Vintage Camper Progress Report

As many of you may know, my husband surprised me last fall with this lovely little gem.

I named her Lila Jane.

She's been tucked in our garage, all warm and cozy, for the winter. Richard has been working diligently on the interior. She is really looking good. We're aiming for our maiden  camping excursion this spring.

Original wall paneling

Original closet area

Original Flooring

Side wall stripped to insulation

Now this:

Nice new bead board paneling

 

New Upper Cabinet and electrical

Replaced Flooring and rebuild seat frames

Updated insulation and wall complete

Looking pretty sweet, don't you think.  There's much work to do yet, but we're getting there.
This has been my latest project:

Paint removal on window frames.  Lots of scraping to do.

I've been working on decorating ideas inside.  Curtains, bedding, cushions, etc.  White, turqoise, and pink!  Isn't that going to be perfect?
And yes, my husband will love it at deer camp!  They must take their shoes off and strip before they enter.

Stay tuned for more progress as we move along.  Any decorating ideas....I'm open.
Babs~  Thanks Richie, for your hard work~

Vintage Camper Progress

OK.  I have loaded pictures and a post three times now on Blogpress and so far, I've lost all three of them. What is going on?  I am frustrated.  Hope I can do it one last time.  I want you to see how good she's looking.  Please be patient....as I am losing mine!

Babs

Vintage Goodies

Look what I acquired this past week!!  Several lovely embroidery hand towels. Aren't they lovely.

I'll get them washed up, pressed and not sure where they will end up....maybe in the camper for a splash of vintage color.

People use to put so much time and talent into a hand towel.  I almost would hate to use it, they are so pretty.  I think, display only!  Don't you?

Just finished up making a pot of chili for dinner tomorrow.  Also  made a batch of Chicken Spaghetti.  This will be for supper tonight and the rest will go into Mom's freezer for meals for her!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Babs

Back in Business

Yay!!!! The good news is I am back on line.  The bad news....I hate Frontier, my carrier.  They have horrible customer service plus get this.  The service guy said it was my modem, I had an older model.  They don't support any modems except their own now..  Thus, I got a new modem and a $7 rental fee per month.  That stinks!  A rental fee!  That's $84 a year and multiply that for however long....five years maybe.  Unbelievable!  Time to shop!

We got a little blast of snow, just like everyone else in the Midwest.  It is pretty!  Just such a weird winter.  Hubby said there was about 6 inches out there~

So, what's up for your weekend?  We're heading to the KC's for a perch dinner tonight.  Sunday, I think I will put a pot of chili on the stove and make some cornbread.  Another little tunic top for the little peanut might be in order.  It was so fun.

Have a great weekend.
Babs~

Frustrated

My internet is still down at home. Technician is supposedly coming out today, but I don't have a lot of faith in my carrier and their customer service. May be time to switch.

For now, I either have to go to the coffee house or library for service.

Training later today for the election primary next Tuesday. I will be an official election inspector! Only downside, I have to be at the polls at 6 a.m. Yes, that's what I said, 6 a.m. In the morning!

A snowstorm for later today is predicted 4-7 inches. Must get all running done before the first snowflake flies.

Hope to be back in the swing soon. Had a request for a camper update. Will do real soon, promise. She's looking so sweet!



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The Winner

As mentioned yesterday, we had a Paczki "Fry Off" as my brother called it. Three contestants: my sister Maggie, my brother Phil, and myself.

Maggie and Phil used my mom's recipe and I, of course, had to step out of the box and try something different.

Here is my plate: I filled mine with strawberry jam.




And ta-da: all the competing Paczki's.




Left to right: Mine, middle, Maggies with raspberry filling, and far right, Phil's with Nutella filling and almond filling.

Here we are, ready for the sampling.
Drumroll please.................and the winner by consensus was Phil. His were great. Large, just the perfect amount of filling, wonderful crumb, moist, and fried to perfection. Second place was Maggie....good size, good filling, just a little to brown on the outside. Mine, well thumbs down. Small, filling was not successful (tried filling with a pastry bag), although presentation scored a few points.

This was fun for us. Everyone enjoyed tasting the final products. Lesson of the day: don't mess with a good thing! Mom's recipe is tried and true.

Congratulations Phil! We look forward to your good work for years to come!

Paczki Day

Today is our Polish tradition of celebrating Fat Tuesday. For as long as I can remember, every Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, my mom made paczki from scratch. She filled them with raspberry and prune, fried them up, rolled in sugar. They were ready for us after our dinner.

Gosh, as I was making mine this morning, it made me wonder how my mother did it! Five kids under her feet and doing the laborous task! What a saint she is!

Traditionally, the reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because they were forbidden to be consumed due to Catholic fasting practices during Lent.

Thus, we will eat well this evening in preparation for the Lenten season.
Tomorrow, we will begin by receiving ashes at Mass.

