DONE

I decorated yesterday. It made me cranky, testy and a brought about a fair bit of heavy sighing on my part.

It's not that I dislike decorating it's just that when I have to do it all myself I get peeved. Statements like...."totally up to you dear, do whatever you want dear, makes no difference to me dear"...drive me nuts. Of course it's up to me, but I would like some HELP. " You do it so well" is little comfort when I'm cursing the string of lights.

I could leave all the stuff in the boxes. I could sit back and read all afternoon and not worry that the festive season is upon us.

Then come 3 days before the 25th I'd be frantic because the house was bare. Because I could have put the things up like I do every year, alone. Because I like seeing my favourite ornaments in my living room. Because it matters to me to get it done and BECAUSE it seems to have become a tradition for me to put them up, bitching and complaining all the while and then sit back to enjoy what I've done and, of course, remarking on what a fine job I've done, alone.

To be honest if they took over the job I'd be sitting directing, commenting, reaching in to fiddle and generally trying to take charge. I have control issues. Sometimes.

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The quilt patching is done. I have sewn the prepared pieces on and although it does not look as good as the professional repair I'm rather please that it doesn't look terrible. quilt post

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I made Rice Krispies squares today. They are one thing I make well. I don't get cranky when I make Rice Krispies squares. I did notice on the box that they have changed the recipe slight but I have held with tradition and made them the right way, the original way adding in the vanilla and using slight fewer krispies.

Sewing on Sunday

Many many years ago my parents gave us a handmade queen size quilt and we've used it every winter since.

Several years ago it began to show it's age around the edges and on some of the petal pieces and I was lucky enough to find a shop where it could be repaired. A new border was sewn over the old maintaining the original work underneath and a pattern made for the colourful inner pieces

I noticed this fall that more of the pieces were starting to split so I got out the pattern and the extra material I was given and I'm doing my own repair.



Yesterday I cut out the needed pieces and ironed them using a cutout of the finished size. So far today I've turned and sewn a thin hem on the raw edges.

The trick will be finding the patience to maintain a small even stitch all round when I cover the worn bits.

Once done I will retire the quilt til spring. We went high tech this year and bought an electric blanket to see us through the coldest months.

Have I done it correctly Kathleen?

Outside and in

When Stephen picked this chilly day..31F/0C.. for changing tires and rims on his car

I stayed indoors and I made quiche for dinner.

Paul and Stephen look forward to the days I cook with eggs. Using them in cakes is one thing, eating them as a meal is another when they aren't my favourite food.

The weatherman says we might get snow on Wednesday.

RECIPE
Heat oven to 375F

Mix:
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup mayonnaise
5 eggs

I added:
1 cup leftover ham cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded Italian mix cheese
4 large mushrooms sliced

Pour into deep dish frozen pie shell ( I spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on the bottom )
Bake 40 to 45 minutes
Remove when golden brown and firm
Let sit 10 minutes, slice and serve.

Substitute any filling you like.

On the last weekend of November I ...

...read a really interesting book. INCONTINENT ON THE CONTINENT by Jane Christmas and loved every page of it.

Since the beginning of time, mothers and daughters have had notoriously fraught relationships. “Show me a mother who says she has a good or great relationship with her daughter,” Jane Christmas writes, “and I’ll show you a daughter who is in therapy trying to understand how it all went so horribly wrong.”

To smooth over five decades of constant clashing, Christmas takes her arthritic, incontinent, and domineering mother, Valeria—a cross between Queen Victoria and Hyacinth Bucket of the British comedy Keeping Up Appearances—on a tour of Italy.

Neither has been to Italy before, but both are fans of ancient art, architecture, and history. Will gazing at the fruits of the Italian Renaissance be enough to spark a renaissance in their relationship? As they wander along the winding Amalfi Coast, traverse St. Peter’s Square in Rome, and sample the wines of Tuscany—walkers, biscuits, shawls, and medications in tow—they revisit the bickering and bitterness of years past and reassess who they are and how they might reconcile their differences.

Unflinching and frequently hilarious, this book will speak to all women who have tried to make friends with their mothers.



... supervised while Paul changed the taps in my laundry tubs in the basement.

... marvelled at the smarts of the man to put on waterproof shoes while doing plumbing.


... shared my Christmas beer while we ate hamburgs and watched the Grey Cup

Bah Humbug Christmas Cheer spiced beer -- lightly spiced with cinnamon this is a rich ale complimented with subtle tones of dried fruits. Wychwood Brewery Oxfordshire England

What a difference 3 days make

The last project on my summer painting list was to finish covering the red plastic bricks in the kitchen. Now it's done.
When we bought the house oh so many years ago I decorated around them. To remove them would have meant totally re plastering all the walls. They had been adhered with the most vile grey cement, as seen in this picture, and I just couldn't imagine living with the work, the mess or the cost.
Several years ago I had the kitchen updated a bit and had wainscoting put in that at least covered the brick work part way up the walls.

Last spring I painted the majority of it but ran out of steam before getting to the area around the window.

Friday Paul removed the stainless steel panel from the wall that covered the area where the heat from the burners had melted some tiles. The panel he had fabricated. He used adhesive to stick down any loose tiles and I washed the area.

Saturday I primed with a special paint that allows you to paint over just about anything and got the first colour coat done.

The light top coat colour showed up areas that needed a tidy up with caulk so I put Paul back to work after dinner.


I got up early ( for me ) today and had the finish coat on by noon. Paul reinstalled the heat resistant panel on the wall, rehung my bundt pan and cheese board and I got the cookbooks back up on their shelf.

I'm happy.

OOPS

If you are going to knock over the bucket like I did while painting ....

-it is probably best to do it to the water bucket not the paint
-it is not likely going to cause more than a minor heart ping if you have an old plastic tablecloth down covering your dining room rug

The back door painting project is almost done. The prime and the first coat of colour are on and if the weather holds I'll be putting on the final coat tomorrow.

That just leaves the window wall in the kitchen on my summer painting project list.

Finally.
It's taken 3 separate days but the outside portion of repainting the back door and side lights is done. The 2nd coat went on the storm window trim this morning.

Now I have to think about doing the inside bits.

While I painted on Sunday Paul cleaned the oven. Seems a bit of a role reversal to me but of the two jobs sticking my head in the oven ranks higher on my - I hate this job - list.





I had forgotten that I had different coloured day lilies.

If this test works (Paul removing the bad wood from back porch last fall ) and if Paul can figure out how to use the video setting on the camera you might just get to see me with my hoop. I bought my own. Custom made no less.

IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE ... yes I am surprised it worked.

Busy work

Monday I cleared most of the items from the kitchen walls.
Tuesday I started priming the walls. Red plastic bricks are not easy to cover.
Wednesday I finished all but one small area around the window.
Today I rested, if resting includes walking to the bank, doing a load of darks, washing and hanging out towels and raking up a million maple keys from the front lawn.
Stephen finally bought some metal shelves and organized his video equipment in the basement.

Paul has been at the marine getting the boat ready for launch.

Spring seems to be having a good effect on us this week.

Chapter Next.....Reno progress

I bought a bathroom floor today.

Install date? Seeing as hubby is doing the work himself I'm not even going to guess.


Great product this. It has a backing that allows it to be installed over existing flooring. No digging up the old tiles. No leveling necessary. You use Velcro. Imagine that.

I dragged him back to the cabinet maker. I stood over him while he took measurements. I applauded his design.

I've suggested he decide about getting started on the electrical or I'm heading to the yellow pages.

He probably doesn't want to hear my ideas for our bedroom.