Kitchen

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Stan worked super hard to get these cupboards sanded, primed and painted. I did help him with some of the paint and primer, but the dust from the sanding just chokes me up. I did have a headache all day Sunday which I attributed to the fumes. I guess that is just the cost of change:)
The pictures really do not do them any justice. Last night we went to Home Depot and bought the paint for the walls behind the cupboards.
It is the red I mentioned in the last post. We are thinking we will paint both sides of this wall red. We also bought another color (tester size) for the walls. I painted a portion of one wall, but we are thinking we do not like it. Glad we bought the tester. It was more a gold tone and we really think we want to go with a khaki. I also looked a stoves and microwaves while we were at Home Depot. This white just does not cut it next to the cream and our other black appliances:)

After the paint, which I think we will do this weekend, it is on to the trim (and a new stove) and the kitchen will be done. On the wish list is still tile for the upstairs bathrooms, paint the entire interior, all of the trim outside, and new doors. The interior doors are so thin and cheap. Upgrades are a never ending project......there is always something else to think you absolutely have to do to make it perfect. Like a brand new wooden door for the front entrance, but I do not want to push my luck too far. Might let that one sit on the back burner for a while. Actually my son in law and I have plans for that area so I will just have to save up some money before I broach the subject.

Last weeks progress in the kitchen

I am really loving it. We are planning to paint the wall behind the cupboards a deep red. The color we like this week is Claret by Martha Stewart. The other walls are still under discussion.

A month of Graduations

We had a very busy June, graduation wise. I am very proud of each of my grands for their accomplishments. Two finishing their formal public education and moving onto other things.

Darian, #2105 graduated from High School. He will be attending a Community College, where he auditioned for and was accepted into their very prestigious music program. He was awarded a small scholarship. Not enough, but it will get him started.

Brandyn #4104 graduated from High School, receiving a high school diploma as well as an Associates In Arts Degree from the Local Community College. He was the recipient of a $5000 scholarship. Brandyn is an Honors Graduate and is on the Deans List. He is planning on attending school this fall at one of the State Universities.

Cooper Daniel #5216, graduated from Kindergarten in Dillingham, Alaska, where he excelled at hanging from the monkey bars and dazzling the young ladies. He did participate in a little academia too.

Olivia #3317 graduated from Kindergarten. She is just beginning her journey into the realm of education. Olivia mastered the fine art of reading while in Kindergarten.



Last but not least is Jonah #6518 who managed to charm his way through Preschool. All I can say is look out Grade School, here he comes!!

Of course gramma is most proud of each of them for their fine accomplishments. New journeys are beginning and I know they will all conquer every challenge they face in the coming years.

This weeks knits.

I absolutely love these little longies. They are made from some yarn that Debby sent me. Knit Picks yarn. I had never used it before. It knit up fairly even. The green is some stash that I have had and used on other projects. I am thinking I have enough of the fuchsia to crochet a little flower to put on the side of the hat.These longies are proving to be pretty popular. I get the yarn at my local yarn shop. It comes in huge hanks. When it is wound into a ball there is as much yarn as two smaller hanks of yarn.

I am able to get a pair of large longies and shorts or medium and small longies from the yarn.
You know, sometimes you need a set of needles and just can't find what you are looking for.

One of my friends wants me to knit a hat she saw on another blog. In looking at it, I saw it was knit on needles that were much larger than any I had, so I took a little trip down to Michaels. They did not have the size I wanted, and what they did have started at $12.95 a set. Thinking if I found the size I needed, and based on the price of the smaller ones, I probably would not be able to afford them. So, I went over to the craft side and purchased a package of pre cut dowels for $2.16 including the tax. Gina took them home with her since she had access to a pencil sharpener that would sharpen the ends. Today, I sanded them down a mite and dulled the tips just a little so they will not split the yarn, and walla!! New needles in just the size I needed!!!

