Blabbermouth Rambling

We're never too old to learn. This young lady is delightful, talks fast so you don't get bored, and after you watch the video, read the comments to learn even more tricks for freezing foods. I learned a lot! Click HERE.

Do they ever tell the truth? Click HERE.

Today Friend Linda emailed me that she would love to paint her woodwork (natural wood) white, but her husband likes the wood look. So I started a blabby email to her about how I agree, but decided to turn it into a blog post as there are too many photos. So here we go:

I hate the look of wood. All my woodwork is white, on the ivory side. All my walls are biscuit or crisp linen. My carpet is beige. I consider it an empty canvas waiting to be painted with decorations. Others call it boring. 

I don't even like wood furniture. I consider brown wood to be accent pieces. Not easy to find other materials, however. My three tables in the living room and the one in the entry were black wrought iron before I had them sprayed toned-down goldenrod. I painted the two black ones in my bedroom ivory.

My wood accents.

I still have the way-out-of-date almond lacquer furniture in my guest room and breakfast area.

My wood accent

And a touch of black

My dining room table and chairs are metal, painted a bronze sort of color. The buffet came painted this way. Notice the stool, a requirement for each window low enough for a cat to have a view.

I love glass top tables because they make the room look bigger.

My bedroom furniture is light enough; dark brown would have depressed me.

I'm okay with wood in my office (though it's probably not real wood) because I like it a little dark for using the computer or watching TV.

Another touch of black by way of my little boy Pepper, who follows me around. I've told him cats are supposed to sleep all day, but he doesn't listen.

But right now I'm into decluttering cookbooks and organizing recipes. I couldn't find an Italian Cream Cake recipe in my stash (guess I've never made one), but I knew it must be here, so I started organizing my cake recipes. I found SIX recipes for Italian Cream Cake, and I'll bet they're all different. I have two big binders of loose cake recipes, and that doesn't include those made with fruit or berries, which I'm still sorting.

One of my bookcases in the office had collapsing shelves, because in my infinite wisdom, I put too many heavy books on them. I decided to just get rid of it, and put the books in a filing cabinet in the closet. But what to do with all those loose recipes I had so neatly sorted into folders (four drawers full). I just dumped all the cake recipes into a box, all the pie recipes into a box, etc. I even had the chicken recipes sorted by breast, legs and thighs, wings, already cooked, whole, etc. That kind of system. I'm a great filer, but a horrible doer. I could be the president of the Procrastination Club. Now everything was in boxes, and I've been working on them off-and-on for months.

I have most of the recipes sorted into notebooks, though many are still just lumped together in those plastic sheet protectors: Appetizers, Soup, Salad, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Seafood, Sides, Vegetables,  Bread, Bread Machine, Cakes, Pies, Cheesecakes, Cookies and Bars, Misc. Desserts (like puddings, etc), Confections, Condiments, Sauces, and Non-Foods (like window cleaner, no-scratch cat spray, etc.), Lady Lunches, and Afternoon Tea. I also have a Snooty Pantry book of jams and jellies, salsas, pickled items, flavored vinegars and flavored syrups, jerky, etc. - anything you can do with a waterbath canner or a dehydrator. If I ever learn how to use my Instant Pot, I'll probably have to add another notebook. Of course, those recipes would also have a duplicate in the other categories. If I made Bean Soup in the IP, there would also be a recipe in the Soup book. They say you can rich if you choose a job doing what you love, but have you ever seen a millionaire filing clerk?

My family room does have wood, but it's my messy room and this is what it looks like right now, waiting for me to finish the cake recipes. I'll be so happy to have this project behind me. I could probably make a cake from each recipe if I live to be about 250 years old and made one every day. 

I also have 94 Recipes to Try - Cakes on my computer. I even found another Italian Cream Cake. In addition, I have 31 recipes I've tried and saved. And these links (which you might like to have):

30 Tube Cakes from Southern Living

45 Cakes from Taste of Home

If you're looking for a cake recipe, you know who to ask. I know most people just go to the internet now, but I love having my own collection.

And then I try to reinvent the wheel instead of trying something new. I had a perfectly good recipe for Impossible Pumpkin Pie, but the grass is always greener, etc. so when I ran across a different one, I had to try it today. 

It should have called for a 10" pie plate, because the 9" just isn't large enough. It puffed up like a mushroom and the filling cracked. It had already started to settle when I took this photo.

