Author: admin

Another example of practical beauty – the quilt

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Have you ever stopped to ponder the incredible world we live in? I’ve always been an avid Little House on the Prairie fan. I still have the set of books I received for Christmas my 7th year.

My second grade school picture features me in a bonnet. Yes, I know it was odd. By the mid 1970’s, bonnets had long fallen out of fashion, but I didn’t care. I loved all things Little House on the Prairie.

To this day I still read Farmer Boy every fall. I used to read it to the kids. But the kids grew, as they are prone. Other activities vied for their time and attention. No matter. When the green fades from the leaves and the air become crisp with fall, I pull the book from my shelf and read it once again.

I love the stories about farming and family, and someday I will visit Almonzo’s boyhood home in Malone, New York.

Quilts made by my mom.

Sometimes I stop and contemplate Laura Ingalls Wilder and her life. It spanned 90 years, from 1867 to 1957. We know her stories. Traveling across the country in a covered wagon. Toiling with her family to create a life on the untamed frontier. Encountering fires, floods, sickness and all other manner of danger.

Yet, by the time she died, she’s witnessed the invention of the automobile and the availability of indoor plumbing, electricity and central heating. She could turn on a television, pick up a telephone or travel by airplane. Within a few short years of her death, we would put a man on the moon. The changes in her lifetime are simply staggering.

Another of my mom’s creations.

Available from Amazon.

Our world is still changing with unfathomable speed. I love the technologies that make life better. The ease in communication. Advances in medicine. The inventions that wash my clothes, clean my dishes and vacuum my floors.

But sometimes, in spite of (or maybe because of) all the advances and developments, I find myself gravitating to the traditional, the timeless.

A quilt made by my great-grandmother

One such timeless tradition is that of the quilt. Quilts have graced American beds for over two centuries and were an integral part of early American life. They have not grown obsolete nor, unlike my beloved bonnet, fallen out of fashion.

They are practical, beautiful, and versatile. They can work in a variety of decors, from farmhouse, to cottage, to cabin or even modern.  Some are frilly and feminine, and others bold and masculine. They can possess a variety of colors and patterns or the top can be constructed from a single piece of fabric.

A masculine cabin quilt from Cabela’s.

A whole cloth quilt. One of my favorite types of quilts. (Image from apqs.com)

Because quilts could be pieced from small scraps of fabric, they were tremendously practical and provided a way to utilize items that otherwise had lost their usefulness. I love that! Taking something that would otherwise need to be discarded and using it to create something worthwhile, practical and beautiful!

I think about those women, our ancestors. I think about their strength, determination and resourcefulness, those traits that formed the foundation for our modern lives. Most of ancestors could never have begun to fathom the relative ease and prosperity that we have come to expect.

A quilt/duvet combo. I technique I created in order to combine my two favorite bed coverings … quilts and down comforters.

While most early quilts were utilitarian in nature, quilting also provided much needed social connections. Gathered around a quilting frame, women would sew, chat, and share life’s joys and struggles, knowing that their friendships were essential to their very survival.

We are not so different today. We might not know it, the way our great-grandmother’s knew it. We may not admit it. But we need each other still.

A photo quilt I created for my mother-in-law.

What was once a practical means of survival eventually became an art form it’s own right.

Today, quilts are available in wide variety of styles of colors and styles. Rachel Ashwell’s, Shabby Chic line at Target includes several soft, pastel, feminine quilts such as the blue and white shown below.

 

Overstock carries a nice selection of more modern and masculine quilts. One example is shown above.

Soon, a quilt will replace the down comforter that covers my bed through the winter months.  I’ll wash it to remove the inevitable and unexplainable closet smells. I’ll hang it out on the clothesline, allowing the mountain air to permeate every fiber.

As I smooth it over my bed, I will again remember those women. I’ll remember their work, their creativity, their drive to survive and thrive in a hard land. I will imagine them, gathered around the quilting frame, sharing work and sharing life. I will be reminded to nurture and cherish friendship as if my survival depends on it.

Then, I’ll step back and smile at the practical beauty that is the quilt.

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Transferware – a convergence of function and beauty

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Twenty some odd years ago I was sitting with my good friend, Barbie, at her dining room table. I don’t remember for sure, but knowing Barb, it’s highly likely we were enjoying a cup of Tetleys tea and eating something amazing from her kitchen. Barb doesn’t just cook, like an artist, she creates. Beautiful, delicious dishes that draw people together and invite them to linger over good food and good conversation.

As we visited to the muffled voices and laughter of the kids playing in another part of the house, our conversation turned to the dishes displayed on her china hutch. These were the start of a new collection.

Quintessential Game and Majestic Beauty, Queens

I was excited. I have a thing for dishes. I can’t explain it. I know there are those who couldn’t care less if they are eating on fine china or paper plates. I’ve never been that girl. I’ve been a dish collector for almost as long as I can remember.

Hall teapot that belonged to my grandmother.

It started with an old Hall teapot that had been my grandmother’s. I was still just a young girl and she was still alive and well. As I look back, I’m not sure how or why I ended up with it, but I did. And I loved it. Though today the faded golden butterflies look old and frumpy, as a girl, I felt very grown up and elegant when using it.

Coaching Taverns, Royal Tudor Ware. Some pieces have colored accents. Others don’t. I mix and match them.

Coaching Scenes, Johnson Bros. Similar to Coaching Taverns. I mix the patterns.

When I was twelve, our small,  local grocery store started offering Haviland Blue Garland china as a promotion. Stamps, earned with the purchase of groceries allowed the dishes to be purchased at a discount. I loved the silver trim and the soft blue of the little flowers. As a avid reader of historical fiction, I was enthralled with the concept of a hope chest. It was old fashioned and romantic, and I decided I must have one. I would start by collecting Blue Garland china.

Blue Garland

My mom saved stamps and I saved my money until I could purchase a piece of china for my collection. Eventually I ended up with service for twelve, a coffee server, and several serving pieces.

