Is it Tuesday already?

here's a few new things and what I've been busy with

for the 3rd weekend in a row, we did not go to any yard sales. hard to believe, I know!

On Saturday we drove to Oklahoma City. We went to several places including the Old Paris Flea Market.

We had fun walking around and looking at all the different things. We used to shop there 20 or so years ago and it has changed a little since then but not much. We did not find much we wanted to buy though.

Jeff did buy 2 hats - pretty good quality for their low price.

Sunday morning, I made oatmeal pancakes with fresh strawberries and blueberries - yum!
the pancakes are a Betty Crocker recipe.


My friend Elizabeth and her husband are moving next week into a smaller home. She has been doing lots of cleaning out as she packs ups.
She thought I would like this cute Christmas fabric and little fabric and patterns for our grandbaby - also named Elizabeth.

She is right, I like them a lot and little Elizabeth said she does too :)
not really, not yet anyway.Summer means lots of clothes changes and that means lots of laundry. We prefer the softness of machine dried clothes. But the dryer heats up the house and uses lots of energy. What works for me is kind of "Hybrid Drying."
I start our clothes in the dryer for just about 10 minutes, then I hang them up on clothes hangers and let them finish drying hanging in a doorway. They are still soft and don't really wrinkle since they are hanging up.


Miss Elizabeth is with me today and this is what she thought about taking a bath and putting on a pretty dress. Other than that, it has been a good day.

hope you all are having a good day too.

Friday doings

I was thinking about what to cook for supper while reading a few blogs this afternoon. My good friend Terri / Penny Ann Poundwise posted this yummy looking cookie recipe on her blog. They sound great like she makes them, but my hubby is not crazy about raisins, so I left off her filling. Then since I knew the cookie dough would not be absorbing any moisture from the filling, I added 1 egg to the creamed butter and sugar.

Cinnamon Raisin Bars

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar ( and 1 egg if you make it the same as I did)

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups quick cooking rolled oats

Raisin Filling: sounds great but I omitted it.
1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup water

2 cups raisins

Cinnamon Icing: This frosting is so good with the cinnamon. I increased it so it would have coating of icing
1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar (1.5 cups)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (3/4 tsp)
Milk (about 1 tbsp) Just enough more to make a spreadable glaze

Make raisin filling first. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add water and raisins. Cover over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Cool.

Make cookie base: Cream butter and sugar. Stir in dry ingredients. Add oats and 1 tbsp water. Mix until crumbly. Firmly pat half the mixture into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 pan. Spread with cooled raisin filling. To remaining crumb mixture add another 1 tbsp water. Spoon over raisin filling. Pat smooth. Bake in 350F oven for 35 minutes. Cool. Drizzle with Cinnamon Icing.

Mix confectioner's sugar, cinnamon and enough milk to make drizzling consistency frosting.

I really like this recipe and I think it will become a go-to recipe for me. It was easy to mix up, very tasty and I think they will freeze well for lunchboxes and snacks.
Thank you Terri, you have the best ideas!

Jeff got some fresh corn from a coworker. It was the last of this years crop and some of the ears looked kind of rough....

We shucked and cleaned them and all but 2 were just fine - fresh corn is so good!


And here are 2 new pictures of Baby Elizabeth - she is 6 weeks old today.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

There were 2 overripe bananas in my kitchen this morning so I baked them into some everyday muffins - not too sweet or too rich. After they cooled, I bagged them up and froze them for future breakfasts and snacks.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

the original recipe said it makes 12, mine might be a little smaller but I got 17.
On other recipes, I've filled the cups too full and had more than one big mess after baking cupcakes and muffins, sometimes the batter will bake on to the top of the muffin pan or sometimes the muffins will all run together, so I would rather have them a little small and no mess.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup mashed bananas ( my 2 bananas did not measure enough so I added enough applesauce to make a cup)

1.Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2.In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, and divide the batter among them.
3.Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.

Real exciting stuff

no, not really. This post is just about everyday and routine homekeeping things of summer.

First, Debbie posted last week about what is under her kitchen sink and asked to see everyone else's too.
There is not much under my kitchen sink - our sink is in a corner on a diagonal and there is less space under it than any sink we've ever had. The garbage disposal takes up a good bit of space.

a small trashcan (I have a bigger one on the other end of the kitchen but this small one is really handy)
a bottle of dishwasher soap turned upside down to get the last bit out
some bleach spray and scouring powder - both used to keep that white sink white
rubber gloves and a scrub brush
and a few empty jars - so, care to join in with Debbie and share what is under your sink too?
we did not go to any yard sales this Saturday but I went to one thrift store this week. Their linens were half price and I got this vintage sheet with violets on it for 75 cents.

My parents went to an estate sale in their neighborhood and got this red Pyrex for me and the loaf pan - I like them both a lot!

I did a little kitchen experimenting this morning, I used up some strawberries bought on sale, blueberries left from the 4th of July and some apples that had been in the crisper drawer a few weeks. After some online research, I just started cooking. I used way less sugar than the recipes called for as I like jam a little tart and no pectin.
The result was 2 pints of strawberry jam, a tiny jar of blueberry jam and 2 jars of apple butter that I did not seal, just put those 2 straight in the fridge.

The petunias and begonias by the front door have bloomed so pretty this summer.
The little white chairs being used as plant stands make me smile. We got them at a yard sale for $1 but when Gavin tried sitting in them, they always fell over. I think their base is too narrow to be safe for a toddler. But one of my blog readers said they would be cute as plant stands and she was right.

I spent half of this morning doing yard work, mowing, weeding, edging, watering.
My father in law is in town and one of his specialties is yard work. Our front hedge was badly in need of trimming so he took care of that part this afternoon. It was getting pretty shaggy and I had been considering trying to trim it myself. But I am really glad he did it, I know he got it much straighter than I would of.

Theo got a bath today, can you tell how thrilled he is?

I actually prefer days at home when I can do this kind of stuff - so it may not be exciting but when I am home, I always stay busy and never run out of things to do.

recent doings.....

I have not seemed to have found much time to blog this week, so I will just combine several things I've been doing into one post.
There were not many yard sales this past weekend with it being so close to the 4th of the July. Instead, we shopped at our local antique mall and we had fun walking through it.
I bought 3 things, and they were almost yard sale prices anyway.
a painted tray, and 2 Pyrex dishes. $12 for all.
I've been using a few of the Pyrex refrigerator dishes and really like them for storing leftovers. The other baking dish is about 4 x 8, I used it last night to bake 1/2 a recipe of cornbread. And tonight, I baked 1/2 of a small yellow cake. Both times, I used the toaster oven to save on electricity and to not heat up the kitchen too much. Nina has been doing lots of sprucing up around her home while she was on maternity leave. She had these pillows but either they did not match the rooms she was using them in or she just did not like them.
She found some fabric she did like at Hobby Lobby, I made new covers and reused the stuffing from some of the old pillows.
They look pretty on my blue bed but they have gone to Nina's. I am sure they look pretty wherever she put them too.
Family Dollar had a $5 off $25 purchase coupon in last weeks sale paper. I used it to stock up on our favorite toilet paper - Charmin Basic - it is soft enough and strong enough without going overboard on either quality.

Jimmy helped me can more jalapenos last night, 18 jars more! He was a huge help as he did all the pepper slicing. Some of the peppers are from my garden and some are from my brother.