You just never know- or - the tale of go with the flow

HEY, you know, I just love it when things go way different than what you think they were going to be and it turns into something even cooler than the original plan!!

Hidden pleasure - from window

detail of metal arch

Take note of these photos!  LOOK at the beautiful thing that is hidden in the wall- an arch!  THIS is fantastic to me.  First of all the curve of this arch and the size is lovely.  It will open up the space a bunch, in a different way than I intended, but how can I not take advantage of this original graceful part of the house?  After the amazing discovery of these lovely hardwood floors, this is a room that is demanding a little attention.

Another little tidbit that very few people will understand, except perhaps my sister, is that in the house I grew up in, there was an arched door way similar to this- between the livingroom and the diningroom.  Several of us in the family were irritated when my dad did just what the remodelers of this house did- cover it up because  they couldn't be bothered to deal with it.  Realizing these similarities, the covering of original finishes, floor and structural details just cements in my idea that the 70's were a time when people were so anti-old fashioned that they needed to obliterate any semblance of the previous decor and style of the house.  So the inside was a total disconnect to the outside of the house.  That is how our old farmhouse was as well.  It is interesting - and I guess I am having the same reaction.  I just need to update, and maybe in this case, to restore a little, the work of others.  I think this makes sense.  And somehow seems respectful in many senses of my life.

looking from kitchen

At any rate, it feels right and feels like an authentic thing to do for this place.  BTW, all of  you electrically inclined and do-it-yourselfers, breathe deeply and relax.  The electrical issues you see here WILL be addressed.  Like tomorrow, or Thursday!  Meanwhile, there is a little bit of demo to do yet, I DO want electric outlets on the wall under the window, so the drywall there will go, and the ceiling "tiles" or whatever those are, will be going as well.  Not much left in that regard.  Then the task of putting the place back together again will commence.


The floors will ONLY need a light sanding and sealing, which is so amazing, I can hardly still believe it.  So far I have one expert thinking it might be ash (but he only saw pix) and one thinking it might be maple (he sees it in person) and no one else really knows. It is northern WI tongue and groove, so oak is doubtful.  REGARDLESS, it is beautiful.

Here are my pix, and now I am taking them from 4 angles!!  I was so surprised when I walked into the room yesterday, having taken a pix from the kitchen door to turn and see the west wall.....  amazing.

OLD drywall!!  

looking from front room

Looking from kitchen

Looking from hallway door

Yes, Virginia, there was a light fixture in the room before......  

So,  until tomorrow- keep your eyes open- you might find some hidden pleasures and unexpected joy!

And so it begins

SO, here is the beginning of our livingroom renovation......

I LOVE this pattern.... 

Some might ask WHY it took so long to redo this interesting snapshot of 70's color and paneling, but you know the answer to that if you know us at all.  That would have to do with 3 children..... and their playing, and their schooling and their college and then there is the AHEM- CABIN which apparently took precedence over the actual house!  But we won't be bitter here (for too much longer), and go on with it.  Obviously the bathroom renovation was the most important thing to me and that is why that sucker is done.  NEXT will be my tragedy of a bedroom, but that is for another blogpost! :) The MA has no idea what is about to hit him- hehehe.

The Mad-Middleson, Greg, suggested that I take a shot from one angle every day, and so I am taking a shot from 3 angles. Of course I already fell down in that regard, as I did not get all three angles last night when we finished up as much as we were going to do.  So I will rectify that in a little while. So for now, this is what I have. Obviously the first pictures are with the furniture in it.  Right after this was taken we trudged back to the cabin to get the drill- **inserteyeroll** and then we were off to the races. I enlisted the elusive Mike to come over and help move furniture.  As strong as I am, I am too short!!!  I have a hard time being able to get a good hold on big things like that stupid couch, which I acknowledge and make alternate accommodations for - like calling 6 ft tall son to the rescue.  I am thrilled to note that I was able to carry boxes of books up the stairs with out any issue, I think back a few years and it would have been an issue!!  YAY!

I made a LOT of trips out to the dumpster last night!  After the trek out to the cabin, mrcrankypants MA's "broken ankle" (which may have been-oops) was hurting and I ended up dragging all that trim and paneling and some of the carpet (that stuff is heavier than one would think) outside.  Did you know there is dumpster etiquette???  Seriously!!!  I did not put it in neatly enough. Apparently one can't just leave pieces sticking out above the top of said large metal container.  Who knew??  No wonder I slept well last night.  