Blue Garland

That afternoon, sitting at Barbie’s table, I was introduced to a category of dishes that was new to me. Her dishes were brown and white with quaint scenes of the English country. It was a pattern called Country Days by Ridgeway.  I would learn that this type of pattern is called Transferware and it’s available in hundreds of different patterns, with different scenes and different colors.

Friendly Village, Johnson Bros.

It reminded me of toile fabric, only on dishes; two of my favorite things in one! My infatuation was instant and complete. Twenty years later I still collect Transferware.

Tulip Time, Johnson Bros. The latest addition to my collection and purchased for Abigail, my Dutch baby.

Prior to the mid eighteenth century, decorative dinnerware was hand-painted. This laborious process made it expensive and as such, it was available only to the upper classes. In order to meet the demand of an emerging British middle class for more affordable decorative dinnerware, a transfer process was created.

Flow Blue. One of the most collectable forms of Transferware. Both pieces belonged to my great-grandmother.

Images were hand carved into copper plates. Ink was applied to the plates then transferred first to thin paper, then to the pottery. The resulting product came to be known as Transferware. In addition to antique and vintage patterns, modern reproductions are also readily available. In fact, while I do own some vintages pieces, much of my collection is modern.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Noble Excellence

My favorite Transferware patterns are those whose scenes tell a story. A village. A farm. A castle. A courtship. I even have a Christmas set with The Night Before Christmas poem.

One of my favorite scenes.

While vignettes form the bulk of my collection, I also have a fondness for Chintz. This Transfereware is characterized by floral patterns that cover the entire piece. It’s beautiful and decidedly feminine.

When not gracing my table, my Transferware collection serves double duty. Because it’s beautiful in it’s own right, I might display it on a mantel, or put flowers in a teapot. To me, this is the best kind of collection; one that can serve a practical function and also be used to enhance a space with it’s beauty.

 

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Gezelling … what it means and why we need more of it in our lives.

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It was an impromptu dinner. I’d been working on installing kitchen cabinets at my current project and didn’t realize it was getting close to dinner time. I thought I’d better at least check-in with my girls.

The house I’m working on is located in the mountains. With 20 acres of pasture, pine trees, a canyon and a creek, it’s breathtaking and serene. And the cell service is terrible.

It’s not at all unusual to miss calls or for texts to go undetected. Today was no exception. My mom had texted to say the girls could eat with them and she’d send dinner home for me. She knew I would probably be working late and could use some food.

As it turned out, I needed a plumbing fitting and the hardware store was closed. So I unplugged all of the tools, made sure everything was ready for the carpet installers first thing the next morning and went to join my family for dinner.

My parents live in a quaint little cabin, surrounded by pine trees. Though the towering trees obscure much of their view of the mountain, the air is heavy with the scent of pine. It’s the clean, crisp, piney smell that makes you want to pause, breathe deeply and give thanks that you are alive.

This night, however, I did not take time to stop and breathe. I hurried into the house, drawn by the thought of my mom’s enchiladas and the indistinct voices of my family. They’d started without me. Dark would not descend for another two hours and it never occurred to anyone that I might call it a day before then. They know me, know how I get when pushing to complete a project.

My sweet mom fixed me a plate while I washed up, then I joined my parents and three of my daughters at the table.

I intended to eat, clean up the dishes and then head home. I was tired and a long list of neglected tasked awaited me. But I didn’t do this.

Instead, we laughed that night. Deep, belly laughs that made us double over as tears filled our eyes. We took turns in the massage chair. We ate ice cream. The girls played Xbox with Grandpa. We inspected Grandma’s latest quilt.

We played Tripoli, a card game, meant to be played with chips. But in keeping with our family tradition, we played with pennies. I used to wonder if I was teaching my kids to gamble, but I’ve learned to lighten up. As a child, sitting next to my Gramps and serving as his banker, I learned to play the game. Gathered around a table, talking, laughing, teasing. Always teasing.

These are the threads, woven together that form the fabric of our family, creating something that is at once strong and yet soft and warm, something we can wrap around us, for protection, for comfort. It’s both cozy and fun.

The Dutch have a word for this. Gezillig. (Pronouned He-zell-ick) It’s widely considered to be untranslatable. In English, we simply do not have an equivalent word. Even descriptions somehow fall short. Perhaps the closest word in our language would be “cozy”. But even that can’t capture the essence.

The evening spent with my family was certainly “gezellig”. It was cozy, comforting, homey and imparted a general sense of well being. Gezellig can also mean “fun”. In that sense too, our evening was gezellig. It can mean quaint, friendly, or nice. It connotes togetherness. People, places and situations can all be described as gezellig.

It’s an inviting fire in the fireplace, good food and good conversation around a table. It’s lying in the bed of a pick-up truck looking at the vast array of stars, or holding a new born baby. It’s an inviting living room or restaurant. It can be a party, with laughter and dancing. A wedding. The most ordinary of places, even cold, stark places can be made gezellig by the people who share it. It’s another form of beauty.

I am certainly not a linguist, and my Dutch friends might think I’ve got it all wrong, but it seems to me that gezellig describes the feelings evoked by a person, place or situation more than it describes the actual things. It’s feelings of contentment, comfort, home, safety, fun, joy, and belonging.

Maybe defining “gezellig” isn’t really the important thing. Maybe finding it, making room for it, creating it is; silencing the tyranny of the urgent, both externally in our schedules, and internally in our souls.

For some, this may come easy. But for others, like me, it requires intention. It takes discipline. Gezellig isn’t found in the busy and driven nor in our “to-do” lists or the tasks that demand our attention.

I hear your protests. They roll off of my own lips too. I know the dishes need done, laundry needs folded, bills need paid. I see the dust on the buffet. And these things would define my life if I let them.

