posted by Cass on Jul 20
I appreciate the guest post, Marian Combs
Nothing compares to the day trip for relaxing and having fun. Next to the yearly vacation, the day trip is a series of mini-vacations taken during the summer months. The day trip does not drain your wallet and can be a very simple drive and activity.
Living in Colorado and growing up in California enabled me to take numerous trips with my parents to natural wonders and exciting parks. In Colorado, my family enjoys these same things and we take advantage of the good weather to cram as much fun as we can into the summer months.
One of our favorite is the family picnic. We love the outdoors and Colorado offers an abundance of excellent picnic destinations not very far from where we live. Going up in the mountains and laying out blankets, smelling the food cooking in the barbecue, and eating a great meal is really living for my family.
Before we start on our picnic there are some things we must do before heading out. We pack the car with: food and drinks, a portable stove in case there is not one at the picnic grounds, bug spray, sunscreen, extra clothes for changing weather conditions, first-aid kit, and cell phone. The last thing we do is to set the home alarm system that we got from www.allhomesecurity.com before leaving the house.
A picnic is a great way to spend time with the family, have a great meal, and enjoy the outdoors.
posted by Cass on Jul 7
Posting compliments of Susan Walsch
Learning about food on cable tv is one of my greatest passions. Getting recipes from a book is great, but they do not compare to the recipes that are shared on TV. Television shows based on food give viewers a chance to visually witness the total preparation of a meal. A book does not afford the same opportunity. Yes, it is easy to read a book and look at pictures. Unfortunately, a book does not go into fine detail when it comes to each step that is required for each recipe.
I have been able to expand my horizons when it comes to preparing a top notch dinner for myself or my family. It is incredible how one can sit down throughout the day and learn about various styles of cooking. I have also learned how to mix different styles of cooking in order to come up with an authentic dish that will taste delicious. New techniques and recipes are always being shared with each episode. I also get a golden opportunity to see how dishes in other countries are prepared.
posted by Cass on Jul 6
So, for the past several days, I have been head-achy, nauseous and very, very grumpy around 5pm. I finally realized today that it is heat related. And so, I came up with a marvelous scheme, which most of you have probably figured out long ago.
I made a cup of hot coffee, just the way I like it. And then I filled a cup as full as I could get it with ice. And then I poured the hot coffee over the ice. And I declared it good.
Not a heat beater, but also very good: strong coffee, with cram and sugar to your taste, topped with spray on whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Taste like a ten dollar coffee and costs about twenty-five cents!
posted by Cass on Jul 1
Thanks to Nita Vrabel for the helpful guest post
When I had moved into our house, I saw that the kitchen was seriously out of date. The cabinets had the dark 1970′s wood. The walls had gold, green and avocado yellow wall paper. Flooring was cracking and coming up as well. Upon looking at the counter tops, I saw that there were knife marks all across. As I started calling contractors for quotes, I discovered this was going to be very expensive if we hired someone. Some of the contractors had slipped a few secrets out to me. I was told that there was paint specifically for cabinets. My first project became the cabinets. I went to the local hardware store and purchased the materials. The cabinet paint, brushes and the plastic flooring came out to about $50. The cabinet project took a total of 6 hours between painting drying and the second coat.
Next we decided to do the walls. When I consulted a contractor company about removing the wallpaper and painting the walls, they quoted me $350. Buying paint and new brushes, I spent $45 and 8 hours painting the kitchen walls. The walls were the simplest. The only heavy duty part about painting the walls was moving the appliances to paint behind them.
The counter tops were the next to tackle. All we had to do was take the measurements for each separate partition of the counter tops. We picked out the design and had the pieces cut at the hardware store. We also bought a book on do-it-yourself remodeling HERE. The book showed us which different types of counter tops had to be uninstalled and installed in a certain way.
Deciding to do the floors last was the best decision. We didn’t want to ruin the new floor with paint, nicks and scuff marks. Knowing that the ground moves a lot in this area, we had to consult quite a few contractors. Some contractors said they could do the kitchen floor for about $2500. They had also let it slip that they would need to use a special tile grout that would expand and contract and let the floor move with the ground and concrete that moves so much. We made yet another trip to the local hardware store, bought the tile, special grout and the trough. The floor took a few days, but our kitchen is now updated and welcoming.
