Chocolate Chip Scones

Chocolate Chip Scones (one of my favorites) made today using primarily my left hand!  ;D

2 1/4 cups unsifted, unbleached flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 cup. softened butter
1 cup milk (you can use whatever is on hand, milk, heavy cream, non fat milk)
3/4 cup semi sweet choc. chips

Heat oven 425 degrees F. and grease baking sheet lightly.

1.  In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients; with pastry blender cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs.
2.  Mix together and pat out on floured board to a 7 inch circle.  If the dough is a little sticky, use flour on the board to incorporate extra in the dough and to keep it from sticking as you pat it out.  Cut into 8 wedges with knife and transfer to your baking sheet and pop in the oven.  Bake 20 minutes.

Remove from baking sheet to cool off.

Two Chums

We met Robin and her husband, Randy, a couple of years ago through a friend of ours.  I'm pleased to announce and share with you a new blog venture, Robin and her long time-friend, Jackie, have recently begun.

Two Chums

If you love cooking and baking, homemaking, etiquette, love and romance and all things related to family and friendship, you will love their new blog with recipes along with delightful stories.

Robin's recent post is about her quest for finding and baking the 'perfect' chocolate cake for her easy to please husband, Randy.  It's a charming story, perfect for Valentine's Day!

Awaiting Tree Removal

PG&E confirmed our tree is now scheduled for removal by the end of this month!  The tree inspector came out and marked the tree, shortly after that we received a call from PG&E notifying us of the dates they might come to do the job: between such and such dates.

You can see how the tree grows right up through the high voltage power lines.  To cut it down is to save them money in the long run, so it only makes sense to do it.

Tree Marked!

A Tangled Mess in the High Voltage Lines

Tree Leaning into our New Fence

Once the tree is out, we have to hire someone to come grind down the stump.  Michael can then level the ground and prepare it for our new shed.  This is the shed that will be going in the corner once the tree is removed:

http://www.tuffshed.com/products_colors.cfm?ModelID=GB&TabID=Colors

Click on the colors to see what we're thinking of painting it:

Onyx Black - Roof Color
Antique Sterling -Siding Color
Evening Shadow or Wentworth White - Trim Color

Michael originally was going to build a shed but we decided to save the time and just purchase a ready made shed and let them install it.  He has enough work to do building furniture and wine racks for our Etsy shop.  We have a couple of old pane windows from the salvage yard that will be going on the shed in place of new windows and Michael will design and make some cute shutters to go alongside our windows.  The shutters will be painted black and because of that, I'm leaning toward the white for the trim color.  I want the shutters to stand out.

We sort of want our shed the color of Tom's house in New Orleans.  

New landscaping going in at Tom's place: Fountain is going in the circle to the right.

Then, when we're ready to repaint our house, we're going to make it match the shed. 

Two Brothers

Older brother

The younger brother

Discovered these two at a recent estate sale and just had to have them.  Aren't they sweet?

Expertly painted on canvas in oil.  Mid century art for that shabby chic cottage decor.

Music is healing

Yesterday wasn't such a good day for me.  The pain pills I'd been taking made me pretty sick to my stomach.  I hate taking pain pills and only did it because they told me to.  I have a pretty high tolerance to pain and would much rather deal with a little pain than be sick to my stomach.
 
Am feeling much better today, thank you.  It's a little challenging typing with one finger.  Sloooow as a snail.

Here's something to cheer you up!  My favorite fiddle player, Amanda Shaw.

Surgery Completed!

I'm home, surgery went good.  Turns out there was no tear, just fraying and bone spurs my doc removed.  Good news!  Resting and dozing all afternoon in the recliner with my arm in a sling and a completely numb arm and hand.  It's a weird feeling to not be able to move your arm or even the fingers; they said it could last up to 12 hours or longer.  Very strange feeling to be temporarily paralyzed and couldn't imagine having to live like that permanently. 

My typing is pretty slow with plenty of backspacing for corrections on errors.

Michael took the rest of the day off to stay home with me and is in the garage working on some Etsy orders.  They sent me home with a pretty cool looking ice pack machine which is a pad formed to stay on with Velcro over the shoulder and has a tube connected to it which leads to an electric unit that resembles an Igloo type cooler for drinks to keep cold.

Leftover lasagna for dinner tonight!  I'm just beginning to get hungry for the second time today.  The first time was just before the nurse put the drip meds in to relax me.  I never even felt the arm block meds go in and it was right after that when they wheeled me in for surgery.  And then I woke up!  ;-D

Hey, I'm just beginning to have slight movement in my fingers finally.  Can wiggle them a little bit.  When it starts tingling, that's when I'm supposed to begin my pain meds for a couple days.

