The Bedroom Project - Part 5

Do you remember earlier I mentioned "The Wall"?  Here are some shots of it.

Couldn't get the whole wall in one shot --  you'll have to use your imagination :)

They really loved this wall and seriously debated whether to paint over it or not.  Two sons (who shall remain unnamed) really didn't want to repaint it but finally decided that it would be better to paint it... :)

The little boys wanted to paint so badly... here they are applying primer.

What fun!

So last night while the girls and Nehemiah and Joey and I were at the ladies supper at church Tony and the big boys primed half of the room.  I think Luke did most of the priming while the others were removing the sheetrock at the closet ceilings and working on the new supports for the ceiling.

And Tony removed the sheetrock from the ceilings of what were the closets.

Wanna guess what his project is for tonight while the girls and N and I are at a bridal shower?  :)

The Bedroom Project ~ Part 4

My guy is quite a guy!!

First Tony framed up this new closet for the boys.  The closet Caleb built is to the right, behind the melon door, see it?  It's the shoe closet. 

This closet is for all their clothing, dress up totes and the top of the top rack is for sleeping bags and misc stuff that boys seem to accumulate.  ;)

First Tony had to hang all the shelving because it wouldn't fit in the doorways after the front was framed up. 

Then he framed the front of the closet.  That makes it sound so simple.  Let me rephrase... he Framed The Closet!  I think he/we reworked the plan about four times.  See we already had that existing bit of wall to the right beside the shoe closet to contend with.  We are trying to make everything equal and look like it was originally that way.  It took a lot of planning, figuring, measuring, replanning... Then you must remember that this concrete is 35 years old and very cured.  Very hard.  I think he went through a drill bit every two holes.  It was a LOT of work.  And he smashed his finger.  The same finger he bumped with the saws all.  :(  Very icky.  Oh and then he got a couple of splinters in that same finger!!  Remodeling is dangerous stuff!

See?!  A nice big closet, I think it's nearly 12 feet wide.  This closet will have louvered bifold doors as will the shoe closet.

Now the other part that my Super Guy did I don't have pictures of.  He moved a receptacle from the demolished wall to a new wall.  He moved the light fixture over so it was centered with the light fixture in the other room.  He hung a light in the closet and moved that light switch over to a double gang box (I think that's what he said?).  He and Luke spend a couple of very squished, itchy, cold hours up in the attic getting everything wired and rewired.  Tony even figured out how to use the existing electric to branch off and make a switch for the closet light and get it in place!

We now have all the electric stuff   D-O-N-E!  He never ceases to amaze me.

And now he has decided that he doesn't like my 'make do' idea with the ceiling and he is removing the sheetrock and doing it the right way :)  It's gonna be so purty!!

The boys are cleaning up the tools and Molly is prepping the walls for painting.  We are so excited, it's all coming together so well!!

The Bedroom Project ~ Part 3

So Tony had off last week Th-Mo.  Everything we did took at least five times longer than we though it would.  Typical, right? LOL

The first thing we had to do was find places to put stuff.  I'm telling you... we have stuff everywhere.  There's a twin bed in the living room, there's a love seat and stacks of totes of dress up clothes in the dining room, there are dressers in the hallway, there's a load of stuff in the storage building, there's a dresser in the bathroom... I'm not kidding!

Here we go... our work days in order...

Caleb built a closet!  This was his first 'start to finish' framing job he did all by himself!  He did a great job.  Let me try to explain.  Our hallway is like a capital "T", the left end of the T going into our bedroom and the right end of the T going into was was the boys dressing room.  Caleb framed up that opening and made a closet.  So now the hallway looks like a "7".  Make sense? 

I am always amazed to watch Caleb work.  He is so strong.  He did a great job with all the measuring and cutting.  And those of you who know our home will not be surprised to hear that the walls where not square so it made for some interesting cutting!

The finished framed wall.

He's making a silly face at his sister -- imagine that!

We used a piece of the paneling that we removed from the dressing room for this wall.  A wonderful (haha) side result is that the yellow paint we had left over from when we painted originally has gone bad!  LOL  So we had to get more paint.  However, it didn't seem to make sense (cents) to me to buy a whole gallon of paint for that one section when I really want to repaint over all the yellow anyway.  So we bought a lovely 'hopsack' color and will repaint the entire hallway (which will eventually lead into painting the living room too!  woohoo!!!)

