finishes and progress!

life has been busy here... a "big" upgrade started here in our house 2 months ago, when the 4ft.  lightbulb in the laundry room died. what started as a quite simple "hey, Dave, can you please put a new light in the laundry room fixture" turned into:

1. buying a NEW light fixture for the laundry room. (in the 13 years since it was installed, those 4ft bulbs became obsolete, requiring another fixture altogether...) 
2. drywalling the laundry room ceiling
3. finishing ALL. THE. TRIM. in the laundry room
4. painting the laundry room ceiling
5. installing new "luxury" vinyl plank flooring in the laundry room
6. closing the access hole between the  laundry room and the master bathroom
7. installing new "luxury" vinyl plank flooring in the mudroom
8. finishing ALL. THE. TRIM. in the mudroom
9. painting all the trim in the laundry room (white)
10. painting all the trim in the mudroom (tan)
11. painting the bathroom ceiling (!?)
12. painting the bathroom wainscoting
13. replacing the sink base cabinet in the kitchen
14. getting a new sink/faucet for the kitchen
15. installing new quartz countertops in the kitchen
16. installing a new granite island countertop in the kitchen
17. finishing ALL. THE. TRIM. in the kitchen
18. painting all the trim in the kitchen (white)
19. painting MORE trim in the kitchen (yellow)
20. i think that's the end of the list... 

so, actually, our *tiny* home improvement project became a lot like the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. (there are several books like that- If You Give A Moose A Muffin... If You Give A Pig A Pancake...) I'm sure you're familiar with these delightful children's books...

anyway- NOT complaining at all! we really stalled out in the home improvement/DIYprojects in the last 10 years or so. it's really nice to have these 3 rooms DONE! 

so: on to the quilty stuff- i know that's why you really came! 

February is aqua- and i have more than i thought... i made all these HSTs, in the "magic numbers" of 3, 6 and 9. (read more about them, and magic numbers here.)

while cleaning/tidying some of my baskets in the sewing room last month, i came across these fabric sayings on a panel. i divided them up into quilty sayings, Christmas sayings and bible verses. i decided to work with the quilty sayings first. 

i remembered that i had some pieces left over from a Kona cotton honey bun after piecing this quilt for my 3rd granddaughter, AK. i thought to improvise log cabin piecing around each saying. again, i used the "magic numbers" theory, cutting each block/rectangle some variation of a 6", 9" or 12" square or rectangle. 

 and finally- here's the shoo fly and donut quilt (one of them) that I pieced during RSC21. it's all finished and on its way to the PA Relief Sale. 

so, now you're caught up on the recent happenings in our neck of the woods. (mostly, anyway!) thanks for stopping by. I'll be linking up to Angie, our hostess with the mostest for all things RSC. and stay tuned: i started a few more RSC projects that I'll be sharing about shortly... 

if you care to see our kitchen in its raw, recently purchased state, and follow along on our progress in fixing it up, just click here. 

and here's a bit of the back story (and cool features!) of our mud room. (just read the first couple posts. they're the most relevant)

an easy bread recipe for you to try!

our family enjoys home made buns. especially when i serve them with strawberry freezer jam! yummy~ it doesn't get much better than that.

i have a bread recipe given to me by a friend. we call it our "official bread recipe" because it was given to her by her mother-in-law. who just so happens to be Polish. and their Polish last name, when translated into English, means "bread".

so, like i said, it's the "official bread recipe". (you can't really get more official than that, can you?) first, proof your yeast in the milk and sugar.

now, i was just kidding about the mandatory Kitchen Aid Mixer. "my" mixer is really M's (who is away at college) but she is generous in letting me use it while she's gone. it is really super easy to make this bread when you have a nice mixer like this to do it in, though.

then add half of the flour, and mix well with the bread hook.


it will be pretty soupy, but don't worry. we're only half-way done.



then add the melted butter (yes, real butter!) and 2 beaten eggs, along with the rest of the flour.




mix well. you may need to add a tiny bit more flour. the dough ball should not be sticky at all, and will come away from the sides of the bowl. mix for several minutes.




i put my buns to rise on the top of the stove, which I've turned on to 200. cover it with a clean towel, and let rise until doubled.






then put the bowl back on the mixer and mix for several minutes. i always have to add a bit more flour, as it's sticky on the bottom of the bowl.




turn out onto a lightly floured counter.





i cut my dough into eighths, and then each eighth into thirds. this gives me 24 buns. ( you can make regular shaped bread, if you'd like. i just almost always make buns to go with our dinner)





next, i put the three pans into the oven, which is still turned on at 200 degrees. i let the buns rise for 25 minutes...