But life is fleeting. One day, my parents will no longer be with us. The girls, those still at home, may choose to make their lives elsewhere. Impromptu dinners and game nights at Grandma’s house will be but a distant memory and times together might be reduced to a few vacation days once or twice a year.

In those days, when I recall the distant days of my life, I am confident that I won’t remember the laundry that should have been done, or the door knob that needed fixed. No, the memories that last will be gezellig. Time spent with family or friends, eating, laughing, sharing, playing. I will see those faces and hear those voices once again. I will be thankful that I made time and space for these gezellig moments.

Hardwood floors: 3 reasons you should ditch polyurethane finish, and what to use instead 

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Two weeks from today is April 21st. Normally, it would be a day just like any other day. But this year, April 21st is the day my clients will be moving into their newly renovated home. For over two months, I’ve been knee deep renovating their old house. I’m excited to share that project with you, but because we are in the final push right now, we’ll have to settle for just a sneak peak.

Client’s floor – rustic white oak finished with WOCA hard-wax oil and no stain

When we started, the living room, like many old-house living rooms, had wall-to-wall carpet. The carpet was old and dated, but because it was high quality and still in good condition, the clients considered waiting to replace it.

Then, we had to cut into a section of floor in order to access a concrete footer. The carpet was rolled back to reveal solid, white oak floors. To home renovators, this is akin to winning the scratch off lottery! It’s not enough to completely change your life, but it will put a bounce in your step for a couple of weeks. I don’t play the lottery, so I’m really just imagining here, but you get the point.

Sometimes, old wooden floors are damaged or stained, but these were perfect in spite of worn and peeling finish. We eagerly peeled back the carpet in the breakfast nook and found the same flooring!

Client’s rustic floor

Solid white oak with 2 3/8” planks are such a classic floor. For years, this was standard flooring. As an added bonus, it’s still available today, even in the more rustic grade that matched the existing floors. My flooring contractor installed new, matching flooring in the kitchen, then sanded and finished all of the floors creating one uniform, stunning floor.

After locating the material, we had to decide on a finish. Most hardwood floors today are purchase pre-finished with a slight bevel at the edge. The bevel is necessary with pre-finished floors because it creates a transition between boards.

Unfinished flooring is sanded, stained, and then three coats of oil-based polyurethane are applied. Oil-based poly is generally considered to be slightly more durable than water-based but because it can yellow over time, most flooring contractors offer a water-based option as well.

Client’s floor

This is the most common way floors are finished today. But, it’s not the only option and in my opinion, it’s not even close to the best.

Three reasons to ditch polyurethane:

1. Plastic. Polyurethane is essentially plastic that sits on the surface of your beautiful, natural wood, creating a barrier between it and you. This barrier does protect the wood, but it looks and feels like the plastic that it is.

2. Polyurethane scratches. With the addition of aluminum oxide, modern polyurethanes are more dent and scratch resistant than their predecessors, but the fact remains, they will scratch and dent. You’ve probably seen those hazy, white spots on the hardwood floors under chair legs, or milky tracks at the desk where the chair has been pushed in and out too many times to count.

Those are thousands of tiny scratches in the polyurethane.  Felt applied to the bottom of legs can help, but it does not prevent scratching because dirt can still find it’s way under the felt pads and it’s the dirt that creates the scratches. It acts like sandpaper.

Admittedly this floor has multiple issues, but you can see the tiny scratches in the poly finish. They are a result of pushing a desk chair in and out.

You’ve seen the dents too. Maybe a kid dropped a heavy glass. Or, if your house is like mine, an over-zealous dog ran across the floor then tried to stop only to slide into the opposite wall leaving a nice, deep gouge in the floor.

These things are just life and my life is too full and too busy to worry about damaging my floors.

3. Difficult to repair. When poly finishes do get worn or damaged, and they will, they are difficult to repair. You can not simply repair the damaged area. The entire room must be emptied of furniture. Before the new finish can be applied the existing finish must be scuffed, if the damage is minor, or sanded off in more extreme cases. It’s time consuming, messy, invasive and costly.

So, if you don’t want to use polyurethane on your floors, do you have other options? Yes!!

Client’s rustic floor

Three alternatives to Polyurethane floor finishes.

1. Wax. Our grandmothers used to wax their floors. Wax floors are warm and inviting. Their soft, buttery finish gives the wood a beautiful depth that simply glows. They are, however,  difficult and time consuming to maintain.

2. Penetrating oils. Penetrating oils are oils that harden when exposed to air. I’m most experienced with tung oil, a penetrating oil pressed from the nuts of a tung tree.

As the name implies, it will penetrate into wood then polymerize into a solid. This strengthens the wood and provides protection against water. It’s most often combined with other ingredients and labeled “Tung oil finish“, but can be used in it’s pure form.

Pure tung oil used to be difficult to find, but thanks to Amazon, you can order it here. It’s an exceptional product for sealing floors and because it’s food safe when dried, it’s also great for countertops.  When using it in it’s pure form, I mix it with a little citrus solvent, (also available here, at Amazon) to help it penetrate a little deeper. I’ve used tung oil on both countertops and floors and for many years it was my favorite finish.

 

Mahogany countertops sealed with pure tung oil

Birch countertops, lightly stained and sealed with Pallman Magic oil, hard-wax oil

Tung oil, tends to result in a fairly matte finish. However, with multiple coats and buffing, you can achieve a nice, soft sheen.

One of the best attributes of penetrating oils is the ease with which repairs can be made. Unlike polyurethane, oil can be reapplied to worn areas whenever needed. It is not necessary to strip the entire floor. If the floor should be dented, scratched or otherwise damaged, the area can be lightly sanded and re-oiled.

My floor: engineered, wide plank, european oak with stain and hard-wax oil

3. Hard-wax oil. A couple of years ago, when installing floors in my house I stumbled upon a product that was new to me.  Hard-wax oil has been widely used in Europe for many years but is just starting to gain traction in the US market. It combines penetrating oils with waxes to create a superior finish. The oils penetrate and strengthen and the wax provides extra surface protection.

