What I'm Reading Now

What I'm Reading Now - King Peggy

I was very interested in this story when I first read about it. A woman - who works for an Ambassador to the US and lives in Maryland - becomes King of Otuam, Ghana. The story is about her struggle to balance her life in the US with her duties, dreams & desires for her village. There is corruption, disappointment and redemption....ah a perfect story! ;-) I'll admit, there were parts that I skimmed over as the story got a bit long. But overall it was very interesting and enlightening to see how things are handled in a different world. Also how Peggy balanced the traditions of her village with wanting to bring them more "up to date". A very interesting read indeed!

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What's Cookin Wednesday - Sweet Potato & pinto bean tacos

SWEET POTATO AND PINTO BEAN TACOS adapted from thugkitchen.com ....but there is offensive language on the site (and in the recipes) - so you've been warned! 3 cups of cooked pinto beans (about 2-15 ounce cans) 1 teaspoons of coconut or olive oil (Olive oil is what I had) ½ cup veggie broth or water (water....) 2 teaspoons smoked paprika or chili powder (I went chili powder) 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses (I used what I had in the cabinet) 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (I have both of these at home usually, went with lemon juice this time around) 2-3 garlic cloves 1 pound of sweet potatoes (this should be about 2 cups when you chop it all up) ½ of a yellow onion 1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil salt to taste soft corn tortillas standard taco toppings that you like to add. Warm the first teaspoon of oil in a medium pot. Add the beans, water, chili powder, molasses, vinegar, and garlic. Get it to start bubbling slowly for about 5 m...

Labor of Love (Part 1 of 3)

I love lace. I love the delicacy with which it presents itself to the world. That being said, I dont really use it very much. I do have some family doilies, and my wedding dress has some lace, but I dont go too crazy. I like to be able to clean things, and not have dust mites clinging to every available piece of cloth (they cling to everything else anyway.) So, I decided to try a painting technique. Why not paint the lace on the object? Easy to clean, lovely design, what could be better? We got this child's vanity in an old attic pick. Yes, we went into someone's hot and muggy attic for several hours. Yes, they let us jsut dig through things (can you believe it?!?!) unsupervised. Yes, we had to take our own flashlights. And yes, there was mouse droppings and dead birds up there. It was gross, but worth it. My boy LOVED it! American Pickers is his favorite tv show. So this school bus yellow vanity sat there looking at us. Begging for new life! I knew if we left ...

Caning with Grandpa!

Here is what we were working toward! (Aka: the finished product!) I got this chair either out of the trash or very cheap. I cannot actually remember, as we have a host of chairs without seats in them waiting for a new lease on life. I have been wanting to work on a chair like this for some time. I had a dream a few years back of me sitting and caning a chair with my grandfather. Ever since that dream, I have wanted to see it happen. So this last weekend, I made the trek up to Indiana to spend a few wonderful days with my grandparents. The days spent with them are like living in another world. They have no TV, so we spend lots of time talking, reading and playing games. They live out in the country, and you can see the stars up close. It gets darker, since there are no city light or lights from other homes...which means they want to go to bed at 7pm. :-)... AND wake up at 4am. We got started caning the chair in the cold basement. All of Grandpa's tools were down there, so we coul...

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