Rough outline of property, have exact survey & warranty deed, will copy/upload..mon.

Playing

Ok..so I haven't repainted the 3rd floor bathroom floor yet..or plastered up the 2nd floor ceiling..or even worked in the last room left there or done anything in the wildly overgrown weedy yard.....but - I did master lemon marmalade....

and jalapeno/necterine jam

and some healthy fruit and nut bars...

Jam time

Our neighbors had an over-ripe crate of nectarines..so ...quick easy raw jam. Fun to make..freezes up to a year..

Almost...

Only the floor to do now..thinking of a silver glaze on it..not sure.. maybe some trim around the tub surround too..little stuff.
Moving onto the second floor starting tomorrow..so will decide later - but...just about finished.

Eggrolls, fried rice and (non-soy) soy sauce

 

 yes..I remember.. in New Orleans..product manager at Arc..was in the restaurant area watching the news as it happened. unreal.

Pictures, rambles and feathered pigs

 

Seems like Fall came early this year. Cool morning breezes and long golden afternoon sunsets. 

 

always seems so magical

 

and perfect for the fairy circle on the front lawn

 This is King Arthur

 

and Guinevere. They are the rare Bielefelder chickens from Germany. He's about 15 lbs now,  9 months old now and she is the sweetest bird. They make the perfect couple, he holds food while calling her and she takes it from his beak..gotta get a picture of that

 

These's guys are the rock stars, Hermie, Wolf , Feather and Sparrow..Favorelles from France..showy birds. They are about 6 months now and starting to get along in the the big girls pen. 

 

Not sure how but we are up to 11 chickens,  (lovingly refereed to as feathered pigs).

ok..back to the garden..

Vegan Patty-burgers and Chocolate/banana milk shakes

Ok..so I have no computer..fritzed.. I have no Photoshop, which means I have no job, which means I get to play and go crazy..so..

 

 serious yum

Summer days

Starting to cool off just a bit, the morning and afternoon breezes are wonderful.
Might take the camera out tomorrow..
Ah..and I survived (so far) a rattlesnake bite to my ankle..was kinda painful...and scary.
Tuckpointing on the north side of building is almost complete

rose garden wreath...

Almost August

Time flies..Lots of work on the building going on this summer. The Niche room is all painted and ready for the new electric and fan.
We are clearing out the entire 1st floor, everything goes..cept for a new workroom down there - which means..the last room on the second floor (current workroom) should be finished..maybe by October??? Cross fingers!
But the big thing is - the tuckpointing on the west and north sides of the building is finally getting finished!
And in the kitchen today.. ketchup, pizza sauce and mayo..made with our spoiled chickens eggs!

Spring I guess..

Just not the same with Hawk gone.

and..

19x24

pencil on bristol

Little pizzas

Ok, I'm not a great cook - but I make yummy veggie pizzas that even meat eaters love.
try it.

For the the dough:

Put this in a mixing bowl - in this order
1 Tbs salt
1 heaping Tbs baking powder
2 Tbs sugar ( must use to activate yeast, I use unbleached raw cane sugar)
1 Tbs instant yeast
2  cups of hot water (not too hot about dishwater temp)
 it will bubble once you add the water
then add
5 cups of flour
mix with dough hook if using mixer or by hand, if it too sticky you might need to sprinkle on a bit more flour if using mixer when its all mixed( about 2 min).
Remove from bowl and kneed by hand till its as smooth as a babys butt. If your mixing/kneading all by hand should take about 15 minutes - its a great arm workout.
Then..
Put the dough in bowl twice its size, cover and let sit at room temperature for 3 - 4 hours.
Then, it ready - you have pizza dough for the week.
Break off a piece ( baseball size or a bit smaller for individual pizzas) the rest goes in the fridge in covered (airtight bowl) till you want to use it, can last a week or so.

For the sauce:

in a processer -
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
a few sun dried tomato halves
a few handfuls of spanish peanuts and or pine nuts
1-3 Tbs of basil - depending on personal taste
1 Tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 Tbs chopped garlic
6 oz coconut oil, peanut oil or water  - your pick
Red pepper if you like
Italian seasoning if you like
some sugar - 1 Tbs or whatever sweetener you prefer..honey,stevia..to taste

process it all till smooth, spoon it into a glass jar, lasts about 2 weeks in fridge - can add any spices you like to taste - - this is depending on personal likes.
If you used coconut or water you will need to let this sit outside of fridge to soften enough before spreading it on the dough, kinda like butter.

The Pizzas !
Sprinkle a pizza pan with corn meal or polenta ( keeps pizza from sticking)
Make baseball size balls with dough ( or a bit smaller)
Sprinkle flour on table and roll them out

 place dough on pan and spread with pizza sauce - be generous, its yummy

 

put a layer of spanish cheese on - I use a Queso Cotija from goat milk for this layer -  its a mexican grated cheese that melts beautifully into the sauce. Also goat milk is naturally homogenized, meaning its smooth and consistent without it undergoing a man-made process, contains less lactose which makes it easier to digest , has about  89% less Alpha s1 casein  - which is the protein most are allergic to., and on the average it has less fat, less calories, less sugars and more iron, calcium and vitamins.

For vegans - just leave the cheese out,  great pizza without any too, the spanish nuts in the sauce give it a bit of cheese texture.

heap diced tomatoes on - fresh from garden is best, anything but store bought hot house tomatoes

sprinkle on red and yellow diced onions
sprinkle on red pepper, salt and pepper to taste

add mushrooms, roasted peppers, olives - whatever you like - heap on the veggies

sprinkle on mozzerrla cheese (if you like)

bake at 350 for 15-20 min, till chesse starts to lightly brown.

enjoy.
xxx
Thanks to Bliss for being my model.

Happy October

My favorite decorating holiday is comming - Halloween.
and just fall in general, the colors, the feeling. Everything slowing down..like right before falling asleep, that drowsy state.
Magicial.
Still working on the 3rd floor, painting and making the 22 lockers there leading to the auditorium usable..adding shelves to some. Found a great old school light fixture that might go up in there..can't decide on that or a fan that matches the kitchen ones, its a smaller hall - 6 ft wide and can get a bit stuffy..but the school light would look so cool..decisions, decisions...

The Pumpkin Crawler

 I loveee halloween !!

on the drawing board...

Third Floor Kitchen remod

I have a new kitchen !

 I love love love it..its kind of a mix of my two faves - Italian and French country. Painted/antiqued and recushioned the chairs with same off white cotten canvas as the drapes. Four of the 8 are finished - Bliss is still rebuilding the last two, they were in pretty bad shape. Redoing a few old armchairs we found at a thrift store years ago also, the extras will go in the side hall ... maybe with a computer/craft workstation, theres a wall of lockers there that would be perfect for storing all sorts of stuff. And we are still looking for doors that will fit the pantry and one of those huge old farmhouse sinks with the flat front to replace the tiny bar one we have in now - but its getting there.

September

Just been cleaning up..or trying to, lazy summer is ending. Thinking about fall coming, such a quiet reflective time. Time to take walks collecting all sorts of treasures for wreaths and topiarys.

New art for my wreaths..like?