thank you rhinovirus...

i have been reeeediculously inactive. i blame the joy of the family cold. i have had no interest in doing very much. so in between obsessively checking on my various pages of internet interests, i have been reading blogs. recently, my interests have been focused on making slipcovers and refinishing furniture. of course, i am lazy as hell when it comes to sanding things and using steel wool to finish wood, but i may need to overcome this to scratch my interior designing itchiness.

this has been a rather compulsively crazy diet visiting many inspiring blogs. i am beside myself with ideas... most of them prominently feature distressed turquoise furniture and nearly white slipcovers. unfortunately for me, if i bring another thing into this house, my husband could implode. i dare not test his will to live here with my harebrained schemes. like i said, this family cold has been ruining any last, good natured moment. tipping the scales to the side of frustration is not my plan.

hubby dearest is a carpenter and a really good one at that. unfortunately, he has a load of old furniture that i want to play with. the things he has are lifers here. none will ever be sold, put on craig's list, or yard saled.

he loves it all brown and in my mind, yucky colored. since it is wooden in nature, he will bow to it a very appreciative way. it is his nature to love all these things in their wooden perfection. i could care less about many of the veneers on most of these things. so i will sidestep his pieces of furniture out of a false sense of harmony.

earlier this evening, i went into the basement to check things out. i wanted to see if he had chucked out any of my finds. he likes adjust my inventory into the trash when he thinks i am not looking. i am always looking though. i seem to lose a lot of really great stuff that i remember for its potential for a really long time. my cool trash picks haunt me.

happily i found that he had NOT yet made his sneaky attack on a sewing machine table i have had stored. i never quite got to setting it up. mostly i suspect, because it is that wooden color. i just can't fall in love with brown. at least with all the grain and non-spectacular wooden species used. now if i paint it pale pink or lime green or turquoise... well my sewing skills will be resuscitated just that much quicker.

i guess i am gonna have to plan on that.

i also have collected a child's wardrobe about ten years ago. it is in my studio. that extra messy space where i harbor many supplies and dreams. its left side is populated with 4 drawers and the right side has a small door that opens to a clothing cabinet for small wearables. the front has several laminated 50's decals on it. i was sucked into buying it because of my irrational love of its decals. that and my nostalgic feelings about having had a similar one when i was a kid. i know also my husband wants that gone, gone, gone.

now with all this crazy dreaming of painted, distressed finishes, i want to repaint it . this would be ok, but those endearing decals would become a thing of the past. good thing though. i have found some new decals. old ones from the fifties and sixties. i may take the plunge, but not yet. i have not had enough time to play homage to my memories of its earlier place in my life. gosh i am so stubborn and chicken about some stuff. i seem to have many issues about change. going so far as to hang onto absurdly abstruse things from days of my own yore.

in the effort to keep this piece, i have had an idea as to repurposing it as a wrapping area. my jewelry and supplies for sale drive me crazy when i need to ship them out. the idea has been doing gymnastics in my head. i finally have come to an idea as to how i might like to use it as a station for getting things out of here and into other crafter's or jewelry wearer's lives. anything for a little progress ...

my new plans are going to include a little love fest of paint, sanding and elbow grease. i am in the mood for a fresh beginnings. they will have to fit in my own colorized world since i need their functions to be uploaded into the studio.

for now i shall show some of the things i have already painted up for companionability. you may have seen these things before. if you have, please do not faint with boredom. i am prone to repetitiveness. and i apologize for that.

i will share before and afters of the things to tackle next. you deserve some good eye candy. until then, you are stuck with these. and yeah, i still love them.

kkk

my two $2o.oo metal cabinets

lying on their backs

getting ready for some "painting spa" treatments.

the dog is just a great assistant.

starting with the joy of priming...

primed and getting a base coat of lime on one...

one lime, one aqua base coated

i found a technique on thread-banger

for spray painting through lace.

i HAD to try it.

pay little attention to those two children in the photo...

they are in front of the aqua & white cabinet.

part of the price of admission...

