August QuicKutz club project ... and a CSN giveaway!!!

It's Thursday. It's late Thursday, I know.. but you tell Regan he needs to let me type on the computer. You tell Regan that I can't rub and type. And you tell Regan that the whirring of the scanner is okay. Whew! Regan is the new almost house kitty. He's adorable. Well acclimated, but he is certainly taking up a bunch of time. And I love each minute of it.

Supply list:
5 Basic Grey designer papers as shown. You may or may not have the stripe - I do.
3 faux leaves - Prima flowers 'Autumn Leaves'
paper or cotton floss in off white and orange - scrappers floss orange and tan
Crewel or tapestry needle to fit floss (floss has to go through the eye)
Paper piercer and old mouse pad
adhesives and glue dots
Color Boss cat's eye inkpad Mango Tango and an almost dk brown.
basic scrapbooking supplies

Basil Paper jewel templates - mystical flourish
QuicKutz - Special Delivery Limited Edition Gift set

See you Saturday at 10!

Now for the giveaway: CSN contacted me to host this giveaway. Wow, I was excited. Me. I love CSN! A $40 gift certificate!!! You can find your new dutch oven, you can find some new dishes (I've got my eye on a few), scrapbooking and sewing supplies or the perfect accessory for your home, office or self.

So how do you enter to win that great $40 gift certificate?? It's pretty easy. And you can earn up to three entries!
1. Go to the CSN stores and come back and leave me a comment as to what item you would love to have. Notice that many items have free shipping! - one entry.
2. Become a follower (subscribe to posts) and let me know by leaving another comment - entry #2.
3. Link back to this blog post on your blog - leaving me another comment - entry #3.

If you don't have a blog, be sure to leave me your email address on your entries so that CSN can contact the winner with their gift certificate!

But in order to enter the giveaway - you must click here to go the original post!!! Posting here will NOT enter you in the giveaway - I've got my heart set on a fabulous set of dishes!! oh but it's not about me.. it's all about YOU!!!

A bit of nostalgia, an intimate pasta dinner and a CSN giveaway!

Today I was very nostalgic. I kept thinking of the many hours I'd spent at my grandmother's table with this tablecloth. I would say it's at least 50 years old. It has the aged faded look that I simply adore. All cotton, laundered hundreds of times. I'm just delighted that it is now in my caretaking.

I've set the table for just the two of us in the kitchen, so it's not a fancy get up this evening. Nothing feeds nostalgia more than food that warms the heart. For us, that's pasta. Primavera, con vogole, Lasagna, and of course Orlando's Green Chile Chicken Linguine. 

 A great sign for the kitchen... Purchased at an antique auction here in town. It's a shame that the auction is no more. It's not old, but don'tcha just love it?

I layered teak chargers, handmade pasta bowls, and Ironwood bowls. Lots of wood to blend in with the brown print in the tablecloth.

I love a heavy glass for our daily glasses. They just seem to last longer, especially since the house rule is that I cook and Mr. Two Left Hands does the dishes. I found these at - are you ready for this??? The Dollar Tree. Heavy, decorative and so far, no shards!

Thai brass flatware, a gift from my mother. 

The wood on the Ironwood bowls is very varied and has so much personality. You can just barely see the napkin peeking out between the pasta bowl and the Ironwood salad bowl. 

I love the folkart on this tablecloth. To think that this print has lasted as long as it has makes me appreciate it even more. My grandmother had no washer nor dryer so all her things went to the laundry each week. Wow! And they picked up and delivered. The bread board came from Big Lots and is a Paula Dean creation.

I hate to brag, but I must. See the chair in the background? Those are our new kitchen chairs. I went to a garage sale two weekends ago and saw 4 of the cane backed chairs and remembered seeing them at the antique auction years ago. The tags were still on them! I asked the price and now I realize I should have negotiated.. but at $5.00 a chair, I just couldn't. I snagged them up so fast it made my head spin!

See our floral arrangement? Sorry it's a bit dark, but twilight was upon us. It's parsley! In a cup! Paired with a wooden candlestick and a Poterie du Jabron olive dish. Made in Provence, the dish is segmented to serve wonderful Mediterranean olives. The smaller indention is used to store the pits.

Mr. Two Left Hands did good didn't he?? He found this wooden candleholder at World Market!

The antique highchair is in the background. The ivy loves the northern exposure in this window.

I think of all my dishes, these are my favorites. They are the perfect golden hue, too bad the camera didn't capture that. They are hand made. Made by my sister-in -law Becky. She 'threw' the bowls herself, fired them in a kiln, glazed them and then sent them my way.

I love that she signed them. It's incredibly personal to have something made especially for you by someone who means the world. I warned you it was all about nostalgia this evening.

Can you see the ridges on the side of the bowls? Those indentations were made lovingly by her fingers.

A homespun type of napkin folded twice and draped over the pasta bowl.

Glad you could join us this evening. Hope to see you again soon. It's always a pleasure!

And now for the giveaway!!! I am privileged to be able to offer you a chance to win a $40.00 gift certificate to be used at any of CSN's online stores!  Click HERE to enter up to three times. Drawing is August 26, 2010.

As usual, I will be linking this tablescape to Susan's wonderful Tablescape Thursday. Just click the link in the picture below to transport yourself into some amazing creativity!

A fabulous CSN giveaway and food IS the way to a man's heart.

Where to start? The great giveaway or insight as to one more reason my husband proposed? What do they have in common? A dutch oven! Didn't someone say that food was the direct road to a man's heart?

photo courtesy of CSN stores

Thirty six years ago, I did not have a great Le Creuset dutch oven. If I had had one then, cooking would have been easier for sure. Regardless, I made rouladen for my husband. Recipe below. But first, let's get on to the super giveaway! CSN contacted me to host this giveaway. Wow, I was excited. Me. I love CSN! A $40 gift certificate!!! You can find your new dutch oven, you can find some new dishes (I've got my eye on a few), scrapbooking and sewing supplies or the perfect accessory for your home, office or self.

So how do you enter to win that great $40 gift certificate?? It's pretty easy. And you can earn up to three entries!
1. Go to the CSN stores and come back and leave me a comment as to what item you would love to have. Notice that many items have free shipping! - one entry.
2. Become a follower (subscribe to posts) and let me know by leaving another comment - entry #2.
3. Link back to this blog post on your blog - leaving me another comment - entry #3.

If you don't have a blog, be sure to leave me your email address on your entries so that CSN can contact the winner with their gift certificate!

That's 3 entries! I'll be drawing for a winner next Wednesday the 26th of August. Good Luck.

Rouladen
Beef Scallopini - at least one per person (your butcher will be able to help you)
Horseradish Mustard
Bacon slices (about 2 per Roulade)
Tabasco sauce
Olive oil
Water
1 medium chopped onion
Four roux
1 Bay leaf
String/twine that can be used in cooking (cotton, no dyes)

Lay beef scallopini flat on waxed paper. Spread each slice with a medium coat of horseradish mustard. On the wider end, add a drop or two of Tabasco sauce. Cover each slice with bacon. Beginning at the wide end, roll each scallopini into a log. Secure with string, wrapping from end to end and then several times around the log itself. No need to tie a knot, when the rouladen is browned, the string will secure itself.

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven. Brown all rouladen quickly on all sides, turning frequently. Add onions and bay leaf. Saute until golden. Add water to almost cover the rouladen. Braise for approximately 90 minutes. Remove rouladen from liquid and place on a heated plate to keep warm.

Make roux from equal parts buter and flour. Brown (be careful not to burn the flour). Add to liquid in pot, thickening to desired consistency. Remove the string/twine from the rouladen starting in the reverse order in which you wrapped the string.

Serve with spaetzle, boiled parslied potatoes or buttered noodles.

Good luck on your entries, enjoy a very typical German dish!! Three entries and until the 26th of August!

Paraskevidekatriaphobia... you know it's that day!!!

Everything below was found on right here.

Top Ten Friday 13th Trivia

1. 90% of US skyscrapers do away with floor number 13, according to reports by the Otis Elevator Company, the world's largest elevator manufacturers.
2. In 1881, a group of 13 people came together to form The Thirteen Club. Their main objective was to dissipate some of the ominous associations of number 13. The number of members eventually rose to 400 which included 5 US presidents namely, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Chester Arthur. It is therefore that Theodore Roosevelt placed the cornerstone for a new county courthouse in New York on Friday, 13th July in the year 1900.
3. It was a Friday on 16th of September, 1814 when Francis Scott Key finished composing the poem 'Defence of Fort McHenry', from which came the lyrics of the national anthem of the United States of America, "The Star-Spangled Banner".
4. The report issued by the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics on June 12, 2008, states "fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday than on other Fridays, because people are preventatively more careful or just stay home." This in turn was reflected in the reports received by Dutch insurance companies, in the last three years, which showed that on normal Fridays, the number of traffic accidents touched a figure of approximately 7,800 but it decreased to 7,500 on a Friday, the 13th in The Netherlands.
5. On Friday, 13th November, 2009, NASA scientist Anthony Colaprete, confirmed the discovery of 25 gallons of water in the southern polar region of the moon.
6. Lizzie Borden, the prime accused in the infamous Hatchet Murder Case of 1892, uttered a total of 13 words during her trial and got acquitted.
7. For Muslims, Fridays are extremely auspicious days referred to, we have been told, as "Jumma Vaar".
8. The 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, never travelled on a 13th and refused to have a meal with 13 people at the table.
9. The deadliest associations with number 13 are the facts that there are 13 stairs leading to the gallows; the blade in a guillotine fell from a height of 13 feet; and a hangman has 13 knots in a hangman's noose.
10. Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx, the celebrated American actor produced exactly 13 feature films with his brothers, entertaining us all for many years.

Friday 13th Trivia
Thirteen at a table is unlucky only when the hostess has only
twelve chops. - Groucho Marx

Paraskevidekatriaphobia - Fear of Friday 13th

Most cultures have superstitions centred on the number thirteen.  Let us start with a Greek word, which will impress your friends: Paraskevidekatriaphobia, meaning an irrational, even morbid, fear of Friday the 13th.  Incidentally, you can trace the synonym friggatriskaidekaphobia to Frigga the goddess of Friday.
The word Paraskevidekatriaphobia was coined by therapist Dr Donald Dossey, in fact he claims whimsically that if you can pronounce the word then you are cured of the dreaded Friday 13th affliction.
One famous study by Scanlon TJ, Luben RN, Scanlon FL, Singleton N. found that there were more car accidents on Friday February 13th than there were on Friday February 6th despite the fact that fewer people drove on February 13th.  Guy is cynical, if you do enough studies you will find one that proves your point, their figures are 65 for Fri 13th, 45 for Fri 6th - not a big sample.

Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of the Number 13

The Greeks also have word for fears associated with number 13 Triskaidekaphobia [triss-ka-deck-ah-phobia].  Interestingly, the Greeks traditional rivals the Turks have virtually removed 13 from their vocabulary.
I have a challenge for you.  The next time visit one of those tall office blocks, see if they have a 13th Floor.  In fact anytime you hail a lift, see if it has a button for the 13th Floor.

For what they are...

Welcome to things I like just for what they are...
Sorry these are older pictures, but the new power cord for the laptop is on it's way. Now I'm praying that will fix what ails Ms. Toshiba Darling...

Tomato red geraniums

Talavera Pottery - handcrafted, heavy and not perfect.

Santa Fe, NM

Beautiful sunsets

candles, lace and antiques

Halloween - and it's just around the corner!

And best of all - everyone of you who comes by faithfully to read what I have to say or show.. Thank you, you make my day!

There is no new post because....

 There isn't a new post and won't be until I get some "power" because....

Saturday and Sunday - trip to Dallas to find curtains, which are still eluding us.. Guess that means I will have to sew.
Monday - work
Monday evening:

• Regan pooped in the house
• Husband dropped cell phone in water - not working still
• Dropped mine and got the dreaded boot loader error (similar to a computer blue screen of death)
• Took 30 minutes to get phone working again - Husband, I now need an IPhone
• Not to mention names, but the "best" electronic store informed me that Toshiba does not warranty power cords and a new one is 100 bucks.
• The new electronic store had one for 70 but wasn't sure which one i needed.
• The first non resident Toshiba tech support person lied to me.
• The second one said the problem was that Toshiba says my laptop is out of warranty but I have a receipt that says it's not. But he guaranteed me that they would replace the power supply if  I can get the warranty stuff straightened out. Wanna take bets on this one?

Tomorrow: call the warranty dept and straighten this mess out.
buy a new cell phone

Breathe.......

 

 

Happy Saturday... what's on your plate?

I think I'd rather be in this photo than tackling my to do list today....  and why do is it that I put so much onto the list that it seems ominous? Anyone else do that? Picture from Cancun.

To do:
Run an errand
Teach a make up class
find an empty box or tub
put all the stuff that I took out of the hutch that was in the guest room away...
mark that which is going into the garage sale (can't wait till another DML garage sale - it's got to go!)
go to the grocery store
fix dinner
buy some stuff to keep Regan out of the plants and actually use it
run to the post office
I think I'll take a nap instead.. Happy Saturday!