...more from the attic

In my last post I mentioned that we had dragged some odds and ends from Tom’s family garage attic. Among the treasures was an adorable chrome and red Formica table but no chairs. We pulled out two formal dining room chairs that were covered with goop and grime. My mother thought she could revitalize the chairs to match the table until we found the appropriate chairs to complete the set. She took the chairs home and scrubbed them up and painted them red so they would match the table. Before we could pick them up, I rescued some chrome chairs from the dumpster at work that I knew would match the table. The result? Two red dining room chairs with no purpose.

Unable to sentence them to the landfill, the red chairs ended up in my basement which is getting extremely crowded with all my treasures. As I walked on my treadmill, I would look at the chairs and wonder what to do with them. They have good lines and are very sturdy. Hmm, being in the Adirondack frame of mind, birch bark came to mind. My thought was to do a faux birch bark finish and pull the chairs up to the table in our new camp. I had an idea but not the experience to pull it off. I looked through some faux painting books from the library but there were no birch bark examples for me to follow. What to do? I called my mom who has been painting furniture for years. Even though she hasn’t done anything lately, I was confident she could help with my project.

I was fortunate enough to have my mother come and spend the week-end with me. I’m happy to say she was eager to help me with my project. It took a little bit of explaining to convey my thoughts to her, but once she got it, we were off and running. We started in the morning with two coats of white ceiling paint as a primer. By the time we got home later in the afternoon, we were eager to start the. faux painting part of the project and turn the chairs into birch trees. We worked together pretty well, me trying to explain my vision and her trying to teach me the technical aspects of the job. I worked on one chair and Mom on the other. Our styles are a little different but in the end, the chairs look pretty similar.

I’m not sure if the chairs are quite done yet, they may need a little detail here and there but I’m pretty pleased with them so far. Another victory for old furniture! The chairs are truly unique and will certainly add a little whimsy to our décor. I haven’t worked on a project with my mother for quite a while now and I have to say, it was a real pleasure. Thanks, Mom!

Kale Chips

Kale seems to be one of the must have vegetables lately. Every time I get a food magazine, kale is a featured ingredient. And no wonder. It is a super nutritious vegetable and an excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K. I also learned that it is a part of the cabbage family. I decided to give kale a try. My first recipe was a butternut squash and kale risotto. What I discovered is that kale has a very strong, overpowering flavor and I decided it was not for me. But, hey, at least I tried.

Recipes for kale chips seem to be popping up everywhere. All the reviews are just stellar. Everyone seems to just love them and they sound easy to prepare. All summer I kept telling myself I would give them a try but when I stopped at the farm stand each day on my way home from work, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy the kale. The flavor of the previous recipe would come to mind and I would shudder. Just when I had finally convinced myself to try again, the stand was closed for the season. I was saved!

Still, the thought of those kale chips was haunting me. I spotted kale in the grocery store this week-end, took a big breath and threw a bunch in my cart. Once
home, I cut out the stem, broke the leaves into two-inch pieces tossed it in olive oil and put it all into the oven to crisp up. Wow! I was more than pleasantly surprised. The little crisps just seemed to melt in my mouth. With a little salt and garlic powder, they were very tasty. I ate up a good handful and put the rest in a plastic bag for another time.

And now here I am thinking about a little snack. What will it be, kale chips or Tostidos? Hmmm, I wonder.

The Chair

Several interesting pieces of old furniture turned up while clearing out the attic of the garage at my husband’s family home. As luck would have it, they were just calling my name asking to be brought back to life. Among the pieces was a little rocking chair. Although it was covered with cobwebs and dirt, it was obvious that someone had started to strip the many layers of paint from the chair before putting it aside. There isn’t anyone left to verify, but I can only assume that the project was started by my father-in-law. I wasn't a part of the family very long before he passed away, but I remember him as being a very industrious person. He was always looking for a new project to tackle and wasn’t afraid to jump right in. Furniture refinishing was one of his many projects. He did complete several pieces but this one appears to have been too much for him.

