It's a "make bread" kind of day...

That is what I said in an email to Ashley this morning, only instead of bread I decided to make raised donuts. What? Am I insane? I was home alone all day! Why was I making these? 

Because I never have and I wanted to try. 

No one ever told me that the dough even smells good.

They are square because that is what I wanted to make them. 

No other reason.

Also, no one ever told me (cookbook included) that keeping the oil at a consistent 375 is, hands down, the hardest part of the whole thing.

So there I was with 18 freshly fried and frosted (such alliteration!) donuts, alone with the plate. What to do? I needed help immediately so I called Jill, since it was 3:35 and she was just done with school and only 2 miles away and said "Help, come and eat a donut with me!" She is such a good friend. She came right over for coffee and a donut. 

Hopefully she didn't notice that there were considerably fewer donut holes than there were donuts by the time she got here. But she is a Spanish teacher not a math teacher so maybe she didn't.

Dear Tiger...

You are a barn cat. Stop trying to be a house cat!

Thanks, 

Patti

It WAS all melted...

When I picked Amiah up from school at 3 it was barely snowing...

Barry got home at 3:45 and this was the intersection of 27th and Woods Blvd. at 4. Yes, it took me almost 10 minutes to drive from their house to that intersection! I could hardly see. And there was so much snow on the streets.

It took me an hour to drive home (normally 30 minutes) This is looking at our house from the mail box at the end of the lane. Glad I'm home tomorrow. Thought I would need to tie a rope from the house to the barn when I went to feed the horses and chickens. But seriously. I could have been lost out there in that. Ok, I'm not, I am sitting by the fire typing this. And I just ate a fresh chocolate chip cookie. 

Look what I found...

Today after work Jayme and I went to Super Target to get her a chair...I found a rug...regular price - $250.00; sale price - $124.99. I have been looking everywhere (stores, online etc.) for a rug to put under my table. But I am too cheap to spend $500 on a rug for a dining room. So I got this one. Checkout price - $62.48. Now that's a rug I can live with. The best part...I LOVE the design. It is exactly what I wanted.

Thanks, Mr. President...

Yesterday, being President's day meant, I didn't have to work so Bryan and I went to some antique stores up around Omaha. It was just too cold for him to work out in the shop on the Volkswagon.

 Not sure who the poor guy hanging in the corner of this picture is...

 Yes, that is me just barely visible next to the three chairs reflected in the mirror. We always have fun doing this. You just never know if you will find something. After we got back to town we met up with Bobbi and Jayme at Old Chicago and ate supper with them. 

Well, well, look what works...

Years ago, probably about 8 or 9, Bryan and I went into Firth to eat at a little cafe called "The Creamery" (It has since closed. Sad). The man who owned it made awesome sandwiches and also collected antiques and sold some of them at the cafe. While we were there we noticed an old refrigerator sitting in the corner. I said to Bryan "I would love to have that." So he asked Mark, the owner, if it was for sale. Mark glances over at it and says "Sure, $45." So I wrote out the check, (before he could change his mind) we loaded it into the pick-up and it has sat in the corner of my dining room ever since. I have used it to store extra dishes and glasses that we use, but not all the time. 

Last night we had some friends over for dinner and one of those friends is an antique dealer. He had never been to our house so he was looking around. He sees the fridge and says "Does it work?" I said "I have never had the nerve to plug it in." Horrified look from Dan. Then his eyes lit up and he says "Can I plug it in?" I said "Sure, but (I am terrified of getting shocked for good reasons) you and Bryan can do that, I will just stand over here." Kathy asked if I had the fire extinguisher ready. So Bryan plugged it in and it kicked on and started running. Then Dan had Bryan fill the ice tray that is still in it. This morning I got up and went to check that no small electrical fire had started, looked in the fridge and there, actually to my surprise, was a frozen block of ice in that little freezer area. So it works, very well. 

I love books and making things...

The other day I was looking at an art journal that I use and just observing how it was made and on and on like that. Then I thought..."I could make this..." So I found some handmade paper and tore it into smaller pieces and found a small piece of leather and I created a little tiny leather bound journal. Then I thought..."I'll try that with fabric for the cover..." so I did that. Then I had a little piece of yellow leather and made another one. You get the idea. I do like how they turned out. I had seen some like this in a store one time and they were about this big and sold for a generous sum...mine cost maybe $2.00 and some time to make.

 I added my keys in the pictures for some size perspective.

I wanted them to look like old books so I put something in the spine to raise those little ridges.

 Now if I just had gold printing on them...

"You drive that green vehicle..."

"some kid just backed into your car then." That was what a stranger in the Firth cafe said to Bryan when we were there waiting to eat supper. I said "Oh for cryin' out loud!" 

Then I said (to myself) "I am so putting this on my blog and I am so glad I didn't drive." 

65 degrees of wonderful...

A picnic on the porch

 It was finally warm enough to go through the car wash. Seriously, one of Hudson's favorite activities. Made even more wonderful by having Justin Bieber's "Einey Meiny Mo" song on repeat the entire time.

