Piece O' Cake Blog

Mom's porch, day 2

Steve finished the mailbox today and planted the 3 posts that will make handrail next to the steps in the yard. Tomorrow they are installing the actual handrails.

If you look farther back in the photo you can see Chris and Jeff putting in the decking boards. 

Those 4x4 posts at the front of the porch will be cut shorter and handrails will be added there as well.

We bought the recycled plastic decking boards for the porch. They will never warp or split or peel or require stain or painting. The main part of the porch is level with the threshold which makes going into or out of the door a lot easier. When you are 79 and use a walker this is important - but it's also nice for able-bodied persons.

Honestly I don't like the idea of mom going in and out of her front door because of all the stairs. But the new porch and the handrails will at least make it safer for her to go get the mail if she takes a notion to do that herself.

Today was also picture day at our house. Celia and Jeff hired a photographer (postponed from my 55 1/2-birthday party last July) to come and take family pictures. I cannot wait to see the photos! Between shots, while the kids were in picture-taking-mode, I pulled out my own camera and took some pictures...

They didn't pose but it was fun to take some photos.

When the photo-taking was over Celia and Jeff helped me take down the tree and put up a lot of the Christmas stuff. I sort of miss it, but I my space seems bigger and I like that too. And Christmas will be here next year! Now our big kids are going out to dinner and we are babysitting the grandkids. Dinner, popcorn and a movie... sounds good to me!

Mom's new porch!

Last week Christopher and I built Lorna a porch - Merry Christmas! Today Chris and Jeff started work on Mom's new porch. Steve and I bought the supplies and the boys are supplying the plans and labor - Merry Christmas again!

Here's the way Mom's house looked when she bought it last summer, sort of. This is after I painted the yellow front door dark blue.

The new porch will cover the old concrete and be wider and deeper.

The boys worked together  and separately on related tasks.

I sort of make Jeff crazy. We both tend to like to be in charge and this was his job, not mine. I had to make myself a bit scarce so as not to make his head explode.

Christopher finds it easier to ignore me so I don't make him as crazy. I know he selectively ignores me and that's OK. See that look on his face? He has that look when he looks at me a lot. 

Steve has a Ph.D. and the boys will each have one. But below you can see the first PHD (post hole digger) that any of them used. Steve always advised the boys to find a profession in which they did not have to use the PHD very often. However, when you need a hole for a 4x4 post, this is a good tool to have. 

They mixed concrete to put in the holes with the 4x4 posts. I have watched the guys mix concrete numerous times and I think I could get the correct consistency. But mixing concrete requires a lot of upper body strength so I'm glad I'm a supervisor and not an actual mixer.

Jeff does lots of pushups, every day. It shows. He's also a math/statistics guy. He was keenly aware of the levelness of the new porch. Not that Christopher wasn't... but there is a difference between math guys and English literature guys. And I can 'feel' the difference without being able to exactly put it in words. But it's there.

One of the most wonderful parts of watching our boys work on a project like this is seeing how great at it they both are, in different ways. And they get to the same place, differently. It is a reminder to me that there are more ways to do something, to think about something, than I know. This is something I try to remember when I teach. I know what I know - but that isn't everything there is to know.

The really tall posts will be cut off to make handrails on each side of the steps to the porch. Mom really needs handrails these days - bursitis in her hip. She is not happy that her body is trying to fall apart but to her credit she is not a complainer. And she's still exercising. Way to go Mom!

The guys are consulting, below.

Steve took out the yellow mailbox today and I can't tell you how happy Mom is to see that go. Look close and you can see the yellow one on the ground near the pickup, below. The new, quieter mailbox will go in tomorrow. Also tomorrow Steve will put in the posts for a handrail next to the steps in the yard.

Also today Steve put up outside backyard lights. Mom no longer has to take Taz (a yorkie) out with a flashlight to pee in the dark. The thought of Mom out with the (stupid) dog in the dark and cold with a flashlight makes my head hurt.

I'm a cat person and admit to not loving this dog. That said, Taz was Christy's dog and Mom loves him (even when he pees on the floor). He is there for her to talk to. He makes her move even when she's not crazy about moving. I guess I can sort of like the dog. But my oh my I wish he didn't pee on the floor. At least he doesn't do it often and the floors are not carpeted.

I'll post more tomorrow so that you can see how the new front of the house turns out...

Christmas candy...

I make candy and give it away at Christmas. I do this because the more I make the less I eat. It's not fair but people do like the candy.

I don't want to sabbotage anyone's diet so I give small portions of a few of my favorite recipes. I thought I'd share them with you. None are particulary hard to make but if you try to make all of these at once it takes a couple of days. Ask me how I know.

