The winner is

 

Staci Lynn. Please contact me to claim the womanswork gloves.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED THE SPRING GARDENING GIVEAWAY!

Brown-Root Canal-Angels

What do these things have in common? Let’s see.

ROOT CANALS

3, that’s the number of root canals I’ve had this year.

Are you saying, “UGH?” Me too.

3 of the 4 teeth I had  crowned last year became very unhappy. They had lots of old silver fillings that needed replaced and you know the story……..after you drill out all the old fillings there’s not much tooth left so……crowns.

Sometimes, a common dental procedure can cause the pulp to become inflamed. For example, preparing a tooth for a crown sometimes leads to the need for root canal treatment. From Colgate.

BROWN

The endodontist’s office was fairly new with a nice reception area and waiting room. Nothing spectacular. Calm colors of tan and brown were used with soft tweed fabrics and plants, probably to create a serene atmosphere.

The treatment rooms are brown. Now, I have nothing against brown, I like brown. At one time I even thought of painting a guest room brown. But no longer…… I was disturbed by the color of the room during my root canal procedure.

The drill was whirring away and I was having thoughts of bathrooms, toilets and flushing. You  Know.  

ANGELS

Then, in my mind the drill started to sound like laughter, not any laughter, but laughter from a choir of angels. The harder I tried not to look at those brown walls the harder it became not to. In my mind I saw myself in that brown room, an endodontist, hovering over me, wearing a strange apparatus on his head that made him look like a sci fi insect,  deftly yielding his drill and with each new drill bit a different choir of angels sang their laughing songs! Chorus after chorus….

 

If the Dr. and his assistant only knew…

  So what do root canals, brown and angels have in common?

Not much, but after praying for relief from my anxiety over root canals, I’m convinced our Lord has a sense of humor.

Under that dental dam I had the silliest grin!

 

 

 

  

For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. Psalm 91

 He will still fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting. Job 8;21 

  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

Yes, even laugh my way through a root canal!

Have a great weekend!

Mexican Stew

This is seriously good stuff!
I found the recipe in the newspaper. It sounded pretty good and I had all of the ingredients on hand so I gave it a try.  You could spice it up a bit more if that’s what you like, maybe add in a little can of diced chilies for extra kick.
Mexican Stew
Cook 1/2 cup finely chopped onion and 3 cloves garlic in 1T olive oil
Add 2 teas. chili powder and 1/2 teas. cumin, stir well
Add 2 cups water, 1 (15oz.) can tomato sauce, 2 (15oz.) cans rotel tomatoes and about 4 cups cooked shredded chicken, turkey or ground beef.
Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.
Add 1 ( 15oz.) can black beans, drained and 1 (15oz.) can corn with liquid.
Stir in 1/2 CUP sour cream, lite is OK
Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Optional, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
Serve this with toppings of crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
 
I didn’t have any cilantro, but I did top it with cheese and tortilla chips and a little extra sour cream. You could use up your leftover chicken or turkey from Thanksgiving with this recipe. It would be great with cornbread too.
  I will definitely be making this again. Give it a try!

I’m adding this to Tasty Tuesday over at Jen’s Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

There’s still time to enter, so don’t miss out on the Gardening gloves giving, just click HERE!

A Giveaway, Gardening Gloves

There's a giveaway HERE.
Womanswork gardening gloves just in time for Spring!
***
And I'd like to welcome a new affiliate,  DaySpring, a christian site offering books, great cards, jewelry and more!  Just click on their button in the sidebar.

Check out their awesome Christmas sale.

Lamps, Help Me Decide

Here’s the original post Projects in the new year.
My inspiration lamps

And these are the lamps I found at TJ MAXX.  The nearest TJ MAXX store is getting lots more home furnishings, it’s still not as big as Home Goods, but I have hope that it’s going in that direction.

They’re so close to the inspiration lamps and I was pretty excited about finding them.
This is the one I like. The shade has a nice texture and has the tan color I’m adding to the room. So which lamp do you prefer?
 
