Raising the curtains

Justin and I hung window treatments in the living room and dining room in December of last year (after the break-in). I intended to hem them shortly thereafter, but didn't actually get around to it until a couple of weeks ago. A note in the package with the curtains suggested washing them before hemming them because of shrinkage. An older and wiser relative suggested that I not wash them, but since I can't stand the thought of unhemmed, dirty (not really) curtains, I did it anyway. I knew they would shrink, but didn't realize how much they would shrink.

Prior to the wash, they puddled on the floor, a lot.



They don't puddle so much after the wash.


The after shots are actually unhemmed. After a spin in the dryer, I spent a while ironing them before hanging them. I intended to use the iron on hemming tape since my sewing machine is still at Mama's and I got impatient one day. I hung them and was very surprised by how perfect the length was. They didn't need to be hemmed! The bottom edge is surged, so it's not totally unfinished. I would like it hemmed, but it's not very noticeable unless you get on the floor and look and if you do that at someone else's house, then you've got some issues that need tending to. I would probably do this at your house, but please don't do it at my house.

Mum is no longer the word

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased some lovely mums from Home Depot. I had a vision of grandeur; our courtyard was going to be gorgeous when the mums bloomed.

Let me remind you of what I started with:

This is what they look like today:

These aren't my visions of grandeur. I'm not sure what went wrong, but something obviously did. Maybe it was too hot? I watered them, but two never bloomed and one kind of did, but not really. I would like to point out my lovely planters. I bought them just for these blasted mums. I didn't bother photographing the third plant. It looks just like the one above that has no blooms on it.

I know the yard needs to be mowed. It's too wet today. Maybe tomorrow.

Pete and Annabelle get coiffured

Pete and Annabelle usually get groomed every six weeks. I messed up and forgot to make an appointment for this past weekend, which was six weeks after their last groom. I made their appointment yesterday morning for this morning. I dropped them off at 10:00 a.m. and retrieved them at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. They were happy to see me!

Before:

The poor babies could barely see through all the hair in their eyes!

After:

They are so hard to photograph. As soon as I press the button, they move. It looks like the yard needs to be coiffured in these photos.

Grilled Salmon and Twice Baked Potatoes

I visited with my aunt and uncle earlier this week and came home with some goodies. My uncle recently returned from a fishing trip in British Columbia, Canada, and generously gave me some of his loot. I decided to cook the salmon fillet for supper tonight.

The salmon was frozen so I thawed it in a bowl of water. This didn't take very long, which surprised me because the filet was kind of thick in some areas.

I cut the salmon in half before placing it on the grill. There is something about cutting through fish skin that gives me the "willys". I don't know why, but it does. I brushed on a little olive oil and sprinkled on a little salt and pepper before heading to the grill.

After the grill was hot, I placed a piece of grill-proof aluminum foil on the grates and then placed the salmon on the foil. This made clean-up a breeze!

Doesn't this look yummy?

I served the salmon with twice baked potatoes and black-eyed peas. Since I try to avoid using meat to season beans/peas, I use vegetable broth as my liquid. This gives the beans/peas a nice flavor and I don't have to add meat or salt.

I cooked the potatoes for dinner club last month and they were just as good tonight as they were then. I baked them directly on the oven rack, but I put the foil lined pan beneath them to catch any liquid that seeped out. I had a mess to clean up last time. I used six potatoes instead of the four the recipe calls for since my potatoes were so small.

Scooping out the potato "meat" is very easy. After slicing the potatoes in half, I run a knife around the edge, leaving a tiny bit for stability. Then, I scoop out the "meat" with a small spoon. Super easy!

I mix all the stuff together in a bowl with my hand mixer and then spoon it in the skins. I top them with the remaining cheese and onions. The recipe calls for bacon, but I omit this. I also use Smart Balance butter, reduced fat sour cream, and fat free half & half. I could use fat free cheese, but I think the regular cheese melts better.

Just out of the oven:

We ate good tonight!

Thanks Uncle Frank and Aunt Susan! The fish was very delicious! Definitely the best I've had!

An airplane lands on I-85

This afternoon, just before rush hour, a small airplane made an emergency landing on I-85 southbound between Shallowford Road and Clairmont Road. This is fairly close to our house. This is a link to a news story: AJC.com.

Justin and I were watching the news while a crane truck lifted the plane onto a flatbed truck. We understood that the DOT and police were planning to have the truck drive the plane to the airport in Lawrenceville, which I think is where the flight originated. We assumed they were going to have the truck exit at the Clairmont Road exit, do a U-turn on Clairmont, and go north on I-85. A friend texted us and said he was on Clairmont and stuck behind five fire trucks, fifteen police cars, and a giant tow truck with the airplane on it. We thought it was odd that he was stuck behind the caravan, but assumed he was at the I-85 and Clairmont intersection where they were doing the U-turn.

We stood on the porch at our house and watched as traffic quickly backed up and then saw several police cars rush up Clairmont, headed toward PDK (Dekalb-Peachtree Airport). After a minute, we heard a police car drive through telling cars to "move to the right lane" on his loud speaker. Then I spotted all the flashing lights around the tow truck and realized we were going to get to see the plane! Apparently they weren't able to turn the plane around so they had to take it up Clairmont. I'm not sure if they proceeded to Lawrenceville or if they just took it to PDK. PDK made the most sense to me since it was so close to where the plane landed on I-85. I think it may have been trying to make an emergency landing at PDK when it went down.

