Black Swan

Baked and Carved and Halloween!

8:15. AM. Whoosh. Out the Door. Halloween Ready. 24 Cupcakes. Decorated. Check. A Black Swan. Fancy. And the Statute of Liberty. A Book Character. Nothing Scary. Good. Tonight. The Main Event. Jack-O-Lantern is Carved and Suave. Lite and Ready. Very Silly! Silly is Good. Happy Halloween Magic. We Start Early in These Parts…Don’t Want to …

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Spray Paint…Step Away Slowly!

Spray Painting 101. Some Decorating Projects for Fall. Some Projects for the One Room Challenge. The Master Bedroom has Closet Doors with Metal Air Flow Grates. Time for a Grown Up Paint Coat to Wear. From Sky Blue to Black. I Had a Lesson in Spray Painting. From Miss Doodle. Mom, It’s Very Easy. Shake …

Spray Paint…Step Away Slowly!Read More

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Introducing the No-Bake, Fast and Easy, Hero-Making Holiday Pie! Ice Cream Pie Surprise! 4 Ingredients. 30 Minutes. Done. Cool Whip. Chocolate Pie Crust. Ice Cream. Cookie Dough Bites. Cool Whip Top. Cookie Dough Bites – Shhh…this is the Surprise! Ice Cream…your favorite flavor. Mint Chip here! 10 Minute Prep. GO! Scoop softened ice cream into …

I’m that kid you grew up with – the one with reddish hair and freckles. I lived by the Summer Weekly Regiment of Burn, Tan, Repeat. Today I am paying the price. Did you know freckles morph and spread into ghastly “Age Spots”? Not Pretty. Today I am trying to be extra careful with the …

A Flying Ghost in the Yard? Sure! It’s 2020 Halloween! Make him in a Flash! Here’s What You Need: Dollar Tree Pumpkins and Mop. Pipe Cleaners for Hanging and Securing the Ghost. Tablecloth to hide the armature. Ikea net curtain – one panel works great. The Net makes all the Magic. Tree Branch Arms and …

Halloween May be a Bit Plain Jane this Year with No Trick or Treating. Let’s Make it Extra Special with a Crazy Scare-Fest Halloween Dinner! Let’s Begin by Cooking Up Some Severed Fingers… First Cook the Dogs – Boil Or Microwave…Your Preference. With Each Cooked Dog – Slice Off the top layer of skin on …

The Holidays! I can’t Wait to Jump into All the Snowflake Sparkle. But Wait. How Will Holiday Shopping Look This Year? And Is It Too Early to Kick Off the Holiday Shopping Season? You, My Friend, Are Perfectly Right on Time! It’s Amazon Prime Day! You’re Welcome! Wait till You See All the Treats I …

Pumpkins are at Costco. The pumpkins are contained in 3-Foot Tall Cardboard Boxes. The Boxes Sit on Wooden Pallets. Brimming to Overflowing with Pumpkins. Almost as Far as the Eye Can See. While I wait for Mr. Doodle to select his Bacon, I notice an Older Couple Trying to Select a Pumpkin. Standing on the …

How are you doing with Working from Home? Going to School from Home? Having Doctor Appointments from Home? Attending Court Hearings from Home? Slogging through Office Meetings from Home? Visiting Far-Away Family from Home? Challenging Book Clubs from Home? Being Inspired by Mastermind Classes from Home? Living Life Solely from Home?!? ALL NOW ON ZOOM! …

A Bring-Back-the-Classics Remodel in Black and White. Bright White Ceramic Subway Tile Walls. White/Black/Grey Ceramic Patterned Floor. Clean. Classic. Black and White. I like it! I thought I had the design all figured out and it was perfect…Black and White tiles. Classic designs. White grout for a clean fresh look. Keep all the old fixtures …

I am so ready for Fall. Do You Have Fall Celebrations that Need to Be Done Safely at Home? Let’s Change it Up and have an At-Home Scavenger Hunt and Decorate for Fall…all in One Fell Swoop! This is So Simple and Fun – and Everyone Gets to Be Involved! 6 Quick Tips to Decorate …