Using tan in the window panels and lampshades will tie to the tan color in master bath…that is,when I get around to painting it. OH I hate painting a small room.

The master bedroom will get a softer look without breaking the budget by
*using the all white bedding, which I already have, I’ll be changing the fabric on the euro shams to something heavier.
*making window panels from drop cloths, the tan color,
*adding a white slipcovered chair….already have the chair, just need the slipcover,
*new throw pillows, possibly burlap, bed skirts and new wall decor.

 I’m not quite sure about what to put on the walls. Any suggestions? Should I use white frames, maybe red, dark wood? What do you think? I’m always stumped by what to put on toile walls.
This is the lamp I chose.















This is the lamp I rejected. The pair looked too small beside the big tall bed.




That’s it so far. Got any suggestions?

Please come back  Monday for the Getting Ready for Spring Gardening  GiveAway. I can’t wait to get out in the sun!

Board and Batten

Board and batten is another project I’m hoping to complete in 2010.
I was inspired by these photos from Chris Kaufmann on Houzz.
 
Isn’t this a beautiful room? These creamy colors and soft aquas are so popular now and the bench looks like it might be covered in burlap.
And these photos from Apartment Therapy, where the process of board and batten is explained in depth with easy to understand directions. Thank You for that!

If you want to see more beautiful board and batten pictures click HERE to go to Kimba’s, A Soft Place to Land. She did her whole family room and shares  lots of helpful info too.

Here’s our small guest room where I want to use the board and batten. I’m planning on painting the upper part of the wall a soft turquoise and using black accents. I have some really nice panels in zebra print that I got from my daughter along with the pillow on the bed…. So, is that too trendy or should I go for it?
According to Pantone the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries,  turquoise is an inviting, luminous hue, and  color of the year for 2010. Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.


A color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky.

So that explains why I love turquoise, it’s got green in it and it reminds be of the sea in Acapulco and Hawaii………not the Jersey shore though!
Hooked on Houses has a great post, Is Turquoise too Trendy? You can go on over and vote on it. So far, it’s a classic color that will never go out of style. I hope it never does.

AND I got some new lamps for the master bedroom makeover and will be needing your opinions, I actually got 2 sets of lamps with the thought of taking one set back and I’m thinking of using drop cloths for the window panels. More on that later in my next post.
Also, coming up soon, a Giveaway just in time for spring garden cleanup.

Vintage Pyrex Glass Double Boiler

This old double boiler was given to me by my Dad a long time ago. Someone gave it to him and he gave it to me. I came across it in a cabinet in the garage where I had stashed it, and decided to do some research on it.

I found out it was made between 1937 and 1950 and is worth about $75.00. It’s a sweet old thing and I ♥ it.  By now you have to know how much I like old stuff.

 

It’s perfect for old fashioned recipes. Can you guess what I made?

 

 

 

 

Yep, banana pudding. I used the recipe on the box of nilla wafers. I knew Bill would love it because he’s told me many times about the cooked pudding his Mom made when he was a kid…… Do ya  think he wanted me to make him some……

It thickens up like magic. You stir, stir, stir, thinking it’s not going to get thick and then voila….magically it’s thick.

I stirred in the vanilla and layered the pudding and popped a couple few  OK, several of those sweet cookies in my mouth. 

It’s so pretty with meringue topping. Would you call those soft peaks?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                After lunch we enjoyed it,  I mean , we REALLY enjoyed it.

 

 

 

It was still warm….

 

The recipe on the box called for 5 bananas but I used 3 and I didn’t use as many wafers either. If you made this recipe for a cookout or pot luck you’d have to double it.  Cooked pudding is a great old fashioned treat!

 

Adding to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

What’s collectible these days?

Have you ever heard of Ralph and Terry  Kovel? They had a show on tv at one time and have written tons of books about antiques. I think they know about all there is to know about collecting and  antiques.  You can read their blog, Kovels Komments, or visit their web site, Kovels.com. for lots more information.