As American consumers learn about this product, it’s becoming easier to find. Some premium flooring stores are starting to carry flooring that has been pre-finished with hard-wax oil. It is now my favorite floor finish, hands down.

4 benefits of hardwax oil finishes

1. The finish. Hard-wax oils tend to create a matte finish, similar to that of tung oil, however, several brands will create a nice, soft sheen with proper buffing. This is that soft, rich, buttery finish that will remind you of grandma’s floors. They are silky smooth, without the plastic feel, tempting one to ditch the slippers and run around in bare feet.

2. Ease of Repairs. Repairs are performed in the same manner as penetrating oil. Simply lightly sand the damaged area and apply more oil. This is perhaps the best feature of this product. I love, love, love this!

My floors take a lot of abuse. I have kids, dogs, dirt, mud and snow. Oh, and ducklings. Yep, yesterday Anna bought two ducklings. Eventually they will find their home in the coop with the chickens, but today, they are running around the kitchen, on the wood floors, while Anna watches over them.

Ducklings on my stained, hard-wax finished floor.

Did I mention my floors take a lot of abuse? I wasn’t exaggerating! If the finish gets worn or damaged, I just apply oil before I go to bed at night and in the morning it’s as good as new.

3. Hard-wax oil dries and cures quickly. Most hard-wax oil products call for two coats of finish. My favorite product, Pallman Magic Oil dries enough to receive the second coat in 4 hours and light foot traffic is allowed after only 12. Oil-based polyurethane and many penetrating oils require extensive dry times between coats, and the oils require numerous coats to achieve good protection.

4. It’s environmentally friendly. Hard-wax oils have little to no VOCs. Regardless of where you stand on the environmental, political debate (I tend to be fairly conservative) I think we can all agree that fewer harsh chemicals are probably a good thing.

There are, however, some downsides to hard-wax oils. If you like shiny floors, you would not be happy with hard-wax oil. It simply will not product a high-shine finish. I actually prefer a satin/matte finish. I like the look better and I find shiny floors harder to keep clean as they show dust. Still, this is a matter of personal preference, and those wanting shine should stick with polyurethane.

Hard-wax oils also require periodic maintenance. It must be reapplied from time to time. The frequency depends primarily on how hard you use the floors. Floors with lots of dirt and traffic will need to be re-oiled more often. I tend to re-oil my floors about every year and half. I do not move the furniture, I simply apply oil to the worn areas. Hard-wax needs refreshed more frequently than polyurethane, but the process is much more affordable and less invasive. Still, if you are not willing to perform occasional maintenance, you will be frustrated with this finish.

Hard-wax oils certainly aren’t for everyone. There is still a place for polyurethane, but when it comes time to do your floors, at least consider the benefits of a hard-wax oil finish.

How to buy the perfect set of sheets

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It’s nearly that time of year again.  The days are getting longer. Easter is tomorrow. I am eagerly watching for the first appearance of bulbs while each day more green is appearing in the yard and in the field. Before long I will turn the horses out to pasture.

For me, all of these springtime events bring about thoughts of spring cleaning. It won’t be long before the down comforter that fills my duvet will be removed and replaced with something lighter and cooler. I’ll throw open all of the windows and let fresh air fill the house. I’ll clean and scrub and organize. It makes me happy just thinking about all that freshness!

Ok, if I’m honest, I will want to do all of these things. When my children were younger and so was I, I would have. But now, I will make a valiant effort. I will do some of them, but some of  the things on my spring cleaning to-do list will still be there when the leaves turn to autumn gold.

When my children were little and underfoot and needing help with even the simplest of tasks I knew it would only get easier as they grew. I was so wrong.

Now I am home less. I’m driving them from one event to another. I’m attending their activities. Their problems can no longer be fixed with a quick kiss and a band-aid, if they can be fixed at all.  This all takes time and energy. As I am more often away from home, I accomplish less at home. And that’s ok. It might challenge some of my borderline OCD tendencies, but those things don’t always serve me well anyway.

But, one task will be completed. It happens every Spring, without fail. The cozy, flannel sheets that provide comfort and warmth through the winter will be replaced with crisp, cotton percale.

Did you know that just a few years ago, the percale sheet was almost extinct?  When my sheets had worn thin and it was time to replace them, I naively thought I’d run to the store and return with new, crisp sheets. I love new sheets. I eagerly headed to the store and scoured the shelves. Microfiber sheets, cotton sateen, jersey. Thread counts claiming to be in excess of 1000, but no percale.

Hmmmm. Not to be deterred I took myself off to Tuesday Morning. They always have a lovely selection of high quality sheets at amazing prices. Again, sheets of various fibers, weaves and thread counts, but no percale.

By then I was completely baffled. Percale sheets are the classic, quintessential sheet. They were the kind your grandma had, the sheets that snapped in the breeze when drying on the clothesline. They were smooth, crisp and cool when you slid between them on a warm summer evening and their pillowcase were cool against your face.

Panic started to set in. I could not believe they were no longer available. It was simply inconceivable. I had to be mistaken, confused somehow. An internet search revealed that sadly, there was no mistake. The sheets were simply not available. I found entire websites dedicated to righting this travesty. It was the theme of more than one blog. I was not the only one missing “grandma’s sheets.”.

I reluctantly decided my existing sheets must made to last a little bit longer. Then, I did the only thing I could. Before I tell you, please promise not to mock. I know it sounds extreme. You may think I surely had more important things demanding my attention. But sometimes the little things, little comforts make all the difference. So I did it.

I wrote to two major sheet manufactures and asked them to bring back the percale. To my surprise, one of them responded with two sets of percale sheets, a cotton/poly blend and a 100% cotton. They asked me to review them as they were currently being tested for production.

