Preppin' it

About a week ago I came home to find that the new blinds had been delivered.  Excite!  They look exactly as I imagined them.  I was pretty nervous ordering from on-line, but they send free samples and the ordering process is pretty easy.  Plus, they ship for free and I got a buy three, get one deal.  This blog isn't monetized, so sadly, no, they weren't fo free...

I went with natural woven shades in Las Cabritas brown from Blinds.com.  I love the organic look to them.  They are trimmed in Tropics Natural binding.  Up close it looks a lot like a tighter weave of burlap.  I think they will look so good on that large creamy white wall of windows.

 Now the hard part begins.  Getting the faux curtains and old blinds down...I did this being veeerrry careful climbing that old ladder.

 OMG.  The horror, the horror...(name that movie)

 Filling the nail holes was manageable with some wall spackle.

 And I enlisted Bubbie to help me get all of the hardware down.  Good thing, too, since I was using a good old-fashioned screwdriver and he alerted me to the fact that we have a cordless drill we can use for that...oh.

The filth on the OUTSIDE of the windows.  OMG #2.  This will be remedied next week, when I can haul the powerwasher out again.

Holes patched.  Time to begin the goodbyes to this view...

Insides of windows and curtain holes painted, and window glass cleaned.  

Go time!

Hell week

The Girl is wrapping up the summer in her usual end-of-a-semester fashion.  Stressed out, not feeling well, worried about finals, and stressing where she will live come August.  So, I've become used to her room looking like this.  I think it's symptomatic of how life is going for her.  Plus, it feels like a billion degrees outside, she's had to spend a fortune in car repairs, and she's getting to have no fun.  Not too much I can do about all that.

Come Tuesday, things will even out.  She'll be done with her classes, hopefully with college itself, until she starts work on her MA.  I will take her for a celebratory margarita and help her look for apartments, and put off talking about money for awhile. Meantime, I can do a couple loads of laundry.  Mothering - I can do that.

One word Wednesday #29

Procrastination

Southern Ham Salad

Browsing through an old issue of Southern Living I came across this recipe for an old-fashioned ham salad.  The kind you eat on white bread with pickles and potato chips!  I think I may have had this as a child, probably at a church luncheon or a family reunion.  But I have never made it until now.  And I don't know why not - it was perfect for supper on a hot day!

Ham Salad (adapted from Southern Living magazine)

2 lb cooked ham, cut into chunks
1/2 jar of bread and butter pickles
1 cup (or more) mayo
1 T celery seeds
1 t. horseradish sauce
1/2 fresh lemon, squeezed
1/2 freshly ground pepper
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
sandwich rolls, chips, etc.

Process ham, half at a time, in a food processor until coarsely ground.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients, except for the eggs, in the food processor and pulse a few times to make a chunky dressing.  Stir into the ham.  Fold in the chopped eggs.  Sprinkle a little parsley on, if desired.  Chill.  Serve as a sandwich filler, or with crackers.

******

Personally, I thought it a bit salty, so next time I will buy a low salt ham.  But it was easy and tasted great, and stayed fresh, covered in my fridge, for several days!

Shared with:

Tweak it Tuesday on

Cozy Little House

and

Inspire Me Monday 

on Domestically Speaking

5 thing Friday - mulching, medicating, munching, music, wine

It's been a rough week.  On my days off last week I worked on the landscaping: cleaning out leaves and debris, planting a couple of new things, trimming and raking.  I made a couple of trips to Home Depot for plants, mulch...but I thought I was being smart to spread it out over three days.

However,  I may overdid it with my poor knee.  After a week of Motrin and Tylenol, ice, and my knee brace I finally admitted defeat and went to my doc.  The hell of that is, I was just thinking to myself how great it was that it felt stronger and pain free.  ):  It's like a getting a new car and having the key break off in the ignition.  She put me on an oral steroid and gave me pain meds for bedtime.

 I have only myself to blame.  But I'm on the road to feeling better, so there's that.

 The Girl went with me to Chuy's for margaritas and nachos. She drank water, as she was my designated driver.  But she still won't let me take her picture.  It was nice to sit under the trees outside.  Up til this week it hasn't been intolerable, heat-wise.

Hubby and I went to Sip and Stroll at Central Market.  On the way out we saw a Jazz trio playing on the deck, so we hung out for an hour or so.  It was a pleasant evening out there with cool breezes and good wine.

