Julie's Jabberwock

More Autumn Pasta To Enjoy

More Autumn Pasta To Enjoy

        Autumn Has Arrived I would say that ‘Sweater Weather’ is here but we live in Florida so that doesn’t happen until around January, if at all.  But what we do experience in Florida is a cooling off.  Temps in the high …

Dirty DAWGS

Dirty DAWGS

        Bowl a Comfort Dirty Rice/Spanish Rice With Fried Kielbasa Sausage A Meal In Itself —————————————————————————- Dirty Dawgs I keep my Granddaughter anywhere between 2 and 5 days a week.  We tend to do a lot of coloring and drawing, and plenty …

All My Delicious Jezebels To Tempt You

All My Delicious Jezebels To Tempt You

 

 

 

Peacock Feathers For Luck

I was born in Georgia and lived throughout the south during my upbringing.  The South is also known as The Bible Belt.  The South has a very large religious community that comprises of many different Churches.  Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Church of God, Church of Christ, Pentecostal Holiness, and a few others….  We were Disciples of Christ, which is what Ronald Reagan was, btw.

Although my family and the people we knew were more liberal than the average Southerner.  We learned about other religions at church but in an educational way, and not in a ‘they will all burn in hell because they aren’t like us’ way.  I was certainly exposed to the Evangelical’s and their beliefs.  One thing that they would warn you about were the “Jezebels” of the world.  It was just in the culture. 

When I went off to college I was warned to ‘Stay away from the bitches and the whores.’  Although no one in my family ever said that to me… well, my Grandmother would always tell me to stay away from the Floozies and the Flossie Mae’s, it was just the culture of the South.  (I’m not excusing it, just explaining it.)  Although if anyone I knew was a Flossie Mae it was my Grandmother.  That woman could sashay!

But, when I did go off to college and I did interact with the other girls there, I found that the people that I liked the most were the bitches and the whore’s.  The bitches weren’t bitchy, they just stood up for themselves.  They were intelligent and spoke out when it was important to do so.  And the whores, well, they never judged you.  They would even look out for you when you would go out with them while the Evangelical girls would just as soon dump you on the side of the road than deal with you.  Also, the gay guys that I went to college with, it was a private fashion college in Charlotte, North Carolina, they were the best friends you could ever have.  You could go out with them at night and they would look out for you.  And the best giggles you will ever have in your life were with the gay guys!

The hypocrisy of the South is that they created a “Jezebel Sauce” that they serve at various religious functions.  Whether it is a Church Suppah, a Church Picnic, a Church Wedding….. Oh, and it is the number #1 condiment in the state of conservative Mississippi.

Which brings me to all of my Jezebel’s…..

I adore each and every one of you!

Which Is Why I Created You!

The Jezebel’s Of This World Have The Biggest Hearts…

Which Is Why I Love You All!

Julie

p.s.  Coming Christmas 2026,

A Naughty Christmas Jezebel For Underneath The Tree  🙂

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Click Here For:  Julie’s Jezebel Sauce

Our Jezebels On This Page:

The Forbidden Jezebel

With Apples

The Classic Jezebel (My Twist)

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The Latin Jezebel

(With Guava Shells and Jalapeno Peppers)

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And My:

Georgia Peach Jeze-Bells

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I Also Created An:

Aloha Wahine Jezebel Sauce

Based On Our Love Of Hawaii

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AND,

An Oriental Jezebel

Again, Based On Our Love Of Hawaii And The Asian Cultures

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AND,

An Old Florida Jezebel (Sauce)

Based On My Love Of Old Florida

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I ALSO CREATED,

One HOT Jezebel for Breakfast (Sauce, That is.)

AND,

Click Here For:  More of Julie’s Jezebel Recipes to Enjoy

I Needed An Additional Page To Place Some Extra Jezebel Recipes

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I Even Created A Halloween Jezebel:

A Haunted Jezebel, Together With A Haunted Mansion Halloween Repast

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AND,

A Valentine Jezebel Sauce

I LOVE Valentine’s Day!

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ALSO,

This Jezebel Is NUTS!

Based On My Home State Of Georgia

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AND,

A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

(Because I love Nancy Drew and Morse Code)

Click Here For:  A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _..Sauce

I would like to add that Nancy Drew was no ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _..  .

I cannot even bring myself to say the word ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. beside her name, which is why I got the idea to put the name in Morse Code.

The reason I created a ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. sauce for Nancy Drew is because I wanted to create some sort of sauce in her honor.  She was very worldly.  She traveled the world with her father Caron Drew, and her friends Bess and George.  Nancy knew people from all over the world and also knew and respected their cultures.  She was mature beyond her young years.  She had encountered many a villain, been knocked unconscious, and had to use her wits about her to escape.

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I Love Every Single One Of You!

Julie Jezebel

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More Great Sandwiches To Enjoy

More Great Sandwiches To Enjoy

      Yet Another Sandwich Page! WELCOME We eat a lot of sandwiches.   Although we have sandwiches all over our website, whether they be interspersed with other recipe pages, or having their own website pages, here is yet another one I created. WE LOVE …

A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

    A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce (Because I love Nancy Drew and Morse Code) I would like to say that Nancy Drew was no ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _..  . I cannot even bring myself …

65 and Beyond, (Finger’s Crossed)

65 and Beyond, (Finger’s Crossed)

 

 

 

 

On February 13th., 2026 I Turned 65

Gordon and I ‘Out and About’ on My Birthday

65 Feels Pretty Good

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When I Turned 60 I Started this Website Page:

Sixty’s, (Sensational or Surviving?), We’ll See, Right?

(If you would like to read, just click on the link above.)

I didn’t know what 60 would be like?  Which is why I started the above website page.  

I assumed that I would be blogging about any changes in my body or lifestyle.  Perhaps the ‘ups and downs’ of ageing?  My intention was that we would explore it together.

I am a very open person.  Sometimes to my detriment.  But, that is who I am, and I am not going to fight against that.

Now that I am 65, I have been in my 60’s for 5 years now.  I have been getting to know the ageing me and I am fine with it.

Yes, I have put on some weight in the middle.  That is where my pounds accumulate anyway.  They always have.

However, there is just something empowering that comes with ageing that I didn’t know in my 50’s, or 40’s, or 30’s, etc.

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Turning 65

As I like to say, Uglier on the outside, Happier on the inside.

I would not go back if I were given the chance.  I feel as if I have reached milestones that are important.  As in evolving into the person I am destined to be.  I have earned the right to be 65!  Ageing is a privilege.

If I could give my younger self a heads up, I would not!

I needed to go through all that I did to get to here.  I would not have made it if I did warn my younger self.  I have learned that the damage that was done to me by certain people in my life never had anything to do with me.  It was their damage they were inflicting on me.  I used to regret being nice or kind to certain people.  I have however learned that I should never be upset about doing the right thing.  They are the ones that should be upset that they took advantage of my kindness, and loyalty.

I don’t know how much time I have left?  Oh, as far as I know I am fine where my health is concerned.  I am just referring to life in general.

None of us really know the answers to that?  I always figured that I would die young.  No idea why?  I just always thought so.  But, before I am gone, I still have many things left that I want to do.  I’ll go when I’m ready.  I’m stubborn that way.  🙂  But for now, my granddaughter needs me.  My daughter and son-in-law need me, my husband needs me, and I need me too!  🙂

So, Here Is 65 and Beyond, Finger’s Crossed!

Julie

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BLOG ENTRIES START HERE

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Shopping At The Asian Supermarket

Shopping And Creating Recipes Does Make Me Happy

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September 7, 2026

How Much Is Too Much?
And, The Death Of A Legend
Dolly Parton in Hawai’i
(I can remember that she had a home there when we lived there in the mid 80’s to late 90’s.  When we would drive around the island we would pass by her house.  Actually, the gate to her house.  Everyone knew it was hers.)
When I write, ‘How Much Is Too Much’ I am referring to plastic surgery.  I’ve been wanting to write about this for months now.  I’m finally getting around to it.
With Dolly’s death it does kind of muddle the waters now with what all I wanted to say.  She embodied everything fake on the outside, yet possessed the most genuine of souls on the inside.  I read where someone even described her as Jesus and as strange as that may sound, I can see it.  She didn’t just become a good person as she aged, she always was a good person.
I adored her!  So did most everyone.
I read somewhere online where someone said that ‘Dolly was the string that held us all together.’  I believe that.  That is how I saw her.  Her loss is all of ours, not just her family and friends.  We lost the nicest and kindest and most generous person in the world.  I’m grieving that.  
After Dolly passed I was reading so many ‘Dolly Stories’ online.  Everyone seemed to have one.  Including me!  I went to Dolly’s high school in Sevierville, TN. in the mid to late 70’s for 9th., 10th. and 11th. grade.  My step-father was one of the only surgeon’s there at the time.  Which is why we moved to Sevierville.  I was in the marching band.  One year Dolly came to our high school, her Alma Mater, and gave a concert donating the proceeds.  Our band had just made an album that year and presented it to her as a gift.  She wouldn’t accept it until everyone had signed it.  I can remember how star struck the audience was seeing her on stage.  I don’t think I’d ever seen my friend Judy so enamored by anyone before.  Dolly was funny, charming, and she would sometimes forget the words to some of her songs and would substitute them with other words like, la dee dah, la la dee dah.  It was charming.  She made fun of something large on her body that she said people wondered was fake, and of course we’re all thinking about her boobs, but she then said, I’m talking about my nails, what are you talking about?  Our band played Hello Dolly to introduce her at the concert.  I can rememer seeing her big tour bus parked in our school’s parking lot.  
Dolly In Front Of Her Tour Bus
I enjoyed reading all the Dolly Stories pouring in online.  Of course they have since died down, but I think we are all still sad by her death.  As I said, she wasn’t just a country music legend, she was the kindest and most generous person in the world.  Now who do we have?
I originally wanted to explore how our society as a whole is embracing so much of this, I don’t even really know what to call it?  Plastic surgery?  Enhancements?  Implants?  Injections?
I would like to say that I believe that people should do what they want to do.  It is your body after all.  But coming from a medical background, not mine, my step-father’s and my mother’s, you never go under the knife unless it is absolutely necessary.  Once they put you to sleep you do run the risk that you may never wake up?  Although perhaps technology has caught up that they don’t even need to put you to sleep anymore?  I don’t know enough about it.
I also can’t tell you how many times I have read where a mother of 3 died while on a trip to Mexico for some sort of liposuction.  Why?  Was that worth it?  The children now don’t have a mother?
Kanye West’s mother died while getting liposuction.  Again, is that so important?  Joan Rivers also died while undergoing plastic surgery.  And then there is Michael Jackson and all the work he had done.  He didn’t even have a nose left.
I don’t want to shame anyone.  I think that sometimes we do things because of past trauma’s.
Sometimes when I watch T.V. I will see a very attractive woman and you can tell that her hair is fake, and she has fake boobs, injections in her lips, fake nails, and all I see is a fake person.  Some people take it even further with their fake butts.  I just think that someday aliens will come to our planet, (although I think they are already here) and dig us up and ask, ‘what was wrong with these people?’
I have a confession to make about my daughter Veronica.  When she was 5 she did have plastic surgery on her ears.  They were deformed when she was born.  She was a breach baby and I had a C-Section at her delivery.  To me she was the most beautiful baby in the world, but when I presented my perfect child to my grandmother I will never forget what she said when she saw her.  “Let’s tape those ears down.”  And it was at that point that I finally saw them.  The debate to have Veronica at age 5 get plastic surgery on her ears was important for us.  I didn’t want her to start school being called Dumbo, I myself had had a hard time growing up in so many different school’s with so many cruel children that I didn’t want her to go through what I had gone through, so my grandmother paid for the surgery.  By age 5 your ears are at about 90% growth.  They mature before your head does.  So, having confessed that do I have any right to criticize someone else for having elective plastic surgery?  I think not!
I will say this though, I do believe that there is a point where someone will take it too far.  It is at that point where I believe money should be spent to fix what’s wrong inside, and not keep spending money on the outsides.  It may make them happy for a short while, but the insecurities come back and then here comes more plastic surgery, believing that will make them happy but it never ultimately does.
One day, a few year’s back, I was watching T.V. when a commercial came on advertising The Real Housewives of somewhere in California?  The commercial had about 4 blonde women and one brunette.  All 4 blondes had the exact same long hair extensions, the exact same mini-dress (in different colors) and the exact same high heeled shoes (in different colors).  The brunette was the only one that didn’t seem to have all the fake attachments to herself.  But then again, I have no clue what work may have been done underneath her clothing.  I looked at all of them and they just looked like clones of each other.  When did that happen?  That same look is still out there and popular.  I’m not criticizing the look, I’m criticizing the fact that all these women feel that they have to look like that in order to be happy or excepted.  When did our society become so shallow?  I do blame reality T.V.  But that is a conversation for another day.
I look at my granddaughter Isabelle and she has the prettiest face.  I hope that she will always know how pretty she is and not feel pressure to change her nose, or get lip injections, or some boob job, or butt implants just to please a shallow society with the shortest attention span in our history.  When Sarah Jessica Parker was in her early years of acting the ‘establishment’ wanted her to get a nose job.  She said no, because she liked that she looked like her family, and didn’t want to change it.  That confidence comes from being born into a supportive and loving family.  I also love how she is accepting ageing, and ageing very well.  But then again, she is in a strong and healthy long marriage with children.
There is a famous family out there that you all know of with lots of girls in it, that are big influencers that change their faces quite often.  Their mother is especially pro-plastic surgery.  The thing is, they have lots of children between them and I can only imagine the lessons being taught to these children?  ‘Our faces aren’t good enough so we constantly get work done.  Therefore your faces aren’t good enough either so you will be needing to fix those as well in the future, or until your 10.’
I do believe there is this self-anointed group of people out there that make up things that they believe we all need to do, and then it filters down into our society through magazines, books, hair stylists, make-up artists, and influencers.  Once they get the celebrities to go along with them and their ideas, they know the public is not far behind.  A huge money making industry that people will throw their money at just to look like the latest big celebrity that they love and admire.  It’s quite sad actually.  So many original people wiping their identities in order to look like the latest clones out there.  Did Dolly do that?  No!  She was herself from day 1!
Dolly Parton grew up poor in the mountains of Tennessee.  I know those mountains in Tennessee very well because we did live there, but we also spent a lot of time in those mountains.  Mountain cabins, fire places, hiking, picnics, creeks, streams, waterfalls, throwing rocks, camping, etc.
When I look at Dolly, I see her poor childhood.  I see the ‘over the top’ clothing, hair, and make-up.  I see her making up for the fact that she was poor.  I see her presenting this larger than life Dolly to the world to make up for the fact that she wasn’t born ‘over the top.’
There is a relative that I have on my biological father’s side that also grew up poor.  She studied hard and graduated from high school as Salutatorian.  She went onto college and furthered her education, earinng her degrees and accumulating a lot of college debt in the process.  She is a teacher.  The thing she should be the proudest of is that she is self-made.  But I believe that her poor childhood haunts her which is why she will drive an expensive car, wear expensive clothing and shoes, and carry an expensive handbag, wanting only the finer things in life.  Not that there is really anything wrong with that.
Well, I too wear my Lilly Pulitzer designer clothing, and carry designer handbags, but I’m also known to shop at Goodwill and the Dollar Tree.  Stores I don’t believe my relative would ever do.
Whether it be good or bad, our childhood’s shape us into the adults that we become.  There is nothing wrong with that.  I just hate that with a lot of us, we are held back from becoming the people we should be because of those past trauma’s.  I know that for me I walk hand in hand with my trauatized childhood version of myself everyday.  But, I like to think that I am rewriting HER trauma and turning that into a happier functioning adult, ME.  🙂
Dolly Parton turned the hardships of her upbringing into becoming the larger than life person she became.  Not to mention the most generous.  I know that I will miss her for the rest of my life.
Julie

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July 12, 2026

Constantly Chasing Sleep

Favorite Pajamas

I can remember reading decades ago how Betty White only got about 3 hours of sleep a night.  I couldn’t believe that she could function on that minimal amount of sleep.  Then I read around the same time frame that Martha Stewart would be up at 3:00 a.m. with a flashlight out in her garden pulling up weeds.  I was so shocked that these two successful women could even function on such a minimal amount of sleep?  Well, now that I am 65, I am getting not as much sleep as I need, and not being able to function without a good night’s sleep.  I cannot relate.  I need my sleep!

My lifestyle is that I keep my Granddaughter  anywhere from 2 to 4 days a week.  Either Veronica or Brian will bring her over in the early morning hours at either 5:30 a.m. or 5:45 – 6:00 a.m.  I am always up by the time they bring her over.  I set my alarm clock for 4:00 a.m. in the morning.  I shower and I’m dressed and ready by the time Isabelle arrives.

Even though she just turned 3, we still give her a bottle in the mornings.  Even though that is a bit young for her, you have to understand that her sleep has been interrupted.  She needs to get back to sleep.  That warm milk helps her.  Whether we deliver it in a baby bottle, or a water bottle.
That also benefits me!  I need to get back to sleep in the mornings myself.  It is difficult for me to function without a good night’s sleep.  I love a good extra hour or two in those early morning hours.  That way I get to sleep in to around 8:00 or 8:30, or 9:00 a.m. in the mornings.  Being her care giver, I need the extra hours of sleep in order to function for the day.  After all, her parents don’t pick her up until around 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. on some days, and as early as 9:30 – 11:00 a.m., on other days.  Some of those days are long!

I wanted to say that I think that we justify the early morning bottle with the understanding that there are women out there that continue to breast feed into the child’s 5th. birthday.

That is not our intention.  We are just delivering the warm milk to Isabelle in a vessel that will not leak into the crib/bed, and will help her to go back to sleep, so that I can also get some more much needed sleep myself.  That’s where my heating pad comes in.  I do so love that warmth and it makes me drowsy, helping me to go back to sleep.

NOTE!  It is easier to go to sleep once you have taken a nice warm shower, day or night.  Which is usually why I tend to go back to sleep more easily after I have had my 4:00 a.m. shower on those mornings I have Isabelle.  Nice shower, and a heating pad work for me!

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I Also Think That I Suffer From  Anxiety 

On those days that I have to leave the house, I tend to have a hard time sleeping the night before.  That is something new to me.  It’s really just been since I’ve been in my 60’s that I’ve had that problem.  There is just this anxiousness and dread that I have where I am up in the middle of the night and I can’t shut my brain off in order to relax and go to sleep.  

I think some of the problem it is that America is a dangerous country to live in.   I don’t feel safe when I leave the house.  Too many guns, and too many hot-heads that own the guns.  Also, just not enough respect towards our fellow human beings.  I think a lot of people would just rather shoot you than deal with you.  Same with driving.  Even though I do the speed limit, I am never going fast enough for some people.  I think they would rather run me off the road than have to drive behind me.  Which is why I tend to make appointments or run errands on those hours where there isn’t a lot of traffic.  I also only shop in business’s where I feel safe in their parking lots.   Now that I am 65 and ageing, I am becoming more of a target to those that take advantage of that.  Always be aware of your surroundings.  Quit looking at your phones and pay attention.  It just might save your life.

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Afternoon Naps And Back Pain

Sometimes I do take an afternoon nap.  Or, I might just lay down on the couch among my comfy blankety covers and pillows, turn the T.V. volume down low, close my eyes, and just rest and relax.  If sleep follows, wonderful!  If not, then that’s o.k. too because I am resting my body and getting off my back.  Walking on these cement floors here in Florida can ruin your lower back.  When we were living in Hawaii I developed back pains from every surface in Hawaii being cement.  The reasoning behind all the cement is hurricane’s.  Then when we moved to Maryland, where everything was this nice wooden surface, my back pain went away.  Then we move back to Florida where everything has a cement flooring, and here come the back pains again.

I do wear indoor shoes, mainly smooshy, mooshy  Flip Flops.  (Or Slippers as they say in Hawaii.)  The mooshy kind have a nice comfy give that allows your foot to be more comfortable.  The downside is that sometimes they are easy to trip in while wearing.  Something I will need to be aware of as I age.

The point I was trying to make here is that by just resting and getting off my back I feel this rejuvenation that allows me to get through the rest of the day on those sleepy tired days I sometimes have.  By laying down, place a pillow underneath your pelvis just to elevate it up a bit.  For me the pain goes away immediately just by doing that.  Try it!  See for yourself.

Also, take an Advil if your back starts to hurt, OR even before it starts to hurt!  When I am about to take on a big job I just go ahead and take one.  It will prevent the swelling in my lower back which brings on pain.  It’s that inflammation you have to worry about.

I also don’t take any of those energy drinks.  Coffee is the strongest thing that I use to pep up.

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About 2 Years Ago I Moved Into The Gust Bathroom

(For Bathing And Skincare)

It’s been a few years but there was a time, a very long time, when my next door neighbor started stalking and harassing me. 

I do document it here:

Click Here For:  My Log Blog Documenting Stalking And Harassment From My Neighbor

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Gordon was working overseas and for some reason my hot-headed neighbor next door to us starting throwing things at our house at 4:00 a.m. to upset me.  It was always when I was in the bathroom or in our bedroom.  Regardless, I no longer felt safe on that side of our house, so I started bathing in the guest bathroom.  At first I just dragged a few things into the guest bathroom, not bothering to really fix it up and make it nice.  But, I have since made it nice and I’m glad that I made that switch.  I feel a lot safer.  I also feel like I have my very own bathroom just for me to enjoy.  Yes, it’s smaller.  Yes, it’s not as nice.  But, I like it! 

I still do my hair and make-up in our master bathroom, but I am never naked in there.  I haven’t felt comfortable changing clothes or using that bathroom any more.  That’s what abuse does to you.

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Just Some Skincare

I Did Not Buy Anything New Here

(I organized with things that I already had.  Seeing as how my Cindy Crawford Skincare is all purple, I found an old ‘free with purchase’ purple cosmetic bag to house some things in.)

 

I Bought Nothing New Here, This Is Plenty Of Room For Me

Sometimes I think it’s important for us to just carve out our own little niche somewhere.  A place that is just ours.  With me being the only one who uses this bathroom, I keep it quite nice and clean because I don’t share it with anyone.  Well, except Isabelle.  🙂

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Somethings that I may write about, I have also written about on other website pages.  Not everyone reads every page that I have on this website so sometimes I do repeat myself.  This is one of those times.  I am writing here similar things that I wrote on my Skincare Website Page.

Click Here For:  My Nifty 50’s and 60’s Skincare

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I Did Add Some Hawaiian Things That Were New

The Rattan Shelf Was My Grandmother’s

The Birdhouse/Beach House, Veronica painted years ago and gifted to me.

Diamond Head and the Surfboards spelling out Aloha, I purchased at a favorite Hawaii store, CocoNene.

The Blue Star Fish Veronica also gifted to me one Christmas.

And the Palm Leaf painting I also purchased from Coconene.

The Fish Photo Frame was a gift to Veronica from her friend Kara when they were 3 years old and we knew them in Hawaii.

  Looks great there.

Now You Know What My Bathroom/Guest Bathroom Toilet Looks Like  🙂

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One More Thing ….

The Little Window In The Shower

(I papered it over with Rice Paper when we first moved in.)

All My Shampoo’s and Conditioner’s

Our Diana Hanson-Young Posters From The 80’s

Autographed By Her

We Were Too Poor To Buy Prints Or Paintings Then

I Framed Them And Still Treasure Them

Dry Your Hands!

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65 And Beyond

Finger’s Crossed!

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julie Barefoot 2026, (‘Puke Punaewele, (Blog)

Julie Barefoot 2026, (‘Puke Punaewele, (Blog)

          2026 A Morning Aloha (Hawaiian Kona Coffee) —————————————————————————————— Brodie In Our Backyard Plumeria Tree in Ewa Beach, 1996 ————————————————————————————- E Komo Mai Welcome to My Aloha Julie Barefoot 2026 ‘Puke Punaewele (Blog) Ready for 2026 This year will be a …

Autumn

Autumn

          UNDER CONSTRUCTION   Okra Wind Free  🙂     UNDER CONSTRUCTION Autumn Harvest Medley                     ————————————————————————————————                               …

www.VintageJulieBarefootArchives.com

www.VintageJulieBarefootArchives.com

 

 

 

I Created A New Website:

Click Here For:  VintageJulieBarefootArchives

I gave my Web Designers in India instructions on what I wanted, and they did the most remarkable job of bringing my vision to life.

I could not be happier with it!

My current website:  (This one.)

BarefootInFloridaWithJulie

..Was no longer working accurately. 

Therefore, I decided to instruct my Web Designers in India, to create a “New” Website in order for me to house some of my “Old” content.

Initially, I didn’t figure in that it would be my Florida Website Pages, but it did evolve into just that.

My First Blog Posting On The New/Old Website

I Debuted This New Site On Brodie’s Birthday, November 29, 2025

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Welcome To VintageJulieBarefootArchives.com

(As Taken From Blog Posting from the new site.)

Brodie Keith Kanakaleo Whann

I decided to create this new website because our live site, www.BarefootInFloridaWithJulie.com, was getting a bit too big.

(Admittedly, I was hoping to get a place in The Guinness Book of World Records as the largest amateur website on the internet known to man. But alas, another dream squashed by reality, or human intervention.)

I thought that if I were to create a new website and move a lot of our old content over, that it would lighten the load to our current live site, and I could make this new website about our Florida Life. So, I specifically chose website pages that were of a Florida nature. We love Florida! My ties to Florida go back to when I was a baby in the 60’s, living in Rome, Georgia with my mother, grand-parents, and great-grandparents. Every summer was spent vacationing in Florida. Also, prior to me being born, it was where my mother and her friends, and their families vacationed as well. I have some really great old photos of my grand-parents, great-grandparents, and great-aunts and uncles wearing their old fashioned swimsuits with their old timey cars parked on the beach. Once upon a time you could do that. Drive onto the beach and park your car.  Mostly on the East Coast of Florida, they had the longest stretches of beaches.

I’m the tall one with my cute petite friends.  St. Pete left, Daytona right.

I can remember the Florida vacations very well. We would leave Rome in the evening, and drive all night down to Florida. I would be asleep in the backseat, wearing pajamas.. My grand-father would do the driving. If I had to use the bathroom on the way down my grandfather would pull over to the side of the highway, they would open both doors, the front door and the backdoor, and I would take my winky-tink between the two doors. Sometimes, cars would honk as they would drive by. I was always in a panic that someone could see me. My grandmother always assured me that no one can.  (She was probably lying.)

St. Petersburg was usually our destination. My grand-father would look for Motels with a VACANCY sign flashing towards the street. He would just drive down what is now Gulf Blvd. looking for a Motel that he thought looked nice. He would then pull into those Motels and inquire within for something suitable for all of us. I can remember that we were always on the ocean side, most of the time there was a pool. I can even remember one place we stayed at where we walked out of our motel room door directly onto the beach. There was so much beach sand outside our door.

I have beautiful memories of many Florida vacations with my grand-parents. My grand-father was one to lay on his back in the ocean, floating, and falling asleep. He was a big man, very tall, with lots of cushion. He floated very easily. I can remember one time he fell asleep and was drifting out to sea, a lifeguard was blowing his whistle trying to wake him up to get him to swim back towards shore.

Most every night we would eat at a seafood restaurant. The restaurant was always located on an ocean front, or a canal front. I have so many great memories of finding little fishies trapped between the rocks by the ocean or canals. I would use a paper cup to capture them and take them back to the motel room with me. I loved having them with me in the motel room. I loved watching them. Sometimes I would set them loose the next day, if they even made it through the night. Upon reflection I wish I had known more about helping them. But I didn’t. I was just a child.

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Hello Rosy Cheeks

I remember this very well. It was at one restaurant that was busy that evening for dinner. There were many people waiting to get seated. My grand-parents and I were sitting at a table in the entryway when suddenly this cute boy sat down right beside my grandmother, he sat across from me, he then looked at me and said with all the confidence in the world, “Hello rosy cheeks.” I was in my early teens. My grandmother instantly adored him! I guess charmers must recognize each other because my grand-mother was a charmer. She then burst out laughing.

This cute, charming boy sat there flirting with me. I knew I could fall for him in a minute! But, I was just too shy to do anything about it. But, I have always remembered that cute boy that made this awkward girl feel special.

Oh, and the rosy cheeks were from my being sunburned that day from staying out too long in the sun, on the beach.

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Florida is not just a great state to vacation in, it holds so many happy memories for me and my family growing up. It makes sense that Gordon and I would settle here and live out our days until we are gone. Hopefully that won’t be for a very long time. But, until then we have a grand-daughter to help raise and make many happy Florida memories for her to take with her in life.

An old timey Motel, a Shuffleboard Court, Sun, Sand, Shells, Beach, Oranges, Orange Juice, Drawbridges, Souvenir Shops, Boat Rides, Seafood Restaurants, Summer Friendships with other Tourists, Salt Water Taffy, Vintage Beach Buckets, Sand Shovels, Flamingoes… and being Barefoot!

This is what I carry with me every day.

Happy Vintage Julie Barefoot Memories,

Julie Barefoot

(Julie Lancaster-Whann)

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Florida is Beautiful and Unique,

Located in the South, yet not Really Southern.

Although Florida is the East Coast, and Canada’s Destination

My Florida Favorites

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Some of Veronica’s Artwork 

I asked her if she had some of her art that I could display on the new website.  She sent over these.  This was all she had in her possession.  People do hire her to draw and paint for them.  I would love to had seen those paintings, but she did contribute some nice things.

Busch Gardens 

I told my guys in India that I wanted an Alligator on the bottom left, and Flamingoes on the bottom right.

I do think the landscaping you see in the graphic above looks like Africa, but then again we do have Busch Gardens here in Florida that is theme based on Africa.

  So, I guess it all goes together nicely.

Web Design is a lot of fun but it isn’t really something tangible.  I mean, the moment I quit paying the monthly fees, it can all just disappear.  Or an experienced hacker can just come along and delete the whole thing forever.  As much as I love my website’s they aren’t anything that I can hold in my hand, or place onto a shelf for display, or even own forever.  My experience with having websites is that they are very vulnerable to those that know how to penetrate them, and abuse them without any conscious or authority whatsoever.

I guess what I am trying to say is that they are very temporary, so enjoy them while you can.

 

See You At The Beach!

Julie Barefoot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Jezebel is NUTS!

This Jezebel is NUTS!

            Mr. Peanut In 1906 Omedeo Obici, originally from Italy, founded the Planters Peanut Company in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In 1916 Mr. Obici held a contest asking the public to draw a logo that he thought would best suit the company.  …

My Brunswick Stew Chicken Skillet

My Brunswick Stew Chicken Skillet

        My Brunswick Stew Chicken Skillet Dinner I love Brunswick Stew!  I grew up eating it in the South, in the Summer months, throughout the year, but especially for the 4th. of July. There is a history of the stew which I …

Italian Colazione (Breakfasts)

Italian Colazione (Breakfasts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buongiorno a Tutti

(Good Morning Everyone)

My Italiana Breakfast Skillet

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You Don’t Have To Be Italian To Enjoy This Delicious Breakfast Skillet

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A One Skillet Breakfast With Baguette and Caffe

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This Also Makes An Excellent Dinner, Or Even Luncheon

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Excellent Eaten In Bed…

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The Boot

Italy is Shaped Like a Boot

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I Hope To Add More Breakfasts As Time Goes By

Godere,

Julie and Gordon

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Recipes Start Here

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First Up:

My Italiana Breakfast Skillet

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Ingredients:

Orange, Yellow, and Red Bell Peppers, Washed

Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, or any you Desire, Washed

(I Give The Rest Of The Ingredients As I Write The Recipe)

You will need a Cutting Board, and a Sautee Pan or Two…

Time To Chop My Bell Peppers

Also, White Onion, Chopped

(This was a large White Onion, I used about 3/4 of it.)

Chopping My Bell Peppers

6 Garlic Cloves, Minced

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In a Large Sautee Pan Drizzle Some Olive Oil..

Place the Onions into the Pan to Soften on a Medium-High Heat

This should take about 5 Minutes.

Next, add the Bell Peppers to Soften, about another 5 Minutes..

Mincing the Garlic Cloves into the Pan with the Onions and Bell Peppers

(Just Sautee a few minutes more, stirring often, until all of the ingredients are softened. 

Then remove from the heat and set aside.)

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In my Cast Iron Skillet I am adding some Olive Oil, along with a bag of Hash Brown Potatoes from the freezer.

My Spices:  (To Add Soon)

Italian Herb Seasoning

Ground Oregano

Ground Basil Leaves

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

Hawaiian Sea Salt, To Taste

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I’m Browning my Thawed Hash Browns in my Cast Iron Skillet, on a Medium Heat – Medium-High Heat.

My Onions and Peppers and Garlic are Waiting..

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I had some Italian Sausage frozen in the freezer.  I thawed it out placed it into a small Skillet on the back burner to just warm through.

Sometimes I will cook sausage to keep frozen in the freezer to place on Pizza’s or dishes like this.

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Time To Add The Spices To My Hash Brown Potatoes I’ve Been Sauteing

I probably added a 1/4 t. of each, maybe a little bit more.

Blending The Spices Into The Hash Browns

Now It’s Time to Add My Onion, Bell Peppers, and Garlic to My Hash Browns…

..And Placing Them Into A 350F Oven For About 10-15  Minutes.

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My Sausage Is Ready, And Set Aside

Time To Remove The Cast Iron Skillet From The Oven…

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Time To Add The Cheese

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

(I just added as much as I wanted to over top my Hash Brown Medley.)

Now Place Back Into The 350F Oven For About 5 Minutes To Melt The Cheese

(When done, remove and set aside.)

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Ready To Scramble Some Eggs

In A New Sautee Pan Add,

About 7 Eggs

Butter

Milk

Melt Some Pats Of Butter Into A Sautee Pan,

Crack Some Eggs Into The Pan On A Medium-High Heat

Scramble With A Wooden Spoon….

Add A Few Tablespoons Of Milk To The Eggs To Fluff

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Eggs Are Ready, Time To Add Them To The Cast Iron Skillet

Italian Sausage Is Ready, Time To Add It To Top The Eggs

Now It’s Time To Place Some Julienne Cut SunDried Tomatoes On Top As Well

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The Herbs

Ready To Add To The Top Of The Skillet Breakfast

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Preparing The Bread

(I love bread!  I especially love it here with this Skillet Breakfast.)

I just sliced a Baguette into rounds, drizzled with some Olive Oil, placed onto a foil lined baking sheet, and placed into a 350F Oven for about 8 minutes.

  After 8 minutes I turned it on Broil to brown the bread.  It was perfect!

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With My Skillet Breakfast Ready It Is Time To EAT!

Don’t Forget The Caffe!

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Buona Giornata,

Julie

 

 

 

 

Eat Your Vegetables More

Eat Your Vegetables More

    CURRENTLY ROASTING VEGETABLES, CHECK BACK SOON!                                                              

Here’s a CLUE for Nancy Drew

Here’s a CLUE for Nancy Drew

        “I don’t promise to forget the mystery, but I know I’ll have a marvelous time“ Nancy Drew —————————————————————————— #45 The Spider Sapphire Mystery Thrilling, dangerous adventure confront Nancy Drew while on a safari in East Africa with a group of American …

My Log/Blog Documenting Stalking and Harassment From My Neighbor

My Log/Blog Documenting Stalking and Harassment From My Neighbor

 

 

(Note Update April 10, 2025:  If this harassment continues, or more damage is done to our property, then I will reveal their names here, and getting the police involved.)

