Lucille goes to pot 

loves pot...

found pot

Actually make that pots..

I used to find a lot of funky junk on Craigslist until other people started copying me (story of my life...... and yes, Martha, I'm talking to you!)

On Sunday night, I perused just in case, and hit upon this stash of white and black enamelware in Vancouver. They made the mistake of saying OBO which meant it wasn't too intimidating to ask for a better price.

I flew there and back.... a mere 2 hours...and today set about cleaning them up so I could take them to my booth at the antique mall.

But as too often happens......

I just couldn't let them go.

They bring out the inner farmgirl in me. (the one that wears cute aprons and takes baskets of homemade bread and pie to Mr. Farmer in the field...not the one slinging manure)

So.....

I played with them for a while...

Autumn colours make such a striking contrast

This is a vintage diaper pail. The label says it can be used later for a garbage can. Glad they didn't say Soup!!

Fall pretties

vegetable soup in bed???? (It's my blog, okay?)

Yam soup coming up

too big for the pot

too big for the stove (I crack me up!)

soup de jour

(Please ignore the fact that just maybe this was a potty in a past life)

farmhouse mantel

bathroom counter vignette

pears in a row

classic black and white

Now that I've had my fun,

 it's time to bid them adieu.....

Here they are now, stacked and ready for someone else to fall in love with.

 If you like I will sell you one (for an arm and a leg)

I really should have shown you a 'before' of the insides of some of them....ranging from light yellow to darkest brown.

They submitted to a firm elbow, bleach, baking soda and every other concoction I could think of. Some took overnight soaking to be completely white and sparkling, others took just a few minutes but they are all lovely now.

It reminds me of us. ....so many shapes and sizes, often lovely on the outside but with varying degrees of stains on the inside where people can't see.
 Some of us need a bit more scrubbing than others.

How precious to know, 
that the healing hand of God will gently remove those stains
 and restore us to the sparkling persons he intended us to be so we
can be put to good use.

Today my prayer is that you will let the warmth of his love

 wash over you

and make you brand new.

I HEART CHOCOLATE

Well, I started out to make linzer cookies for Valentine's.....you know, the ones made with sugar-cookie dough and sandwiched together with raspberry jam.

We sold a at least a billion of these at the tearoom in days of yore

 But somewhere between the couch and the cupboard, they turned into chocolate sugar cookies. 

The dough for these is amazing. The recipe says ...chill the dough for an hour and then chill the cutout cookies on the tray before baking...yada, yada, yada,,,,,but of course I never do. And seriously, you don't need to. I rolled the dough out immediately on a plasticy thing, with no flour and it was a dream.

I even used a rubbery cookie cutter with no flour!

Once they were baked and in transit from the oven to the counter, hubby snatched one off the tray and declared them delish.

I  casually mentioned that I had been going to sandwich them with some of my homemade raspbery jam, but since he was on his New Year's austerity program  (he of the 150 lb. soaking-wet ilk....arg!!!) I guess I wouldn't.

He hesitated for a nano-second and suggested we try that.

We halved one and declared them very delish!

But then he mused....they would be good with something creamy inside.

Out came the buttercream frosting which had been languishing in my fridge for just such an emergency.

So I slathered on the icing, then the jam and we tried again. 

They were very, very delish, although he did say they could use more icing. 

I was quick to remedy the situation.

Was it wrong of me to then suggest chocolate drizzle on top?

I held back  (hand trembling, lips drooling) as I didn't want to deface the lovely design, but perhaps I could serve them with a side of hot fudge????

I packaged some up for my neighbours

Would you like to be my neighbour?

Here's the recipe.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies:

2 3/4 cups (355 grams) all purpose flour

3/4 cup (75 grams)  cocoa powder

1 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder

1 cup (227 grams) butter, room temperature (or not... just beat the dickens out of it )

1 3/4 cups (350 grams) granulated white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat butter and sugar in mixer for 3-4 minutes, add eggs and vanilla, then dry ingredients til smoothish.

Roll out, cut and bake for about 12-15 minutes at 350.

