Power Washing….Never Again

I had no intentions of doing a Met Monday.  I haven’t morphed anything.

Then I read the first few sentences of Susan of Between Naps on the Porch ‘s  Metamorphosis Monday post.  About power washing…We will never do it again.

Last summer we tried this product…

 

This is the trial spot where I just sprayed a little on to test it…Can you see the difference?

See how nice and clean the steps came out?

Our deck is cedar, and we had carefully power washed every year.  No matter how careful, the wood gets chewed up.

You get a garden sprayer which is about 20 bucks..

spray it on, leave for about 10 min.,  no scrubbing, then wash off with a garden hose.  Done!  So much faster than the power washer, and no noise!

We tried it first on the wood of the gazebo, and it came up like new! It was all blackish before..

Once the new outdoor shower was built, we did the whole deck and porch with it. It took the green off the wood spindles.

You do have to protect your plants…wet any of them that are close prior and wash off immediately.  I covered ours with a tarp..

These pics are from last year..too cold here to get the porch ready..

It is about 14 dollars in Lowe’s..Costco had it too, but was all sold out last time.

We used it on the wood railings, shutters, cement, cedar shakes and  moldy roof shingles. It did a great job on the vinyl arbor and planters too.

Check it out…( I wish they were paying me to say this, but they aren’t!)

Happy porch preparing..another month to go here!

Go check out the true metamorphs at Susan’s!

You Might As Well Face It..I’m Addicted to..

Mr. Cuisine’s   :) homemade Raisin Bread.. Nothing says lovin' like something from the oven.…esp if I didn’t have to make it..

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe

Photo by: Taste of Home

 

• 32 Servings
• Prep: 25 min. + rising Bake: 45 min.

Ingredients

• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 6 to 6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup raisins
• Additional canola oil
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1/2 cup sugar, oil, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place or until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Knead 1/2 cup raisins into each; roll each portion into a 15-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Brush with additional oil. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle to within 1/2 in. of edges.
• Tightly roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seam to seal. Place, seam side down, in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Brush with oil. Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 slice) equals 144 calories, 2 g fat (trace saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 226 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread published in Best of Country Breads , p85

 

 

Fresh picked local strawberries, injected with real whipped cream…

Homemade pizza..whole wheat crust so it is guilt free..:)

And corn picked while you wait!  Run home cook it and slather it with butter…a summer delight..

Laurie, and I so glad you picked My Favorite Things, because I don’t think I will ever run out of favorites!

Stop over and see the other entries this week..And if you see Laurie’s Stencils anywhere, give a yell!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Psst..I have a few things to show you!

It’s Friday, time to join  dear ML at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday..And my  old friend Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet for Flashback Friday..Thank you dear ladies!

First the plate..by Paula Dean..she makes plates too?  What a gal! :)

Cute!  Even cuter..the price..

Add a chicken and swiss pannini…

Some fresh cole slaw in a cute  little polka dot bowl from CTS..1.29

And I was a happy camper!

My Experiments..

Ok so the brown bananas were piling up in the container in the frig..

And I had 2 pans I got at WS outlet on sale before Easter I hadn’t tried…

You know I didn’t pay that they were half off and  then I had a coupon..

So I baked up those bananas using the same recipe I have used forever, and…

Cute little Banana Bread bites…and

Flower shaped banana cupcakes dipped in chocolate icing and my attempt to copy theirs, with whipped cream..

But wait, I had to make a triple recipe of banana bread to use up the bananas, so I used my Tiara pan, the one so many of us got free years ago from Duncan Hines….

I filled the middle with chocolate pudding, and piped on the whipped cream…

On a pretty lavender blue cake plate ..I got half price, 3.50 at CTS..

 

Have a slice?

I took the next shot INSIDE the frig…a chilly light box…LOL

Bargain Hunting with Laurie’s Favorite Things is Saturday she wants you to come..:)

Have a great weekend..thanks for visiting!

The Good Earth~Eat Your Vegetables!

It’s Earth Day..did you mail your cards?  :)

When I was still teaching, there would always be a tree planting, and some little ceremony…

Old habits die hard, elementary school teachers move through one holiday to the next..similar  to bloggers..