If you package an assortment of these goodies to give away be sure to wrap the ones that are aromatic in separate bags. That would be the peppermint truffles and the bourbon balls. In fact, I bag each item separately in cellophane bags and then put the bags in a bigger bag.

 

Chocolate Peppermint Truffles are new for me this year and I think they may be my new favorite candy. Celia suggested that I add the crushed candy canes to the tops - and that I do the crushing in my coffee grinder. She was right on both counts. She was here to spoon the peppermint on the damp chocolate as I was doing the dipping. The recipe makes 6-8 dozen truffles depending on the size you make them.

Download ChocPeppermintTruffles

A NOTE ABOUT DIPPING CHOCOLATE: I order bittersweet chocolate from King Arthur Flour because it works better for me than semi-sweet chocolate chips. And I think it tastes better. I have an old electric skillet that I put about an inch of water in. I put a stainless steel bowl in the water with chocolate in it. I can set the heat to just below 150º. It's the perfect heat no matter what kind of chocolate you are melting. I only use this old skillet once a year and it's worth storing it just for this job.

Also new for me this year is Cayenne Pecan Brittle. If you have any vegans in your life, they will love this.

Donna, who does my nails, gave me this recipe. It turned out differently than I thought it would but it is surprisingly tasty. I think I'd add a bit more cayenne next time. I made some notes in the recipe document.

 Download CayennePecanBrittle

My english Toffee is always a hit. The recipe came from the Junior League of Tulsa cookbook back in the 80s. I use sliced almonds rather than the pecans in the recipe. It's better if you toast the almonds before you start.

Download EnglishToffee

Chocolate Bourbon Balls make my mouth water. They smell so good and they taste so good... I am always happy to see them packaged up so that I can't get into them any more.  

Download ChocolateBourbonBalls

My Chocolate Raspberry Truffles are not lovely but I've made these for almost 20 years and they are a family favorite. I think I've posted this recipe when I wrote about cake balls because the base is a chocolate cake. But here you go again... Merry Christmas!

Download Truffles

Making ornaments with the guys!

I've made Christmas ornaments with my grandkids for several years. They give them as gifts at Christmas. In years past Lorna's mom, Judy, joined me. This year Lorna's dad, Kelly, and made ornaments with Jack. We made egg carton bells. If you want to do the same here's how:

1. Cut up cardboard egg cartons to make 'bells'
2. Paint the bells so that they aren't gray
3. Poke a hole in the top so that you can run a pipe cleaner through later
4. Mix glue with a little water
5. Give the child a brush and the glue
6. Let the child paint the bell with glue 
7. Let the child liberally sprinkle with glitter (If you are smart you will place a folded sheet of clean paper below the bell so that excess glitter can be poured back into the bottle. We were smart.)
8. Let the bells dry
9. Put a bell on the end of a pipe cleaner
10. Run the pipe cleaner up through the bell
11. Bend and cut off excess pipe cleaner
12. Wrap and place under the tree.

Jack is 4. We made 13 bells. He painted the glue, poured the glitter, attached most of the bells, and he was about tired of it when we were finishing the bells. Gave him a snack and he sucked it up and managed to decide who got which bell because they were not all the same. I have a lot of glitter so he went from color to color and each bell really was different. (Luckily I got the turquoise one!)

Working with Kelly was way fun! He is just as good with the kids as Judy is. What I mean by that is that they are both way more patient with little kids than I am. I was not all that patient with my own kids when they were little and I find that, while I love them dearly, I expect certain behaviors from my grandchildren and I don't let it slide (much) when they don't comply. But they have a smile on their faces when they see me so I figure I'm not that scary. And as they get bigger I love them more - which is good because kids get bigger, not smaller. I can't wait until they are teenagers!

I had the bells ready for glueing yesterday. Kelly was in charge of a lot today. Kelly had not worked with glitter before so both he and Jack learned new things. I pointed them in the right direction and cleaned up behind. It was perfect and I say that truthfully. We all had fun!

Kelly looks a lot like Santa Claus these days. I gave him some white glitter that I think he should sprinkle in his beard. Often. Not with glue, just a bit of sparkle. It'll fall off everywhere he goes. I think life needs more glitter, don't you?

In other news, Linda sent me a small (6"-7") optical fiber Christmas tree that runs out of a USB port. I've plugged it into my computer and it's above my screen as I'm typing now. It changes color!!!! I may leave this up year-round!

It turns to red and green and blue... Can't wait to see it in the dark. If you have a place to plug it in, you can even put this in your car. Linda got it at Target - in case you need to have one too. Or more than one.

