to pass the time.

Appointment finally done the SUV runs better than ever!

Sunday turned out to be a day of cleaning and organization. Started with the closet which holds linen, towels, and apparently every bit of odds and ends we weren't sure where to place. What a mess!

The after looks fabulous! All cleaned, sorted, and organized!

Began tackling the office/craft room. Moved a table to the garage and began moving the majority of the craft supplies and projects to it, under it, and around it. Cleaned and organized the armoire to keep my frequently used items.  No pics yet as it's still in progress.

And now it's Monday! Enjoy your week everyone!

Barbie 2025

Caught myself in a Pinterest rabbit hole and discovered all these Barbie makeovers!  Too funny - just take a look!