 

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Edward Bulwer-Lytton

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Write it all down, it’s what they fear the most.

Julie Lancaster-Whann

 

Where Do I Even Begin?

2025

For those of you that know me and have read me, then you know of my account of my Cyber-Stalker of 30 years, P.  I did start a webpage of his stalking back in 2015 on this website.  Wow, 10 years ago I started writing about him.  I’ve also mentioned throughout my personal blogs the stalking that I have had to put up with and endure.  Well, he’s still in the picture.  Gordon and I were able to bring in (a 3-letter agency) to look into him.  I hadn’t really admitted much to any of that until now.  This has been about a year and a half ago that we did that.  I know these things take time, but with all that’s going on right now with that ( 3-letter agency), I’m not so sure if we are a priority anymore.

I also started a website about him that I have not worked on yet at all.  I simply sent a few photos to my guys in India and had them to create something for me.  They did, and I paid quite a bit of money for it.  I hadn’t started working on it yet for a few reasons.  First of all, I would much rather be doing other things than talking about P.  And number two, I didn’t want to hinder any investigation into him.

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This is the Original Webpage Where I Introduce you to P.:

What It’s Like To Be Cyber-Stalked

Julie Lancaster-Whann

If you do check out this webpage I started on him, you will most likely see some sabotage.  That is from P.  When I had web hosting companies in America to host and look after my site, P. had the run of it.  It wasn’t until I contacted a company in the U.K., and they recommended theses guys in India, did I finally have a more secure website.

Sad isn’t it?  I had to go outside my own country for help from my American Cyber-Stalker.

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One thing that I have learned throughout my life when I was being abused by anyone is to start a log.  Write down everything that that person does to you.  Keep a diary of it.  That’s why I started the Cyber-Stalker blog page that I write about above.  It is also why I am starting this webpage about the abuse that I am having to endure from my neighbors next door to me.

I will work on this as I feel like it.  Oh trust me, they aren’t going anywhere.  Their kind never does.

I know their type very well.   Arrogant, self-righteous, white, no respect for people or their property, or opinions that differ from their own.  They only value ‘Freedom of Speech’ when it is their own.  They easily fall in line with the herd.  A Shepherd  to herd them this way, and then herd then that way.  I’ll get into more of that later on.

You know, no where in the world do they have people like a certain segment of our population.  Nowhere!

The world does have it’s poor and ignorant.  But nowhere does any country have these kinds of people that think the way they do. They are definitely home grown.

There is something very toxic in our country’s environment that creates these people.  I know what it is, but I don’t dare say it.  I’ve touched on it though.  I even tried warning our former Canadian friends about it, who seemed to adore the republican friends they knew in Kentucky.  And I will speak of it in the future.  But talking about it now is only going to get me clubbed over the head by a caveman.  I also warned our Canadian friends that don’t be surprised if America comes after Canada someday.  If you have something they want, they will come and get it.  Funny, but she thought I was being ridiculous.  Wonder how she feels now?  I told her these things over a decade ago.

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My Camera on My Tripod Took These Photos

(The Thing Is, My Neighbors Are Probably Watching Me Right Now)

I wanted to take some photos for this blog, and seeing as how I am the only one here, I had my camera on my tripod to do it.  My husband Gordon is working overseas.  Oh, we talk most everyday.  He is in a hazard zone overseas.  He is quite valuable in his job, and we are benefiting from that.  We were thinking about him coming home permanently at the end of this year, but what with all that is going on in our country, it might be wise for him to stay over there for the next few years.  He does come home twice a year to see us all though.  He has even suggested that I come over there to live out in town near where he is stationed.  If I were to do that, I would only see him on the weekends from my very exotic location.  My answer:  I’m not leaving Isabelle.  Done!

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What has kept me going all these years is that I want to outlive P.  I want to know what life is like without him in it.  That is what has kept me going.  Will I ever know that?  I don’t know?  But now, I have a new stalker.  I never saw this coming at all.  I am an Empath, yet I never once sensed this neighbor’s hatred of me at all.  Which means that he is either a Psychopath or a Sociopath, or a Narcissist.

 I have probably only spoken 20 words to him from the time they moved in years ago.  He is probably in his early 40’s.  He is married and they have 2 children.  They have a very nice home.  Nice automobiles.  Basketball goal in their driveway, pool in their backyard.  On the surface all looks great.  I have noticed that all their cars are there all the time.  I’m wondering if he is still employed or if he is working from home, or he’s been fired?  Don’t know?

I knew they were Republican’s, but I didn’t have any ill will towards them, until now.

  I’ll get to that.

Where do I begin to document the Harassment and Abuse?

Once again, I’ll get to that in a little bit.

I want you to understand something.  Just to give you an example, why have I had a Cyber-Stalker for 30 years now?  Why?

P. was Gordon’s Best Friend From Childhood

P. started out in life with parents that had money and means.  They put him in Private School growing up.  Once he graduated, he was able to go on to college, and graduate.  I’m pretty sure his parents paid for that as well. 

I can even remember something about P. working as some DJ for a radio station while he was in college, or afterwards.  I mean, how cool is that?  He would send us these tapes of Chicago singing love songs.  I loved it!  I would play them and listen to them in my headphones when I would go for my walks when we lived in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.  It was the best of both worlds.  Great music while I would go on my walks, with views of Diamond Head in the background while I walked down the beach. 

It wasn’t until the early 90’s that P. started stalking me.  I really don’t want to go into that now.  I do have it documented in other areas.  But what I wanted you to understand is the amount of time and energy that goes into stalking anyone.

P. has stalked me for 30 years and counting.  30 years!

P. gave up having a life to stalk me.  He gave up dating, falling in love, getting married, having children….

To him I was more important than all of that.  He has spent his life glued to a computer screen stalking me.

P. started out with Microsoft.  He was on the cutting edge of technology.  In the midst of history being made.  He could have snagged a lovely intelligent woman to love and have children with.  He could have had a lovely home and even a vacation home, or two.  He could have had children and perhaps by now, grand-children.  But NO!  He gave up all of that, he sacrificed his youth to stalk ME!

Believe me when I tell you, I AM NOT WORTH THAT!

He gave up his youth to stare at a computer screen stalking me!

That is the mind of an obsessed person. 

Obsession is not love, it is obsession.  Love is healthy, love is beautiful.

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All My Flowers

Looks Like I’m In Mourning

Although I am not in mourning, I am angry.  Angry because I live in a neighborhood where there are pathetic people that feel the need to do harm to me.  Harm to someone that does nothing to them.  I don’t bother them.  I never see them.  Why is my neighbor so obsessed with me?  Well, I do have my theories.  But first you need to understand Obsession.

Obsession isn’t love.  But I dominate his thoughts each and every day.  Why would any woman want her husband or boyfriend to be obsessed with anyone?  Yet alone, another woman?

Does he love me?  Hate me?  The emotions are really the same.  Love and Hate are very strong emotions to have towards anyone.  but whether they be love or hate, he is still obsessed with me.  He gets up every morning at 4:00 a.m. and looks to see if my bathroom light is on.  If it is, he throws a ball at my house, around the bathroom windows where I am.  He does this to alarm me.  To scare me.  To upset me.

If I get up at 4:30 a.m., he’s still there.  Here comes the ball being hurled at my bathroom window to alarm me, scare me, etc. 

I want you to understand what this means:

He is going to the trouble of setting his alarm clock for 4:00 a.m., probably waking up his wife in the process, while he leaves his bed, to go outside and throw a ball against the side of my house, around my bathroom, where I am.  And, perhaps even peeking in.

Sometimes I get up at 4:30 a.m., which means that he is laying in wait for me at that time.  Which I will hear the loud thump against the wall of our house while I am in the toilet room. 

This is STALKING!

The fact that he does this to me means that his wife is o.k. with it. 

Otherwise, I would think she would intervene and try and stop him from harassing me.

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This is Vandalism, This is Property Damage

I Noticed This September 6, 2024:

The Damage Our Neighbor Has Done to Our Meters

I don’t come over to this side of our house that often.  But one day I did and I was really alarmed to see this.  This is obviously damage done through someone tampering with it.  So, prior to September 6, when I discovered it, how long has it been this way?

Can a Ball Do This Damage?  Or Did he use Something Else to do This?

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I Used Some String To Tie Them Back Together

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The Bathroom Window Facing Our Street

This is not the bathroom window he throws the ball at, but this window faces the street from our bathroom.  You can see the Plantation Shutters…

I placed a tablecloth over it because I always felt like there was someone peeking in at me early in the mornings through those slats.  Throughout the night and morning hours I have them closed but if you were to stand right outside you could probably see through the slats into the bathroom. 

Well, it turns out I was right, there WAS someone out there!

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Saturday Afternoon, Early February

I had gone shopping on this day.  I did hear the THUMP of the ball against the house early that morning.  I then climbed up on our bed and looked out the window between our houses and saw that orange and blue ball.

I’m taking the photo from our bedroom window of the space between our houses. 

That is where he lies in wait for me in the mornings.

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I wish that I had taken a photo of the ball when it was between our two houses.

When I got back from shopping I was telling Gordon about it while I was talking to him on the phone and I went over to that side of the house, picked up the ball, and threw it toward their front yard.  I’m not a great thrower, but here is where I threw it:

If you look closely you can see the orange and blue ball.

See the Ball Now?

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So, Why Does My Neighbor Hate Me So Much?

Well, I can only guess?

When I first realized what he was doing to me, I wondered if it was because I got up so early and perhaps my lights were shining into their bedroom disturbing them?  Or perhaps it was the fact that when Veronica or Brian would drop off Isabelle early in the morning that my dogs would bark, perhaps waking them up?  But then I quickly erased that because he is setting his alarm clock to get up early to harass me.  He isn’t harassing me in response to anything I am doing to him, he is harassing me for the sheer sake of it.  Not in response to anything.

So, If It’s Not My Lights, And it’s Not My Dogs, Then It Must Be…

MY POLITICS!

Although I have never talked politics with anyone in my neighborhood, I do wonder if perhaps my politics has been passed around the neighborhood as news?  It was back in 2008 when I placed my Obama yard sign on our lawn that the sabotage from my neighborhood began!  The day after I placed that sign in our yard, every neighbor around us suddenly set out their McCain/Palin signs.  Interesting.  The day I placed our sign in our front yard I was driving out of the neighborhood to do some shopping when I noticed Judy, who used to live across the street, walking on the sidewalk with her dog.  Instead of the nice happy smile and wave that I usually got, I just got this LOOK.  OH, I know that look very well!  It’s one that a hater gives you for not being like them.  I’m pretty sure Judy is the one that organized everyone placing McCain/Palin signs in their yards in their attempt to drown us out.

So Where Am I Going With This?

Judy and Michael sold their house, I believe in 2011 to a family that went to their church, our current neighbors across the street from us.  I like them.  I think they are nice neighborhood family.  But, I’m pretty sure the gossip got around that we were the “Evil Libruls” of the neighborhood.  Which the neighbors across the street might have mentioned to their fellow republican’s that live next door to us in the neighborhood.  Thus, making me a big target for the neighbor’s hate.  I’m not seen as a 64 year old woman that minds her own business, that keeps her granddaughter a few days a week, respects the neighbors privacy in the neighborhood, who doesn’t play loud music, who doesn’t have tons of people over thus blocking the street causing headaches, Oh NO!  I’m only seen as the “Evil Librul.”  (Even though they are the ones that wear the SIGN on their foreheads, if you know what I mean?)  Just sayin.’

The thing is that republican’s are very organized.  Oh, believe me when I say that my next door  neighbors truly lack the intellectual curiosity to look me up and read my website or my social media accounts on their own.  Oh no, they are on some list that is distributed by their leaders telling them who in their neighborhood is an “Evil Librul,” and who to hate and harass .  That makes more sense to me.

We do still have the Rule of Law in our country.  That hasn’t yet been eliminated.  And, I am a Paralegal by profession.  We’ll leave it there for now.  I’ll update as things happen.  It’s important to always document abuse.  You know, future lawsuits….  🙂

Julie

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New Entries Will Be Listed Here

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February, 2025

I would just like to add here that I am hearing the thump of the ball against the side of our house early in the morning many times this February 2025 month.

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March 11, 2025

I had a big day today.  Just lots of shopping in Tampa at the Air Force Base.  I had left the house around 11:00 a.m. this morning, exiting my street through the back way so that I didn’t have to drive in front of my neighbor’s house.  I am trying to do my best to not let him know when I come and go.  Anyway, at the end of the day when I was returning home at around 5:30 p.m., I debated driving in the back way where I wouldn’t have to drive in front of his house, but I then decided not to do that.  I had lots of food in the car and I needed to get home as quickly as possible, and not go out of my way to come in the back way just to try and avoid him.  As it was, it took me an hour and a half to get home due to all the traffic.

Well, he and his wife were outside in their front yard.  He was blowing leaves from the street with his blower.  She was sitting in a chair out front.  She did turn her head to look at me as I drove by.  She had no reaction.  He did use his left arm that was laying by his side to use his hand to ‘wave at me.’  It was a very sheepish wave.  He had his head down and was reluctantly acknowledging me.  I could see his embarrassment.  I had no reaction.  I just looked at them, and then pulled into my driveway and started to unload my car that was full of shopping.

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Bully’s

Joe Kee… from Sevierville, Tennessee taught me the psychology of Bully’s many years ago when I moved from Roanoke, Virginia to Sevierville, Tennessee in the 70’s.  I have even written about him in my past blog posts.  Joe Kee… sat next to me in homeroom for 3 years from 9th. – 11th. grade at Sevier County High School.  Joe was a bully.  But interestingly enough, whenever his entourage wasn’t around, he was quite nice to me.  I know that I would brace myself for the usual insults that I would receive most every morning from him.  But on those days where his friends weren’t around, nothing.  He taught me that bully’s are truly cowards.  Joe was nothing without his backup.  Just like my neighbor next door.  He is nothing without the cover of darkness.  I stared him down.  I’m not afraid of a chickenshit.  And that chickenshit, waved at me when I drove by.  Why?  Because he was exposed out in the sunlight where he couldn’t hide.  I’ve never seen such a sheepish wave in my life.  He’s scared of me.  Good!  🙂

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March 22, 2025

Buying Fence Material to Extend our Fence

Gordon came home from abroad and was here for a few weeks.  But months prior, we had decided that we wanted to extend our fence to the end of our house so as to protect me from our hot heated neighbor.  We were coming up with ways to protect me and our property from him.  By extending our fence, that would prevent him from throwing things against our house.  It would also prevent him from tampering with our property.

Gordon created a nice power point of how we wanted to extend our fence, and sent it along with the photographic evidence of the damage of our outside boxes, and a document of the abuse I was having to endure from our neighbors, to our HOA, (Home Owner’s Association.)  They then granted us the permission we needed to extend our fence.

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This is one of the presentations Gordon created for our HOA.

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Gordon Buying The Materials For Our Fence

Gordon had put up our existing fence on our property so this was no big deal for him to do the extension.

Gordon purchased our fence material from Home Depot and rented a truck from them as well in order to get the materials here to our home.

The Truck, and our Fence Material

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Bringing Everything Around To Our Backyard

(I wanted to add that Gordon can only come home for a certain amount of time each year from his working overseas.  It was quite sad that he had to spend a part of our time together extending our fence, because of our hot-headed neighbor’s abuse towards me.)

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Erecting Our Fence Extension

Gordon, along with our son-in-law Brian put up the fence extension.  We waited until Brian had a day off.  I kept Isabelle inside, while the guys erected the fence outside.  They did it all in one day!  And it is professional as hell!  As always!

This is the Space Between our House and our Neighbor’s

Most of the Property is Ours

Gordon and Brian Erecting the Fence

(With Isabelle visiting her Daddy.)  🙂

Above left, you can see that large bush that is our neighbor’s.  With our fence up, they only have about 1 foot of space between that bush and our fence.  🙂

Coming Together Nicely!

Me, Entering This Extra Privacy Space We Never Had Before

(I could sunbathe out here!)  🙂

The fence extension is up.  Gates locked.  Area contained.

I will be posting a photo of the finished results soon.

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April 3, 2025

What This Abuse From Our Neighbor Has Done To Me

Abuse always has a way of affecting us negatively.  There are many kinds of abuse.  I am only here to dictate what this abuse has done to me, and how it has affected me. 

I get up very early in the morning on those days that I keep my Granddaughter Isabelle.  On the days my daughter drops her off, I get up at 4:00 a.m..  On the days my son-in-law drops her off, I get up at 4:30 a.m.. 

Because of the abuse that I was having to endure from my neighbor I had moved most of my toiletries into our guest bathroom in the middle of the house so that I didn’t have to have that ball thrown at me when I was in mine and Gordon’s bathroom.  Also, I just didn’t feel safe and secure using our bathroom.  I didn’t feel safe in my own home.  The guest bathroom offered me more of a private sanctuary than I had using our own bathroom.  But, the thing is, I would shower at 4:00 or 4:30 a.m., with the lights off in the bathroom.  I didn’t feel comfortable turning the lights on and letting him know that I was in there.  So, I would get up, turn on the bathroom lights in our bathroom, and then shower in the guest bathroom with the lights off, hoping that he would then turn his attention towards the main bathroom, so that I could shower in peace in the guest bathroom.

Seems like a lot of trouble to go through in your own home just to have some peace.  Yet, that is my story.

Showering in another bathroom, in the dark…  Wow.  You would think you should be safe from abuse in your own home, wouldn’t you?

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I have more to tell you but it will have to wait.

Julie

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April 4, 2025

Our New Fence

For Every Action, There Is A Reaction

Here is a photo of our extended fence.  I took the photo today.  The fence is there to protect me and our house from anything our neighbor may decide to do.  The gates are locked.  If he does decide to throw something at the house, it just might get trapped inside the fence.  He would then have to hop over it to retrieve the item. 

That is when……

he Would Be Recorded on Camera… and the police would be called in.   🙂

That’s Right!  We have updated our security on our property.

(I should do something with that area.  Perhaps turn it into some sort of private garden, or a Julie Sanctuary.)

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His Action, Our Reaction

It was a few years ago when I was outside in our backyard, and our neighbors were outside in theirs, when I heard her say to her husband, ‘You know what C_____, sometimes you can be a real bastard.’

See, she knows who she is married to.

You know, we never would have even thought to extend our fence, or even go to the trouble of installing some high tech security system.  This is our Reaction, to his Actions. 

When you look at the space between our homes most of it is ours.  Our property.  Now all they have to look at is our fence on that side of their house.  It’s not our fault.  It’s his.  He is actually his own worst enemy.  Do they know that we extended our fence because of what he was doing to me?  I don’t know if they are capable of realizing that?  And if they are, does he regret what all he did to me?  Probably not.  His kind only regrets getting caught.  They never regret what they do.

Feeling Better,

Julie

p.s.  Is this now over?  That depends on our neighbors.  But, things are more secure here than they were.  🙂

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(Update:  October, 2025)

The Money We Have Spent To Protect Us and Our Property

(Always save your receipts.  You not only document the abuse, but you also document the cost you are spending to protect yourself from the abuser/s.)

I decided not to publicly post all of the costs we have spent so far.  You have to have some surprises in store.  🙂

I will say that you not only document the costs of things spent, you also document the milage on your car used in buying the materials you need.  Also include ‘Wear and Tear’ of the vehicle.  And don’t forget to include gas money.  Also, your time is worth something.  An example, back in March, 2025 Gordon had to take time out from his vacation here to erect that fence, etc.  

And lastly, always include your ‘Pain and Suffering.’

(I’ve recently come to find out that there were other neighbors that knew what was happening to me.  They even supported it.  I’ll write more about them below.)

KEEP THIS INFORMATION FOR YEARS TO COME!

Keep it in a very safe place.

The abuse may end for awhile, but when you are dealing with a Hot-Headed Narcissist, they don’t change.  They always come back at some point.  Remember that.

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April 5, 2025

Update on P. G. My Cyber-Stalker

Recently, Gordon and I came across a person who used to work for Microsoft.  We then mentioned our cyber-stalker who started out with Microsoft and all that he has done to us since.  This person then asked us what his name was?  We then told this person.  This person then looked downward in surprise, but then looked up at us and said, ‘I know him.’ 

This person left Microsoft in 2015, but said P. still worked there.  We figured as much.  When we would try and look P. up online we were always given bogus info on him.  Places of employment that he never worked at.  P. has been erasing himself from the web for years now.  But, he can’t erase former co-workers.  This former co-worker now knows all that P. has done to us.  This person also added that if P. is doing all that to us, he is most likely doing it to other people as well, and even stealing money.

I’ll leave it all right there.

Julie

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April 6, 2025

Adding A Little More Privacy

Gordon Putting Up More Bamboo Blinds on our Lanai

This side of our lanai is next to our neighbors and I wanted just a bit more security and privacy so Gordon hung these up along with one section.  I had him do both sides of this section to make it a bit more private.  We already had the blinds in our garage so the only cost here were on the hardware and some line to secure them in place.

In these photos everything is still covered up from winter.  Now it’s all been cleaned and spruced up for Spring.  I also like that I have a bit more privacy.

One More Privacy Project Coming….

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April 11, 2025

Still Not Comfortable Using My Own Bathroom

Even though we have done things to try and protect me from my neighbors I still don’t feel comfortable using my own master bathroom.  This is what abuse does to you.  It changes you.  It limits you.  It prohibits you from being the person you should be.  And sometimes it is very hard to overcome. I’m sure that I will eventually get back into my own master bathroom.  But, until then, I am using the guest bathroom because it offers me more safety and security and peace of mind.

Julie

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May 29, 2025

An Update Of My Nasty Neighbors

Through my cameras I can see my neighborhood, and my neighbors.  I’m really not one to spy.  Honestly!  I never really cared about those kinds of  things.  Those were the kinds of things my friends cared about.  ‘Hey Julie, come look at this!’  My friends always thought I was weird because I wasn’t as nosy as they were.

At first it was kind of fun and interesting to see my neighbors on the camera to come and go, walking their dogs in front of our house, etc.  I love seeing when a package arrives!  I have this big T.V. monitor that Gordon bought me so that I could keep track of everything.  It is to the left of me.  He is worried about me and wanted me to have some protection while he is away.  Our own home security system.  Sometimes it can be distracting with lots of activity that will catch my attention while I am online and cause me to look at the monitor.  Most of the time it’s pretty boring.  People setting out their trash cans, driving in and out of their driveways, etc.  .  I’ve even caught my neighbors across the street from me placing their trash bags into my can most every week under the cover of darkness because their can is full.  I find that funny.  If I were a man I doubt they would.  But, seeing as how I am a woman living alone they take advantage of that.  

However, it’s whenever I see my next door neighbors on the monitor, you know, the ones that have harassed me for so long, to have the audacity to walk by my house with their Labrador, that it just makes me sick to my stomach.  How dare they walk by my house as if they haven’t a care in the world after all that they have done to me?  That is the kind of people that they are.   The self-righteousness, the white privilege, the republicanism.  (It’s quite glaring actually.)

I still don’t use my bedroom and bathroom because of their harassment.  While Gordon is gone I sleep on the couch and use the guest bathroom.  They have literally chased me from an entire wing of our house.  I need my sleep.  I need my peace.  I am my Grand-Daughter’s main caregiver.  She needs a rested Tutu.  She needs a Tutu that is at peace in order to care for her.  I do my best.  But, I do long for the day my next door neighbors move away.

Julie

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October, 2025

Gordon Home For A Few Weeks

Installing More Blinds

We ordered these custom blinds earlier in the year when Gordon was here, but they didn’t arrive in time before he left to go back overseas. 

So he is just now able to install them.  

I wanted more privacy and security here because I do want to spend more time outside, especially now that our granddaughter is getting older, and the weather is becoming more cool, but I really don’t want to see their house, they make me very uncomfortable.  But now, I feel better.

I’d Like To Fix This Area Up Nicely, Make It A Bit Cozy

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Installing More Outside Cameras

Gordon, Ready to Crawl Through The Attic To Install The Cameras

We thought it would be a good idea to install more cameras.  Gordon and our son-in-law Brian recently installed them.  Our system has the capacity to house even more than we have so far.  Not just because of our neighbors, but because of what is to come in our country.  With our current political climate more people are loosing their jobs and being made to be poor.  Programs that used to assist them are being terminated.  They will be hungry.  Their children will be hungry.  No parent wants to see their children starve.  Crime will go up.  Why do you think so many of our current administrations cabinet have all moved onto military bases?  They know what’s coming.  And, they will be protected, but it will be up to us to protect ourselves.  I’ll leave it there for now.

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As For Our Hot-Headed Narcissist Neighbor, and His Codependent Supply Spouse….

..at Casa Del Labrador

There is no cure for a hot-headed narcissist, so therefore he will always be a hot-headed narcissist.  Men like him tend to go through life with run-in’s with the law.  And, it is usually ‘Life or the Law’ that brings them down in the end.  He will always need his ‘supply’ to support him and enable him.  Yet, Narcissists don’t seek validation from them.  (He sought it from other neighbors, I’ll get to them soon.)

Let Me Tell You What We Could Have Done, And Still Can, If Necessary

We could have called in the Police, Pressed Charges, taken out a Restraining Order against him, and he would have had to move out of his own house while we fight this out in court.

It is still an option.  We have what we need to do so.  However, I don’t believe in separating families.  Although if this continues I think I can get used to the idea pretty quickly.

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As for the Other Neighbors in our Hood that knew what the Narcissist was doing… 

(Be Our Guest)

Supporting him, enabling him, encouraging him, and even having a good laugh at my expense, well,

I’m really not surprised that this particular family was involved, both families are from the same kind of ilk, but it is disappointing.  I mean, at some point you either grow up, or you don’t.

Who thinks it’s funny to harass and abuse an old woman who most of the time throughout the year is alone, and who has never done anything to either family?  Only warped minds do.

No one I would ever want to know.

The narcissist next door has showed me exactly what kind of person he is.  But, he didn’t just show me, he showed the other neighbors that knew what he was doing, and they are o.k. with it.  One particular trait they both have in common is that they are sneaky people.  You can’t trust sneaky people.  They are sneaky for a reason.  

When you align yourself with someone that can do terrible things to people you don’t like, they can also do terrible things to you.  And that is exactly where we are right now in our own country.  Again, I’ll just leave it there.

I guess the BALL is in the Narcissist’s Court right now.  We’ll see what he does with it?

Julie

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January 30, 2026

Intimidation Tactics

You know, I wasn’t going to write anymore on any of this, unless it turned out to be really relevant, (I do have things documented elsewhere in more detail just in case), but I do believe that I should be writing about this and getting this all down on “paper,” so to speak for my readers.

Intimidation Tactics are a Form of Abuse

I not only do this for me and my records, I also do this for you so that you will understand and I hope that this will help my reader’s that are having to undergo forms of abuse from their neighbors on exactly why they do the things they do?  And know this, it is never about you.  It is always about them.  After all, we do what we do because it is in us to do it.  Period!

Even When You Don’t Bother People, It Bothers People

I do write about neighbors above that knew of the abuse from my nasty next door neighbors.  They were in on it actually.  I really hadn’t planned on talking about them anymore, but I believe that I should, you see he is a psychologist.  Funny, huh?  A “professional” who should know better.  I do wonder what kind of advice he must give his patients?  (If he even has any.) 

I can only imagine….  ‘Oh, if that person annoys you, then you should use your automobile to shine your bright lights into their house to annoy them.  Or better yet, throw things against their house at 4:00 in the morning just to scare the old woman, maybe you’ll get lucky and she’ll have a heart attack.  Yes!  Intimidation tactics work well on women who live alone.  Or better yet, park your vehicles so that they face her house, using a ‘show of force’ to let that bitch know who’s boss!’  Yeah.

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It was Tuesday morning when I was placing my mail into my mailbox that the neighbor I write about above, was taking his children to school.  I avoided looking at him.  I have nothing to say, or any reason to acknowledge that family.  When he returned home he backed his big red truck into his driveway, literally taking up the entire space.  No other car could have parked on either side of him.  I thought that was funny seeing as how he had nothing to unload in the back.  Instead of seeing a big bad red truck with a big man driving it, I saw a Puffer Fish.

(Oh, and know this, people that drive red vehicles are more likely to get traffic tickets.  He should know.  I looked him up, and he had to pay big traffic court costs in his past.  Yeah.  Actually, I discovered in my research that white men in his income bracket and political affiliation tend to rack up big court costs from traffic violations.  It makes sense really, they don’t like to follow rules and laws, but they expect everyone else to.  In other words Freud was right, it really does all boil down to THAT.)

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Inflating One’s Self

The Puffer Fish are small, and they puff themselves up to appear larger than they really are in order to scare others.  This is generally something that men tend to do more so than women.

My response:  ‘Look at the cute little puffer fish!  Aren’t you so cute!  Yes, you are a big, bad, boy!  Oh, I’m so scared!’  🙂

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Yeah…

He may be a psychologist, but I know psychology.

I’m sure there had to be a class on ‘The Smartest Person In The Room?’  The Axel Foley Affect?  No?

Well… that explains a lot.

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To Continue…

On Thursday I drove into the Air Force Base to do some much needed shopping.  I hadn’t been there in awhile.  I was getting low on all my supplies.  When I do go into Tampa I tend to stock up on everything.  Especially bulky items.  Shopping on the base is much cheaper than the local grocery stores.  

Thursday’s Shopping

I left the house around 10:00 a.m. and I got home around 3:30 p.m.  As I was unloading my full car, (as you can see), my neighbor was leaving to go and pick up his children from school.  When he got back, I was still unloading my full car.  As he was pulling into his driveway I was placing a few bags inside my garage.  When I walked out of the garage to unload some more, all I saw was a FLASH!  A blur!!  I saw what looked like a flowered blouse dash into his garage.  It wasn’t a cool Aloha Hawaiian Shirt, it looked more like he had raided his mother’s closet and chose an old Laura Ashely blouse to go with his baggy shorts and flip flops.  He was in his garage before his children even exited the truck.  What I saw was a chickenshit running inside his house to get away, to hide.  I did learn something that day.  They haven’t told their children about any of this because otherwise his children would have been a bit awkward.  They weren’t.  They were just being normal teens.  

I do know that when we were being harassed by Leisa, John and Ed, the Gray Haired Bullies in our neighborhood, because we were Obama supporters, that I did tell our children about it so that they would be aware and alert, as in looking out for nails in the driveway, etc.  (I wrote about The Gray Haired Bullies years ago.  They are all dead now.  But my blog exposed their harassment of us, just like this blog is exposing this harassment from these people.)  

The more they give me something to write about, the more I will!

Julie

P.S.  I would wait for them to grow up but I don’t have that kind of time!

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One thing I have learned from all of this is that I need to be more aware of what goes on in my neighborhood.  Prior to this abuse and harassment, and before we put up cameras, I never really cared about what went on outside my front door.  Oh, there were times when I saw a car parked out front that I would look out the window to see who it was?  Especially if it was at night.  After all, I have had a cyber-stalker for over 30 years.  He has hired people in the past to photograph me, our cars, and our house.   Also, seeing as how I do live alone I feel more of a need to be aware of my surroundings.  Gordon is still working overseas, he will be home soon and we have a lot planned while he will be here.  He is looking into coming back permanently.  He is living and working in a danger zone after all.  And I do fill him in on the neighbors, and the neighborhood so that he is aware of it all.

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Just Some More Observations….

I have noticed throughout my community that I live in that there are ‘For Sale’ signs that have been up for quite a while.  I can remember when houses like that were snatched up quickly.

My nasty neighbors next door to me have had what looks like a giant panty shield wrapped around their chimney for about 5-6 months now.  I got a letter in the mail from their “roofers” dated October 24, 2025, informing me that their roof would be going up in a few weeks.  That was months ago.  Looks to me like they don’t have the money to get it fixed.  You know, I could complain to the HOA who could then force them into getting it fixed, or fine them until they do?  After all, I asked for a backyard studio and they nixed that because they said the neighbors may not like looking at it from their homes.  Well, do you think I enjoy looking at a giant panty shield wrapped around their chimney?  See, I can actually do more to these people then just write about them…  🙂

I have also noticed that a particular woman in the neighborhood has gone back to work full time.  Guess they must need the money?  That is why you go back to work, isn’t it?  What?  Is the current Administration’s economy not working for them anymore?  Well, you deserve and get what you vote for.  But sadly, so do the rest of us that knew better, voted better, etc.  we also will be getting exactly what they deserve.

When you vote for the political party that does for the lowest in our society, then everyone above that line will be o.k.  However, when you vote for the party that does only for the wealthy?  Then no one below that line will be o.k.   Hence, where we are today.

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You know, I really do hope that this will be my last blog entry on this page. 

But it really isn’t up to me, now is it?

Julie

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February 10, 2026

Just An Update:

Looks like the nasty neighbors next door are finally getting a new roof.

Good, because I’m tired of staring at that Panty Shield from our bedroom window.

 

Guess they finally came up with the money.

Julie

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February 14, 2026

P.S.  It’s a Cheap Roof

The nasty neighbors new roof is up.  Cheap materials were used, (paper, not laminate.)  Which is originally why they have had a bad roof all along.

It was back in 2011 when this couple who used to live across the street from us, but now reside in Texas, got several neighbors in our neighborhood to all go into getting new roofs together.  It was going to make it much cheaper for all, with Michael and Judy’s roof being either free or at a huge discount.  (Right wingers are very good at networking.  This is yet another example of that.)

We were asked if we wanted to go into it, but we said no.  It just didn’t feel right.  Good thing that we didn’t because every single family in our neighborhood that did that, got really shoddy, cheap roofs.  Of course Judy and Michael quickly sold their house and moved away before the true damage was revealed.   Every single neighbor that went in on that con have always had problems with their roofs, even shortly after they were installed, either to have them redone, or patched here and there.

The nasty neighbors new, ugly roof will probably last a good 7 years if they are lucky?  Perhaps they went the cheap root because they will be selling their house and moving soon?  🙂

One can hope!

However, realistically, worse can always move in.  But there is just something about that house that attracts the worst kind of human beings.  We have been here for 3 families that have lived in it.  None of them were ever worth knowing.

Julie

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May 14, 2026

Hoping This Will Be My Last Post Here

I think I will be taking down this website page from the Homepage.

Oh, it will still be on my website, just perhaps not on the front page.  You can still access it by saving the link into your Favorites, or using the Search button on my website.  I would much rather be blogging about recipes and gardening than a neighborhood asshole.

Some Advice As I Move On

First of all, moving on isn’t as easy as it seems like it would be.  I do sleep in the master bedroom now, only because my husband is back home from working overseas and I feel a little bit safer.  But, I still will not use our master bathroom.  I shower and do my skincare in the guest bathroom where I feel more comfortable.  I do blow dry my hair in the mornings in our main bathroom, but I am dressed and I don’t feel as vulnerable.  And I do my hair and make up in our master bathroom, but only when it is light outside.  I will not use the toilet in the master bathroom because I just don’t feel safe and comfortable whether it be day or night.  If I have to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I walk all the way to the guest bathroom.  A long way to walk, but that is what abuse does to you.  It changes you.  This is why people are awarded money for pain and suffering.

Turn Your Log Over To The Police

Everything that you have been recording whether it be your typed or written log documenting the harassment and abuse, or the video/audio evidence that you have collected, or the photographic evidence you have collected, can be turned over to the police.  Make 3 copies of everything!  Keep one for yourself in a very safe place, give one to someone you trust for them to keep in a very safe place for you, and give the police the 3rd. copy of everything. 