Surgery in the morning

Surgery tomorrow for my right shoulder rotator cuff repair.  My doctor said I'll be in a sling for a month, no driving.  It'll be a good 6 months to a year before I'm completely recovered with my shoulder use back to where it should be.  No lifting over 5 pounds for quite a while, physical therapy: the whole nine yards.

I jokingly asked him if he could just Superglue it back together for me.  He replied that one day they will be using a type of glue in place of what they now use which is plastic screws and sutures to hold the muscle in place.  Here is a link I found online regarding some scientific research with Frog glue.   Interesting.

Here is a link my doctor showed me that has little videos which have some short animated videos exhibiting various rotator cuff procedures.  If you click on 'shoulder' then click on the various orthopaedic treatment options to see a video of what he'll be doing to me tomorrow.

Jewelry Box Love!

Shabby Chic Beach Cottage Jewelry Box - Starfish Lovers

French Country Romance Jewelry Box

Paris Romance Antique French Postcard Jewelry Box

Work Day

All finished!

Cathy came for a visit and together we built a fence for Mike (so he could work on another project) to hide our ugly storage shed.  I used the nail gun (with my bad shoulder) and will pay for it tonight.  It was hilarious because each time I nailed, we both had to turn our heads away from the strong poof of air that came out of the gun.

Here is the finished fence with our artwork:

The shabby white fence Michael built is pretty cool, too.  ;D

Old Injurys

Michael and I used to buy fixer-uppers, fix them up and sell them.  The latter part of 2005 was our last purchase, just as the economy was heading downward.  The house was on the Mendocino Coast in a little ocean community called Irish Beach.  The two of us, along with our hired friend, Greg, did all the work ourselves driving three hours each way every weekend for six months.

I became good at tearing down walls, taping and texturing walls and fixing Michael and Greg's mistakes; lol, painting, tiling, you name it.  If we didn't know how to do something we'd learn.  Greg was the expert plumber and electrician, (that is not Mike's thing.) ;-D

Anyway, it was in very early 2006 that I was tiling the whole house using 18" square tiles, room by room.  On my knees in the kitchen/entry area I remember reaching out with a big, heavy tile in my hands to lay it in place and something went rip in my shoulders and I cried out in pain.  Didn't think much of it and continued my work.

From the completion of that house we went on to remodel my aunt's home.  It was then I knew something was truly wrong with my shoulders, more so in my right one.  Went to the good doctor, had X-rays taken, found out both shoulders had a minor tear, not enough to warrant surgery but enough for injections in each side.  That offered me immediate relief.  For about a year.  Then another injection in my right shoulder which did not help a bit.  Had an MRI done last year before the holidays which showed complete separation of muscle and bone in my right shoulder. 

Here I am today, getting ready for surgery next Thursday, Feb. 2nd.  Approx. 10 days or so of wearing a sling (I'm right handed and have been practicing using my left), no lifting over 5 pounds for 3 months.  Not yet sure if I can drive during that time or not, physical therapy: yes.  Questions to ask my doc next week.

I've been preparing for this operation since being put on the waiting list last November: I have my freezer full of more than a few good meals: spaghetti sauce, chili beans, beef stew.  Planning on deep cleaning the house next week, just before surgery, so I can come home to a clean house.  Not that it's dirty but I want everything spic and span so I won't have to worry about cleaning or asking Mike to do it.  He's got enough work.   

Hoping that I'll have enough time to make a few more meals...

Camille Pissarro

Heading to Alameda to pick up some family members and on to the Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco to see Pissarro's People exhibit.  I've been wanting to see this for the longest time and this is the last weekend to see it.  Going to make a day of it, museum, shopping, lunch or early dinner.  F.U.N. ;D

Kinfolk

Video to watch on making pesto.

Fire Orange

Our little fire.

Toby's Fruit Stand

Toby's - Pt. Reyes Station

After our morning hiking excursions we sat by the fire.  Later this afternoon we took a drive into town to walk about and check out the cute boutiques and art galleries.  Now we're back inside our cozy and warm 5th wheel while the wind rocks our trailer and howls outside.  Chili beans, macaroni and cheese and a little green salad for dinner tonight and a movie and popcorn later on.

Point Reyes National Seashore

Woodpecker Trail - Hundreds of woodpecker holes

Hygrocybe Conica Mushrooms (poison)

Hygrocybe mushrooms (aka witches hat)

Dainty woodland ferns

Morgan Horse Ranch

Morgan Horses

Meadow Grasses

Gray Fox - Taxidermy inside the visitor's station

Sweet fawn