Home Improvements

We've had a couple of home improvement projects in the back of our mind for sometime now.  For a year, I have been looking at a paint chip in the powder bathroom, wondering if it was too "out there."  Saturday morning I woke up and decided that today was the day.  I was just going to do it.  If I didn't like it, it could always be repainted.  Turns out it was perfect and I love it!  It goes beautifully with the prints I found under the bed at Gran's house.  Maybe it was her brithday coming up that made me decide to do it, and the fact that the bedroom I found the prints in was purple.....

The second project, also related to Gran and Granpaw's house, was the organ pipes.  We found about 50 of them in the attic.  They were from the old organ at Noel Methodist Church (the church I grew up in).  We took about half of them two years ago when we cleaned out the house.  Stephen had always had the idea that they would look great in our rotunda (the round room in the middle of the house, which really has no purpose ecept to house the piano and Christmas tree.)  Stephen engineered a way to hang them without damaging the pipes and working with the round surface and I must say, he did a bang up job.  I think they look perfect.  But, is it bad that I now REALLY want to paint that room now too?  Anyone have a color suggestion? 

I know, I need a plant on the plant stand now...

Second Snowing of 2011

On Tuesday we were iced in. The roads were "treacherous." The temps stayed well below freezing and everything was closed......for 4 days! On the fourth day we were surprised with another 6 inches of snow on top of the ice. It was nice to have some extended family time and it wasn't too bad, but I think we are kinda done with the cold.  And, we need actual snow gear.  Of course as soon as I buy it, it won't snow for several years.  We also realized that we need to wait a few more years until we consider going snow skiing or at least go during Spring Break when it's warmer.

We did get Cavett's room painted.

 The favorite pasttime is eating the snow.

 We bought a new inner tube for this snow fall.

 But the inner tube was quickly popped. 

 Our backyard pet nusance showed his hippipty-hop foot prints.

 The icicles were massive and some on the pool are still lingering 3 days after the thaw. 

 By far, the highlight of the week was making snow ice cream. 

It just doesn't get any better!

Edible Fingerpaint

Have you checked out my give-away? Why not? Click here and comment away!!!!!

I took my first trip to Costco today and I came home with a 25 pound bag of flour. I have been doing quite a bit of baking this season and I am just past halfway through. Today's project was train cookies for Cavett's Polar Express Christmas Party at school tomorrow. They ended up pretty good, but remind me of the "Green Eggs and Ham" train. Oh well.

I ended up with way too much icing left. It was the Royal Icing recipe (found in my cookbook, which by the way did I mention I was giving one away? tee hee!) Instead of dumping it in the trash, I had a brilliant idea--fingerpainting. It wasn't greasy with butter and it was the consistency of paint. I got out the cookie sheet with sides and let Cavett have at it.

He seemed timid at first. Maybe it's because I have never let him fingerpaint or for that matter do any kind of painting at home, but he eventually enjoyed it.

Easy clean up, comes out of clothes and tastes good. What more could you ask for???