You don’t have to file charges against the person that is harassing you, you are turning over your documentation that will be kept in your record for any future problems that may emerge with that person.  In which case, all you have to do is alert the police that you are filing charges, and then you go from there.  They already have your documentation on file.

If you are someone who retains an attorney on a regular basis, then make sure the attorney has everything, along with all of your receipts.  Also, document how this abuse has affected your life and relationships.  Have family members to add to the documentation as well.  Everything you can contribute will help your case.

Most likely my hot-headed neighbor will be getting into more trouble in the future.  Perhaps not with us, but with other people.  That is who he is.  If he can do this to me, a woman in her 60’s that he thought was all alone, then imagine what else he can do to other people or animals? 

Cowards prey on the most vulnerable.  Which reminds me of that hot-head from Washington State that threw that big rock at Lani, the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal in Maui.  There are only about 1600 of them left.  The Hawaiian people were rightly upset about it.  As we would be here in Florida if that hot-head had thrown some big rock at one of our Manatees.  It’s white privilege that motivates these kinds of people into doing such terrible things to other human beings and/or animals.

Karma Catches Up To Us ALL!

If you are in a situation where it looks like your abuser is getting away with it, I assure that you he isn’t.

My definition of Karma is something we do to ourselves.  I don’t believe it is some punishment from above, I believe it is life catching up to us.  If we keep doing ‘that thing’ that we are not supposed to do eventually ‘that thing’ will be our undoing.  The thing is that most people don’t stop doing ‘that thing’ unless they are made to.  And, they eventually get caught in ‘that thing’ because they never stop doing ‘that thing.’  Why don’t they stop?  Because they keep getting away with it so they figure they always will get away with it.  Let’s ask Bill Cosby about Karma.  Or O.J. Simpson, just to name a few.

I’ll give you an example. 

If someone shoplifts every day for 5 years and gets away with it, if they don’t stop then eventually they will get caught.  Either technology will catch up to them, security cameras will see them, or they will be witnessed by someone, or someone taking selfie’s might capture their stealing in the photograph on their phones.

But, if that person stops right now, they will most likely get away with everything they have stolen thus far.  However, that’s not how most humans react.  That’s not how most humans think.  They keep stealing because they’ve gotten away with it so far.  They also get sloppy.  Their arrogance gives them this sense of superiority, that is when they get caught.

You don’t have to take any revenge, they end up destroying themselves in the end.  Just let them do their thing and collect the evidence while they do it.  🙂

 

The End,

Julie

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One More Thing:

It has been updated that the Hawaiian Monk Seal that was hit by that horrible Washington State man when he threw that huge rock, was not Lani.  NOAA has determined that it was a male Monk Seal that he hit.  I just wanted to clarify that.  I also wanted to state that the man is being charged with Harassment.  That is one of the charges.

I don’t think that most men understand what harassment is?  How is my nasty neighbor throwing things at my house doesn’t understand that is harassment?  Just like the man from Washington State.  Perhaps men should attend classes on being respectful?  It would also benefit them.  Otherwise they will just end up in prison eventually for their actions and behaviors.

 

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July 27, 2026

I Brought Back My:

What It’s Like To Be Cyber-Stalked

I also did an update on the website page.  I took it down for personal reasons but I decided to bring it back.  I will also be slowly bringing back my many other personal blog pages.  I took them down because of the climate in our country that we are living through right now.   Intelligence is the enemy in our country right now, where ignorance is thriving.

Julie

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September 23, 2026

I did another update to my:

What It’s Like To Be Cyber-Stalked

If you care to read it click on the link above.

Julie

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September 23, 2026

My Neighborhood STING Operation

(They will never know how close they came.)  🙂

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Under the Florida Litter Law Statute 403.413:

It is illegal to Throw, Place, or Deposit Trash into Someone Else’s Dumpster or Garbage Can Without Their Permission.

That action is Prosecuted as Littering and Trespassing.

Any violator can be sentenced to 1 Year In Prison, and a $1,000.00 fine.  That is Per Violation!

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Our neighbors across the street have been using our trash can, and recycling can as his personal property for years now.  I have 6 months of video saved up on our cameras of him sneaking over to our property very early in the morning while it’s dark, and placing 1 or 2 bags at a time in our containers.  He has NEVER asked for my/our permission.

He has always been a very sneaky man as it is.  I finally started saving the videos of him.  What really gets me is that he believes that our property is his to do with as he pleases.  I don’t view my neighbors in that way, nor have I ever!  Once again, white privilege at it’s best!  Oh, and for the record, we too are white.  People think our last name is either Asian or Mexican, it’s actually Welsh.  Yes, European, as in Prince of Wales, ya know?

We may be white but we do not carry the arrogance that so many other white people have here in our country, especially towards minorities, or people they don’t like.

Our cameras do have the goods on the man across the street, but I also started photographing their trash can when when they set it out with my camera.  (Once a photographer, always a photographer.)  It is usually overflowing, which is why he would bring their overage to our cans, but that is not our problem.  They are a very large family and generate a lot of waste.  Again, that is not our problem!

When Gordon was working overseas the man across the street would literally view our trash and recycling containers as HIS!  In some cases my trash wasn’t picked up because of some utility vehicle blocking it so the garbage collectors couldn’t get to it.  That is when I would have to drag my trash back to the backyard as it is heavy as hell because of the extra bags put in it by my neighbors.  I then didn’t have room to place new bags of my own trash in my container for the next pick up, because it was so full from those extra bags from them.  One time earlier this year I placed some trash into it after they had dumped their rubbish into my can and there was this taffy candy all in it.  You know, those Starburst taffy’s?  I figured it must be their old Halloween candy that they threw in there last minute.  That would be when my trash wasn’t picked up for some reason that day, and I had that stuff melting in my container for the next few days that I had to then clean out.  

When we had Safelight to replace my car windshield a few months ago because of a large crack in it, the repairman was here and had placed his equipment draped over the top of our trashcan while he attempted to align the new window and to calibrate it.  He happened to come to fix my windshield on “Garbage Day.”  That is when the neighbor across the street had the audacity to walk over to our property and lift up the lid to look into our trash can while that expensive equipment was draped over top.  Who Does That!!!!???

I asked my husband why he didn’t say anything to him, and he said that it was because he was so surprised by that behavior that he didn’t know what to do?  You know, we should be used to this kind of behavior from our neighbors by now, but yet they still manage to surprise us.  We have just never known such selfish people before.

If we do find any of their trash in our containers from now on the first thing we will do is to weigh it.  The heavier, the more prison time, and then document and photograph it.  We may even open it up and look in it.  Anything personal I will photograph and put online.  Most likely in my Instagram account as well as my website.  After all, if they are dumping it on our property we will then have a right to it.  Another reason I don’t want anyone placing their trash or recycling in our cans is because for all we know it could be a dead animal or something illegal.  Luckily we do have our cameras to record the incidents to help protect us.

I do have to admit that I have been hesitant to call the police and file charges, but sometimes that is what you have to do.  I haven’t noticed him dumping his crap into our cans in a while now, but who is to say he won’t start that back up?  Which is why gathering evidence is so crucial.  All I have to do is to hand over a thumb drive of him to the police and let the law take it from there.

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typing with Julie in 1965, (I mean Blogging with Julie in 2025)  Dear Diary…

Typing with Julie in 1965, (I mean Blogging with Julie in 2025) Dear Diary…

        Dear Dairy… Olive Films (I just liked the logo.) Today I rearranged the cans in the pantry and dusted them off while wearing my new full skirt I sewed last week for the church picnic, and the pearls that my husband …

Isabelle’s Beauty and the Beast

Isabelle’s Beauty and the Beast

        UNDER CONSTRUCTION                             ———————————————————————— RECIPES START HERE ————————————————————————————— UNDER CONSTRUCTION                    ———————————————————————————–                

Southern Fried Shortcut

Southern Fried Shortcut

 

 

 

 

Hey Y’all!

Every now and then I need to go back home.  Oh, not literally. 

But with my Tongue Feelers.  You know, Taste Buds?

Growing up throughout the south you get a hankering for something Deep Fried, Black-eyed, Field Picked, and Green.

And all the other fun stuff in between.

That is what I want to put here.  I do hope to fill this page with some of my Old Southern Favorites that I miss so much.  So, come on in and sit a spell while I whip us up some good ol’ home cooking.

Holler if ya need me!

Julie

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Southern Wild Rice with Pecans and Dried Cherries

Don’t Forget The Hot Sauce

Chicken Gizzard Po’ Girls, Corn on the Cob, Catfish, and a Leftover Bowl of Brunswick Stew

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The Star Food on this Table is the Southern Wild Rice

Sometimes It’s The Sides That Shine

(Recipe Down Below)

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Julie’s Corn Pepper Muffins

With a Side of Lightening Bugs  🙂

(My recreation anyway.)

(Recipe Down Below)

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My Pepper Butter

Before Left, and Buttered, Right!

With Tabasco

(Recipe Down Below)

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If You Would Like To Check Out My Brunswick Stew:

Click Here For:  Brunswick Stew and Barbeque

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Southern Fried Recipes Start Right Here

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Southern Wild Rice with Pecans and Dried Cherries

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Wild Rice

2 Cups Water

2 1/4 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 T. Margarine or Butter

3/4 – 1 Cup Toasted Pecans

4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed

1 1/4 Cup Dried Cherries

3 T. Spicy Chili Onion Crisp

Table Salt and Pepper to Taste (This is the South after all, nothing fancy here.)

And, as much Fresh Parsley as you want.

——————————————————————————–

Gathering All My Utensils and Ingredients

You First Want To Rinse The Wild Rice Thoroughly, Then Allow To Drain

Place The Rice Into A Wok, or Large Sauce Pan, Add the Water, Vegetable Broth, and Butter.

Bring to a Boil over a Medium-High Heat.

When It Comes To A Boil, Turn Heat Down To Simmer

Cover, and Allow To Simmer for about 20-25 Minutes.

When the rice has absorbed all the water, keep it on a very low heat.

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Time To Crush The Garlic Cloves

Now, Add Them To The Rice

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The Pecans

Place the Pecans into a Skillet, and Toast them on a Medium Heat until a bit Browned, but not Burned.

The Pecans and the Rice

Time To Add Some Table Salt and Pepper to the Rice

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I Toasted The Pecans in my Cast Iron Skillet, Now I am Adding the Rice Overtop

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Time To Add The Dried Cherries, As Many As You Like

Now For The Spicy Chili Onion Crisp

Add As Much As You Like Per Your Personal Tastes

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Now It’s Time To Add The Fresh Parsley

And the Pepper Sauce (Hot Sauce)

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Beautiful Corn

I didn’t want anything fancy here.  Just some delicious Corn on the Cob as a nice addition to this meal.

Just boil some water and add the corn.  Cook on a medium-high heat until the cob is a bit tender.  You can follow package instructions.

When Done, Remove From the Water, Pat Dry, Add Corn Holders and some Butter!

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Chicken Gizzard Po’Girls

In the south we do so love the Chicken Gizzards.  You will even find them around the Salad Bars at some local restaurants.  I had been craving my old Chicken Gizzards, that’s when I decided to make this sandwich.  I really didn’t want to do any pickin’ or fryin’, so I visited a local restaurant that did all of that for me.  I knew it was a good place to eat given the amount of African-Americans in the restaurant.  They know Southern food!

My additions, are what goes into the Po’Girls.

Here We Go!

Ingredients:

You Will Need Some Sort of Hoagie Buns

Slaw, Raw or with the Fixin’s (Meaning, you can add Coleslaw plain, or with the dressing.)

Honey Dijon Dressing (Or any that you like to add over the top of the Po’Girl.)

Sliced Jalapeno Peppers

Chopped Pepper Salad

Fresh Chives, Snipped

Fresh Parsley, Over top

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Creating The Po’Girls With the Catfish on the Side

(The Catfish I also purchased at a local Southern restaurant here.)

Use a Bread Knife to Cut Out the Top of the Hoagie Buns

Now, Fill the Hoagie Buns with the Pepper Salad, and Raw Coleslaw

Then Add Your Chicken Gizzards, Chives, Jalapeno’s, and Dressing.

Top With Fresh Parsley

Look How Beautiful!  And Delicious!

Git Ta Eatin!

DIG IN!

Julie Barefoot

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My Corn Pepper Muffins

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Ingredients:

Peppers!

I Used Jalapeno, Poblano, and Chilaca, use as Many as you Like

Making Corn Bread

Half of the ingredients that you see above are listed on the container of Corn Meal. 

I am using that recipe to make my Cornbread, I’m just adding the additions that will make it my Corn Pepper Muffins.

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My Additions:

(The Peppers, Cleaned, Seeds Removed, and Cut into Short Strips)

Shallots, Chopped

1 Can of Mexicorn, Drained

Spices:

Tabasco Spicy Salt Blend

Onion Powder

Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning

Cayenne Pepper

Chili Powder

Jalapeno Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

(The amounts really are up to you.  I used about a 1/2 t. of each.)

————————————————————————————————–

I Used Crisco To Grease My Large Muffin Tins

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Chopped All My Shallots Whether I Used All of Them or Not

(I will need them in the next recipe.)

———————————————————————————-

The Peppers

Slice each pepper, remove the seeds, rinse them out…

Like so…

Then you want to slice them into short strips.

———————————————————————————

Making My Cornbread According to Package Directions.

————————————————————————————–

My Secret Ingredients:

Tabasco Spicy Salt, and Jalapeno Sea Salt

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Combining My Cornbread Ingredients:

The Dry Ingredients

The Wet Ingredients

Beating My Eggs

Adding Vegetable Oil…

Adding My Spices to the Cornbread Batter

Adding a Handful of my Shallots

Mix Together

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All My Beautiful Peppers

—————————————————————————————-

Time For The Assembly

Turn Your Oven on 400F

I placed a few of my Peppers into the bottom of the large muffin tin.

  I then added some of the Cornbread batter over them.

I then added more peppers over the top and pushed them down with my fingers to make sure they were covered with the batter.  Although I wanted many of the peppers to be on the top.

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Into The Oven They Go!

These Actually Took Around 20 Minutes To Bake

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Fresh Out of the Oven and Cooling on the Racks

(You can insert a toothpick to make sure they are done.  If the toothpick comes out clean, they are ready.)

I Love How They Look!  It Is Exactly How I Envisioned!

————————————————————————-

Out of the Tins and Cooling Further

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Add a Few Squirts of Tabasco  🙂

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Leftover Peppers for my Pepper Butter

———————————————————————————-

The Potatoes Here Are Some of What My Butter Will Go On

(I just need to bake them.)

————————————————————————

My Pepper Butter

Ingredients:

3, 8 oz. Unsalted Butter

My Leftover Peppers From the Recipe Above:

Jalapeno, Poblano, and Chilaca

5-6 Fresh Garlic Cloves

Chopped Shallots, About a Handful

Spices:

Tabasco Spicy Salt Blend, (About 30 Shakes)

Onion Powder

Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning

Cayenne Pepper

Chili Powder

Jalapeno Sea Salt

(I used a teaspoon of all of the above spices.)

Fresh Cilantro, a Bunch

—————————————————————————————-

My Unsalted Butter Had Been Softening For About 2 Hours

I Then Cut It Into Cubes and Placed It Into My Blender Here

I Used a Medium Setting on the Blender To Mix The Butter

I Then Added All of My Spices, And Blended More

My Peppers, Shallots, Garlic Cloves, and Cilantro

I Used Most of the Peppers you see Above, but not All.  I did use all of the above Shallots.

———————————————————————————–

Adding My Garlic Cloves and Shallots

Blending Away, While Wiping Down the Sides with a Spatula

Time To Add The Green Stuff

(My Peppers and Cilantro)

—————————————————————————–

Looking so Good!

Decant Into A Bowl

——————————————————————————————

I Even Added Some Butter Into Jars To Freeze For Another Time

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I have to say that this is some of the best butter I have ever eaten!  I kept spreading it onto mini toasts and I had to stop myself from eating it because after all, it is butter!  I didn’t want a heart attack.  🙂  However, eaten in nice portions it is safe.

Baked Sweet Potato, Baked Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, and my Pepper Muffins, Before the Butter

(With a small side of Green Beans)

The Pepper Butter

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With The Butter

The Butter is very Spicy and Addictive, Along with the Tabasco

See Y’all Later!

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Breakfasts

Autumn Breakfasts

    Autumn: The third season of the year, when crops and fruits are gathered and leaves fall in the northern hemisphere from September to November and in the southern hemisphere from March to May. The Countryside is Ablaze in Autumn —————————————————————— In Florida, the …

Our Mexicana Thanksgiving Dishes

Our Mexicana Thanksgiving Dishes

        Feliz Accion De Gracias (Happy Thanksgiving) 2023 Thanksgiving Day, After the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I have Miracle on 34th. Street on a Loop All Day Long This movie is the sounds of the day, blending with the smells of the …

Cornbread, Nuff Said

Cornbread, Nuff Said

 

 

 

 

 

Currently Baking in Grandmother Keith’s Oven

Deliciously Cooling…

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I LOVE Cornbread!

If you were raised in the south, before the internet brought us all together culturally, then you grew up eating Cornbread religiously.  We loved it whether it was right out of the oven, or stale and hard as a rock, and placed into a bowl with some milk to soften it to eat with a spoon.  Either way, it was perfect!

Most of the time we ate it plain, but perfect!

Some southern cooks ended up expanding on the original recipe. 

Here is one of such recipes:

Cornbread with Cottage Cheese and Broccoli and Onions

This recipe is simple.  Just make your cornbread as you always do, or buy a box or bag of Cornbread Mix.  Make according to package directions, except you will be adding about a cup of Cottage Cheese, and as many Broccoli Florets and chopped Onions as you like.  Mix together and add to a Cast Iron Skillet with a “blob” of Crisco in it.  Place into the oven to melt the Crisco.  Then remove and pour your Cornbread mixture into the hot skillet.  Place into a 350F Oven for about 25 minutes.  Follow your own package directions if you aren’t a southern pro with Cornbread.  (You are forgiven.)

Oh, and you might want to place it under the Broil to brown the top if it isn’t already.  🙂

You don’t have to be from the south to make the best Cornbread imaginable.

  Just bake some Cornbread!

Julie

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The Cornbread with our Stewed Tomatoes

This is another great way to eat Cornbread.  Especially when stale. 

Those Tomato Juices will absorb into that Cornbread and flavor it wonderfully!

Fried Ham is Always a Treat with Cornbread

Doesn’t Get Any Better Than THIS!

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Stewed Tomatoes, A Whann Family Tradition

Click on the Link for our Stewed Tomato Recipes

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Featured Are:

Julie’s Mex-Itali Cornbread

For some reason Mexican and Italian tend to go very well with me.  I have created a few recipes starring both country’s foods.  Here is yet another example.

Right Out of The Oven and Cooling with Some Queso Fresco

(Recipe Down Below)

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All In One New Year’s Day Cornbread

It is traditional in the south to eat Cornbread, Black Eyed Peas, and Collard Greens.

I decided to throw it all together and have it be One and Done!

—————————————————————————-

I used a cookie cutter to cut out these great hand held bites.

The Inbetween’s are Delicious as Well

(Recipe Down Below)

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Julie’s Mex-Itali Cornbread

————————————————————–

Some of My Ingredients:

I’m following the Cornbread recipe on my box of Corn Meal, except that I am adding my own garden Peppers, and a can of Shoe Peg Corn, also, some Spicy Italian Sausage and Queso Fresco Cheese.

Spicy Italian Sausage, Sizzling Away

Ready To Make The Cornbread

Peppers From Our Garden

The first thing that I did was to cook the Spicy Italian Sausage, removing most of the fat as it cooked. 

I did reserve some to grease the Cast Iron Skillet for the Cornbread.

You can see some of the Italian Sausage that fell into the skillet.

Chopping Our Backyard Garden Peppers

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Making The Cornbread…

———————————————————————————

The Layering Begins

This is the grease from the Italian Sausage,

then place a shallow layer of the Cornbread mixture,

Then add the Italian Sausage,

a layer of the Shoe Peg Corn, then more of the Cornbread mixture.

I sauteed my Garden Peppers in some Olive Oil,

then placed them on top of the Cornbread mixture, and then tried to cover them with more Cornbread mixture.

I Did Sprinkle Some Chili Powder Over Top

Now, place into the oven according to package directions.

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Cornbread Done, But Needs Browning

When Cornbread is Cooling, add Queso Fresco

Here we are eating it with some Queso stuffed Jalapeno Peppers

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All In One New Year’s Day Cornbread

It is traditional in the south to eat Cornbread, Black Eyed Peas, and Collard Greens on New Year’s Day.

  Black Eyed Peas to bring you LUCK!  Collard Greens to bring you MONEY!  🙂

I decided to throw it all together and have it be One and Done!

—————————————————————————————————–

The Ingredients:

(What you see above are the ingredients that I used to not only make the Cornbread, but to add to the Cornbread.)

You can see the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal Mix in the photo above?  All of those ingredients, minus the cans of peas and greens, are listed on the Corn Meal container.  In other words, all you have to do is to buy the Corn Meal mix and use that as your guide for making your Cornbread.

Or, you can use any Cornbread recipe that you like.  What is going to be unique here are the ingredients I’m adding to the Cornbread.

I’m adding some Black Eyed Peas, Tiny Field Peas w/ Snaps, and a can of Collard Greens.

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Turn your Oven onto the proper setting.  According to the package directions.

Here I am using my Great-Grandmother’s Cast Iron Skillet and some Crisco.  I simply place a blob of Crisco Shortening in it, and I place it in the oven to get hot and melt.

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Drain and Rinse your Black Eyed Peas and Tiny Field Peas in a Colander in the sink, then add them to your Cornbread Batter.

Here I am draining the can of Collard Greens and squeezing them out, then adding them to the Cornbread Batter.

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Stir Together

(Once your Skillet is hot and the Crisco has melted, pour in your Cornbread Batter and place into the Oven for the desired time according to the Corn Meal Mix instructions.)

You can see the “done” results left, I did broil the Cornbread a little in order for it to brown on top, right.

I Then Added Some White Cheddar Cheese to melt,

and, a sprinkling of Paprika.

Completed!

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I used a Biscuit Cookie Cutter to give the Cornbread a different look. 

Also, fits nicely on a dinner plate.

Happy New Year!

Julie

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To View Our Other Cornbread Website Pages:

Click Here For:  Corn Bread, Cast Iron Skillet, Dressing, and Tradition

AND,

Click Here For:  Cast Iron, Corn Bread, Corn Sticks, Southern Cooking and Frying

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Middle Eastern Our Way

Middle Eastern Our Way

        Welcome to Middle Eastern Our Way (A.K.A. MEOW)  It’ll Catch On.  🙂 We are Gordon and Julie, and we love food of all kinds from all nations.  Arabic Coffee Beans Gordon has traveled to many Middle Eastern countries during his time …

Thanksgiving Lite, and Leftovers

Thanksgiving Lite, and Leftovers

              Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving!  (2022) Just in Time to Watch The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Oh Look!  It’s The Tarpon Springs High School Marching Band From Tarpon Springs, Florida They closed the parade!  Actually, they performed right …

Autumn Lunches

Autumn Lunches

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn

Me, Rome, Georgia, mid 1960’s playing in the leaves. 

(Love the cars.)  🙂

When I think of Autumn I always first think of leaves. 

The Fall colors of the trees as the leaves fall off of them, and crunch underneath my footsteps as I walk or run through the yard stepping on them.  The photos above of me at my Grandparents house, rolling around in the leaves and sitting in a pile of them, is vintage Julie.  A pile of leaves to me was a playground.

Autumn also represents to me the colors of Burgundy, Golds, Greens…

Cooler Weather, Sweaters, and my favorite holiday, Halloween!

Autumn also is to me eating foods that make my tummy warm and cozy. 

Taking a bite out of something warm and the feeling of it as it goes down my throat.

Autumn to me is also heavy foods, such as Thanksgiving, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  Autumn foods can be nice and light, as in something you can easily eat for lunch and enjoy but not be so weighted down.  That is what I want this page to be about.  Something nice and light, yet distinctly Autumn.

So, we created this page with that in mind.  Even though we live in Florida and our seasons really don’t change that much from each other, we still enjoy the foods of Autumn no matter how hot it is outside.

Happy Fall Y’all!

Julie and Gordon

Autumn Shopping

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Susy’s Cards

On September 13, 2022, Gordon’s aunt died.  Her name was Susanne Elsroad Whann, otherwise known as Aunt Susy.  She was born on July 17, 1944, she was 78 when she died.  As I was doing this write up for this page, Autumn Lunches, and I was even talking about Autumn Leaves above, I suddenly remembered these cards that Susy had made for us decades ago.  I save everything!  Never diss the hoarder’s, we treasure history.  Regardless, I immediately located these cards and took a photo of them.  Susy was a very thrifty person.  She valued nature.  She wasn’t a fancy person.  She valued the outdoors.  Hiking, Biking, Walking, Swimming, she was athletic.  She was her happiest outdoors.  She valued the environment.  She wanted to leave behind a better place than she found it.  I even believe that she donated her body to science when she died.  I don’t think it becomes any more noble than that.

I thought this was the nicest place to pay our homage to her.  She was my favorite Whann.  🙂

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Autumn Lunches Recipes Start Here

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Isabelle and the Giant Pretzel

(Just a Snack)

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Autumnal Stuffed Bread,

and Tomato Soup With Autumn Pastas

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The Cheese Wedge in photo Right, is Not a Pepperoni Pizza Slice, it is Cheese

Stuffed With Fresh Herbs As Well

Tomato Soup With Autumn Pastas And Herbs

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Leftover Autumnal Lunch, The Following Day

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Autumn Sliders

Sometimes I get mad at myself for using the same terminology as others out there.  Mini sandwiches are suddenly “sliders.”  What is a “slider” anyway?  Something that slides down your throat?  I guess so.  Hence, the term?  Well, I will go along here and declare these as “Sliders.”

Easy, Light, and Delicious

The Perfect Little Lunch..

..Especially for a Family

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Cheesy Broccoli Soup w/ Cheesy Broccoli Cornbread, and Ghosts

Perfect for a Cool Autumn Day!

———————————————————————————–

Cheesy Broccoli Cornbread’s

(I have made this favorite recipe many times.  I even had it featured in a few places on the website.  But, I also really needed to add it here, as it goes perfect with this fast and easy soup.)

If you have a Ghost Mold Baking Sheet, then all the Better!

(Recipes Down Below)

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First Up: 

Autumnal Stuffed Bread

and Tomato Soup With Autumn Pastas

All These Colors Taste Great!

 

My Stuffed Bread

I had seen all these cooks on social media make their Cheesy Pull Apart Breads that looked amazing.  I wanted to make one to, I just wanted to take mine a few steps further, making it more Autumnal, and even stuffing it with some colorful Autumn Colored Pastas  I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Ingredients:

Autumn Shaped Pastas, As Many As you Like, Cooked To Al Dente

Basil Pesto, Any Brand You Desire, As Much As You Desire

Sun Dried Tomatoes Packed In Olive Oil, Any Brand That You Like, As Much As You Like

Spicy Chili Onion Crisp, As Much As You Like

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, As Much As You Like

A Nice Tasty Olive Oil, For Drizzling Over Top

Fresh Herbs For Garnishing

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AND, A Nice Big Fat Bread

————————————————————————————————-

Place the Bread onto a Foil Lined Baking Sheet

With a Bread Knife, I made long cuts Horizontally, and Vertically, without cutting through the Bread

With My Ingredients Ready It’s Time To STUFF!

I first dolloped some of the Basil Pesto into some of the bread slits.

I then placed some of the Sun Dried Tomatoes packed in Olive Oil into some more of the slits.

I had already cooked some of the Autumn Pasta until Al Dente, and proceeded to place some of the Pasta into the bread slits as well.

Time to scatter some of the Mozzarella all over the Bread.

Drizzle With Some Nice Olive Oil

Time To Place The Bread Into A 350F Oven For About 10-15 Minutes

(I just want to melt the cheese and for the bread to get a little bit crispy.)

When Ready, Remove From The Oven And Allow To Cool A Bit

It’s at this point that I was kind of smooshing it back together as it had spread out a bit.

I Love All The Delicious Colors

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The Pumpkins and Gourds just look festive.

I have a Halloween wine glass filled with some Italian Fennel Crackers, and I have a cheese wedge that looks like a slice of Pepperoni Pizza, and some nice green Herbs too.

  And not to mention my Tomato Soup bowls.

I just opened a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup,

the rest is just tasty embellishment.

What Kid Wouldn’t Want This On A Nice Autumn Day?  🙂

Leftovers The Following Day For Lunch

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The Autumn Slider

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The Cheese:

Jack O’ Pumpkin Cheese

Ingredients:

Brioche Mini-Buns

Autumn Cheese

Sweet Dumpling Winter Squash

Grey Poupon Mustard

Microgreens

Fried Onions

—————————————————————–

(Little Halloween Prank)  🙂

Gordon Slicing the Squash

——————————————————————————-

Removing The Seeds

All Clear

Washing The Microgreens

———————————————————————–

Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds with a scraping tool, and add a Tbsp. of butter to each cavity.  Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and place in a preheated 400’F oven for about 25 min.

To check if the squash are tender, you can insert the tip of your knife into it and if you feel little to no resistance, the squash is done.  Set them aside to cool.

———————————————————————

Brioche Mini-Buns

Slice the buns in half using a sharp knife as shown.

Place the buns onto a sheet pan cut side up.

Spread a thin layer of your spicy mustard over one side of the mini-buns.

Remove the wax, then slice your Pumpkin cheese into wedges as shown.

Place two wedges of cheese over each mini-bun as shown.

Peel the squash then slice it into 1/4 inch sections.

Add the squash onto each mini-bun.

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Place the topped mini-bun under your broiler until the cheese melts and slightly browns.

After about 3 min. remove the browned mini-buns.

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Our Leftover Fried Onions

These were from another recipe that we had leftover in the refrigerator. 

We thought they would go nicely with our Sliders.

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Shallots

Add your sliced Shallots to the flour and any spices you want. 

For example, Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, etc….

mix them into the flour mixture until well coated as shown.

Place your peanut oil into a large pan and heat to medium.  When heated to temperature, add a handful of sliced shallots to the oil.

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Fry the Shallots until golden brown as shown. 

Place on a paper towel to drain.

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Top the squash with the fried onions and micro-greens.

Now, lift the cheese topped bun on top of the squash side being careful as the cheese is hot.

Plate and Enjoy!

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This Autumn Sandwich Hits THE Spot Every Time!

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Cheesy Broccoli Soup w/ Cheesy Broccoli Cornbread and Ghosts

Perfect for a Cool Autumn Day!

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Recipe Starts Here

(This is a great way to jazz up an already nice soup.  Consider the ready made Bear Creek Cheddar and Broccoli mixes as a nice base to build upon.)

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Ingredients:

2- Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli Soup Mixes

Roasted Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Turmeric Powder (Known to kill cancer cells, and gives the soup a richer golden color.)

(These are to add according to your tastes but, if you want a guide, then I suggest about 1/2 teaspoon or more for each spice above.)

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4- Blocks of various Irish Cheddar’s (Some more aged than others.)

You will want to grate all of those to enhance the soup’s flavor.

Salt, and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

(To Taste)

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Thawing Lots of Frozen Broccoli

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Making The Soup According To The Package Instructions

I’ve Got Two Pots Going.  I Will Keep One, And Give The Other Away As A Gift

It’s a Full Moon

I’ve added my extra spices, along with the salt and freshly ground black pepper.

  The soup is now simmering away.

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Once Thawed, Time to Cook

Place the Thawed Broccoli into a Microwave safe dish…

..and cook according to your Microwave Instructions.

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Time to Grate All Our Cheeses

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Start Adding The Cheeses To Each Soup Pot

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Broccoli Done!

(Be sure to drain the water into the sink before added the broccoli to the soup.)

Cheese Melting and Broccoli Added

Allow to Simmer Away Until Ready

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Broccoli and Cottage Cheese Cornbread w/ Onions

(This is an old Southern favorite!  Perfect just as it is!)

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Whenever I make this cornbread, I always double the recipe because I use my Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients:

Most of the ingredients that you see above are for making the cornbread.

I made the cornbread by simply following the package directions on the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal box.

So, my advice to you is to just make your favorite cornbread, and then you can add all these extras to it, according to your tastes.

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Measuring Cups, Spatulas, and Measuring Spoons

The “Extras” I Mentioned Above that I will add are:

Chopped Onions….

I probably use about 3/4 Cup of Chopped Onions

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I also add:

Broccoli Florets…

(I cooked these the same way I did for the broccoli in the soup above.  Let the microwave do the cooking, just be sure to drain the water out into the sink and not add it to the cornbread mix.)

My Chopped Onions left, My Cornbread mix right.

The other “Extra” ingredient I will be adding is Cottage Cheese

(I probably added a few heaping spoonful’s of Cottage Cheese.)

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Making My Cornbread

Adding The Broccoli, Onions, and Cottage Cheese

I have this great ghost mold that I love to use around Halloween.  I simply sprayed it with a cooking oil spray before adding the cornbread mixture, I then baked according to the Quaker Corn Meal box instructions.  But, I did monitor it as every oven is different, and I wasn’t using a traditional baking mold.

Into the Oven They Go!

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A Nice Quick Look at my Soup

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The rest of my cornbread mixture is going into my Cast Iron Skillet that I greased with Crisco.

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Delicious Ghosts Right Out Of The Oven

My Cast Iron Cornbread Right Out Of The Oven As Well

Cooling Nicely!

Check That Out!

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SOUP’S ON!

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Thanks for Coming to Lunch!  🙂

Julie

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Autumn Treats

Autumn Treats

          Autumn Once Labor Day is over with….. There is just something special about the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn. To most of us it’s having the kids go back to school.  Always a special time for me …

Julie’s Jezebel Sauce

Julie’s Jezebel Sauce

        Premiering at a Theater Near You! Starring Julie’s Jezebel Sauce, and a Cast of Supporting Foods For those of you outside The Bible Belt of America, you probably have never heard of Jezebel Sauce.  It’s exact Southern origins are a bit …

Tropical Hawaiian Cranberries and our Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau’oli Makahiki Hou

Tropical Hawaiian Cranberries and our Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau’oli Makahiki Hou

 

 

 

 

Mele Kalikimaka, 2020

me ka Hou’oli Makahiki Hou!

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Our Tropical Hawaiian Cranberry Sauce

Canning and Christmas While Undergoing Home Renovations

We Still Managed to Have a Nice Kalikimaka

All of my Poi Balls

(I made them myself 23 years ago in Hawaii.)

I even managed to twirl my old Poi Balls that I found while our renovations were going on.

And I haven’t put them down since.  🙂

Poi Balls are originally from the Maori people of New Zealand but they do feature the twirling of poi balls at luau’s and Hawaiian celebrations.  They honor the Polynesian cultures.  I befriended a Maori woman named Trish Wolfenden, who lived in New Zealand and we became great friends.  She was the granddaughter of a Maori Chief.  Trish was a Girl Guide Leader in N.Z. and I was a Girl Scout leader in Hawaii.  We would trade information from one troop leader to the other.  We were also pen pal troops.  It is because of my good friend Trish that I had my troop of girls to make the poi balls and we learned to twirl them.  My son Brodie even knows how to twirl them.  He was something of our Girl Scout mascot back in the day.  🙂

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Renovations

Christmas Week

You can see here how nice it looks underneath!