So for Earth Day…Eating On Top of the World…

I used this cloth map as a topper..(Walmart)

To help us find our way on this tablescaping journey, a bronze colored compass..( end of summer sale, CTS) I knew I’d find some way to use it!

 

First I tried a navy blue plate, but it was too dark..

So I switched to red…one of the colors in the map..

 

I used a black charger, the red plate (WS Outlet) a lime green salad plate…They were a gift from my sweet  friend Karen from the Holiday Forum on the Garden Web..

Yellow napkin inside black stems, (Pfaltzgraff outlet)

Yellow ramekins, Target..

Little blue glass flowerpot votives..Walmart

Blue and white flatware WS outlet..$3.97 for service for 4 last summer.

Some nice sea birds laid some blue egg salt and pepper shakers in the middle of the ocean for us..Pfaltzgraff outlet)

Eye popping for sure!  Conducive to a game of Geography while we eat. 

Like what countries could we eat for dinner?

What country’s capital is very hot?

Capital  of a foreign country that is the name of a grape?

Ok, dig out your maps and start looking..ans are food related..

Eat Your Vegetables..eat mine too as I am not a fan..:)

I used City Market by Pfaltzgraff ..You have seen them before..I got them for 2.00 a plate at the outlet a few years ago..

For the cloth, I decided to pull out the eggplant color…I got the fabric at Walmart last year..1.00 a yd. The  Walmart I go to still has fabric as there are no other fabric stores around.

Fresh broccoli in a carrot vase (CTS) is the centerpiece. I got it on one my trips there with The Tablescaper.

Green and white flatware same price and same source as in the first scape..

Same green salad plate from Karen..

Napkins with embroidered carrots from WSonoma outlet..2.00 each last year..

Little green cabbage  leaf bowls from my friend Susan, Savoring Time in the Kitchen.

I made cole slaw today, so I saved the shell to serve the potato salad .  The pedestal is from my friend Pam, via TJMAXX..

It is the one I used in the post about the chrysanthemum plate..

 

Thanks for visiting..eat your veggies, and Happy Earth Day…Be kind to her..she’s an old gal!

Please join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for many, many tablescapes!

Oh Say Does that Star Spangled Banner yet Wave…

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

  All of these pictures are of Peconic Bay, Southampton, NY

If you have not seen this on youtube, you may want to watch.

I found it very moving! Thank you to all of you  who have children, spouses or family members  serving.  I keep them in my prayers.

A special prayer for Major Chris Meyers, USMC who served in Iraq and is now in Afghanistan..His parents, wife and children eagerly await his safe return…

http://media.causes.com/576542?p_id=92681239

Click on the thumbnail  that says watch again..

I am joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday. 

Thanks so much for visiting!

I LOVE THIS PLATE

Last summer, I saw these big green plates in Pottery Barn…But they were too much..

I went back the next week, it was a few dollars less and I weakened..

I only bought 2..because they were big and heavy and I knew they would be very hard to conceal from the Dish Policeman..:)

Then I had “should have bought more remorse”.  I went back and now they were back to full price, although supposedly “on sale”??

I mentioned this to a sales lady at Pottery Barn Outlet, and she said, “Wait, they will go back down.”  Not!

And worse, they were all gone..So I will have to be happy with 2!

I put it on a pedestal, it worked..So it would be good on a buffet filled with cookies or finger sandwiches..

Don’t you love the texture?

And then I used it for to serve dinner…The Big Salad..

Spinach, chunks of chicken cutlets done in a little terriyaki sauce, red onion, feta cheese, toasted pecans..

I had cooked some extra rice last night so I made rice patties instead of rice balls.  Beat the eggs, salt, pepper, grated cheese, mozzarella, parsley, garlic and minced onions.  Mix in the cooked rice.  Make a patty and pat some seasoned bread crumbs on both sides.  Have a scant amount of oil good and hot in your pan.  Quickly brown on both sides…Remove and keep warm in the oven..don’t let them dry out..serve with some marinara on the side. 

I use Fat Free Raspberry dressing on mine.  The man who never gains a pound?  You don’t want to know!

I do love this plate..

It’s called Chrysanthemum..I splurged..8.00..it is huge.. :)

Thanks for stopping by!