Summertime Projects #2

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good Saturday......sometimes, I wish every day was Saturday. But then, I guess we would get tired of that.....and maybe less would get done, or, maybe more????

So, today I thought I would show you my "drawer project". My neighbor was throwing these drawers out and I asked if I could have them. This is what I did to them. I know, if you have been reading my blog regularly you would have seen this picture already. (Perhaps I should have up-dated this one, as the plants are bigger now.)

I repainted the blue drawer (all 4 drawers were painted blue on the front and I just painted this drawer with the blue I had and continued all around the drawer) This drawer has radishes, onions, and swiss chard growing in it. English cucumbers are growing in the wheel barrel.

This drawer started with a bright green, I ran out, then sprayed the front with yellow, leaving the bright green on the sides and back. This one has onions and sunflowers. The sunflowers are much bigger now and I transplanted them into larger pots. Maybe by the end of July I will transplant them again in their final home.

These two drawers are pink and red. I have run out of red and need to get some more....probably Walmart will have the cheapest at this point.

So here is the pink drawer with it's legs.....this was a sudden "light bulb idea" I had these blocks laying around from some skids I picked up.....wah-la....they became legs. I glued them with "liquid nails". Can you see, they are already sliding off the drawer.

So I stopped them with a stick and braced the drawer up with a couple of small boards that were laying around, Then layed bricks on the legs for weight. The drawer sat like this for a day or so. Giving the liquid nails a chance to dry. Then, I sprayed the front part of the drawer legs and the back part of the legs the next day.

So here you see the finished project (almost), The knobs are on, the silver plates are from my kitchen cabinets and the pink knobs from Micheals for $.50 a knob. I should add here, I have not spent a penny on spray paint as yet, as I had all these colors from last year and kept them downstairs for the winter. Oh, I did buy the liquid nails and dirt, so there is not a whole lot of $$$$ involved in repurposing these drawers.

Next thing is to drill holes in the drawer for water seepage, spray the inside with acrylic spray, line and staple with black garden material, pile in the dirt and plant some flower seeds and set the drawer someplace in a sunny spot.

 In this picture you see the yellow (filled with onions, and sunflowers, the pie tins are to deter the squirrels and chipmunks) the red drawer (unfinished) and pink drawer.

 Here you see the red drawer and my plans for it. I found this old crate with wood in it and thought it would be a good idea to add it to the red drawer and place it in my "red garden" this drawer will have fall plantings of lettuce in it. I shall paint the crate red also and secure it.....haven't figured out how to do that yet.

 I think we will go to Lowe's tomorrow after church. I heard they have red mulch, 5 bags for $10.00, I want to get some, if they are still there. That would be a cheaper price then what I have seen....3 bags for $7. Have not checked Menards.

This week, I will pick up some white spray paint to paint my two tires, the ladder, wicker stool, maybe an old wood chair and stool out back. I have an old bike downstairs....maybe pull that up and give it a shot of white spray also.  Maybe I will call this my "Spray paint week", if it is not too windy, hot or rainy.

You all have a good week and see you next time. Have a great day, keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Blue Apron Meal #2 - Summer Soba Salad

Hi there everyone. How is your day going. It's been warm here and our window air conditioner in the kitchen konked out....sucks!!! So needless to say, it has been warm in the kitchen when I cook.

Just to let you know.....card making has not been a priority on my list of late....that's why you have not seen any cards. My only excuses are:
#1- no inspiration,
#2- hard to see, (as I am now going through cataract surgeries)
#3-still disorganized from home improvements that were made in May. I look at the mess in the basement and just don't know where to start organizing first.
#4-summer has been the priority with planting, watering and enjoying the season.
#5-just not feeling up to par the past couple of months.

So much for my tail of woes. In the next few pictures is the food I received from Blue Apron last Thursday to make this tasty meal Monday evening. Here is the site for Blue Apron.

Summer Soba Salad with Corn and Soy-Mirin Dressing

Here are all the vegies prepped and ready, one thing not prepped was the ginger....did that after I took the picture. The ginger was added to the corn....just may do that again....now's the time with corn being so fresh. The ginger gave it that extra spicy zing!!!