Anyway, then I have a few pix that include a good shot of a BEAUTIFUL hardwood floor under the carpet of disgrace.  BEAUTIFUL.  I mean, really, why??????  WHY cover that?  Well I know why, because it looked horrible with the 1970's era paneling.  I can't even.  I have some issues with paneling- and fortunately I don't have to resolve them.  I really wanted to have a ceremonial burning of the paneling AND the carpet in the middle of the driveway, but I was given stern looks and reminded of nails and toxic fumes and such...... oh FINE!

I also have a pic here of the retro wall paper that actually has sort of a sun pattern to it, which I really do sort of love!  I am not sure why, but I do.  Unfortunately there is no way to save any of it, as it is very fragile and brittle.  sigh.  AT any rate, I will enjoy the clean awesome old new floor, the clean awesome walls and ceiling and all the new electrical work that is about to be done.  I am very excited!!!

Expect updates!!!!

Children- prepare yourselves- the clock will NOT be making a return appearance.

With furniture

This light will not be gracing my new livingroom!

Mental note: clean off crap on side of frig for heaven's sakes

Without furniture or carpet

Discussing the paneling

Removing staples from the floor

funky, cool wall paper

You can see where the livingroom wall used to be the original house's outside wall.  As much as I like the wall paper
I am glad I did not have to look at it for the last 30 years.....  hmmmm paneling-wallpaper.  Idk, it's a tossup.

Good old Mike, I think I'll keep him!!

If I take a few more pix, they will be inserted under here in an update.  But I think this should take care of it mostly.  

I love having things change, as I said before, I just don't like waiting for the change.  Makes me nervous.  And antsy and it took a long time to fall asleep last night, but once I did I was out.  So today I have to KICK out the painting of the stage stuff as we only have a WEEK LEFT!!! EEEEEEEK!!!  

Until next time- that would actually be tonight or tomorrow morning- be a joy giver!!

Standing on the edge

This is not as dire as the title implies......

I am standing on the edge of a couple of CRAZY weeks coming up here.

I have so many little thoughts running around in my brain, I hope I can make some sense of them.  First of all, I feel I have to mention that I have not done a single post on the school musical this year so far.  I began my  blog two years ago during the height of scenery painting season and when I was in full gardening preparation mode.  These two catalysts for my blog have been sadly lacking here.  I feel bad for them, like the older sibling of a brand new baby in the family.....  I know this is weird, but you all should know me enough to get it.

My brand new baby has been my weight loss and my exercise and my new Debi stuff.  Which isn't new so much any more- which is an interesting concept!  This will need exploring soon.

Oh, yeah, crazy weeks.  Of course one thing is the musical that is 2 weeks from today- ohmygosh.  I can't even think about that.  And the end of the quarter is the FRIDAY of the musical- just because the timing is that good.  AND beginning MONDAY morning, I am having a major renovation done on  the livingroom of my house.

Joe the builder is going to be orchestrating this reno; there is already a big ole dumpster in my driveway.  I do plan to take nightly pix of the progress being made.  NEW ceiling, walls, floor, trim, lights, ceiling fan, etc. will be in place.  No structural changes, really, just get rid of hideous paneling and carpet and some sketchy ceiling stuff.  BUT it will be a huge change and improvement for me.  Eventually this spring I will be breaking out my tile cutter and grout and redo my kitchen floor as well.

Today I am going to go fetch myself some switch covers and most importantly,  a ceiling fan for the living room.  YES!!!  Today and tomorrow I am going to pack up my livingroom and figure out where to stash the couch and how in the heck am I going to move around the electronics. I am afraid of electronic things that have cords coming out the back of them.  Not computers- but things like TVs, receivers and crap like that.  DON'T JUDGE ME!!!!  I just want someone to do it for me.....  ugh

So, yeah, I am standing on the edge of a sort of steep hill and I see some real cool stuff down at the bottom, but feel just a little hesitant to begin down that slope.  I know that about half way through it I will feel just a little out of control and a bit dizzy, and possibly a little crabby......  But the sun will shine through!

I find morning to be a hard time of the day, but my favorite time of the day.  I like the peace of a day not yet begun, but I am frequently plagued with worry and self-doubt.  Fill up that coffee cup again, Miss Debi!

