Monday, that's Obvious

When Hubby left for work this morning he asked what my plans for today were... Uhmmm... to finish something.  I'm still not sure what my plan for today will be but I'd like to finish something.  I'll keep you posted...  meanwhile, Maintenance Monday. {thanks Leslie}

On Saturday I went to the Island Chicks show in Anacortes.  It was inspiring and it's always nice to see creativity still alive and kicking.  It was a why didn't I think of THAT!?! day.

 *We are still painting here.  I'm thinking about painting the door in the laundry room one of those salmony, cherry, pinky colors that are everywhere this year.  Can a door be painted with 8 ounces of paint?  Just curious.  I have a Lowe's coupon for a free 8 oz. paint sample burning a hole in my pocket.

*One night last week as we were getting ready for bed Hubby mentioned he had a trifecta that day.  This means that he talked to all three of his boys that day.  It makes his day!  Danny is interviewing, busy at work and engaged.  Sam is finishing some classes for a promotion, packing up to drive cross country in June.  Max is starting to work weekends again on the farm and is busy with his classes at WWCC.

It's all good.

*I'm working on a package for Danny and Jessica to celebrate their engagement.  I'm having fun thinking about what should go into an engagement care package.  Ideas?

*HILLS!  After taking months off from running hills at boot camp we brought them back this morning.  Four sets of five each.  Yep, that's 20!  It really, really sucked but it's a good thing.  It's good to hurt, right?

*Happy Birthday to our Blake!  Love you, kiddo!

*That's all I got.

Just Some Daily

Besides the daily day to day chores, work, and commitments this is what has been happening at Stone House...

Since Hubby and I just happened to have a nice bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge when we got the news of Jessica and Danny's engagement we decided to celebrate.  We had bought the rhubarb bitters when we visited Danny and Jess in Michigan so we enjoyed champagne cocktails in their honor.  I am just so happy for them.  Cheers!

 I texted Shelly very last minute on Saturday morning to please go with me to a garage sale in Bellingham.  I saw an Evergleam in a photo on a garage sale craigslist ad.   I was encouraged by Hubby to go and get that tree!  The neighborhood was close to where Danny and I were at a sale where we accidentally ended up in Marietta and we were scared and scarred by what we saw there.  Thus, I didn't want to go alone.  Shell dropped everything and went with me.  Hubby was grateful.  He was so happy that I got the Evergleam deluxe 58 branch stainless aluminum 4 foot Christmas tree that he set it up last night and placed it in the sunshine.  Oh my!  I'm in love!  With Hubby and the Evergleam.  Each branch was still in it's paper sleeve in mint condition.

justwhatialwayswanted

 I found a few other treasures because of of course, since we were out anyway Shell and I made a few more stops.  As soon as I get home from junkin' everything gets cleaned and laid out to dry.

 

Hubby and I have been cleaning up  the yard  or as I would love to say,  the gardens, sniff.  That said, it is a yard.  The spot along the house, under the fig tree is bursting with blooms right now and I am enjoying this stretch.

 I made a little craft project last week for the guest room  I had leftover hooks from the master bedroom drapes and was inspired by Grandiflora to use them to make a WELCOME bunting for the guest room.  The hooks can be found at Grandiflora  along with wallpaper bunting.  I used ribbon, paper scraps and the letters were from the $1 bins at Micheal's.  I learned how to use a drill (yea me) and finished some other projects in the guest room.  One project left to finish and  I still need a luggage rack and it will be good for guests.

Max came home for the weekend and so I actually cooked.  For him.   And I did a mountain of laundry.  For him.  And I made a pan of Special K Bars.  For him.   It was great to see Max.  I think he grew just a tad.  Or I forget that he looks like a man now.  Either way, he is all grown up and he makes me happy when he visits.

Today, the sun is shining and I'm getting out the hedge trimmer.  Prepping the patio for summertime.  I know that makes everyone happy cuz there are lots of good times on our patio.

That's all.

And now, don't you feel all caught up with my mundane little life?

Wedding Bells

 Danny brought home a special friend for Christmas 2011.  We could tell that Danny was in love with Miss Jessica.  They were so cute together.  And then we fell in love with her too.

 Hubby and I went to visit Danny and Jess in Michigan in October 2012.
We could see that she was the one.

On Monday I got a message from Danny.  She said YES!  They are engaged.  Hubby and I are thrilled.  We are so happy for Danny and honestly, we are so happy for us.  Jess is a keeper!

And with an engagement comes a wedding.  I. am. so. excited.

A White Christmas in April

It's been pretty chilly here.  There was some snow mixed with the rain on Saturday and the temp. has been low for April norms.  I am anxious to feel the sunshine but not really ready for all of the work in the yard.  It feels like December so I'm in the mood for Christmas.  Works for me.

On Saturday I went with my gal pals to an estate sale.  We didn't really think it would be our thing because the furniture was Danish and it seemed a bit minimalist for us.  But, hey, even minimalists have a little bit of junk!  I swooped in and cleaned out the Christmas table.  Shelly has my back.  She stays right with me until I load up everything I want.  She helps me load my bag so I don't break anything and she will body check anyone that gets too close to my finds.  And that my friends, is a true friend.

After the estate sale we went to check out the new store in our little town.  The Picket Fence is crazy beautiful, and it's consignment!  Their prices seem reasonable, their displays make me want to take everything home and there are fun girls running the show.  My gal pals and I have a little plan to bring things in for consignment to make some cash to fund a little junkin' trip.  This theory is one that only a crazy junker will understand.

hellomynameistamiandihaveajunkin'problem

Dr. Mike's Protein Cookies

Since our guys grew up, moved out and left Hubby and I with an empty nest we have changed our eating habits.  We are trying to eat a bit less and bit more healthy.  When I miss baking one of the guys receives a care package or I bake Dr. Mike's Protein Cookies.  The protein cookie recipe is from the The 17-Day Diet book.  Granted these are not as tasty as the Almond Glazed Sugar Cookies that we all know and love but they are satisfying and pretty tasty.

Dr. Mike's Protein Cookies

 

INGREDIENTS
* 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
* 2 tablespoons almond paste****
* 1 tablespoon flax seed oil
* 10 packets of Truvia
* ¼ cup agave nectar
* 1 large egg
* ½ teaspoon vanilla
* ¾ cup whole wheat flour * ½ teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* ½ teaspoon salt
* ¼ teaspoon black pepper
* ½ cup vanilla whey powder
* 2 cups oats
* 1 cup dried cherries
* ½ cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together applesauce, almond paste, flax seed oil, Truvia and agave nectar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, baking soda, salt, pepper and whey powder. Beat thoroughly. Stir in oats, cherries and almonds. Mix well.

*Drop the batter by large tablespoons onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with **vegetable cooking spray. Divide dough so that you have 18 cookies. Flatten each cookie with the back of the spoon.

Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. *****Cool and store in a plastic container. ***Each cookie supplies 128 calories and 5+ g. of protein.

My recipe notes and tips: 
Also known as my way or the highway:
AKA too many asterisks to count*********:
****I sometimes substitute a bit more applesauce and 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring for the almond paste.
*I use my medium sized cookie scoop.   The medium cookie scoop makes more than the 18 cookies per batch.  ***This works for me because then I figure each cookie has about 100 calories instead of 128.   I like to count by 100's.  It's easier for me.  Here's my creepy little secret... don't laugh... If I can't sleep at night I count up my calories for the day in my head.  The math prevents dementia, the calorie count keeps me accountable and if I can't count that high I give up and fall asleep.  And falling asleep is the goal. Right?  Although some nights I lay awake and freak about all the calories I had that day.  Boo.

**The recipe is NOT kidding about spraying your cookie sheets with vegetable oil!  These babies stick!  I flatten the cookies with my fingers which I dip in cold water.  Why?  Because these babies stick!

*****I double the batch.  Why not?  Everything is out and they are all going into the freezer anyway.  I wrap each cookie in saran wrap and store them in a large Ziploc bag.  They are easy to grab for a to go snack.

If you aren't watching your weight or want a treat bake the Almond Glazed Sugar Cookies today.  They are the bomb and  I miss them.  A. LOT.

The Painting is Finished

We've been painting at the Stone House.  Well actually, I've been complaining a lot about painting with a little painting thrown in.  It started with the upstairs landing.  Here are the BEFORE pictures.  These were taken after the Christmas decorations were taken down but not put away.  It looked like some crazy hoarder lives here.  Be nice.

We ended up getting new doors, new trim  around the doors, painting the landing and the kitchen, organizing the closet, the attic and the built in shelves and dresser.

AFTER:

I swapped the desk for one that was in Max's room, Hubby built a new door for the attic access and we continued to paint.

The photo of the doors may not be a great photo but what is significant is that the doors and knobs are all the same now and they are all painted.  I kinda love them.

 This project went on and on.  For too long it went on.  I was determined to get control over the weekend.  I wrote a weekend to-do list.  It was pretty ambitious.  On Friday I went to find curtain rods for our bedroom, made some returns in Bellingham, brought a care package to Angela to deliver to Sam and  I went to the worst garage sale ever on Friday morning.  Ever.  Then I baked cookies and mailed Max a care package.  Don't worry Danny, you're next!

On Saturday I painted and painted, cleaned and cleaned some more.  We had friends over for dinner but they brought the dinner!

Tonight the painting is finished, the paint and tools are put where they belong, the new curtains are hung in the bedroom, which I did Spring clean.   The house is clean, the laundry and ironing are caught up.  Many, many projects were completed this weekend.  Hubby helped today.  A lot.  He does the hard stuff for me.