... until they're nice and puffy. then i turn the oven up to 350, and cook them for 23 minutes. ( i have a gas stove, so you may need to adjust the times according to how your oven cooks.)

while they're still warm, rub the tops of all the buns with a stick of butter. (yes, real butter again!) now, these particular buns could have cooked just a tiny bit longer, but we were getting company imminently, and i didn't want them to get burned if i was distracted.

that's it! super easy, and only about 1 ½ hours from start to finish.





The Official Bread Recipe

2 cups warmed milk

2 T yeast

2 T sugar

1 stick melted butter

2 eggs

6 cups flour

that's it! go ahead make some buns or bread for your family- you'll be suprised at how easy it is! i'd love to hear how they turned out for you.

i may not be astute, but i'm eclectic!

I've had these 3 old wooden chairs for over 10 years now, and we've gotten lots of use out of them. they were getting a little tired looking, so i decided to give them some new life, and a new job.

last week i painted all three to match, and put them in my kitchen.

i love how they turned out- matching, but not perfectly. eclectic is definitely the way to go in my opinion!

a little bit more of some kitcheny love

this gorgeous quartet of hand towels arrived on my doorstep, all the way from Florida a few weeks ago. my MIL made them for me to match my new kitchen and new dishrags.

i had mentioned that the hand towels that i had were all ratty, so she promptly got to work crocheting these up for me.

now, do i have a great MIL or what?

more of the same- but better!

a few weeks ago, i wrote about how relaxing and theraputic it is for me to knit. a dear friend taught me how to make these round dishcloths. almost too much excitement to stand, isn't it? (although i will say, if you have any amount of testosterone running thorugh your veins, you will probably think that this round dishcloth is a doily!)

i quickly got started on a yellow one, and although they look complicated, it's an easy and repetitious pattern, and quick to learn. i splurged on a small ball of the blue variegated cotton, and made another round dishcloth. then, just be frugal and unboring, i made another square dishcloth in both the blue and yellow.


here's the pattern, if you'd like to try one yourself:

CO 16
Knit 1 row
* K 4, YO, K 10, turn
K back
K 4, YO, K 9, turn
K back
K 4, YO, K 8 turn
K back
K 4, YO, K 7, turn
K back (20 stitches)
BO 4, K to end
K back *
repeat until you have 13 points. bind off, sew together.


then topping off this dishcloth extravaganza, on another of my trips to town i bought some netting. actually, alot of netting. it's only 69 cents a yard, so i bought 6 yards. i cut it into 4" strips (lengthwise) and using a size Q crochet needle, i made these pot scrubbers. they're pretty easy, as well. just chain 5 stitches, and single crochet in each chain. (don't forget to chain one before turning the row) in no time at all, you'll have a handy-dandy scrubber of your own!

this is as good as it gets. (for now)

15 months ago when we purchased this house, our beautiful kitchen was only a dream. through God's blessings and continued provision for our family, (and the fortuitous placement of the Marcellus shale formation) we were able to do this wonderful and efficient kitchen much sooner than we anticipated.

if you'd like a shocking before and after comparison of the work that we did, just click here. for a few in-progress reports, you can click here and here.


for now, the kitchen is, for all intents and purposes, done. there is still some trim work, leveling of the dishwasher and stove and the garage door to fix. (i had to tape it down to take this picture!) the floor is still undone, and we will work on that as we are able.




the spring rush is on, and we are concentrating our work efforts outside, so these last few details will have to wait until it's dark or raining. or dark and raining!



but I'm not complaining. it's a beautiful kitchen and my wonderful husband did a great job!

this works great for me!

we love getting all the photographs and yearly updates from far-flung friends and relatives every year at Christmas time. it's nice to stay in touch, and hear about what thier family has been doing, and listen good naturedly to some bragging about their children's accomplishments. i display all the cards in the archway of the living room, and we enjoy looking at them all season long.

but after it's time to take down the tree and pack away all the nativity scenes, it seems a shame to put away all those cute pictures of our friends and their families. (and if their family is anything like ours, i know that it can be a nightmare getting a nice picture of all your children in the very same photograph. someone is either not looking, blinking, or itching their nose...)

in order to enjoy these photographs for much longer, i display them on the inside of my kitchen cupboard. i just taped them up with painter's tape, and whenever i open up the door, some of my dearest friends are there smiling out at me! (i also like to do this because it doesn't clutter up the front of the refrigerator) i've also found that this is a good place to display some of the children's artwork, as well.

for more great tips, pop on over to Kristin's site, and maybe you'll find some ideas that will work for you!

it's a modern miracle!

even though Dave had lots of help from B and A, it still took all day to have running water in the kitchen sink. lets just say that it's not possible to put a 4 hole faucet in a 3 hole sink! but, $120 later, we're finally functioning again!