This morning I opened my emails to find some of my favorite things- including a new post from a favorite blog of mine- The Smitten Kitchen- for buttermilk biscuits.  Not that I really am craving biscuits, but the pictures brought back a lot of memories. I have that same exact bowl, that was my moms, in my cupboard.  I love that blog, she is funny and a great cook!  I also got an update from Pinterest - "weekend inspiration"- which is something I really need,  but not from Pinterest really, and a few other odds and ends including yet another recipe post for chickpeas....  If I have time, I might try it out.

I have things that I want to blog about, but I am having a hard time right now finding the time.  I just began an art education Facebook page- Mrs. Oswald's art education page- for myself and my students and anyone else who wants to check it out.  It is a bit of art history and other interesting things I can't always cover in art class.  I need a week to work out all the technology based things that I have in the works.  And there are a ton of them.

Anyway, now you see why I feel I am on a precipice!  It may not be quite the same as the looming tax deadlines of the MA, but it feels the same to me.  I have so many personal interactions to have and monitor every day, that I feel like I have almost exhausted my own personal supply of words.....

So in spite of the snow, I am going to strike out to Rhinelander soon, and begin the task of tearing down my house to be able to have it built up again.  And away we go!

Until next time, be a joy giver and don't be too hesitant to start that journey!  :)

Chickpea Salad and Peanut butter mousse cups

HERE is that other food post I was talking about.

I have had a lot to do today, (now yesterday) much of it involves this post.  I have to say, it would take a lot less time to cook if I wasn't constantly stopping to take pictures, which involves a goodly amount of food styling.  I mean, the things that I have done to keep the quinoa neat, the peanut butter mousse wiped up and the chocolate graham cracker crumbs from spreading like a fungus over the whole kitchen!!!  Jeez!  But it is a labor of love.

Speaking of labor of love- wow that has a couple connotations- a. I have a granddaughter that is going to be born in a month or so, and there was that baby shower last weekend.  I do have a few photos to post!  And 2. I have (speaking of photos) a bunch of awesome, sock rawking, kick-ass photos to show you. If I don't do it tonight, that will be tomorrow mornings project, as I will be having my days altered as of next Monday morning- but that is a subject of yet another blog post later in the week.

SO enough babbling about non-food related items- on with the show here.

I made 2 lovely and delightful things today- one a chickpea salad that was super easy to make and one a dessert that was easy, but took some time!

 Chickpea and Kale Salad

The ingredients are very simple!  You can of course chop your own kale and cook your own chickpeas....  It is important for the  best flavor tho to use the freshest, yummiest ingredients for the dressing. 

Rins and drain the chickpeas to remove a little salt

Add the chopped kale- I eventually also added halved cherry tomatoes- it only took one taste for me to conclude it could use one more element- a little hit of sweetness.

Make the dressing with oil, lemon and fresh garlic 

Grate some good parmesan after the salad is dressed.

YUM!!!  Very light yet the chickpeas somehow make this filling!  I got 3 servings out of this recipe for about 250 calories.  Healthy fat, high protein chickpeas and kale is just plain good for you!!  Enjoy!

Chickpea Salad

This is a simple and fresh salad that is basically a few ingredients with a type of vinaigrette dressing. Lots of room to adjust and add-

original recipe found on The Greatist.com

3 servings

What You’ll Need:

1 can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained)


1 cup of chopped kale


2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of lemon juice


1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese, grated


Sea salt and black pepper

cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, ???

What to Do:

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

In a bowl, combine chickpeas, chopped kale.

In small bowl combine olive oil,  garlic, and fresh squeezed lemon juice.  Toss with vegetables.

Add grated cheese and a dash of sea salt and black pepper. Stir all the ingredients together until well mixed. Eat immediately or chill!

This has lots of potential for additions- Olives, onions, croutons, what have you!!

Peanut Butter Mousse Cups

THIS decadent dessert is NOT low calorie, but ohmygosh is it yummy!!!

It is actually vegan, not that I am vegan, BUT as I was making it, I was thinking the Mad-seester would totally be able to eat this as it is milk free!  That is if she chooses her dark chocolate carefully for the topping, which of course she would!!  Cuz she's pretty awesome and stuff!  xoxox  Luv you baby seester!!!

I doubled this recipe, as I knew I had people who wanted to try it out!  Both vegetarian and nonvegetarian friends. I managed not to tear into this until AFTER my 7 mile walk yesterday.  It was worth the wait! 

FIRST of all, people, do not fear the coconut oil!  It has healthy fats in it and life should not be fat-free. For heavens sakes, we need to get over this obsession and eat healthy and in moderation.  Fat-free is not natural!  

