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!!

canning peaches!!

Over the last year or so my husband has really become interested in canning, as in *I* should learn it. I had no desire. But then my friend Adrienne of Free Time Frolics, was willing to teach me. 

First I bought a box of peaches and needed to wait for them to ripen.

Then we soaked them in hot water to blanch the skins.

Add caption

The longer they soaked, the easier they were to peel.  I was slow and clumsy and for every one I peeled, Adrienne has at least 3 done!  We cut them into sections and jammed them into the quart jars, filled in the cracks with sugar water.  I was disappointed that you need to add sugar (for preservation) as I thought they'd be healthier without the extra sugar, right??

Adrienne has a fancy schmancy water bath machine that cooks up the peaches and seals the jars.

Some of the scraps.  My chickens would have loved this yumminess.  But they are back in CT.

At the end of the day, I had 14 quarts of yummy peaches, that I will be able to eat (I am allergic to most fresh fruit).

It wasn't  hard process but it is time consuming, and everything gets sticky.  I'd be happy to do more canning with friends or by myself, as long as I have a good movie to watch!

decorating with greenery

With the kids at school and my day off at the gym, I wanted to run some fun errands.  I have/had a Michael's gift card burning a hole in my pocket so that was my main goal.

Of course, nothing really jumped at me but I did buy a few things for some upcoming projects. 

My cute little purchase was this:

Two sprigs of whatever this type of greenery this is and a decorative vase.  All on clearance.  I've been looking at the pre-assembled ones but either they are way too expensive or on clearance but the colors are off. 

 I've been wanting color in the Laundry Room but it is in my bathroom for now.

It is in front of the outlet so I am sure it will bother me when I need to straighten my hair.  But it's cute and I like it!

Then I went to the Thrift Shop to see what I could find.  Believe it or not, I brought home this baby:

I know, who uses fake crap like this anymore, right?  A lot of people use these around here on the really high cabinets.  For $2.95. I thought I'd try it out.

I think it looks ok up there.  If I find something better or we don't like it after awhile, I won't feel bad.  For $3.00 it is a donation to The Idaho Youth Ranch Thrift Store!

They had a couple pf those fake potted trees for $30 and I was tempted.  The Husband hates them but I think it would look good in our office.

My last goody was from Michael's. 

I need a frame like I need a hole in my head but I do have an addiction.  I thought this one (on clearance!) will be perfect for our holiday picture (not taken yet).  Someone asked where I got all my frames.  I look everywhere, especially in clearance sections at Target, Home Goods, etc.  I am not afraid to paint something a different color or tweak it a bit.  Lately I prefer black or white frames but I am trying to overcome that!

That was my morning.  It was especially nice to do this Kid Free!

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!

a tisket, a tasket....

I updated an old basket!!  I actually did it about a year ago but it still counts, right??


This is a basket I bought a Goodwill and spray painted it white.

We used it for stuffed animals and what not for awhile.  Then the paint began chipping off and I thought about getting rid of it.

Then we got new couches!

I realized our old, horrible blankets didn't go with the newness of the couches so I wanted to put them in a basket.   I schlepped the basket into the Family Room and used it in there.

I like the style of rope baskets but they were too pricey so I figured I would try to make my own. Armed with two rolls of rope from HD, my glue gun, almost 40 glue sticks (the big ones) and a few hours. I made this.

As you can see I didn't quite have enough rope for the bottom (of course not!! This is a Lisa project after all)! I did buy more rope and finished the rest.

 All in all, I love it! Besides burning myself a few times, it was very easy and satisfying. That make it win win in my book!

Junk Drawer Org

Maybe when the kids go back to school I will find another purpose in life because right now I have way to much time on my hands.  Today I organized the junk drawer!  In the old house, mine was tiny.  I had junk drawer envy of one of my friends.  Her was huge, spacious and very organized!

So here is what it looked like before I started.  Not too bad but I really just threw everything in when we moved in.

 I took everything out and put it on the counter.

There were 7 different kinds of tape and 7 decks of cards.

 The usual assembly of pencils and pens.  I checked all the pens and threw out the dead ones.

This is what it looked like when empty.  I went through the house and grabbed some more bins.  I am not that anal that they all needed to match.

 I corralled all the tape except for the scotch and put them in the Laundry Room.

This is what it looked like when I was done.  Still plenty of room!

I put some tape on the bottom of each bin so they won't slide when the drawer opens and closes.

I know.  I need a life!

Paper Goods

I have been storing the paper goods on a high shelf in the Laundry Room but the mess was bothering me.

Some people may not want their toilet paper on display (I could care less) but I like things to look neat and tidy.  So I grabbed some baskets.

Each product has their own basket.

Looks like we are low on tissues.

Paper towels

Toilet paper!

Then I put all the baskets back up on the shelf.  I can't see what is in each but it looks good.  The shelf is too tall for me to reach without a step stool anyway but I am happy with the results.

The Clutter Queen in me is at peace now....