What I got for Linda this year was a repeat from last year. I didn't get her anything that needed to be dusted, or stored, or eaten. I sent a card and good wishes. She was oh so happy!

We made deal long ago to not buy presents for each other unless they were the perfect thing. Truth be told, Linda nailed it for me this year. I like shiny things! I'm still looking for her present and we're both OK that I didn't find it this year. She really doesn't want any more stuff. But I'm keeping my eyes open...

 

Lorna's porch!

It took five days (many fewer than we thought it would) and we finished the porch! There were a couple of days of work between this post and my last post. In that time we/I painted the soffits and facing boards, finished decking the main part of the porch and got the step going.

My shadow is the only proof I was there! Chris was there right along with me doing the heavy lifting, post hole digging, concrete mixing, and more.

And he managed the screw gun and drill. He's working on the step below.

Today we built the framework for the roof, cut the 4x4 posts to the correct height, screwed the metal roofing sheets to the framework, and painted. I was mostly the go-behind, Chris did the hard work. Except for painting. I painted the second coat on the soffits and trim.

We also went bush shopping. Chris planted an elaeagnus and an abelia in front and a shade loving bush that I can't remember the name of on the side of the house. It was plant sale day at Twn Oaks so he got 2 more elaeagnus for the back yard.

We're finished! It's not flashy but it's functional and nice and clean and neat. Lorna, and Chris, are happy! Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas and happy birthday!

One cool new sort of tool that I got is this paint can led with a closing spout. I think it's silcone but it may just be flexible plastic. It's not for permanent storage but if you have to pour paint out of a gallon can, this is the best thing like it I've used. And it was pennies less than $3. It washed up well too!

What's next? Christmas candy making and projects with the grandkids. But not tomorrow!

Building a porch, part 1

For Christmas and birthday this year, I'm giving Lorna a new front porch. Her old front porch was truly awful. From Google Earth...

 

We took off the old metal with peeling paint front porch roof and the soffits and facing boards acraoss the front of the house because they were rotten. I mixed up a bleach/water solution to spray on the brick to make moldy black stains go away. It sort of worked as you may notice in future photos.

We bought Hardie soffit planks and they were long and heavy. Steve came to help because I really couldn't hold up my end of the planks. In the photo below they have a little more than half of the soffit and facing boards up.

Chris dug post holes and I helped level the 4x4 posts. My other jobs include carrying stuff, putting stuff up, getting it out, consulting, and keeping things moving. Have you seen crews of guys standing around looking at a job and disucussing what comes next? I try to keep dicussions short and people moving. That said, I'm not doing a lot/any of the heavy lifting so it's easy for me to say let's move on.

We started Monday, today is Wednesday. The old stuff is down. The soffits and facing are up. Unless we are hampered by rain, we caulk tomorrow so we can paint on Friday.

 

We finished laying the decking planks on this framework today (but I didn't take that photo). Tomorrow Chris hopes to dig the holes for the 4x4 posts that will support the step. If that goes in tomorrow we can build the step on Friday. Friday and/or Saturday we hope to get the framework up for the corrugated (wavy) galvanized metal sheets that will protect the porch. 

The front door needs to be trimmed out and painted, and a light needs to be hung. There are a few bushes to plant and then this job will be finished! (in time for candy making next week...)

Decking the halls...

I put up most of our Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving weekend. We had a party last night which meant that yesterday was spent preparing the house for said party. While we were cleaning, I added more decorations and did some party prepping. A lot of these ideas are inexpensive and easy to do so I thought I'd share in case any of you still have halls to deck.

This table is were appetizers tend to go. Once it's time to sit down and eat, people also sit at this table. Since appetizers can be drippy, I cut a length of wrapping paper to place over the tablecloth. The idea was that I would take it off to reveal a clean tablecloth at the appropriate time but it worked out that the paper stayed put all night. The thing is that the paper looked better even with a bit of stuff dripped on it than the tablecloth alone would have. And it's cute! I folded the cut ends of the paper and taped them but I don't know that anyone noticed this touch.

We close up the garage for extra seating. We bought several inexpensive green plastic drop cloths and Steve stapled them to the top of the garage walls. They cover the garage stuff and make the room seem less like a garage. Steve stapled the lights to the ceiling in such a way that we can leave them up until next year. 

I have a big canvas drop cloth and another smaller one that together mostly covered the floor.

When the sun went down and the Christmas lights came on, and later when I lit the candles, this was a really nice room that seated about 25. We used two small electric space heaters which warmed the room in a very short time. Honestly, this was the quietest, nicest place to sit and eat and visit.