The use of these adorable little mason jars just makes life good. The are so cute!!!  AND they can double as jelly jars to give to ones daughter-in-law who  makes fantastic jelly and maybe one will get some back with jelly if the weather this year cooperates and produces berries!  Isn't that right SarahJane??  :)

The crust is very straight-forward with a little coconut oil, cocoa, maple syrup and graham cracker crumbs

The food processor makes short work of this crust!!  

Chocolate graham cracker crust!

2 Tablespoons or so of crust go into each jar- I came up with the idea of using the little insert in the food processor to smoosh down the crust into the jars.  It worked perfectly!!

I forgot to take a before I destroyed the box and jar pic!  Lol- so the filling has silken tofu, natural peanut butter, brown sugar and almond milk in it- very smooth and silky!  AND yummy!

Just a few Tablespoons of chocolate chips and a teaspoon of coconut oil to make the topping- (the bowl is small, the look here is deceiving) 

After the mousse is in the bowls, you are supposed to place in freezer, but I, in my usual mad way, did not!  This is kind of like how I eye balled many of the amounts of the ingredients- I blithely ignore measuring spoons and things like that.  Don't judge me!  :) This is how I roll!  It is not like it is baking or something--

Place a teaspoon or so of chocolate on top and spread/smooth/roll until it looks cute on top!

NOW it is going to kill you to put this in the freezer for a while- but trust me it is worth it.  Go for a 2 hour walk and just let it be!!  (each cup is about 300 calories, but has over 9 grams of protein!)

And it is just adorable!!

The synthesis of the 3 layers in amazing!!!  The recipe makes 5 little cups....  You can make this in tiny ramekins or custard cups or even little plastic "Glad" containers....

Mini Peanut Butter Cups in a Jar

 Original recipe from Oh She Glows at http://www.ohsheglows.com

Ingredients (5 mini mason jars)

For the crust

heaping 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs (10 squares) 

1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

1 tbsp coconut oil 

2.5 tsp cocoa powder

For the filling

200 grams soft/silken organic tofu, roughly chopped (I used firm silken, as that is what I had)

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

1/2 cup  brown sugar

1 tbsp almond milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

 dash of salt

For the chocolate shell

2.5 tbsp dark chocolate chips

1.5 tsp coconut oil 

Instructions

1. Grab 5 mini (125ml) mason jars. In a food processor, process the crust ingredients until crumbs are a bit damp. Add 2 tablespoons of the crust into each jar. Spread out evenly and flatten with fingers. or use the little thingy from the food processor!!

2.  Wipe out the processor bowl. Now add the filling ingredients and process until silky smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.

3. Add approx. 3 tablespoons of filling into each jar and smooth. Place jars into freezer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes to firm up a bit. (HAHAHA- or don't)

4. Remove jars from freezer and melt the chocolate on the stove-top or microwave. Spoon 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate on top of the filling. Quickly, twist the jar around to coat all sides. Repeat for the rest. chill in the fridge or freezer to firm up the chocolate or just dig in as is!

Yeah, this really did make my day joyful!!

Until next time, be a joy giver, and a peanut butter cup in a mason jar giver! 

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers- one of the Tales of the Ridiculously happy MadArtTeacher

There are MANY reasons today that I am happy.....  But I have to say the sun does much to uplift my mood!  It was a lovely, albeit cold, day today. Spring is definitely going to be showing up- the days are getting longer, the snow is melting on the road in spite of it being cold - flipping cold- outside.  I am a child of the sun and today was awesome.  I was thrilled to be out in it for my 7 mile walk!  Now the poor condition of the sidewalks in PF was another story, but oh well.  I did not fall on all that ice, so all is well.

ANY WHO,
I was planning to cook today, as my food in the freezer from blogs gone by was pretty much depleted and I need some lunches for the week, and I was fortunate to talk to my wonderful friend Luann who recommended a stuffed pepper recipe on the back of the quinoa box!!  It was a lucky thing that I was wanting to cook as that was one of the best things I have made lately!

I have a few other food related items up my sleeve for the morning, as well as a batch of my awesome curried butternut squash soup, so expect another food post.

Quinoa is such a good thing to cook with- it is simple, it is tasty, and it is high in protein.  And it is really good in this application.  This recipe is a nice combination of fresh food and a few convenient canned things- maybe not perfect, but it was fast and easy to put together.

I like yellow and red peppers- green not so much.  But you can use green ones if you want!  :) Choose nice big ones and take the tops off.  Personally I think the colors here are just fantastic!!  And we all know we eat with our eyes first!