The contract coordinator did arrive on Christmas Eve to have Gordon to sign over a check.

Our Christmas/Kalikimaka Kitchen

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Oh, we still have boxes everywhere.  And the den is full of things that we need to get out of there and put back into our kitchen/nook/living room/dining room, but we are getting there.  Gordon put the dog gate back up.  Except this time he had the workers to reinforce the island from the inside construction so that it would have a strong supportive backing instead of him just screwing it into some drywall.

On Christmas Day we were literally laying shelf paper down as we were cooking our Christmas dinner.

(Check out that space between Gordon’s shirt and jeans.)  🙂

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It was really nice making Christmas dinner in our new kitchen.

We veered from tradition, as usual, and created our own Christmas Dinner based on what we wanted to eat. 

All Asian, and Hawaiian inspired.

Just a Little Snack

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Our Kalikimaka Eve Dinner

(You can see that we have no backsplash at this time, but we do love our new counter tops.)

Cocktail Sausages and Rice Vermicelli

Making Sticky Rice for Rice Balls, to Roll in Black Sesame Seeds

Our Pretty Rice Balls

We Grabbed Take Out From The Asian Supermarket

Boubon Chicken and Pepper Chicken

A Better View of our Cocktail Sausages

(Recipe Down Below)

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Mele Kalikimaka

(Merry Christmas Dinner)

New Zealand Mussels

An Asian Inspired Pasta Salad, Steamed Mussels….

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Baked Ham….w/ Pineapple and Cherries

Our Tropical Hawaiian Cranberries….

..In My Charming Vintage Hawaiian Bowls

Sweet Hawaiian Dinner Rolls and Snow Peas.

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And,

Pineapple, Mango, Papaya, Coconut and Cherry Upside Down Cake

(Recipes Down Below)

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The Morning After Kalikimaka

Breakfast of Grits, Leftover Ham and Hawaiian Dinner Rolls

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Lunch

Crispy Taro Fries and Dipping Sauce….

The Cute Little Ohana Recipe Card Holder Veronica Painted

The Peace Ornament Deanna Painted,

and a Jar of our Tropical Hawaiian Cranberries

More Leftover Ham on Hawaiian Sweet Rolls with our Cranberry Sauce

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DINNER

Steamed Dumplings

Potstickers

Our Bamboo Steamer

Crispy Taro Chips

w/ Black Lava Salt

(All Recipes Down Below)

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Kalikimaka With Spooky and Sparky

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Having an ONO time twirling my Poi Balls

(Kind of like riding a bicycle.  You can pick it up quite quickly.)

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Although I don’t look as good as they do while twirling.  🙂

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Our 2020 Kalikimaka

It All Starts With The Tropical Hawaiian Cranberry Sauce

Our kitchen is still not together completely when we started canning here but we went ahead with it anyway.

November, 2020

We put our heads together and created this recipe.  When we gave it as gifts for Kalikimaka this was what everyone was bragging about loving.  We received the most compliments on this.  We are excited to share this recipe with you in the hopes that you will enjoy it as much as we all did.

The Ingredients:

The ingredient below are for making ~9 pints of cranberry sauce.  We made a double batch of this recipe as we knew it would be delicious!

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7 Bags Fresh Cranberries washed

2 Cans 11 oz., Coconut Water

1 Can Crushed Pineapple

1 Cup of Dried Diced Papaya

1 Cup of Dried Diced Pineapple

1 Cup Sweetened Coconut Slices

1 Cup Pineapple Juice

1 tsp. Hawaiian Sea Salt

1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon

1/2 bottle of Hawaiian Sun Premium Coconut Syrup, about 4 oz.

1/2 Whole Nutmeg Nut freshly grated

Zest of 1 1/2 Limes

The Juice of 1 1/2 Limes

1/2 Cup Sugar

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Sweetened Coconut Slices and Diced Papaya

Our Delicious Ingredients

Add your washed cranberries to a large pot.  Again, we made two batches.

Gordon Ready to Get Started

Add your cans of coconut water to the pot.

Then your Crushed Pineapple.

The Diced Papaya

Then add your Dried Coconut and Dried Papaya to the pot.

(I think I got my photos out of order a bit, but still.)  🙂

Then add your Coconut shavings.

Isn’t Everything Beautiful and Festive?

I wanted a little more liquid to the pot so I added more Coconut Water making a total of 2 cans.

Still needing some more liquid I added 1 Cup of Pineapple Juice.

Now add your salt to bring out the sweetness of the other ingredients.

Then your Ground Cinnamon.

Here I added some Coconut Syrup to really give it some nice sweetness and coconut flavoring.

Mix all the ingredients together and see where the level of the liquid is as it should be about 3/4 the way up to the cranberries.  You can always add more if needed as the pectin released from the berries will thicken it up.  At this point you can turn the heat on to Medium High.

Here I am adding fresh Nutmeg as you can’t beat the flavor it provides.  It is so much better than the already ground version.

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Use the same grater to zest your Limes.

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Fun Hawaiian Shirt Break

An Old Hawaiian Shirt of Gordon’s

We Lived on Oahu

Map of the Islands  🙂

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Now, Back to the Recipe…

The Limes, Zest and Juice

Now add the juice of 1 1/2 Limes as shown.

On The Stove Top

Here you can see the berries starting to cook.  As they do they will pop and release some of their liquid containing pectin.

I carefully tasted the sauce and found it needed a little more sweetness…

so I added 1/2 Cup of Sugar.

Carefully taste it again after about 10 min. to let the sugar dissolve into the sauce.  Add any other of the ingredients to your taste.

Wash your jars in the dishwasher being sure to heat dry them.  Carefully store them covered or leave them in the dishwasher until ready to use them.  We also hand washed the Lids and Rings.

Using a funnel on top of the jar, ladle the Cranberry Sauce into the jar leaving 1/2 inch of space to the top of the jar.  This is called headspace and is needed to make the suction between the sauce and the lid.

Continue to ladle the Cranberry Sauce into all the jars.

Your lids should be in a pot of water that is just under a boil meaning you should see tiny little bubbles in the water.  More than that you could begin to breakdown the lids rubber seal.

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BEAUTIFUL!

Ladling Into The Funnel

Using a slightly wet paper towel, wipe the top of the jar so as to make a good seal with the lid.

Using a magnetized rod, remove a lid from the hot water and place it on top of a clean jar.  Slightly tighten the rings over the lid.  Too tight and the air inside will not be able to be released, which will not create a vacuum.

Place the jars in a large pot of water being sure the jars are submerged.  You should begin to see Tiny Bubbles… (my homage to a Hawaiian classic song written by Leon Pober and performed by Don Ho) coming out from the lids of each jar, indicating you did NOT tighten the lids too tight.  Process /boil the jars in water for 15 min.  When done, remove the jars with rubber canning tongs and place them on towels to cool.  You should then begin to hear the lids pop, indicating the vacuum has pulled the lid down.  Some lids don’t pop as they are made differently.  Either way all the jars lids should be in the down position after about 10 min.  If not, remove the ring and throw away the lid, remove a little of the sauce to provide more headspace, clean the top of the jar.  You could also look at the lid to see if it was defective in some way.  Replace another lid on top of the jar and barely tighten the ring.  Process/boil the jar again for another 15 min.  Remove the jar and set aside to see if it will pop or if the lid sinks down letting you know the vacuum was created inside the jar.  These cranberry sauces can be kept for many years as the vacuum and sugar will prevent bacteria from growing.  With that said, be sure the lid is in the down position before you eat it.  A raised lid means bacteria has formed, spoiling the sauce.

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Preparing Our Jars for Gifts and Storing

(Our sparse living room.  Our furniture shoved into a POD in our driveway during renovations.  However, I do have lots of room to spread this project out.)

I always have craft supplies on hand.  I wanted to decorate the jars and make them look a bit tropical so I hot glued flowers to the top.  Mainly orchids.  Orchids are big in Hawaii and I already had these out in the garage so I didn’t have to run out and buy any.

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I think they look beautiful. 

I especially love the cranberry sauce in my vintage volcano bowl. 

Kinda like hot molten lava.

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In spite of all of our home renovations that we had going on, and a pandemic, we managed to have a very nice Kalikimaka. It was just the two of us.  Our kids spent Christmas with their partners, and their partners family’s that they had been isolating with.   Thanks to the renovations we found quite a few of our old favorite Hawaiian things that we were happy to use again.  This was probably the easiest Christmas we have ever had because the pressure was off to entertain big, we just did for ourselves.  We considered it an adventure.

Thank you for joining us. 

We appreciate your interest in us and all that we do.

Mele Kalikimaka,

Julie and Gordon

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The Recipes Start Right Here

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Julie’s Upside Down Kalikimaka Cake

Pineapple, Mango, Papaya, Coconut and Cherry Upside Down Cake

Close-Up’s

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I Am Thrilled With It and Think It Is Beautiful!

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My Ingredients:  For The Cake

2 Yellow Cake Mixes, Any Brand You Like

(Follow The Package Instructions)

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The Extra’s

Butter/Margarine

Brown Sugar

Can/Cans of Pineapple Rings

Can/Cans of Mango Slices

Maraschino Cherries

Dried Fruits:  Such as Papaya, Coconut

Also perhaps some Diced Pineapple and Papaya

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I Used Splenda Brown Sugar and 2 Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mixes

In Your Blender Make One Cake Mix at a Time

(following package instructions)

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You can use whatever sized baking dish you like.  I used this one.  I wanted the pretty glass to be able to see how beautiful that it will be.  🙂

Here I am melting about 4 ounces of Margarine in the Oven.  The Oven is set for whatever temperature the cake mixes say to bake them on.

When the Butter/Margarine is melted remove from the Oven.

You now want to add the Brown Sugar. 

I believe that you can eyeball this and use as much or as little as you like.

I’m using just under a cup here.

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I just sort of stirred it together a bit and now I have my base to add whatever I want to.   You can see my cans of fruit and my dried fruit as well in these photos.

I wanted it to be based on tradition, but I also wanted to veer from it and make it my own.

Now Just Pour Over The Yellow Cake Mix

Time For The Oven

Our Pretty Christmas Dish Towels  🙂

Place the Cake into a Pre-Heated Oven According to the Cake Mix directions and cook according to those.  When done if you can insert a toothpick into the cake and it comes out clean then it is ready.

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My Leftover Cake Mix and Fruits

I got out my small loaf tins and set to work.  Not that it was hard or anything like that.  It was easy.  I just placed some of my Mango slices into the bottom of these non-stick pans and then poured some of the batter over top.

Ready for the Oven

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In The Meantime…..

My Cake is DONE!

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AND, My Mini Loaf Cakes are Done!

Just Let Everything Cool on Racks

When Totally Cool, Turn the Cake Out on a Platter

Reminds me of Hawaii  🙂

(You do need to store this cake in the refrigerator.)

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Marinating Cocktail Sausages

This is special for us, and an old favorite.

Simple ingredients of:

Cocktail Sausages, Orange, Lime, Sweet Black Soy Sauce, and, Sweet Chili Sauce

You Just Drain the Sausages and Place into a Bowl

Eyeball the Ingredients of Sweet Chili Sauce and Sweet Black Soy Sauce

Now, Add the Juice and Pulp of an Orange and a Lime

Place Into a Baggie to Marinate Overnight

Now, Pour Into a Baking Dish

Place into a 350F Oven for about 35 minutes or so, stirring every 15 minutes to coat them.

Bake Them Until They Plump Up  🙂

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Our Asian Inspired Pasta Salad

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Ingredients:

1 Bags of Snow Flake Pasta

3 Small Cucumbers sliced into wheels

3 Celery Stalks diced

1 Tbsp. Salt for the pasta water

1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper diced

1/2 Red Bell Pepper diced

10 Chive Flowers – sliced thinly

~1/2 Cup Miracle Whip

Wasabi to taste

1 Tbsp. Yellow Mustard

2 Tbsp. Sweet Relish

1 Tbsp. Agave in the Raw Nectar

2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil

2 Tbsp. Ari Miran Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning

2 Tbsp. Roasted Sesame Seeds

Ground Pepper to taste

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Place in enough water to cover the pasta very well into medium or large pot.  The water should be at least half way up the pot.  Clean all your vegetables well and slice your cucumber into 1/4 inch wheels as shown.

Slice and then dice your celery as shown.

Add your Hawaiian Sea Salt to the pot of water.

Now add your pasta to the water and stir it occasionally.  Cook the pasta as per directions or al dente meaning it is cooked just enough to retain a somewhat firm texture.

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Slice and dice your bell peppers as shown.

When your pasta is al dente, pour it into a colander and rinse is with cold water to stop the cooking process.

Slice your chives as shown.  If you don’t have chives, green onions will work.

Place your Miracle Whip, or if your prefer you could use Mayonnaise into a large bowl.  Then add your Wasabi to taste.

Here you can see we added about 3 inches of Wasabi… go bold!  Then add your mustard.

Mix all the ingredients in the sauce well and taste, add more of any ingredient if needed.

Add your cooled and well drained pasta to the bowl.

Now add your relish and Agave.

Then your Sesame Oil…

Miran…

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sliced cucumbers and celery…

Bell Peppers and sliced Chives and Flowers…

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Roasted Sesame Seeds are next…

Then add your pepper to taste.  Mix all the ingredients well with a rubber spatula using a folding method, so as to not break up the pasta.

Top the salad with some extra Sesame Seeds and Chives!

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Our Kalikimaka Ham

Ingredients:

1 Spiral Sliced Ham

1 pkg. Glaze

1 Jar Maraschino Cherries

1 Can Pineapple Slices

~20 Tooth Picks

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Pour the ham glaze in a bowl.

Here you can add water as directed but I added pineapple juice instead.  Mix the glaze with a rubber spatula.

I wanted the glaze to be a little thinner so I added some cherry juice to the glaze mixture.  Mix well and set aside.

Remove your ham from the packaging and remove the plastic disk (not shown) from the base of the ham covering the bone.

Place the ham on a rack and in a roasting pan as shown.  Place the ham in a 400’F oven for about 20 min. to start the cooking process.

It should be slightly browned as shown.

I then like to glaze the ham, but I first start with some of the left over pineapple juice.  I then pour most of the glaze over the ham.

Using a spatula and glazing brush, I maneuver the glaze between the slices as shown.

Place the pineapple slices around the ham using toothpicks to keep them in place.  Add the cherries to the center of the pineapple and keep them in place with another toothpick if needed.

You can brush the glaze in the pan over the pineapple and cherries during the cooking process.

Here I thought I would use the rest of the cherry juice to help glaze the ham.

Place the ham back in the oven and continue to cook it as directed.

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Periodically remove the ham and brush it with the glaze at the bottom of the ham.

After some time, the glaze will become very thick and sticky.

I kept some of the glaze and poured it over the ham when it was almost done cooking.

I did the same with the last bit of pineapple juice.

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I kept the pan drippings as they didn’t burn and when I plated the ham, I poured it over the ham.

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Enjoy!

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The Mussels

These are Green New Zealand mussels that come frozen and seasoned in garlic butter.

Remove them from their packaging and place them in a medium sized pot.

If you wanted you can add some diced garlic at this point, but they do come well seasoned.

Here we added both packages to the cast iron pot and placed it over medium high heat.

Here is our great mollusk serving bowl.  🙂

Cook them as directed, being sure not to over cook them as they will become tough.  Also be ready to eat them as they are best served warm.

Using tongs, place the mussels in the serving bowl.

Be sure to pour the garlic butter over them stopping at the broken shells.

These are perfect for a side dish or as a main meal.

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SNOW PEAS

These are a great healthy side dish and are easy to prepare.

After a good rinsing, place the peas into a steamer with about 1 inch of water under it.

Turn the heat to high and cook by way of steam for about 5 minutes keeping them nice and green.

Our Cranberry Sauce and Snow Peas

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King’s Hawaiian Dinner Rolls

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Serving Ourselves This Great Kalikimaka Dinner

 

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Food The Next Day

Incorporating Our Leftovers

Grits With Leftover Ham on Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

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Taro Fries w/ Black Lava Salt and Dipping Sauce

Crispy and Nice

Served With Our Leftover Ham, Hawaiian Sweet Rolls and our Cranberry Sauce

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Creating a Dipping Sauce

Here are the ingredients for the dipping sauce.  I basically added 1/2 Tbsp. of ginger, 1 Tbsp of the Chinese mustard and honey mustard, and then about 1 Tbsp. of the sweet chili sauce

 

Mix them all together then taste.  If you feel it needs a little more of something then add more.  Either way, this is a great combination for the Taro Root fries and as a mustard for the leftover ham.

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Taro Root

(Making Fries)

We purchased this Taro Root at the Asian Supermarket.  Taro Root is what Poi is made from.

Slice the taro root into 1/2 inch thick slices then slice those into 1/2 inch long fries as shown.

Repeat for the rest of the taro root.

Place some good oil like peanut or vegetable into a medium pot being sure it is about 2 inches deep.  Heat the oil to medium high.  When at temperature, place the fries into the hot oil and cook them until golden brown… about 3 min.

Remove one from the hot oil and test to see if it is done.

When frying, the oil should be at a low boil as shown.

Using a wire mesh strainer, remove the fries…

and place them on a plate lined with paper towels.  Here we then immediately added some black lava salt to give it a great look and taste.

Another great and healthy side dish!

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Taro Chips and Steamed Buns

A Healthier Potato Chip

——————————————————————-

Excellent Dipping Sauces

——————————————————————-

Our Ohana Kitchen

Gordon Kitchen Ready

Here is a great Taro Root for making chips.

Slice off the outer skin using a sharp knife as shown.

Now, place your mandolin on its thinnest setting and begin to make chips as shown. 

This is an excellent kitchen tool to own.

Use the guard when needed to protect your fingers.  The chips should be nice an round as shown.

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These Are Ready

Using a medium sized pot, place in about 2 inches of oil as shown.

Heat the oil to medium high heat and when at temperature, fry the chips until golden brown.

Be sure to only fry about 3 to 6 at a time.

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When done, use tongs or the strainer to remove them and place them on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Use the strainer to keep the taro slices in the oil if need be. 

They do tend to float.

Sprinkle some salt on them immediately when out of the oil.  We used the black lava salt as we liked the contrasting colors and the flavor.

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Steamed Dumplings

They Look Just Like Flowers

We purchased these from the frozen food section of our local Asian Supermarket.  They are not only beautiful, but tasty as well, especially in our favorite dipping sauces.  Asian food really is an art form.

This is our Bamboo Steamer

You can see Gordon placing it on top of our pot with a few inches of water in it.  The concept is that the water will start to boil, creating steam that will cook the foods.

You first however, cut little squares out of Parchment Paper to place underneath each dumpling so that they don’t stick to the bamboo.

You want to bring the water to a simmering bowl on a Medium-High heat.

Cook for about 8-10 minutes, or even longer depending on what is cooking.

  Then just remove from the heat, and eat!

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Dipping Sauces

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Our 2020 Pandemic/Renovation Kalikimaka  🙂

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Brodie’s Birthday and Christmas Gifts

(You can see our kitchen torn apart here.  That table served as our island.)  🙂

Rice Cooker and Rice

Brodie’s Birthday Gifts

The gifts that we purchased for Brodie for his birthday and Christmas reflect our eating lifestyle from living in Hawaii for 13 years.  Both he, and Veronica were born there.  The food influences, some of which we have listed here on this page, are a reflection of our time there.  A rice cooker is a must!  Rice, another must!

  Needless to say, he loved them!

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Brodie’s Christmas Present

(You can see a bit of the disarray everywhere here.)

We also carried over the same theme here for Brodie’s Christmas.  I wish that I had had taken the time to photograph everything inside the box, they are very Asian and Polynesian in nature.  The gifts were a starter for his own kitchen in his own home.  A Bamboo Steamer, Bamboo Kitchen Utensils, Measuring Cups, a large Pot, Cutting Board, Dumpling Mold, All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Parchment Paper, Cans of SPAM, his favorite Dipping Sauces, Cooking Pot, Asian Bowls of Large, Medium, and Small, Asian Spoons, Bread Flour, Canola Oil, Some of our Old Canisters, Sesame Oil, Kosher Salt, Yeast, Tongs, Bamboo Fryer Scoop, Strainer, Chef Knife, Sugar, Rice Candies…. and a bunch of other things that I cannot remember.  But every item was something he would like and use.

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Update:  I Found the LIST!

This is my horrible handwriting but, I did write down every single thing in that box.  🙂

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Kalikimaka Sunset

From Our Backyard  🙂

Mele Kalikimaka,

Julie and Gordon

Me Ka Houoli’ Makahiki Hou!

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Check Out Our Other Hawaiian Pages:

Click Here For:  Whann Way Aloha

AND,

Click Here For:  Whann Way Aloha, Hapa Elua (Part 2)

AND,

Click Here For:  Blue Hawaiians and Huli Huli Chicken

AND,

Huli Huli Julie Caesar

AND,

Click Here For:  Sand Globes

AND,

Click Here For:  Weekend Spamin’ Spam Musubi

AND,

Click Here For:  Julie’s Lunchbox

AND,

Click Here For:  Gordon’s Hawaiian Potatoes and Huli Huli Pork Chops

AND,

Click Here For:  Whann’s In Not Always Paradise

AND,

Click Here For:  Julie Barefoot Cookies and Beachy Edible Gifts

AND,

Click Here For:  Grillin’ With Aloha

AND,

Click Here For:  Julie’s Vintage Hawaiian Mango-Mac Nut Bread Cake w/ Pasta Flowers

AND,

Click Here For:  Gordon’s Dole Pineapple Outrigger Canoe and Cocktail

AND,

Click Here For:  Hawaiian Hum Lum Sun Prunes

AND,

Click Here For:  Ono Hawaiian

AND,

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

AND,

Click Here For:  A Mother’s Day Aloha

AND,

Click Here For:  Aloha Wahine Jezebel Sauce

AND,

Click Here For:  Whann Way Hawaiian Luau

AND,

Click Here For:  Hawaiian Popcorn and Moana Maika I’ Loa

AND,

Click Here For:  Beachy Hawaiian Thanksgiving Pu Pu’s

AND,

Click Here For:  Barefoot Beach Teas

AND,

More Hawaiian Eats

AND,

Click Here For:  Hawaiian Kalikimaka

AND,

Click Here For:  Christmas/Kalikimaka Oysters on the Grill

AND,

Click Here For:  Tropical Hawaiian Cranberries and our Mele Kalikimaka Me Ka Hauoli Makahiki Hou

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries

Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries

            Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries Regalos Comestibles (Edible Gifts) We made a similar Cranberry Sauce last year for our Feliz Navidad. Click Here For:  Feliz Navidad a Casa Whann  You can find the recipe for our 2019 Cranberries on that …

ThanksGrillin’

ThanksGrillin’

            THANKSGRILLIN’ 2020 Welcome to our Home Renovations Thanksgiving A.K.A. Our Thanksgiving During our Home Renovations With our kitchen under construction, it fell to the outside grill to deliver us our turkey from evil.  (Or something to that affect.) Check …

Our Home Renovations

Our Home Renovations

 

 

 

 

No Longer UNDER CONSTRUCTION!  🙂

 

The Money Pit

New Entries are Down Below

I Do Have A Very LOOOOOOOONG Introduction Until You Get There.

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Welcome to Our Home Renovations

 

Ahh, Home Crap Home!

Said by Tom Hanks character, Walter Fielding in the movie The Money Pit when he came home from work after a long day only to discover all the renovation work that still needed to be done which they were originally told would only take 2 weeks.

 

The Money Pit was made in 1986 and starred Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, and a cast of excellent characters.  I pretty much watched my copy of this VHS movie on a loop in 1986 when we were living in an apartment in Pearl City, Hawaii. 

(Me, 1987 in our apartment in Pearl City, Hawaii and pregnant with Veronica. 

I can also guarantee to you that I am watching The Money Pit.)

Every thing imaginable that is terrible happened to us our first year there.  For some reason this movie just made me feel better about our own circumstances. 

Which is why when I decided to blog about our home renovations I couldn’t possibly do that without referencing this very funny movie.

This couple could very well be a young Julie and Gordon.

Steven Spielberg Presents…..

The Money Pit

Tom Hank and Shelley Long as Walter Fielding and Anna Crowley

(The potential home buyer’s.)

Maureen Stapleton as Estelle, the Con Artist

(The home owner.)

Walter Fielding with his new home and his new car that came with the new home.

The House is Falling Apart, Literally

Plaster Falling From the Ceiling

(That is real plaster hitting her on the head.  That has to hurt!)

You know, I have to wonder if these two excellent actors and comedians would even be hired to play leading roles in this day and age?  Although they are both very attractive people I don’t know that if by today’s standards they would even be considered good looking enough?  Which if that were the case a lot of talented people would never make the cut and that would be our loss. I’m just glad this movie was made in 1986 and that both actors were cast here.

Walter Trying to Fix a Few of the Stair Steps

While the Whole Staircase Falls Down

This is just one of my favorite scenes in the movie.

Although our Home Renovation Journey is not nearly as extreme as theirs, we can relate to all the inconveniences that they go through.  Which is why we wanted to share our experience with you. 

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Here Walter is Gathering Water From any Available Source

Seeing as how they lost their stairs they have to climb a ladder carrying water to their upstairs.  While Walter is being Walter.  🙂

Gordon and Julie carrying empty beach buckets, and with a thermos tied around my neck.

Julie and Gordon, as Anna and Walter

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Thanksgiving

(That is the only reason they would be cooking such a large bird, however they do live in New York and normally it would be very cold so I doubt the time period is actually November as they are running around wearing shorts.  But, we run around wearing shorts in November so we’re just assuming it’s their Thanksgiving.) 

This is what we can relate to the most.

They are determined to go through with their ‘Thanksgiving’ in spite of all the renovations.

Anna Placing the Turkey in their Oven

Walter Turning on the Light Switch in the Kitchen Started the Fire

Julia Child Even Made An Appearance

The Fire Quickly Spread Throughout the Kitchen

 

Causing the Oven to Explode and launch the Turkey out of the Kitchen Window…

(If you look closely you can see the turkey sailing through the air in the photo top left.)

…and into the Window of the Bathroom Where Anna was Planning on Taking a Bath.

Walter Rushing to the Rescue only to be Told,

“Well, The Turkey’s Done”

Their Turkey Ended up in a Bucket

So, we put our turkey in a bucket.  🙂

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Anna and Walter

Walter Looking Through All the Bills

Because their turkey ended up in a bucket, Anna decides to make Peanut Butter Sandwiches for her and Walter for dinner.

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Here I am Making Peanut Butter Sandwiches for Gordon and I For Dinner,

While Gordon Goes Over All the Bills

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I Do Love That Peanut Butter

In Spite of all the Renovation Crap……

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Hi!  How do ya like our set?

We Did Manage To Have….

Our Home Renovation Thanksgiving

Does it really matter where you have Thanksgiving?

Or just that you are able to have Thanksgiving?

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When we think the camera has stopped shooting.  🙂

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We also created a new post depicting our Thanksgiving Turkey called:

ThanksGrillin’

If You Would Like To Take A Look

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We Also Recreated the Dining Room Dinner on the Ping Pong Table

This is such a cute dinner between the two of them.  Anna is used to having champagne with dinner every night so she always totes around this galvanized steel bucket with a bottle of booze in it.

Seeing as how she doesn’t have a champagne bucket, she uses this one.

Anna, Bringing in the Salad

I could very clearly see that this was a very simple salad of lettuce leaves, some tomatoes and cucumber.

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Anna, tossing that salad for what seems like forever.

We are guessing that these are Brussel Sprouts?

Here come the Cornish Hens with all the Curly Parsley.

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And Now For The Bread

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Dinner on the Ping Pong Table, Love it!

(I grew up with a ping pong table in our game room.  I was actually pretty good at it too.)  🙂

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Our Recreation Dinner

The Hostess With The Leastest

(Ya know, all we have to do is to buy a few paddles and some ping pong balls and then we’ve got us a game table.)

This is our recreation dinner. 

Me, tossing that salad as much as Anna did.

Placing those Cornish Hens (Rotisserie Chickens) on the table.

We noticed that all the food in the movie seemed to be green.  The Tossed Salad, the Brussel Sprouts, all the Parsley around the Cornish Hens…..  We decided to just go ahead and make everything green ourselves.  How about using up that broccoli that we have in the refrigerator?  And why not add to it the cauliflower too?  Let’s steam it.  Oh, and let’s add a green pesto dressing to the salad too!  In addition to our roasted Brussel Sprouts.

Me, doing my best to be domestic.

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The Dinner Was Delicious!

Gordon/Walter Enjoying His Meal

The Picture of Domestic Bliss  🙂

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Julie’s Money Pit Salad

(Do you see a resemblance here?)

We’ll give you the dressing recipe.  It just needs a good toss.

I’ll Take Some Chicken Gordon.

I suppose that the longer our renovations go on, the more scenes from the movie we will re-enact.  🙂  I want to do the mattress on the floor scene but Gordon doesn’t want to drag the twin beds out of the attic.  Can’t imagine why?

If I were to try and explain our website to someone that didn’t know us I would probably coin the phrase, It’s our life in movies.

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Our Story Starts October 2, 2020 with our dishwasher leaking water, and then with Renovation Prep Starting October 27, 2020, and our professional Renovations Starting November 16, 2020. 

I’ll let you know when we’re through……

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Gordon and Julie Present………………

Our Home Renovations

 Gordon Installing New Hurricane Proof Windows in Brodie’s Old Bedroom

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This part of reno is all ours to do. 

We are doing quite a bit of work before our actual renovations begin. 

As in turning our son’s old bedroom into a den for us.

——————————————————-

Our Professional Home Renovations are only to last 3 Weeks…

or so we are told by our contractor.

(We’ll See, Right?)

(That would be Gordon doing who knows what?)

But until that day starts when the workers arrive we have our own renovations and work to do around here ourselves. 

Lots and lots of Prep!  Some of what I blog about may be informative, some of it may be entertaining, and some of it may be boring.  Either way, this is our life.

Julie and Gordon

(Written by Julie)

Our Kitchen  🙁

The story begins with our dishwasher that leaked water underneath our kitchen cabinets and island and into our living room……

If you would like to read our story from the beginning, then start at the very bottom of this post.

————————————————————–

Also Check Out Our:

Home Rehab Projects

AND,

Gordon and Julie Renovations and Apps For Dinner

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Great News!!!  Julie’s Got a Mini-Fridge!!!

(And in the bathroom too.)

I’ve got it all set up.  Can’t wait to show you.  It fits right there where you see it, except underneath that drawer.  It’s perfect!  As Mackenzie say’s, “You’ve got a cute Studio Apartment now.”  Oh yes we do!  This mini-Fridge and everything you see in the bathtub will get us through our upcoming renovations.  🙂

Drinks, Juices, Saran Wrap, Aluminum Foil, Cutting Boards

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We are sequestered to our bedroom and bathroom while all the work goes on.

HENCE…..

Our Coffee and Tea Station

(In our bathroom.  BUT, just so you know, we do have a separate toilet room so the coffee station isn’t exactly in our “bathroom.)”

Found my Splenda Packets

AND,

We are making the best of it, all 4 of us!

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BLOG ENTRIES START HERE

———————————————————————————————-

1 Year Later

It looks like it’s time to close this Home Renovations page out.

It pretty much took us 1 year from start to finish, to get all this done.  Oh sure, the initial work was only a few months, but our part in putting our home back together and doing a bit of redecorating took much longer.  The pandemic also took it’s toll on us not being in any hurry.  So, we took our time.  Perhaps longer than we should have but, who was around to see it?  No one but us.

We do have a few more home improvement projects to do but we will place those on another page.

We are enjoying our home and every single day that we get to live here in it.  You see, we are homebodies.  The world is becoming a very scary and dangerous place, and for the last decade we have been upgrading our home on the inside and outside in order to make it our sanctuary.  For some, their home is just base camp.  A place to house their possessions and a place to sleep while they live their lives outside their home.  But for us, our house is our HOME.  Our Home is our Life.  This is where we choose to live until we no longer can.

Home, Sweet, Home

Julie and Gordon  🙂

P.S.  I will probably post a few photos of our finished living room, kitchen, and dining room, and den when I think they look good enough to photograph.

Thank you very much for your interest in us.

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Week 38

August 3, 2021

Replacing Old Glass Knobs with New Beach Glass Knobs

In the Kitchen

Just a Nice Little Beachy Glass Upgrade..

on Every Kitchen Cabinet and Drawer.

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WEEK 37

July 27, 2021

Yet More Stuff!

Just When I Thought It Was Under Control

Our Dining Room

(You can see that we have really made progress since our renovations and ALL THOSE BOXES!)

About a month ago Gordon flew up to Chesapeake, Virginia to visit with his parents and brother, and to help them move into a very nice Independent Living Apartment. 

Sarajane and Milton Whann

(We don’t know how old they are in this photo but they are around our age here.)

His parents are selling their home and getting rid of quite of bit of their possessions.  Gordon’s sister and niece were also there for a few days to help and to take some things back home with them to North Carolina.  The plan was for Gordon to fly up, stay a week, and then rent a truck bringing back with him quite a few things that they were giving him.  HOWEVER, when he called the usual businesses about renting a truck they all said NO!  They don’t want their trucks leaving the state.  (He would be driving the truck from Chesapeake, Virginia to our home in Florida, and then turning it into a branch of the business down here.)  He then looked into renting a truck from one business, with a hitch to hook up a trailer to and drive down bringing the items with him.  While renting the trailer from another place.  Again, No!  They don’t want their trucks or trailers leaving the state. 

So, Gordon had no choice but to fly back home.  He did look into renting a truck down here and driving it up to Virginia but they all said NO!  They don’t want their trucks leaving the state of Florida.  Gordon was able to find a place that would rent him a trailer to hook up to the back of my car but I said NO!  My car is 15 years old and I’m not sure it can make it up there and back hauling such a large load.  What happens if you break down?  You will be at the mercy of some mechanic and how much they charge?  And you know how I don’t trust mechanics.  Mechanics and dentists can do whatever they want to our cars and our mouths and we don’t know if they are crooks or decent human beings.  It won’t be like you can shop around.  You’ll be broken down and will have to pay whatever they say you will have to pay.  Also, who knows how long it will take to get it fixed?  Can you just stay off from work for an extra week or so not only having to pay to get my car fixed but also some cheap motel room while it’s being done?  Not the mention all the extra money we will be pouring into some trailer until we can return it to where you rented it from?  Our cars are old and I don’t think we have one that can make that kind of distance and be o.k. 

(Do you see how I can go through very realistic scenarios from beginning to end?  People really do hate that about me.)  🙁

So, Gordon had to leave the items that he wanted up there and fly back here to find a way to get them down here.  We did look at companies to pick the items up and ship them down here.  Some told us they would get back to us with a price, and never did.  It was when Gordon was at work and talking to a few co-workers about his situation that one guy told him that his best friend has a trucking company and he will pick the items up and bring them down to us.  Gordon then got in touch with this guy and he took the job.  $3,000.00 round trip.  Because it would be something of a complicated pick up at Gordon’s parents house, Gordon asked if he could ride up with him?  He did.

So, this past Saturday they picked Gordon up at around 9:00 a.m. and off they went.

They didn’t return until Sunday night at around 12:30 a.m.

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With the dogs howling as loudly as they were with Gordon and the man that he had hired for the job, I’m sure we woke up the entire neighborhood!

Meet Our New Coffee Table and Gordon’s New Bar

These are hatch covered from the U.S.S. Diamond Head, 1945.

Gordon is thrilled, beyond thrilled, to have these things.  They are very valuable to his family and to Gordon to thus pass down to our children.  Gordon being a Navy Veteran and these items being on a Navy vessel means a lot.

Gordon’s Parents Canoe Which is Now Ours

(Meet the Julie A., or the Barefoot something another, or the Sea Monkey…  Still deciding.)

Our New Picnic Table

(I always wanted one and the fact that this one belonged to Gordon’s parents makes it very special.)

Plus About 13 Boxes Just Like This One

So, what is so special about this box?  I will happily share that with you on another page of mine when I write about it.  🙂

Still finding room for all of this.  What I do love about my In-Laws is that they are hoarders.  Hoarders preserve history.  They keep things forever.  The family history is preserved.  And we get to relive it every day.  🙂

Julie

P.S.  What we have discovered with the whole trying to rent a truck or trailer is that there is more to the pandemic damage than the average person realizes.  In the past it was no big deal to rent a truck or car or trailer but now it is impossible.  What else don’t we know about the damage this pandemic has done?  Most car dealerships and rental companies had to sell a lot of their cars and trucks during the pandemic in order to stay afloat.

 

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July 12, 2021

How It’s Going

Week 35

Top:  Before

Bottom:  Now

I am ashamed to say that we are just now starting to tackle all of these boxes that have been in our dining room since our renovations ended many months ago.  We did quite a few this past weekend being able to put things away as we opened them, not having opened boxes just laying around everywhere.  We pretty much dealt with it all as we went.  It felt really good to start to deal with this mess.  I think that we are finally mentally coming out of our hybernation from Covid.  I also think that because Gordon is helping me that it is giving me the incentive to tackle the boxes.

It dawned on me just yesterday why I have avoided this mess.  When I was growing up I moved around quite a bit with my family.  I was the new kid in school 9 times in 12 years.  I counted that I moved 12 times by the time I graduated from high school.  And then I moved around a bit myself as a young adult, about 5 times.  Then I married Gordon and we moved a few times before he even joined the Navy.  An additional 2 times.  We then moved an additional 5 times during his career, up until we bought our current home.

When we bought this house and settled in I told Gordon that I am not leaving and going anywhere for a very long time.  And I didn’t!  🙂

I thought back on all those moves prior to these renovations which were basically a move in itself.  It was then that I realized that it was always me unpacking all those boxes, all those years.  I pretty much just told Gordon where to hammer a nail to hang a photo or painting.  And he pretty much just let me do it all by myself, and sadly, I did it.

I believe that subconsciously I just looked at all those boxes and pretty much decided to ignore them until they go away.  It’s only been recently that Gordon has shown interest in unpacking them.  This past weekend we both worked very hard in opening them and putting the contents away.  It went really fast and very efficient.  We have put a dent in it all.  Yeah!

I just counted and we have 36 boxes left to unpack.  We are planning on tackling a few this weekend.  Other than that we are really coming together as a home.  I’ll take photos when it all comes together.

Thank you very much for your interest in our very long and arduous project.

Julie

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April 18, 2021

Week 23

So, how are our home renovations going?

You tell me?  🙂

I do have some progress to report.  I will when I am finished.

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 March 13, 2021

Week 18

Hanging The Mermaid Tail

Here Gordon used fishing line to hand the cutting board fish that you see above.

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It’s been a while since I’ve written.  We’ve been busy doing other things.  But now we are finally getting our 100 plus pound mermaid tail into place.  I will leave the write up to Gordon.  So, here goes:

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I first took many measurements of the tail and the space it would be placed into.  I noted the flat part of the body and the curve of the tail were a little over 2 inches from being level with each other with the body being higher.  This was important as it meant the body would be able to rest on the openings base, leaving the tail room to rest on the wall.  I made a template of the opening and drilled two wood screws into the tail base as shown.

I taped the board to the tail so it wouldn’t move and angled the tale to ensure it wouldn’t hit our wall below the opening.

As stated before, I drilled two wood screws into the template and base to ensure the template wouldn’t move.  I then drilled two holes which would hold the 5 inch bolts I purchased.  I then barely screwed a bolt into the drilled holes then removed the wood screws and drilled two more holes where the screws were.

I used my work table to hold the tail when I drilled the holes.  It really is a beautiful piece of wood.

Here you can see the holes in the tail base.  You can also see the hanger provided in the center of the base, which would never hold the 80-120 lb. tail.

Here, Brodie is helping me set the heavy tail into the space above our bar area.  I also placed a 2 inch by 5 inch piece of gasket material under the base so the wood wouldn’t be marred.

Here, Brodie and I are taking turns ratcheting the bolts into the tail base.  I am also securing the 1/8 inch X 2 inch X 36 inch metal bars into the sides of the wall holding the tail in place.

Here you can see how I secured the tail base to the inside walls of the space.  My neighbor has a friend who was able to bend the bars at an exact 90 degree angle.  Eight bolts are holding it onto the wall.  It is overkill I know, but the bars are securely fastened to the wall.

Here you can see Julie underneath the large mermaid tail.

With a few great ideas by Julie to cover the holes, our vanishing mermaid is complete!

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February 15 – 19, 2021

Week 14

We actually took almost 2 weeks off in order to await the arrival of some furniture that we had ordered.  And to just enjoy my birthday and the food and activities that came with it.

Turning 60

I turned 60 on February 13th. and I wanted to really mark the occasion with some good food, a nice birthday cake, and we did take a canoe trip down Hillsborough River in Thonotosassa, Florida in alligator infested waters.

Julie The Photographer

I loved just sitting back and taking photos of such a lovely and peaceful birthday.

And yes, we saw about 35 alligators. 

It was awesome!

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The furniture that we have been waiting for finally arrived!  🙂

The only problem is that the movers couldn’t get the couch into our “den” which is located in the back of the house, a.k.a. Brodie’s old bedroom.  So, I told them to just leave it in the middle of our living room and I will have Gordon deal with it when he gets home.

Gordon Dealing With It

We originally ordered this pull out sleeper sofa for our den so that it could provide extra sleeping when we have guests, and if one of us gets sick from Covid we can isolate to that side of the house and be comfortable while the other one of us brings the food and drink while we are sick.  BUT, it won’t fit back there because it is just so big!

We did think about returning it but the thing is, we really do like this sleeper sofa.  It’s nice and big and sturdy.  It fits great in our beachy Hawaiian decor.  So……  we decided to rearrange our living room so that we now have 2 couches.  Yes!

The Matching Chair

All the Pillows Everywhere!

Gordon Putting The New Sleeper Sofa Together

I look forward to bringing you the finished photos of our new living room. 

Although a bit hard to tell here, it looks great!  We’ve arranged it so that we have 2 couches and the new chair and believe it or not even though we have more furniture in this room, we have managed to have more room in this room. 

You’ll see when it’s all done.  Can’t wait to show it to you!

Julie

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February 1 – 5, 2021

Week 12

Before and After

Before and After

The Furniture that we had picked up to be upholstered on November 16, 2020 is FINALLY finished and has been delivered!

They did a wonderful job!  We are so very pleased with everything! 

The chair above, and the couch below.

The fabric that you see above placed on top of the couch is the actual front of the fabric.  I knew that it was just too bold for this room so I asked them to order the fabric for us except to turn it inside out so that we have a nice hint of the fabric without throwing up Hawaii everywhere.  We love it!  it looks great!

It is now a much more comfy couch for our living room.

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This is me, age 2, sitting in that yellow chair from above except that here it is a lovely green. 

That chair belonged to my grandparents.

Here I am holding our daughter Veronica in 1988 sitting in that yellow chair.

In the photo right is my grandmother, my mother, me, and Veronica.  4 generations.

And here I am sitting in the same chair, recovered, at age 60.

  Well, I’m 60.  The chair is probably around 65.

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The History of a Couch

These are photos of my mother when she was young and lived at home with her parents.  In the photo at right she is on her way to to prom with my biological father.  The couch she is sitting on in the photo at left, and you can also see the same couch in the photo at right, is the one I just had recovered.  AGAIN.

This is me, probably age 2 laying on that couch.  I’ve always been a bit lazy.  🙂

Fast forward to 1985 and you can see me and Gordon with my little brother’s Frank and Ben, sitting on that same couch with a different fabric.  My grandmother had it recovered.

Same couch, more brothers, 1988 at my grandmother’s house.

L to R:  Ben, John, Mary Keith, Baby Veronica, Me, Johnny

Frank in Front

Same couch in green.  When I inherited the couch I decided to have it recovered in the pretty green above.  That was almost 20 years ago.

But, it was time to recover it again so……

Julie and Sparky

This is the fabric I chose.  And I love it!  I also told them to make it a bit more comfortable than it was before.  They did such a wonderful job on it.

I’ve known this couch  and that chair my entire life.  This couch has been a part of my family for around 65 years or so.  Same with the chair.  It would be where I would sit when I would visit with my grandparents and great-grandparents, and then it belonged only to my grandmother.  When she died I asked if I could have it. 

No work has ever been done to this couch other than to have it recovered.  It is strong and sturdy.  This couch has been with us all through good times and bad.  Happiness and sadness.  Death, and new life.  It has known 5 generations of my family.  I just hope that when I die that my children will recognize it’s value as an important family member and don’t just donate it to Goodwill when I’m gone.  I will so haunt them if they do!!

People say that we aren’t supposed to love material things. 

I disagree.  Especially when those material things are family.

Julie

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January 30 – 31, 2021

The Weekend

SPECIAL DELIVERY!

It was too big to bring through the front door so Gordon had to open it up outside.

Cannot wait to show you what we have planned for this!  🙂

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January 25 – 29, 2021

Week 11

Kitchen Drawers and Cabinets

When we started putting our kitchen back together we literally had to do everything from scratch.  New shelf paper, etc.  But, I Julie, literally had to clean every single item before placing it back into each drawer and cabinet.  THAT was A LOT of WORK!  As you can see judging just by our silverware drawer alone in the photo above.  So, you can imagine how much time it has taken me to tackle this big project.

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Reinstalling Shades and New Blinds to Den

The bamboo shades you see have hung in this room since we bought the house.  I chose them and am very happy with them and I didn’t want anything new where they are concerned.  However, our fabric blinds were filthy, so we needed to buy new ones.

Here Gordon is installing our new fabric blinds and reinstalling our old shades.

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Before we ordered the new fabric blinds, we needed to measure the full opening.  Once they arrived, read the directions they provide.  I then space the brackets in the opening and screwed holes into the window opening.

I then inserted plastic anchors into the holes, then drilled the screws into the bracket and anchors for a nice tight fit.

I inserted the shades into the brackets….

and made sure they worked properly.  When I removed the shades from the bracket, I accidentally broke one of the brackets.  The directions didn’t tell you how to remove the shades if needed, so I didn’t really feel bad about it.  We had another shade, so I borrowed the bracket and continued on with the installation.  If you ever break a bracket you can always call the manufacturer, tell them what happened and request another one.  It took about two weeks for them to send it to me.  They ended up sending me two at no charge.

I then had to install the bamboo shades, so I drilled holes for its brackets which went into wood, so there was no need for the plastic anchors.

When trying to install the bamboo shades they wouldn’t go into the bracket due to the assembly holding the string for the cloth shades was slightly larger.  I didn’t account for this when I installed them.  To fix this, I removed the right side bracket, filled the holes with drywall spackling, and let it dry.  I then moved the bracket out to its furthest point and drilled it back in place.

Moving the shade out 1/8 of an inch is barely noticeable as you can see.

I drilled all the holes for both shades around the other window, making sure to leave room for the string mechanism before installing the bamboo shade, as we waited for the bracket to be delivered.

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January 18 – 22, 2021

Week 10

Creating Space

I will let Gordon do the write-up of what he did to create more usable space underneath our sink, but I wanted to point something out to you in the photo above.  See the space between where our dishwasher goes and the cabinet underneath where our kitchen sink goes?  Well, it was when our cabinets were returned from being renovated that I noticed it, and I pointed out to Gordon, it is a shame we can’t utilize the space to give us more room underneath our sink, where we pretty much store quite a bit of stuff.

Gordon then called the people doing our renovations to see if they can extend the cabinet to encompass that space?  They said they could, but it would cost just over $1,000.00.  Gordon was onboard but I said, NO!  We are not paying that much money for an additional foot of space.  We will just do without. 

It was then that Gordon, the creative genius that he is, started using that noggin of his and came up with two ideas to give us more space and he didn’t buy anything in order to do it.  He used what we already had in our garage.

I will let him take it from here…….

Here to the left, we stored our cleansers, sponges, scrubbing pads, gloves, etc…  Those latter smaller items always seemed to get lost or fell between the cleansers making them hard to find and keep organized.

Here to the right of the sink, we stored all of our cooking oils, bottled sauces, vinegar, as well as our plastic wrap, baggies, aluminum foil, paper towels, etc… that couldn’t fit inside our drawer where we keep them in our kitchen.  Those were the extras because we like to stock up.  You can see how disorganized it became.

On the left side I decided to mount a basket where we could easily store our sponges, scrubbing pads, gloves, etc.  The wire basket wasn’t fully square all the way around and fell to a taper at the base.  I needed to create a way to get into the basket as well, so I removed some of the wires at the short end of the basket so that all we had to do was to reach our hand through the basket to get what we needed.  To do that, I simply used wire cutters to remove them.  I then used a file to remove the sharp points so that we wouldn’t scratch our hand or arm as we reached into it.

The tools for this job minus the canned spray oil are: a pencil, a drill, a wood drill bit, 2 wood screws 2″ long, measuring tape, level, wire metal basket 10″ x 13 1/2″ x 6″, wire cutters, file, 11″ length of 1″x 2″ wood, 2 wire shelving hanger clips, four 1″ screws, and a flashlight.

I first set the basket in where I thought would be a good spot to place it where we could access it easily and it didn’t interfere with the other things under the sink.  I then found the taper of the basket could be corrected and kept straight by using a 1″ thick piece of wood.  I then marked where the front and top of the basket should be and then where the piece of wood should be.  I drilled two holes in the wood, then a hole in the side of the cabinet.  I then drilled a 2″ screw into the closest hole joining them together.  I placed the level on the wood and drilled through the cabinet using the existing hole in the wood as a guide.  Now, drill the screw through both pieces of wood.  Using my pencil marks where the basket should go, I then placed the clips where they would lie between the wires of the basket near the front and end of the basket.  Use your pencil and mark the holes and then drill the four holes.  Place the basket and clips in place and secure them all with the screws.

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Here is my finished results.

You can see the wide opening we have to access the previously loose items.  This was an easy project to do and I hope you are inspired to do the same with your unused space.

Now, to work on the right side storage space.

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Here, I removed the items to go on top of the shelf… baggies, foil, plastic wrap, etc…  You can also see the empty space not being used.

Now, I had to place many of the items in a box, so I would have room to work.  I kept some of the taller items to use as a guide for the height of the shelf.

The shelf base is a thin piece of plywood 2′ x 3′.  I used a large piece of wax paper and with my fingernail, I traced the base section of my cabinet by making an impression into the paper.  This then gave me the exact angles and area of the space.

I used my circular saw to cut the thin plywood.

Once I put the corner section in place, I could figure out the angle of the curve for the front section.

On the picture to the left, you can see the faint wax paper template I used.  On the right, you can see the angle I used in the front.

Now With Everything Out of the Way….

I used three shelf brackets to secure the wood shelf to the cabinet.

I used a pencil to mark the optimum height of the shelf.  I then screwed 1/2″ screws to hang the brackets on the cabinet wall, being especially careful on the wall leading to the outside showing wall.

I spray painted the wood shelf white so it would blend in well with the cabinet.

I used a hot glue gun to glue the thin wood shelf to the top of the brackets.

I then placed the foil, wax paper, plastic wrap, etc… on top of the shelf.

Again, I hope you are inspired to complete this easy worthwhile project.

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Week 9, January 11-15, 2021

On The Treadmill In Our New Den

Our new den is awaiting it’s pull out sofa to be delivered mid February.  Until then it really is pointless to put this room together until that happens.  Granted, I did order some white fabric blinds to be installed.  And we will once they arrive.  But it is pointless to stock the many shelves we have in this room until that couch is delivered because we will need to clear a path for that couch and we will just need to undo, whatever it is that we do.  So, therefore we mostly wait.

We really didn’t do that much this week. 

We are slowly putting our home back in order.  We did do a lot of cooking this week.  But as far as putting our house back in order, that is taking some time.  We did call about our antique couch and chair that we are having recovered but once again they have put us off until the end of the month.  They say it is because of Covid.  Well, Covid has been a part of our lives for almost a year now so they should have factored in Covid when they originally told us it would only take 3 weeks to recover our furniture.  It’s been 2 months now and we are to believe they will both be ready in two weeks?  I am starting to doubt that.  But, we will see.  In the meantime, we are getting to things here and there as we can and as we feel like it.

My priorities are small goals and walking on my treadmill. 

I just figure that everything else will fall into place as we go.

TTYL….

Julie

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January 9 – 10, 2021

The Weekend

Backsplash on the Right of the Kitchen

We already had this backsplash in a few places in our kitchen and seeing as how we had a lot more of it in our garage, we decided to place it on this side of our kitchen.  It really was the perfect place to put it.  Gordon installed it and I will leave him to tell you how he did it.

Julie

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Don’t be afraid of trying this as most of the DIY shows are able to teach home owners this in about 5 min.  The first step in installing a backsplash is getting the tile ready.  To do this, carefully measure out the space you want to tile.  Since we had tile right on the other side of the wall next to the tiled area I was about to install, I started there. 

Gordon had already tiled this area above our breakfast bar.

In keeping with the brick look where the tile pieces are staggered, I kept the pattern going making sure the tiles were even with each other both horizontally and vertically.  When needing to cut the tiles, I used a grinding tool with a tile blade attached.  I taped the tile down on my wooden work bench and turned the grinder on its head to make these very precise straight cuts as seen above.  I also had to make some other half tile cuts, so I made them as well cutting them off of a full sheet. 

You can see the half tiles to the left of the cut sheet in the photo above, which I will place in by hand within the gaps.

These tiles come in sheets which are held together by a netted cloth which is glued to the back of the sheet.  The glued on mesh net keeps the tiles evenly spaced out.  Tiles can be easily pulled off if needed to fit your pattern.  In the picture to the right above, you can see the straight edge on the left I made when I cut off the half tiles.  After making all my needed cuts, I placed all the tiles in my pattern which would then go on the wall.  I then took some packing tape and foam packing sheets and covered the areas of my countertops as I didn’t want any excess grout to adhere to our new counter tops.  I used a putty knife to remove some grout from the container and placed it on the edges of my wall.  Using a finely notched trowel where the notches are very small, trowel some grout on the wall. The thicker the tiles you have, the thicker the notched trowel you will use.  Generally, the notches should be as deep as the thickness of your tiles.  I also used white grout for this project but it does comes in different colors.

(Although hard to see, Gordon does have clear tape on the ledge of our countertops so that the grout won’t touch the granite.)

As you move the grout with the trowel over the wall, the notches allow a small amount of grout through.  Trowel the grout over the entire surface of your wall, then place the tile on top of the grout.  Use a grout float to gently push the tiles in place as well as flattening down the tiles across the surface of your wall. Continue to trowel some grout on the wall and place more of your tile sheets within the pattern.

Here is the finely notched trowel I used and the tile float is down on the protective foam packing sheet protecting our counter tops.

Here I am placing my last piece of tile sheet on the wall.  Be sure to keep the spacing of the tile as you place them next to each other.

I had a small section to complete the pattern which I put in by hand along the top.

Use your float to press the tile to the wall.  You can also use this tool to move the tile sheet closer to each other as the grout will be wet for about 20 min.

Here, I am ensuring I have some tile under my electrical cover.  Using a moistened grout sponge, remove any excess grout off your tiles being careful not to move the tile.  Use a bucket of clean water to clean off your sponge after wiping.  Let the tiles dry for about 30 min. to allow the grout to dry and adhere the tiles to the wall.  The thicker the tiles you have, the thicker the notched trowel you will use which will then mean you have more grout.  With this said, the thicker the grout, the longer time it will need to dry.

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24 Hours Later…..

Once the tiles were adhered to the wall and are dry, it was now time to push grout between the individual tiles.  I again used a putty knife to place some grout on the tiles.

I then used a small float to push the grout between the tiles.  I used a larger float for the larger sheets.  Use a criss-cross pattern to push the grout evenly into the crevices between the tiles.  The float will almost clean the surface of the tiles of the grout as you move it.

Let the grout dry for about 5 min. before wiping it off with the dampened grout sponge.  You can see here that the tiles look a bit dull because they haven’t been wiped clean.

Use a bucket of water to clean the sponge.  Ensure the tiles are mostly clean from the grout.

Use a buffing cloth to fully clean and shine the tile once the main grout has been mostly removed.

I then remove the tape and protective foam sheet and screwed in my socket cover.  What a simple project to do which makes the entire kitchen look great.  I can’t wait to do the other side with beach glass tile.

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This is the Left Side of our Kitchen

We want to place some sort of sea glass backsplash on this side. 

We just haven’t found the right pattern yet.

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Gordon Hanging Up Our Mermaid

Call us Cornball, but we do love mermaids, especially those that have been hand carved by skilled craftsman.

We actually found these from a business in Texas that does hand carving.  Very impressive!

We are planning on ordering some more items from them soon.

We Think She Looks Beautiful

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This second mermaid we are saving for something special.  🙂

As you can see we had a busy weekend.  🙂

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Week 8

January 4-8, 2021

On Monday carpet was installed in our new den.  It’s wonderful too! 

A cashmere that your feet just sink into it with comfort.  I can very easily lay down on this carpet and be comfortable.

  The perfect carpet for a barefoot lifestyle.  🙂

Gordon Installing the New Den Door

We also bought matching doors for the guest bath and the other bedroom that will have to wait for another time.  Right now we are just focused on all that we have to do that is right in front of us.

The Den is Coming Together

(This Will Be Our Nautical Room.)

We moved my treadmill in.  It fits along that wall very nicely.

I’ve also ordered a pull out sofa and a matching chair.

From the Cindy Crawford Collection

The sofa is a pull out sleeper queen sized bed.  That will be great for extra sleeping when we have guests, or in case one of us is sick.  In the case of Covid, it would be a nice room to retreat to so as not to infect the other person.  Unfortunately, it won’t be delivered until mid February.

I also ordered the matching chair for our living room. 

I love it!  It will fit so well into our home.

This actually reminds me of a funny story of when my mother was looking for furniture for her condo out in Indian Shores years ago.  We visited a few furniture stores in Tampa but found nothing that appealed to either of us.  That is when she spotted that Scan Design store.  Scandinavian furniture.  There were NO cars in their parking lot.  I even suggested to my mother that I don’t even know if they are open?  So, we parked and walked up to the front entrance.  The door was open.  We entered their massive store.  Not a customer in sight.  All of a sudden a blonde man in his early 30’s emerged to greet us with a Scandinavian accent and asked if he could help us?  We told him that we were looking for furniture for a rental condo.  He immediately looked down his nose at us and said, “We don’t have any bam-buh.”  I immediately informed him that we are not looking for Bam-Buh!  He then looked at us with skepticism.  We did look around but saw nothing that appealed to us so we then turned around and left.

And now I have bought some furniture from the Cindy Crawford Collection that has Bam-Buh in it.  🙂

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This is What We Are Dealing With

Everything is still in disorder. 

Lots of things are still in boxes.

We are trying to build up our den while putting things away in the rest of the house.

And because our sofa bed won’t be delivered until mid-February we need to keep a clear path to the den so that it can fit in.  That means putting a hold on placing curio cabinet’s and baker’s rack’s where they need to go.  Putting the nook back together will have to wait until after the sofa bed delivery.

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Gordon’s 56th. Birthday

Dinner is Lebanese Take Out

Dessert is Pecan Pie with Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream  🙂

We played it down because we have so much going on right now.

Stay Tuned For More,

Julie

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January 2-3, 2021

The Weekend

A Project

This is a seashell picture frame that Gordon saw at a yard sale years ago and brought home one day.  It was wrapped in shrink wrap with a $119.00 price tag on the back of it, but he only paid $5.00 for it.  Great find!

We didn’t know what to do with it but we liked the fact that it matched our seashell accent and backsplash in our kitchen.  So, therefore we stashed it in the attic believing that some day we would do something with it.  Well, we pretty much forgot all about it until we started our renovations and were plowing through the attic looking for Brodie’s things so that he could haul them off to his storage room, when we came across this frame once more.

I told Gordon to bring it down from the attic and let’s see if we can find somewhere to place it in our new kitchen.

The Project Taking Form

This is a space in our kitchen above our breakfast bar.  I have always kept pretty baskets up there, usually Easter in nature.  And although they looked really nice, they did kind of detract from all the other season’s of decorating that I would do.  For example, lovely spring baskets at the top while Christmas or Thanksgiving or Halloween decorations were all over the kitchen, didn’t look too great.

You can see our seashell accent above our breakfast bar there, and the space above it.

I have always thought about somehow using fabric to make some kind of curtain to hide the baskets during the holiday season, but when we brought the frame out I realized that we could hang it there when we don’t want basket’s exposed, and remove it in the spring when we do want to display our pretty Easter baskets.

So, we have the frame, but what can we place inside of the frame?  That’s when I told Gordon to put some of our leftover seashell tiles in the middle and tie it all together that way.

Hence, The Project

You can see the heavy cardboard frame backing in the photo top left.  Gordon has spread that putty goo on it that will act as a glue so that he can attach some of our seashell backsplash.  There is some cutting involved and some squishing it flat with that yellow handled thingy, photo top right. 

(If you are impressed with my knowledge of such tools and putty goo then you should see me at Home Depot.  I’ve been known to pantomine what I am trying to find to store employee’s because I don’t know the names of things.  Much to their embarrassment.)  🙂

You can see that the project is coming together.

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Now the board has been completely covered with the seashell backsplash and it has dried.  Although I don’t have a photo of it, Gordon did spread that goo over top of the tile to fill in the edges around the shells.  It is then wiped clean so that none of the goo dries on any of the tile.

Now it was just a matter of framing the tile and then hanging it all up.

I like it!  I think it looks great and it can be removed when we want that area exposed.  The other area that is open to the right of the frame we are still debating what to do there.  We have some ideas that we are pondering.  We’ll let you know.

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Painting Over The BLUE with PLATEAU

 

The BLUE just no longer worked in our kitchen against our beautiful sandy beach countertops.  That is when I got the idea for us to choose a color that is embedded into the countertops and paint over the blue accents with a nice light beigy color.  And we chose Plateau.  I prefer a lot of natural light and our house just always seems so dark so we turn to lighter paint colors to brighten things up.

We do like the color plateau!  I’ll bring the finished results to you when we have put our entire kitchen back together.  But, as I see it we have plenty of time.  It’s January and I’m so tired of being so disorganized that once all of the professional renovations are completed I just want to take a break from boxes, and unpacking for at least a few days, or longer.  This is our winter so why can’t we hibernate a bit?  I would like to just work on things on my own time schedule.  I’m tired of jumping through hoops for all of these workers and their time schedules. 

Gordon did finish the painting this weekend.  He did white underneath to cover that blue.  And he did the plateau to cover all the rest of the blue.

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January 1, 2021

New Year’s Day

In the south we celebrate New Year’s Day with a Linner, my word for Lunch and Dinner combined, which consists of any version of Black Eyed Peas to bring us luck, and any version of Collard Greens to bring us money, Cornbread (Duh!), and any kind of meat such as Keilbasa in a Hoppin’ John, leftover Christmas Ham, or in our case, fried SPAM!  🙂

Cornbread with Onions, Cottage Cheese, and Broccoli

Oh, and everything is usually eaten in a few bowls.

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Week 7

December 28, 2020 – January 1, 2021

This has been something of a slow week.  We were able to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve/Day.  We did do a lot of cooking, which was very nice.  And our work with Graystone is finished.  They are the one’s that have been doing our professional renovations.  We did sign the last of the paperwork and have completed our association with them.

We have been moving all those things that we packed into our new “Den” out, and we have boxes and containers strewn all over our house in a very unorganized manner.  I’ll get to that in a little bit.

New Year’s Eve

Frozen Margarita’s and Nacho’s With The WORKS!

With all that we have going on inside our home the last thing that we wanted was to do a lot of cooking, so we made things fairly easy.

Great taste and not a whole lotta work.

Happy New Year!  (Finger’s crossed!)

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Week 6

December 21-25, 2020

Christmas Week

I really don’t have any construction related photos for this week. 

The electrician arrived late on Tuesday and gave us electricity in our kitchen island.  Once he did that, it meant that our professional renovations were almost finished.  It was then that a man came and finished up our plaster and trim for underneath our breakfast bar.

You can see here how nice it looks underneath!

The contract coordinator did arrive on Christmas Eve to have Gordon to sign over a check.

Our Christmas Kitchen

Oh, we still have boxes everywhere.  And the den is full of things that we need to get out of there and put back into our kitchen/nook/living room/dining room, but we are getting there.  Gordon put the dog gate back up.  Except this time he had the workers to reinforce the island from the inside construction so that it would have a strong supportive backing instead of him just screwing it into some drywall.

On Christmas Day we were literally laying shelf paper down as we were cooking our Christmas dinner.

(Check out that space between Gordon’s shirt and jeans.)  🙂

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It was really nice making Christmas dinner in our new kitchen.

We veered from tradition, as usual, and created our own Christmas Dinner based on what we wanted to eat. 

All Asian and Hawaiian inspired.

An Asian Inspired Pasta Salad, Steamed Muscles….

Baked Ham….

Our Tropical Hawaiian Cranberries….

Sweet Hawaiian Bread and Snow Peas.

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And,

Pineapple, Mango, Papaya, Coconut and Cherry Upside Down Cake

With Spooky and Sparky

We do so hope that everyone had a nice Christmas.

Julie and Gordon

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December 19-20, 2020

Our weekend was spent decorating for Christmas

We did have easy access to a few Christmas touches but other than that the last thing in the world that I wanted was to drag out boxes of Christmas from the attic, just to add to all of our boxes of household goods stacked throughout our house as it was.  So……

It was my idea to just create a Christmas Tree ourselves out of what we had at hand…..

BOXES!!!!!

There are some of our household items packed in those boxes and we have no clue what is in them.  🙂

I think that we have proven that you can have a nice Christmas simply by wrapping boxes with old wrapping paper and just being a bit creative.

My cute little pride and joy for the holidays, the gingerbread house mold and the spoons.  I bought one for me, Veronica and Mackenzie for Christmas this year.  May we all have one for our Christmas kitchen.

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As you know the plumber came on Friday and spend a few hours installing all of our plumping. 

We FINALLY have a working kitchen sink!

We Kept Our Old Kitchen Sink

(I love it as it is a nice porcelain.)

Gordon and I actually purchased this kitchen faucet a few years ago but never got around to installing it.  We love it!  It not only looks really nice in our new kitchen, but it is also very efficient in our working kitchen.  What the contractor’s did was to add the nice drains and stoppers.

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We also purchased a new garbage disposal.  The plumber installed that as well. 

You can see the button in the photo top.

All of this still has to be textured and then a trim added.

You can see underneath the breakfast bar that there are supports in place. 

And we did extend it so that it was longer that it used to be.

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Sunday was Spent Making Peanut Brittle and Sausage Balls

We made several kinds of brittle’s to give as edible gifts.

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And of course, our daughter always requests our Sausage Balls every year.

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Week 5

December 14-18, 2020

This has been the fun week. 

On Monday some mover’s came over to our house and unloaded the POD that had been sitting in our driveway for weeks now, housing quite a few of our household goods.

Now we have boxes on boxes on boxes…..  Great.  🙁

I have to say that Spooky and Sparky have fared very well through all of this, so far.

And there is our kitchen sink!

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I’m sure our HOA is just giddy over the fact that our POD is now gone. 

They picked our POD up on Wednesday.

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Thursday was Funday!

Our Kitchen Counter Tops Arrived!

Granite’s Here!

Brown Fantasy

The Granite is Here and it is Beautiful!

It was so heavy that Gordon had to help them carry it in to our house.

Our Kitchen BEFORE

Our Kitchen During…..

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Dot, Dot, Dot, Dot, Dot………

It is coming together beautifully!

You can see in the photo left that when they pulled up the old backsplash it left behind some damage.  That is o.k. as we are going to plaster that in and cover it with a nice backsplash.

Everything is looking so nice!  🙂

We love how much taller our counter around the sink and our breakfast bar is. 

About 2 inches taller.  Washing dishes will be so much nicer on our lower backs now.

Such a beautiful pattern.

The sink is in but there is no running water, YET.

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Friday:  The Plumber Arrived

He must have been here 4 hours.

Because we built up our counters and island by 2 extra inches he had to build up the dishwasher as well in order for it to fit.

He installed our new dishwasher that we bought. 

It looks great!

He also installed our new sink faucet, and our new garbage disposal.

It’s all coming together.

We’ve also been going over paint swatches for our kitchen.

I think we’ve decided.

Plateau it is!

These will be the touches in our kitchen.

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The Weekend

December 12-13, 2020

A Project of Gordon’s

With our new carpet down we wanted to get rid of this brown plastic outlet that sits in the middle of our floor, and upgrade it with a nice brass one seeing as how we have lots of brass outlet and light switch covers in our home.

This project took Gordon a lot longer than he thought it would.

He had to dig out the cheap plastic gray ring inside of it and do a bunch of other technical stuff that I just don’t know or care about.

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With the power being shut off in our living room and in our bedroom, I didn’t have power to run my computer so it shut down.

As the hours went by and Gordon was still working on this outlet thingy, I started to get a bit stir crazy.  That’s when he said that he had to run to Home Depot to buy something to make this thing work.  Well, it was then that I decided to turn the power back on while he was gone so that I could have the internet and get my computer charging up.  So, I left Gordon a nice note:  I TURNED THE POWER ON!  You can see it above.

When he got home he saw the note and I got the chewing out of my life!!! 

Apparently there were live wires…..  something like that?  Boy!  Was he ever mad at me! 

Hey, I’m intellectual but I never said I was smart.

(Our second fight during renovations.)

Gordon did get the fixture installed correctly. 

You can tell by those green lights that are on.

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I did spend the weekend putting together packages to get in the mail for our out of towner’s, and I wrapped all the gifts for underneath the tree for Veronica, Brian, and our Grand-dog Chewie.  Then Gordon ran those over to their house.  Veronica is in lockdown because someone at her job tested positive for Covid 19 but, she is on holiday from her job until January so no one at her job is missing work because of it.  They are shut down as it is until after the new year.

We do have edible goodies to run over to their home soon but we wanted them to have our gifts underneath their tree for them to enjoy.  My kids always did like it when the gifts would arrive from everywhere and we would place them underneath the tree.  🙂

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Mail Has Arrived!

These lovely carved wood mermaids will go somewhere around our breakfast bar.  Whether they be swimming from on top, or nestled underneath where you see them in the photo below.  That we don’t know yet but we are very excited they have arrived. 

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Week 4

December 7-11, 2020

This has been a fairly slow week as far as renovations go.  Gordon has been doing a 4 hours in the office on base and then 4 hours at home, work schedule.  On Tuesday we had our Renovation Coordinator over to inspect the installation of our kitchen island that took place last week.  And then we also had our countertop guy come and create a template of how long and wide we want our countertops and breakfast bar to be. 

On Thursday we had our new carpet installed:

BEFORE and AFTER

Sweet Basil it is!  Although the photo top right, doesn’t do it justice.  It is a beautiful color carpet.  Gordon had been vacuuming it which is why you see all the lawn mowing rows in it.  I feel like I am walking barefoot in freshly mowed grass.  Which is what I wanted in the carpet to begin with.  I was so sick of beigey carpet.  Although I do love a white beige in the bedrooms and dining room.

It’s been a fairly cold week for us which is why we have had lots of snuggling in blankets with the dogs.  🙂

Last Night’s Dinner of Potsticker’s on a Paper Plate

They were delicious, and Gordon can make anything look good. 

Even on a paper plate.

As far as I know there is nothing going on tomorrow, Friday, except some projects of mine.

Monday, they move our things back inside our house from our POD in our driveway.

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Renovations and Relationship

I felt it was important for me to give you an idea of how our relationship has fared through these renovations just to give you an idea of perhaps what to expect if you are to go through something similar in the future.  First of all, every couple that we have ever known in our life that have gone through home renovations and lived in the house through those renovations have all said the same thing….  that they almost divorced.

I believe that they were kidding but I also believe their joke was based on probably a lot of stress and arguing that went on between the two of them during their home renovations.  So, when we were going to be going through these I had a talk with Gordon about how I hope that we will fare well through all of this and not be at each other’s throats all the time.  We both agreed that we would do our best to get along with each other and not let things get to us.  Also this movie, The Money Pit, is about how the renovations of a house almost ruined the relationship between a young couple that were planning their lives together.

Well…….

Two weeks prior to our official renovations started Gordon and I had a lot to do in prep work to prepare for those renovations.  It was a lot of hard work.  I have never slept so soundly in years than I did during that time frame.  Once my head hit that pillow I did not awaken until the morning hours.  I go to bed at night with a glass of water beside me and when I wake up it is usually gone because I sip it throughout the night.  However, every morning that I would wake up that glass was still full from the night before.  I got some great sleep during those 2 weeks.  Gordon did too.

It was 4 days prior to our official renovations starting that Gordon was feeling a bit stressed.  In the past when Gordon is stressed he will pick a fight with me.  Now, whether he does this consciously or subconsciously, that I do not know.  But, he does start a fight with me when he is stressed because he knows I will fight back.  I am a fighter.  So, while we argue, he gets it all out of his system and then starts to feel better, I, on the other hand, feel worse.  Being an Empath I absorb all his bad feelings so he feels better but I feel worse.  It is also exhausting to me.  Which is why in the past I had dubbed him The Human Vacuum Cleaner, (because he can suck the life out of me.)  🙂

That is when I grabbed the T.V. remote and a little throw pillow and blanket and camped out on the Lazy Boy Chair and I told Gordon that I am done for the day and that he can do the rest of the work himself.  He then tried to plead with me that he needed my help.  That’s when I told him that if he is nice tomorrow then I will gladly help but right now I am exhausted and that I am going to care for myself.  And that perhaps in the days to come if he needs my help then he needs to reign in his stress and not take it out on me.  Otherwise, I will not lift a finger to help him prepare.

And that was the last fight we had.  Actually, I’m sure it won’t be our last fight ever.  But, it was the last fight we’ve had, and we’ve started week 6 of our prep work and home renovations.  🙂

I think that because people see us all smiles and happiness in our website that people assume we have some perfect marriage.  We don’t.  It’s just that we tend to photograph all the good times and not the bad times.  What do your family photo albums record?  All the stress and arguments?  Or, all the happy times of family, and holidays, and trips, and foods, etc.  We’re no different than you.  But, we have been together for 38 years, and married for 35, so we have learned a thing or two along the way and every marriage does require work.  If you don’t work on it then it will end.  Any relationship that you have that is important to you then it does require some work.  That’s just life.

I can’t help but think had we be going through these renovations in the summer months when it feels like 100 degrees outside would we be as calm as we have been?  This being December it is much cooler and we can open the sliders into the back and let the cooler air in, in order to air the place out and for the workers to bring all that they need to into our house from the front door.  Had we had small children through all of this how would that have affected us?  We would probably be under a great amount of pressure to hurry up the renovations just so that we can put up a tree for the kids because they are sad that everyone they know has their tree up but us.  The fact that Gordon has been able to work from home and not going into the base has made our home renovations better.  He is here to sit out there and supervise while he works online.

There are always factors that either contribute to your situation or detract from it.  We have fared very well so far with these renovations because of our circumstances.  Other’s may not fare as well as we have because their circumstances may be different.  Just because we have had an easier time than you and have not had a bunch of arguing doesn’t make us better than you, it just makes us different than you because perhaps our situation was easier than yours?  Just realize that when you encounter your own challenges it is up to you to rise to the occasion and figure things out along the way.  And recognize that.  Good luck!

See You In The Money Pit,

Julie

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The Weekend

December 5-6, 2020

More NEW Faucets in our Bathroom

It wasn’t that long ago that Gordon had installed new bathroom sink faucets.  We were very happy with them until mine started leaking a few weeks ago.  Because we were going through renovations in our kitchen and living room we just sort of ignored it until we could no longer.  I do write about it below.  However, when the leaking became too much Gordon shut the water off to my sink and then purchased us two more faucets to replace the one’s he just installed a few months ago. 

Here is my New Sink Faucet

Gordon Installing My New Faucet

It looks good and it works, but I am not going to place all my toiletries back underneath my sink until I am sure that this new faucet is secure and won’t leak.  I’ll post a picture when I get things more in order.

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Paint Swatches

With our new kitchen countertops being a granite with colors that look like the beach, I thought that our kitchen blue just wouldn’t look very good anymore.

Everything that you see here, and the photos below, are the blue touches that we have in our kitchen.

A lot of our kitchen is white, we just have borders of blue.

Gordon Holding up Color Swatches

Thinking About Painting the Blue a Tan/Beige Color

Seeing as how our countertops will be this……

And, the kitchen accent wall is this……

I think we need to remove that blue that is in our kitchen and paint it a beigy color to match one of the colors that ties the two together.

We will still keep our kitchen nook the blue and white though.

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We also did our recreation Money Pit dinner.  It was fun!  We did our best to make it simple too.  We purchased the rotisserie chickens from the grocery store so that we didn’t have to cook them, I made this very simple garden salad, Gordon roasted some Brussel Sprouts and steamed some Broccoli and Cauliflower, and I warmed up some store bought bread.  Easy!

Me, tossing that salad as much as Anna did.

The most complicated thing that we made was the Basil and Curly Parsley Pesto Salad Dressing.

Our Money Pit Salad and Dressing

(We even waited a while for it to turn a bit brown to resemble the dirt and rubble in the photo left.)  🙂

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What’s left of our Purple and Green Basil from our Herb Garden

We pretty much just threw this together without much thought.

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Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussel Sprouts with a drizzling of Olive Oil and a Coastal Seasoning, tossed, and then placed on a baking sheet to be put in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes.  I forgot to take a photo of the finished results.

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Our Pesto consisted of Fresh Purple and Green Basil, Curly Parsley, Hot Chili Oil, Garlic Clove, Sea Salt, Key Lime Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, and that’s it.

We just eyeballed this recipe.

Place all of your green and garlic clove into a blender and then add some oil. 

Here we used a hot chili oil to give the pesto some heat.

Adding the Lemon and Lime Juice.

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Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

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And then grind until nice and perfect.  OH!  I almost forgot.

  We did throw in a few of our Tabasco Peppers from our garden.

We did let it sit to turn a bit brown until we were ready to dress the salad.  It was a prettier green initially.  But the color does not detract from the taste at all.

Delicious Salad

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While all the renovations go on Gordon sits at his little table and works from home.

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Reno Week 3

November 30th. – December 4, 2020

We were originally told that the entire renovations would be 3 weeks but obviously they will go into a 4th. week and maybe even beyond.  They didn’t do that much last week because it was Thanksgiving week, which is fine, we understand, it has actually  been something of an adventure for us.  And we have played around with it a bit. 

Monday

We woke up early, as usual, to a huge thunderstorm! 

Ahh…  Loved it!  Loud thunder, forked lightening, torrential rain!  Julie’s perfect day.  🙂

While Gordon was in the shower I started opening up the shutters and turning off our outside lights when I noticed a white van parked in our driveway with a man asleep at the wheel.  I immediately launched into my, “Gordon.  There’s a man asleep in our driveway in a white van.  You wanna hurry up out of the shower?”

Turns out it was one of the workers that prefers to beat the rush hour traffic to get to a job site and while he waits for everyone else to arrive, he takes a nap.  Well, can’t fault efficiency.

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Over the weekend I had restocked our little mini-fridge in the bathroom with some new foods because I knew things were to get really busy in our living room and the dogs and I were going to stay put in the bedroom all day.

Breakfast of Eggo Waffles, I’ve eaten every morning this week.

(The breakfast of Stranger Things fan’s everywhere.)

And Lunch was a nice Salad

I do have to tolerate the whining from Sparky as he longs for his man Gordon.

So, while the dogs and I are in the bedroom, work was going on right outside our door.

Drywall Being Installed

(Although we had to wait until the storm passed before they could bring the drywall into the house.  It getting wet would have put us back to square one with mold.)

Drywall On Both Sides

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Electrician Did Some Rewiring

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Gordon’s Measurements

We always attach our ‘walk through dog gate’ to this island and Gordon wanted the area where he attaches it to be a strong connection instead of it just being screwed into dry wall, so he has taken measurements and will tell the guys where he would like a 2×4 placed inside the island so that he can do that.

And Yahoo!  Our New Dishwasher Has Arrived!!!

Although it really doesn’t matter as we can’t hook it up yet.  🙁

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Tuesday

 

The drywall people came back to spray the texture on our walls today.

And if you notice we had our countertops and breakfast bar raised by a few inches.

We are tall people and we wanted this area raised so that washing dishes and chopping food would be a more comfortable activity on our lower backs.

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Meanwhile……

My bathroom sink faucet has been leaking water all around it now for a week or so.  We have sort of ignored it as we are just so preoccupied with all that is going on in our kitchen and living room.  However, when I reached for my hairspray it was sitting in water underneath my sink, I knew things were bad!

Everything from underneath my sink went into a box and now sits on the edge of our bathtub. 

Hey, it’s not like our tub isn’t full enough. 

Luckily, there is no damage underneath my bathroom sink.  Gordon did buy us some new faucets and hopefully that will solve the problem.  The last thing I want to hear right now is that we need a new bathroom.  🙁  I know that we do, but I am not ready for it right now.  I want the rest of my house back in order first. 

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Wednesday

I am not quite sure what is going on here,

but I know painting is going on here.

Also new baseboard trim.

Things are coming together.

I decided that I no longer wanted the gold walls here.  After all, we are getting a sandy colored countertops in our new kitchen and I didn’t want the old yellow conflicting with the tans.  So, I figured a white space would be best for now.

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Thursday/Friday

Our Kitchen Coming Together

Our Kitchen Cabinets are Back

Now we are just awaiting next week, Week 4, to see what happens next.

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Happy Birthday Brodie!

We asked Brodie to drop by for his birthday gifts.

Brodie greeting the dogs that miss him and love him tremendously.

It was a Pizza Day for Brodie!  We had him pick up some for us, and some for him and Mackenzie.

Gosh Yeah!

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And I just had to post this cute photo of Gordon with Spooky and Sparky.  🙂

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November 28-29, 2020

Thanksgiving Weekend

Our Granite Slab that we have chosen for our Kitchen Counters.

(To me it looked like the waves rolling onto the beach.  Very sandy and wavy.  Leaving exposed the sea shells.)

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Canning Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries

and,

Tropical Cranberries

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Tropical Cranberries

(As you can see I haven’t worked on the Tropical Cranberries yet.)

Seeing as how we had nothing going on this weekend, and we had just used up the last jar of our Florida Christmas Cranberries for Thanksgiving, I suggested to Gordon that we do some canning.  I mean, why not?  We had the time, we had the space, and we had nothing else to do.

They both turned out really great.  Not just for us to use, but for us to give as gifts.

They are Spicy HOT!

If you would like to take a look:

Click Here For:  Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries

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November 27, 2020

Friday

Leftovers, The Last Taste of Thanksgiving

I believe this one will be memorable.

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November 26, 2020

Happy Thanksgiving

Thursday

As you know we cooked our Thanksgiving Turkey a few days ago on our outside grill…….

(It was hot as hell, but we were determined to wear our Thanksgiving pajamas as we can only really wear them 1 or 2 days a year.  We are also determined to get our money’s worth out of them for years to come.)

Luckily for us we do still have a working microwave and a stove top/oven.

Our Lovely Kitchen

Gone is our kitchen sink but we did set up a portable table to help with the much needed counter space.

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Thanksgiving Day

We wanted our Thanksgiving to be simple and easy. 

What with the turkey out of the way it was just a matter of grilling and cooking up some sides.  We knew that we just wanted turkey sandwiches with the works!

Our Thanksgiving Dinner consists of Turkey Sandwiches made on either Sour Dough Bread slices, or our Cornbread Dressing that we made into bread slices by spreading it out on a baking sheet and then placing it into a 350F oven until done, and then slicing it into sandwich sized bread, and then placed back into the oven to brown a little bit more. 

Like so:

This recipe is on our:

ThanksGrillin’

 

Here Gordon is fixing his sandwich using our Cornbread Dressing as the bread slices.

Our sandwiches consist of our Thanksgiving Turkey, Bacon, our homemade Tarragon Mustard, White Cheddar Cheese slices, Grilled Yams, Grilled Onions, store bought Cole Slaw, and our last jar of homemade Florida Christmas Cranberry Sauce.  Also store bought gravy for dipping our sandwiches into.

Our Sides are the Hasselback Potatoes cut into medallions to resemble Potato Chips. 

With a nice drizzle of Sour Cream and Chives.

Also, our homemade Dill Pickle slices and some store bought Salt Cured Olives.

Gordon’s Dinner Plate  🙂

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Decorations were simple.  A pumpkin with some flowers in a bucket.  🙂

Putting all the food away was actually quite easy because dinner was easy.

We hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!

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November 23, – 25, 2020

Thanksgiving Week, and Week 2 of Renovations

This Was a Very Light Week

Monday

This has been a slow week as far as our renovations being done.  They came by at noon and told us to get out of the house for a few hours while they sprayed this alcohol based mold remover in our kitchen.  So, we just moved outside to our lanai while the spray did it’s thing and then came back in when it had evaporated.  I grabbed a quick lunch, obviously. 

Lunch

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Tuesday

They came back today in order to gather samples to send to a lab to make sure that all of our mold was gone. 

That is all they did today.

In the meantime, what with Thanksgiving in 2 days we needed to make our cornbread for our cornbread dressing.

You see, it needs to sit out and get a bit stale so that the dressing will be magnificent. 

 

Making Corn Bread

Here Gordon is pouring the buttermilk batter into my Great-Grandmother’s Cast Iron Skillet.

But first, a blob of Crisco goes in the skillet to then melt in the oven and then the batter is added.  You can see the rim of grease around the sides of the batter.  That is perfection.  🙂

Into the oven it goes on 350F

Gordon was monitoring this.  I just wish he had let it brown a bit more on top. 

Other than that, it was perfect.

We placed the cornbread into a mixing bowl and covered with foil to vent so that the cornbread could dry out a bit.  I have it on my Xylophone behind my desk in our bedroom.  Just because of the renovations.

The cornbread wasn’t getting stale fast enough for me so I decided to place it beside this machine that we have had going off in our home sucking up the moisture in the air.  I figured, why not?  Turn that cornbread stale!  🙂  And it did!

The workers did come back today and removed that big tent that had roped off our kitchen.  That’s good.  At least we now have more room to access what is still left of our kitchen.

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Sunday, November 22, 2020

Our Weekend Thanksgiving

A.K.A. ThanksGrillin’

We decided to shoot and grill our Thanksgiving Turkey before Thanksgiving. 

We have something very special planned to do with it and we will bring that to you.  🙂

It Turned out Perfect!

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We also created a new post depicting our Thanksgiving Turkey called:

ThanksGrillin’

If You Would Like To Take A Look

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November 21, 2020

 

This is a great start to a nice weekend.  With all the worker’s gone we got some much needed privacy.  We do have access to our refrigerator in our kitchen, we just have to unzip and crawl through something akin to a tent to get to it.  But with people and construction going on we usually steer clear of it. 

Those loud machines that suck the moisture out of the air were going full force though through the entire weekend.  I do have to say that all that white noise helped me to sleep very well.  As well as pick up so much information that travels through white noise.  🙂  (Only an Empath will understand that.)

I’ve shown you a bit of our menu over this past week.  We haven’t used a lot of dishes as we have mainly eaten sandwiches, some soups made in the coffee pot, and a few salads.  But that light eating can only last so long.  Here is one of my salads.

I have been washing dishes in our laundry room sink and setting them out to dry on top of our dryer.  But, I only do this when our worker’s aren’t here as I am doing my best not to come in contact with them for health purposes.

We have picked up a few nights of take out food.

Here we picked up Chinese Take Out and watched the new release of the movie Mulan.  Loved it!

Chinese also makes excellent leftovers.

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November 20, 2020

Reno Day 5

Me, In the Pantry, In the Kitchen

As you can clearly see, this is not an ideal kitchen situation. 

Yes, we do have access to our stove top, oven and microwave, but who wants to be in that cramped space?

 

Which is why cooking in our kitchen isn’t so ideal at this time.

This was Breakfast and Lunch for me Today

These are foods that are easy to keep in our mini-fridge and besides, I really don’t associate eating in my bedroom so I haven’t been that hungry as it is.

The dogs also haven’t been very hungry and I think that is because all of this is new and different and they just don’t know what to think about it.  But, we have got through Week 1!  Our workers won’t be back until Monday, November 23rd.

We do have something special planned for this weekend and you will just have to trust me when I tell you it will be fun.  You’ll see!

Julie

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November 19, 2020

Reno Day 4

I haven’t been in there yet to see what they’ve done today.  But, they found a hell of a lot more mold which is alarming to us.  Also, the supervisor overseeing all the work is no longer with the company as of today.  Don’t know what happened but that is a bit disappointing given that we started with him and were happy with him.  So, the new supervisor just left.  Gordon met with him. 

The dogs and I spent most of the day in our lair/bedroom/bathroom.

They are very sweet and easy to handle. 

They just like to go outside and chase the squirrels. 

Spooky went nuts when she saw squirrels running all over our lanai cage.

But, now is the time to do those things that I never have time to do because a house is a big responsibility and there is always something to clean or do.

My Reading Nook

(I also have two very long stacks of books beside me.)

It’s been fun just sitting there flipping through decorating books.  Some of these books I had not gotten around to looking at and I bought them years ago.  And some books I had just ordered and happy that they had arrived.

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Well, I finally decided to take a look in the kitchen and to grab a few cans of mango.

(Oh, and the shirt I am wearing was a gift Gordon had made for me when we were dating and both of us working at Carowinds Amusement Park.  It is 38 years old.  He used to be Yogi Bear.)  🙂

Here is a photo of Gordon getting into his costume.

Gordon as Yogi and that is Jabber Jaws on the right.

They are from the Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Series

I came across these photos when I was doing some reno-prep and that got me to thinking about the shirt I am wearing above.  I hadn’t worn it in awhile and I wanted to.  I can be very sentimental.

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This is an area where they found more mold and had to cut away at the dry wall and rip up this part of the carpet. 

And we still have those loud machines going in our living room/kitchen, sucking up all that moisture.

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Dinner Tonight

Thawing Sandwich Meat out in our Bathroom Sink

(It was frozen in vacuum sealed packaging.)

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Everyone is Having a Snuggly Day

We Do Have a Comfy Cozy Bed

I Think Sparky’s Drunk on Love

(He loves his man Gordon.)

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Sandwiches For Dinner

Making Toast in the Bathroom

The bathroom mini fridge easily houses lunch meats, cheeses. and condiments.  Which is why we’ve eaten quite a few sandwiches this week whether for lunch or dinner. 

Mine above:  Salsalito Turkey on Seeded Rye with Muenster, Romaine, Our Tarragon Mustard, Our Dill Pickle Slices, Roma Tomatoes purchased at a road side stand from a family, and my cheese stuffed red peppers.  Oh, and I always love a spring onion whenever I have a sandwich.

All For Now,

Julie

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November 18, 2020

Reno Day 3

Right Outside Our Bedroom on the Lanai

Sparky and Spooky

This was not a particularly busy day for us.  The workers did show up and finished packing and moving the rest of our living room things out into our POD.  They also expanded our kitchen area that they had roped off from yesterday with their big plastic tents. 

I know that when I took the dogs out while they were working that they all stopped what they were doing to look at me and the dogs as we exited into the backyard.  As if they had spotted some rare unicorn.  I was even tempted to start prancing around just to entertain them but then thought better of it.  🙂  I have been keeping away from them and sequestering the dogs away as well, just to keep on the safe side. 

They will be back tomorrow to do more work.  We’ll document, as usual.  Until then.

Julie

But here is our kitchen:

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November 17, 2020

Reno Day 2

Julie’s Pajama Bedroom Selfie

(Something I never dreamed I would be doing.  I feel like such a naughty Kardashian.)  🙂

If I am going to be sequestered to the bedroom then why not wear pajamas?

Time To Pay The Bills

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I am feeling much better today than I felt yesterday.  I think I just needed to rest up, take that 3 hour nap I took, and have the lazy day that I had yesterday.  Not to mention the good night of sleep I got last night.  My only ailments today are some sore arms from a lot of heavy lifting in our reno-prep, and my butt bruise due to my hard fall I had last week.

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I Took These Photos of our Kitchen Last Night

This is where it all started. 

We’ve had some mold experts out to our house yesterday and today to take samples of our mold and to take some with them.  I told Gordon that I think that we should be collecting our own samples and keeping them, just in case.  I think in this day and age we need to look out for ourselves and there are so many businesses and organizations that do not care about people and what we go through and will not have a problem screwing us over to protect their own interests.  I’m not saying that about this company that is overseeing our renovations, but I do worry about who they report to.

We are also documenting everything by taking photographs.

When we had our lanai extended a few years ago one of the workers drove a spike down into the area they were pouring the cement and busted a pipe in our sprinkler system.  Luckily, because I took so many photos, we had the proof and the company paid to repair our sprinklers whereas they weren’t going to until I produced the photograph.  So, document your workers.

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As I’ve said, the dogs and I are staying put in mine and Gordon’s bedroom, but Gordon is stationed in a corner of our living room doing his work from home while we had so many people coming through the house today.  Gordon is on a ‘one week at home, one week at work’ kind of a schedule.  This is his week to work from home.  At least he is in there to oversee everything that is going on and in documenting the work as well.

I’ll be posting all those photos.

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I Set a Table up Outside our Bedroom Door

I told Gordon this is where he can deposit our mail for me to go through. 

We are expecting a lot of packages.

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I Made Us Lunch Today

A coffee pot is for much more than just making coffee.

  It is great for heating up water to be poured into a Cup of Noodles Soup.

I washed the coffee pot and filter out first.  I then ran hot water through the coffee maker twice before I heated up the water to make Gordon’s soup.  I didn’t want any coffee flavor residue to taint the taste of the soup.  These soups are very easy.  You just need to add hot water to them and let them sit for a few minutes to soften the noodles.

Now For MY Soup

These soups are the snacks that local people in Hawaii eat everyday.  You will see kids playing in parks and they will pull a pack out of their pocket and start snacking on the dry noodles.  When I was cooking them I would always snack on the dry noodles myself.  Veronica and Brodie would also eat them dry occasionally.  A common sight with the locals of Hawaii.  A nice memory to add to our renovation diary.

I simply placed the dry noodles into the coffee pot and then turned it on to have the water heat up and make my soup for me.  (Along with the spice packet, of course.)  I used to do this when I was in college.  We never drank coffee but everyone in the dorm had a coffee pot in their rooms to use it to make other things.

I could have wandered out to our herb garden and snipped off something nice to add to my soup, but I didn’t.  Next time I will utilized my herbs that are right outside my door.

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Graystone Renovations

The company we are working with.

Our Upholsterer’s O’Neil and Son’s Picked up our Couch and Chair Today

(Can’t wait to see the results when they finished the recovery.)

It was funny that when Gordon was talking to them he mentioned the fabric that we want except we want it inside out and that is when the man in the red shirt said, “Your the one!  Your request went through the whole store!” 

I write about that in the post below.

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MOLD

Back to Back

Our corner of our living room that housed our entertainment center.  Look at all that mold and damage.  The water leaked from underneath the wall in the left photo, and ended up here on the right photo.  We are told that our entertainment center damage is too massive underneath and that we will need to buy a new one. 

This is our Entertainment Center

This is perfect for our needs.  We own lots of DVD’s, VHS Tapes, and Bluray’s.  We will never find a more perfect entertainment center that can house all of our collections and keep them tucked away.  We have been looking online at furniture stores in our area and none of them are this massive and has this much storage. 

The younger generations are not into owning video’s.  They are into subscribing to this or that and then streaming what they want on their computers or cell phones.  But, they are dependent on a corporation and technology for their entertainment.  We are just dependent on electricity for ours.  I think ours is more reliable.

When you own something then it is yours. 

But, if you are constantly “renting,” then it isn’t.

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The Kitchen is Cordoned Off

That is Gordon doing something underneath there.  I forget what?  🙂

But, this is the tent they have erected around our kitchen. 

Also two machines that run non-stop to suck the moisture out of the air.  (I did wake up skinnier than usual.  I’m wondering if those machine’s are sucking the moisture out of me?  I did wake up in the middle of the night so thirsty that I drank 2 cans of Gingerale.)  🙁

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Time To Buy A New T.V. For Our Bedroom

I have been against buying a new T.V. for our bedroom for a few years now.  I just didn’t think it necessary as we don’t watch too much T.V. in our bedroom so I couldn’t justify the expense.  We would generally just watch it for an hour or so as we would drift off to sleep at night.  But, with our kitchen renovations and us being so sequestered in our bedroom, I finally agreed to a new one.  Plus, the old one finally started to develop lines in the screen disrupting the picture.  Because this is November with all the Black Friday deals going on we were able to find a nice T.V. that was so cheap too!  We also bought a flat screen for our new “den” for when we set that room up.

(I’ve been asked why I have a cross in my bedroom if I am not religious?  That cross I actually bought for a Dracula Halloween one year that I hope to recreate and photograph for a future Halloween post.  But, I also own stars and a Buddha or two.  That doesn’t make me Jewish or Buddhist.  My range is far more wide than the average person is capable of giving me credit for.)

Gordon Installing our New T.V.

Removing the Old One, Installing the New One

Our Kitchen That We Will Not Be Doing Much Cooking In

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Which Is Why……

Popeye’s Verses Chick Fil A

Having grown up in the south with my grandmother’s friend Edna having ties to Chick Fil A, and us constantly receiving coupons for free Chick Fil A sandwiches, and with them being so delicious, I am a Chick Fil A girl.  Gordon however, is a Popeye’s guy.  I will agree that in comparison his sandwich is so much bigger and crunchier than mine.  BUT, I really don’t need all that extra chicken and breading when I am trying to lose some weight or even maintain my weight.  I will agree that I do not care for the owner of Chick Fil A.  He is something of a homophobe, etc.

Regardless, it was a delicious dinner for the two of us.

Julie

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November 16, 2020

GOOD MORNING!

The Renovations Begin

Our Coffee and Tea Station

(In our bathroom.  BUT, just so you know, we do have a separate toilet room so the coffee station isn’t exactly in our “bathroom.)”

Found my Splenda Packets

Obviously I Adore our Coffee Station  🙂

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I have not been feeling very well today.  It was hard to get out of bed this morning when the alarm went off.  I also haven’t eaten very much today but I am craving a nice big sandwich for dinner.  I think all this work has just caught up to me.  Also that big fall that I took.  My body is sore and I’m just tired and need to rest.  I was awake for a few hours last night and couldn’t sleep so I took a nice nap today.  It was great!  I had a lazy day.  And I actually spread out some books across the bed that I came across during our reno-prep that I hadn’t looked at in years and flipped through a few of them before I got drowsy and went to sleep.

Gordon Dealt With All the Reno Guys

What You See Here Is Pretty Much All They Did Today

They Did Find Lots of Mold From the Leaky Dishwasher

They did cut all the water off leading to our kitchen.  That means no ice from the refrigerator for awhile.  But, luckily I had the foresight to save some ice into large freezer baggies yesterday.  I don’t even know why I did it?  Something just told me to.  So, we do have lots of ice saved in our freezers out in our garage.

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Doctoring Up the Pho

(Pronounced Fu)

We are Huge Fans of Pho

This is one of our renovation foods that we are turning to for taste and comfort.

The soup does come with a nice base.

And now for the doctoring up:

Thin sliced Zucchini

Thin sliced Mushrooms

Thin sliced Spring Onions

A Sprinkling of Curry Powder

Leftover Chicken and Mushrooms from the Asian Store

(We are trying to use up fresh vegetables in our refrigerator.)

Microwave and Viola! 

A much better Pho than it could have been.

All for now.  Day 2 starts tomorrow.

Julie

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November 15, 2020

Last Day of Reno Prep

Gordon and I are both exhausted!  Tomorrow is the big day!

We have both been working so hard in doing all this reno prep. 

Packing, painting, planning, plotting, and any other “P” words you can think of.  🙂

Today my main focus was to continue our “studio apartment” prep for myself, Gordon and our dogs.  Tomorrow our contractor arrives with his workers.

The Snack Shelf

The Food Case

During our Reno Prep I Found This Photo of Gordon’s Grandmother Beryl

(I stuck her in the middle of the paper roses.  And just shut up you Marie Osmond fans that start to belt out that tune.  I mean it!)

(The Tower of Pho, Pronounced Fu.)  🙂  I giggle every time.

Our File Cabinet of Food and Needs

A Niche Housing our T.V. Trays

Advil, The Medication that is Getting me Through Reno Prep

A Jar of Doggy Treats

I moved the dogs food and water bowl into our bathroom.

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Making CHEX MIX AGAIN!

Look, I really needed to make my most favorite thing in the world. 

Just to make me feel better.  Strangely, other than Brodie and myself no one seems to really care about Chex Mix.  WTF?  What is wrong with all of you?  Honestly! 

These gooey dark bits are what Brodie and I would fight over.

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I set up these comfy cozy dog beds for Spooky and Sparky underneath my desk.  Also their dog toys to give them comfort and blankets for when our weather turns a bit cold tomorrow.

Spooky watches way too much T.V. and gets way too emotional.  Especially during those ‘save the dogs’ commercials.  She actually cries when they come on.  Dogs are empathic, btw, and also really annoying.  I have enough emotions to deal with myself without taking on Spooky’s.

Just a few more things to do and then it’s time to crash and not wake up until that damn alarm goes off tomorrow morning.  🙁

Julie

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November 14, 2020

Exhausted, But Happy

I don’t really know if I would use the word “happy” to describe my feelings right now but I guess it’ll do.  But, I suppose that I am just more pleased that we are making progress in all of our reno-prep.

It is exactly like we are moving, all this mess, all this packing.

Removing all that we had stored up here.  Also, Gordon is painting the area white as we never got to do it a few years ago when we originally painted the kitchen.  We just had too much stuff up there and didn’t want to move it.  Well, now we can paint up there.

Boxes, Packing, and More Boxes

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Moving Things Into Our Den For Renovations

Nothing is as it Should Be, It Just is What it Is

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Prepping Our Bedroom

What you see here is my suitcase full of food, paper plates, cutlery, dog treats, etc.

Our Bedroom Sliders Leading to our Lanai

This is the exit that I will use to take the dogs out during the day during our renovations.  I also told Gordon, who will be in the same room as the reno guys, to use this entrance/exit to see us.  Not the bedroom door leading to the living room.  I want to block that door off so that no Covid 19 virus can get through there. It is also supposed to be cool weather for us starting on Monday, our reno day.  I told Gordon that he may want to open the sliders in the living room and turn off the A/C.  Just make sure no snakes or lizards crawl into our home at that time.

Because we are cleaning so much I wanted to make sure our dogs were bathed so that we didn’t need to worry about that. I have been doing all of our laundry, bedding, towels, dog beds, etc. so that we are good for awhile.

Sparky All Clean From His Bath

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Well, this is it for today. 

We only have one more day to prepare .

Talk to you soon,

Julie

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November 13, 2020

I really don’t have that much to say to update you for today.  Gordon and I are still packing things up that we have been moving into Brodie’s old bedroom/our future den.  Things that are important to us and things that we will need access to.  I’ve also been carving out niches in our bedroom and bathroom that will be important to us in getting through these renovations easily.  I’ll take some photos tomorrow and post them.  I am also doing laundry today, tomorrow, and Sunday in order to have everything nice and clean so that I don’t have to get in the laundry room until next weekend when the workers aren’t here.  I have no desire to drag laundry through a construction zone with all that dust, dirt and men in my way.  Speaking of which, I need to get in the laundry room now and get the rotation going once more with the washer and the dryer.

Julie

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November 12, 2020

The POD is Here!

Hurricane ETA just blew through here yesterday, and today we have our POD delivered. 

I woke up this morning to our entire backyard being underwater and covered with branches and debris from the huge storm.  Schools closed, business’s closed, but our POD made it through.

The POD will sit in our driveway for weeks and house some of our household possessions during our renovations.

We were supposed to have Brodie’s old bedroom carpeted today but the company cancelled on us because of the hurricane and said they cannot come until Monday.  That is when I told them that our renovations start on Monday and we will have to put off the new carpet installation until December.

So, Gordon and I have spent the day moving a lot of our possessions into Brodie’s old bedroom in order to get them out of the way.  Just special things that we don’t want movers to pack up.  Also a lot of food, cooking things, books, some furniture, things we want to use for Thanksgiving and even Christmas if renovations carry on longer than expected. It would have been nice to have the carpeting down first so that room would be mostly complete.  But no!  🙁

Right now I am sitting on my heating pad as I type this because I had a really bad fall today.  I was moving something into our new den, and it caught on a door frame and I couldn’t catch myself as I was falling so I hit the hallway floor HARD!  I landed between my butt and my left hip on our hard tile floor hallway that is on top of cement.  I used my left hand to try and ease my fall as I was going down.  I didn’t break anything.  I just sat there and called for Gordon to help me up because I didn’t want to move too quickly until I knew that I was o.k. to be moved. 

I did manage to continue on with my day in spite of my bad fall.  I am a bit sore, but considering that I had a pretty bad fall today I am doing pretty good.  I think back to when Christie Brinkley fell and broke her wrist while rehearsing for Dancing With The Stars.  She fell on a dancers floor which is very flexible and cushiony.  I fell HARD on HARD CEMENT!  I didn’t break anything and I contribute that to my nightly intake of wine.  Seniors that drink an average of 8 glasses of alcohol per day are less likely to break a bone if they fall.  I am certainly proof of that!

I was even able to carry on with everything that I needed to do today.  However, tomorrow may be a different story.  Sometimes the pain and bruises can appear a day or two later and can be worse than the initial fall.  Which is why I’ve been taking my Advil and sitting on my heating pad.  Gordon is making dinner.  A repeat from last night which was great!

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Last Night’s Dinner

I had literally been eating spaghetti 6 nights in a row and still had leftover sauce.  That is when I remembered the cornmeal pizza crusts that Gordon and I had bought from Sprouts months ago and that were in our freezer.  I had the idea to just spread my spaghetti sauce on top of those crusts, add some toppings and then what a great dinner!  So we did!