Glory Hallelujah! I was happier than I’m comfortable admitting. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to figure out how to manufacture my own! That was several years ago. Today, I’m happy to report, percale sheets are once again widely available.

But what are percale sheets and why should you care? In today’s world most sheets are not inexpensive and you spend 1/3 of your life in bed. Sheets represent an investment of both money and time. But, the choices in sheets are wide and often confusing. In order to help clear the air, I’ve created a sheet buying guide. You can find it here, as well as my recommendation for percale sheets that are beautiful, durable, the perfect blend of soft and crisp and best of all, they are affordable.

And if you couldn’t care less what makes a good sheet, but still want the recommendation, feel free to just scroll to the bottom of the guide!

My favorite hack for buying fresh fruits and vegetables.

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It’s a beautiful day in southern Colorado. The sun is shining. The sky is blue. The warm weather beckoned us outside reminding us why we choose this little piece of God’s good earth to call home.

Today, I look at my dining room table, laden with fresh fruits and vegetables and it reminds me of another place I once called home. Because I live in a remote community, it can be a challenge to keep my fridge stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. But, in that other place, half way around the world, it wasn’t so. I had 4 grocery stores within a two minute walk of my house.

On Saturday mornings, I’d hop on my bike and head to the local outdoor market. I’d buy no less than twenty-five  pounds of fresh fruit each week and by week’s end, my five little ones would have eaten through all of it! When you limit snacks to fruits and vegetables, kids tend to eat more of these nutritious foods.

My bike was equipped with saddlebags that straddled the back tires. These I’d load with fruit and vegetables. French bread, maybe some pastries, as a treat for the kids, and fresh flowers would fill the basket that hung from my handlebars. Flowers. Three dozen roses. Every. Single. Week. For less than I pay now for a latte! Yes, fresh flowers are a wonderful benefit of living in Holland!

A slamming door abruptly interrupts my thoughts and brings me back to the present. I look out the window to see a couple of my girls, unable to resist this beautiful day, head outside to ride their horses.

I turn my attention once again to the bounty before me. In Holland, it was easy to have a constant supply of fresh produce. And while there are a multitude of things to love about my home here in Colorado, having fresh produce has proven to be a little bit challenging.

One thing that has helped was discovering Bountiful Baskets.

Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op for purchasing fresh produce. It’s available in communities all over the country and offered either weekly or bi-weekly. Participants reserve their basket on Monday or Tuesday and pick it up the following weekend at a designated time and place.

I like Bountiful Baskets for a couple of reasons. I love that it’s a community event. Members of the community work together to receive and distribute the baskets, and it’s fun to bump into friends and acquaintances during the pick-up time.

Another benefit to the Baskets is the variety. I never know what the basket will contain and occasionally I get vegetables I normally wouldn’t buy. Because I’m frugal and hate waste, this encourages me to try new things and find new recipes.

In addition to their regular produce baskets, and organic alternative is available and they sometimes offer bread, and local honey as well.

Finally, Bountiful Baskets are affordable. This week I made an itemized list of the things in my basket and priced them at King Soopers (Krogers) in the nearest town. I paid $18.00 for my basket. Had I purchased these items at Kings, I would have paid in excess of $23.00, even with their current sale prices. That’s a savings of 22%.

See the blueberries? It came with more but the girls ate most of them on the way home from the pick-up.

For a family on a budget, that can make a huge difference over the course of the year. The best part for me though, is that I didn’t have to go to the store! Maybe, with the time I saved, I’ll head outside and enjoy some Colorado sunshine!

Check out Bountiful Baskets here. If you try it, let me know what you think.

What happened when my favorite lamp tried to burn the house down

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Last week I was sitting on the couch going through old photos from an external hard drive. I have tens of thousands of photos and most are in no particular order other than loosely chronological. They are in desperate need of some organization.  I was intent on my work when I suddenly smelled something burning. I felt the hard drive, the connection to my computer, the electrical plug and nothing felt hot so I turned to the fail-proof smell test. I sniffed those same items and still nothing seemed amiss. It was odd, I thought, but obviously everything was ok.

I set the hard drive and my computer aside and went to prepare dinner. Later, when I returned the sun had dropped behind the mountain so I reached for the nearby lamp. When I turned the switch, nothing happened. I replaced the bulb, thinking it odd since it hadn’t been long since I’d done that,  but still nothing. Upon further inspection, I discovered the source of the earlier burn-y smell. The plug on the lamp had burned. I was a little bit shaken, realizing what could have happened and more than a little grateful.

This lamp was my grandmother’s. I can’t remember a time when it didn’t sit on her end table. As a child I was obsessed with Little House on the Prairie and all things old-fashioned so a lamp shaped like a little potbelly stove was nothing short of enchanting. Saturday was cleaning day at Gram’s and if my brother or I happened to be there on Saturday, we knew we would be expected to help. I was responsible for ironing Gramp’s hankies and for dusting. Countless times, with the dust rag cut from my grandfather’s old t-shirt in hand, I carefully wiped the shiny black surface of this little potbelly stove lamp.

When we lost my Grandma, I got the lamp. It’s been mine now for nearly two decades and even though I’ve changed the shade,  I would not think about getting rid of it.  I love the memories. I love the nostalgia and I even still love the style.

When my little lamp threatened to burn my house down, I knew I needed to take action. One thing was for certain, I could not throw this old friend away. Since I was also unwilling to risk a fire, I cut the wiring out of the lamp and removed it so it could not be turned on by mistake. Then I did what every resourceful woman does …  I went to Amazon. I found this lamp kit and promptly ordered it.

Lamp with wiring removed

New wire pulled up through the lamp and the base slid over the wire

Wires attached to the socket

Cover and cardboard insulation added

Ready for the bulb and shade

Finished! It took longer to write about it than it did to do it!

If your shade uses a harp, you can install the harp that is included with the kit. My doesn’t so I just left it off.

