Apple Harvest

The Professor and I shared a light lunch during apple harvest. We experimented with new cheeses: an unusual Brie, a German cheese, and Rosy Goat. (One of my favorites!)

At the front is pizza bread with thinly sliced cheese and olive tapanade. Yum.

Master Bedroom Update

I've had several requests for updated photos "when the master bedroom is finished". Well, it's not finished yet, but it's close, so I thought I would post these pictures.What is new? The mahogany bed (mattress too!), bedspread, pillow shams and decorative pillow, aqua walls, ceiling fan, curtains and rods, and dresser. We still need new night stands, table lamps, and pleated shades. Oh, and carpet too, but that won't be for some years.

Here is the BEFORE, taken several years ago in roughly the same spot. What a difference!

Another view, showing the trey ceiling and fan. We're sooo glad the popcorn texture is gone!

Opposite the bed is our mahogany dresser I bid on at an estate sale this summer.

And lastly, here is my drop-leaf desk and curio shelf between the closet door and bathroom door. I've had this antique desk for some years; it is a perfect match to our other mahogany furniture.

I'm linking to Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

We're the "Church Ladies"

When there's an urgent need for some kind of help at church, a group of ladies steps up to get done what needs to be done. Yesterday, a group of us prepared food for a reception following a memorial service. There's usually not much warning for something like that, but all these sweet ladies gave their Sunday afternoon to helping at a moment's notice.

I really enjoy working on projects like this; it was a joy to work with all of you, even though the circumstances weren't wonderful.

Desk Reveal

This is a little desk I bought from my one-street-over neighbor when she had a garage sale. That was about four years ago. Here it has its shiny black glaze over the original orangey-brown factory finish; not much to recommend it. I bought it because it was only $10 and I figured I could refinish it someday. And we always seem to need another desk in this house, with so many computers and other electronic gadgets scattered about.

After redecorating the girls' old bedroom into a guest room, I decided to put the desk in there for both suitcase space and as a writing spot. And so the time had come to do the refinishing.

First I sanded it to bare wood using our new orbital sander. That only took eight hours or so.

Then I stained just the top with dark walnut stain, with two layers of urethane brushed on afterward.

Primer to the base came next.

Then beadboard wallpaper applied to the recessed panels on the sides. That includes the side panels in the knee hole area too.

That had to be caulked before I could proceed.

And finally, two coats of Behr's paint and primer in one.So here we go, awaiting new handles that I haven't begun looking for yet.

I'm joining the Met Monday party at Between Naps on the Porch.

Coca Cola Cake

Having a partial bottle of classic Coke left over from our Labor Day family gathering, I decided to use it up by baking a Coca Cola Cake. Instead of baking it in the 9x13 pan the recipe calls for, I baked it in three 8" layers. And then I glazed and stacked and glazed and stacked. And topped it with the final thick layer of glaze. Freezing the cake between glazings helped it to stick instead of run.

Now, I wonder, who is going to eat this cake? Would you like a piece?