A has literally been asking ALL DAY to do dishes! give that girl a rag, and she'll find something to clean! so now, right before dinner, she's washing the back log of dishes that have multiplied in the last 2 days. notice the new dishrag? she gets to break them in.

i just wanted to share my good news with all of you. now i must run, and finish dinner, as well as supervising A, so she doesn't give her father a heart attack by getting water all over the kitchen!

it's going to be a momentous day!

the kitchen has been at a virtual standstill for the last several weeks while we waited for our counter top to come in. last week it finally came in, and Dave wasted no time in installing the portion to the left of the stove. not that that's in, we can install the rest of the cabinets there- the appliance garage and lazy susan, as well as the remaining cabinet next to it as well as over the fridge. it has been a relief to have a counter top that is stable, and best of all, cleanable! the cardboard that was a stand-in was getting a little rough looking!

today (and yesterday as well) have been Dave's days off, and he's been working very hard at getting the other part of the counter top in. it's been a bit more difficult, simply because the one leg almost 10 feet long! but late yesterday afternoon, the counter top was in, and fastened down. that meant that we could finally move on to the part of the new kitchen that we've all been waiting for: THE SINK!

Dave is cutting out the cardboard pattern for the sink hole.

making the final cut in the counter top

last night he put the sink in the hole, fastened it down, and ran the bead of silicone caulk all around the edge to seal it off. this morning already he's in the kitchen working again, and the priority of the day is to get the sink installed, plumbed and water running!

it's been over 2 months now that we've been working on the kitchen, and it's certainly come a long way- no doubt about that! we still have some things to finish up, and would like to get them done before it's time to head outside for our spring chores. remodeling the kitchen has not been nearly as inconvenient as i thought it might be, and not quite as messy either. in the end, of course it's all worth it. we have a beautiful new kitchen, and we can all be proud at the good job that Dave did. but most of all, we'll be thankful for running water in the kitchen!

once and done.

i am daily reminded of what a privilege and blessing it is to be a full time wife, mother and homemaker. although the financial sacrifices that come with only one income are often a concern, we are commited to this old-fashioned lifestyle.

i truly love being at home, and strive every day to be more organized and efficient, running the household and the myriad of details that go with it to the best of my ability. i feel God's pleasure when i do it well.

but to be totally honest, sometimes it's hard not to get discouraged and/or frustrated. almost everything i do is something that i will need to do again tomorrow. now, I'm not complaining, just saying is all. no matter how much (or how well) i cook, clean, do laundry, feed animals, change diapers... it all starts again tomorrow. or sooner.

that's why i love knitting so much. a friend taught me how almost 18 years ago, and I've been hooked ever since. i can knit and purl to my heart's content, and (as long as i guard my knitting needles from curious little hands) what I've knit and purled will stay knit and purled. it's very satisfying, relaxing and therapeutic.

but these days i don't have much time to knit anything too complicated. so a few weeks ago, on one of my infrequent forays into town, i bought this rather large cone of variegated yellow cotton yarn. i could feel my fingers itching to start knitting something, and what a perfect opportunity to make some new dishcloths for our new kitchen!

the pattern is an old classic and quite simple:

CO 3 stitches
K 1 row
*K 1, YO, knit to end of row*
repeat from * to * until 50 stitches on needle
*K 2 tog, YO, K 2 tog, knit to end of row*
repeat from * to * until 5 stitches on needle
K 2 tog, YO, K 2 tog
K 3
bind off

I've been knitting a bit every day, and now have 5 dishcloths to show for it. the first 4 on the left, i only knitted up to 42 stitches. the bigger cloth on the right was knitted until i reached 50 stitches on the needle. i think i like the bigger size better. I'm planning on saving the new dishcloths until we get our new counter top installed. i still don't have a sink in the kitchen, so I'll have two things to celebrate when that finally gets done- water in the kitchen, and new dishcloths!

what an exciting (but blessed) life i lead!

my new kitchen is almost done, and it's wonderful!

it's been a long haul, these last few weeks. and as Dave says, it has to get worse before it gets better. (at least, i think he was the one who said that!) i will say that ripping apart and making a HUGE mess remodeling the kitchen has not been as bad as i thought it would be. we haven't eaten as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as i originally thought we would, either. however, egg sandwiches are another matter altogether...

remodeling the kitchen has required some flexibility on my part, as you can well imagine. besides having to look at the naked dishwasher, there was the minor detail of working around all the drill bits, screws, glue guns, levels, drills, shims and miscellaneous tools and shelves strewn about. good luck on finding that bowl or spatula that you really need to finish cooking dinner...

but in the end, it is all worth it. well worth it! Dave has done an amazing job, plus he's very thorough and meticulous, and as a result, the kitchen looks outstanding! i really like how this window over the kitchen sink turned out. Dave is an excellent finish carpenter!