 This wine was our favorite, so we bought it and opened it with our complimentary corkscrew and used our complimentary wineglasses.  How convenient!  Summers are different now with our kids almost grown - fun, but different. 

One word Wednesday #28

Hobby

Gina

Gettin' figgy with it

I spied, with my little eye, some ripe figs ready to pick.  Well, halleluyah, it's been YEARS since I planted this tree in the backyard.  The drought happened and she never really cared to produce.  Mother Nature gave her a nudge this spring in the form of torrential rain.  Turns out, fig trees love that.

I pulled all of the figs that were ready to go.  I estimate maybe a pounds worth?  This was the most exciting part of my day last Friday.  I'm not even kidding!

Then I re-covered her in the mesh Hubby draped over her.  This has kept the birds and nosy squirrels at bay.  I don't remember my mother having the same issue.  Our fig tree in Galveston was always loaded with figs.  And her fig jam is still my all-time favorite.  She uses Sure-Gel - but I didn't have any of that, so my jam is completely scratch made.

 I used a very simple recipe: Stem and partially peel one pound of figs.  Cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. (I also thinly sliced a lemon)

 Cover them with 1/2 c. sugar and let stand in a non-reactive pot for about twenty minutes.

 Add the juice of one lemon and 1/4 c. water and stir well. 

 Bring to a boil, then simmer over moderate heat for about 20 minutes.

 I let mine simmer a little longer so the jam would turn out thicker.  Maybe thirty minutes.  But I could have let it go even longer.  Next time I will leave out the lemon juice - it was lemony enough without it.

Pour into a large jam jar, let cool, then store in refrigerator.  I am so looking forward to jam on biscuits, toast, cream cheese with crackers...

{Can you believe July is almost half over?!}

 

Dental misery

Of my four kids, Bubbie has had the most done to his mouth.  Palate expander, braces times two, a gum graft, and now wisdom teeth removal.  In the summer.  Between scout camp and band camp, and smack in the middle of driver's ed.

Is there ever a good time to schedule in misery?  I don't think so.

It's hard to tell he's in pain as this is the face I see much of the time...I'm hoping his recovery goes as expected and he, and his summer, perks up.

One word Wednesday #27

Caregiver

Gina

The random Monday post...late

Ah...where did the day go?  And for that matter, June?  For Mondays, usually I have a post written in advance about something I did around the house, or something yummy I cooked.

But not today.  The boys have been back a week, and just this weekend got the rest of the camping crap out of the living room.  I don't have really anything to say about that other than I helped them do laundry, I re-stocked the fridge, then worked last Wednesday to make up for being off last Monday.  They were hot and tired - welcome home!

  I actually have been feeding people.  I made Alamo Bowls one day last week...

 ...with rice and chicken fajita meat.  In fact, we've had a lot of Mexican-inspired meals.  Cheese+taco meat+avocados = wonderful.  Not to mention easy.

Which left me plenty of time to hang out with old friends.  Because summer is short and the days pass too quickly!

5 thing Friday - landscaping, art, dishes, clings, sparklers

When it comes to landscaping, I am little more than clueless.  I just plant what I like where I like.  Then I wait and see.  Then I realize I am in over my head. 

 I was thinking that the lantana would make a nice "little" spot of color by the walkway.  It is taking over!  When I get over my current attack of lazy I will trim up this area.  Blerg.  So muggy out.

 Mabel has become quite the Artist's Den.

It's fun to sit out there and color in my adult coloring book and sip vino.  I'm sipping, not gulping.  Promise.  And eating chocolate covered almonds.  And hiding from my peeps.

 There is literally no end to dirty dishes at my house.  I could load and reload the dishwasher twice a day.  Even if I hand wash them, there has to be someplace to dry them.  And a person to put them up.  Because there is ALWAYS dirty dishes.  Will it be that way when it's just Hubby and me?  I often wonder...

 I changed up the clings in Mabel.  I didn't like how the first ones came out.  I found these bling-y ones at Wal-Mart for $2.50.  Sold.  Hopefully living, laughing, and loving will become our mantra.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!  Mama works a 12 hour shift that day, but I'm sure to get a grilled something when I get home.  And maybe sparklers, too!

One word Wednesday #25

Imperfection

Gina