I need therapy

I wasn't going to blog today. I have lots to get done. But I have just gone through the most horrifying experience and I  need to debrief.

So I decide to most innocently vacuum out the fireplace. It has been overlooked since we have moved into our 100 year old house and is full of old cobwebs ( or maybe its spiderwebs, are they the same?)

Here's the fireplace after the fact. Still a little dusty looking.

See this thing? It is above, blocking the chimney opening. Its all vacuumed out now. But before it was full of "dirt".  I have my nice big shop vac and begin vacuuming out the dirt between the crevices. Only the dirt isn't dirt. Its dozens and dozens of birdie skeletons and all their birdie stuff. Seriously, if you had been walking by my house you would have heard me scream above the very loud shop vac, more than once. Only it didn't end at just a few. Little by little horrifying things fell to the floor. The horror went on for about 10 minutes as I wriggled the loose brick and let the scary stuff fall out. Little birdie skulls and legs and wings. Why, oh why, I asked my self, hadn't someone else thought to clean this out over the two years they had been working on the house?!!

Then, on top of it all, I looked behind me to find the nasty black dirt blowing out the other hole of the vacuum all over my living room!! Fortunately I don't have much furniture in there yet.

And here is the scary trap door at the bottom of the fireplace. I don't like scary trap doors that lead down dark dirty places that who knows what else is living in there.

I've claimed to be adventurous, but never brave. I'm a wimp around dead things and am still a little shakey over the experience. It will take me awhile to get the vision of the birdie skull stuck in the crevice tool that I had to bang free out of my head and I refuse to be the one to clean out the vacuum.

Thrifty treasures

I've always been a frugal shopper and have been shopping at thrift stores since college. In high school I had a friend who bragged about how much her stuff cost and I would brag out how cheaply I got mine.

I love finding great quality name brand items for dirt cheap. Its like a treasure hunt. With a large family, this is more of a necessity than a game. One thing I have learned is buy for quality, not just for price. You don't want a bunch of cheaply made stuff all over your house.

In our little town of Alma, we have a nice little thrift store called the Caring Cupboard. I like to go in there at least once a month to see what great finds I can come by. A couple of weeks ago I found a like new Eddie Baurer jean trench coat for a friend for $1.50!

Today I did great. I got the mother load for $6.50.

 With winter bursting upon us we were in need of hats, scarves and warm socks.

Here's what I got:

• 7 Magazines... October 2009 and a couple of summer ones
• Teen devotional book, hopefully it will get read
• Tae Bo tape.... always wanted to try it and now I can for 10 cents!
• Nice zippered hoodie & shoes for daughter
• Pair of jeans for son
• 10 pairs of really nice heavy socks!
• Long underwear & boxers (very well laundered, people!)
• 5 cool scarves, and
• 4 hats

Things like this make me feel successful. But remember "A bargain ain't a bargain unless it's something you need. " ~Sidney Carroll, A Big Hand for the Little Lady

I also like this one "We are not to judge thrift solely by the test of saving or spending. If one spends what he should prudently save, that certainly is to be deplored. But if one saves what he should prudently spend, that is not necessarily to be commended. A wise balance between the two is the desired end." ~Owen Young

Whew!

So glad this one is done. I booked this wedding over a year ago in Omaha. At the time it was only a 45 minute trip. Today it was a 3 1/2 hour trip one way, on the coldest and ickiest day so far this year. I'd been dreading the trip for some time. But I made it with no mishaps. Done and delivered. Yay. Yay! Yayyy!!!  I was even pretty happy with the outcome. There were a few things, of course, that I would have liked to improve upon. But everything overall was great. I even managed to successfully carry the entire 4-tiered brides cake up to the second floor. You would think that a hotel as nice as the Paxton would have a cart.

This was the grooms cake. So fun! It took about 8 hours.

Brides cake. It had a lot going on as per brides request. As long as she's happy... I'm happy! One thing I did differently this time was to line both of the cake boards with fondant. It took a little more time but gave it a much nicer, more finished look.

After no sleep and the long drive, well, I guess I'm so happy to be done that I don't feel completely worn out!

Fall, tea & scones

There's nothing better with cool, breezy Fall weather than a  cup of chai and a scone. Well actually it's a bit more than breezy and I'd rather have a latte but you just can't make them good at home.  So just imagine, if you will, the nice, calm, relaxing morning this thought evokes. Forget about the reality for just 15 minutes.

Here you go....

Now you can either come over and have some with me, or buy some chai and make the scones with the recipe below. These are absolutely wonderful.

Cranberry Orange Scones

Copyright, 2006, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients

4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup dried cranberries
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.