As in my last post,
this one is also being written to the sounds and sights
of cooking shows so you all know what that means. LOL
My wonderful Chef son texted me his Thanksgiving menu earlier this week...
just reading it had my mouth watering! I cook fairly simple meals at home now,
because that is what Farmer Boy prefers,
but I confess to having a never-ending love for gourmet and international foods.
(In fact, I could go for some good tempura or yummy nikujaga right now.)
DS's menu sounds like something you'd find in an upscale restaurant --
"herb infused",
"pate au choux"...
I will share photos and the full menu in an upcoming post
(that is if I don't devour all the food before I get some photos. Ha ha!)
By the way, speaking of Thanksgiving--
do you know I have something in common with a certain Flying Nun?
Tis' true--
But will get to that in another post.
Maybe.
Remodeling update:
there's new sheetrock above our heads and on all the walls in the bedroom now
(except for the closet, that is, where we kept the old drywall).
My new "best" friend and tool!
Do you know why I LOVE him so much?
Hint: he helps me bear burdens I can't bear on my own!
I named him after our youngest son who has done his own share of remodeling
and would love to be here to help us if he could.
So -- do you know what 'burdens' this 'friend' helps me bear and why I love him so much?
Drywall installed (I have a whole new appreciation for screws).
Next step: taping.
You can't really see it,
and I didn't want to bore you with a lot of remodeling pictures,
but sheetrock panels are not the same thickness everywhere.
The tape is applied over the 'valley' and where two panels come together.
It has a self adhesive backing.
BTW, did you know you can't keep rolls of fiberglass mesh drywall joint tape forever?
I do now. Fortunately we had some that was ok and we had bought more recently.
Are you seeing spots?
Yep, and it's a good thing--a very good thing!
You see, all those lovely screws and taped areas have to be covered with lovely 'mud'
(AKA joint compound).
The trick to using this stuff, per Farmer Boy, is using multiple thin layers to
blend the sheetrock panels together. All this is necessary before you begin the texturing process.
If you want to learn more about the process,
there's some good DIY websites out there which will explain it a lot BETTER than I!
And now to some prettier stuff...
(although I was thinking, after all these years of looking at studs,
that the new sheetrock is BEAUTIFUL).
A through the window shot...
one day the birds were most entertaining!
I can hardly wait to visit a NWR and see some BIG birds.
Lots of kiwi still.
Hopefully my hubby will keep giving it away.
Ah! Those beautiful ever changing autumn leaves...
A little something (or should I say a little someone) special we saw while driving in the hills.
Somehow even the ordinary looks pretty special with a few raindrops on it.
Parrot's feather and floating leaves.
Water lily leaves and a resident bug:)
So last time we 'talked',
I was thinking of blessings and how this world would be SO much better if everyone would live daily being a blessing to each other.
This week, I've been thinking of gratitude and thankfulness...
lately I've been grateful for the little things of life ---
heat, indoor plumbing, a walk in the garden and the wonder of nature!
Sometimes, when times are hard and the news is depressing,
it's good to "Count Your Blessings" as the old hymn says.
I know I have a lot to be thankful for
(some of which are pictured above).
In closing, a few lovely gratitude quotes for you...
Thankfulness is the tune of angels.
(Edmund Spenser, reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert,
Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 290.)
A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.
(Cicero, Oratio Pro Cnæo Plancio, XXXIII)
Thanks are justly due for things got without purchase.
(Ovid, Amorum (16 BC), 1, 10, 43)
And the WORD for Wednesday
(since it's after midnight now)...
Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to the children of men.
Psalm 107:31 KJV
Blessings, Aimee
Links:
"Count Your Blessings"
Awesome lyrics!
Gratitude quotes can be found here:
(please refer to this site for terms of use, etc.)
Nikujaga: a Japanese meat and potato stew that I am crazy about.
I've only had it once, at a restaurant, but keep telling myself I have to make it---
or talk my oldest son into doing so:)
And now, time for a snack...
