Beauty

[MariotaMurielle]

we have spent the last 3 days painting some old furniture to take to our daughter next week, an old dresser and night stand. we ( well, mostly DH) sanded the old finish off , then primed and painted them a cream color. turned out pretty good.

we're going to spend the 4th at home. we're not big on fireworks and cookouts when it's this hot. we will be grilling ribs out on the deck, but at least we can just slip back into our cool house any time we want.

I tried to spend some time in the flower garden last evening, pulling grass and weeds that have sort of taken over. but it was so hot and humid I could only handle about 20 minutes before I just had to stop. we are supposedly going to have a rare cold front come through tonight and they are saying it will be in the 60's tomorrow morning. if that actually happens, I'll get some more weed pulling done.

thinking of you all and sending positive wishes your way.

[Bobbi sue]

Good luck with your garden Mochahoney....I would like some fried green tomatoes.

I'm going to bed early so everyone have a good night and sweet dreams.

[MariotaMurielle]

wish I could bring you some tomatoes Bobbisue. I've been looking at linens on a website called roughlinens.com . just my style, but a bit pricey. this photo was sent to them by a customer. apparently a view from her deck on Lake Michigan. so, I'm sending everyone wishes for a peaceful evening along with this pic.

[cindyinfl]

Hi everyone.

Can't believe tomorrow is the 4th already. Like Mocha, we're not big on fireworks & cookouts in this heat. We will be spending a quiet one at home. We're not even going to cook out- it's just too hot. Instead, we'll have sloppy joes, potato salad, baked beans, chips and desert. I will put the beans fixings in the slow cooker in the morning, so they'll be ready about noon or so tomorrow. I made the potato salad today, so I guess we're ready.

I went shopping this afternoon at Marshalls. I haven't been there in a long time. I found a few good deals for the house. I bought a beautiful, 8 x 10 turquoise picture frame for $4.00, and a cute small whitewashed table with carved sea shells, for $15.00. it is perfect for the master bathroom, which is done in a coastal theme. I shop now so much with ebay, that I forget that some of the local stores have good sales!

Bobbisue: Thinking about you. Hope you are feeling better. Spammom, thinking of you too. I know you are anxious to "get the show on the road"! Hope you & your family enjoy a great 4th.

Hope everyone has a great, but safe 4th. BB tomorrow.

Cindy

For those interested: here is the slow cooker baked bean recipe:

28 oz. can Bushes Baked Beans

2 cups ketchup

1 1/2 cup brown sugar, pcked

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped

2 T. worcestershire sauce

1 T soy sauce

1/2 cup chopped onion

All all ingredients to slow cooker. Stir well, cover & cook on low for 3 - 5 hours. Serves 10-12. For a change, can also add 15 1/4 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained when assembling the cooker.

[Katcat1]

Love baked beans. I am also having a quiet one at home. For you ladies that like Josie Maran products you can get 20% off using code JULY4 until a minute before midnight on the 4th. Of course, I could not resist and then wonder why my balance is at a standstill. ha! Wishing you all a Happy 4th of July.

[cindyinfl]

Thought I'd post one more baked bean recipe that is prepared on the stove top.

EASY BAKED BEANS

28 OZ. can pork & beans

6 stripes of bacon, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp. prepared mustard

1 tsb. salt

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

Cook bacon until crisp. Saute onions in drippings. Drain, stir in remaining ingredients. Cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat.

This recipe I fixed for dinner tonight. It was good.

SKILLET SCALLOPED POTATOES

2 potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. cooking oil

1/4 tsp. salt

dash of pepper

2 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 cup cheese (I use cheddar), grated

Brown potatoes in frying pan with small amount of cooking oil. When tender, sprinkle with salt & pepper. Add milk, bacon, and cheese. Cover and simmer over low heat about 10 minutes or until milk has formed a sauce. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Cindy

[NC Bandwagon]

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe 4th of July. And I hope anyone who's going through any hardships makes it through well.

[fancy pantsy]

good morning ladies ... and happy 4th of july!

today will be low key here, as far as 4ths go. for the last few years, bf and i have attended a lovely little home-town july 4th celebration that our town put on. they offered barbeque chicken, hots and burgers with all the fixens, and had entertainment. folks brought their lawn chairs and visited with each other till the fireworks, which was actually quite spectacular for a little town!

this year, because of some major community construction, they decided to not have the 4th celebration. big disappointment for us! we decided then that we would not even try to think about fireworks anywhere else. i am not too crazy about being out on the road with all the crazy peeps. besides, some folks get way into celebrating for my taste. so today will be low key around here, we are just going over to a local beachside restaurant for barbeque chicken early this evening and that'll be it for our celebrating!

some of you are struggling and i would like to offer hugs and prayes for you. i wish for you a day of peace ~

[krfruitjar]

Good morning everyone! Hope you all had a restful night. I'd like to add my good wishes & prayers to those who are going through such trying times. Good luck to each of you. Today we are staying home. I was up at 2am making potato salad! Going to my mom's this morning to help her pay bills. She's getting so confused she can't even take care of her checkbook & bills this month. I"m not much better, but I'll give it a shot. She was crying yesterday because she was so confused & Needed help. I told her we'd go out for lunch. That cheered her up a little. Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July as we celebrate our country's birthday. Maybe I'll check in later this evening. It's nice having such a nice bunch of loving, caring people to talk to. I appreciate you welcoming me into your group. Later.

[krfruitjar]

Good morning all. Hope everyone had a restful night. My prayers & good wishes go out to those here who are going through such hard times. I've been there too & had a good support group to talk to. This morning I'm going to help my mom (83) pay her bills. Yesterday she was crying because she was so confused she didn't even know how to write her checks. I'll do my best but checkbooks aren't my thing!! I was up at 2am making potato salad for this evening. We'll have burgers & sweet corn with it. Fruit for desert. We're on diets. I was to the Dr. yesterday for my yearly physical. He'll call me on Mon. to let me know the results. I'm having such pain in my legs & they get weak & I almost fall down. He took blood to check sed rate (for inflamation info) & another test I'm not familiar with. Hope all is well. He thinks its my Fibromyalgia acting up but wants to be sure it's nothing else. Hope everyone has a good 4th of July as we celebrate our Country's birthday. Maybe I'll check in this evening if I have the time. Just wanted to say thanks for having such a wonderful group of people to share our trials, tribulations & joys with. Later.