Antique Lyre Back Chair- Painted and Distressed in Red

Before and After

Love old Farmhouse Style Antique Chairs

Reuben is Growing so Fast

Reuben had his first Vet visit yesterday and weighs over 27 pounds!

cleaning closets

Lovely Old Book

Vintage 1947 copy of Little Women...A beautiful copy of this treasured story. 

Little Women written in 1867 by Louisa May Alcott is one of my favourite classic novels. This is a  copy from 1947 published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York, and illustrated beautifully by Louis Jambor. A Beauty  to display.   I love the charming cover which is made from cloth.

Mixing MMS Paint Colors- to get the perfect color.

I have recently added Gray to a few rooms in the house.  I had this Vintage Stand for a long time- It had many layers of paint and was most recently a grayish Blue.  I wanted it to match the colors in the shower curtains and to be a little closer to the Gun Metal Gray Color of the new bath Towels.  Above the stand, I had an ornate mirror that was gold so I decided to paint that as well.  

After mixing a couple of MMS paint colors - I ended up with a perfect gray!  

French Theme Wedding Cookies

Softball Cookies

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts 20:35

Vintage Rocking Chair - Painted and Distressed

Thai Iced Tea at Home

1 quart water

2 stalks cut up lemon Grass

2 Tablespoons Black Tea- I used a Caramel Flavored Black Tea

1/4 cup sugar- I left this out.  

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup Coconut milk

BRING water,to a Boil.  

Steep tea, Lemon Grass, Star Anise and Tea for 5 minutes.  Strain mixture.  Can Add sugar; stir to dissolve. Refrigerate until cool

MIX sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk in small bowl until well blended. To serve, pour 1 cup tea mixture over ice in 4 tall glasses. Stir 2 tablespoons milk mixture into each glass until well blended.

Antique Chair Painted in A Lovely Green Milk Paint

Rhubarb Recipes and Almond Biscuits

Almond Biscuits:  Add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar to the biscuit recipe, 1 teaspoon of almond flavoring, 1/3 cup of chopped toasted almonds, 1/4 cup almond flour.   Can add dried fruit.   Cut like a biscuit or make in a large round scoring into 6 triangles.  

As you create the biscuit dough the cold butter is working like a pastry keeping the dough flaky.  Be careful not to over work or over knead the dough.  Once the dough is pulled together don’t keep mixing.  Stop, and roll the biscuits on a floured surface.  Touching the dough as little as possible.  Keep in mind it’s the heat from our hands that can break down the butter in the dough mixture.

If you don’t have a biscuit cutter be sure and use something metal or plastic for cutting purposes.  Glass is definitely not a consideration.  

Cloud Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, cold and thinly sliced

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup milk (buttermilk is nice too)

Mix all the dry together cutting the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork, pastry cutter or mixer.  Mix the egg and milk and add to the flour mixture.  Stir dough until it’s well mixed.  Roll out about 1/2 inch thick (or whatever you prefer).  This usually yields about 10 normal size biscuits.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10-14 minutes.  Sometimes I lower the temperature to 425 and start monitoring at 10 minutes.

Rhubarb Sauce

6 cups of rhubarb in 1/2 inch pieces

3 cups sugar

1 large can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 package of strawberry jello

Cook all of the above until you have a roaring boil.  Cook for 4 more minutes after the strong boil.  Remove from the heat allowing to cool.  The sauce will thicken, but it is definitely not the thickness of jam.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cake

(1) Strawberry Cake Mix

(1) can sweet condensed milk

3/4 cup freezer strawberry-rhubarb jam

8 ounces whipped cream

1/2 cup freezer strawberry-rhubarb jam

Bake a strawberry cake according to box directions for a 9 x 13 baking pan.  Immediately after baking, poke holes over the cake with the end of a wooden spoon.  Mix the sweet condensed milk with the 3/4 cup freezer jam and blend with a submersible blender.  Pour into the holes on the cake drizzling to fill.  Mix together the 1/2 cup of jam with the whipped cream and spread over the top of the cake.  Refrigerate until cool and serve.  Yields 12-16 servings.


Freezer Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

ingredients

• 3 cups strawberries
• 1 cup finely chopped rhubarb
• 5 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1 3/4 - ounce package regular powdered fruit pectin

directions

1. In a large bowl, crush berries using a potato masher. Measure 1 1/2 cups crushed berries. Stir rhubarb into the 1 1/2 cups crushed berries. Add sugar and lemon peel; stir to combine. Allow to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the water and pectin. Bring to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add pectin mixture to fruit mixture, stirring for about 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture is no longer grainy.
3. Ladle hot jam into half-pint freezer containers, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Seal and label. Let stand at room temperature for about 24 hours or until set. Store for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator or for up to 1 year in the freezer.

Creating a Pink Party Banner

A Beautiful Dish that Belonged to my Grandma