Here is the beginning of the paczki process. Photos of the end result (the bake-off) to be posted tomorrow.



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Sewing Project Today

Had the urge to make a little something for Joslyn!

Fun and easy one day project.  Now we will have to see how it fits.  Just a cute little tunic top to wear with jeans or leggings!  How cute will that be?

Got to rest up now for the big Paczki Bake Off tomorrow.  Stay tuned!
Babs~

Sunday Dinner

I had Sunday dinner today.  In attendance was Mother, brother Phil, sister Maggie, niece Jessie, and a special guest Lucy!

Phil is dog sitting for Lucy while her parents are in FL for a week or so!

Sunday Menu

Lasagna Rollups

Mixed Greens Salad with Salami and Provolone

Garlic Toast

Champagne (Barefoot Bubbly)

No Bake Cookies

The sun is really shining through in this picture.....sorry for the bad shot!

Nice afternoon with the family!

Have a good week!  It's a busy one for me.....lots of things to do.

Babs~

Paczki Bake-Off

Oh is this going to be fun or what?  Fat Tuesday, next Tuesday, February 21st.  My sister Maggie came up with the great idea of having a Paczki bake-off.

For those of you not familiar with what these are, they are a Polish tradition baked on Fat Tuesday.  They are deep fried bismarks filled with raspberry, prune filling or custard.  My mother made these every year since any of us can remember.  They are pronounced, Punch-kee.

The past few years we have excused my mother from making them.  It's just too much work for her.  We had a little dilemma last year when we made them....too many "hands in the fire". So, that is why Maggie came up with this creative idea.  It will be myself, Maggie and Phil making them.

The judge....well whom else but  my Mother...though she probably cannot be objective as she won't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

I'll take pictures and let you know the grand prize winner!  Oh....I wonder what the grand prize is?  Probably the honor of making them every year from this point forward!

Wish us luck!

Pulling at my Heart Strings

Upon return from our vacation, there was a few birthday cards awaiting my return.  So sweet everyone remembered!  The sweetest one I received was this:

This was from Joslyn.....Daddy helped her paint it for me.~  The inside greeting was precious to me....the tears were a flowing!

For Valentine's Day, this arrived in the mail!

The black and white, hugs and kisses, X & 0 wonderfulness!  This just warms my heart to no end!

Thank you sweetie pie for remembering Great Aunt Barboo!  XXOO

Happy Valentine's Day

 Love ~ Babs

I Will Always Love You

Rest in Peace, Whitney!

Things to Do

We arrived home from Florida safe and sound yesterday.  It sure feels good walking into our house and snuggling in our bed.  Warm, comfy, familiar.

This will be our first Valentine's Day home in four years.  So, in honor of that, I am going to get crafty.

I've always wanted to make pretty cookies.  So, this is it!  If you are in the area, perhaps you may be a lucky recipient!

Have a great weekend.  I will be out buying my supplies for cookie decorating!
Babs~

Traveling

Home soon! Watch for update.


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Winter Park, Part II

Following the Farmers Market and lunch at 310, we walked down to Lake Osceola for the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour.  The scenic tour covers 12 miles, two different lakes and lasts one hour.  The tour is full of history and interesting facts regarding the multimillion dollar homes that line the lakes, how the Easteners settled there for the winter and the early lumber days.At one time, it was said there were more millionaires per capita in Winter Park than any other place in the US.

Winter Park is home of the prestigious private Rollins College.  The enrollment is 1800 students.  The cost $40,000.00/year.

We motored through two lush canals with sweeping cypress trees, bamboo, spanish moss and lush vegetation.

Look at the trees growing in the water!

If you look at the trees real close, those black spots are all birds.  There were hundreds of them in the trees.

This is a favorite spot for weddings!

It was a relaxing, fun and an interesting boat tour.  Perfect day on the lake, warm breezes, lots of sun!
And.....a trip to Winter Park is not complete without stopping at the French Bakery!

A Strawberry and a blueberry custard tart and an apple strudel.

What a great day!  Thanks Marlene!  You're the perfect tour guide.  Oh, one more highlight, we took a side trip while in Winter Park to say hello to Marlene's girls Stacie and Sarah!  Love those two girls!
Babs~

I Love Winter Park, Part I

Winter Park has such charm.  We spent the day there on Saturday.  First we strolled through the Farmer's Market.  Quite different from ours in Michigan.  They have a bit of everything.  Plus lots of kids, dogs, and who knows what you might see.

Pretty flowers

A variety of good stuff

Dogs, kids, music

 

Then a walk in the City Park

Then lunch at 310 on Park Avenue....an outdoor cafe.

SIL, Marlene

Cocktails with lunch, Bloody Mary, Sangria, and Bud

Part Two, next:  The Winter Park Boat Tour.