So in the below picture is the finished product....oh yes......this was delicious, I most definitely will make this again. When you order  your food, you can order for two people or four. Even for two people this was more then enough for the two of us.

If you go on the Blue Apron site, go to their "cookbook" and type in "Summer Soba Salad",  you can get the recipe there if you are interested in making this tasty salad. Tomorrow, my new order comes. I will take pictures.

I told JP this afternoon...."you sure have been eating well this week"....there has been plenty of left-overs for his lunch before leaving for work.

Tomorrow, I will post the 3rd meal, "Vietnamese Chicken Wings with Salad and Rice". Another winner in my books.

Have a good evening and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Who Wants Some Coffee.....MEEEEEE

Hi everyone....hope you are having a wonderful day. It is sunny here and the temps are 16 degrees. Feels good, although I have not been outside, except to let Kylie out. It's been kind of a lazy day today, that's okay though, good to have a day like that once in awhile.

Need to finish the income tax paper work today, JP and I will go over it to make sure I have everything listed. Then Monday it goes in to the accountant. Here's hoping we'll get a refund of some sort. We certainly pay enough in taxes during the year. Did you ever try and figure out how much gas you buy for your car during the year? I went through the check book register...estimated about $1100 and that was not including cash, cause that did not go through the checking account. Geez, no wonder we're broke all the time.

Well, I think I need another cup of coffee......(wink, wink)

I have been on a diet the last couple of days.....fruit on Thursday, vegies on Friday and today it's fruit and vegies. Roasted some asparagus, peppers, onions, carrots and broccoli last night and finished it off today....did not even share with JP....it sure was good. I've lost 5 lbs so far, but I am thinking that is mostly water weight, so that does not count. Been doing a little bit of exercise in the evening. Using DVD/old VHS tapes for exercise, Wednesday night it was "walking with George Foreman" Thursday and last night exercise with Chris Powell from Extreme Weight loss. Tonight I might put a Richard Simmons tape in and revisit the 90's. He was always a fun person to watch and exercise with.

So tomorrow it's bananas and skim milk (I shall make a smoothie for breakfast) plus diet soup with cabbage, onions, tomatoes, carrots and spinach for the day. Monday I get to add rice with the soup and some tomatoes. We'll see how this goes. It is a cleansing diet also...cause bread, meat and lots of carbs are eliminated.

Well time to close, need to get working on the taxes. Have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Okay....This is a REALLY Good Recipe!!!

Hi Everyone...hope you had a great evening and a better day today!! Well, I made this wonderful spaghetti sauce last night...this is my second batch of goodness!! I got this recipe from Biz, Here is where you can find the recipe. Sure hope this link worked for you. Apparently the link did not work so here is her address: http://mybizzykitchen/2014/01/10/pissed Just type it in and you'll find her recipe.

This is how I changed up Biz's recipe. I had two tomatoes, but half went on JP's salad. So I used 1 1/2 tomatoes, 1 pepper and squirted some crushed garlic on the inside of the peppers, 1 small onion, maybe a cup of small carrots and sliced them in half, maybe half of a shredded zucchini, and 4-5 halved stalks of celery. I then sprinkled olive oil on the vegies then sprinkled some seasoning called "Mad Dog and Merrill's Gramma Hazel's seasoning" or you can use salt and pepper, omit if you like and add your own favorite seasoning. Chopped spinach.

Roasted the vegetables for an hour at 325. I let the vegies cool down then put them in a pot with a 16 oz can of diced tomatoes. I tried to find canned tomatoes with the lowest grams of sugar. Added 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and some crushed red pepper (optional)

Cooked till hot, and with an immersion blender, blended until the vegetables are pureed. Here is where I added the chopped spinach and cooked a bit longer till the spinach wilted.

I plated out the spaghetti, poured the sauce over it then added some mozzarella on top and melted in the micro.

First bite waiting to be taken....mmmmmmm.....was it ever gooooood. JP came home at 1:00 am. Gave him his bowl of fruit and toast and a big plate of spaghetti and sauce, he finished that up and then asked for another plateful....I guess he likes it too.

So there you have it, recipe of the month and it is a keeper. I may not ever buy another can or jar of spaghetti sauce again, now that I have this recipe, I like it so much. You all have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise