Thank goodness I don’t tile for a living and charge by the hour; if I did, not one would ever hire me. Between yesterday and today, I have probably spent 10 hours at it, and have roughly 1/3 about 16 square feet of the shower done. It would go so much faster if you did not have to stop and measure and then cut tiles to fit into areas. I am using standard 4″ by 4″ tiles, with 1/16 inch spacers. Tell me why couldn’t the contractor who built this house in the 60’s actually build it to some regular dimensions? The tiles we took out had been cut to varying sizes too. I am taking the rest of the day off from the shower, and maybe tomorrow too. After dinner I am going to go attempt to be artistic — I am so sick of playing with tiles, that I have no idea if I will have any Muse or not. The stiff Margarita I am taking up with me may help!!!
Archive for December, 2008
tiling
I hope that everyone had a great Christmas. We cut back on the gift giving this year, and still enjoyed it just as much. My youngest two gave me an addicting Play Station 2 game, Katamari Darmacy (ya I enjoy playing video games — it is a great way to bond with the kids, learn to enjoy what they enjoy) — We spent most of yestesday playing it — one of the blessings of having Christmas Day Leftovers, is minimal cooking the day after. I made a big breakfast frying leftover ham, and Belgium waffles, so the rest of the day we just grazed.
I must say the gift I was most impressed with was from my daughter, that alas will be leaving to go back to Wisconsin for school on the 2nd. When she first got home, she helped me alphabetize my recipe box within each category. Being someone who really likes to cook, I have recipes written and printed on a variety of materials. Well, it seems that each night after I went to bed, and anytime I left the house, she was madly re-typing the recipes for me on her computer and formated them into recipe card size with sunflower embellishments. As soon as we proof them making sure that tsp and tbsp didn’t get mixed up, I will be printing them out, and will have a pretty new and organized recipe box.
Today I will begin “crafting” on a big scale. My husband is off until the 5th, and we have been putting of the project of re-tiling the downstairs bathroom. This is something we have no experience with, but I read up on it, so I know we can do it. We will probably work on it a few hours each day, so that we still have time for other things. I plan to spend the afternoon working on a project that I saw in my dream last night.
Have a great day all!
merry christmas all
Almond Sugar Cookies
1 and 1/2 cups butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons almond extract
5 cups flour (plus extra for rolling out)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Cream butter and sugar well, then beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll cookies to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut with shape of your choice. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bottom is very lightly browned. Remove from oven, and cool on baking racks. Frost and decorate, and after frosting is set, store in an airtight container. Depending on cookie cutter sizes, this makes a LOT of cookies.
Not a lot of time to post
Well, I have not added much new information lately for my few faithful readers. I have hubby and all three kids here until after New Years Day, so they are all keeping me busy. Instead of gaining the freshman 10, my daughter lost a freshman 5, so I am working on plumping here up a bit as insulation for the burr weather in Wisconsin. I looked at the local web cam there yesterday, and it was -1 with a wind chill of -31. (and I think it is cold here, raining, and about 51 degrees) We have been doing a lot of baking, Including Rosettes, Krumkake, Lefsa, and more sugar cookies. I just got lax in posting recipes. Alas, the first three require special tools, but I will post the sugar cookie one since it is yummy.
New ATC’s – Artist Trading Cards
I needed a distraction to keep me busy until my daughter comes home from college on Tuesday, (her flight arrives about 11:30 PM on Monday) so I decided to make some new ATC’s for upcoming themes in my altered art group.
The first three all have to do with New Years Resolutions:
Live, Laugh, Love
It's your life
change
I also really jumped ahead and worked on the theme of Sugar and Spice, this was my first attempt, a dancer all pretty in pink!
Sugar and Spice
Sorry about the lack of recipes for the last few days, but life happens.
This sugar cookie is a little different, it uses both brown and white sugar in the dough, so it has a little more intense taste. I also do not frost them, I sprinkle them with regular sugar that I dye with food coloring before baking. Just use liquid food coloring in the sugar and let it dry out in an unheated oven (I have a gas oven, so the pilot light gives off enough heat)
Sugar Cookies
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspon vamilla
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda
Cream shortening and sugars till fluffy; add egg, milk and vanilla, beat well. Sift together dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture; mix well. Chill 1 hour. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick, and cut with cookie cutters. (I make all trees so I only have to make one color of sugar). Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen depending on the size of the cutter.
2009 Altered Art Calendar
I recently participated in an altered art swap where we each made calendar pages for a 2009 calendar. I was so excited by the project that I decided to make my husband a desk calendar for Christmas. Here are the 12 pages I made.
Marbled Mocha Squares
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
4 teaspoons instant coffee
1 tablespoon hot water
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup Hershey’s Syrup, divided
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups cold whipping cream, whipped
In 9-inch pan, stir together graham cracker crumbs, cocoa and sugar. Add butter; blend well. Press crumbs firmly onto bottom of pan.
In a large bowl, dissolve coffee in in hot water. Add sweetened condensed milk and 2/3 cup syrup; blend well. Fold in nuts and whipped cream; pour into prepared pan. Drizzle 1/4 cup syrup over mixture; gently swirl for a marbled effect.
Freeze for at least 3 hours, remove from freezer and allow it to defrost enough to cut into 9 squares.
Restaurant Style Cheese Biscuits
2 cups baking mix
2/3 cup milk
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup butter, melted
½ tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP parsley flakes
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix baking mix, milk, and cheese until soft dough forms. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Mix butter, garlic powder, and parsley. Brush over biscuits before removing from baking sheet. Serve warm.