I hoped it would settle like the Sweet Potato Pie, and it did. I thought the Sweet Potato Pie puffed up because I separate the eggs, add the yolks, whip the whites and fold them in. Now I'm wondering if I should use my deep dish pie plate when I make it.

My lunch was a piece of the pie, and I like it, but it doesn't have that real deep pumpkin taste. A good recipe to feed those who don't like pumpkin pie. Both are great for those who eat the filling and leave the crust, as this one claims to make its own crust, but I call it crustless.

IMPOSSIBLE PUMPKIN PIE 2

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 15-oz can pumpkin
1 15-oz can evaporated milk
2 Tbs melted butter
2 tsps vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup Bisquick
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
 
Heat oven to 350°F.
 
Generously butter a 10” pie plate.
 
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, and then add the ingredients in the order given.
 
Bake 50-55 minutes.
 

And I recently discovered a crustless pumpkin pie using cornstarch instead of Bisquick, so I see another pie in my future. AND I found a new Impossible Coconut Pie which looks as if it wouldn't be as sweet as the one I'm using, so stay tuned. 

After I went to Walk the Last Week with Jesus, Mim and I had lunch at Big Momma's. We were both really pleased.

Mim had an Italian Sausage Soup and a Veggie Panini on Focaccio Half Sandwich.

And I had a Chopped Salad with Half a Railroader Sandwich

The servings were generous and delicious, and the price was right. If you're ever on downtown Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri, stop in. You'll be glad you did.

I spent a lovely day on Easter alone with the kitties. Elly, EB, and I were going to have potluck, but Elly called Saturday and said she didn't really feel well, and by Sunday she had a big time cold. And as it turned out, EB had gone out of town with relatives and didn't get home until 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. 

On Monday, I decided to cook anyway and deliver meals from Bennitt Catering. Ham, Grilled Pineapple Slices, Cheesy Potato Casserole, Steamed Green Beans, Baked Beans, Sister Shubert Rolls, Peach Sort-Of Cobbler, and a chocolate Easter bunny.

Elly couldn't taste for two days after Easter, but I ate for days without cooking, and still have freezer food.

Remember my wreath from the "class" at Michaels?

I finally finished it, but it still needs some work.

I used my bunny pillows on the porch.

Now I'm back to pink. I've ordered some pillow covers from Temu to sort of go with my spring wreath, but they won't be here for a week or so.

I need to tell you about positive thinking. I learned that if you believe it works, it does, and sometimes you wish it hadn't. 

In the olden days I had a white Cadillac Seville with a white vinyl top. I loved that car and drove it for twelve years. The top became dingy and no amount of cleaning would make it look good. I kept saying to myself that I needed to replace the vinyl, but like the good little procrastinator that I am, I put it off.

Our garages had wooden doors back then, and a wire brace went along the bottom, held in place by brackets which stuck out - one on either side and one in the middle.

As I backed out of the garage one morning, I put the door down too soon. In those days, doors didn't detect objects in the way, and as I had only one car, I parked in the middle of the garage. When I heard the riiippp down the middle of my car top, I knew that the universe had responded. You WILL get that vinyl top replaced like you said you would.

Another example: A rock flew up and put a ding in my windshield on the passenger side. I had it fixed, and it wasn't too noticeable, but every time I looked at it, I was bothered.

In conversation with a friend, I learned that she had a big crack in her windshield and couldn't get it fixed due to lack of funds. I was thinking how I'd find a way if I had to really scrimp to get that windshield replaced, and why didn't she?

Then she came to visit. As we were driving, I was embarrassed that she would see that ding in my windshield when I had been mentally dissing her, and made a promise to myself that I'd get it replaced soon. Sure enough, CRACK - a rock hit my windshield right before our eyes, and a bigger ding than the one already there. I got the windshield replaced two days after she left, even though the windshield guy kept telling me he could just fix it for $25 instead of the $200 to replace it. Nope. I didn't want it bothering me and a boulder the next time; maybe right into my face.

Then I got to thinking about how I really, really, really need to get rid of some of this "stuff" which is cluttering up my life. It's really started to bother me. Then I told Niece Terri, "I need to get busy decluttering, or I'm asking for a fire or a tornado. I know how this works." So I need to get back to recipes and cookbook decluttering, so I'd better stop blabbing.

And you're wondering how I could drive a Cadillac on my single working girl's salary? Positive thinking. I'll tell you next time. Stay tuned.