Getting much closer to beginning that project Karin:)

High School

I don't want to brag or make anybody jealous or anything, but I can still fit into the earrings I wore in high school.

The progress is slow

But

Steady

This dang constant rain is a problem. We need to have the windows open for ventilation, but it is so cold. Had a few hours on Saturday that he was able to paint. He will not be able to do any more before Thursday, probably. Maybe by then it will be Summer!!!

Family Photos

My older sister, who is the keeper of the pictures, just posted this one. This picture was taken just before my eldest brother left for the monastery. My mother had 12 children, but two have gone home. I am in the plaid shirt with my hands on my baby brothers shoulders.

For anyone interested, names are: Very back, Erin, Back left to right: John, Theresa, Daniel, now Father Nathaniel, Larry, Jacque, Me, Kevin. Front: Susan, Mother and Philip.

Taken in downtown Snohomish at Mardini's restaurant.

Missing are Patricia, who died when she was 19. Fell over a waterfall. And Megan Marie, our Downs Syndrome sister who left us when she was 34.

Thursday Recipe Swap

My friend Therese at Musings of a Mom is hosting a recipe exchange. Theme this week is summer desserts. I thought I would share one of my favorites with you. This recipe came from my grandmother, and possibly from her mother. I am sure it is in the vicinity of 100 years old. There have been minor changes made to accommodate today's ingredients and measurements.

This recipe is a trusted standby when I am having company and have not planned far enough in advance to make a cheese cake or any other dessert that I want to dazzle them with. Good served warm with ice cream or cold. I, however, prefer to eat it warm.

Grandma Hunt's famous Rhubarb Crisp

(sorry I don't have a picture. You will just have to trust me on it.)

1 cup flour

3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal. I use old fashioned. Always have and cannot guarantee results with any other type.

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup melted butter. I never use margarine.

1 tsp cinnamon

4 cups rhubarb Sometimes I use 1/2 mountain blackberries and 1/2 rhubarb.

1 cup sugar

2 Tbs corn starch

1 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

Cook sugar, corn starch and water until thick. Stir constantly. add vanilla.

Mix dry ingredients and melted butter until crumbly.

Press 1/2 mixture into a greased 9" pan.

Cover with rhubarb then the cooked sauce and top with the rest of the crumbs.

Bake @ 350 degrees for one hour.

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or plain. Enjoy:)

How is it that one simple project leads to another

and another and another and..........Currently we are in the process of painting our cupboards.

When we moved the kitchen around and built new cupboards we could not get the finish to match as is evidenced by the above picture. Now just look at the miss matched colors, not the stuff piled on top. It is a remodel you know and things do get cluttered:)
Stan started by painting the insides of the cupboards. We chose a color called Gold Coast White by Behr.


Stan has gotten about 1/3 of the cupboards painted on the insides. Today, he sanded all of the doors and drawer fronts that are off. We will have to prime them next and paint them soon.

For those of you who are stressing because we are painting oak, be assured it is nothing more than builder grade material.

What is next? Paint most of the inside, new trim, new doors, paint the outside trim, sell, move.

That sounds good, sell and move. The house is really to big for two old people, ( just ask Stan)

and it is getting difficult for me to go up and down the stairs with my knees getting worse every year.

So, the plan? Sell the house, rent an apartment here in town. Stan wants to continue working so we need to stay here. Buy something in Eastern Washington. Stan can use it in the winter to go to and from the ski slopes. I can use it in the summer when I want to go to where it is warm.

Sounds like a win win, right? Wrong. I want a house. One that is finished and ready to live in.

(Granted this one was finished when we bought it, well finished except for the downstairs.) Stan wants to buy a cabin we can work on. See the difference? Cabin-house. I know there are beautiful cabins, but that is not in his plan. He wants one to fix up. He claims if we buy a house I will find a wall that is in the wrong place. I will. So why not just buy something we can put back together and save ourselves the taking apart part of it. My reasoning, with something finished already, I will not have as much trouble keeping it clean. Even in the midst of a tear down and rebuild. Oh what to do, what to do? Truthfully, I know we will get the cabin if we implement the plan. Stay tuned, this will not go away soon:)

A little bit of knitting and night lights

I had a couple of partial skeins of blue and white yarn, so I thought I would knit up a set of socks.

