This is What Happens...

...when I go for a buggy ride in the neighborhood....(my story in pictures)

Fern very nice this year

Elderberries ripening

Invasive Honeysuckle???

Daylily

Yardman— AKA > Rock Wall Builder

New project work

Home patio base

Garden Wall

Crocosmia 'Lucifer'

And I returned home with a zucchini and cucumber from his garden so I baked zucchini bread the very next morning.

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The New and the Old

My old inexpensive 2 qt. pan was deteriorating and I felt justified looking for a replacement. It took many web searches but the description - below -  on this one is what sold me. Best of all it is red! (and no shipping charge.) At first I had to break loose with the old one which has served well for many years so I made the decision to toss it in the trash can. There! Then I went shopping.

"The saucepan is dishwasher safe and nonstick in addition to being PFOA-free, Lead-free, and Cadmium free. 4mm of Forged Aluminum provides a thicker stronger saucepan that is coated with three layers of premium QuanTanium nonstick titanium coating. Titanium-coated aluminum is scratch resistant and almost three times more durable than classic Polytetrafluoroethylene ceramic and granite-coated saucepans. The Nonstick Titanium Sauce Pan is made in Turkey with the highest quality aluminum coating sourced from Whitford England that utilizes the latest technology. Enjoy reliable even heating with a nonstick saucepan that heats up faster and is built to last." 

The day after it arrived I tried it out with a very old recipe.

I like to age these for a couple of days before sharing or eating. Made a small batch this time. Recipe below!

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➔ Pickled Beets  7 to 8 lbs of Beets (Gma's Recipe) (Drake) b. 1874

               4 cups vinegar (5% acidity) 

               1 teaspoon canning or pickling salt 

               2 cups sugar

               2 cups water 

               2 cinnamon sticks 

               12 whole cloves  - about 1 tsp 

               12 allspice nuts (whole) - about 1 tsp

➔ Red Beet Eggs   (Mother's Recipe) (Nulton) b. 1914

               1 cup brown sugar

               1/2 teaspoon salt

               3/4 cup cider vinegar

               1/4 cup water

               1 quart canned red beets and juice

               3 pinches mixed pickling spice

               12 eggs, hard boiled and peeled

Mix sugar, salt, cider vinegar, water, 1 cup beet juice, mixed pickling spice, and heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add red beets into mixture.

Pour over hard boiled, peeled eggs. Let stand in refrigerator 3 days.  Slice in half before serving.

➔ ♡♡♡♡♡MY version: Mom Reed b. 1936♡♡♡♡♡

1 Cup Brown Sugar, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1 Cup Cider Vinegar, No Water, 2 Cans  SMALL Beets & Juice, 1 Cinnamon stick, 12 whole cloves.  (10-12  hard boiled and peeled eggs) ☆

Really Good Day

Ordered — March 27

Delivered — March 29 >>> free delivery (not Amazon Prime!)

Wow that was quick! My dear family friend came to help me remove it from the box and set it up. He even showed me how to use it and the lesson was learned. Now I have put it into action it several times and it is an easy and sweet experience. Who would say this? I would!

Joyful Red Progress Report

She shows promise of becoming a fabulous beauty. I'm unsure if I'm giving her enough or too much water, though. This is a first for me. 

Here we GO!

Welcome to Joyful Red, a new member of the Home Sweet Home Window Team! She’s currently hiding but will soon show off her redhead and long limbs and delicate arms. It will take time. Maybe even eight weeks! I plan to follow her growth and you may be privileged to tag along with me. Loving care is the key and I’ll do my best to keep her nourished and as warm and bright as necessary. She arrived as a wonderful, delightful and challenging gift from dear friends across the big pond.

On a completely different note, I now know why the mouse who got into my paper towels died! He was wire poisoned. Darn! Need some electrician help here! We had a four hour scheduled power outage and it seemed the perfect time to haul out my old treasured ceramic tree and decorate! Not today! 

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Rose Photo

Red is my favorite color. 

Once in a while I submit one of my photos to our local NE PA station where I watch the news and weather.  In the link below, I apologize for the advertisement at the beginning, but the video below shows lovely pictures that are sent in by others like I do sometimes. 

 https://www.wnep.com/article/life/photolink/how-it-all-began-in-the-photolink-library-mike-stevens/523-8153d60f-b8a8-4313-8ffe-779240eb5734

I have manipulated this same photo for an "arty" piece.

