Tired of waiting

We have been "remodeling" our laundry room for going on four and a half years now and I am tired of it!  This is what happens when you start to many projects at once, think your are moving, and don't like doing drywall! I have been collecting some lovely things for a long time in anticipation of using them and I got tired of storing them and tripping over them all the time. So even if the room is only halfway done at least I can get a start on the decorating instead of staring at blank walls and temporary light fixtures.

This is what the space looked like in February. We just hooked the machines back up so we could do laundry and left it at that.

This is what it looks like now.

Someday there will be bead board on the walls, a shelf above the washer and dryer and a floor. For now even just adding the baskets and art work the room feels so much better and I don't mind going in there so much to do laundry.

The frame is from the goodwill for 3.00 and the feed sack was from a yard sale for the same price. I cut a matte to fit, attached the sack with spray adhesive, and it's held in the frame with painters tape, just in case I change my mind. The egg basket, fire brigade bucket and pulleys are from out local antiques store. I purchased them at various times over the past couple of years. For now the enamelware pan is holding the washing supplies, but I have plans for those once I have a shelf!

Small improvements that really help until we can get to the rest of the room.

Raspberry picking

Nothing like a hot day to go raspberry picking! My little helpers and I picked 12 pounds and then came home to make jam.

My new toy

Look what came in the mail today!! I can't wait to play with it and laminate all the things we need for school. I have been busy planning the year out and working on workboxes for the children. If you haven't heard of the workbox system you can read about it here.

I am planning a modified version as I don't have room for all of the boxes she recommends using. I'll share it to you when I have it completed. I spent the day tearing out all of the lessons from the children's workbooks and filing them per week in those folders you see in the bottom of the picture. I tear them out for many reasons.

1. The children can print better without having the binding in the way.

2. Miles gets overwhelmed seeing all the work that must be done, even if he knows it doesn't have to be done all in one day.

3. I can keep one of them from working so far ahead they loose to much in retention and end up needing to repeat.

4. It is easier to fill the workbox "folders" with a torn out pace that the whole workbook.

I am feeling much better today and was able to get things caught up around the house. Even Fiona noticed as she said I was walking straight now, where as of yesterday I looked like a little old hunchback as it was to painful to stand straight.

Tomorrow I am going to tackle the history and science lessons. We'll see how far I get.

Someday

While the rest of the world enjoyed, picnics, family, and fireworks.

I spent the weekend here.

On my dirty sofa wishing I was well enough to get to all the things I had planned. We did nothing festive, nothing special, it was just another weekend. Nothing marked the importance of the day at our house. Oh,  my husband read the Constitution and other documents, but missing was the party, the people, and the fireworks. You know how some people get depressed around Christmas because they miss the way things were? Well that is how I feel about this day. When we were first married and lived in Illinois we would have a party at our house. Not just any party but a large gathering with so many people you could hardly speak with everyone, to many children to count, and so much food the tables seemed to bend toward the ground. Everyone loved coming over and celebrating, it was just a quick walk across the street to view the fireworks, and the fellowship was memorable. We had such high hopes when we moved of having the same kind of gathering, oh not right at first of course but perhaps the next year. What we didn't know was that no one stays here for the holidays, everyone has family and some other place to go. It's rather lonely for those of us who come from somewhere else. It's been 4 summers now you would think we would be used to it. Apparently not. In a way  I was glad I was sick, I didn't have to pretend to be happy, or pretend that I was enjoying the day. I could remember what was before and I pray that we can have again. Someday.

Independence Day

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday! 

New life for an old cabinet

Project number two is officially completed. I had it done at the beginning of the week but I needed to get new knobs.  Here is the before picture. This cabinet was a gift from my parents for my 21st birthday. It has been used in many different rooms as storage over the years. I'll leave you to guess how many. :) It is currently my canned goods pantry. I got sick of staring at the yellow pine wood and just knew some paint would give it a new life. What do you think? It's the first thing I see when I walk into the kitchen in the morning. A little distressing to give it the feel of age. The door not shutting all the way anymore helps too. :) The clock was a wedding present from a family friend.  He made it out of quarter sawn ash, knowing my love for the Arts and Crafts movement. I love how it stands out with the painted cabinet now. For those interested the color is called Swiss Coffee by Behr. It works well with the yellow walls. Now to move on to another project.

For as soon as I finish one I come up with 100 more...

Linking to

Tandoori Pork Tenderloin

 

2 one pound pork tenderloins, butterflied

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

1/4 cup lime or lemon juice

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons Garam Masala

And on cooking day you will need 2 large onions

FREEZER STEP: Whisk all ingredients together in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade in another Ziploc. You will use this with the onions on cooking day.  Add pork tenderloins to gallon size bag and freeze.

TO PREPARE: Thaw and remove from fridge about 30 minutes before grilling. Grill until internal temperature is 150 degrees. Let it rest about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Sauté onions in reserved marinade until golden.(or grill)

Serve meat over onions.

TIPS: My husband works with an Indian gentleman and he gave us a large supply of Garam Masala. You can find it at an Indian grocery.  I served this with flatbread and applesauce for the "cool" part of the meal. A yogurt dish would have gone well to balance out the spice. This was the first time I made this recipe and we loved it! It will be added into our favorites.

Adapted from The Complete Meat Cookbook