It's pretty bad, right?  This bench used to be on my mother's patio...about 20 years ago!  We inherited it when we moved to Urbana, IL and she was downsizing.  It sat on our covered front porch for about 3 years.  Then we moved to Northern, IL and it's been in our backyard through the beating sun, snowstorms and rain.  It's a little worse for wear, I know.  I've been thinking about fixing it for years (procrastination is kind of a problem for me!)

Well, no more.  I finally spent about 4 hours and this old, beaten up bench that looked like it needed to go to the dump now looks like this

All it took was a little sanding, some new screws to tighten it up, and some leftover trim paint for the house.  I think she looks gorgeous now!  Once she's dried I'll add a few pillows and a blanket.  I plan to enjoy a glass of wine and my book on that spot this evening. 

I spent about 4 years procrastinating this little project that really didn't even take a full 4 hours to complete.  That's crazy, and it's inspired me to get busy on some other painting projects.  Coming soon, repainted antique apple boxes from my grandfather's grocery store, and an updated marble top table that really needs something!

I've been trying to get things done around the house.  First on my list was switching out our family room furniture (from the basement) to our living room (main floor).  I don't know why I didn't think of this before! Our family room downstairs is very large, but I had our smaller, sleeker furniture placed there.  Our living room, as you can see above, is quite small, but I had an overstuffed chair, rolled arm sofa and wing back recliner stuffed in the room!

The furniture switch has worked well.  We use the living room more in the winter (enjoying the fireplace) and the family room more in the summer (it's in the basement, so it's the coolest place in the house).  The family room has the overstuffed chair, wing back recliner, sofa, day bed and another chair, as well as the flat screen tv and the wii so we can watch movies and netflix.  We've been enjoying it on Friday evenings as we all just get comfy and relax!

Switching the furniture cost us $0, but it's really made the house feel new and fresh.

A quick before and after of an old craigslist table and chair set.  I knew that I wanted to have it redone, but finally realized that it would never happen if I did it myself.  Luckily, we have a wonderful woman in town who does great furniture refinishing:  Refabulous!  This is what she did.

Duty and Hopelessness

I just finished reading Kent Haruf's "The Tie that Binds". I've read his other novels and loved them. He writes of simple, everyday people who make the kinds of decisions we all have to make. Decisions that look all wrong on the outside, but that bring about hope. He writes about old men, young women, children, fathers, wives who live far away in the flat lands of Colorado.

"The tie that binds" is the kind of book that I usually don't like. It has very little conversation, with page after page of description. It moves slowly. Very slowly. But the emotion that his writing calls forth from me is overwhelming. This book is, at the very base, about a mean old man who is a father to a beautiful daughter and a simple son. It is also about duty, and the consequences and love and honor and dignity of living a life of duty. In the end, it is about hopelessness. And somehow, it is also about love.

I should have seen it coming

But I didn't.

Another Meatless Monday

Meal times at our home went much more smoothly since I took the time on Sunday to plan out the menus for the week. I did notice, however, that I only made menus for the weekdays, not the weekend. And we ended up totally blowing it on the weekend. So, this week I've got to plan the meals for the weekend also!

My meatless Monday recipe is again from Moosewood. It's a simple tamale pie. I'm going to shorten up the recipe a bit...

heat up a couple T of olive oil. Add 1 C chopped onion and 2T of diced garlic. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Add 1Tground cumin, 2t ground coriander and 1t dried oregano. Add enough water to keep it from sticking. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1C diced carrots and 1C diced green (or any color) pepper and 1 C diced zuchini. (you can also add a small green chile). Cover and cook 4 minutes. Stir in 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes and 1 15 ounce can of drained black beans. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; salt and pepper to taste. (I didn't use any)

Next, mix up the cornbread topping. Mix 3/4 C cornmeal, 1T white flour, 1/2 t salt, 1t baking powder and 1/4 t baking soda.

In another bowl, beat 2 egg whites, add 1/2 cup buttermilk (I didn't have any so I add 1/2T white vinegar to 1/2 C milk and let it set for 5 minutes. Buttermilk!) and 2t canola oil. Mix.

Fold wet ingredients into dry, stirring just until mixed.

Pour vegetable mixture into a lightly oiled 2 qt casserole pan. Add a bit of shredded cheddar if you like. Pour the cornbread mixture over the top.

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes.

Everyone liked it! I would double the cornbread if I made it again. I liked the mix of veggies in this, but I think fresh corn would have been good.

Try it and tell me what you think.

Meatless Monday

I have a really great work schedule. I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, plus Sundays. On Tuesday and Thursday, I work while the kids are at school. I work late on Wednesday, but I think the whole family benefits from the Dad taking over once a week!

I am using Sundays and Mondays to get ready for the week. Between the kids activities (Speech, track, band, basketball, piano, Mad Science, and Brownies) it can sometimes be tempting to just grad Subway for dinner. But, my new method is to plan our meals and do the shopping on Sunday afternoon. Then, on Monday I can do any prepping for the week. For the week ahead, here's the plan: Sunday-porkchops, corn casserole, pears and salad. Monday: Black Bean Chilaquile, fruit and salad. Tuesday: Spaghetti pie, french bread, fruit and salad. Wednesday: Chilli. Thursday: Tilapia, fried rice, roasted veggies and salad. Friday: no school!

An added benefit of this planning is that I am able to prepare meals that fit with our goals. We eat organic and local as much as possible, and we consider our selves to be flexitarians (vegetarian meals, but not strictly vegetarian. Small meat portions when we eat meat. fish and poultry). I've decided that we will go with Meatless Monday each week. To kick it off, Black Bean Chilaquile (a Moosewood recipe)

1 cup chopped onion
1 T olive oil
1C chopped tomatoes
1.5 C frozen corn kernals
1.5 cups black beans (15 oz drained)
2T fresh lime juice
1t salt
.5t ground black pepper
2 cups rinsed, stemmed and chipped Swiss Chard or Spinach (we're using spinach)
2 C crushed baked tortilla chips
8 oz grated fat free sharp Cheddar (we're using regular, not fat free)
2 c salsa

preheat oven to 350 Saute onions until translucent, stir in the tomatoes, corn, black beans, lime juice, salt and pepper and continue to saute for about 5-10 minutes. blanch the green until just wilted but still bright green. Drain and set aside. prepare an 8 x8 casserole dish with a very light coating of oil. spread 1/2 the chips on the bottom. spoon the sauted veggies over the chips and sprinkle on 2/3 of the cheese. arrange the greens evenly over the cheese and spoon on 1/2 the salsa. Finish with the rest of the chips, top with the remaining salsa and cheese. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.

This was great. The daughter called out, "It's delicious." I thought so too. I forgot to add the salt and pepper, but it really didn't need it. I think this would be even better in the summer when fresh tomatoes and corn are available. Give it a try and let me know what you think!