I made 24 large cookies or 12 sandwiches.

Serves 2

Ha!

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE .....................

Welcome

Dining room dressed up

New mantle decor

Dining table

Feona's handmade ornament circa 1984

A fabric garland

Ordinary items make a holiday vignette

What could be in those boxes?

Pretty ornaments....many are vintage

The dollhouse all decked out

Morning bliss....the fire, music, lighted tree and COFFEE

Shortbread...Love the coffee ones with white chocolate

Salted caramel chocolate squares...yummers!

Homemade salted caramels....I'm seeing a trend here

Cozy corner

A painted 'Picasso" poinsettia from my daughter....so pretty

Special envelopes with donations for African children

Davis' handprint immortalized

Jerod's handprint on my pretty bauble

Love little cardboard houses

Having a lot of red helps 

Make them pretty

I always come back to the manger

................CHRISTMAS!!!!

DEARLY DEPARTED

Well it was goodbye to company today. And hello to more on Friday. I had plans of gallavanting and treasure-hunting for my booth and being the cupcake fairy at the grand's school today but my body would not take me there.

And so I sit at 2:30 in the afternoon still in my robe (red) pretty much zoned out.

But we had fun. And good food. And deep conversation. And laughs. And shopping extraordinaire. (Not so much sleep....hence the zoning.)


Excuse me.............Short break while I scarf a piece of chocolate mousse cake......There! I am marginally revived.

Last night we had a Greek Dinner

Sorry, I didn't even think about taking pics of the food.. You will have to use your imagination. Think awesome!

Here is the menu I made for each guest.

It was easy because I had made the spanokapita and had it in the freezer (so simple.....just fresh spinach and a square of feta wrapped in phyllo and slathered with melted butter and frozen unbaked. When ready to bake, put on a cookie sheet at 375 for 10 minutes or so til browned. Nice to have on hand for appies too)

The potatoes are so-o-o-o-o--o yum. I peel and quarter russets lengthwise, poke holes in them and put them in a ziploc bag with lemon juice, fresh garlic, s and p , fresh oregano and other herbs if I have them, like parsley, rosemary and thyme, and olive oil and chicken stock or water. I marinate them in the fridge for a few hours or over night and then the day before or the morning of, put them in a 9 x 13 pan and pour half the marinade over..... then bake at 400 til divine.... about an hour or so. Half an hour before dinner, pour on the rest of your marinade and put in the oven again at 375 for 30 minutes. These are so lemony delish!

For the kabobs, I cut up chicken breasts into cubes and marinate them in olive oil, lemon juice and zest, s and p and garlic and oregano for about 3 hours...no longer. Then thread on soaked wooden skewers and bake in the oven for 30 minutes with your potatoes.

The salad is great made a day or two ahead. Just make an ordinary Greek salad with red onions, peppers, black olives, cuke, tomato and feta, then add cooked and cooled orzo and dress with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest and s and p.

 I did make my own pita bread and it is super simple but I won't bore you with that one. But you must have tzaziki sauce because it goes with everything up above. It is just plain greek yogurt or sour cream with grated cuke, lemon juice, garlic and s and p. You can also add some fresh mint if you have it.

I like to make baklava with copious whipped cream for dessert with this meal but a guest has a nut allergy so I went with a light lemon fluff dessert and lemon shortbread cookies with lemon glaze.

Basically everything was do-ahead so I didn't have that last minute panic as dinner was approaching.



This morning I saw them off with a simple fresh fruit salad and baked cinnamon toast.

Now it's on to the next guest....so special...my one and only sister Judy is coming to town...for a whole week.

Can't wait.

COMPANY TRUMPS BLOGGING

Well, company is coming...taking advantage of my $2.00 bed and breakfast.

 No time for blogging!!

Bed made......check

Table set.......check

Pumpkin scones ......check

Cauliflower soup.....check

Lasagna steaming......check

Salad......check

Brownies tested......check

Dishes done......check

Actually none of the above are available.....

but what do you expect for 2 bucks???????????