 I believe his comment here was "Well, the snow's gone, it's nice out can we go to the swimming pool with Ashley and Blake tomorrow?" Couple things about that...

Ah, bare feet. I am sure that we will have cold weather again but these "spring" days this week are just what we needed. Winter doesn't last forever. Today was Amiah's 7th birthday. We were marveling that this is unusual weather for her to have on her big day but we loved that we could walk home from school without a coat on.

You'll figure it out...

There is a Chinese restaurant in Hickman named "East Meets West". If you look it up in the Yellow Pages it is listed as "East Midwest". Just think about it. You will get there. I'm still laughing.

Now and Then...

Remember the Volkswagon? Well, it is still around. Bryan is in process of the restoration. As with all restorations the deeper you go the more you find that needs to be fixed so... here is the car as it looks right now.

It's going to be awesome when he is done! I am constantly amazed at what Bryan knows about and the things that he can do. Our first drive in it will be to the Dairy Queen and I will buy him a huge Peanut Buster Parfait. He says "That or it will be a great lawn ornament". I don't think so.

Awkward...

After church a man walked up to me and thanked me for letting them use the bathroom at my house yesterday...

Things from today...

1. Since we have a pond lots of people ask if they can fish on it. Bryan usually tells me when he has told someone they can fish.
2. The weather today was really nice.
3. Some people were ice fishing off our dock.
4. I had just cleaned all my floors and gotten rid of the mud that gets tracked in.
5. I had just cleaned the main floor bathroom.
6. I was alone and doing my own thing.
7. I hear a knock on the back door.
8.Two girls about 14 and 5 years old. "Can we use your bathroom?" Muddy boots. "Can you take your boots off, please?"
9. 5 year old comes in, 14 doesn't want to take her boots off so she stays out. 5 goes into the bathroom and is in there forever!
10. 5 comes out and wanders into the family room and says "Can I play with that little dog in here?" "No, he's shy, you better go fish."
11. I go to use the main floor bathroom and there is pee all over the floor by the toilet!! and on the toilet and well, you get the idea.
12. I cleaned the main floor bathroom again.
13. I am doing my own thing upstairs and...
14. I hear a knock on the back door.
15. Father and 9 year old son "Can he use your bathroom?" Son starts to tromp in muddy boots and all. "Can you take your boots off, please." Son heaves a huge, Kathy Kroeker type, sigh and says "Dad, help me with my boots." Dad heaves a huge sigh.
16. Son goes to the bathroom, turns on the light, leaves the door open! and proceeds to do his thing.
17. I clean the main floor bathroom again.
18. I am grumpy.
19. I am really glad I have no clue who these people are.
20. Lock the doors, go to the store, get a few groceries. (Key phrase: LOCK the doors)
21. Made Bryan a Valentine.

Three Choices...

Bryan gave me three choices for a Valentine's present:

1. A piece of jewelery from an Antique store

2. A new faucet for my downstairs bathroom (don't laugh, I seriously almost picked this one! I hate my bathroom faucets.)

3. Something to add to the doll house I am building.

I made my choice.

Tonight after work we went downtown to Timeless Treasures. 

It's the ruby one in the middle. He's a good man.

So I've been baking cookies...

I told Jayme I was only excited about Valentine's Day because it meant I could make cut out cookies and decorate them. Her comment was "Cause no one wants cookies any other time." Well, ok, but it is an excuse this week. So here they are.

My first half was strictly pink, red and white

Then I got crazy with colors...

Tried a little display for photo purposes only...

Because it kept wanting to fall over so...not going to work.

Hudson and I came out here since we had lots of time on our hands at home. He wanted to play "the pink game" so that's what he did. 

And he played with Mae and Oliver.

Today I said to him "Did you have a good speech class with (name is left out to protect myself from a law suit) yesterday?" and he says "(no name) is stupid" I about died laughing. Mainly because, he sort has a point.  Probably not the word they want him to concentrate on but it is a good "S" sound. 

But we are working on not applying that word to people. 

Super Bowl...

 Thought theme cookies were in order.

 The Packers got their colors and then Pittsburgh had to just have black and white. 

 I made Jill her own special cupcake shaped Green Bay cookie pop.

 Bobbi invited some friends over

And Presto! Super Bowl party.

It IS addictive...

Jayme was out this afternoon and we got a craving for sushi, so we made some. 

It exceeded our expectations! 

Tempura shrimp, cucumber, cream cheese and mango!

 So good.

This is about the point...

where i say "What was I thinking, why did I say I could paint a big painting, this doesn't even look like what I want..." It's always that way when I start a painting.

Just have to get past that point.

Should have had a video camera...

I just braved the -20 wind chill factor to go over and feed the horses. Oliver and Mae thought they needed to go too. As I was coming out of the barn, I look over at the icy driveway and there is Oliver literally being blown across it by the wind. He couldn't get any traction because of his immense 5 pound body. Mae just stood there watching him slide across. She kind of had a "What the..." look on her face. Would have been a classic video.