they helped me move the cabinets into the basement.

once the big tall cabinets made their way into place, i started on round two... the smaller drawer filled metal chests.

another pair of modest and needed purchases at $20 per set.

all those cute little drawers all lined up for their makeovers!

my backside mr. demille.

i am a shy cabinet, hence all my blush coloring.

too bad, they just couldn't stay drab olive.

on their way to a more appreciated pale, pale green.

sorta moved in and getting some kind of placement

feng shui ala bendyme

stacked up on an enamel topped two drawer table,

that my neighbor so generously donated to his trash pile.

i dragged it home with my son's invaluable help

who doesn't love FREE???

i found that fish spinny thing at the flea market for $8.oo.

who does not need a cool pencil corral for their prismacolors?

it took a smidge longer

to find the right glasses to fit it up just so.

better photos will follow soon.

finally,

i got the second pale green set of drawers

set onto my card catalog.

thank you for the freebee from providence's

Martin Luther King Elementary School!

the red shelves were at the spa for a treatment too.

i spared you those pics.

lucky you!

kkk

it is time for me and the rhinovirus to bid you adieu.

fresh pics of future renovated brown woody pieces to follow.

you have been so very good sticking with this for so long ....

xoxoxo.

W.

macaroons... a foodie's version

macaroons are the best cookies ever.

i have loved them deeply, cautiously, ecstatically, excitedly and with flexibility. one never knows when or what occasion will harbor their deep complex nuttiness other than passover. however, as near candy as they are and as easy to make... well no reason not to make them year round.

i have been making them for quite a while... i would almost like to stop, however, it is something that the seder attendees seem to want year after year. and i am vain. i like the attention. so i go with what is "tradition". in fact, i have tried many recipes and no matter what, this simple recipe is the one i like to go to for the most flexibility and consistency. also you can adjust it to whatever makes you happiest. less sweet? lessen the amount of sugar added. flavor change? change the flavor. keep it simple? no problem.

so here is the magic recipe:

let me be very honest too. this is a MARTHA STEWART LIVING recipe.

adjusted within its simplicity for

extra yummy results.

1 3/4 c. sugar

5 1/4 c. unsweetened dried shredded coconut

(i buy this at whole foods... but it is also readily available at health food stores.

if unavailable, you can use the sweetened kind in the bag.

DO NOT ADD ANY SUGAR !!)

7 egg whites

(lazy and as unhappy to waste half of the eggs, i buy the egg whites in a carton product.

also available at whole foods. or health food stores.

i never waste the time to look at a conventional grocery store.

did i mention lazy?

but there are ways to deal with the leftover yolks.

later on this issue.)

pinch of salt

2 T melted unsalted butter

1 T vanilla

1 T almond extract

a dab of butter or margerine

parchment paper.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 degrees

INSTRUCTIONS:

1} in a large bowl, drop all the coconut and sugar in. mix it to completely combine. the coconut can be clumpy sometimes, so it is good to break it up now.

2} add salt, melted butter, egg whites, and extracts. mix this well with a large spatula until it is ridiculously evenly blended. you can let this sit for a few minutes so that the egg whites melt the sugar a bit. and mix again. this is a lot better when it is evenly moist. otherwise some of the egg white part will filter through. just keep mixing.

coconut intermixus.

3} SEE PHOTOS BELOW: prepare the parchment paper for baking. cut a piece a smidge larger than the pan you will use. fold neatly into 4ths.. open up and put a little dab of extra butter/margerine into or swipe the sheet with a stick. parchment is fabulous on release, but this will test it too much. i found that a slight amount of oiliness is great for a very easy release of the macaroons.

back to the paper, refold into 4ths and with the non folded corner, cut in with scissors on the diagonal. it need not be any specific length, but at least an inch or two will suit this perfectly.

put a tiny dab of butter/marg. in the corners of the baking pan and lay the paper on top of this. it will allow the paper to stick and miraculously, the paper ends will cross to create neat corners. no overflow is gonna soil your pans.

i use this technique for ALL rectilinear pans that need lining. also you can dust this paper with flour or cocoa and shake out over the trash or sink when making some kind of cake. spectacular results will ensue.

