Ruby Sipes

Shane and I got some baking done yesterday and here are some of the results. Rum Balls These are really easy to make and here is the recipe. They are very tasty. Buffalo Chip Cookies and The Cranberry White Chocolate Orange Option. This is my cookie cheat one recipe many options. 1/2c Butter 1/2c Shortening 1c Brown Sugar 1c White Sugar 2 Large Eggs 2c All Purpose Flour 1t Baking Soda 1t Baking Powder  1t Vanilla 1t Salt 1t Cinnamon or (zest of an orange) 1c Old Fashion Oats 1c Corn Flake Cereal 1c Chocolate Chips or (white chocolate chips) 1/2c Flaked Coconut 1/2c Chopped Walnuts or (dried cranberries) (these items you swap for the orange white chocolate cranberry cookies) There should be about 32 cookies. Bake at 350 degrees 13-15 min. English Toffee This was really easy. Here is the link for the recipe. Love this site. Bavarian Style Pretzels This was the first attempt and I think I will try a d

  I finally got around to painting the front door.    The pumpkin seeds were delicious. 

So realistically this is not our first Thanksgiving together. It is number 17 or 18 it has been so long I don't remember if we spent Thanksgiving together the first year. This is however our first Thanksgiving where we are preparing the food. I am not going to pretend to recreate the lovely food our families have prepared over the years but we will create our own versions of traditional favorites. Probably with a lot of help from the web. I think the real magic is picking the right combinations so the food is ready at the same time. Getting things done in advanced so there is time to relax too. I think there will be only 4 of us. Here is my initial thoughts on the food. I am sure things will change but I like to plan. Pre-meal snackage: The foods hanging out while preparing for the main gorge. *Spinach Artichoke Dip *Olive Tapenade *Hummus *Cheese Selection *Veggies and bread for Dipping The Dinner: *Turkey *Stuffing/Dressing *Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

Meet Astrid. She is a German Shepard/Corgie mix and totally loveable. We had a great day at the beach. Oliver and Astrid got their run on.

Some of the tomatoes I picked today... So yesterday I made salsa. And it is delicious. 3 cups tomatoes 1/4 cup diced red onion 5 garlic cloves chopped 1 jalapeno pepper juice of 1 lime salt

I really do like these graphics. I like the idea that when I am bored with them they are removable.

So after three months of patiently waiting for the tomatoes to turn red the have... all of them. I think we are going to have a very tomato full couple of weeks. This is what I picked this morning. None of them are very large but there are plenty. I think I will take the sweet 100's to work. Roma, Beefsteak, and Black Krim Sweet 100's (too sweet for me), Chocolate Cherry these are delicious. We will be growing them again next year. Breakfast... Yum Everything Bagel with Better Than Cream Cheese, sliced tomatoes and salt and pepper

So because of everything going on this year we kept the garden to a minimum. We did get a few different types of tomatoes. As well as some zucchini, dill, cilantro, leeks, and cucumbers. The tomatoes have exploded hundreds of green tomatoes cover the plants here are our first red ones. Black Krim, Beefsteak, Roma, Sweet 100 Mega Zucchini... mmm zucchini bread.

So we really have continued to work. Thanks to a lovely donation from my Mom and Gary we have made real progress on the fence in the backyard. When I say we I really mean Shane he has spent a lot of time on it. We are 2/3's done at this point. Oliver is working hard... The finished product. The fence makes the yard looks bad.

No tomatoes yet but there are plenty of blossoms...

Just so everyone can see the tragedy that is our fence. We are working on getting it finished. My Mom and her husband Gary are coming and helping. Shane is digging the post holes before they get here. One Post is in and another hole has been dug. Shane hard at work each hole is supposed to be 3ft deep.... sooo keep digging Shane. "Why exactly are we still outside?"

We finally had our first real vacation away from the house since May 2010. We went to Lake Quinault for a few days. It was great not needing to think about things...

Well the effort in the home has slowed down. Six months of heavy work has brought a sluggishness to our mindset. I know typically I wouldn't do a theme but it is fun and the entire room is 5ft x 8ft... In case you can't find your way out...

Now that the house is a little more under control I can return to doing some of the things I enjoy and cooking is one of my favorite things. This is a recipe that my Friend Yesim gave me and I made some alterations. This is a tasty little treat even vegans can enjoy. 1 cup red lentils 1/2 cup bulgar 2 cups water 1 lemon 1 medium onion 1/2 bunch green onion 1/3 Italian parsley 1-2 cloves garlic 1 tbs tomato paste or mixture of tomato paste and red pepper paste 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cumin Boil water and lentils together until the water is almost gone. Take off the heat. Add the bulgar and stir. Cover and let it rest. Heat oil and medium onion until onion is soft. Add garlic, salt, cumin, and tomato paste stir and heat for about 2 min. Combine onion mixture with lentil mix let cool (make it cool enough to touch). Add green onion, parsley, and half the lemon. Stir if mixture seems wet let it rest a little longer it firms up. Make palm sized footballs. I make them in my hand, you can also use sp

So after spending most of the winter using the backyard as a dumping ground, we have started the clean up process. We still need to get new fencing but we got the grass trimmed and moved the planters that were here where the sun will actually shine. Shane planted his blueberries and I planted our tomatoes. Soon we will have a couple more planters and a fruit tree. MMM... Tomatoes...

So now that the house is basically done. I am not sure if a home is ever really complete but for now no major projects inside. I decided to start on the front yard. It is lacking in curb appeal... So I used the broken pieces of concrete chimney/vent to create a tiered flower bed. I guess I am going for an English garden feel. Sticking to purples, whites, reds, and some pinks, for color. I did get a couple of ferns. I also planted Shane's silly fern he rescued from the gutter from our last rental. Pretty...

What we started with.... Drum roll please... Ta da The trim still needs to be painted as well the porch. Oh and the door. The cherry tree is beautiful.

After 5 months we are finally sleeping in our room. There are still a couple of things we need to finish. The crown molding, and the ceiling light are the last things in the room. We need to finish the crown molding in the living room and hall. Then our closet is the next project. It is small. The lighting changed the wall color in this shot. The view from my side of the bed. The actual wall color. Our only themed room... The London Bathroom The large clock is definitely a statement in this tiny bathroom and I love it! Tube map shower curtain and wainscoting. No more towel folding just hang it.