Gone Quilting

I'll post pix when I get back. Wish you were here. : )

Bucket List, Again.

Nope...still not dyin'. : ) It's just that I had to try my hand at one of these shadow boxes before I do die. I'm just going show you my steps in photo form because I had no instructions. Just made it up as I went.

I used my Tim Holtz disc for the picture of the little girl. I just printed her off.

The strings holding up the cloud and moon went up and through the cardboard above, then I taped them down on top. I distressed the paper a bit and added stamps and postmark stickers.

Christmas earrings I got for 75% at Target after the holidays. I knew I would use them in my crafting.

Very sloppy job of Mod podge and tissue paper on the back, but it sure was a fast way to cover everything.

Clear as mud? Ha-ha! CAUTION...do not try this at home... unless you have an entire day to devote to it. But what a FUN day it was! : )

Wednesdays With My Mom

My mom was 25 and my dad 28 when they married. Both wanted children very much. Three months after the wedding, guess who's on their way...my sister, Diana. My mom is barely showing here, but she looks so happy.
No fun projects today. We had two appointments...one with the Dr. and one at the Lab.

But, something fun did happen. We got my Mom's Community Director to agree to put some patio furniture in the small little alcove in front of her apartment. She has her own nice set in back, but also wanted to enjoy the outdoors in front.

The little ballerinas and their mommy came by after ballet class today to say hi.

And just to give equal time to my little grandson, last Saturday I got to have him over for some Nana time. First we went to a wedding reception for just a short stay, then we came home and played.

Here are the little toys he brought in his back pack this time. The turtles and frogs were "friends". : )

My First (EVER) Shared Recipe in Blogland...

And believe me, your family will thank me for sharing this one. I am the HERO when I put this on the dinner table. But tonight I actually made this for my sweet neighbor. We've been neighbors for 10 years, this summer. Stacey is expecting # four and has developed a few glitches in the pregnancy. If she's not extremely careful, she will need to be bedridden for the duration.
Okay, I was dying to show you this completely worn out and abused recipe. Isn't it hilarious? It came from my 1992 Better Homes and Garden magazine. I think this is the one and only time they ever ran this ad, because I've never seen it since...anywhere! And every time I've made it to take to someone, they always beg me for the recipe. I posted it enlarged at the very end of this post, but first I wanted to tell you about a couple of changes I've always made to it.
It calls for 2 cups of cubed chicken. I use to bake a whole chicken and just use all the meat off of it...(because we were on a tight budget and I could get a whole chicken for around a dollar or so on sale). Did I ever mention that our oldest child was 16 before we paid off all our student loans? Fun times!! : ) Now I'm spoiled and only use chicken breasts.

If you're in a super hurry, you can buy a bag or two of frozen vegetables, but I don't like to because they just turn soggy in the dish. So I always take the time to cut and steam the veggies first.

Now we're ready to assemble the chicken, boiled potatoes (I use at least 5 or 6), and steamed veggies.

Now for the first change: I use two cans of cream of chicken soup instead of the cream of broccoli. I don't know why, I just always have. I'm sure the other would be fine too.

Mix very carefully so as to not break up the potatoes and make them mushy.

While the dish is baking for the first 15 minutes, get your biscuits cut into triangles with a clean pair of kitchen scissors. Another change: I like the Grands instead of the Flaky for some reason. They're just bigger and more substantial I think.

Okay, after the first 15 min., dish comes out, you apply the cut biscuits, and return for the remaining 15 minutes. One trick I've learned is to turn the dish around half way through so the biscuits get evenly browned.

So, So pretty. But nothing compared to how wonderful it tastes. And the VERY best part is that it has your meat, veggies, and bread all in one dish.

So all I had to do was toss a salad and throw in a dessert. Can we just skip over the lame dessert part? What can I say?

If you end up trying this, drop me a note and tell me how your family likes it. I'm so happy to be able to share it with so many people. : )

Wednesdays With My Mom

Home from the Honeymoon, in front of their first apartment as man and wife.

NOTICE: This project below, is only partially finished. This is where we left off last week.

Oh, how I wish I would have taken a photo before we did anything to the clock. The whole thing was a bright "Brady Bunch" orange. My mom always mentions little projects she would like to tackle some day and one by one, I try to make them happen...even if I don't know what I'm doing.

This is the finished product, below. We stained the whole thing, leaving just a hint of orange showing through by sanding lightly. I also darkened the face so it wouldn't be such a BRIGHT orange and then speckled it, using the black stain on a toothbrush and running my thumb across it. That process throws out speckles everywhere. *Should be done over newspaper or outside.

Next, I hung these two pictures my mom use to have in her last house.

Then, we went to Home Depot to pick out some brown paint, so I could paint this little ledge above the back of the cabinets. It's been bothering her for awhile, having the white butt up against the brown of the cabinets. Such a simple job... to bring so much contentment to her. : )

Then, my two little "fairies" came by for a bit and decided to do some more dancing for G.G.

So Sweet!!!

Then, off to the grocery store and we called it a day. Another successful Wednesday. : )

Some Organization Ideas

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am one of the most disorganized people I know, BUT...at least I never stop trying. : )
Did you know that when businesses close, often they donate their display items to Goodwill and other thrift stores? That's how I acquired this beautiful little number!

And this little beauty, too! Both from Goodwill.

Last week I bought these black plastic boxes from Ross. Five for $5.99!

I also picked up the closet shoe organizer at Ross, the same day for $6.99. The cute tin buckets are from the Target dollar section. I got the yellow ones last Summer and the red ones at Christmas. $2.50 each. They really do slide in and out easily.

One for doorknobs.

I LOVE being able to walk up to these clear "shoe pockets" and see all the items to choose from.

I've shown you this paper rack before in 'My Workspace' post, but I thought I'd show it once again with a link here, if you're interested. However, they have almost doubled in price since I bought mine. You can also check EBay.

I hope to get around to all of your Sites by the end of the week. Thank you very much for all the sweet comments on my "fairies" and also on my "Wed. with Mom" post. If only there were 48 hours in a day...if only. : )