Babs Just A Babblin' Blog

A bit of Gardening, baking, blogging, knitting, sewing, family, friends and discovering hidden treasures along the way.

Monday, February 27, 2012

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

Saturday, February 25, 2012

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

Friday, February 24, 2012

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~

Thursday, February 23, 2012

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!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

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!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

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.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad