creative little daisy

Forty-three

That's me, 43. How about 43 bits of random useless info, shall we?

1. I'm delighted to be getting older. Beats the heck out of the alternative. I do not however delight in some of the joys associated with getting older. Hot flashes can go back where they came from thankyouverymuch.
2. I'm not digging summer too much this year. Too dang hot for me. May have something to do with the aforementioned hot flashes.
3. Do you remember a while back I may have complained a bit about being skinny. Having trouble gaining weight? Well forget everything I said. Not an issue anymore. Maybe I'm not that delighted with getting older after all.... I kid. About the delighted part. Not the weight part. I've had to buy all new pants. Lets talk about something else.
4. I ripped the bead board wall paper off my bar last week only to put more right back up. What I took down was black. I wanted it white. I also pulled off the baseboard.
5. I bought new chunkier baseboard. In my mind I would cut and install it myself. I just needed Mitch to explain the miter saw to me. Yesterday he cut it for me. No griping was involved.
6. I love that man. He puts up with a lot. 
7. The chunkier baseboard has created a bit of a dilemma. I may be coming to you my friends for some advice. You never fail me.
8. I love being a nana. Bayleigh is the cheese to my crackers, the peanut butter to my jelly. She's my girl. Sometimes she drives me just to the edge of crazy and I tell her I'm running away.
9. I wouldn't get very far before I missed her terribly.
10. Both of my kids are adults. How did that happen?
11. I'm so very glad my kids aren't teens anymore.
12. They drove me well past the edge of crazy, but they are pretty great young adults.
13. I love my kids.
14. I'm very proud of them. 
15. I've developed an unhealthy pinterest addiction. Seriously. Somebody organize an intervention.
16. I seem to enjoy cooking more these days. (See #3)
17. I blame pinterest.
18. I do not enjoy cleaning up after cooking. I blame my family.
19. I think I'll declare this the year of if I cook it, you clean it. Sounds good to me.
20. I should be doing laundry right now instead of making silly lists.
21. Oh well, if it weren't lists, it would probably be pinterest.
22. I remember when 43 seemed old.  Not so much anymore.
23. I'm going to paint part of my lower cabinets white. See #4. Bought the paint last weekend at the Sherwin Williams sale.
24. I have no new progress to report on the attic.
25. I'm very happy with the stairs.
26. When I was a child, I dreamed of living in a house with an upstairs. When you live in a trailer, a house with stairs seems like a big deal.
27. It tickles that kid in me to see those stairs.
28. My favorite desert is tiramisu.
29. I started getting xolair injections. I've only had one shot. Anyone else on it?
30. For a long time I felt sure I was going to die young. That my only hope was to get a lung transplant and that prospect scared the bajeebers out of me. I don't really feel that way any more. 
31. I've decied not to put so much stock in what the doctors say. When you have an unnamed disease, how can they know what your prognosis is?
32. I'm getting the xolair because I researched and asked about it, not because it was offered. You have to be your own advocate. Look out for yourself.
33. A childhood friend wished me happy birthday on facebook and told me I was her first kindergarten memory. I had no idea. I wonder what it was.
34. I have mixed feelings about facebook. I like the ease in which you can connect with friends and loved ones. Share pictures, say hello. But, I don't think it's the place to air all your problems. I wish there was a TMI button next to the like button. Some folks share TMI. 
35. Sometimes I don't wish people happy birthday on facebook because I feel like so many have already done so, mine won't matter. I feel differently now. Every single birthday wish I've received today had made me smile and I've been grateful for each one.
36. Clutter makes me crazy. Messiness makes me crazy. I've been feeling very crazy lately.
37. I blame my family.
38. I blame pinterest.
39. I blame that darn clean house fairy whose GPS must be broken.  Come on sister. Sprinkle your magic pixie dust already!
40. I wish I was the dog whisperer. Man, these dogs and their barking drive me crazy. I've tried that anti-bark thing that emits a high-pitched sound- worked for about a day. I've tried squirting them with water- worked for about a week. Any tips?
41. I'm not a fan of the Fresh Beat Band on Nick jr.  
42. I love to dine alfresco. Not so much at home, but when we go out, I love to eat outside if possible. Not in this 100+ degree weather though.  Something about eating a good meal and sipping a glass of wine outside that makes it seem more special.
43. I made it to 43. Even though I may not post here as often as I used to, I still love this little corner of my world and I hope to keep hanging out here for many years to come!

Nana's gonna snap!

Freezer paper stencilling has been around for a while.

I did a pillow once, but Mitch cut the stencil out for me.

I'm no good with small details and an exacto knife.

But now I have a silhouette. Oh yea! That opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

So when I saw this on pinterest, I knew I had to have one

and by making my own I could personalize it.

I wanted mine to say nana instead of mama,

since most of my snapping involves Bayleigh.

Using the Silhouette Studio software and a camera graphic purchased from their store,

I created my design.

I cut the design on freezer paper and ironed it onto my tee.

I did not prewash the shirt.

I wish I had.

The layout distorted a little after washing.

Using a foam brush I painted over the stencil with acrylic paint mixed with textile medium.

 I placed a piece of poster board inside the shirt,

to prevent the paint from bleeding through.

I pulled the freezer paper off immediately and set the shirt aside to dry.

Once dry, I  ironed over the design (covered with a cloth)  to set the paint. 

Here I am wearing it. My head is absent from this picture because Bayleigh was the photographer.

I'm not really loving the way this angle gives me a double chin,

but that's what you get when you use a

photographer who's three feet tall.

 

 

Tomato Pie

Our little garden has done really well this year, so I've had to come up with different ways to use tomatoes, zuchinni and squash.

A friend told me about tomato pie a few years ago. Just a quick cut this, mix that sort of run down.

Said it was so easy no recipe was necessary.

Of course I didn't remember all the steps, so I googled it when I got home and ended up making Paula Deen's version.

Yummy, but oh so rich. Really rich. Then I read some of the comments in the review section.

Many people said they used much less mayonaise than called for.

So, when I made it again, I tried less mayo. Perfect.

It really is so easy you don't need a recipe, but here's how I make mine.

Pictured above is all you need, plus a pie crust. I buy the frozen kind, the ones with two in a pack. Make one pie to keep and one to share.

This recipe is for one pie.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the crust till slightly golden. You can do this while you are preparing the filling.

I peeled my tomatoes by dropping them in some very hot water for a few seconds.

The skin easily slides off.

Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the core and as much of the seeds as possible. Four or five large tomatoes for one pie.

Roughly chop them and place in a colander. Sprinkle with a little salt. Put the colander in the sink or on a towel to catch the juice.

You want to get as much of the water out of the tomato as possible so you pie won't be runny.

Cut 1/2 onion into very thin slices.

add the onion slices to the tomato.

Season as you like. I just use salt and pepper, but you could also add fresh basil or any herb you prefer.

In a bowl, combine a cup or so of grated cheese. Any kind you like.

For this I used monterey jack and cheddar.

Stir in about 1/3 cup of mayo. If you are from the south, you know there is only one brand of mayonnaise. Dukes.

But you use whatever makes you happy.

Add a few shakes of hot sauce, as much or as little as you like, and mix well.

You end up with something that's sort of clumpy and gooey.

Put the tomato and onion in the (mostly) cooked pie crust.

Spread the cheese/mayo mixture over the top.

I say spread, but you just sort of crumble it on and spread it around with your fingers. Moistened fingers work best.

Cook uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Till the cheese begins to get golden and brown.

Simple and yummy!

 

Grilled Green beans

Hot. I bet I say that word no less than 25 times a day.

It is so stinkin' hot. Like sticking you head in an oven hot. Hotter than, well, you get the idea.

In an effort not to heat up the house any more than necessary, most dinners are cooked on the grill these days.

Not sure if these are new or just new to me.

I don't usually like frozen green beans, but these are different, and we're going for quick and easy here.

Follow the directions on the bag, just microwave in the bag for five minutes.

Carefully open the bag and pour the cooked green beans into a bowl.
Drizzle on about 2 or 3 tbs. of olive oil.

Throw in some garlic. About one largish clove or two small ones. I use a garlic press or just chop it up very fine.

Sprinkle on a little salt. Or a lot, it's up to you.

Give it a stir to coat everything well.

Put a sheet of aluminum foil on the grill and place the beans on a single layer.

I do this once the meat I'm cooking is about half done. Move them around to keep from burning. Just let them get a little brown here and there.

Put them back in the bowl and you're done.

Yummy!

Last night I did the same thing with brussell sprouts. The same Birds Eye Steamfresh brand.

I seasoned them with olive oil, salt, parmesan cheese (just the cheap canned stuff) and a little lemon juice.

 Attic progress~ we have stairs!

Bayleigh's surprised and excited pose.

Bayleigh's Vanna White pose.

It's noisy around here

Delightfully noisy! Work has begun on the attic apartment.

Those are Mike's legs. Mike will be building stairs and possibly a tiny powder room.

So far he has removed the pull-down access stairs and made the opening larger.

Not very exciting photos, but fun stuff I tell ya!

I have a few recipes to share. Which would you like first, tomato pie or grilled green beans?

Nope, I haven't melted. Almost...

How about a bit of random jibber-jabber to get caught up? When you go a month between blog posts, it's not easy to pin down a topic with which to jump back in.

It's been crazy, hectic, hot, fun around these parts. Since I last blogged, we beached.

It was wonderful. Five days at Myrtle Beach. The only down side was that it wasn't enough.

My sister Erica, and her two beautiful girls, Harlie and Juliana came along. It was wonderful.

We had a low key Fourth of July. Family and food. A few fireworks and some corn hole.

Mitch built and painted the corn hole boards.

Work is scheduled to start tomorrow on Alyssa and Bayleigh's attic apartment. I'll be sure to take lots of pics.

I've done lots of cooking and even took some pics of my favorite recipes. I've missed this place and I've missed you, my friends. I'll be back soon. I promise!

xxoo~