 I think it's fair to say that we are finished with indoor projects until Fall.  Well, at least until we have a rainy week or two.

I didn't make it to the bank or to the Green Barn for groceries.  Hubby said he'd go for me tomorrow.

I'm going back to work to get some rest!

Chihuly Glass and Garden

On Monday Hubby and I went on a field trip with Mark and Karen to Seattle.  We went to see the Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center.  After parking downtown, we took the monorail to the Seattle Center.

Dale Chihuly, a local artist,  uses the Puget Sound, Native American art and photos, flowers, plants and his collections for inspiration.  

 A museum docent took our photo, gave us a card and told us to scan the card at a kiosk, we could then email the photos to ourselves.  It was included in the admission price and I thought it was a nice touch.

Dale Chihuly doesn't blow glass anymore because of physical limitations but he draws, paints and designs the installations.  His drawing are included in some of the exhibits.

 I loved the ceiling installation.  I wanted to lay on the floor and just rest.

 We moved on to the indoor garden and wow it was stunning.

 The wood boat filled with floats was beautiful as was the one filled with sea life.

 After the indoor exhibit we went out to the gardens, leaving the building through the conservatory.  It was inspired by Chihuly's collection of conservatory vintage postcards.  They were enlarged, framed and on the wall.  

Karen is planning a party.  It would be fantastic to party here and it is possible.  We asked a docent for an estimate of cost.  To reserve the entire exhibit and garden it is $70,000+.  There was a wedding held on Saturday evening.  They reserved it in its entirety and had Collections provide the catering and open bar at an additional cost.  And yes, the open bar did make museum staff nervous.

 The next two photos are my self portraits at the exhibit and in the garden.  The second one is my reflection in the ball.  We stopped at the gift shop as we were leaving and they were selling a postcard that was similar, of course, I wasn't in that photo.

After viewing the garden we had lunch at Collections, an on site restaurant featuring Chihuly's collections.  Each of the tables features a collection.  Our table was vintage toy travel trailers.  Oh my!  I need to collect those.  There were accordions hanging from the ceiling, framed collections and of course, the tables.  Our food was delicious too.

We enjoyed small plates at Dragonfish and then shopped our way home.  It was a wonderful day!

* This post has many photos but it's a fraction of what I took.  I did not use a flash as I felt the flashes going off around me were very intrusive.  I set my little point and shoot camera on the flower setting, turned the flash off and held it low, and against my leg to keep the camera still for most of the photos.  I didn't know what I would actually get until I had taken the photo.

He is Risen, Indeed

Last week I was a tad busy.

The museum hosted its annual Docent and Volunteer Dinner on Thursday evening.   Since it was close to Easter I chose a flowery purple theme for the tables.  I took no pictures as the whole thing felt frantic for me.

After we were home from the dinner and the car was unloaded Max arrived home for Easter.

It was so good to see him.  He plopped on the sofa and I plopped right next to him.

Hubby had a four day weekend, Max came home and the sun was shining.  It was a perfect storm.

We painted.  And then we painted some more.  The landing, hall and kitchen are painted.  The doors and trim are painted.  The banister is not.  The walls are a pale cream color and the trim is grey.  The paint cans are out of the kitchen.  The cars got washed, the lawn mowed, weeds got pulled, paint was applied, and the floors got mopped.  

I wanted to have a dozen more Fridays and Saturdays but Saturday rolled into Sunday and Sunday was Easter and it is the best!  I attended a funeral for Janet, my Mom's cousin and dear lifelong friend, on Tuesday.  I thought about Janet during the service and what a special Easter she was having in heaven this year.   Her funeral made Passion Week very meaningful for me.

 After our church service on Easter morning we went to my parents home for Sunday dinner.

 So many Easter egg hunts have involved pretty Easter dresses, parkas and rubber boots in the Pacific Northwest that it felt like a modern day miracle to enjoy sunshine and  warm temperatures on Easter Day.

 Everyone should be lucky enough to have a cute little girl running around wearing a pretty pink skirt and cowboy boots.

 Max and Levi helped hide the eggs and then set themselves up for some action on the bench by the pond.  They each had an egg in their hot little hands.  They spread rumors that they had the  money  eggs.   The kids tried to grab the eggs but of course, Max and Levi were faster and closed their hand over the egg.

Not nice, Lucy! 

 No one tried harder than Clayton.  Clayton makes me pine for the days when my guys were little.  He is just adorable and would be mortified to be called adorable but he is adorable.  I don't want to be known as the crazy old auntie that pinches cheeks but ohhh my, it is tempting with that cutie patootie!

 There were confetti eggs after the hunt.

 It felt so good to be in the sunshine with family.  It was a wonderful day.

Later, I'll post about our field trip that we took Monday.  It was a good thing.  Very good, indeed.