Procrastination

Why, hello there :)

I know I've been MIA, but I've been a busy bee.

Last weekend, I attempted to claim the jungle that was once my backyard, that I pretty much ignored while I worked on the inside of the house and the front yard. 

I'm nearly done, but it took three days of back breaking labor and I still have quite a bit to do, but at least it's cleaned up for the most part and ready to be turned into what I would like, which is a fruit and vegetable garden.

It's about two thirds of an acre back there and most of it is on a hill, but I think I can manage it. I'll show you pictures of the before and after when I get some more of it done. Right now it just looks like a lot of dirt and rocks with some random plants.

All that work outside has made me put off all the other things I need to do inside the house, so.....

 I still haven't done the rest of the tile in the bathroom.

The walls of the tiny mudroom are still unpainted.

I still have jars ready to be filled.

The rest of my furniture still needs to be polished.

Not to mention all the rest of the cleaning around here that has been set aside.

Starting tomorrow, this room will be getting a thorough clean out...

Do you find your house getting messier when the weather gets warmer?

I sure do.

Procrastination is my middle name anyway, but most especially when I can get my hands in the dirt.

Now I'm off to see what all of you have been up to and maybe get to answering some of your emails and questions :)

Have a beautiful evening my sweet friends.

xo

rue

Random happy things

The view out my front window with.....

 the dinette set that reminds me of my grandmother Bonnie,

the reflection of the tree in the mirrored glass,

 and the combination of my favorite colors, yellow and green.

My calendar that tells me it's Spring.

The vintage TV trays we use for movie nights.

The cuckoo clock in my office.

The cheerful light streaming through the windows into my living room, with the ever vigilant Bubba watching out for intruders.

The two new stands that will hold plants to keep "Fern" company.

One of two hyacinths that I just planted.

My new wheelbarrow waiting for the dirt that my herbs will grow in.

And a sweet single rose, just because.

Be sure to find the happy in your everyday :)

xo

rue

Cold Chicken and Potato Curry Salad

So, my mom was raving about this super easy chicken salad dish about 4 summers ago, and when I asked for the recipe, this is what she gave me over the phone:

Well, except the eggs. I added those.

But seriously?

What kind of directions are these??

That's my mom for you ;)

Anyway, every time I crave this recipe, I use this as the base and make it my own way. 

So, here's my recipe using these silly directions:

I cook two large breasts of chicken, drizzled in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper in a 375 degree oven until done, which takes about 35 to 40 minutes. Then I cut them up into bite size pieces and let cool in a bowl.

Then I add around eight or so tablespoons of mayonnaise, about a tablespoon of curry ( I like curry so usually more), salt and pepper to taste and the juice of half a lemon.

I mix it all up and set it in the fridge.

Then I peel about 4 Idaho potatoes, cut them into bite size pieces and boil them in water for about 15 minutes. Make sure to check them about ten minutes in, because you want them to be soft, but not mushy. Then I drain and set them aside to cool.

Next is the four hard boiled eggs.

I'm assuming you don't need directions for those :p

Look how cool my 1940s egg cutter is though....

Gosh I love it!

Pretty cute, huh?

Next, I mix three of the cut up eggs and the cooked potatoes into the chicken mixture, set a few cut eggs on top for cuteness and cover that puppy up with cling wrap and leave in the fridge until dinner.

Then I serve it on a bed of lettuce when it's time to eat.

Sometimes, I serve hot bread with it, but sometimes not. It really depends on how hot it is in the summer, which is when I usually make this.

It's best to make it ahead, either the day before or the morning of, so that the flavors will meld. Which is actually a bonus during hot days, because you don't have to stand over a hot stove.

Have I mentioned that I don't have central air?

xo

rue

operation cabinet organization

These two cabinets were a mess up until two days ago.

So bad that I didn't take a before picture.

Yeah, I know you all want before pictures, but there's only so much reality that I'm willing to share :p

 Anyway, I had finally had enough, after looking for the right spice the other day, and after seeing all the pictures of organized cabinets on pinterest, I went on a Ball Jar buying spree at amazon.

I still have a few more jars coming (mostly for the other pantry), but here's what it looks like now....

Cabinet one:

You don't suppose that I have a spice issue, do you?

I have doubles of just about everything here in the downstairs pantry, if you can believe that.

Well, I guess that proves that I cook a lot ;)

Cabinet two :

In case you're wondering, the empty jars are for pasta that I normally have on hand, but I haven't gone to the store yet.

The labels and chalk pen came in a set from Amazon too.

And since you're probably nosey like I am, here's the jar-less bottom shelf:

I keep the cooking wine, balsamic, salt, pepper, and olive oil on the serving cart next to my stove, and the regular rice, sugar and flour in an open cupboard next to my sink.

To show you what I mean, here's two old pictures from my kitchen post....