Their latest newsletter started off with tips for buying antiques  in 2010. 
In spite of the economy, antiques can still be fun and could be profitable. There are some collectibles that seem ready to go up in price over the next few years. So go to garage sales, flea markets, malls, and shops and look around. Even if you don't spend any money, the walking is good exercise and it's an inexpensive way to spend the day. Good luck.

Eighteenth-century Chippendale desks with dropdown fronts are very low-priced because they are not practical as computer desks. Some desks have an open area near the drawers in the dropdown section. It can store a laptop--a new idea that makes the desk usable again. Prices will go up.

Some other collectibles suggested by the Kovels are,

 Chinese and Japanese furniture,

Carved wooden sculptures made after 1920,

Enameled metal ashtrays, bowls and jewelry from the 50s,

Old working household things like fans, toasters,etc.

Will you be on the lookout for any of these things…enamel ashtrays, wooden sculptures or Chinese furniture? I won’t.

I don’t need any more collections or reasons to scout out collectible bargains, it’s something I just love to do, but if you’re looking for a reason to get a secretary desk, now you have it. The Kovels said the price is about to go up.

  Happy hunting!

You can subscribe to Kovel’s comments  free newsletter HERE.

 

Projects in the New Year

I’m feeling a bit flustered here……I had a whole post just about ready about all possible projects I might do in 2010 and it disappeared into cyber space….it’s somewhere out there just floating around forever. Have you seen it anywhere?
So here’s the condensed version. I’ll expand on these projects and others in upcoming posts.
Here’s our master bedroom in all it’s toile glory. Yep, I’m getting a little tired of it since it’s been like this for a long time, a really long time.  But, am I ready to take off all that wallpaper? ugh..maybe…not sure……no.
I’m thinking about getting rid of the window panels, lamps,  etc. and trying to give it a different feel. Do you think that’s possible? Maybe some burlap pillows and all white on the bed, get rid of that ugly 1990 green velvet chair……change out the wall decor and lamps with some that have a modern feel, like these,


Then I’d have to do the master bath too. Paint it a  burlap color and get rid of the border.






Guest room
This is the only room that I have never painted. It’s still in builder’s white.
 
I bought this oak sideboard at an auction many years ago and it’s staying even though I prefer darker woods now. What do you think of board and batten in here? I’m thinking of that and lime green, teal or even an orange tone above it.
Stairway to basement
Another area I never painted. After it’s painted, a collection of mirrors or frames would be nice here…….huh? And the railing….?

Kitchen
Getting tired of the fabric in here too. Changing it and the style is a pretty simple project so I’m sure I’ll get it done.

Walls in laundry room
This is a must do. No, might if I get inspired attitude on these walls. I need to scrape off the flaking paint, go over the areas with muriatic acid and Drylock again. It has a cold cement floor and the ceiling isn’t finished but I’d still like to cuten it up.
I’m starting this on Tuesday.
I am I am I am

Those are some of the projects in 2010. Some will get done and others might require a push and there are more possible projects and a list of things I’d like to have. We all have those lists, right? I’ll post about this more later…..
Now, tell me how to change that toile bedroom without removing the wallpaper…pretty please.

Projects 2009

I’m joining Rhoda's party and revisiting projects of 2009, soBefore moving on to 2010, let’s recap 2009 .
Pictures are clickable and will take you to the post.
The kitchen island makeover was a big hit and makes a bold statement in our kitchen. It was a complete DIY project and if I can do it so can you!

The brass chandelier makeover, what a story that was!

Bed bench, a project I wanted to do for several years, finally was accomplished. And cushions too!


Taking an old secretary desk from frumpy to fabulous with blood, sweat and tears.

    Oooh la la
  And a few smaller projects from yardsale bargains.





There were no major decorating projects in 09 but there just might be in 10! I’m still mulling over my upcoming projects and looking for inspiration everywhere. Some projects won’t be fun, like painting the basement walls,  but necessary for improvement and some will be just for pretty. They’re the fun ones!
I’ll be posting about the fun ones next. 


Here's Rhoda's Projects 2009 party.