I can't find the last picture.  We recycled paneling from when we removed the living room/dining room wall (when we first moved in five years ago) to use in the inside of the closet.  It will all be painted white eventually!

Part 3 coming soon!

Lest you think I am ignoring you...

there's really nothing new to report on the Project.  We've done more removing of doorframes, etc... patched one of the closet walls ... moved furniture out to have more space to work... painted one of the walls the color the boys selected to see if we like it...

Tonight we make The Big Run to Lowe's for supplies.  Tony has Th/Fr/Sa/Mo off so I anticipate getting a LOT done in those four days.  I am a Task Master.  I have a List.  And I'm not afraid to use it.  Beware.  LOL

Girls Room ~ BEFORE

Again, this was not the most recent arrangement of the room but you get the basic idea.  The beds are no longer bunked and will not be in their new room.  They are also going with a whole different color scheme... either blue/yellow, green/brown, or blue/brown.  Decisions, decisions, decisions... :)

The Boys Room ~ BEFORE

I didn't take Before pictures but here are some I found on the computer.  Their room is arranged differently now but you can see the basic idea and the wierd cinnamon color of the furniture.  They have four dressers that are from the same collection.

The Bedroom Remodel Project ~ Day 2

Sunday afternoon we finished removing the closet walls.

Had to remove the chair rail and baseboards.  The chair rail was put up with huge long nails... ?

Destruction is so much fun!

The little boys (especially) had fun!

Done for today!  View from the boys dressing room looking south.

View from the girls room, looking north.

I wish we had some place to put stuff while we are working, but alas, we don't.  So we are just working around stuff the best we can.  When we get to the final painting, etc... we'll have to move everything out.  I can't even imagine... that will be fun!  Um, no one come to visit then, okay?  LOL

One room is paneling, one room is sheetrock... anyone have a any bright ideas as how to handle where they meet?  It's only on the one wall but still?...

The Bedroom Remodel Phase I ~ Day 1

Um, yeah, What Are We Thinking?!

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let me explain...  Our home is a typical ranch style house.  The north end has two bedrooms on each side of the hallway and a bathroom at the end of the hallway.  The first bedroom on the left is the boys room, the first bedroom on the right is the girls room.  The last bedroom on the left is our room and the last bedroom on the right has served several different functions.  It was originally the sewing room and it was the last room we painted.  The children all had wanted to help paint (we repainted the entire house when we moved in) and had been so patient that I told them they could paint the sewing room.  :D  I'm just a good Mama like that... LOL

We were trying to use all the leftover paint (being frugal -snort-) so I mixed the golden yellow from the living room and hallway with the cranberry from the living room and it made this melon color.  Now you know why part of the room is melon colored.  One wall is sponge painted with all the leftover colors of paint.  The children painted one wall theirselves, it has their handprints, footprints and their names and ages.  It's so precious :) 

Fastforward... I moved the sewing room down to the new part of the house (we closed in the garage) and that bedroom eventually became a closet for the boys.  A huge closet.  It was their 'dressing room'. 

They have outgrown their bedroom, it's too small.  The dressing room is too large just for a dressing room/closet so... we decided to move the girls across the hall into the boys room and knock out the wall between the former girls room and the boys dressing room to make one big bedroom for the boys!

Whew.  Following me?  I, of course, forgot to take "before" pictures when it was neat (well, as neat as a huge closet can ever be)... so here goes:

Standing in the closet looking north

The hallway wall.

The view from the north looking toward the 'soon to be removed' wall!

And in case you were wondering 'why in the world did they paint this room anyway?!'... it was white and silver streaked paneling...

Luke was a little tyke when we moved in and he wanted to write everyone's names and ages on the closet wall :)

And here he is helping Tony pull down the trim from the closet. 

Thank you Lord for Luke!

Actually the first thing we had to do was empty the closet so that's why you see shelves of shoes on the other side of this room! 

Sam had been outside removing nails from wood we hope to reuse and was anxious to get in on the actual destruction.  If you know Sam that will not surprise you at all!  LOL

VOILA!  And...

I'm optimistically thinking we are 1/4 of the way through with the wall removal.  Woohoo!