Topped with Roma Tomatoes, Turkey Pepperoni, Mozzarella Cheese, and Fresh Basil

We did add splotches of this Artichoke Piccata Sauce.

What a Great Dinner!  Leftovers make a great Lunch!

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Tonight we recreated the same dinner.  It does feel good to reuse food and not waste it. 

Although we do happen to waste a lot of foods sometimes.

But, I do rarely waste anything Italian.  Wonder why?  🙂

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November 11, 2020

Veteran’s Day

What a Day!  We have torrential rain from Hurricane ETA.  Actually hurricane rain and winds most of the day.  Although I think now we are down to tropical storm rain and winds.  A little bit better.  Our NOAA weather radio has gone off all day long warning us of tornadoes and water spouts around the Tampa Bay area.  So, while I was doing some packing here at home Gordon went to our new upholsterer’s business, O’Neil and Sons, to shop for our fabrics that we want for our antique couch and chair recovery.

https://onealandsons.com/

Said Couch and Chair

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The Many Fabric Samples Gordon Brought Home

Spread out all over the stove top.

I initially had in mind something very Royal Hawaiian.  A fabric that you would see on a couch or chairs in the lobby of The Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki.  However, that fabric was located at that crappy and mean upholsterers that we aren’t going with.  (Which I write about below.)  BUT, we found a nice family owned business that is working very nicely with us and we are very excited to do business with them. 

This is the fabric we chose for our couch except…..inside out.  🙂

Meaning that the top of the fabric is beautiful but we need something more subdued for our living room.  Our living room is a very busy room as it is which is why solid colors work best in there because of our many collections you see everywhere.  But, we were tired of solid colors and wanted some sort of pattern.  So, I kept flipping through some gorgeous fabric but they were just too bold for what we needed.  However, when you flip the fabric over, viola! subdued fabric prints.  Yes!

I told Gordon to tell them that we want this print except inside out.  Something that no one had ever requested at their business and that they had never heard of.  Well…..  🙂

Actually, I would love to take credit for the idea of turning fabric inside out but that accolade goes to Hawaii.  The business men in Hawaii do not wear suits and ties.  They wear nice pants with subdued Aloha shirts.  The “subdued” floral prints are due to turning the fabric inside out.  I call it Aloha Professional.  I do have to say that to me the best dressed business men in Hawaii were the Tongans and the Samoans.  They would wear their traditional skirts with Aloha shirts.  You would see them all over Honolulu and Waikiki wearing their business best.  Loved it!

The Star Fish print will be on the yellow chair. 

So excited about that!

Julie

p.s.  And to just give you the cost.  To recover both pieces of furniture will cost us $1, 600.00….something.  I don’t have the exact figure in front of me.  It was originally going to cost us $1,900.00 but today is Veteran’s Day and they gave Gordon a military discount.  🙂

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November 10, 2020

Let’s start our day off with a heap of gravy and maybe a biscuit or two.

  But, definitely gravy!

Because we will be living in our new ‘studio apartment’, our bedroom and bathroom for about 3 weeks during the renovations, we have moved my treadmill out, and my desk in.

(p.s.  I hate that thing that I created over the sliders.  It is a yellow tablecloth that I pinned up here and there and added some silk flowers.  I only did that because we were refinancing our house a few years ago and it needed something up there.  I’ll take it down eventually.)

(p.s.s.  The inspector LOVED it and even commented on it!  Go figure?)

 

For now the treadmill sits right outside our bedroom sliders.  When the new carpet goes into Brodie’s old bedroom/our new den in just a few days, then we will move the treadmill into the den.

But for now, here is my new set up.  My zylophone, and my desk.  My zylophone also acts like a desk to house the overage.  I’ve got two dog beds underneath the area for Spooky and Sparky, and I can just move my chair when I need to take the dogs out during the day while the renovations go on.  We can just scoot out that way and avoid the workers.

It’ll be a bit crowded but also very cozy and that is fine with us.

  We are used to cramped quarters.

Me on the outside, Spooky and Sparky on the Inside

A Very Humid Day

Looking Into the Boudoir

As taken from the outside on our lanai, at night.

Dinner Tonight From MD Market  🙂

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November 9, 2020

Our contractor dropped off lots of boxes for us and packing material.  Gordon and I had already several plastic storage tubs in our garage for another storage project but we are using some of them here to store our things in before the renovations start.

It’s just lots of packing and wrapping and sorting for the upcoming holidays.  Something goes in some tubs for Thanksgiving.  Other things go in other tubs for some Halloween projects to finish up.  And then other things can go in boxes to be stored in Brodie’s old room while the renovations go on.

I’m not just packing up everything without thinking.  That would be easier.  But, what with the holidays coming up I am having to put more thought into how I pack and where I pack it.

Still Eating Comfort Food  🙂

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November 7, 2020

(With updated content November 10, 2020)

Whenever I Become Overwhelmed, I Shut Down!

I’m probably opening up a can of worms here that I really don’t have the time to try and put back in the can, but I also need to open up that can of worms and get it all down on paper, or rather, being able to blog about it, and it really does help me cope with all that we have going on right now.  I am very overwhelmed and normally when I become so overwhelmed with so much to do that I tend to just shut down.  Meaning, I end up just laying on the couch and watching T.V. all day because there is so much to do and I don’t know what to do first, second, third, fourth….so therefore I end up doing nothing!  Because doing nothing is easier.

Our lives are very busy with all the prep work that goes into getting ready for our upcoming kitchen renovations and new living room carpeting.  We ourselves, are upgrading our son’s old bedroom because he has moved out and we are going to turn that room into a den.  We’ve finished painting it, installing a nice new ceiling fan with light fixture, and now Gordon is removing the old windows in his room and we are installing new hurricane proof windows. 

These are the old Windows

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It is a difficult process because when our house was built they literally cemented around each window.  So, Gordon is chipping away at all the surrounding cement in order to try and remove the old windows.  This should take a few days.

You Can See Here The Cement Around The Window

Gordon Still Chipping Away, He Did Get This Window Out

When the windows were installed they spread this foam around all sides.

Me, Taking a Photo Of The NEW Window

Gordon did install this window.  We were just waiting for this foam to dry so that he can then scrape off the extra.  You can see Gordon here.  And with me in my pajamas.

See The Foam?

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Once It Dries You Scrape It Off

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Although this photo is dark, the window is in and is perfect!

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Next Window in Brodie’s Old Room

Here Gordon has borrowed a tool from our neighbor’s that is helping him to remove this window faster and easier.

When you have the right tools…..

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Gordon is Wearing a Mask for Dust Purposes, and Because Our Neighbor Helped Him With This Window

Window Removed

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Outside The Window

Ready to Install The New Window

(See Sparky in photo, left.)

Gordon Doing The Last of the Drilling in the Window

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I was going to take step-by-step photos of this project but I was doing something more important, (trimming and coloring my hair.)

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I just wanted to add that Gordon has never installed windows before.  We did look into buying new hurricane proof windows and having them installed professionally but the cost was going to be over $2,000.00 for both windows and labor. 

Home Depot does sell hurricane proof windows.  These windows only cost $300.00 each.  So, Gordon hit Youtube to look at video’s on how to install them and he just did it himself.  It wasn’t easy, but he was determined and he did it! 

Here are photos of the new windows installed  You can see the gray cement stucco all around the windows.  That is because Gordon had to re-stucco the entire area.  Now we just need to paint over it and it will look great!

(This is why it is important to have an extra can of your house paint in the garage.  You never know when you might need to make these touch ups and matching it up to something new can be difficult.)

The Stucco dries quicker than Gordon thought.  Note the cement block in the photo below.

Remember that if you ever do a project like this. 

Just mix it in small batches at a time until your project is finished.

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In the meantime we have our contractor dropping off boxes and packing material for us.  We will be packing up our special things and then moving them into our new den until after the renovations are finished.  We are having the “den” carpeted by mid next week.  Therefore we can’t store anything in there until the carpet goes down.  We will literally be living in our bedroom and bathroom with our dogs during all the renovations.  At this time we know we are getting half of a new kitchen, but we may be getting an entire new kitchen depending on how the initial renovations go. 

It looks like for about 3 weeks that we won’t have a kitchen sink, other than the laundry room sink.  So, I will be washing what dishes we accumulate in the laundry room during this renovation process.  Our POD arrives on the 13th. and it will sit in our driveway housing our possessions that they move out of our house during the renovations. 

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Gordon and I are currently looking into having our antique couch and an antique chair recovered at this time. 

This is our Couch and Chair we Wish to Have Recovered

We want our couch to be made a bit more cushiony with some classic beach design fabric, same with the chair. 

We contacted one company that asked to see what we wish to have recovered. 

The company is:  http://georgeup.com/

We contacted them about upholstering our couch and chair.  They then contacted us seemingly interested in doing business with us.  They did ask us to send them these photos.  When we did, they then wrote back and said that they are busy through January.  I then had Gordon to ask them, then why didn’t they tell us that to begin with?  Why did they have us send the requested photos?  Only to reject us?  I then told Gordon to tell them that we will just take our business elsewhere.  They then wrote back, “Good.”  (Republicans.  Not professional at all.)  I think that when Gordon initially contacted them via their website that he just left his first name as Gordon.  However, when they asked to see photos Gordon sent them through his email account, Gordon Whann, and I think they saw us as Mexican’s and didn’t want to do business with us.  Sadly, we had shopped through all their fabrics for hours picking out which ones we wanted only to be rejected.  I hate that we wasted so much time on them.

So, now we are trying to find a non-racist upholster people to do business with.  Sadly, this is what our minorities go through.  And I believe, that given the current state of our nation that people are finally seeing that as fact.  We are white, our name Whann is Welch, but the average American when seeing just our name thinks we are either Mexican or Chinese.  And therefore, discriminate against us, sight unseen.

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We are also looking into having our kitchen counter tops upgraded to a granite, or thereabouts. 

Looks like Thanksgiving will be a turkey on the grill.  Who knows what Christmas will look like?  And I’m pretty sure we will be still putting our things away and setting up our home once all is done through January.  AND, we are doing all this during a pandemic, AND, what with our country’s uncertain political future……

Yeah, can you blame me for wanting to just lay on the couch all day?

I know we’ll get through this.  There is just a lot going on and I’m sure I’ll have my good days and my bad days.  But, being an Empath during all this political crap is really weighing me down.  This is when I need to push all those feelings aside and out of my body and just trudge on.

Tomorrow is the countertop guy appointment to take his measurements.

Julie

Stressed!  But Eating Good Comfort Food:  🙂

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We did replace all of our beige outlet fixtures in Brodie’s old bedroom with new white ones. 

To match the walls.

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All These Doors Need To Be Painted White

In addition to our new door for Brodie’s old bedroom we also purchased new doors for the guest bathroom and Veronica’s old bedroom as well.  We just need to paint each door white while we have the room to do it.  Then we will just store them in the garage until the renovations are over with and then we can install them.

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Finished Painting The Hallway, BTW

(Using Corks Here to Paint Around Light Fixture.)

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P.S.  Oh, and our dogs that were “fixed”, are doing it!  Yeah!  What the hell is that all about?  I think it is something psychological.  As in they are afraid they will be separated what with all that is going on. They are extremely bonded. Therefore I believe they join together so no one can tear them apart. They have done that kind of behavior ever since I adopted them.  And they seem to do it when they are stressed.  (Gross.)  🙁

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November 3, 2020

Election Day and More…

(We voted by mail weeks ago.)  🙂

But today both Gordon and I had our projects that needed doing.  For me, it was painting the hallway white.  I intended to paint the hallway last November, 2019 once I had painted our laundry room and just never got around to it.  However, seeing as how we had painted Brodie’s room white, the time to do the hallway was now.

 

This is the Hallway to Paint

It isn’t very large at all but it has had this same beige paint on it from when we originally bought the house over 14 years ago.  The white paint will help to brighten it up.

But, before I can get started painting Gordon is cleaning the vent and changing the filter. 

Check out that massive hole.  Also remember to remove all light switch and outlet covers from your walls and set aside in baggies so the tiny screws don’t get lost.  We did that with Brodie’s room but I forgot to mention it.

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The Back of Brodie’s Door

We needed to buy a new door for Brodie’s room and we thought since we were buying his old room a new door, we may as well buy a new door for Veronica’s old room and their shared bathroom.

These are very typical lightweight and thin doors that are in most homes in Florida whether they be middle class homes or the wealthier homes.  But I wanted a new design other than the same design we have on every single inside door in our home.

Therefore, we chose this design.  We both like the curve at the top.  Why does that matter? 

I’ll explain something to you……

Look Very Closely at This Door

It is called the Cross and Bible door.

From the doorknob up is the cross.  And from the doorknob down is the Bible.

Subliminal messaging right in our own home.  🙂

I recognized them when we bought the house but I really didn’t care at the time.  But now I’m just ready for a change so we are starting at this end of our house for now.

(I will add this.  When you see bushes and foliage outside a person’s home that is round then that means they are very female friendly and will most likely help you in a pinch.  BUT, if you see trees and bushes shaped into sharp points in someone’s front yard, avoid the hell out of them.  They will most likely shoot you if you knock on their door needing help.)

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Although these new doors are white they still need to be painted white or whatever color you would like.

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This is Brodie’s room’s old ceiling fan.  I just didn’t want it anymore even though there is nothing really wrong with it.  But, I wanted just one single light underneath a ceiling fan with shorter blades.  And that is what Gordon bought and installed today.

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I like our new ceiling fan and light fixture as it is closer to the ceiling than the one we have.  We are very tall people and the ceiling fan we have in here now I’m scared it will chop one of our heads off.  With this new ceiling fan it will be up higher and give more headspace. 

Gordon Installing Our New Ceiling Fan and Light Fixture

Doesn’t it look nice?  Our new ceiling fan with the light fixture.

Brodie’s old ceiling fan and light fixtures.

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Brodie’s Old Closet Racks

How To Clean Wire Racks

These wire racks are also located in most Florida homes whether they be poor, middle class, or wealthy.  Overtime they seem to develop this dirty, grimy, greasy film over them.  Most families just throw them away and buy more because they are hard to clean.  Gordon came up with the idea for me to use our Goo Be Gone on them.  Goo Be Gone is a cleaner that can easily remove the sticky glue from labels on bottles, or sticky price tags on platters that you buy.  Goo Be Gone also comes in a spray so before we started painting the closet I used that Goo Be Gone on the wire racks, I let them sit for a few minutes, and then I was able to wipe them totally clean.  That way we don’t have to buy new ones.

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I’ll post our photos of our nice white painted rooms tomorrow.

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Our Election Night Democratic Pasta Salad

With a few of our Tabasco Peppers From our Bush

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And a Lovely Gift For Me From my Herb Garden

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This was a throw together Pasta Salad on my part.

It is Extremely Delicious!

As busy as we have been I didn’t want anything big or complicated tonight.

And as always, my roasted garlic, feta cheese, sundried tomatoes, and now our newly famous cheese stuffed peppers….and of course, BREAD!

Talk to you tomorrow,

Julie

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November 2, 2020

Day 2 of Painting

This is Gordon yesterday doing a second coat of paint over paint that wasn’t dry.  I told him that it was a bad idea but he did it anyway.  Sometimes everything works out nicely.  And other times it doesn’t.  See photo below:

While Gordon was rolling the brush around, a section of the pain all came off. 

You can see it here. 

That is when Gordon quit for the day and we left the room to dry thoroughly overnight.

(I will say this.  When I was selling cosmetics I would hear from some women that they went to bed thinking their nail polish was dry only to wake up and find their nails had impressions on them from their sheets and blankets.  I would explain to them that if you can smell your nail polish that it isn’t dry.  But, if you can’t smell it then it is.  Same rules apply to all paint.)

The next morning Gordon patched that spot with spackle.  It is pink when you apply it but it turns white when it is dry. 

That is how you know it’s dry.

Now it’s time for me to do the cutting again all around the room just like I did yesterday.

Gordon doing the second coat of paint all around the room with the roller brush. 

You can see what a difference applying a second coat does to brighten up this room.

It’s also important to open a window, turn on a ceiling fan, keep doors open, so that all the fumes don’t get to you.  This paint is for the most part not as smelly.  However, it did kind of get to us after awhile.

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Spaghetti Dinner Tonight

With the Election 2020 looming tomorrow I was in desperate need for some comfort food.

My dinner to the left, Gordon’s to the right.

I do have to say that I was definitely comforted.

Looks like tomorrow I will be painting the hallway.

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November 1, 2020

On Prepping the Room to be Painted

When Brodie moved out yesterday, (see blog post below this one), the room was a filthy mess.

The first thing we did was to set about cleaning it up.  If you are wondering why we would be cleaning a room that we will be painting and carpeting, it’s because we want the paint to go on the walls nice and clean and not be all dirty.

First comes the Spackling

You can see the white dots on the walls?  That is where Gordon placed a putty into the holes in the wall that used to hold nails to hang up pictures.  That needed to dry overnight.

As Gordon was spackling up the holes in the walls that took me back to our many moves when Gordon was in the military.  It was common place with a lot of military families to use toothpaste to patch up the holes in the walls.  Oh, it didn’t work.  It was just done to trick the housing inspector into believing that they had patched up those holes in the walls before they vacated military housing as they are required to do.  You may ask me why didn’t they just buy the correct stuff and patch them correctly?  It’s because most military families are poor and that was an added expense to their already slim budgets that they couldn’t afford.  I would also like to say that we never did this.  But it was common practice among many.  Never underestimate the poor, they are very creative.

Gordon Moving the Bookshelves into Brodie’s Bathroom

Julie Wiping Down the Walls

Before you paint you need clean walls and baseboards.  You can’t paint over dust.  Your paint will become all dirty.  Which also takes me back to our days in military housing when the painters the military would hire to paint the insides of our homes, they would paint over roaches and other bugs.  I can’t tell you how many geckos we found stuck to the walls in Hawaii because they would paint over them.  I thought it was very cruel.

It’s also important to use your vacuum cleaner to suck up all the dirt and dust and debris all along the baseboards of the room because we will be painting all the baseboard molding.  I don’t want to collect dirt in my paintbrush.  The only good thing is that I don’t have to worry about the carpet and it doesn’t matter if paint gets on it as we will be having new carpet put down.

Some have suggested why not just put some sort of flooring down in the bedroom? 

The reason we don’t want to do that is because we like a nice plush carpet with lots of padding that acts as a cushion when we walk on it.  Otherwise we are just putting some hard floor over top the hard cement.  This is Florida where no one has flexible flooring.  Everything is built to withstand our storms and hurricane’s. 

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Now It’s Time To Paint

WHITE, of Course

(The yellow plastic piece is a paint guard that you can attach to a can of paint that will help prevent spillage.)

The inside of our house is very dark.  We have the sun rising on the left side of our house, and setting on the right side of our house.  I think that if the sun would rise shining it’s rays in the front of our house, and then set beaming it’s rays on the back of our house, then we wouldn’t need so much inside lighting.  However, because that’s not the case, we do need to do all we can to brighten up our home’s insides and that really does mean nice bright white painted walls.

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I’m Doing the Cutting and Working Around the Windows

This is Called Cutting

It’s where I’m using a paint brush to paint all along the baseboards, corners, edges, tops, so that Gordon can then come along and use a roller brush to cover everything else.

Gordon Using the Roller

We did one coat throughout the room, let it dry, and now we are doing the second coat of paint.  Also painting the ceiling and the closet.  We did take off the closet doors in order to better paint.  And lucky for us we get an additional hour today to paint because Daylight Savings Time ends today.  Thanks a lot Benjamin Franklin.  🙁

P.S.  I’ve had Mackenzie’s pizza yesterday for lunch and dinner.  And then today for breakfast, lunch and I will be having it for dinner again tonight.  I told Mackenzie that I owe her a pizza.  🙂

It Truly was Delicious!

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October 31, 2020

Happy Halloween

Before we can even start to do our part of the prep work towards our renovations, is that our son was to move out. 

That day was today. 

Before

Gordon, Brodie, and his Friend Jason

Moving His Things to His Storage Unit

Me, With Brodie and Jason

We’re all wearing masks.  I’m trying to socially distance but Mr. Gordon “I can’t stay away from people” Whann can’t stop talking and socializing.  He is so gonna get us sick!

After

On their way to the storage unit.

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Pizza’s Here!

We bought everyone their own pizza.

Gordon’s Pizza Left, Julie’s Pizza Right (With Barbie Tables)  🙂

Actually, “my pizza” is really Mackenzie’s.  I ordered sausage on mine and this was the only one with sausage so I assumed it was mine.  Turns out they screwed my order up and I’m feasting on Mackenzie’s while they are dropping off the moving truck.  I’m pretty sure she’s mad at me.  🙁

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Look what Mackenzie found under Brodie’s bed.  🙂

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Brodie’s nasty room.  How embarrassing!  I never knew it was that filthy.

I asked him if he realized he was living in such a filthy mess?  He said “No.”

He’s leaving behind the book shelves. 

Which is fine with us as now we can spread out a bit and have more room for our books.

Gordon is out shopping now for a new light fixture for this room and for some spackling paste to place over the picture holes in the walls.  That way it can dry overnight and then we start painting tomorrow.

Right now I’m just trying to air everything out because of all the traffic we’ve had in the house today.

So, tomorrow is the paint.  We will then wait for the carpet to arrive and then we can start to set everything up in our new den how we like it.  It will be nice to spread out a bit.

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Well, now Brodie will be living with Mackenzie and her parents for a few months until Mackenzie takes her finals and then finds a job.  Then the 2 of them will find a place together.  Such scary times now.  So much uncertainty.  But this was what they inherited and they must find a way to maneuver around it/through it/ over it……..  It’s like I told Brodie, “Your future is out there.  Whether you find your happiness or your sorrow, either way it’s out there.”

I cannot believe that on my most favorite night of the year that Gordon and I sat up a large box in our driveway with an old cheap tacky Halloween tablecloth draped around it and with my plastic witch’s cauldron full of candy for Trick-or-Treater’s to select their own treats.

My how the mighty have fallen.

Julie

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October 27, 2020

It was my idea for us to gather up all of our alcohol in our house and place it in our bathtub so that while the renovations are going on that it would all be safe.  Well……

Once Gordon and I had gathered up (most of it) and placed it in our tub we looked at each other and said, “We’re alcoholic’s.”

That’s when I looked at Gordon and said, “Oh, by the way, I’m out of my Barefoot Wine.  Pick me up another 36 bottles to get me through these renovations.” 

(I would lie to you and say that they are small bottles, but they aren’t.)

We’ll get through these renovations one bottle at a time.

Julie Lancaster-Whann

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October 24, 2020

Entering Halloween Week


I am almost too tired to even be writing this right now because of all our renovation prep Gordon and I are doing.  I am going to start a post about it once things get going.  (This post right here.)  Right now I just want to enjoy Halloween week.  Cooking, creating, projects…..  it’s fun!

Gordon was out today buying new carpet for Brodie’s room.  The company comes to measure his room tomorrow.  We chose something nice and “Pearl” with lots of cushion.  That room will be our new den/computer room.  We are very excited!  We also have the paint and we are excited to get started but we are awaiting our Brodie to exit it.  He is so frickin’ slow.  He has promised that he will be totally out by next weekend. 

While Gordon was out and about today doling the shopping he stopped by the Spanish store and got us dinner.  Can’t wait to try my Mexican bbq wings and rice. 

I spent the day cleaning our bathroom.  Windows, shutters, bathtub, floors, doing bathroom laundry…

It was my idea to put all of our alcohol in our bathtub during these renovations so that we can keep track of it.  If you know what I mean.  I’ll have to post a photo as it wasn’t until we looked at all of it that Gordon and I turned to each other and said, “We’re alcoholics.”   And when I show it to you, you will also say, “Your alcoholics.”  

I’ll keep you posted on our renovation progress, but I also want to enjoy my favorite time of year.  I guess I’ll just do what I can.

Julie

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October 22, 2020

Renovations, Coming SOON!

Carpet Samples

We’ve Settled on Sweet Basil

(We were considering Sunset but our son looked at it and said, “It looks like piss.”  Well, thank you Brodie for ruining Sunset for us.)

A few weeks ago our kitchen dishwasher leaked and water ran out the back of it to our living room carpet.  Gordon first noticed this very wet area and just assumed that our dogs had urinated there.  But, he then realized that it was a huge wet area on our carpet that had extended out a few feet from the wall and even crept underneath our very large entertainment center.  That is when Gordon realized that there must be a leak in our dishwasher.  So, he pulled it out from underneath the counter and turned it on to test where the water was coming from.  Sure enough, water started running out from underneath so I grabbed lots of towels and Gordon shut it down.

We didn’t realize the extent of the damage at first.  We just thought we needed some new living room carpeting but we have since come to realize that the water damaged the cabinets in an entire section of our kitchen.  We’ve been doing without a dishwasher now for a few weeks and we have been using lots of paper plates, cups, bowls, paper coffee cups, and cutlery.  I hate all of this plastic that we are using even though we are recycling most of it.  I preferred either hand washing, or running our dishwasher but with all the cooking we do it has become just too much for me to constantly hand wash everything.  (I didn’t grow up on some Little House on the Prairie.)

We’ve had two dishwasher repairmen out to our house and we either pay $400.00 to get it fixed, or we buy a new one.  Well, looks like we are buying a new one.  However, not until our kitchen renovation starts because it will just be one more appliance that we have to deal with until then so we are going to wait.  And renovations don’t start until mid-November.  We will be getting half a new kitchen, and all new living room carpeting.  We are buying the new dishwasher and might as well buy a new garbage disposal, and we are paying whatever to upgrade our kitchen counters.  We are looking into granite or quartz.  A neighbor kind of tried to shame us into buying marble and that’s when I said, “GRANITE COUNTERS MATTER!  GRANITE COUNTERS MATTER!  Yeah, don’t mess with granite cause once you go granite, you never got back.  🙂

Our contractor that is doing all this work came by yesterday and dropped off some carpet samples for us and lots of boxes and packing material.  Fun!  🙁

But before we can even touch that, Brodie has to clear everything out of his room and move it to his rental storage room.  He will be living with his girlfriend Mackenzie and her parents in Tampa for a few months.  Mackenzie’s twin sister Susannah bought a condo and they helped her move into it last weekend so there is a spare room and Mackenzie’s parents offered it to Brodie.  This was all before we knew we needed him to move out.  The timing was perfect!

Brodie has been packing up his room and I think that he will rent some sort of van to move the rest of his furniture out this weekend.  So, it looks like next week we will be painting his room and carpeting it once we finish painting it.  Then, we will move some of our furniture in there and start setting it up as a some sort of den/computer room with lots of book shelves and my treadmill will go in there as well.  We want to buy a T.V. to mount on the wall and move a computer desk and some chairs in there.  It’ll be great!  Once we do all that then we start packing up our precious things and then storing them in there.  I’ll let you know what happens after that…..

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October 12, 2020

Remember when I write below about how our dishwasher leaked and water built up underneath the cabinets and then drained underneath our wall onto our living room carpet causing mold and damage?  And remember how I said that none of this is really bad, it’s just life?  Remember?  Well, now it’s BAD!!!

We had the insurance adjuster out today to write up his assessment of the damage and it looks like we will either be getting a brand new kitchen, or at least half of a brand new kitchen.  New breakfast bar, new cabinets, new countertops, and perhaps new tile on the floor.  If the workers damage this tile.  We will most likely have one of those giant PODS in our driveway that will hold boxes and boxes of our possessions, along with a lot of our furniture while we get brand new carpeting in our living room.

So, to those of you that think this is all good news?  You would be right if we weren’t such hoarders with millions of our collections.  Even the insurance adjuster just stood there looking at all of our stuff in amazement shaking his head.  He also took lots of photos and I just know he’s showing them to everyone in his office while they all look at them with shocked amazement on their little judgemental faces.

In a way this is a blessing in disguise.  It’s just a journey that I don’t care to go on right now.  Or ever.  I hate change, I hate to be disrupted.  Do you think I want my entire living room/kitchen/dining room/kitchen nook packed up by a bunch of strangers while men are here for weeks at a time with all of their trucks parked outside our house during a pandemic???  NO!  So, like I said, this is bad.

I told Gordon that I am planning on locking myself in the bedroom with my computer and the dogs AND a new mini fridge that we’ll keep in the bathroom until all the work is over with.  I will only emerge from my lair to answer the door for all the wine and take out we’ll be ordering. 

I really do dread all this,

Julie

P.S.  I suppose all this work could start as early as November and as late as January/February.  I’ll let you know.  🙂

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October 3, 2020

And Now For All Of Our DRAMA

  1.  My car won’t start because it hasn’t been used that much since the pandemic/lockdown started.  Brodie is on it though and repairing it as I type this.  Gordon has a migraine and is in bed asleep.  He suffers from migraines and when they flare up he needs to sleep them off.

2.  Our refrigerator ice maker isn’t working properly.  We can get it going and it will last another month before it will quit on us.  Then we’ll get it working again and it will last about a month at a time before we have to continuously fix it again, and again, and again.

3.  We noticed that the carpet beside our entertainment center was wet:

Gordon then realized that the water was coming through underneath the wall from our dishwasher.

He did find the leak:

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Spooky photo of the leaking trail of water from the dishwasher.

Look at the water line behind the dishwasher.

Bottom Line:

Can’t use dishwasher until our insurance agent comes to take a look at the damage.  Then we either fix the dishwasher or buy another one, and/or buy new living room carpet.  But, until then……..

It’s paper and plastic EVERYTHING!

So, do I view all this as being bad?  No.  I view all this as being LIFE.  This has not been our Annus Horribillis.  (Latin for horrible year.)  I have no earthly idea if I spelled that correctly but 2020 has been most people’s Annus Horribillis, but not ours.  We’ve gotten through pretty unscathed, so far. However, that never means that we will continue to.  But, we are pretty o.k. for now.  I will take our problems over something more serious any day of the week.

Hope all is well.  We’ll get through.

Julie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julie’s Chicken Knot Pies

Julie’s Chicken Knot Pies

            Welcome to the Recipe for Julie’s Chicken Knot Pies Ready to go into the Oven I have always loved Turkey Pot pies and actually grew up eating quite a few of them.  My mother wasn’t much of a cook, …

4 and 20 Blackbirds (Berries) Baked in a Pie

4 and 20 Blackbirds (Berries) Baked in a Pie

          Julie’s Blackberry Pies ——————————————————————– Served with Kool-Whip mixed with Blackberry Jam and Topped with Blackberries Perhaps Eaten with The Cranky Bastard Blackberry Wine ———————————————————— When I think of a pie, Mother Goose always comes to mind: Sing a Song of …

Our Mexican Inspired Thanksgiving Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Our Mexican Inspired Thanksgiving Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

or

Feliz dia de Accion de Gracias

My Corn Husk Dolls

Our Mexican Inspired Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Because it was just going to be the two of us, Gordon and Myself for Thanksgiving this year, 2019, we decided to just roast a chicken in the oven with some vegetables.  It was my idea, Julie’s, to have it be a bit Mexican in nature.  I was referring to the spices but it was Gordon that took it one step further and added the Jalapeno and Poblano Peppers.

It ended up tasting MAGNIFICO!

It then dawned on me that what with immigration to America that Thanksgiving’s of the future will be different than they are now.  Perhaps a Mexican inspired Chicken or Turkey will be the main course of the future?  If that is so then we are right on target.  After all, when we learn about the foods that were served at the first Thanksgiving they are no where near what we cook now.  Time changes people and holidays and the foods that we cook for those holidays.  I think it’s called evolution.  The evolution of food, people, cultures, gatherings.  Either way, we wish you the best and hope that you have many reasons to be thankful for now, and the future.

 

The greatest feasts are when we bring many different cultures together with their foods and share with each other. 

Isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about?  Isn’t that the meaning that came about from the Pilgrims and Indians coming together to feast?  I would like to think so.

Happy (Feliz) Thanksgiving (dia de Accion de Gracias)

Julie and Gordon

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Grammaw Nell’s Corn Bread Dressing Cups

If you were to ask me, Julie, what is my favorite part of Thanksgiving I will always say ‘the dressing.’  In the south we do not do ‘stuffing’, we do ‘dressing.’  We dress a turkey, not stuff it.

Here Gordon is making my Grammaw’s Dressing.

If you would like the recipe:

Corn Bread, Cast Iron Skillet, Dressing, and Tradition

Just click on the link above and scroll down this post until you will come across the recipe.

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Here we just added the dressing to our muffin tins.

  It ended up being the right portion per serving.

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Gordon Making The Dressing

Normally we would add this Dressing to a Cast Iron Skillet to bake.

But here we are adding the Dressing to a Muffin tin. 

Ready for the Oven

Perfectly Delicious!

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I just wanted to suggest that you can buy the Sprout’s Jalapeno Cheddar Muffins as any substitute to a Mexican inspired Thanksgiving.  They are a favorite of ours and delicious!

They are kind of like a pull-apart Monkey Bread

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Now to Roast our Chicken and Vegetables

Roasting Vegetable Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. Bacon Grease

20 Yellow Potatoes – Sliced in half

6 Carrots – Peeled, sliced in half and cut to 3 inch sections

4 Parsnips – Sliced in half and cut to 3 inch sections

4 Jalapeno Peppers – Halved and seeds removed

2 Poblano Peppers – Halved, seeds removed, and sliced into large pieces

2 Chorizo Sausages- Sliced into 2 inch sections

1/2 Lime – sliced in half

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Cooking Microwave Bacon for the Grease

(I think we had bacon sandwiches the night before.  We saved the grease just for this.)

Jalapeno and Poblano Peppers

Bacon Grease From the Microwave to the Roasting Pan

Gordon reheated the bacon grease in order to place it into our roasting pan.

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All That Delicious Bacon Grease

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Our Thanksgiving Vegetables

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Begin by washing your potatoes then slicing them in half.

 

Place them in your large roasting pan and mix them around in the bacon grease.

Wash your carrots as well and slice off the end and tops as shown.

Slice the carrots in sections of about 3 inches long and place them in the roasting pan.  To keep all the vegetables the same size, slice the larger pieces in half which will let them cook evenly.

Do the same thing with your parsnips.

Now slice your Jalapeno’s and Poblano peppers in half, removing the seeds.  Place four Jalapeno peppers and both Poblano peppers into the roasting pan.

Remove your Chorizo from the plastic and slice it in two inch sections as shown.

Pictured are all the vegetables and Chorizo which will be roasted under the chicken.

Now for the ingredients inside and outside the chicken.

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Remove the Roaster Chicken from the plastic wrapping, remove the neck, giblets, heart, and liver packet inside the chicken’s cavity.  Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water to remove any blood and other unwanted items.  Let the chicken drain well and pat dry with paper towels.  Be sure to sanitize everywhere the chicken touched to include where your hands touched during this procedure.

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Mexican Inspired Chicken Ingredients:

1 Large Roaster Chicken

2 Jalapeno Peppers – Sliced in half and de-seeded

1 Poblano Pepper – Sliced in half, de-seeded and sliced into chunks

1 1/2 Limes – Quartered

2 Cloves Garlic

2 Rosemary Sprigs

1 Bunch Parsley

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Ground Thyme

Dried Thyme Leaves

Onion Powder

Rubbed Sage

Chili Powder

Sweet Paprika

Smoked Paprika

Salt

Worcestershire Black Pepper (See photo of spices.)

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Loosen the chicken’s skin with your fingers by placing them between the breast meat and the skin.  Then slide four jalapeno halves under the skin evenly on each side.