As anyone who has ever tried to strip paint and varnish from an old piece of furniture knows, those spindles will either make or break you. When I looked at the chair, I could tell that many hours had already been spent taking off the old layers and the spindles were indeed the breaking point. I counted five layers of paint in the twists and turns of the spindles. The little chair was just gasping out its last breaths and I knew I had to help it.

I haven’t worked on furniture for quite some time and I knew that what was left to do would be very difficult. A friend recommended an environmentally friendly stripping formula. “The paint will just peel right of”, he said. Can’t believe I fell for that one. Countless hours were wasted while I waited for the product to dissolve the paint. Sorry environmentalists, sometimes you just have to bring out the big guns and that’s just what I did.

I won’t bore you with all the moaning and groaning involved in the project. Stripping furniture is a smelly, dirty and back breaking job. I have to admit that there were many times during the process that I would set the chair aside and debate about whether or not to finish it. After all, there was no guarantee that I would be successful and I didn’t even have any place to put the finished piece. But then I would look at it sitting in a corner of the garage looking so forlorn that I would renew my effort to bring it back to save it's life.

What a job! I agonized over it for almost a year battling between wanting to give up and knowing I could do it if I just tried a little harder. Well, it’s finally finished. With a new fiber board seat stained to look like leather nailed in place and a spot cleared in the family room for it to sit, I can breathe a sigh of relief. It really is a sweet little chair that not only represents my determination, but is a nice little reminder of a time gone by. Oh, you’re welcome little chair.

Random Recipes

After cleaning out my freezer last week, I decided to tackle the ever-growing pile of recipes I have collected before restocking. I have a drawer full of recipes torn from magazines and printed from my favorite on-line cooking sites.

I chose a few, jotted down the ingredients and proceeded to torture my husband with new meals all week. My choices were fairly simple to put together although I am a little slow in the chopping department. I’m happy to report that there were no knife- related injuries all week.


Peanut noodles with chicken and spring vegetables was my first try. The sauce was made from peanut butter, ginger, garlic and chile-garlic sauce to spice things up a little. The noodles were wheat spaghetti and I used broccoli and carrots for my vegetables. I love ginger so I give this recipe a thumbs up but Tom was not a fan.



On to balsamic chicken with pears. Balsamic vinegar has a strong presence so I was a little nervous about how this one would go over. It ended up being absolutely delicious with a nice balance between the sweet pears and vinegar. I threw in some dried cranberries for extra flavor and color.



Apricot glazed flounder was my fish choice for the week. This one also called for ginger which wasn’t a success earlier in the week. I used it anyway but reduced the amount. Success! We love fish and this little sauce was a nice compliment.



Pork, apple and cheddar meatballs with wheat noodles was the final choice. I have never cooked with ground pork before but I will now! This was a very tasty and moist combination. The apples and onions were grated to add extra moisture and eliminate anyone biting into “chunks”. Ouch! Wet slippery produce is tricky to grate.



To cap off the week, I selected this apple sharlotka recipe. It really is mostly apples with a little batter thrown in. My result did not look as pretty as the picture but it was delicious. It’s the kind of dessert you don’t have to feel guilty about eating.



I feel good about my efforts this past week. I need to stay motivated and keep working through my pile because I still have a long way to go!

Cleaning Out

What better way to start the New Year than to make an attempt to get better organized? I have several things on my agenda for the week-end. First up, what’s all this stuff in my freezer? Is there any real food anywhere? All this random stuff is left over from the holidays. I’ll have to go through it all and discard the unidentified, freezer burned bits and pieces. Of course once I clean out the freezer, I’ll have to go grocery shopping. Before I can do that, I’ll have to do some menu planning. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find something for dinner.

There is still a pile of unwanted clothes and coats that will need to be bagged up and delivered the to local clothes collection bin. I received a call out from the consignment shop and they are looking for VHS tapes. What better time to clean out our old collection? We don’t own a VHS player any longer so these things are just sitting around. More stuff out of the house!

In line with my New Year’s goals, I’m meeting with the Executive Director of the Phelps Art Center this afternoon to discuss volunteer opportunities. Looks like my year is off to a good start.