Potato cakes

What do you do with that little dab of leftover mashed potatoes?  You make potato cakes.  Here's what you need:
1C mashed potatoes
1 egg
1/4C each Parmesan and cheddar cheese
Panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything together except the bread crumbs, form into patties then dip them in the bread crumbs on each side.  Fry in a small amount of olive oil until brown and crispy.
YUM!!!
I served this with baked chicken and green beans but they would be great with just about anything.

handy little helpers

AH has a garage full of tools.  Each has a purpose and it is very important to have the right tool for each job.  The Best tool I've found for staining and sealing cabinets are these little blocks of 2X4 with dry wall screws in them.  I use them to lay each door on as I'm staining.  You can do both sides at the same time.  After you're done you can use them to stand the doors vertically propped against other cabinets or tables.  If the doors are set to dry vertically they won't catch as much dust that will then reduce the amount of sanding you need to do.  Not bad for a few chunks of wood.  Even the little things can be a very big help.

 My brother, sister and I plus spouses gave my parents a new ceiling fan for Christmas.  The original was white, too small for the room and poorly wired. It was AH's job to hang the new one.  Problem #1 was the almost 15' ceilings.  Problem #2 no ladder tall enough.  Off to Menards Andy goes to rent a ladder, $12 for half a day, buy a longer dark stem and a remote.  A couple of hours later it was up and running.  It sure is nice to have such a handy husband.  The parents love the fan.  The change in size and color made a huge difference in their room.
Removing a fan or installing a new one is a pretty easy task for the home DIYer.  You need basic tools, a little bit of wiring knowledge and a tall enough ladder.  Most important tip, be sure to turn off the power to that room before starting or you might get zapped.

reruns

That's what we call left overs.  Already made meals reimagined into something else.  This was left over pulled pork.  Pork, toasted corn tortillas, grated cheese and a chopped salad of leftover vegetables.  Fast, free and easy.  Your family may be more receptive to reruns if you change them up a little.

kitchen update

The hard work of staining and finishing the new cabinets has begun.  Of course we are in the middle of a severe cold snap which means we can't do this project on the porch as we had planned and the stove and furnace are running non-stop to keep us warm.  If you've never done a project like this before what that means is lots more dust floating right down on your project.  plenty of steel wool and elbow grease will take care of the dust.  Right now the newly finished cabinets are in the living room and bed room.  We just left little trails to walk through.  Two full weeks and about 75 hours and the cabinets are all stained, antiqued  and sealed.  I may do a coat of rub on polyurethane. After every thing is in place, I'm sure there will be places that will need a little touch up.

emergency

I know this is a little late for Christmas this year but keep it in mind for next year or use the idea when you need a quick centerpiece.  Our new skinny tree needed a topper. The angel was tired and the the one I bought on clearance was too heavy and flopped over.  A big bunch of faux berries, sticks and a ribbon made the perfect topper for the tree.  I had every thing on hand and it took less than 5 minutes to make.  You could do the same thing and pop in to a vase.

funky coasters

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it would make a good project to do with my grand kids.  Simple 4" ceramic tiles for the base, Sharpies, rubbing alcohol, gloss spray sealer and felt pads for the bottoms are all you need.
Wipe off the coasters with a damp rag.
draw, scribble and cover most of the tile with 2-3 colors.  We found that more solid patches of color worked better than tiny dots or lines, but do what works best for you, you can't mess this up.
Pour a small amount of the alcohol in  a bowl then using an eye dropper or a teaspoon drip the alcohol over the tile in puddles.
Walk away and let this dry then do it again and again until you are satisfied.
Don't mess with it too much or you'll end up with a muddled mess, I know from experience.  You can however blot extra liquid with a paper towel and keep dripping. On the first one I messed with it too much so I wiped the tile with more alcohol to clean and started over. When they are perfect, to you, let every thing dry well then spray with sealer and add 4 felt pads to the bottom of each coaster.
Such a cute gift for parents, grand parents, teachers etc.

good by old kitchen

These are picture of my kitchen cabinets as they are today.  We're getting all new cabinets and a new look for our kitchen.  We made these from kits in 1976 when I was huge pregnant with my twins.  The doors are warped and don's stay shut, the paint is peeling, never looks clean and they just don't function well any more.  We are planning dark cabinets, the same maple floor and concrete counters.  The cabinets will bWe have already made 4 trips to the big box store in getting them and  for supplies.  This will be a several week, hopefully not months project and I'll keep you up dated.

nifty tool

Some times the simplest things can be the biggest help when doing a project.  These wood scrap blocks with dry wall screws in them fit the bill.  When you are staining doors to cabinets you want to lift them off your work surface so they don't stick.  A couple of these handy blocks under the door makes the job much easier.  When you have 15 cabinets and 20+ doors anything that makes the job easier is good with me.   I made 12-15 before I started and I'm sure glad I did.

family fun

For those who have been asking where our annual Christmas picture is your wait is over.  With all the projects,travel and parties I'm just getting around to putting this out.  I do have a wonderful and beautiful family.  In case you are wondering the boy on the left is Eric, our honorary grand kid this year, Ronnie and Sara's foreign exchange student from Germany.

Ronnie's family

Nathan's family

Rich's family

The old people that started it all.

trunk redo

This trunk has a long a checkered past in our family.  First it was my Moms, I think she bought it at a thrift shop.  When they moved they gave it to me and I passed it on to my son.  It languished in his garage holding junk for several years.  My aunt was looking for a trunk so he gave it back to me to give to her.  Aunt changed her mind, deciding it was too much work, so it sat in my sun room and kitchen for a few months until I began to tackle it.  The first job was sanding it down, the paint was rough and cracked.  Two coats of chalk paint on the body and a stained wood top made it much prettier.  I used Rub and Buff in a pewter for the hardware.  I then lined the inside with old pattern pieces using Mod Podge.  A light antiquing stain came next.  The top shows off a laurel leaf transfer print to add a little interest.  To make the transfer I found a wreath I liked on the internet, enlarged it then printed it on wax paper I spray glued onto card stock.  This is a big wreath so it took 4 sheets of 81/2X11 sheets to hold it.  After the paper is printed you carefully remove the card stock and tape the wax paper pieces together.  Very gently you place the transfer upside down on your piece where you want it, tape it securely and rub with a credit card or back of a spoon to transfer the ink.  If you smear it you have to sand it down and redo the whole thing over.  That's the reason for all the taping and I know because I messed up the first one.  It did help to make pencil marks where the corners of the pages going to help align them correctly.  If my transfer had contained words I would have printed it in reverse.  A coat of wax and the new trunk was ready for resale at $165.

before

bad finish

laurel leaf transfer, i wanted an old faded look

old patterns line the inside

finished 

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table redo

This little enamel top kitchen table was a curb side find.  It sat on my patio all last summer next to my swing.  The paint was peeling and the top was covered in what I thought was old contact paper.  I brought it inside, cleaned, sanded and tightened the base.  Since I thought the top was contact paper over enamel I tried the heat gun but that was going to damage the enamel.  After some searching I found a simple and safe solution.  Water, yep plain old hot water.  I laid thick bath towels on the top and poured hot water on until the towels were sopping wet.  I left it on for 3-4 hours and took a peek.  The paint came right off with a dull scraper and some steel wool.  I always try to look for the most natural way to do projects so not having to use caustic strippers made me very happy.  Sorry no after pics.  I took it to the consignment shop where my free find is now marked $150.