A-B-C Master Muffin Mix

A-B-C Muffin Master Mix

18 c. flour

5 c. sugar (or equivalent substitute)

2 1/4 c. buttermilk blend or non fat dry milk

6 T. baking powder

2 T. baking soda

2 T. salt

3 T. ground cinnamon

3 t. ground nutmeg

Stir together well, breaking up lumps.

Store in a large airtight container labeled with the date and contents; store in a cool, dry place.

Shelf life: 6-8 months.

Makes enough for about 5 batches of 24 muffins each.

If desired, sugar can be omitted then stir in 1 cup honey for every 24 muffins as you make them.

TO MAKE 24 REGULAR SIZED MUFFINS:

Preheat oven to 400*.

Coat muffin tins with an oil/lecithin mixture, grease with shortening or butter, or spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat:

4 eggs

3 t. vanilla

2 c. water

1 c. oil (or butter. This measurement is up to your tastes and desires. Some find them perfectly acceptable without any fat, but any amount of oil can be added up to one cup)

Stir in 5 1/2 c. muffin mix and any additional ingredients (listed below) just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown.

Muffins freeze well.

To reheat frozen muffins, microwave on high for 30 seconds per muffin.

These two toppings would go well with almost any of the ABC muffins. Sprinkle mixture atop uncooked muffins before popping them into preheated oven:

STREUSEL TOPPING for 24 muffins:

Mix together:

1 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

2/3 c. flour

cut in 1/2 c. cold butter until mixture is crumbly.

CRUNCHY TOPPING for 24 muffins:

Mix together:

1 c. rolled oats

1 c. flour

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 t. ground cinnamon

cut in 1/2 cup softened butter with fork or pastry cutter until crumbly.

TYPE OF MUFFIN:

Ingredients to add to mix before baking:

APPLE MUFFINS:

3 c. raw grated apples

1 t. ground cloves

1 c. nuts or raisins

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture before baking.

APPLESAUCE MUFFINS:

Omit oil and add

1 c. applesauce

APRICOT MUFFINS:

1 c. chopped dried apricots

BANANA MUFFINS:

2 mashed bananas

1 c. walnuts (opt)

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or frozen rinsed blueberries

BRAN MOLASSES MUFFINS:

Use only 3 cups of muffin mix.

Stir in:

4 c. bran cereal

1/2 c. molasses

1 c. raisins

BUTTERSCOTCH MUFFINS:

2 (12 oz.) bags butterscotch chips

1 c. chopped nuts

CARROT MUFFINS:

2 c. grated carrots

1 c. raisins

1 1/2 t. allspice

CASHEW MUFFINS:

2 c. unsalted coarsely chopped cashews

CHERRY MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or dried pitted cherries

CHOCOLATE CHIP FUDGE MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 c. sugar

3 c. mini chocolate chips

COCONUT MUFFINS:

3 c. toasted flaked coconut

reserve some to sprinkle on the top

CRANBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS:

2 c. chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

1 c. nuts

1/2 c. orange juice

2 T. grated orange peel

CURRANT MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. currants

1 c. chopped nuts

DATE MUFFINS:

1 c. chopped dates

1 c. chopped nuts

EGGNOG MUFFINS

4 t. run extract

2 c. eggnog (omit water from recipe)

before baking top with mixture of:

2 T. sugar

1 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. cinnamon

FIG MUFFINS:

2 c. dried chopped figs

1 c. chopped walnuts

FRUIT MUFFINS:

2 c. dried diced fruit

GARDEN FRESH MUFFINS:

1 c. grated carrots

1 c. grated zucchini

1/2 t. ground cloves

GINGERBREAD MUFFINS:

2 T. ground ginger

1/2 c. molasses

2 c. raisins

GRANOLA MUFFINS:

reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add:

1 1/2 c. granola

Top with additional granola before baking

GRAPENUTS MUFFINS:

reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add:

2 1/2 c. grape nuts

1 t. allspice

HAZELNUT MUFFINS:

2 t. ground cardamom

2 c. chopped hazelnuts

INCREDIBLE CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS:

COMBINE:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

Drop this mix by T. onto top of muffins before baking.

JAM MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. jam or preserves (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry)

1 c. chopped nuts (opt)

KISSES AND HUGS MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 c. sugar

After filling muffin tins 3/4 full, drop one Hershey's kiss into the center of each muffin, pushing down slightly until kiss is covered. Ice cooled muffins with confectioners sugar and water glaze.

