dehydration fail

Here is another half-assed experiment that was a huge FAIL!!  I tried to dehydrate pears and I failed on 3 attempts.

Again, this is The Husband's dream.  We bought a dehydrator.  We bought a box of pears.  Adrienne told me what I needed to know and I googled before I tried.

The first night I prepared a batch of pears; I peeled and put them in lemon water (to stop them from browning).  I wanted The Husband with me when we used the dehydrator just in case I screwed it up.  We put them on the trays, turned on the power and.....

NOTHING!!

The dehydrator must have had a faulty circuit board because the digital read out was all flashy.  We tried several different outlets before he gave up and sat on the couch. (I have since mailed back the top and am awaiting a new one.)

Had The Husband not been there as a witness, he would have accused me of effing it up, right??

I couldn't waste all those pears but I so didn't want to be baking at 8:00 at night, but The Girl and I did.

We made pear bread, pear pie and pear sauce.  The Girl thought it was so much fun but I had lost my sense of humor. Luckily I am a pretty good baker so everything came out yummy and we didn't lose any pears that night.

The next day I borrowed Adrienne's dehydrator.  I prepped the pears and plugged it in all by myself.  It worked!!  Hard to believe but it takes 8-10 hours for those suckers to dry!!  I had to set my alarm to check on them but by 2:00 AM I turned it off but they didn't look right.  I think I cut them too thick.

  

They look like steak fries, no?

So I made another batch with the last of the pears. That night, by midnight I just unplugged the damn thing and gave up. They were slimy and maybe they were just over ripe. They looked like slugs.

Sigh. I will try again with apples. Glad the kids like dried fruit and it is something I can eat, with no added sugar. Sigh. This isn't rocket science!!

wasabi tape fail

Yes, I know the proper name is washi tape but my brain always pronounces it as wasabi. Just like Downton Abbey, I could have sworn it was really Down TOWN!  Speaking of wasabi, it makes me think of sushi, none of which I've had in a few months.  I miss it.

Anyway, I finally bought some as it seemed like it could give me a quick Craft High without a lot of time and effort.   I picked up this pretty pack of tape.

I thought I could take one our huge bulletin boards and pretty her up, for my craft room.

I added the tape, then I added a second coat of tape because it seemed to light.

Then I threw some plain, white paper for more pop. One sheet of something would look better but I was going with what I had.

End result?  I HATE IT!!  The colors remind me of the Miami Dolphins and will totally clash in the craft room, which is mint green.  What looked good under plastic just didn't work with what I had in mind.  Luckily, the tape is very forgiving so I can always rip it off and redo it.  Or, I might just hang it up in The Boy's room.

Not to be deterred, I took the small board we have in the kitchen and did this.

The one colored tape looks better and I am happy with it.  Now I bet The Husband is going to take another look at the board because I did it last week and I doubt he's noticed!

I do think The Husband jinxed me.  Last week he said if the name of the blog is The Unexceptional Housewife, my things should look half-assed.  Honey, my stuff looks like the kids did most of it!!  Most of the bloggers I follow use miter saws, drills, power sanders....I am just beginning to use a hammer!