Now We're Cookin'!

 

          “Peg, what’s cookin’?” you ask.

          I’m so glad you asked!

          I made a new favorite, an old favorite, and dug an antique out of storage to cook on.

          My new favorite is Butter Swim Biscuits. They’re aptly named because you melt a stick of butter and pour it in the pan before adding the biscuit dough. Once the dough is spread in the pan, you’re to take your spatula and divide the dough into nine. My dough didn’t stay divided and it didn’t seem to make a difference. The recipe is easy and man-o-man! Are they yummy!

          My old favorite is cousin Stacey’s Mac and Cheese recipe. This time though, I added chunked up ham to make it a meal. There was enough left over to put individual portions in the freezer for later consumption.

          And my antique?

          My twenty-year-old George Foreman grill. Mike was wanting hamburgers and didn’t want to do them on the grill. I could’ve done them in my NuWave but happened to see the George Foreman the other day when I was poking around our stockpile of stored treasures. I even had the book!

          “Peg, they look a little over-done,” you say.

          I know, right! They are — were. I followed the timetable in the book. When I put the last three on, I decreased the cooking time and they were better. Next time I think I’ll cut the temperature down too — if there is a next time.

          “What’s cookin’ in your craft shop?” you ask.

          Oh my gosh! First, let me tell you what I did.

          I love working with the tin cans to make flowers and spinners. I just love it but I’m limited to the size of flower I can make by the size cans I use.

          “Don’t they sell juice in tall cans?” I asked Mike.

          “I think they used to but I think everything’s gone to plastic now.”

          The other day at the store, I strolled down the juice aisle and sure enough, almost everything is in plastic jugs. Then I spied, on the bottom shelf at the very end of the row, pineapple juice and V-8 in cans. I snagged one each. Purchased, bagged, and in the seat of the cart, I head out to where Mike waited in the car for me and wouldn’t you know it! The dang things worked their way out of the leg holes and landed right on my big toe!

          OW! It hurt!

          I was wishing for steel toe shoes right about then.

          It hurt all the way home but after a while it quit and I didn’t notice it anymore. In fact, it was two days later before I thought to look at my toe. It’s surprising it hasn’t bothered me more and it’s only slightly bruised.

          I drank the juice and turned the can into this lovely for my beautiful sister. I originally planned to make it five layers deep but couldn’t get a grommet in so it’s only four.

          Another beautiful, and goofy, lady in my life is my friend Jody.          

         She wanted to learn to make these flowers so we spent a couple of hours making one. I worked on Phyllis’s spinner while Jody just wanted to make a flower. I can’t say I disagree with her choice. Phyllis’s spinner won’t spin — but it’ll still be a pretty flower.

          We put a base coat on her flower with spray paint but if she wants details, she’ll have to add them later. Our playtime was up for the day. I thought Jody’s design interesting as she twisted some of her petals.

          I haven’t figured out why some of my tin can spinners spin and some don’t. And those that do spin need a stiff wind to get them moving whereas the ones I make from vinyl and aluminum are much lighter and don’t take much wind at all.

          My Miss Rosie had one that won’t spin. So, this week I made an aluminum pinwheel to adorn the opposite side of the post. If one won’t spin, we’ll make one that will!

          When Mike and I got there to put up the new pinwheel for her, we found her ‘stem’ was wilting. It needed a few whacks with a hammer. Miss Rosie and Tux stepped out on the porch. “Miss Rosie!” I yelled. “We need a hammer!”

          “Okay,” she said, turned Tux lose, who bounded down to greet us, and went in for a hammer.

          Mike reseated the post and added the new spinner.

          While I was there, I decided to see how one of her other spinners was doing, namely, how the paint job was holding up. It isn’t. It’s cracking and starting to flake away. The paint seems to hold onto the tin cans well but not the vinyl.

          Miss Rosie can enjoy this one until he needs a makeover, then we’ll spray paint it. The vinyl ones that I spray painted are holding up much better.

          Leaving Miss Rosie and Tux, I turned and snapped a picture. Miss Rosie tickles me as she waves with the hammer in her hand.

          I enjoy my spinners. I love to look out and see them spinning in the wind. I’m a little sad when I look out and there’s no wind.