The quinoa is super simple to prepare- 2 parts water to one part quinoa, cover with a paper towel and cook in the microwave on high for 8 minutes.

The steaming of the peppers was an interesting dilemma.  I don't have a steamer, so I tried something I sort of remembered from somewhere- worked great.  I put the peppers in this Corelle dish with a bit of water in the bottom of it.  Then I cooked them for 3 - 4 minutes on high....

then I covered them with plastic wrap and left them in the microwave while I did the rest of the dish! Worked perfectly! Peppers were just soft, not soggy or mushy

Heat oil and saute onion and mushrooms, then sprinkle the cumin over the vegetables along with pepper if desired.  This will draw out the flavors and is NOT on the quinoa box.  Then add the garlic and let it heat until you smell the garlic.  Mmmmmm.

Add the salsa and the tomatoes- juice drained from the tomatoes for later- and let it cook down a bit.  

After the sauce is nice and concentrated, fold in the dish of quinoa- this is your stuffing

You will notice that it is not a pretty thing to try and stuff with quinoa and photograph it- but hey this is good food we are talking about!

Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes and then top with some cheese- the box calls for mozzarella, but I used cheddar/jack cheese, return to the oven for about 5 - 10 more minutes.  THIS was the result- and the taste was as good as it looks.  I used Spike seasoning after tasting it- I had not put in any hot pepper flakes and I think that would give it another layer of yum.  

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

**slightly edited from first post

adapted from back of Quinoa box

1 cup quinoa

4 large peppers (green, red or yellow)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½ cup onion, chopped

½ cup sliced mushrooms

½ tsp cumin

red pepper flakes or red pepper (optional)

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 can diced tomatoes, drained and juice reserved

1 jar salsa (favorite brand- any strength you prefer)

2 Tablespoons sherry (optional)

½ cup grated cheddar cheese (or mozzerella)

Spike or seasoned salt

Cook one cup quinoa according to package directions. I cook it in the microwave: 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. Cook 8 minutes on high, loosely covered. Let sit 10 – 15 minutes

Steam peppers until just softening

Meanwhile, saute onion and mushrooms in olive oil. When softened add cumin and red pepper and heat for a minute to release flavors. Then add garlic and heat for 30 seconds or until you can smell it.

Add tomatoes (keep reserved juice for now) and salsa and heat on low for 10 minutes. The mixture will get thick. Fold in cooked quinoa.

Put peppers in a baking dish. Fill with quinoa mixture- there will be about half left. Place the rest of the quinoa around the peppers. Pour reserved tomato juice into baking pan. Bake uncovered in a 325 oven for about 30 – 40 minutes. After almost done, top with cheese and return to oven for about 5 – 10 minutes.

I found that a little spike seasoning made this perfect!

** It occurs to me that a half cup of black beans in the mixture might rock!!!**

Each pepper is about 275 calories!!  Not bad!!  I will update with more nutritional information later- meanwhile, I hope you find some joy in this nice little vegetarian dish!  with a mexican sort of flair.  I think a Margarita would pair perfectly with this, don't you??  

Stuffed peppers with tempeh (no, he does not)

Until next time - be a joy giver!  :)

Another month almost done!

I feel terribly neglectful of my blog..... but this is what happens to me at this time of the year!

I have scenery painting after school, then I MUST go to the gym and then I have to catch up on my loseit logging for the day, look briefly at facebook, play a few WWF games and then collapse in bed and start all over again.  There isn't much time to do anything else.

I have been working with the kiddos on the Wizard of Oz scenery and it is progressing pretty well.  I seem to have fewer kids right now than usual, but they seem to be trickling in a few at a time.  I might have to start staying later and rearrange my workout schedule. :(  But it will be ok, as I WILL get in my time under and above barbells and dumbbells.  The color green is going to give me overload soon, but that is to be expected.  I am looking forward to the color green outside, tho!

I am THRILLED to say that I PRed on my bench press again last night!!!!  WOOO HOOOOOO!!!  140# baby!!!  There are good things to come in that regard!

It has totally motivated me towards a goal that I will share later.

Anyway, with everything else this has been a busy few weeks that is going to continue into March.
Which is already almost upon us- and we are half way through the 3rd quarter!  wowza

Anyway, I have to press on here this morning!  Have a good one people!  As always- be a joy giver and give those joy stealers something to complain about!!  ALWAYS smile at them- it'll drive them insane!  hehehehe- try it, it totally WORKS!  ;)