Friday, August 30, 2013

...and so the Marching Season begins...

...here we were again last night...all three of us with very bad colds...we weren't here to see this...but were still thankful that they won their first game of the season...
...we were here to see this...
...that's Scout second row...second from the right...sorry the pics are so blurry...it was very steamy out...
...nice to see the order and discipline once again...Scout scored 100 on the pre-show inspection!...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your weekend!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

...Vegan Mussels...over at The Vegan Version...

There's a new post over at The Vegan Version
...It's the VEGAN SALADE DE MOULES...
...We also added some Vegenaise and made little canapes with the veggie mussels...

...it's quite simple if you already have the mussels...so make a big batch...they freeze well...then you'll have a simple and elegant hors d'oeuvre when you need one...

...all quite good...

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

...W.I.P. Wednesday...Outside...

...remember back a little over a year ago...when we planted this little guy...

...and we worried and fretted about him through the wind storms and snow storms... ...well he is growing into a nice healthy little dogwood...

...but his mulch was getting overgrown...(it's the end of August and everything is getting overgrown)...
...and he just needed a little bit of sprucing up...

...so we put a little ring around his trunk...we laughed as we had to use a little bit of geometry to figure out the radius of our circle given our circumference of 9 feet (we had three 3 foot pieces of edging)...Scout luckily remembered the formula...(given that C = 2πR...R would equal R=C/π/2)...and you all know of my love for Pi... ...this photo is from when we planted the little tree...and I'm including it here mainly to show the unsightly knob in our front yard...now really...if you have to have one of these on your property...surely it could be situated in a less conspicuous place...
...so...we're trying to camouflage it a little bit with an ornamental grass...these knobs 'belong to' the power company...and they should still be able to get to the knob and open it if they need to for some reason...but our neighbor has lived here for 19 years and she said that no one has ever needed access to her knob...
...anywhoo...it's Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’...and we hope it thrives and covers up our knob...

...How is your yard faring this late summer/early fall?...

~Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

...Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies...

...we have been trying so many new vegan recipes...I thought I'd share some with you...

...I saw these brownies at Fat Free Vegan Recipes...and pretty much followed the recipe (my changes below)
...I just baked a couple of white sweet potatoes in the micro...you can tell in the original recipe photo that they used the orange kind...maybe that's why ours were not quite sweet enough...
...just pulsed a few times with the vanilla, soymilk, and ground flaxseed...
...then added the flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda...
...it really did make a stiff bread-like dough...and it tasted pretty good at this point...
...dumped it into an oiled pan...
...and pressed it down...much like a pizza dough at this point...
...baked..
...a quick nibble told us that, indeed, ours were not quite as sweet as we like them...maybe the white sweet potatoes are not as sweet as the orange ones...so we sprinkled the tops with powdered sugar...
...and they were just about perfect then...
...see how fudgy...a fun new recipe...

Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies (adapted from Fat Free Vegan Recipes)

1/2 c cocoa
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 3/4c mashed sweet potato (about 2 white sweet potatoes)
1 t vanilla
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 T ground flax
3 T soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)

Mix all ingredients in a food processor. The dough will be quite dry like a bread dough. Press dough into an oiled 9×9 baking dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350 F.

Don’t worry if it is a little bit soft, it will harden as it cools.

~Have a lovely day!

Monday, August 26, 2013

...Another Eagle Scout Saturday...

...'tis certainly the season of Eagle Scout Projects...
...this time the scouts met at a local elementary school...for some much needed fixing up...the playground was cleared of debris and weeds...
...and new planting beds were built for the science classes to grow plants from seeds...
...don't you just love that they used newspaper as a weed barrier...
...the finished beds...
...the finished playground...isn't that a lot nicer...
...and finally...they painted some new lines on the basketball court...
...remember 4-square...how we loved that game in elementary school...
...the crew...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

...Vegan Breakfast...

...still munching on the Vegan Salt Rising Bread...

...here toasted with melted Daiya cheddar and Baco-bits (they're from the SDA store near my Mom and they're vegan)...

~Have a lovely day!

Friday, August 23, 2013

...stair rail...Part Two...

...because this is going to be a multi-week job...
...I set everything up in the garage...
...I peeled off all the little stickers...I was aghast that they had put those on each piece...and sanded off the remaining glue...ARGHHH!...
...then I got busy with the poly...one side per night...times 4...times 4 for each coat...so it'll be a while before I'm finished...but I want it to be perfect with no drips or runs...and I want it completely finished before the installation...
...and this is my little trick for not cleaning the brush in between coats...I wrap the brush tightly in plastic wrap...
...and then seal it up in a ziplock bag...

...I won't do a daily update...as that would be pretty boring...I'm sure you can use your imagination...each day...sand lightly...wipe with tack cloth...turn each piece 1/4 turn...and apply a coat of polyurethane...so about 15 days from now...I'll be finished and ready for the installation...

~Have a lovely day!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

...stair rail...Part One...

...after we finished the wall...we ordered all the pieces for a new stair rail for the foyer...
...lovely oak pieces from L.J. Smith...

...so those need to be finished...I'll get right on it...

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

...the new wall...

...just a little flashback to just over a year ago... ...this was the entry foyer with the bright blue carpet and the metal railing...

...now...this railing doesn't meet code...it's only about 3 feet tall...

...so we needed a new rail...and we decided that instead of a rail...we'd build a half wall...

...we had the same arrangement in our house in Balsam Grove...except that there we built a half wall all the way down the stairs and here...we're going to do an oak rail...more on that later... ...so the Man...with a lot of help from Scout...built the wall in the basement... ...carried it upstairs and screwed it in place... ...ahhh...safer already... ...Jack doesn't know quite what to think of the new wall... ...so the boys did the wood work... ...and I put on the sheetrock... ...the spackling required some acrobatics... ...so then...it needed a topper... ...and Scout chose the perfect oak board for the top...

...we cut it to length...sanded and coated it with polyurethane...and then did that about 3 more times...so it's perfectly smooth and shiny...and matches the new wood floors... ...so there it is spackled and topped...
...and now a coat of paint...which requires just about the same acrobatics as the spackling...
...one coat...
...and two...
...a finished wall...ready for the new oak railing...

~Have a lovely day!