Justin and I were excited and ran to Clairmont to watch. Justin took his phone and filmed as the caravan passed.



Edited to add:
Apparently, the news crews report stuff that isn't exactly true. I'm not sure that the plane was going to Lawrenceville or had anything to do with Lawrenceville. We saw on the news last night that the plane was taken to PDK. I'm not sure what was true, but the plane did travel up Clairmont on a flat bed trailer.

Dog Bed

I came across these photos today...

A few years ago, Justin's parents purchased a bed for their cat. In true cat fashion, the bed was of no use to the cat, so Brad and Janice generously donated the bed to Pete and Annabelle.

Pete did the initial inspection and I'm guessing she could smell the cat. She was determined to find that cat. It was obviously hiding under the cushion.

Nope. Not under here.

She needed to take a break for a minute.

She's back to work.

That's hard work!

I like how she gave Annabelle the old bed and she took the new one. I don't know why, but they have never liked cushions in their beds. They will always remove them. The bed on the right was one we already owned. It came with a cushion.

Thanks Brad and Janice! Our most favorite thing to do was flip the bed over and chew on the foam insert. This was easy after we chewed through the zipper that held the cover in place. We enjoyed the bed until we finally ate it about a year ago. Our mommy seemed to enjoy cleaning up the hundreds of little foam pieces.

Brownies

I cleaned out the pantry a couple of weeks ago and found some Baker's chocolate that was waiting to be baked into some yummy brownies. The recipe I've been using for a couple of years is Katharine Hepburn's Brownies. These are very easy and call for fairly common ingredients (with the exception of the chocolate).

Katharine Hepburn's Brownies
1 stick of butter (8 Tbsp.)
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional) I don't use nuts in these brownies.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat while stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat the mixture well. Stir in flour and salt (and nuts, if desired). Bake the brownies in a buttered and floured 8" square pan for about 40 minutes. You can cut the brownies into squares and eat them out of the pan, but they're prettier piled on a plate so people can grab them with their fingers (If you can get them out of the pan.)

The ingredients:

The buttered and floured pan:

Melting the butter and chocolate:

Don't be tempted to eat this mixture...it is very bitter because there is no sugar, yet. Looks good, though.

Just before going into the oven:

Immediately out of the oven:

I had a little difficulty getting them out of the pan. Next time, I'll use parchment paper in the pan. Maybe that will help.

Don't judge a brownie by its appearance. These are delicious!

Justin's Parents' New Kitchen

A few months ago, Justin's parents began renovating their kitchen. I'm not sure if the drywall was replaced, but I'm pretty sure some of the floor joists had some work. I don't have any true before photos (all of the photos I have are from birthday parties) but these photos kind of show some of the previous kitchen. I think the kitchen turned out beautifully!

This photo was taken while standing in the dining area. The right wall previously housed a sliding glass door that opened onto the rear deck. They removed the slider and replaced it with a single door. I like this change. My only suggestion was to get a door with glass nearly all the way to the floor so Pete and Annabelle could see out when they visit. Since it is their house, I'll let that one slide.

This photo was taken while standing in the doorway to the laundry room and carport. There used to be an exposed ceiling beam that kind of divided the kitchen from the dining area. I think the continuing ceiling makes the room look so much larger. The recessed lights are also new. They used to have one fluorescent fixture in the center of the kitchen. I like the can lights! The refrigerator was also previously housed on the left wall. I think it was where the end cabinet is now.

The recessed cabinets and refrigerator on the left used to be part of a closet in the hallway. They had the hallway and closet removed and added the extra space to the kitchen. Wow! What a difference that makes. That extra area really opened up the whole room. The pantry was also part of that recessed area.

Those cabinet fronts are deceiving. They're actually pull out storage "drawers". I like them. You get full use of the space so the rear part of the cabinets don't become dumping grounds for things you rarely use.

This photo shows the recessed area better.

I love countertop task lighting. It's nice when you want some lights on in the kitchen, but don't need overhead lights. I'm sure it's also nice when you're cooking and chopping.

Pretty granite!

I think the finished product is amazing!

Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf spider?

Generally, spiders don't really bother me. I'm not particularly fond of them, but I don't freak out when I encounter spiders. I've even been known to move them outside instead of stomping them. For some reason, our house in Atlanta has a large number of spiders, inside and out. The ones outside are fine, but I just don't like them in the house. Justin and I encountered a spider situation recently that disturbed us both.

Justin spotted a kind of large spider in the kitchen one evening. It looked really scary to me because it had pointy legs and its body was thick. Justin either stomped it or hit it with the fly swatter (I can't remember which). This is where things got disturbing. All of a sudden, these little baby spiders start crawling everywhere. Apparently, they were hitching a ride on their mother's back. We were both stomping all over the floor trying to kill all the little babies. There were so many of them! We thought this was an isolated incident where we had killed the mother on the verge of having baby spiders.

I was cleaning out a closet last weekend when I spotted a large spider crawling on the floor. I grabbed my shoe and swatted at it, only hitting a small portion of the spider. This was enough to send baby spiders running. I got on the floor with my shoe and got busy. I eventually found the mother spider and finished getting rid of her and the babies.

I did a quick google search and discovered these are wolf spiders. The pictures of these things are gross.

(photo source)

It seems they are unique in that the mother spiders carry their babies on their back. They apparently aren't very dangerous, but I kill them on sight. I can't have them roaming my house.