4} you can use a scoop or wet your fingers to make nice little haystack formed macaroons for your oven to bake up. you can place these on your prepared baking sheet pretty close together. they do not spread, they weep.

also, i am not as neat as i would like to be, but who is?

sweet little haystacks of macaroon goodness. ready for their oven vacations.

5} bake on lower rack for about 10 minutes. then rotate and put on the top rack to finish.

it is dependent upon how big or small you make your cookies that they will be done.

(this is what the macaroons look like when i like to rotate them front to back and put on the top rack to finish baking.)

photos show the relative brownness that are my method of saying when they are done.

this says DONE to me. the amount of brown is even and the bottoms of the macaroons are equally toastedly browned.

6} let sit on the pan for about 5 minutes to rest. then you can pluck them off of the paper to cool completely if that is your style. i like to let them cool almost completely on the baking sheet. there usually is some egg white that has oozed out. i have trimmed this with a knife or with kitchen scissors for neatness. i like that facsimile of neat that makes things look like the pictures of styled food. it fools folks into thinking you are a lot better at everything when things look so polished.

I just love that!!!

7} sit down and admire your lovely macaroons and wait for the compliments to flow in.

these can be stored in airtight containers for about 3 days. should they last that long.

PARCHMENT PAPER

&

Some Baking Circus Tricks:

1}take out the paper from the box it is pre-rolled in.

cut with scissors (that thing on the box side is pretty worthless for accuracy)

so that there is a little overage in the size of the paper to the size of the pan.

2} smear a stick of butter,margarine or a dab of either on an empty wrapper to cover the entire leaf of parchment paper.

3} fold into half, greased sides in.

4} fold in half again... to get quarters.

5} with all four corners stacked, cut into the corner( the one without any folds)

1-2 inches or so diagonally.

6} it looks like this...

7} open up the paper and put into the pan.

you can use a dab of butter in each corner of the pan to tack the paper to it.

8} cutting the corners of the paper and overlapping them creates a fairly well fitted pan liner. this is wonderful for cakes in rectangular or square pans and wet batter.

i use this for nearly every kind of baking.

clean-up has become a snap!

9} this is what the corners of a liner look like in a deeper pan, fyi

10} parchment is NOT a single use product.

it is so wonderful, it is used many times over by bakers. only when it becomes too brown and brittle, is it tossed or if it has been used for different baked products.

since i knew that i would make more than one tray of macaroons,

it is economical to plan on re-use of the paper.

for this, i smeared a little more butter on the paper.

11} it does not need to cover or be even when smeared on,

because you can fold it in half again or quarters even,

to then run your hands over the clean side of the paper

to squeegee the butter to all of the paper evenly.

12} i kind of used too much butter,

but you can see how it covers all of the paper pretty evenly now.

so this is ready to be filled all over again with domed haystacks of macaroon love.

FLAVORINGS:

PLAIN VANILLA: substitute the almond flavoring in master recipe with just vanilla extract.

Almond : add in some chopped sliced almonds, add in 1-2 t. extra almond extract .

LEMON: finely grated lemon peel added into the mix.

apres lemon grating and some tools...

raw lemon haystacks

chocolate: sift in 1/4 c. of good cocoa and mix until it is evenly distributed.

GINGER: bits of finely minced candied ginger can be added.

chocolate chunks or white chocolate chunks can be mixed in or melted to dip cookies into. then set them on a piece of waxed or parchment paper.

Coffee/Espresso: instant espresson or coffee crystals are a nice addition to the lemon macs. in case you were wondering... the eggs melt them down...

giving a subtle coffee flavor into the mix

ok, now you need to try making some of your own.

let me know how it goes ok?

xo.