I used a variety of votives holders on the each table. I realized an hour before the party that they would look better on mirror tiles. I don't have any mirror tiles but I do have foil. I wanted to cut 3 at once so I did what any quilter would do... I tore off 3 sheets of foil, layered them, put a salad plate on top and cut around it with a small rotary cutter.

Did you know that when you did that with foil the edges are stuck together? I could not separate them. So one of these is 3 sheets thick and the rest are 2 sheets thick because 1 sheet of foil was a little too limp. They did the trick and were fast and cheep and pretty.

The orange guy is the CottonMonster I bought in Baltimore. He lives on the sofa now. To Christmas him up I pinned a red net bow to his head. I'm here to tell you, a red net bow will make almost anything holiday worthy.

Sparlky garlands in glass bowls are easy and flashy and pretty. I added Christmas balls to them in these bowls. I did this last year, I'll do it again next year. I had one extra lenth of red garland and I nailed it around the front door trim, inside the house. It was a very nice addition that I'll do again.

I've mostly got a red and white decorating scheme for Christmas. We decided to put appetizers on this small table too. This picnic cloth doesn't scream Christmas but it worked because of the color. I could have used wrapping paper too.

I hope you are having fun with your Christmas decorations! I'm finally done and am enjoying them. It is very possible that they will all come down on December 26 so we have 2 weeks of holiday cheer ahead at our house. To be completely honest, that's about all I can take. I like my house with less stuff everywhere - but for the next 2 weeks I can love it!

 

Crazy busy!

I've been home from Baltimore for a few days and have not really slowed down yet. I found my Christmas cards at the National Gallery in DC (nothing like waiting until almost the last minute). The artwork on the card is by Saul Steinberg and was first seen on the cover of the New Yorker magazine on November 29, 1976...

The inscription inside is Happy Holidays - to which I had to add "all of them". The only thing missing is a birthday cake! You could send this card at any time of the year but the people I'm sending to are getting theirs just about now.

I finished my Christmas ornaments. I've made a Christmas ornament for friends and family for the last 18 years. I was seriously short on an idea this year and was forced to skim Martha Stewart's site where luckily I found an idea. I bought little birds, bird nests, and feathers at Hobby Lobby. There was paint and glue and lots of glitter involved. I made each bird a different color because I have a dandy set of MS glitter. I should have taken a picture of them all together but didn't.

The ornaments are now packaged and many have been delivered. If nothing else, they sparkle!

Lorna and I have been working together to get orders out. In fact, she's pretty much running the shipping show - oh happy day! She knows stuff I don't know and I'm finding it good to learn new things. My bookkeeping has never been better.

Tis the season of parties and we have one at our house tomorrow so I have been trying to make the place more festive - and tidy. I've been baking and have more to bake and candy to make. I've got work to do with Christopher at his house starting next week (more on that next week). The list is longer than this and I have to stop thinking about it all because it's making me queasy.

In other news - Mom now has a cell phone! We got her a Jitterbug. It's red and cute and incredibly easy to use. Mom loves it and can use it. I know because she called me on it. I haven't called her back on it but probably should to be sure she can hear it. That is going near the top of the to do list...

Those of you on the POC newsletter list have probably gotten an email. There is some new stuff on the site. Click here to go to the home page for more on that if you want to.

So, time for a deep breath. You too because you are probably as crazy busy as I am. It will all get done and if it doesn't, tomorrow is another day. In fact, so what if it isn't all done by Christmas? Late presents, goodies, and good wishes are better than none at all!

Chillin' in Baltimore...

Everyone had to work today. I've spent much of the day at Jeff and Celia's dining table that, long ago, was my first dining table. It's fun to re-visit so much of the furniture that Steve and I had before it became Jeff and Celia's. I feel like I know how my mom must feel when she walks through our house. It's nice to have the memories that go with the stuff without having the stuff itself.

Anyway, I think I've managed to pick up a cold and I want to share the hot drink Jeff made for me. Celia and her mom drink it. Pour a tablespoon or so of lemon juice in a mug. Cut several (4-5) thin slivers of ginger root and put them in the mug. You don't have to peel the root. Add boiling water. Let cool and drink. You can leave the ginger in the mug.

This drink is really good and feels like it is good for the cold-that's-coming. I suppose you could add sugar but it's good without it. Save the calories for something more exciting.

 

I'm also using a neti squeeze bottle that is similar to this one. Mom, at 79, has learned to love her neti squeeze bottle and Elanor has been using one since she was little. If you have sinus issues, you might want to give it a try. I use mine twice a day whether I have a cold or not. I'm using it 3 times a day now. The following movie shows how the neti squeeze bottle works.

