LIFE AT THE END OF A DIRT ROAD IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA
Dick and I have officially begun to settle in for the winter after our return flight home on Saturday night after spending two weeks with two of our daughters and their families… Heather in New York and Lisa in New Jersey. A few photos of our 5 grandkids…
Heather's three - 8 yrs, 5 yrs, and 17 months… (photograped by heather)
and Lisa's two - 4 yrs and 16 months… (1st pic photographed by Lisa and 2nd pic by heather)
Dick and I are on our way to Florida. When we travel, my favorite hotel chain is Hampton Inn because of their decor, comfort, and cleanliness. Breakfasts not so much… They don't stand out from any other hotel breakfasts. Here is a cozy corner of the lobby at the Hampton Inn in Madison, Wisconsin where we stayed last night.
This was our room number. Black and white photos label everything everywhere… love it!
This is where we ate breakfast this morning. The long narrow table was conducive to meeting and chatting with other guests… much like a bed and breakfast atmosphere.
Tonight we are settled into a Mount Vernon, Illinois Hampton Inn. This is the lobby… feels like home.
This is our room number. Coincidentally, the black and white stop sign is the same photo that identified our room last night at the Madison, Wisconsin Hampton Inn. You might not see that as strange, but there are approximately a dozen different photos that are used over and over throughout the hotel as room markers, so the chance of getting the same photo is rather slim. How appropriate, though… "Stop." That's just what we have done.
The big unveiling has finally arrived. The kitchen cupboard painting project is complete. This is the Martha Stewart "Hollyhock Red" paint that covered the original dark walnut stain. I liked the red color, but I have just one small window over the kitchen sink that looks out onto my screened backporch and it was way too dark. Kitchens need to be bright and cheerful, so it's five years later and I started all over.
The cupboards are now what I have dubbed farmhouse white. That's really not the official paint color name because I had Sherwin Williams do a color match. There is no name… just a formula on the paint can.
Peeking out at the top of the photo, notice the rolling pin for a curtain rod. I have a pair of them that the curtains' tabs are tied onto. They carry out the theme of the kitchen's decor… the old silverware hook door handles and measuring cup and cookie cutter drawer pulls. To change things up a bit and add variety, there are wooden knob drawer pulls interspersed throughout. It turned out just as I had envisioned. Now if I could figure out where I could build a walk-in pantry and make room for a table in the middle of the kitchen instead of in a separate dining room, I would truly have a farmhouse kitchen. Hmmmm…
Old metal measuring cups in 1/4, 1/3, 1/2. and 1 cup sizes attached to drawers of graduated depths make perfect kitchen cabinet drawer pulls.
As do wooden knobs… so old fashioned.
… and cookie cutters.
When I decided to do a kitchen cabinet makeover, I wanted the door and drawer hardware to have a fun twist. Silverware hooks seemed to fit the criteria.
First I scoured thrift stores, yard sales, and antique stores for old silverware. Spoons and forks were readily available but butter knives… not so much, although I have a few. We found the handles on regular knives too think to bend.
Here's how to bend the silverware. We took a short-handled sledge hammer and pounded flat the part of the spoon or fork that enters your mouth… the part that the food sets on. Next, we flipped the piece of silverware over and whacked that side to further flatten it. It isn't necessarty to use a rubber sledge hammer to whack it, but I imagine you could. To get the curve that forms the hook, we manually bent it around a piece of pipe. If it is too stubborn to bend, you can help it along with a hammer. Finally, we drilled a hole where the screw will go. Notice, in the photo of the hooks attached to the cupboard doors, that the bottoms of the hooks are at the same level but the screw holes are not. If you prefer that the holes and the bottoms of the hooks both match up, mark the holes with a pencil after positioning them on your doors to determine where to drill the holes. We predrilled all of the holes beforehand because we didn't have a particular use for them in mind when we made them. Imperfect is good.
This old hutch in my dining room was the inspiration for my kitchen cabinets redo. I wanted a farmhouse kitchen cupboard white color, so I took a drawer into Sherwin Williams Paints for a computerized match.
In addition, I wanted to reproduce the look of the hutch's drawers, so I found some wooden knobs at Menards that came two in a package with screws. Now here is where it gets fun… Look at what Dick came up with to use as a paint drying rack… a garden rake that was missing the handle. So ingenious.
I need to get started on the first assigned project in my Basic Herbology class, so I decided to draw upon a strategy that I used when I was studying to earn my degree in education. I prepared a dried fruit and nut/seed mixture to munch on. It seems to help me think more clearly. Last evening, I was reading my latest issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine (October 2009) and it was there that I spied a new combo of ingredients to try. The heading was "autumn in a jar". Who could resist such a name? I had all of the ingredients on hand, so I went with it. It is so very good! I especially like the burst of flavor and sweetness that the candied ginger provides. Candied ginger should become a staple in your pantry right alongside the cans of stewed tomatoes, baby food prunes and applesauce (alternatives to butter and oil), walnuts…
Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix
1 cup *raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup large unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup whole almonds
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup candied ginger cut into tiny pieces
Place all ingredients into a bowl. Mix to combine.
*The original recipe said to toast and salt the pumpkin seeds and almonds. My Fundamentals of Basic Nutrition textbook recommends raw nuts. The author Elson M. Haas, MD states, “Roasted, salted nuts are best avoided. Most of us do not need the extra salt and roasting affects the oils and decreases the B vitamin and mineral content.” Dr. Haas also reports that “pumpkin seeds are best known for their concentration of zinc and their use in the treatment and prevention of prostate problems.”
This afternoon, I discovered a set of dishes while sorting through some boxes we had stored in the attic of our pole building. (The design looks black in the photo… at least it does on my computer's screen, but it is really a very pretty green.) I remember boxing them up. The newspaper pages, that I had wrapped around each piece to protect them, were dated March 1998. Eleven years is long enough for them to feel fresh and new again and ready for another go round, so into the dishwasher they went. I switched them out with ones I had in my cupboard which I boxed up to take to the local thrift shop.
After digging through six more boxes, salvaging a few beverage glasses, and loading the remainder into the trunk of my car to donate, I grabbed a flat shovel and my wheelbarrow and headed to the chicken coop for some fall cleanup. It was sad and lonely there… no hens clucking, no hens at my heels anticipating veggie scraps, no freshly laid eggs to gather because a couple weeks ago we transported our hens to a neighboring farmer who will care for them over the winter months.
But the coop is cleaned and ready for their return in the spring…
A day long break in the rain and a balmy high temp of 43 degrees were the deciding factors in determining what Dick and I would tackle today. Fall garden cleanup completed… except for a little corner where there are potatoes to be dug yet. Dressed warmly and with continual movement, it really was a very pleasant day to spend outdoors.
Whiteley Creek Homestead 