Place your lime wedges inside the chicken’s cavity.

Here you can see the jalapeno slices under the chicken’s skin.

 

Then place your whole garlic cloves and Rosemary sprigs inside the cavity.

 

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Then place your bunch of parsley inside the cavity.

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Drizzle ~1 Tbsp. of olive oil into the cavity.

Add your Ground and Dried Thyme not shown, then your Onion Powder to the inside and outside of the chicken.

Then add your Sage and Chili Powder to both the inside and outside of the chicken.

Now add your Sweet, and Smokey Paprika (not shown), to the inside and outside of the chicken.

Lastly, add your salt and Worcestershire Black Pepper (not shown), to the inside and outside of the chicken.

Place your roasting rack over the vegetables then place your seasoned roasting chicken on it as shown.

Using about a 10 inch piece of Butchers twine, tie the legs together as shown using a square knot or any knot you know.

Here is the chicken and all the ingredients ready to be roasted!

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Into The Oven

Roast the chicken and vegetables in a 425’F oven for ~1 hour 30 min. or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160’F.   I use a digital thermometer to check the temperature when it has cooked at least 1 hour and 15 min.

Check the chicken every 30 minutes stirring the vegetables at each interval.

When the chicken is at the color you desire, cover it with aluminum foil to stop it from browning and continue to cook the chicken until it reaches temperature.

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Here the chicken is roasted nicely and the vegetables have been cooking in the chicken drippings and the bacon grease.

Remove the chicken from the roasting pan and set aside to rest.  Let the chicken rest at least 20 min. or more to allow the super heated juices to settle back into the chicken, cooking it to 165’F.  Doing this will also provide you with a juicy chicken.  If you slice into the chicken before it has properly rested, the juices will run out creating a dry chicken.  Mix the vegetables well in all the juices before serving them.

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Egg Noodles Cooked in Chicken Broth

This is a personal favorite of mine.  It has been a staple on our holiday table since I was born.  My Great-Grandmother Honnie would always make them.  Not a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas item, it was just something that she insisted on every year.  And now so do I!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Julie and Gordon

Just Hurry Up!  I’m Hungry!

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P.S.  Something Extra!

Easy Mexi-Corn Bread

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This is an easy cornbread recipe that can be used however you may like to use it.  For example, I am using a pottery baker to bake the cornbread in.  But, you can use whatever you may like to use.  A cast iron skillet, for example. 

The ingredients are also easy……..

I am using two ready made packages of cornbread mix that require one egg each, and some milk.  I am just following those package directions.  I am also adding a can of MEXICORN to add to this batter.

In order to give it a bit of heat I am adding some hot sauce. 

Use whatever you like, or omit.  This is for your preference.

Bake according to package directions…….

Look at How Beautiful It is!

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If you would like to view our other Mexican blog posts:

Click Here For:  Julie Whann Way Mexicana Si!

AND,

Click Here For:  Julie Whann Way Mexicana Dos

And,

Click Here For:  Julie Whann Way Mexicana Tres

And,

Julie and Gordon Whann Way Mexicana Cuatro

AND,

Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Mexicana Cinco!

AND,

Feliz Dia del Padre

AND,

Click Here for our:  Dia De Los Muertos

And,

Our Mexican Inspired Thanksgiving Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

And,

Our Mexicana Thanksgiving Dishes

AND,

Spicy Hot Mexican Cranberries

AND,

Click Here For Our:  Feliz Navidad a Casa Whann

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Pickled Purple Pearls

Pickled Purple Pearls

        ‘Tis The Season…. …For Making Delicious Edible Gifts Julie with Red Pearl Onions How About Pickling Some Purple Pearls? Actually, they are known as Red Pearl Onions, they just look Purple to me. I think they are beautiful.  Who wouldn’t be …

The Pot Thickens…  Musings of an Amateur Cook

The Pot Thickens… Musings of an Amateur Cook

          Hi!  Welcome!  So happy to have you here! My name is Julie Lancaster-Whann and welcome to my: The Pot Thickens…  Musings of an Amateur Cook So, what makes me an ‘Amateur?’  Easy!  I don’t get paid! And, because I don’t …

Pork, Sausage and Mustard

Pork, Sausage and Mustard

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Pork, Sausage and Mustard

From the Kitchen of…….

Gordon and Julie

Today, we will be making MUSTARD, and lots of it!

At this writing we are in the middle of a pandemic, the Coronavirus/Covid 19.

Gordon and I decided to make good use of our lockdown time and make lots of mustard.  We love mustard and we eat it quite often.  But it was while we were ordering groceries online and we were at the mercy of our shopper (an essential worker), who did their best to fulfill our order, that I remarked how nice it would be if we didn’t have to worry about condiments and just have our shoppers to focus on more fruits and vegetables.  We had a ton of meat in the freezer so we didn’t have to worry about farming that shopping out to anyone.  But we are picky with our mustard and our particular brands always seemed to be vacant from the shelves.  So, we decided to make our own.  And guess what?  It wasn’t that hard at all.  But, it does take several days from start to finish.  About 10 days to be exact.

Our Black and Brown Mustard

Pork, Sausage and Mustard (Tarragon to be exact.)

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Food glorious Food,

Hot (Pork), Sausage and Mustard,

While we’re in the mood,

We’re anxious to try it.

My VHS Copy of Oliver

(Okay, okay, so I borrowed the lyrics from an old song from the movie Oliver (1968) and switched them around a bit.  I saw the movie when I was 7 and fell madly in love with The Artful Dodger, played by Jack Wild.  The music was beautiful!  I got the record album for Christmas and played it over and over again.  But this song stuck with me the most.)

Food, Glorious Food

by Laurence Jeffcoate

(When I named this post Pork, Sausage and Mustard, I thought I was accurately naming it correctly.  Then I find out it’s Hot, Sausage and Mustard.  All these years of singing that old favorite song in the shower only to discover I got the words wrong?  It was their British Cockney accents that threw me.  Well, I’m keeping it wrong.  I do have to admit I wondered why they would be pairing Pork with Sausage?……) 

 

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Gordon’s Bone In Pork Roast

PORK

Recipe write up will be at the bottom of this post. 

Hey, we have to give you something special to put your mustard on.

(Recipe Down Below)

Our Mustard’s are also good on Grilled Sausages

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Our Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used to make four different mustard’s. 

The basic ingredients you will need are brown and yellow mustard seeds, red and white wine vinegar’s, dry white wine, honey, dry mustard, and some salt and pepper.  You may want to also add some garlic powder and paprika to the mustard to add more flavor.

The 4 Mustard’s We Will Be Making Are:

The Yellow Mustard Base

Black and Brown Mustard

(Although we used the black and yellow seeds the mustard ended up looking black and brown.)

Tarragon Mustard

Almost Yellow Mustard

(It’s actually a Yellow Mustard but it isn’t as yellow as we would have liked so we call it Almost Yellow because it’s almost yellow.)

And,

Honey Mustard

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We also have other ingredients here to flavor our different mustard’s. 

They will be added to each mustard recipe.

To make a variation of mustard we used some Ground Ginger and Dried Tarragon.

It is a small investment, but well worth it.

MUSTARD

You will also need plenty of canning jars, lids, and rings.

Again, you are making an investment here, but isn’t it nice to have a stocked pantry?

Especially in uncertain times?

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Making our “Almost” Yellow Mustard

This recipe will take about 10 days to make so plan ahead!

Here we are placing our Almost Yellow Mustard onto a grilled Apple Chicken Sausage.

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Gordon in the Kitchen, Ready to Make Mustard

The below ingredients will make 16 (1/2 pint) size jars.  This is also a good Yellow Mustard base to use to make a variety of other mustard’s.

Ingredients:

8 Cups Split Yellow Mustard Seeds

5 Cups Red Wine Vinegar

5 Cups White Wine Vinegar

1 Cup Dry White Wine

8 Tbsp. Honey

10 Tbsp. Dry Mustard

3 Tbsp. Turmeric

3 Tbsp. Black Pepper

5 Tbsp. Salt (Kosher)

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Be sure to have a large nonreactive pot.

A nonreactive pot is referring to the type of metal the pot is made from.  Stainless steel, ceramic, glass and metal cookware with enamel coating are all nonreactive.  Reactive cookware are made from aluminum, cast iron, and copper, but are sometimes lined with nonreactive tin.  If you use a reactive pot the acid could react with the metal pot imparting a metallic taste to the mustard as well as discoloring it.

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Because we were having essential workers to shop for us we bought many things we needed for these recipes from Sprouts.

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Add 4 cups of your Red, and 4 cups of your White Wine Vinegar into the pot.

Then pour in your mustard seeds. 

We bought these seeds from our local Indian food store.

Here I added a little more of the vinegar to the pot.

Stir your ingredients together.

This is also a good time to use some of the vinegar’s you have in your cabinet which will also give the mustard a unique flavor as all vinegar’s don’t taste the same.

The mustard still looked a little dry, so I added a little more vinegar to the pot.

This looks good as I now have a bit more vinegar than seeds, so the seeds have some liquid to absorb.

Cover your pot with some plastic wrap and let the ingredients sit at room temperature for 5 days.  But, check after a few days to see how well it is going.

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Day 2

Here you can see the mustard seeds have absorbed the wet ingredients.

Time to add a bit more vinegar as you want the ratio of liquid to seeds to be about even.  We have plenty of bottles of vinegar as we planned on making many different varieties of mustard.  Watch the mustard pot over the next few days adding more vinegar when needed.

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Day 5

Now, that the dry mustard seeds have absorbed the vinegar and have softened, you can add your other ingredients to pot.

This is a very good brand of Turmeric which we used at the Indian restaurant I interned at.

This is a great shot of the mustard at this stage.

Here are the ingredients we are now adding.

Dry Mustard,

Turmeric,

Then add the honey. 

You can use any type of honey you like as they all taste different.  We like this local Florida brand.

Now the wine.  Be sure to taste some to ensure it is good!  🙂

Add the wine to the pot…

…then add your salt and pepper and stir everything together. 

Cover the pot with your plastic wrap and let this sit for another 5 days.

Here you can see the ingredients are bright and yellow just like a mustard you would buy in the store.  As we wanted to make a variety of mustard’s we split this base mixture up and added other ingredients to it as you will see later.

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NOTE:  Notice Gordon’s shaven beard here.  Well, we inserted this in between his bearded mustard’s. 

Here is how we made our Black and Brown whole-grain mustard. 

This recipe will take about 10 days to make so plan ahead!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups White Wine Vinegar

1 1/4 Cups Red Wine Vinegar

3/4 Cup Brown Mustard Seeds

3/4 Cup Yellow Mustard Seeds

2 Tbsp. Honey

3 Tbsp. Dry Mustard

4 tsp. Hawaiian salt

2 tsp. pepper

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NOTE:  We wanted to keep this mustard grainy.  Before jarring we could have placed the mustard mixture into a blender to have a more creamy consistency.  We didn’t want that.  This consistency is perfect here!

Using a nonreactive pot, pour in your brown and yellow whole mustard seeds.

Note that the brown mustard seeds look black.

Now add your Red Wine Vinegar…

then add your White Wine Vinegar to the pot and stir the ingredients together.  Cover the pot with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature in order to allow the seeds to absorb the liquid.

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After a few days time, you can see the dry seeds have absorbed the vinegar.

When this happens, add more of your vinegar until the ratio of liquid is slightly greater than the seeds.  Let the seeds and vinegar sit and check again after a few more days adding more vinegar if necessary.

After about 9 or 10 days, your mustard seeds should be softened.  If not, let the seeds sit longer until they are softened.  At this time your ratio of seeds to liquid should be about even.

Once your seeds are softened, place your pot on the stove and turn up the heat to medium high.

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Here we wanted to use our salt from Hawaii. 

We have a number of varieties of salt which makes it fun to use and explore their different tastes.

We put our Hawaiian Salt into the jar labeled Sea Salt on the right.

Here I added the Hawaiian Salt…

the pepper…

then the dry mustard to the pot.

Stir all the ingredients together.

I tasted the mustard and felt it needed a touch more Hawaiian Salt.

Now, add your honey to the pot. 

This time we added this raw Florida honey as it had a more bold flavor.

Cook the mustard until it has a think consistency as shown.  Sterilize your jars using your dishwasher.  When they are done, remove them and cover with a dishtowel until ready to use so that they don’t get dirty.  Out of shot, in another pot we placed our lids in almost boiling water to soften the rubber seal.  An almost boil will just start to show tiny bubbles in the water.

Fill your jars with the mustard using a ladle and funnel leaving 1/2 inch of space between the mustard and the top of the jar.  This is called headspace which allows a vacuum to build up within the jar making a good seal.

Here is a great picture Julie took of all of our filled jars!

Wipe down the top of the jar with a wet paper towel until clean.  If it is not clean, the lid will not seal properly.  Using this magnetized stick, remove the hot lid from your pot of hot water and place it on the jar as shown.  Place a ring on the jar and barely tighten the lid.  This will allow the air to escape as it boils in the next step creating a vacuum within the jar.

Place your jars into a large pot of water and bring it up to a boil.

After all of your jars are in the pot, ensure there is about 1 inch of water covering them.  Bring the water to a boil, and boil the jars for 15 minutes.  This step is called processing the jars.

Using the special tongs, remove the jars from the water…

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and place them on a dishtowel. You should begin to hear the lids pop as they seal.  This is caused by the lid being pulled down from the vacuum within the jar.  This means that your mustard jar is sealed properly.  Caution, the jars will be extremely hot during these next steps.  After about an hour, if the lid can be pushed down, the lid didn’t seal and needs to be processed all over again.  In this case, remove the lid, wipe down the top of the jar and possibly remove some of the mustard to ensure you had enough headspace.  Then, add another lid as before and process the jar again for another 15 min. in the boiling water.  If the lid seal is down and properly sealed, carefully remove the ring as the jar will still be hot, and wipe the lid and the inside of the ring with a dry paper towel.  This will prevent any rust forming over time as the mustard sits in your pantry.  The ring is only there to ensure the lid doesn’t accidentally get lifted up.  Replace the ring, tighten securely when it is dry.

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Tarragon Mustard

Add the below ingredients to your yellow mustard base from the recipe above.

12 Cups Yellow Mustard Base

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 1/2 Tbsp. Dry Mustard

2 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

2 Tbsp. Sweet Paprika – we used one 1 Tbsp. of two different types of Sweet Paprika

1/2 Cup Honey

3 Tbsp. Dried Tarragon

Here is a close up of the ingredients used.

Gordon, Ready to Tackle Tarragon Mustard

Add 8 Cups of your Yellow Mustard base to your blender.

Puree the mustard base until it is smooth.

Add your pureed mustard to a large pot. 

You can see the lighter color change from the puree process.

Add the remaining 4 Cups of Yellow Mustard base to the blender…

and puree it until smooth.

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Add the puree to the pot then taste the mustard!

Here, I felt it needed more salt and pepper, so add enough to your liking.

I also added more mustard powder to the mix.

Now, add your garlic powder…

Then your Paprika. 

We had two different types of sweet paprika.

Now, add your honey to the pot.  This was another nice tasting honey.

Stir the ingredients well and heat the mixture on the stove until it begins to boil.

Once it boils, lower the heat and simmer the mustard until it is the consistency of your liking.

When done, I poured the mustard into a large bowl to cool.

Once it is mostly cooled, I added the dry tarragon to the bowl.

Stir all the ingredients together well.

Here you can see the mustard is nice and thick but still fluid enough to pour.

Using a ladle and funnel, add your mustard to the sterilized jars.  Sterilize your jars using your dishwasher.  When they are done, remove them and cover with a dishtowel until ready to use.  Place your lids in a pot of almost boiling water to soften the rubber seal.  An almost boil will just start to show tiny bubbles in the water which will just make the seal pliable.  If you bring the water to a hard boil, you might ruin the rubber seal.

Wipe down the top of the jar with a wet paper towel until clean.  If it is not clean, the lid will not seal properly.

Using the magnetized stick, remove the hot lid and place it on the jar as shown.  Place a ring on the jar and barely tighten the lid.  This will allow the air to escape as it boils in the next step creating a vacuum within the jar.

After all of your jars are in the pot, ensure there is about 1 inch of water covering them.  Bring the water to a boil and boil the jars for 15 minutes.  This step is called processing the jars.

Using the special tongs, remove the jars from the water and place them on a dishtowel. You should begin to hear the lids pop as they seal.  This is caused by the lid being pulled down from the vacuum within the jar.  This means that your mustard jar is sealed properly.  Caution, the jars will be extremely hot during these next steps.  After about an hour, if the lid can be pushed down, the lid didn’t seal and needs to be processed all over again.  In this case, remove the lid, wipe down the top of the jar and possibly remove some of the mustard to ensure you had enough headspace.  Then, add another lid as before and process the jar again for another 15 min. in the boiling water.  If the lid seal is down and properly sealed, carefully remove the ring as the jar will still be hot, and wipe the lid and the inside of the ring with a dry paper towel.  This will prevent any rust forming over time as the mustard sits in your pantry.  The ring is only there to ensure the lid doesn’t accidentally get lifted up.  Replace the ring finger tight when it is dry.

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Time to Make our Almost Yellow Mustard

Ingredients and tools we used for our mustard’s.

(Disregard the dried tarragon in the photo above.)

Ingredients:

12 Cups of the Yellow Mustard Base

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

3 tsp. Black Pepper

1 1/2 Tbsp. Mustard Powder

1 1/2 Tbsp. Turmeric Powder

3/4 Cup Honey

1 1/2 Tbsp. Sweet Paprika

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

(Always taste as you go.  This is after all, geared towards your personal tastes.  If you want more Paprika, then add more Paprika.)

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Gordon Dividing our Yellow Mustard Base

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Making Our Almost Yellow Mustard

Here I am dividing the last of the Yellow Mustard Base in half, so I can make both the Yellow Mustard and Honey Mustard, (recipe to follow down below.)

Adding the Ingredients

Kosher Salt

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Here Gordon is using a coarse black pepper, left.  I didn’t like the look of it and told him to try the fine ground pepper.  It ended up blending in much better. 

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It’s at this point that Gordon is adding some of the yellow mustard to the blender for a smoother consistency.

Using a large ladle makes it easy to transfer the mustard into the blender.

You can see how grainy the mustard still is.

This is a great picture showing in the back left the pot I used to heat the lids in almost boiling water, the two even amounts of our Yellow Mustard Base, and a bowl of the clean rings.

Here I am cleaning up as mustard will stain almost everything it touches. 

(That’s because of the Turmeric in it.)

I placed half of the Yellow Mustard Base (~6 Cups) into the blender and pureed it.

Most blenders have a puree setting.  This only took about a minute.

Once it was at the consistency I liked, I poured it back into the Yellow Mustard Base that wasn’t pureed.  We wanted a mixture of smooth and grainy, combined.

You can see how pureeing the mustard whips air into it giving it a lighter color.  We wanted our Yellow Mustard to have some texture, which is why we didn’t puree all of the Yellow Mustard Base. 

Now, heat your mustard to medium high heat.

  Here Gordon is adding more dry Mustard Powder.

Cook your mustard until it gets to the consistency you like.

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Here, I am Adding the Honey

When the mustard is at the consistency I liked, I removed it from the heat.  I transferred the mustard from the pot to the bowl because It is easier to remove the mustard from the bowl when scooping it into the jars.

Here is a bowl of lids and rings.

I tasted the mustard…

and felt it needed more honey!

Now add your Sweet Paprika…

….then your Garlic Powder to the bowl.

Stir in all your ingredients.

Now, taste the mustard again to ensure it is to your liking! 

If not, add more of the ingredients until it does.

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Here I am placing my lids into the almost boiling water to prep them for the canning process.

Using a ladle and funnel, add your mustard to the sterilized jars.  Sterilize your jars using your dishwasher.  When they are done, remove them and cover with a dishtowel until ready to use.  Place your lids in a pot of almost boiling water to soften the rubber seal.  An almost boil will just start to show tiny bubbles in the water which will just make the seal pliable.  If you bring the water to a hard boil, you might ruin the rubber seal.

Leave 1/2 inch of headspace between the top of the mustard, to the top of the jar.  This headspace allows a vacuum to build up within the jar making a good seal.

Wipe down the top of the jar with a wet paper towel until clean.  If it is not clean, the lid will not seal properly.

Using the magnetized stick, remove the hot lid and place it on the jar as shown.

Place a ring on the jar and barely tighten the lid.  This will allow the air to escape as it boils in the next step creating a vacuum within the jar.

After all of your jars are in the pot, ensure there is about 1 inch of water covering them.  Bring the water to a boil and boil the jars for 15 minutes.  This step is called processing the jars.

Using the special tongs, remove the jars from the water and place them on a dishtowel. You should begin to hear the lids pop as they seal.  This is caused by the lid being pulled down from the vacuum within the jar.  This means that your mustard jar is sealed properly.  Caution, the jars will be extremely hot during these next steps.  After about an hour, if the lid can be pushed down, the lid didn’t seal and needs to be processed all over again.  In this case, remove the lid, wipe down the top of the jar and possibly remove some of the mustard to ensure you had enough headspace.  Then, add another lid as before and process the jar again for another 15 min. in the boiling water.  If the lid seal is down and properly sealed, carefully remove the ring as the jar will still be hot, and wipe the lid and the inside of the ring with a dry paper towel.  This will prevent any rust forming over time as the mustard sits in your pantry.  The ring is only there to ensure the lid doesn’t accidentally get lifted up.  Replace the ring finger tight when it is dry.

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Honey Mustard

Ingredients:

12 Cups Yellow Mustard Base

1 tsp. Kosher Salt

1 tsp. Black Pepper

2 Tbsp. Mustard Powder

1 1/2 tsp. Ginger Powder

2 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

3 Tbsp. Hungarian Paprika

3 Tbsp. Sweet Paprika

1 1/2 Cups Honey

2 Tbsp. Sugar

Making mustard will take up a lot of your counter space.  🙂

To begin, add your Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to the Yellow Mustard Base.

Now, add your Mustard Powder to the mix.

Then add your Ginger…

Garlic …

and Hungarian Paprika to the mixture.

Stir together all the ingredients.

I then added ~6 Cups of the mixture to the blender.

I pureed this part of the mustard into very smooth.

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Now, pour the pureed mustard into a large pot and begin to heat it over medium high heat.

Add the rest of your mustard to the pot and stir the pot to combine.

Continue to stir the mustard as it heats.

I then added the Sweet Paprika to the mixture.

Once the mustard was at the consistency I liked, I removed it from the heat and placed it into a bowl to cool.

Add your Honey to the mustard.

Here I am still adding the Honey then I added the Sugar.

Here you can see the dark color the Honey gives to the mustard.  This is also a good time to taste the mustard and add any other ingredients such as honey, garlic, or ginger to make it taste to your liking!

Using a ladle and funnel, add your mustard to the sterilized jars.  Sterilize your jars using your dishwasher.  When they are done, remove them and cover with a dishtowel until ready to use.  Place your lids in a pot of almost boiling water to soften the rubber seal.  An almost boil will just start to show tiny bubbles in the water which will just make the seal pliable.  If you bring the water to a hard boil, you might ruin the rubber seal.

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Wipe down the top of the jar with a wet paper towel until clean.  If it is not clean, the lid will not seal properly.

Using the magnetized stick, remove the hot lid and place it on the jar.  Place a ring on the jar and barely tighten the lid.  This will allow the air to escape as it boils in the next step creating a vacuum within the jar.

Here I am carefully placing the jars into the pot.

Here is a picture of both the Almost Yellow and Honey Mustard waiting to be processed.

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After all of your jars are in the pot, ensure there is about 1 inch of water covering them.  Bring the water to a boil and boil the jars for 15 minutes.  This step is called processing the jars.

Using the special tongs, remove the jars from the water and place them on a dishtowel. You should begin to hear the lids pop as they seal.  This is caused by the lid being pulled down from the vacuum within the jar.  This means that your mustard jar is sealed properly.  Caution, the jars will be extremely hot during these next steps.  After about an hour, if the lid can be pushed down, the lid didn’t seal and needs to be processed all over again.  In this case, remove the lid, wipe down the top of the jar and possibly remove some of the mustard to ensure you had enough headspace.  Then, add another lid as before and process the jar again for another 15 min. in the boiling water.  If the lid seal is down and properly sealed, carefully remove the ring as the jar will still be hot, and wipe the lid and the inside of the ring with a dry paper towel.  This will prevent any rust forming over time as the mustard sits in your pantry.  The ring is only there to ensure the lid doesn’t accidentally get lifted up.  Replace the ring finger tight when it is dry.

Here you can see both the Yellow and Honey Mustard on the kitchen towel popping as the vacuum is created.

These will make great Christmas/Happy Holiday gifts, or any time of year!

Our laundry room is now full of mustard!  🙂

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Gordon’s Bone In Pork Roast

We Make TWO!

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Ingredients:

2x ~6lb. Bone in Pork Roasts

1 1/2 Cups (Weber’s) Roasted Garlic and Herb seasoning

Let the pork roasts come to room temperature.

Remove the plastic covering on the pork roasts and rinse the excess blood and bone debris with fresh water.  Not shown, remove the silver skin from behind the bones as your would with ribs.  It usually peals off fairly easily once started.

Remove the excess water using a paper towel until dry.  Using a sharp knife, score the fat about 1/8 inch deep to allow the spices to penetrate the meat and help the fat to drain off.

Here is a picture of the spices I used. 

These have a bold garlic taste and the herbs compliment the flavor of the meat.

Place a large amount of the spices into your hands and push and rub the spices into the meat.

  Do this on all sides of the meat.

Here you can see the meat is well seasoned.  I then wrapped the meat in plastic until I was ready to cook them.  This will also allow the seasoning to somewhat marinade the meat.

Heat your grill to medium heat and place the fat side down to get some initial cooking on the fatty side.  Here I have the burners on directly under the meat.

Here you can see I am cooking more food in the pot next to the grill.

Cook the meat on the fatty side until you begin to get some good char.

Once you have the char you like, turn the meat over and begin to cook the meat on the other side. Now, turn off the burners directly under the meat and turn on the ones to the outside of the meat to medium high.  This will prevent the fat from catching on fire and burning your meat.  Having the burners on will roast the meat from the heat on both sides.

Cook your pork roasts until they have an internal temperature of ~140’F.

The heated juices will raise the meats internal temperature to 145’F as the meat rests.  The heated juices will return to the center of the meat if you let it rest for ~15 min.

If you don’t let it rest and immediately cut into the roast, those moving juices will just run all over your plate.  Here you can see a nice end cut of the meat.  Trust me, it is difficult to let the meat rest as it looks so good!

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Leftovers…….Great with Mustard.  🙂

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Consider Yourself

by Lionel Bart

Consider yourself at home.

Consider yourself one of the family.

We’ve taken to you so strong.

It’s clear we’re going to get along.

Consider yourself well in,

Consider yourself part of the furniture.

There isn’t a lot to spare.

Who cares.  What, ever we got we share.

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Consider yourselves our friend,

Gordon and Julie  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast With Brodie and Mackenzie

Breakfast With Brodie and Mackenzie

          Good Morning Welcome to Breakfast with Brodie and Mackenzie  We have a few menu items you might enjoy. ———————————————————- Bagel and Lox Ingredients: One Bagel (I use the Everything or Egg style bagels.) Smoked Salmon (I use Fresh Market’s Nova …

Cooking With Brodie and Mackenzie, Onion Soup

Cooking With Brodie and Mackenzie, Onion Soup

          Onion Soup Topped with Toasted Bread and Melted Crusty Cheese (Pork Tenderloins and Grilled Asparagus compliments of Gordon.  Recipe write up at the bottom of this post.) We would like to introduce to you our son Brodie and his girlfriend …

Black and White Pearls

Black and White Pearls

 

 

 

 

Black and White Pearls

Our Very Elegant Pickled Pearl Onions and Balsamic Pearls

How About An Elegant Edible Gift?

Welcome to The Recipe,

Gordon and Julie

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Be Sure To Also Check Out Our:

Pickled Purple Pearls

Also Check Out Our:

In a Christmas Pickle

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Black and White Pearls

 

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs. White Pearl Onions

3 Cups White Vinegar

1 Cup Sugar

1 tsp. Canning & Pickling Salt

~1/4 Cup Mustard Seeds

~1/4 Cup Corriander Seeds

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In batches, boil the pearl onions on high heat in a large pot of water for about 1 minute to release the onion’s skin.

The Pearl Onions in photo top left, have been picked through. 

Be sure to throw out any onions that aren’t firm.

After one minute of boiling, pour the heated water and onions into a colander that is above a large pot to catch the water for the next batch of boiling onions.

Rinse the onions with cold water to stop the cooking process or have them soak in cool water until the onions are cool to the touch.

With the new pot and heated water, continue to boil your batches of pearl onions until they are all done.

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Pinch the onion at its root end to remove the top layer of the onion’s skin.  Above are onions that have had their skins removed.

Removing all the skins from these onions will take a while to do.

Here are all the Pearl Onions with their skins removed.

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Pictured are the ingredients we used to pickle the pearl onions.

Using a large clean pot to heat the pickling ingredients…..

Add your sugar and white vinegar to the pot.  Heat the ingredients to medium high heat.

Pictured is the pickling salt we used.  Pickling salt is used as it doesn’t contain iodine which can slightly discolor the canned ingredients.

Add your pickling salt and mustard seeds to the pot.

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Now add your Corriander Seeds to the pot and stir all the ingredients to combine.  Heat the ingredients to an almost boil to dissolve the sugar.

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I use this large pressure cooker pot to can these smaller jars.  Add water about one third, to half full taking into consideration when the jars are added to it, they will raise the water level.  Turn the burner on high to start to boil the water.

Here are the jars we used for this canning.  They have been cleaned in the dishwasher and dried by heat to sterilize the jars.  We then set them aside and covered them with a hand towel until ready to use.

Here is our set up for canning these pearl onions.  The sterilized jars are near the onions and the pickling liquid is in front of the jar lids which are heated in water to an almost boil to soften their rubber seal.  Then we have the large canning pot with its water at an almost boil.

Place your pearl onions into the canning jars filling them almost to the top.  Be sure none of the onions are above the rim of the jar.

Move the filled jars next to the pot of pickling liquid.

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Ladle your pickling liquid into the jars using a large mouthed funnel to prevent spillage.

Ladle enough liquid to fill the jar leaving 1/2 of an inch of space at the top.  This is called headspace which is needed to create a vacuum within the jar during the canning process described later in this write up.

Fill all the jars with the pickling liquid leaving the 1/2 inch of headspace.  Use a chopstick to gently move the onions around to release any air bubbles (Not Shown).  Using a clean wet paper towel, wipe the top of the jars to clean away any pickling liquid or stray seeds.  Continue to use clean areas of the wet paper towel in small groups of jars to keep track of the ones which have been cleaned.  Keeping this clean will also help to maintain a sterile environment inside the jars.

Place a sterilized water heated lid on top of each filled, and clean jar.  I use this magnetized stick to remove the lids from the almost boiling liquid they were in.  Barely tighten a clean ring onto the jar’s lid.  More than barely tight will not allow the air to escape from the jar creating a vacuum during the canning process.

Using these special jar lifting tongs, place the sealed jars into the almost boiling pot of water.  Continue to add the jars until the pot is full.

When the pot is filled with jars, ensure there is a layer of water covering the jars.  Also ensure you see air bubbles rising from each jar which ensures you haven’t tightened their rings too much.  Boil the jars for 10 minutes.

Here you can see I have just a little bit of pickling liquid left over after filling all the jars.

After 10 minutes of boiling, remove the jars with your rubber tongs.

Place the jars on a clean towel to absorb any excess water.

Listen for each jar to pop as that is the action of the lid being sucked down by the vacuum created inside the jar.  This may take about 10 minutes to happen.  If the lid of the jar isn’t down and sealed, you must redo the entire canning process of that jar using a new lid.  Likely the reason the lid didn’t seal was due to not enough headspace inside the jar or there was something between the jar and the lids rubber seal.  In this next step, remember the jars will be very hot.  When your jars are sealed, carefully remove the ring and wipe any excess water off the lid and ring as this could cause those items to rust over time.  Of note, the ring is only on the jar so the lid doesn’t get hit causing the seal to break.  When the top of the lid and the ring are dry, replace the ring finger tight.  Space out the jars so they can cool which will take a few hours.

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BLACK PEARLS

Ingredients:

~2 lbs. White Pearl Onions – Peeled

1 Stick Butter – 8 Tbsp.

3/4 Cup Splenda Brown Sugar

3 Cups Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 tsp. Pickling & Canning Salt

In a large pot of boiling water, add your Pearl Onions and cook for one minute then drain the onions using a colander.  Place the onions in cold water to stop the cooking process.  When the onions have cooled, remove their outer skins and set aside.  In another large pot, add your butter and begin to melt it on medium heat.

Add your brown sugar to the pot.

Stir the butter and brown sugar mixture until combined.

Add your balsamic vinegar to the pot.

Stir all the ingredients together.

Now, add your peeled onions to the pot.

Cook the onions in the balsamic vinegar mixture stirring occasionally.

Here you see the pearl onions turning a dark color as they absorb the vinegar.

Continue to cook the onions and vinegar mixture until the vinegar turns into a syrup consistency.

Here the onions have finished cooking in the now syrup.  They taste amazing!

Here are the jars we used for this canning.  They have been cleaned in the dishwasher and dried by heat to sterilize the jars.  We then set them aside and covered them with a hand towel until ready to use.  Ladle your pearl onions and vinegar mixture into the jars using a large mouthed funnel to prevent spillage.

Ladle enough liquid to fill the jar leaving 1/2 of an inch of space at the top.  This is called headspace which is needed to create a vacuum within the jar during the canning process described later in this write up.  Use a chopstick to gently move the onions around to release any air bubbles (Not Shown).

Using a clean wet paper towel, wipe the top of the jars to clean away any liquid or stray pieces of onion.  Continue to use clean areas of the wet paper towel in small groups of jars to keep track of the ones which have been cleaned.  Keeping this clean will also help to maintain a sterile environment inside the jars.

Place a sterilized water heated lid on top of each filled, and clean jar.  I use this magnetized stick to remove the lids from the almost boiling liquid they were in.  Barely tighten a clean ring onto the jar’s lid.  More than barely tight will not allow the air to escape from the jar creating a vacuum during the canning process.

Using these special jar lifting tongs, place the sealed jars into the almost boiling pot of water.  Continue to add the jars until the pot is full.  When the pot is filled with jars, ensure there is a layer of water covering the jars.  Also ensure you see air bubbles rising from each jar which ensures you haven’t tightened their rings too much.  Boil the jars for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes of boiling, remove the jars with your rubber tongs.  Place the jars on a clean towel to absorb any excess water.  Listen for each jar to pop as that is the action of the lid being sucked down by the vacuum created inside the jar.  This may take about 10 minutes to happen.  If the lid of the jar isn’t down and sealed, you must redo the entire canning process of that jar using a new lid.  Likely the reason the lid didn’t seal was due to not enough headspace inside the jar or there was something between the jar and the lids rubber seal.  In this next step, remember the jars will be very hot.  When your jars are sealed, carefully remove the ring and wipe any excess water off the lid and ring as this could cause those items to rust over time.  Of note, the ring is only on the jar so the lid doesn’t get hit causing the seal to break.  When the top of the lid and the ring are dry, replace the ring finger tight.  Space out the jars so they can cool which will take a few hours.

A Lovely Gift,

Gordon and Julie

 

 

 

 

 

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