          You may notice my yard looks a little different. The spinners aren’t all bunched up in one place. Mowing season is upon us and I had to rehome them. Some are on the post that supports our sideways growing tree, and some are on the fences. A couple could stay where they were because they’re in the middle of my flower beds.

        Then I see one is wobbling in the wind. I investigated and discovered the spinner had worked its way off the plastic bushing. At first, I thought the hot glue had let go, then realized this was one of the first one’s I’d made and hadn’t glued the spinner to the bushing. Hopefully the ones I did after this, where I did glue it to the bushing, will hold up.

          I’m experimenting with a different material. Instead of the bushing and hard plastic tube, I bought half-inch plastic tubing.

          “Peg, why don’t you use copper tubing?” you ask.

          It’s a lot more expensive.

          Mike, bless his heart, investigated using a threaded tube. Then I could use a nut to hold the spinner in place. And he’d get it for me too, if I’d let him. “I’m just giving these away,” I pointed out. “If I was trying to sell them then I’d definitely invest more in them.”

           I teased you last time with an idea I had to use the heavier metal sheeting that Jody had given me. My week was passing fast but late Friday afternoon I made a special point to throw one together just so I could show you.

           I used my soap dish to shape the petals as evenly as I could. A little rubbing alcohol erased my lines when I didn’t need them anymore. 

          I cut it out and bent the petals both in and sideways. Then I hurriedly cut a couple of cat food cans for inside interest. If I hadn’t’ve been so anxious to show you my idea, a coat of paint would really make it pop. I know I promised Jody the first one, but unless she wants to paint it, I’ll give her the next one.

          “Does it spin?” you wanna know.

          It does! But it takes a lot of wind to spin it. It’s heavy. I’m toying with the idea of maybe trying to ‘cup’ the petals to see if it would catch the wind better that way. It’s a learning process and I’m just at the beginning. Where will this take me? Who knows.

          The only other project I finished this week was to fix Miss Rosie’s rooster. He broke his leg. I collected him and on the way home I broke one of his toes off. Then I broke his other leg! OY! But he’s all fixed now and hanging back in his home over Miss Rosie’s table.

          “What’s cookin’ in nature?” you ask.

          Well, the henbit is out but I didn’t get a picture of that. Maybe I shouldn’t’ve mentioned it. The violets are blooming.         

            And my yard is full of the most beautiful little yellow flowers!

“Peg! Those are dandelions!”

So they are! 

          Our rhododendron bush is blooming too.  

          All the trees are blooming in the little town of Laceyville.

          And I think this tree with two different kinds of blooms is interesting. “I bet they grafted them together.” Someday I’m gonna stop and get a closer look. 

            And just so we know who’s in charge, Mother Nature threw a blast of fluffy white stuff at us. 

            We took a ride out in the country so I could make road pictures for you. 

The snow didn’t stay long but you can still see it in places.

          Once Mother Nature established her dominance, the temps rose, seemingly overnight, and I hung my first load of laundry on the clothesline.

           Tiger!

          Tiger, Tiger, Tiger!

          That cat!

          I don’t know how many mice he’s caught and eaten this week.          

              I’m not really keeping track because it’s old news. What is new news is that he got a bird. “Let me see it,” I demanded. I could tell by the quick glimpse I got that it wasn’t one I knew. Tiger ran. I followed and kept begging him to, “Just let me look!” Finally, he did let me look. Then I told him he was a good boy and let him keep his bird. Consulting my bird book, I think this is an Eastern Towhee. It made me sad to read that their numbers are more rapidly declining than any other bird. And more sad when I saw he didn’t eat it either.

           Old pictures of Dushore came up on my Facebook feed. This Ben Franklin store was in the building that now houses the Jolley Trolley. I sent the old pictures to my oldest and much-adored sister Patti. She remembers the old Ben Franklin. “And I’m pretty sure that’s Bill Sick, the owner, standing in front,” she told me.

          I don’t know when Bill died but his wife died just four years ago at the age of 98. Reading Lucy’s obit, I found out that they opened their pool every summer to the kids so they could learn to swim. How cool is that!

          Let’s call this one done!