When it arrived, I tore into the box and in well under half an hour, the lamp was repaired and functioning safely again. I have several old lamps and light fixtures.  It might be time to update them, if only for my peace of mind.

These kits are great for creating your own lamps too. Use your imagination to create a unique, one of kind lamp out of an old cedar fence post, a teapot, or a baseball bat. The possibilities are only limited by imagination!

It’s true that decorating styles change. Not that long ago many people hadn’t even heard of shiplap! That’s part of the fun with interior decorating. There’s an ever changing opportunity to be creative. Regardless of the trends there are some items that will always be a part of my home. I might remake, repurpose, paint, repair or re-imagine them, but I won’t get rid of them because the people, places and memories associated with them are a part of me.

A quick and easy recipe when you need dinner fast! Pannekoeken

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Do you ever get the end of the day and suddenly you’re faced with the question … “Mom, what’s for dinner.” Too often my response is, “I have no earthly idea. I haven’t even started to think about it.” Sometimes, if there’s a selection of leftovers in the fridge I might say, “Tonight is fend for yourself.” Usually this is met with groans and complaints. The exception is if I was considering something they didn’t particularly like, then the response is rather enthusiastic.

If we don’t have leftovers, my mind races through the possibilities and quickly discards several ideas that would have been great if only I’d considered this earlier and taken something out of the freezer. But I didn’t. And now it’s dinner time and I need to come up with something fast.

In Northern Europe, north of Belgium and nestled between Germany and the North Sea lies the kingdom of The Netherlands, commonly referred to as Holland. It’s a tiny country, roughly the size of Maryland. It’s known for windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, cheese, Blue delft, canals and bicycles. Once upon a lifetime I had the privilege of living there for a few years. It’s a beautiful country, wet, green and picturesque.

While the Dutch are not known for their cuisine, that does not mean there isn’t delicious dutch food. One of our favorites is Pannenkoeken, or dutch pancakes.

While Americans enjoy pancakes for breakfast, in Holland they are found on the dinner table. More like a crepe than an American pancake but thicker than French Crepes they are often savory rather than sweet and topped with things like cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms and ham or bacon. It’s much like choosing toppings for a pizza.

Traditionally, the Pannenkoeken is drizzled with hot molasses. If you try this at home, please don’t skip this! Molasses with ham, cheese, and vegetables might sound unappetizing. It did to me when I was first tried it, but its delicious! Leaving out the molasses would be like skipping the whipped cream on the pumpkin pie. You can do it and it would still taste good, but it would fall somewhere short of awesome!

Because my pallet still hasn’t matured beyond the point where vegetables can be enjoyed rather than merely tolerated, and then only on rare occasions, I eat my Pannenkoeken with ham and cheese, but bacon and cheese are exquisite as well.

It’s a perfect meal for those nights when the day managed to get away from you and you find yourself scrambling to put a meal on the table in a hurry. It’s also great when your little, (or not little) eaters have varying likes and dislikes. Each family member can customize their Pannenkoeken to suit his or her own tastes.

Pannenkoeken – Dutch Pancakes

Because Holland is a European country and uses the metric system, some of the measurements provided are in metric. An electric scale is both easy to use and accurate. If you don’t have one, I’ve provided Imperial conversions. 

250 grams self-rising flour, or 250 grams plus 2 teaspoons of baking powder 

(2 cups of sifted flour is roughly equivalent to 250 grams of flour)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

450 ml milk (scant 2 cups)

40 gram of butter melted or oil (generous 2 tablespoons)

Place the flour and baking powder (if not using self-rising) in a bowl with the sugar and salt. Mix the egg, milk and butter or oil in a separate bowl. Gradually add 1/2 of the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Continue adding the remaining liquid ingredients slowly. 

Heat a skillet to medium heat. Lightly butter or oil a skillet or griddle then pour the batter onto the hot pan and swirl to coat.

I use this 14″, round, cast iron griddle. It’s great for pizza too! To flip, I use an icing spatula similar to this one. The narrow profile allows me to get under the Pannenkoeken and lift without tearing it. 

Cook until the underside is lightly browned. Loosen the edges then flip. 

Sprinkle the Pannenkoeken with cheese, ham and other toppings of your choice.

Alternatively, all toppings with the exception of the cheese can be added as soon as the batter is added to the pan. Cook until the other side is slightly brown, flip the Pannenkoeken and cook the second side. Flip again, add cheese and cover until the cheese is melted. If you are adding a lot of toppings, this method makes it easier to flip as the toppings cook into the batter. 

Drizzle with warmed molasses. Enjoy! 

You can find a printable version of the recipe here. Or, if you really want to keep this quick and easy, you can buy a Pannenkoeken mix here. When your family bites into this deliciousness, I promise you, no one will care if you used a boxed mix or measured the flour yourself.

Tonight when my girls ask, “What’s for dinner?” I won’t hesitate. Pannenkoeken!

When tragedy shakes your world

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Creating Beauty in Spaces. Finding Beauty in Connection. That’s the theme of this blog. Lately, I’ve been focusing more on the “spaces” aspect. But last week, something happened. Something dreadful. Something incomprehensible, unthinkable.

It had been a good day. I’d spend a good chunk of it working on the blog post Greenhorn Farmhouse Interior Part 2 and the Finale. The sun had slipped behind the mountain and evening dark was descending. I fed the cats and dogs, sent Abigail to feed the horses and chickens and prepared to head to town.

Ours is a small community, nestled against a mountain named for a once powerful Comanche chief. It’s a simple place with ranches, and cattle drives, mountain trails and breathtaking vistas. A picturesque lake lies 11 miles to the northwest, further into the Rockies. Another lies in the heart of the community, 5 miles down the mountain. We have a couple of restaurants, a bar or two, and a handful of other shops and businesses.  Nightlife is often found under stadium or gym lights while cheering for the local high school teams, and the local FFA Member Auction and Oyster Fry will draw one of the largest crowds of the year. And yes, those are Rocky Mountain Oysters.