all the base cabinets are in, and when the counter top comes in, we can install the rest of the upper cabinets. (they will be at the extreme left in this photo. you can't really see that spot.) for now I'm functioning with some plywood and cardboard counters, but it sure is a huge improvement over what i had before! Dave will temporarily install my sink sometime this week, and it will surely be a relief to have a sink in the kitchen again!

this is the other side of the kitchen. i decided to hang the tin Noah's ark sculpture between the windows. i like the way that looks, but there is still a dilemma about where to put the clock. there is still some work to be done on our checklist, but the bulk of it is done, at least until the counter top comes in. then I'll get my remaining 3 cabinets, and have just a little bit more storage room. the majority of food stuff is out of the hutch, and i will begin to slowly bring down all my mother's china and other kitchen things that have been packed away in the attic for the last 17 months.

although, the question begs to be asked, if I've survived without all that stuff this long, do i really need it at all? i could just have a yard sale, and sell the boxes for $20 each. that could help pay for all the cabinet knobs and drawer pulls, which were outrageously expensive. I'll have to give that some thought...

it's feast or famine around here, i guess!

I'm sorry for neglecting you, all my faithful bloggy friends (and relatives!) the kitchen work just rolls right along, and the laundry just keeps piling up...

we have several more cabinets hung, and Dave has started putting in the tin back splash. it's easier that way, and the laser level makes that job a snap. we are really thrilled with how it's all turning out.
this week i painted the kitchen, as Dave finally gave the go-ahead that he was satisfied with the quality of his spackling job. i knew that i wanted the kitchen yellow, but was really undecided as to what particular yellow. what I've been doing for several of my painting projects is looking at the paint chips at Lowe's, and choosing a color that is in the National Trust for Historic Preservation. apparently, this is an exclusive thing to Lowe's, and their line of Valspar paint. the yellow that we settled on (and yes, Dave approved of the choice!) is Mark Twain House yellow. and yellow it is. no doubt about that! it was quite late at night until i was done painting, and i was not so sure that i would like the color in the bright daylight. but, i can unreservedly say now that i really, really like it. really. (and Dave and the boys do, too, although they did say it takes some getting used to!) it is a very old looking yellow, and adds some character and depth to the kitchen. (if that is even possible to do with a gallon of paint.) when i get all the white trim touched up, and Dave trims the windows, it will look even better.

we have a tin Noah's Ark sculpture that Dave and M brought back from Haiti last year. i am undecided whether to hang it at the end of the table, or between the two windows. we do want to hang it in the kitchen though, as it will go nicely with the "tin theme" that we have going on. it will also remind us to daily pray for our friends, the Andersons, who are serving down at the mission house and clinic full time. i had considered asking all you readers to weigh in with your input about where to hang Noah and his friends, but since NOBODY did my last poll, i figured I'd just wing it on my own...

i took just a couple pictures of the other end of the kitchen- the door to the left of the hutch goes into the laundry room, and the doorway leads into the *grand* hallway. (BTW, G made me that little shcnerenschnitte picture for Christmas. i really like it- and have high hopes that he'll make me a few more!)

meanwhile, the mess in the other end of the kitchen just keeps getting worse, and spreading... dave is famous for that. but i guess we'll keep him. he's pretty handy to have around, and i've grown kind of attached to him...

we're definitely making progress!

Dave has had the last 4 days off, and he's been working very hard in the kitchen. we've made alot of progress, and if you haven't been keeping up with the running tab in the side bar, I've got pictures for you tonight, so you can see what we've been up to.

the kitchen is now all drywalled- and only days away from being ready to paint! that's exciting news, as for the last 8 months, we've been looking at the studs and insulation. that alone has made a big improvement in the kitchen, and I'm anxious to get it painted.

A is always daddy's willing helper, and here she's helping him measure something. tonight she came into the kitchen, struggling to carry her little chair. she wanted to help daddy hold the drywall.

even though it's been over three weeks since we've started on the kitchen, it took until tonight to hang the first cabinet! there is alot of preparation that Dave needs to do, but we sure were happy to hang some of our cabinets tonight. it's good for the morale!

A is back in the kitchen, this time to help daddy screw in the soffit. this will get a painted trim board along the top, so it will look much better when it's done. and here's the cause for celebration- 3 cabinets hung! it's really starting to look like a kitchen in there! tomorrow we will start installing some of the back splash. I'm anxious to see how that will look. (this is what we're using for our backsplash. it's a reproduction of an old tin ceiling. we got it at Lowe's.)

here is the ceiling we re-did. after moving the wall over 24", we were concerned that the old and new ceiling would not blend in. i was able to get the whole ceiling painted yesterday, and aside from where i still need to paint after the textured paint cures, you can't even tell where the seam is. we are very happy about that!

so, onward and upward! every day gets a little bit better, and i sure am excited about getting a sink back in the kitchen soon!