Scrub This Idea

October 7, 2011

Recently, I had a “flashback” to the 1970s (when I was the Queen of DIY). If you gave me a hot glue gun and some beer cans back then, I would create a coffee table. Yes, I’m afraid I did. Scary, isn’t it? Even more frightening is how little time it took to assemble enough [...]

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Hole-y Mole-y! It’s Kinetic Art!

April 25, 2011

A stroll across my yard can be hazardous to the health! It isn’t the poison ivy, the fire ants, or the occasional snake that is the problem (you can usually see those before they get you). No, the problem is in what you can’t see — a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the grass that rivals [...]

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Soup’s On

January 15, 2011

It’s still “soup weather,” despite the fact that our Texas temperatures seem almost balmy compared to the rest of the country. I decided yesterday was an excellent day to make a potato/sausage soup. Online, I found a recipe that is supposed to mimic Olive Garden’s Toscana Soup. As usual, I read the recipe … and [...]

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That Is Not Junk In The Kitchen Drawer!

October 7, 2010

It’s time for a mathematical question. Here you go: How many thumb tacks do I need in the kitchen junk drawer if I don’t allow thumb tacks on my wall, and I don’t have a bulletin board? No, don’t count the tacks in the picture. Here is a hint: The number is the same as [...]

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I Am A Closet Hoarder

September 23, 2010

I sprawled on the couch with a project in hand while the television blared for background noise. Too lazy to reach for the remote control, I was subjected to an episode of Hoarders on the A & E channel. I snickered to myself and muttered, “I’m not a hoarder … I’m a collector!” My smug [...]

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Some Installation Required

September 20, 2010

In April, I told y’all about a visit to Argyle Acres, and showed you pictures of the beautiful irises that they grow. As I wandered the grounds, I fell in love with those timelessly lovely fleur-de-lis. In fact, I bought a boatload of them! At the time, I wasn’t thinking ahead … eventually somebody has [...]

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Not So Yucky Yukon Golds

September 6, 2010

I hoped that the farmer’s sign was not a commentary on the quality of his produce. At the Dallas Farmer’s Market, I spied these Yukon Gold potatoes and lusted for them, despite the label proclaiming them “Yuckon” Gold. I figured that farmer was busy growing food and didn’t have time to spell. I didn’t care, [...]

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Roughing It

August 25, 2010

With my kitchen out of commission this past week, I’ve felt as if I were on a camping trip without benefit of Nature’s beauty. My Daddy would say I was “roughing it,” but I realize it’s not so bad. I could have to bring my water in buckets from the river, but instead I can [...]

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Cookies Enabled

July 8, 2010

I recently had an uncontrollable desire for cookies. Not the ones on the computer; I needed a batch of homemade treats! This surprised me, because ordinarily my food cravings run to things like chocolate, or bacon … or chocolate covered bacon. However, cookies it had to be, and I required Snickerdoodles! Do you know those [...]

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Cobbler For Two Posed A Berry Difficult Dilemma

June 26, 2010

Where is my grandmother when I need her? My Mamaw could adapt any recipe in a snap. If you walked into the kitchen and asked for a biscuit, she could make one in a heartbeat. I’m talking one biscuit. She didn’t need a recipe, she just grabbed a handful of flour, a pinch of baking [...]

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Her Name is Zebrina

May 18, 2010

Earlier this month, I showed you a picture of a plant I had seen in a “Shakespeare Garden” in Kilgore and asked if anyone could identify it. Naturally it was the only plant in that garden that didn’t have a tag to tell what it was, it was the only one I didn’t know, and [...]

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Paella — Shaken, Not Stirred

May 13, 2010

I was so plumb tickled by my cooking abilities last night that I bragged about it on Facebook. I posted a picture of a Spanish style paella that I whipped up. Paella is a bit like a rice casserole cooked on the stove top, instead of the oven. Saffron is used to make the rice [...]

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Praise God And Pass The Pimiento Cheese

May 10, 2010

A favorite snack when I was growing up was pimiento cheese spread on saltine crackers. Call me plebeian if you want to, but I think it’s tasty, and have always kept a plastic tub of pimiento cheese spread in my refrigerator. I can eat the whole tub in one sitting. And, I have the waistline [...]

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Revenge On A Gardener

April 29, 2010

Probably not a single one of you would ever consider getting revenge on anyone. I doubt that you have a mean streak. But, if you do and you want to annoy a gardener, have I got an idea for you! There is an innocuous seeming plant called “lyre leaf sage” that you can give to [...]

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Fleur-de-lis

April 7, 2010

Have you ever tried to look up the meaning of a certain flower on the internet? I searched for the iris, and found hundreds of meanings for this lovely blossom that is the inspiration for the symbol of France. The word “iris” is said to mean “rainbow,” which makes sense I guess when you see [...]

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A Bag Lady Again

April 6, 2010

Some projects are more exciting just to think about. That’s what I discovered when I decided to crochet a grocery bag out of plastic bags! It seemed like a delicious irony to use up all those plastic bags. I said I was going to do it … pronounced it in public … so I had [...]

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I’ve Seen The Light

March 29, 2010

My husband eyed me warily as I followed him around the house turning off the lights when he left the room. I could hear him muttering under his breath. I didn’t understand everything he said, which was probably a good thing for him, but I caught a few of the words: “mumble, mumble…sounds like my [...]

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Not A Shoe In

March 23, 2010

Our hostess invited us inside with a smile and said, “Please take off your shoes and leave them at the door. We don’t wear shoes inside.” “Crap!” I thought while glaring at my husband. “Why didn’t somebody tell me this so I didn’t wear my ‘Sunday socks’ — the holey ones?” He had been to [...]

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My Expensive Dish Drying Rack

March 15, 2010

I have a VERY expensive dish rack — my dishwasher! Yeah, yeah. I know all the arguments for using the dishwasher instead of hand washing dishes. Researchers argue that it doesn’t save anything to hand wash instead of use the dishwasher in a typical family. According to the Bonn Institute in Germany, a dishwasher uses [...]

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Just Hanging — Clothes

March 8, 2010

Do y’all remember hanging out clothes when you were a little kid? That was one of the chores I learned to do as soon as I was tall enough to reach the clothes line. If I close my eyes, I can smell the damp freshness of the linen sheets (yes, we had real linens) and [...]

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