W.

worst student ever

i am the worst kind of student ever to exist. my mind is both coated with teflon or some material like it OR it is thirstier than it has a right to be.

when i am driving my jalopie,

listening to details of life from the inhabitantants in the back seat of my car,

thinking about what to have for dinner,

where can i find the groceries i need to make it with,

where is the store that is closest to where i am now,

how much time will it take to get to point b from point a,

how much money will it take to feed the hungry hornets ,

is this a one way street going the other way?

and does my bank account support my hankerings?

well this is the teflon coated moment supreme.

one extra question from the peanut gallery may tip the system into an overload condition.

this will cause me to have to re-boot my unweildy mental cache.

starting it all over again takes time and inevitably i forget something vital to the masse.

and then of course, the whole crazy mother lode can be in full

lust for knowledge mode.

i want to know how to set a rivet,

make a flourless cake, that will hold up to be served 6o miles away,

how can i upholster my disagreeably derelict sofa ?

what do i need to get to paint some furniture just the right color and finish?

what does a Thai open air market look like ?

is it hugely different than the ones in Italy or France or Sweden?

and why do the lights of the aurora borealis flicker and dance so ?

yes, it is a great big balancing act.

ordinarily, on a day such as tomorrow , i would be flipping out to bake a cake and my standard macaroons for our generously extended invitation to a seder. unfortunately, i am growing lazier and older daily. i do not feel like i want to bake all day. what i shall do instead is make a master batch of macaroons and dress them up differently than i usually do. no one, including me needs all the lusciousness of coconut to slither into my body as well as several other fattening desserts. after the table is spread courtesy of my incredible cousin laura and the formal part of the celebration is led by her kind husband danny (which is loosely corralled chaos with some religious overtones) , i will be just worn out.

i have a load of tasks to do in prep for this day and night. one is to bring large packing boxes to my daughter so that she may move home from college for the summer. loads to do, not enough time.

good thing my little widget is gonna help me make some macaroons when we both shuffle out of our sleepy worlds.

i can also finish cleaning the fridge out. i started but there just was not enough oomph in my system to finish and do another load of dishes as well as laundry.

so until manana, when the macaroons and riesling are flowing...

i shall bid you adieu.

for the night.

xoxoxo.

w.

differences between women and men.

i am way too busy. perhaps too busy is inaccurate. i like surfing the web and fiddling with my jewelry ideas. loads of stuff is out there to poke my nose into. gosh, there is so much that i want to know about....

how could i make stuff that i don't use or need?

OR what technique is used as it goes together?

OR what it could taste like?

OR can i find that pair of shoes i had in high school that i have always wanted to re-buy?

there are just too many things i want to find or find out about.

still i need to function ... i have a family. they require time and attention. they are very vocal if not cared for in the style that they feel is due. needless to say, my needs fall by the wayside often. this is perhaps timely and part of everyone else's agenda since appropriate stages of life have been arrived at.

my family is now composed of 3 teenaged people, a very sweet dog and a husband. one might think that it was ok, (much less stressful) here now that one child is at college. this makes it two of the kids against two of the adults. the ZONE defense as some call it. the dog's loyalty will be tested easily, as he will go to anyone with a dog cookie. if no cookies are available... he generally comes my way. just the way i like it. it continues to keep the idea that i am in charge on everyone's mind.

it is all a lie.

don't be fooled by this.

my husband is like a geriatric and a teenager at the same time. it is a misery. he is cranky a lot... and i know why. he thinks i am supposed to fill the gas tank for my car. let me assure you, i am not going anywhere ever. i travel now to pick kids up from school or get groceries or stuff at the pharmacy. these are all very local. he uses the car to travel to the hockey rinks that he is playing at or to ones where one/both of the kids is/are playing at. if i am not doing the driving, i don't feel as if i ought to be replacing all of the gas (it is a hair away from $4.00/gallon now... by summer it is expected to be $5/gal. YIKES!!!).

yet, last week, i replaced it four times. granted i did not put much in each time, but that is irrelevant.its value kept de-escalating daily. also, i did not travel an hour to skate. really, i am so mundane. i just pick kids up to bring home or to feed them. it is constant that feeding too. so i am a manageress of ridiculous need in the form of human or automotive fuel.