Yikes! Not that my pictures are all that great now, but you can tell I wasn't used to taking blog pictures anymore when I started up again LOL

Anyway, I feel sooooo much better, and the best part is I can actually see everything :)

Now on to more organization!

xo

rue

PS

Thank you all for your lovely words of reassurance that you still like me and that you understand that I'm trying my darnedest to do the right thing :)

Y'all are the best!

Words

Words are pretty powerful.

They can change an entire feeling about someone.

Because of them, one minute you can dislike someone and within a few minutes, feel that you understand them and can't remember why you didn't like them in the first place.

Or you can think the world of someone and all of a sudden you realize that you don't like them at all.

 Words can be kind or hurtful, 

light up someone's day or bring them down.

Sometimes, they're meant the way they're written or spoken and other times we misunderstand what the person is trying to say and we jump to conclusions.

I think we've all had that happen many times in our lives.

I know I have.

Saturday, I wrote a post with a P.S. about the fact that commenting back to everyone on my posts was taking a lot of hours out of my day

I wrote it quickly, and because I was tired, I didn't word it correctly.

I remedied it by rewriting it as soon as I realized what it sounded like, but I fear that I might have been too late and caused hurt feelings, which was not my intention at all.

Now, looking back I realize that I should have waited and done a post on it instead of just a quick blurb.

What I was really trying to say is that, I'm really glad to be back blogging and I'm really enjoying it (truly!), but I had forgotten how time consuming all of this was. 

Silly me.

So, I'm going to have to cut back on something and that just happens to be commenting back to every single person.

I'll be commenting back to those that don't have blogs and answering questions from everyone, as I get time, but for those of you that do have blogs, I'll be visiting you instead.

If I could somehow get back to each and everyone one of you on my posts, that read this little blog of mine, I would, but I've found it impossible without compromising my life, house and family.

This is supposed to be fun and not a chore, right?

Right.

Does that mean that I don't want to hear from you? 

No.

I love hearing from all of you.

Not because it boosts my ego, but because it truly warms my heart to know that you care enough to take time out of your day to let me know what you think.

Because of blogging I have friends that span almost a decade and I'm thrilled every single time I make a new one.

To me, blogging is all about friendship and camaraderie. 

I don't care if you have blog or not. I'm not part of some stuck up society where I think that people that don't blog should be left out, I'm actually flattered and amazed that anyone reads my words.

So, for those of you, that are still here...

I'm so sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings. It honestly was not my intention.

I can't promise that I'll never do it again, because accidents happen, but I can promise you that I'll try my very best not to.

xo

rue

Polishing antiques

For the last few days I've been polishing all the antiques in my home.

There's a right way and a wrong way to care for them.

Bad:

Oil

Good:

wax

There's hundreds if not thousands of websites that will tell you the reasons, but this link is the best one that I found.

It's a time consuming job, but one that will last about a year, with just a wipe down or a flick of the feather duster once a week.

My great grandmother's hutch is a great example of how it works.

This is what it looked like last month:

It was kind of dull and it had been about a year since I had waxed it.

First, I took everything off....

and here it is all nekked:

This is the wax I use:

Cautionary note:

It has turpentine in it, so if you smoke, don't light up a cigarette while using it or you'll catch yourself on fire, and if you use it on a wood mantel, wait a day or two before you light that puppy up or you might burn the house down.

Here is the hutch with the bottom waxed and polished, and the top untouched, so you can see the difference:

And here it is all finished with everything put back:

If you're wondering what that brown furry thing is underneath, Bubba likes to have a "bubba nest" next to the heating vent :)

Anyway, big difference, huh?

A few closeups while we're here...

See the tulips on the secret drawer?

The big plates were my mom's that she collected from Franklin Porcelain in 1979. 

Each one depicts a month in the year.

The bird casserole dish was my moms, the two tea service sets were my great grandmothers, the little plates were my grandmothers on my dad's side and the rest has been collected by me over the years.

Oh and hold on to your pants, because I actually have two springtime decorations!

One:

And two:

Exciting, right?!

I guess not, but I do have flowers all around the house right now, so that should make up for my lack of Spring decor ;)

Daffodils were $1.75 for a bunch at Safeway, this last week!

The daises were a splurge, but I love them :)

Now the rest of it needs to get polished.... sigh. 

But, in the end it'll be worth it :)

xo

rue

PS

I've decided to not answer back every single comment on my posts and just answer questions when they're asked, which I still have to do at this moment from at least 3 posts back. I regret having to do this, but it was really time consuming! Besides, I'm not sure you see them anyway, since I never check back on the blogs I comment on, so I figure that you don't either and some of you had mentioned that. 

Instead, I'll just visit those of you that have blogs, which I love doing anyway, and answer those that don't have blogs on my posts or email back if I can :)

I do want to say though....

Thank you so much for all the sweet words that you write every time I post. 

It truly warms my heart.

I really mean that :)