I was knitting a positive and a negative of each style, but unfortunately ran out of yarn before I could do a second stripe pair. I'm thinking they are pretty darn cute even if I did not get a 6th pair from the yarn I had.

On Thursday night Stan and I drove to Tacoma for our grandson Brandyn's graduation. Will write about graduates next week, after all of the ceremonies are complete. We live an hour and a half north of Tacoma on a good driving day. Since it has been raining so much, we decided to leave home earlier than usual. Consequently we were in the middle of the afternoon commute, but if we did not do that, we took the chance of something happening on the freeway and missing the graduation.
To entertain myself on the drive home, since it was dark I could not knit, I began taking pictures along the freeway.
All of these pictures are of one building. the first two as we were approaching it from the south. We were actually quite a ways from it when I took these pictures.

The next two were just a few feet from the building,

And the last two were as we passed it. I love the way the lights photographed in each frame.

I really need to learn how to take advantage of all of the settings on my camera, I know I am missing so much for not knowing. My learning style is one of someone demonstrating and explaining to me what each function is and my doing it as I am shown. I have the book, and I read it over and over, but I may as well be reading Greek. I keep watching in the catalogs that come out for extended learning for someone to offer a class on photography. When they do, I am hoping it will be at a time that I can fit it in. There was a class right before I went to Africa, but I just could not make the time frame work for me.

Never the less, I did have fun taking these, and until I can get some instruction, I will keep reading and experimenting:)

Food for thought:

Got this from a cousin in Texas today, I am in complete agreement. How do we go about implementing it?

Let's put the seniors in jail, and the criminals in a nursing home.
This way the seniors would have access to showers, hobbies,
and walks, they'd receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental
and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc. and they'd receive money instead of
paying it out.
They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be
helped instantly, if they fell, or needed assistance.
Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be
ironed and returned to them.
A guard would check on them every 20 minutes, and bring their meals
and snacks to their cell. They would have family visits in a suite built for
that purpose.
They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counseling,
pool, and education,
simple clothing, shoes, slippers, P.J.'s and legal aid would be free, on
request.
Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard, with gardens.
Each senior could have a P.C., T.V., Radio, and daily phone calls.
There would be a board of directors, to hear complaints, and the guards
would have a code of conduct, that would be strictly adhered to.

The "criminals" would get cold food, be left all alone, and unsupervised.
Lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week.
Live in a tiny room, and pay $5000.00 per month and have no hope
of ever getting out.

Justice for all.

Frizzy at Heaven's Gift had this play along on her blog. I like playing, so I thought I would go along with hers.

I am.... loyal
I think.... Our Country is in major trouble.
I should... be more prayerful.
I dream.... about living in Africa.
I want.... to live a life that will always bring honor to my family.
I know... I need to spend more time in Bible.
I don't like... messes or dirt. (How do I ever think I could make it in Africa?)
I smell... furniture polish.
I hear.... the tv playing.
I fear....change.
I usually... knit every day.
I search...for what God would have me do.
I miss....my baby sister, Meg.
I always...go to bed very late at night.
I regret...not going to college before I got married.
I wonder... why?
I crave... sweets/carbs.
I remember... the joy of becoming a mother.
I need... to be loved.
I forget... where I put things.
I feel... content.
I can...not dance .
I can't... tell people no very easily.
I am happy... Dave,Tricia, and the boys will be home this summer.
I lose... things all of the time.
I sing... rarely. I sound like a cat wailing.
I listen... when it doesn't seem like I am.
I shop... sales.
I eat... when I'm stressed or sad.
I love...spending time with my family.
I wish....People would comment when they visit my blog. And that I knew who was visiting from India.

