How You Know You're Old....(011/365)

TIME: 1:30 pm

PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Range

*~*~*

...when you get a new gas range and are pretty damn excited about it.

It has a griddle!

Peppy & Salty (315/366)

TIME: 5:53 pm

PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Salt & Pepper shakers

*~*~*

These two supervised as I made potatoes with the instant pot.

I tried to catch the steam as it released, but was unsuccessful.

The potatoes were good though.

Dog Tired (197/365)

TIME: 10:03 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Mulder & Oreo

After walks and Frosty Paws ice cream, they are worn out.

Poor puppies.

When You See It (100/365)

TIME: 7:53 AM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Coffee

Hmmm….

I just noticed the name printed on the coffee.

Avocado Toast (099/365)

TIME: 7:47 AM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Stella’s breakfast

Stella made herself breakfast this morning.

She is not a millennial.  She just likes avocado toast.

Beauty Queen (036/365)

TIME: 7:32 PM
PLACE: The rental
SUBJECT: Kitchen sink base

This enameled sink base is one of the few things I like about the rental house.

It was not very nice looking earlier this year – dirty, rusted, discolored, sticky and just plain gross.

I removed the doors and drawers, cleaned and sanded everything. Then I sprayed it all with appliance paint.  Some doors had to be painted more than once.  A bee got himself stuck on the wet paint.  He ruined the finish and his life. Stupid bee

The final product does not have a completely smooth factory finish, but I think I did pretty good for an amateur.

I polished the handles and reattached them.  The “Beauty Queen” logo, my favorite part, received a shine as well.

She looks pretty good for an old sink.

A Colorful New Idea…It’s Easy to DYE! (209/365)

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”
Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor, best known for his Meditations on Stoic philosophy, AD 121-180)

TIME: 9:30 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: Putnam Dye Storage Cabinet front

I picked this up at the local flea market last year?
Or maybe the year before?
Now I’m not sure.
It’s the front door from a dye storage cabinet.
It’s rusty, incomplete.
and not in good condition.
But…


This girl has got some sass.
I like it.

June Chalkboard (161/365)

Summer,it turns me upside down
Summer, summer, summer
It's like a merry go round
I see you under the midnight
All shackles and bows
High shoes with the cleats a clickin'
A temperamental glow
The Cars - Magic 

TIME:  7:05 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT: Chalkboard

I searched for-ev-er on Pinterest and Google images looking for summer chalkboard ideas.
I did not care for them.
Well, except for the way “Summer” was written on one.
So, I designed my own.
Utilizing a lyric snippet from The Cars.
Ahh, the summer of 1984 – it was awesome.

Spilled (020/365)

“Why is it that when you wipe up dust its called dusting but when you wipe up a spill its not called spilling? Just something to think about.”
Ellen DeGeneres (American stand-up comedian, actress, and talk show host, b. 1958)

TIME: 7:15 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Spilled water glass

No unattended water glass safe in the house with Jack the cat around.
I swear he knocks them over just to spite me.
Luckily this one wasn’t full,
And there were no electronic devices nearby.

Quick…Lock the Door!

TIME: 8:02 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT: Door and DramaQueen

I have been slowly removing, stripping, staining and reinstalling the woodwork in the kitchen.  The back door with its transom window are the latest sections I’ve completed. 

see, this is how far it’s come…

Originally how it looked (I can’t believe I’m posting this)

Slightly better with a coat of white paint (in 2008)

It’s a process.

Hardware (153/365)

TIME:  6:50 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Cabinet hardware

I switched out the hardware on the kitchen cabinets.  Goodbye wooden handles - I never liked you.  Hello metal pulls -  You complete me.

Something I Don’t Like (108/366)

“The heap of dirty dishes was normal for Arthur, who had applied for a reduction in his water rate on the grounds that he washed up only every fortnight, and then used the leftover liquid for watering his roses.”

― Julian Barnes, Metroland

TIME:  10:53 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Sink full of dirty dishes and garbage

This drives me in-sane.  Dishes and trash in the sink.  Why is it so difficult to place a dish in the dishwasher or throw your trash away or scrub the pan you used?  I don’t like it.  Do you want to know what one of my college apartment mates did when someone left a burnt pan in the sink for two days?  She placed the greasy, dirty thing on the offender’s bed, on top of their pillow.  Later in the evening, when our other roommate arrived home and found the pan on her pillow, quite of bit of shouting went on in the apartment.  I’d like to do the same, but most of the time, the offender at my house shares a bed with me.

Looking For A Mate (346/365)

Kirby: She is the only evidence of God I have seen with the exception of the mysterious force that removes one sock from the dryer every time I do my laundry.

Emilio Estevez, perf. St. Elmo’s Fire. Dir. Joel Schumacher. 1985. Columbia Pictures Corp.

