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Yesterday...what's wrong with these pictures?
And then there is the view from upstairs at home and the drive into work today.
It's supposed to be 80 degrees on Saturday. Yup, as they say in Vermont, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute!"
I will try this again. Yesterday's post disappeared into the blogosphere!
I believe I've talked about the on-going downstairs bathroom project entering its 1 1/2 year of production. The window is in, the walls are torn out, the pantry has been installed in the old doorway from the kitchen, the new doorway is open, the shower and hardware have been purchased and the exhaust fan has been installed. Also, the framing for the shower is done. The plan has always been to finish it, then move on to the upstairs bathroom – gut it and put in a new shower with an exhaust fan.
Well, things have changed a bit. This is what I went home to on Friday –
So, since Friday we have had no bath/shower. Thanks to our wonderful friends, Martha and Roger, we have been going to their house in the evening for showers.
Things are moving along, and today Nick is extremely hopeful that we will have a working shower. There may still be a few things that will need finishing, but working shower is music to my ears! If this does not happen, I can assure you will be hearing about it tomorrow!
I think I've talked about Etsy before. It's a wonderful site made up of crafty people selling their wares. I've bought some things in the past, and have never been disappointed.
Here are some things that I've been looking at:
Sea glass necklace by Beach Glass Memories. She has hundreds of sea glass jewelry to choose from. This is only $25.
8.5x11 print by Painting Prints, and only $22.
My Cherry Tree is selling this vintage avocado phone for $25. This is in the vintage section. Not on my want list, but found it very amusing!
Cute gnome postcards by Isabelle's Umbrella. Pack of 6 for $4.00
So if you're going to have a rainy Saturday, or just want to spend an hour cruising through the site to see what crafters are doing, check it out. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
We had dinner guests last night and I decided to make Individual lemon meringue pies for dessert. These don't need a crust – just make them in a ramekin.
Filling
2/3 cup agave
1 cup almond or soymilk
6 large yolks (save egg whites for meringue below)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. vegan non-hydrogenated margarine
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup water
5 tablespoons cornstarch or arrow root
Meringue
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tbsp. agave
Steps:
In a sauce pan, combine agave, milk, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon
zest, margarine, and salt. Bring to boil and immediately reduce to simmer
while stirring with a whisk. Combine water and corn starch and mix until
all clumps are gone. Whisk in corn starch and water mixture to simmering
ingredients in sauce pan. Mixture will thicken within a minute or two.
Poor into pie plate or individual ramekins. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and
pinch of salt in bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add agave while beating. Cover the pie evenly with the meringue. Form
decorative peaks with a knife or fork. Bake pie at 325℉ for 14 to 16
minutes until meringue is set and golden brown. Alternatively place pie
under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until meringue is set and golden
brown. If you use the broiler alternative, watch the pie to ensure that
it does not burn.
I'm adding these to my favorite dessert list. They were easy and delicious. You would never know they weren't made with whole milk, butter or white sugar.
Nick came home with some wisteria seed pods.
He thought we might be able to plant them and watch beautiful wisteria vines blossom in the spring.
It was a wonderful thought, but then I looked up information on growing them from seeds. Seems it takes about 15 years before you'll get any blossoms, and sometimes it takes years before the seeds germinate and sprout.
So I guess if there are to any wisteria growing around here any time soon, we'll need to buy some plants. Still, I think I should just plant the seeds outside somewhere. I'm sure in 15 years I'll have forgotten and may be pleasantly surprised to find some wisteria one warm spring day.
The weather here in the Northeast has been unusually mild. Because of the warm weather there are plants emerging that should go back into hiding. This week's night temperatures will be in the high 20's, which means some frosty ground in the morning. I know that perennials are hearty, but wonder about some of them. Most of all, I'm hoping the rhubarb that is now pretty big (and too early to be so big) will be OK.
And why am I hoping that? Well, I'd love to make some rhubarb upside-down cake. My dad loved this cake. It comes from a Good Housekeeping cookbook I've had since 1970. It's falling apart, which just makes me realize how often I pull it out. I haven't figured out how to substitute the sugar with agave, but the flour can be subbed with spelt flour, the butter with vegan margarine and milk with soy or almond milk.
Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake
2 Tbs butter or margarine
½ C granulated sugar
¼ C brown sugar
2 C Rhubarb cut in ½-inch pieces
1/3 C butter or margarine
½ C granulated sugar
1 egg
½ Tsp. vanilla
1 C sifted flour
1 ½ Tsp baking powder
¼ Tsp salt
½ C milk
Melt 2 tbs. butter in 8x8 in pan. Stir in ½ cup sugar, brown sugar and rhubarb. Spread evenly over bottom of pan. In small mixing bowl, cream 1/3 cup butter and ½ cup sugar. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Sift together dry ingredients. Add alternately with milk to creamed mixture. Spread over rhubarb. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before inverting on serving plate. Serve warm with whipped topping.
Happy Spring and I hope you try this cake. It's delicious.
Our trip ended with two last stops. One (which I'm sad to say I didn't take any pictures) was to visit Nick's nieces and nephews in Old Bridge, NJ. We hadn't seen them for a while, and even though we were only there a few hours, it was a nice visit. I left with two bags full of strawberries from Dave.
The last stop was in Jersey City to visit Beth and Jim and our granddaughters Chloe and Phoebe, although we did go to Mendham, NJ for Easter at Jim's parent's house.
So, the last of the vacation pictures...
Hellebores in Beth's back yard.
Chloe and Pop Pop on Easter morning.
Phoebe driving her car on Easter morning.
Chloe searching for Easter Eggs.
Now I'm just trying to get back to normal day-to-day life, whatever that is!
Grand Prix racing for the day...hey, it was free.
One heckava big turtle on the go at Saw Grass Park near St. Pete
No time spent here, but I was determined to take a picture. Border of SC/NC.
We went back to Lancaster, and listened to some great music by some great guys.
And then we went to my sister's in South Jersey – sat on her deck while she talked to the turkeys! No kidding, she can imitate a turkey call and get the toms to gobble!
The final pictures tomorrow!
I think I forgot to say I was going on a road trip for 16 days...well, I'm home.
Vermont to Florida and back. Many stops to visit relatives.
We heard music at Central Market in Lancaster, PA.
Played with Tilly in Lancaster.
Walked the beach on Amelia Island, FL
Found a starfish.
Visited with Nick's daughter, Jessica.
Walked on St Pete beach, FL, with Nick's son Aaron.
And avoided too close a visit with this guy.
These are just a few pictures of our trip. More later!