Gifts for a friend's baby shower

I went hog wild this time. I usually do. All of you ladies with kids have one up on those of us who don't. We only get to shop for baby stuff when YOU get pregnant! So I pretty much spent what probably amounts to the same as is in my 401k right now on BABY STUFF!

But that's not what I'm here to talk about at all. I am here to post pictures of my sweet gift wrapping macguyver job!

There were absolutely NO interesting or unique baby gift wrapping paper rolls to buy. I could have opted for a bag, and it is more sensible, but bleeeeeeeh.

So I dug around in the garage and presto! Here we have my newest creations and I fell in love with them. Now mind you, I am not a professional, so those of you who ARE talented, feel free to improve on my idea, but for crying out loud give credit for the idea where it's due.

Numero UNO: Paper tablecloth might be a Holly Hobby knock-off, but look at those bright oranges! sweeeeet. Not a stickler for detail, I didn't bother to use at least one layer of tissue paper so nobody could tell I was re-using a USPS priority mail box but whateeeeev.



Next is a bright couple of pages from a 1945 or so issue of Woman's Home Companion. I used pages that had momma/baby subject matter.

Vintage O'Keefe and Merritt all mine!

This beauty is the product of a marriage gone bad.


I have to say, I don't blame the woman for leaving him because he is clearly in the closet. But he isn't the type of gay I appreciate. He's stainless steel Bosch all the way. So he needed to get rid of this lovely and boy did I steal it!

I won't even say how much I paid because everyone will simply die of envy.

Suffice it to say that I need to get the clock, and I guess the enamel could use some work- but otherwise it was restored a few years ago and is ready for business.

Get out my way, I got some cookin' to do, as we used to say in Georgia

Mexican Pinwheels

This is a great summer treat!
Combine:
2 8oz packages cream cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp chives or the green part of spring onions
4 oz black olives, minced
4 oz green chili, minced
4 oz roasted red pepper, minced

mix it all up and slather it on a flour tortilla. Roll tightly. Cover with cellophane plastic and chill for 2 hours. Slice thinly and admire your handiwork!

Food for a lonely weekend

I am going to be pretty much alone all weekend long. When I know I won't see anyone, I tend to watch too many old movies and eat way too much! At Trader Joe's I found the perfect summer meal for me.

Wine- CS of course, three-layer hummus, pita chips and yogurt. This will be good for at least a couple of movies.

This is perfect because I am still without a stove. It isn't easy to find a stove around here for a decent price. If it's vintage. People really do think they are worth their weight in gold. But they present problems for desert usage. They emit heat constantly and when it is 100+ degrees outside, it tends to drain energy if one has and A/C central air unit. I have just a swamp cooler, which right now is a real pain in the butt. Today as I type, it is 108 degrees. It is expected to get up to 115 later on in the afternoon. A well-maintained swamp cooler lowers the temp by 30-40 degrees, maximum, and that's if the air is extremely dry. I have to admit that I don't do the greatest job taking care of mine, so it probably lowers the temp by more like 20 degrees.

Phoenix is SO hot this year! At TJ's the cashier said, "So what do you guys have planned today?" I replied that we were mostly concerned about keeping cool. She agreed but said, "It could be much worse." I repeated the morning news report I'd heard that indicated this July was the hottest on record. "Don't believe it," said the cashier. "Nope nope nope. No way is this the hottest summer. I've been through much worse, I'll tell you."

We had to laugh. Oh, nevermind what those experts say, I'm telling you this isn't the hottest summer and that's final!

Pink Ribbon Kitchen -- Comin' right up

Sigh. Yesterday I said goodbye to my pink dream. Rosie, I called her. She is a 1950s pink stove. Okay enough referring to inanimate objects as "she." General Electric range, creeeeamy pink. Dreeeeamy fluorescent light, right below the clock and buttons and such. Oh what a masterpiece. Why didn't I keep it?



Because. I don't have $3,000 to spend on a fridge to match. Getting a fridge to match it would have been a nightmare so I decided to donate Rosie to Habitat for Humanity. It is in their showroom right now. Please check it out! If you want a pink ribbon kitchen and something sweeeet to go with your pink kitchenaid, consider Rosie!

Currently I do not have a stove. I don't even have a microwave. I went to Trader Joe's yesterday because I realized that I hadn't any food either, and loaded up on all sorts of good stuff, so I thought. At checkout, the outgoing young man said, "Getting-ready-for-a-meeting food?"

"No." I said. "I have no stove food." His teeth, my teeth, lady behind me, all our teeth flashed. Nobody knew what to say.

"Thanks!" I said.

Ok. So. I have a cleeeeeean slate. I want to have a pinky kitchen but I am too poor for a pink fridge. Here are some options that are BETTER than the same old WilliamsSonoma crap. This stuff endures. Like ME. And YOU!

to be continued, as I have to work at 4 tomorrow!

Kitty and Minchie

Kitty is turning 18 this year. I don't know how old that is in cat years, but judging from her looks and her behavior, she is a crabby old girl. She never liked dogs, nor did she like any cats other than her little companion Cleo, who passed away a few years ago.

So when Kitty found that she was decidedly alone, she seemed more content. I decided that since she probably has few years left, I would hold off on getting a dog. Then Christmas rolled around and Herc did what a person should NEVER, EVER do: he gave me a pet!


Oh yes, little Minchie. She is a frisky little Bichon, whose capacity for excitement seems limitless. She likes to jump around like a kangaroo. She particularly likes to use human legs as springboards during one of her spastic episodes.


Kitty was openly disappointed at first, and still can't stand the sight of little Minchy. But if it had to be a dog, thank goodness it had to be this dog, who would never hurt a fly. Unless the fly happened to land on my leg just before a power-spring off.

Fun with secondhand bookcases

I procured these old bookcases for free, soon before the demolition of a downtown building. They were both originally over 7 ft tall, but Herc cut the top shelves off in order for them to fit through my doors. They were used to store huge binders for construction projects. They had greenish laminate shelves, and the rest is plain old cheap plywood. We did our best to cover up all of the noticeable cosmetic problems like dings and ill-placed screws, and I spent three days sanding, priming and gel-staining to match the stain of my floor. Herc was the hero of this project. It would not have been completed had it not been for him, because I didn't know the first thing about sawing and nailing. These bookcases spent three months' time providing rich habitat for several black widows and their broods before Herc got busy. Now half of my books have a nice place to sit.