If you care to join in, just copy and paste this into your own blog and write in your own endings.

Last weeks knitting.

This particular piece is one I am having a terrible time with finishing. I do not even know why I made it. (Except it is being pushed as a must have.) I made it one time before and did not enjoy it then either. If I post it here, I might be motivated to finish it. All it actually needs is sewn up and buttons sewn on, then a collar knit on. Maybe in a few days, or months, or years I will be able to show you the finished item.

Last Friday, Angie and I went to Yakima, which is on the Eastern side of Washington State, for a Fast Pitch tournament that Shaylene #3206 was in with her High School team. Sadly, they did not place, but it was a great learning experience for them. On the way over, I started these longies, knit during the first game, and finished them on Saturday. They are 100% washable wool.

Saturday, after I finished the longies, I started this cute little skirt.

I finished it on Sunday.

It too is 100% wool, but the blue is only hand washable.

I am slowly but surely building up my fund. I only hope I live long enough to make the projected $5000.00:)

I haven't managed to get much done this week. I have started a little pair of tights that I will have to finish in a couple of days, then I think I will concentrate a little more on hats for Tricia to take back up to Dillingham and try to sell for me.

Birthday Pie

Stan is not to fond of Birthday cake so I thought I would bake a pie instead. Problem is,he does not like fruit pies that much either. I drug out my trusty Taste of Home Cookbooks and in the Baking Book Edition I found this!!

Coconut Banana Cream Pie! You begin with a crust made from coconut and then fill it with a homemade custard sauce and bananas. Recipe will follow.

Everyone went up to Gina's house for Birthday "Cake". Gina did have angel food cake with strawberries and cupcakes for those who did not want the pie.

Needless to say, the kids ate the angel food cake and most of the adults had the pie.

Coconut Banana Cream Pie

3 cups flaked coconut

7 tablespoons butter (a cube is 8 tablespoons)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups half and half cream

4 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large firm bananas sliced

Whipped cream and sliced bananas, optional

1. In a large skillet, saute coconut in butter until golden. Reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish. Press remaining toasted coconut into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. I did not take into consideration the baking time and my coconut was a little dark when it came from the oven. Next time, I will not brown it as long in the skillet.

2. For filling, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in a large saucepan. Stir in the half and half until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature without stirring.

3. Place bananas in the crust. Cover with the cream mixture. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Sprinkle with the reserved toasted coconut. If desired, garnish with whipped cream and bananas. Refrigerate leftovers.

Very rich and decadent. Enjoy:)

May Birthdays and one June one.

May birthdays actually begin with Breanne (#1203) who turned 17 on May 1. For some reason, I cannot find a picture of her on this computer. It could be that she is not very anxious for gramma to take them. What ever the reason, remember Bre, Gramma loves you the most, she alway has and always will.May 9th Kris hit the big 40. I praise God every day she was allowed to continue her life here on earth. When you face the real possibility of someone you love so dearly going home, it does not matter how much lip service you pay to your faith if you are not willing to really trust Him and live it. Kris, I love you so deeply and do give all of the Praise to Him for still being able to hug you,
Gina, my baby, turned 3o something on the 28th of May. Here she is hugging Jonah, her baby, right after his preschool graduation ceremony. Gina was my rock the entire time we were in Georgia, sensing how much I hated being away from the rest of the kids, she was always there for me. Sometimes refusing to go out with friends so I would not be alone nights while Stan was working.

It did not go unnoticed G and I love you for it.
Today, Stan, my true Rock here on Earth, turns 64. We have been together in one way or other since we were 15 years old. We met when I baby sat for his sister and started dating on my 16th birthday. I truly hope that we see many more birthdays together, I love you and cannot even begin to fathom how I would manage if you were the first to go. (Sad that we have reached the age that that thought even is a possibility.)

Happy Birthday to Everyone!!:)