TIME:  8:15 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Unmatched socks

This evening, my kitchen table was host for the “Socks Without Partners” support group that meets weekly.  It is always a well attended event.  A few socks were re-united with their partners.  But, as usual, the majority of the single socks went back to their home in the community laundry basket alone.  It breaks my heart.

Cat Tale (316/365)

“If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way.”

Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

TIME:  11:14 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Tessa on a kitchen chair

I just arrived home from a trivia night.  We came in second place – Yea us.  Our prize was $100, so basically we all received our entrance money back ($10).  Sweet!  As I walked into the door, all the animals greeted me – I am so loved.  I was surprised that Tessa was part of the bunch.  She usually stays upstairs when the dog is out and about.  It’s only taken her 5 years, but she’s finally getting braver.  Right after I took this photo, she hissed at Oreo (who had dared to walk under the kitchen table to get by my side), jumped off of the chair and disappeared into the basement.

It’s The In Thing (256/365)

“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”

Oscar Wilde (Irish Poet, Novelist, Dramatist and Critic, 1854-1900)

TIME:  7:28 AM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  What my son wore to school

This is what MonkeyBoy wore on his feet to school today.  When I questioned his fashion sense, DramaQueen quickly jumped to his defense – apparently this is what all the “cool” kids are wearing these days.  Really?  Because I surely can remember fun of our elders when they would wear shorts and dark dress socks with sandals.  It was so un-cool.  Now?  It’s the in thing.  Strange days, my friends.  Strange days.

Homework (249/365)

“I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.”

Lily Tomlin (American Actress and Comedian. Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2003.b.1939)

TIME:  7:50 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen table
SUBJECT:  StellaDella doing spelling homework

Unlike last year, SD actually has homework that takes longer than 5 minutes to complete.  Tonight she had to neatly write the spelling sentence 3 times in her spelling notebook and then complete page 1 of her spelling packet.  It took her about 20 minutes to do – that wasn’t too bad.

Cookie-Eyed (235/365)

Lenny: Ah! My eye! My doctor said I wasn't supposed to get pudding in it!

The Simpsons, “Homer vs. Dignity.” 26 Nov 2000

TIME:  5:56 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  MonkeyBoy

MB wanted to make cookies…luckily we had pre-formed frozen peanut-butter ones purchased from some past school/sports fundraiser in the basement freezer.  Heat up the oven, throw them on a cookie sheet, bake and voila! – warm-pretty-much-homemade-cookies.  He was happy with them.

Withdrawal (206/365)

“We can often endure an extra pound of pain far more easily than we can suffer the withdrawal of an ounce of accustomed pleasure.”

Sydney J. Harris (American, journalist for the Chicago Daily News and later the Chicago Sun-Times. 1917–1986)

TIME:  6:54 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen

*Someone* had her cell phone, computer, Facebook, Xbox and Wii privileges taken away from Sunday afternoon until tomorrow morning because *Someone* wasn’t behaving like she should.  *Someone* is suffering social network and texting withdrawal (I swear she has the shakes).  *Someone* thinks we will break down and give the cell phone back to her sooner if she behaves.  Ha!  *Someone* will just have to suffer until tomorrow morning.

Let Them Eat Butter Cake (102/365)

“Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?”

William Shakespeare (1564–1616).  The Oxford Shakespeare.  1914. Twelfth-Night; or, What You Will. Act II. Scene III.

TIME:  4:24 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Breton butter cake

I was in a Suzy Homemaker mood this afternoon and decided to make a butter cake recipe from an old May 2002 Martha Stewart Living.  The recipe called for simple ingredients: butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour and salt.  It was very dense and almost like a shortcake.  Martha topped hers with a spiked strawberry compote – but I just went with some fresh sliced strawberries sprinkled with brown sugar.  The kids were going to be eating it and frankly, I like to consume my alcohol directly from some sort of drinking apparatus.

Family Heirloom (068/365)

Peter Dickenson: [holding up a pocket watch] This is an heirloom. It must be worth something.
Pawnbroker: Your heir didn't loom too big. If I gave you 50, I'd be fired.

Ritter, John, and Larry Storch, perf. The Flight of the Dragons. Dir. Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. 1982.

TIME:  7:43 PM
PLACE:  Dad’s Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Sign

I finished Dad’s taxes and took them over to his house this evening.  We sat in the kitchen going over the returns and I decide to take a picture of this sign hanging above the cabinets.  Last fall, he had several rooms in the house painted, including the kitchen.  In the course of redecorating, he brought this sign up from storage in the basement and hung it on the wall.  The sign originally came from my maternal grandfather, who owned and operated a neighborhood grocery store on the west end of town.  I believe that the store was in operation from the early 1930s until 1954 when he closed the business.  The market was located just a couple houses down from my mom’s family home.  The store was turned into a house that my uncle lived in until the 1980’s.  The house is still there today.