 

I've been neti-ing for a long time without video instruction. I don't look nearly this good when I use mine. And I tend to blow the water and stuff out right away. Maybe I'll let it sit a bit before blowing later. See, you can learn something new every day if you just pay attention!

From the east coast...

As I said, I've been visiting Jeff and Celia in Baltmore. We went to NYC on Friday to see what we could see. This is one of the Bergdorf windows. The crowds were crazy so we really didn't spend much time looking at them or others. We saw the tree at Rockefeller Center. Wonderful. Too many people.

We walked the High Line, a park along an elevated rail line. Very, very nice.

The structure of these buildings reminded me of quilts... Such good lines and colors and textures.

And the cloud formation above us reminded Jeff and me of dandelions in the wind.

The end of the line was marked with these black and white containers. A reminder of how powerful a black and white pattern is.

We visited the Guggenheim, a museum I will want to visit again.

I loved the interlocking circular patterns that are everywhere inside. Even the water fountains are wonderfully round. The water drops were beautiful... at least I thought so. Jeff shook his head and pretended he didn't know me when I was taking this photo.

 

We walked in Central Park.

I took more pictures of them because they are way more photogenic than I am. 

NYC is full of strange and wonderful things. Everywhere you look. Seriously, this is the strangest gargoyle I have ever seen...

We took a MegaBus to and from NYC, got home late. We slept in Saturday and went shopping in Baltimore. I spotted this doorway...

Have fun and be lucky... it kind of says it all, does it not? Almost as good as live long and prosper. Except I'm not saying it with a tattoo.

Bought this papercut at the Charm City Craft Fair. Great, wonderful craft show! Maybe the best I've every shopped.

Saw the costumed lady with the snow globe headdress a couple of times. I never did stop and ask exactly what the costumes were for. Why didn't I? Because Jeff and Celia would have disowned me. They prefer to take this sort of thing in stride without fuss. So I suppose that means you and I both can imagine a story to go with the photo. They were really nice and smiled graciously when I took their photo.

Today we went to Washington DC. We walked some more which is good. I keep eating and need to walk it off.

The grass on the national mall needs to be walked on less. It's pretty sad. The buildings are impressive but they would look a lot better if the grass was good. The crowds were light, the weather was crisp and pretty, people were pleasant. Doesn't get much better.

I took this shadow photo of me and Jeff. I like these things.

The reflecting pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial is being renovated. This view would be a lot better with water in the pool but Jeff still looks nice, doesn't he?

I took the photo of the White House from between the irons of the fence. For a house, it's pretty impressive but it's not as big as most of the buildings around it. That said, for a house, it's very nice! Glad I don't live there. I'm happier being a quilter than I'd be as a politician.

We are now in for the night. Tomorrow will be a quiet day and then I go home. Lots to do there so I am going to enjoy tomorrow.

 

At the Baltimore.craft fair...

I'm visiting Celia and Jeff. Yesterday we took the bus to NYC. I'll post those photos later today. Today we are shopping trendy Baltimore spots. First stop, the best craft show I've ever been to. I'm now outside with a bag of good stuff with the guys who are waiting for their women.

Sent from my iPhone

Have I got a wine glass charm for you...

You know how hard it can be to keep up with your wine glass at a party. That's where wine glass charms come in. But they are not cheap.

My friend, Jacqueline, had a great idea for individualizing wine glasses. She tied a different ribbon on each glass and party-goers got to choose from a lovely array of be-ribboned glasses. It made it very easy to keep up with your glass. Another friend, Karen, borrowed the idea. I was on my way to borrowing it yet again when I realized that I don't have enough different ribbon for our next event.

Elanor and I were at Hobby Lobby hunting stuff to make this year's Christmas ornaments when we walked by the button display. Have you seen a button display lately? They were inexpensive and the designs were all over the map. I immediately thought of wine glass charms. I bought several different button assortments, small blank cardstock tags, and 16 guage aluminum wire.

I pulled out my tiny wire cutters and the round-nosed pliers. I also pulled out my silver florist's wire.

I cut 4" lengths of florists wire. I poked small holes in the tags and wired the buttons to the tags. Twist the wire on the back and cut away the excess. You could tape the twisted ends but I got lazy and didn't. Cut away the excess papern below the button if you want to. I did.

To make the wire that holds the charm on the glass, cut 3 1/2" lengths of the aluminum wire and twist one end. Put the charm on the wire, twist the other end and then bend the endsof the wire together to make a circle.

Aluminum wire is very pliable so it's easy to open them to attach and detach from the wine glass stem.

I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of myself for thinking this up. That said, I won't be surprised to find out that this has been done before. But these are fun and I think we'll be able to use them for years.