LEMON MUFFINS:

omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup lemon juice

4 eggs

1/2 c. chopped nuts

LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS:

2 packages (3.4 oz each) instant lemon pudding mix

2 T. poppy seeds

4 eggs

omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup lemon juice

MANDARIN MUFFINS:

1 (11oz) can mandarin oranges chopped and undrained

reduce water to 1 cup

1 1/2 c. shredded carrots

MAPLE MUFFINS:

6 T. maple syrup

reduce water to 1 1/2 cups

MARMALADE MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. orange marmalade

1 c. chopped nuts (opt)

omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup orange juice

MINCEMEAT MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. mincemeat

OATMEAL MUFFINS:

reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add:

1 c. oats

4 eggs

up to 2 c. raisins or grated apples

ORANGE MUFFINS:

2 c. sour cream

1 c. nuts or coconut (opt)

2 cans (11 oz. each) mandarin oranges, drained

4 eggs

PEACH MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or one large can (drained) chopped peaches

PEANUTTY MUFFINS:

3 c. peanut better chips

1/2 c. chopped peanuts

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA MUFFINS:

1 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. chopped peanuts

3 mashed bananas

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY MUFFINS:

1 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. chopped peanuts

drop 1 T. jam into each muffin before baking.

PEAR MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or one large can (drained) chopped pears

PECAN MUFFINS:

2 c. chopped toasted pecans

1 t. maple extract

PINEAPPLE CARROT RAISIN MUFFINS:

1 c. grated carrots

1 c. crushed pineapple, drained

1 c. raisins

1 c. walnuts, chopped (opt)

PINEAPPLE MACADAMIA MUFFINS:

1 t. ground cloves

1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

1 jar (7 oz. or about 1 cup) macadamia nuts, chopped

PLUM MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or canned plums, chopped

PRUNE MUFFINS:

1 to 2 c. chopped prunes

1/3 c. poppy seeds

PUMPKIN MUFFINS:

2 c. or 1 can solid pack pumpkin

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 c. chopped nuts

1/2 c. raisins

RASPBERRY MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or frozen whole, unsweetened raspberries

RUM RAISIN MUFFINS:

3 t. rum extract

before baking top wiht mix of:

2 t. sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

SESAME SEED MUFFINS:

1 c. toasted sesame seeds

before baking top with mix of:

1/2 c. nuts

4 T. brown sugar

4 T. sesame seeds

2 T. flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

SOUR CREAM MUFFINS:

omit one cup of the water and add:

1 c. sour cream

2 c. nuts

2 t. grated lemon peel (opt)


SQUASH MUFFINS:

2 c. cooked mashed squash

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 c. chopped nuts

1/2 c. raisins


STRAWBERRY MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped

SWEET POTATO MUFFINS:

1 T. allspice

4 T. dry orange peel

2 cans (10 oz. each) sweet potatoes, mashed, well drained (about 2 1/2 cups)

TROPICAL TREAT MUFFINS:

1 c. dried mango or papaya, chopped

1 c. chopped banana chips or 2 fresh mashed bananas

1 c. macadamia nuts, chopped

1/2 c. coconut

1/2 c. sour cream

2 t. grated lemon peel

VANILLA MUFFINS:

2 packages vanilla chips

WALNUT MUFFINS:

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

WHEAT GERM MUFFINS:

2 2/3 c. wheat germ

4 eggs

1/2 c. extra water

before baking top muffins with mix of:

1/2 c. wheat germ

2 T. sugar

YOGURT MUFFINS:

reduce water to 1 1/2 c. and add:

2 cartons (8 oz each) yogurt, plain or flavored

ZUCCHINI MUFFINS:

2 c. grated zucchini

2 T. cinnamon

1 c. chopped nuts (opt)

This is not an original recipe but it's one we enjoy and I hope you do too!!

Happy Birthday to Me

A wonderful birthday surprise from my HearthKeepers Birthday Sister!

Thank you so much Carla!!!

I love it all, it's all just perfect for me!!

And for a belated birthday supper last night:

Matt, Jennifer and Landon came for supper and we had

drumroll

Luther Burgers!

woohoo!!!