Kids get bored here. It’s not uncommon for them to graduate and move away. Nor is it uncommon for those same kids, with young families in tow to return to this place my childhood friend describes as “magical”.

So, we were heading to town. “Town” is the term for the nearest city. The place where we go to shop, bowl, maybe see a concert, go the State Fair or catch a movie. It’s where two of my daughters attend school, one at the local college and the other at cosmetology school. And this night, Abigail and I were making the 35 minute drive to town to ice skate with a friend.

The miles slipped behind us as Abigail kept up a steady chatter. School, FFA, her friends, which college she wants to attend. Then my phone rang. It was my daughter, Anna. Both she and her younger sister, Alia work at the local barbecue restaurant. She doesn’t usually call me from work.

“Can you come get Alia?” I could hear the tremble in her voice. My heart skipped a beat. Something had happened. What had happened? Was Alia ok?

“Aspen was killed in a car accident.”

Aspen. Alia’s dear friend. Her best friend through much of high school.  Aspen, who had moved to Denver to live with her grandmother following their high school graduation. Aspen, who was there, at the Walmart where she worked when an armed shooter let loose a hail of bullets just a few  short months ago. The girl who loved her family. Who was kind to her friends. Adored her horse and dog. Aspen. Who doted on her little niece.  Alia’s partner in crime. Her fellow FFA officer. Daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, and friend.

Aspen on the left and Alia on the right.

The details would be sparse. Nineteen years old. Heading home for the weekend, I presume. Traveling the road she’d travelled hundreds of times. The afternoon sun high overhead, it’s brightness masking the bite of the wind. Suddenly, the car was out of control. Off the road. She was ejected from the vehicle as it rolled before coming to a stop. Aspen. Gone. In a hot second, the blink of an eye.

Life cut short. Too soon. Senselessly. Leaving questions and heartache and searching. Searching for some way to wrap our minds around this unfathomable tragedy.

I turned the car around and headed for Alia. I would hold her and we would cry, my heart breaking for Aspen’s family and for my girl, knowing that I could not take this hurt from her, could not kiss it and make it all better. I’d read the pain and confusion in her eyes and wish with everything in me that I could take it and carry it for her. But it doesn’t work that way.  Dammit. I wish it did.

Twenty-eight years ago another nineteen year old lost his best friend. Another family lost a son and brother. Another life cut short. Twenty-eight years ago I held another, my younger brother,  and we cried and mourned the loss of his best friend, Kevin.

We cried with Kevin’s family, our friends, our family, by choice if not by blood. Kevin’s sister, Lori, would stand beside me when I married a few years later. But twenty-eight years ago, we weren’t thinking about weddings and futures. We were aching for a future that would never be.

On that day and the days that followed, our families hugged and cried and clung to each other in a desperate attempt to make sense of the senseless… an effort in futility, but an effort our minds and hearts compelled us to make.

And, then, as now, I wished I could take the pain, could spare those I love.

Twenty-eight years later we still miss Kevin, still wonder who he would have become, what he would have done. His name is still on our lips. Time  has not diminished our memories nor our love.

And, I know that twenty-eight years will not be long enough to erase Aspen’s memory from the heart of my dear Alia. At unexpected times, a memory will burst into her thoughts, like sunlight through the clouds after a storm. She will remember her friend and she will smile. The memories will not fade but the sharp, stinging pain will.

It’s a funny thing, this life. We go about our business and too often our busy-ness. Then one day, without warning tragedy reaches in and shakes our world, right down to it’s very foundations, bringing with it confusion, denial, anger and grief. It assaults our faith. It challenges us to cling tenaciously to the things that are most important. It reminds us that life is oh, so fragile.  It teaches us that love makes us vulnerable. If we didn’t love, we could be spared the excruciating pain of loss. But at what cost?  If we didn’t love, would we really live?

In the movie Shadowlands, CS Lewis put it like this:

Why love if losing hurts so much. I have no answers anymore, only the life I have lived. Twice in that life I’ve been given the choice. As a boy and as a man. The boy choose safety, the man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal.

Or, to put it a slightly different way, “We can’t have the happiness of yesterday without the pain of today.” (Joy, Shadowlands)

Today, I will go to my current job site. We will install windows and at the end of the day we will be one step closer to the finished product, to a house made beautiful and ready for the family that will makes it’s home within it’s walls. But today, as I cut holes, and install flashing and check for level, I will remember the reasons why. Always, close in my thoughts will be my children, my clients, the people who fill my life and occupy my heart.

And when I’m home again and the chores aren’t done and the house is still a mess and I’m frustrated I will remember. I’ll remember that even these things are to be cherished. That these precious ones are the treasures. I’ll remember how fleeting, how fragile life is. I’ll be thankful. I’ll seek to love better, more selflessly. I’ll choose to continue making myself vulnerable to love, even if it ultimately means choosing suffering. And I’ll believe that joy comes in the morning.

 

Greenhorn Farmhouse Interior Part 2 and the Finale

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Finally. Finally. I’d reached the point where I could start putting this old farmhouse back together. Because it was an old farmhouse, I wanted it to feel like an old farmhouse.

Exterior before

Exterior before

Exterior after

Exterior after

The first order of business was to get the cabinets ordered because it would take a couple of weeks for them to arrive. I ordered Shaker White kitchen cabinets from RTAcabinetstore.com.

RTA stand for “ready to assemble” and means that the cabinet parts would come in a flat box and require assembly. The assembly process is relatively quick and easy and can result in significant savings. I assembled these in my living room, while hanging out with the girls and watching tv!

Next, I ordered the flooring because again, it would take time to arrive. I chose a hand- scraped, birch, engineered hardwood from Build Direct. Because this was an investment property, I needed to stay mindful of the budget, regardless of whether I kept the property or sold it. The engineered product allowed me to stay within budget, without sacrificing beauty and style, and would be installed after the painting was complete.

Then … the walls. These were a mess! Several were damaged and would need new drywall, as would the new walls we’d constructed.

The kitchen ceiling had one of those drop down systems. You know the kind. The typical office ceiling with the metal frame and the rectangular panels, complete with built-in fluorescent lights. This definitely didn’t fit with the farmhouse motif!

Kitchen ceiling before

So, down came the ceiling. I was expecting some damage,  but I wasn’t prepared for what we found. The ceiling was simply the bottom side of the attic floor boards, 2 feet higher than the old ceiling and covered with a thin, painted fabric. It was torn and sagging in places and some of it had remnants of old wall paper.

I was thrilled with the higher ceiling, but it desperately needed a new finish! Rather than drywall, I opted for bead board. This was consistent with the breakfast nook ceiling and really, nothing is more quintessentially farmhouse than bead board.

When it came to the actual bead board, I had several options. Solid bead board planks with a tongue and groove is a nice product but costly.

MDF paneling is  economical but flimsy. It would have been fine for walls, but because it’s thin, I worried about it sagging over time if used on the ceiling. Who wants to go to all of this work only to have it droop and sag down the road?

Plywood bead board, on the other hand, is economical, quick to install, and thick enough to prevent sagging. At nearly 3/8” thick, it’s sturdy enough for a ceiling and the end result is virtually indistinguishable from the costlier solid planks.

The kitchen ceiling, bathroom ceiling and pantry walls all received this material.  In order to really tie things together, I used it to wrap the kitchen island as well.

Bathroom bead board ceiling

Bead board wrapping island

The remaining walls and the living room ceiling received new drywall. With the drywall hung and taped, I decided to apply a skip trowel finish to all of the walls. This was time consuming, and I’ll admit, my shoulder ached a bit by the time I was finished, but a knock down finish just didn’t fit with the house. This finish made the walls look and feel as if they’d always been there.

Skip trowel drywall finish on the wall

Now it was time for paint. I purchased over half a dozen color samples and painted swatches on the walls in all of the different rooms. I had a couple of different shades of white and of course, some variations of greige. Greige is that trendy color that falls somewhere between grey and beige.

In the end I chose Dove White by Benjamin Moore for the wall color. I love this white because it’s warm, with just a tiny hint of cream so it doesn’t feel stark and cold. For the trim I used Simply White, also by Benjamin Moore and I decided to carry these colors throughout the house.

My parents and aunt and uncle graciously offered to help with the paining and boy was I thankful! Many hands really do make light work and besides, these people are just fun! Tell me that doesn’t look like fun!!

My dad! Yes, he loves Elvis. Still to this day!

For the countertops, I used solid birch tops from Ikea. Sadly, they no longer carry this product … a sad fact I discovered when trying to buy it again for my latest renovation.

I did consider granite. Granite is, of course, beautiful and durable and for many years it, along with marble and quartz have been among the most sought after countertop materials.

But, I’m partial to wood counters. I’ve been using them for nearly fifteen years, long before you could even buy them. (Back then I had to make my own.)

It’s not that I’m opposed to those other materials.  I once bought a truck load of old Carrera marble slabs that had been removed from the walls of an old bank in Dayton, Ohio. The marble was covered with drywall mud and paint, but under all of that was pure beauty. Granite, quartz, marble and even laminate have their place. It’s just that in this old farmhouse, wood simply fit better.

Ikea didn’t have the birch tops wide enough to accommodate the island so I purchased two pieces, used my biscuit joiner and glued them together. When they were dry I sanded them, cut them down to size, cut the opening for the stainless steel, under-mount sink and stained them a light warm, brown. I finished them off with hard wax oil.

I’ll introduce you to hard wax oil in a future post. For now, suffice to say, it’s durable, easy to apply, easy to maintain, environmentally friendly and simply beautiful. It doesn’t get any better than that!

The addition of a new island light fixture and stainless steel appliances finished off the kitchen!

Kitchen and breakfast nook

Breakfast nook after

Kitchen after

Kitchen after

Kitchen after

For the bathroom vanity, I purchased an antique sideboard and fitted it with a sink and faucet. This economical alternative to a pre-made vanity gave the bathroom unique character and beauty. New lighting, a new cast iron tub, subway tiles for the shower surround, new toilet, and the bathroom was checked off of my punch list.

Bathroom vanity

Subway tiles, new fixtures, new tub – eventually it got a Battenburg lace shower curtain, but I failed to get a photo.

Bathroom before

Bathroom before

Bathroom before

Bathroom after

Bathroom after

With everything else nearly done, I needed to think about doors for the closet in the entry porch and a door for the panty. Using plywood and wood salvaged from the demo, I created a barn style pantry door. I painted the top half with chalk board paint, creating convenient and fun place to write a grocery list then, I created similar barn style doors for the entry.

Pantry door (before laundry doors were painted)

Pantry pocket door, (before door was completely trimmed)

Entry porch closet doors.

Mud room before

Mud room after

Dining room before

Dining room after

Living room before

Living room after

The house was staged using items scavenged from my garage and Voila! It was done! Four months after closing, the renovation was complete. The house sold quickly, with multiple full price offers.

When I signed the closing documents and handed over the keys, it was with mixed emotions. I left the title company and climbed into my car. And I sat there. Just sort of numb. You aren’t supposed to get attached to the houses you renovated.

But, I bought this one thinking I’d like to keep it. I could see my parents there, or one of my children some day. It took a while to adjust to the reality that it was no longer mine.

I’d drive home at night, after darkness had settled, and I’d see a light in the window. And my eyes would strain and my heart would race with concern. Who was at my house? What were they doing?

Eventually, I grew used to seeing life and light and activity there. But when I pull into my drive and see the Greenhorn Farmhouse, nestled among it’s trees and surrounded by the grassy mountain pastures, deer grazing on it’s richness, or sleeping in it’s shade, I smile still.