Keeping Warm

Well, I'll bet a bunch that you never would think of someone writing about a red rubber bottle! It just popped into my mind and I have to get the memory out. OUT! I say, "OUT!!"

First, I would like to say that I love my electric blanket that our daughter gave to me a couple of years ago. I never thought I would use one. When we moved into the cabin in 1997 there were two here and I gave them away because I was afraid of them catching fire. They were old. I started using my new one and now really count on it to keep my feet and legs warm in the winter months. No more wearing long johns and socks to bed! Even when I would stand in front of the fireplace gas insert to warm up and make a 'dash' to the bed, the heat would be gone and I'd have a hard time getting to sleep. Not now. 

As a child of the 40's and 50's the bedding covers were older quilts, lined with wool batting. They were tattered and heavy, we were young, I don't remember being cold. BUT! When we were sick, the hot water bottle was called into action as a belly warmer, foot warmer, neck warmer and more. I think it was common custom to find the red rubber bottle with all of the extra 'parts' hanging on hooks on the back of bathroom doors. At least several were in that exact same place when I used friend's bathrooms! It was common. Never once did I wonder what the extra tubes were for. Now I know. I have no idea if ours were ever used. I just remember the comfort of that red rubber bottle, filled with hot water and covered in a flannel slip-on made a difference. I see they are still sold. Do you have one? I don't. 

 

Yay and Nay

Our ancient paper towel/wax paper dispenser that hangs on the wall by the sink has outlived its life. The edges of the flap down covers are extremely sharp and for someone who isn't familiar with this it would be dangerous. Time to go.

I have been looking for another one for several years now. At first I thought a wooden holder would work, but the more I thought about it I wanted something red and NOT plastic! I wanted something metal and heavy and free standing. Today I took a ride and saw a yard sale at a neighboring lake. Well, what do you think I found? Hah Hah!! Perfect and just $4.00. I saw similar ones online costing between $11 and $35.00!

Today I made watermelon rind candy. It has been years since doing this. It will be my last batch ever. I forgot how labor intensive the process could be. I no longer have a candy thermometer and had to use the soft ball method to know if the syrup was at the correct temperature. Way too much sugar was called for. But I did it and it's not a total failure, just not a project I want to do ever again. Right now it is drying out on parchment paper. I think my rinds were not thick enough as my melon was a small round one. 

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RED RED RED!

Sliced the larger one yesterday for lunch.

I did NOT enhance the color! This image was taken on the counter under the kitchen window without flash! See how meaty? These slices are left over after our tomato sandwiches. And it had the best taste of all this year. This is why I save seeds.

One down one to go...
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Red and Green

...are not just Christmas colors. Red is my favorite color and makes me feel happy and is my stimulating color. To me, green is the color of nature, growth and health. I get excited when I have projects that involve using these colors.

Our daughter shared her extra peppers with us so I went to work. I already had the broccoli and now have decided to bake a quiche with it in a month or so. The peppers don't need to be blanched before freezing - just washed and cut up. The broccoli does and it takes a bit more effort to prepare it for freezing, but the time was well spent in my mind.

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"Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure." 

"Green, the color of life, renewal, nature, and energy, is associated with meanings of growth, harmony, freshness, safety, fertility, and environment. Green is also traditionally associated with money, finances, banking, ambition, greed, jealousy, and wall street."

Source: www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

WOW Red....

Last week these fire-red tall plant tops grabbed my eye the first time I drove past them. The street is quite heavily traveled so I didn't stop but wanted to. Then I passed them again two more times and became frustrated - very frustrated. They called to me with a SHOUT! "TAKE MY PICTURE!"

Today I turned into the driveway of the house that was behind the flower bed and got my close up look - with the camera. The house was quite old and a bit neglected in appearance as was the flower bed in front. I took my pictures and skedaddled on down the road. Sure wish I had nerve to go right up to the front door, knock, and ask for the name of this plant. There were two.  I can see they started out with dark leaves, and were taller than my knee. One was farther along turning red than the other. I have NOT enhanced their color at all. They may be a variety of Coleus but I have never ever seen such red.

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