when asked about why husband doesn't replace the gas in my car that i am not using, he says, he puts $30 a day in his guzzlebeast truck. seriously? if you are willing to pay for your work transpo, why not your leisure too? generally, my car is better on the mileage, so it is preferred as the higher use vehicle. if i can use the truck for my minor needs when they arise, i am ok.

it sure would be a slap if i am being just too entitled about all of this.

i fear that not replacing off-season hockey travel fuel is considered a horrible household crime. this seems to mimic a cliched life with a highly inconsiderate teen . one who went joy-riding and brought home a dented car with no gas. the kind of kid who ruins it for all the other responsible parent-fearing, consequence-acknowleging teens in the world. one who gives all those responsible teens out there a bad name.

now i realize i am speaking harshly, but i have been to the food market three times this week and feel another trip coming on again tomorrow to ready myself for the Spring holiday season. you know, where family and friends gather round to revisit the sins against mankind and to hopefully put the natural/man-made elements to rest(take that! rotten tornadoes and tsunamis and nuclear plant meltdowns...). well there are vermin and loads of things i could do without ever again(vermin top that list btw). seemingly,my address rests in a locust heartland.

not a day goes by when a huge bag of pretzels or chips is not mowed down, a tub of hummus disappears as if a straw was inserted and its very presence was eradicated magically. no way can a chicken feed us as well as it once did. ( i am relegated to the wings since the upper two teens eat only white meat, and the lower two teens snarfle the dark meaty thighs and drumsticks). everyone has their part to content their tummies with.

it is ok... all of this is just part of living with hungry people. again, i can rally and deal with this.

what i really object to is that there are such different ways for folks to express themselves.it sure would be swell if i could do it without offending anyone. truly, i am not saying anything to be mean here, but i do find that the issues i am offended by most, align themselves along a gender bias.

i cut my hair this week.

i cut about 5-6 inches of it off the bottom. i did it in the bathroom and cleared up all the hairy remains. it never looked like i was over the sink trimming fuzzy bits away. it shocks me that my little girl noticed within 5 minutes of seeing me. (she had spent the night sleeping over at a friend's house). when i went to reclaim her, she asked what i had done and where. needless to say, she knows what a homebody i am and how unlikely it may be for me to make a hairdresser's appointment. i have a hard enough time getting to a doctor's office and let's not even start mentioning the dentist. i am likely to take the boy to the dentist's three times in a week, every 6 months. yet i cannot get to my own needs as efficiently.

and so it goes again. full circle. back to my needs... and my failing to meet them properly.

now the reason i started on this whine-a-thon, was that after two days of my wearing my hair down, neither the boy nor his father, the fist shaking antique with gas guzzling issues have noticed that i cut my hair.

the boy goes to get his own fuzziness managed every 14-21 days. he is relentless about its maintenance and his own 'look'. the hubby has only 3 hairs like homer simpson... and needs those gorgeous flowing locks to be snipped every month and a half or so. why is it that they are so persnickety about how they look to the ladies (using my low sexy mocking tone here ala "chef "from "south park" aka Isaac Hayes). i have recently felt more affinity with a footstool than the source and vessel of life that i really have been. when are they gonna look up and notice that i am sitting here, waiting to get free of the hope that they will glance my way and NOTICE my slight, yet diabolically important change? i got my hair cut for the first time in over three years.

keeping a low profile with this crowd is a lot more work than i ever thought it might be. at least since it is a zone defense, my younger daughter has my back. we are bonding over the fact that pere et fils are numb.

my eyes are crossing with fatigue and hopelessness. the siege may continue another day. i guess i should prep myself for it.

bring on the familial locusts and the men with blinders on. i sure will survive their ignorance cause there will be freshly HOME- baked flourless almond chocolate cake and mixed macaroons in the house.

{thinking along the lines of lemon, almond and chocolate this year!}

take that men of my house!!!

nighty night.

xoxox.

W.