Don’t You Just Love Old Silver? Me Too. I Love the Patterns, the Luster, and the Weight of Old Silver. I Collect Vintage Pieces and Mix it Up and Use it Every Day. If the Queen Should Ever Stop by for Tea, I’ll Be Ready. But Cleaning All This? Ahh, not so Much. It’s True …

Can You Sew a Skirt that Looks Haute Couture in 45 Minutes? In 5 Easy Steps??? Yes! With these Magic Words – FRENCH SEAMS! I am So Excited to Show You How Easy this Is. And the Results are Spectacular. Make a Creation that You’ll Be Excited to Wear! What You Need: One Simple Skirt …

Do You Love the Look of Vintage Linens? But Not the Price? I Found the Trick to Creating Vintage Linens – Cold Coffee and a Washer! The Before – A Fun Cotton Duvet Cover and Shams with the Map of Old NYC – from H&M. Nice. But I Wanted a More Aged, Old World-Vintage Look. …

I know you love a Good Home Remodeling Project – Me Too! My Secret to finding Fun Home Design Inspiration is the local Salvage Yard. Salvage Yards are Fabulous for a bit of a Shop and Stroll. Have You Ever Done Salvage Yard Shopping??? Oh Good. Let’s Go! Most of Today’s Offerings are from Commercial …

Fall Brings Us Back Inside. All Cozy and Snug. Time to Welcome Textures for the Perfect Balance of Interest and Fun. LINEN. FAUX ANIMAL HIDE. VELVET. COTTON. WOOL. LEATHER. And the Perfect Place to Find Textures for Fall? TJ Maxx. TJ”s is Only a Click Away. Let’s Start with Linen for Your Home! I Love …

Edamame is the One Vegetable that my Kids will Eat. Bucketfuls, if they could. And it is Packed with a decent source of soy protein, it’s rich in healthy fiber, antioxidants and vitamin K. So my big idea is to try growing Edamame in our little raised bed garden. We Can Do This! We Begin in May with Seeds ordered …

Hand Made Quilts sprinkle a home with love and are well, just lovely. But how to find the time to create these cozy works of art??? The Secret…SIX INCH SQUARES! Here’s the Very Simple Step-by-Step…Hold On…This is Quick! Step One: Select your favorite fabric patterns and textures, With a rotary cutter, cut the fabric into …

I am so ready for that Brisk Chill of Fall in the Air. The Time for Early Sunsets. Screen doors snap shut to Summer. Everyone Inside Together. I Found 7 Fun Finds to Welcome Fall without Spending Tons. ALL OF MY FINDS ARE AVAILABLE AT COSTCO ON LINE!!! Come and See! Let’s Do Fall Shopping …

We are One Month In with this High School at Home. I can’t say it’s been easy, but We are Trying very hard to ease the transition and make it work. And for the First High School Assignment: Tell Us Who You Are! Identity Chart Homework The art communicates who you are in a creative …

On Line Learning. Kids in their Bedroom/Classroom for the First Quarter of the School Year. Maybe Longer. Computers Up and Running and Ready. My Heroes Made the News Giving Their Take on this Brave New World… Albuquerque Charter High School Returns to School On Line Click on the Link Below and Wait till the End: …

The 2020 Summer is proving to be Quite a Bust. On so many fronts. Trying hard to shake it up, but it continues to border on scary and falls flat. The Restaurants are once again, shuttered. Sigh. Now we look to the Garden for Mealtime Inspiration. One First Attempt at growing New Mexico Chile. A …

Just Pile it on. That’s Right. Triple Digits for the Past Week. With No Relief in Sight. With No Air Conditioning, We’re keeping Cool, Old School Style. Sheers to Shield the West Windows. In this Era of the Pandemic, there are No pools for sale anywhere…Amazon, Target, Walmart, Costco. My latest Invention to Beat the …

Let me put this in perspective…in the olden days…or more accurately, in 2019, getting ready for a New School Year meant shopping for school clothes or new uniforms, new shoes, backpack and school supplies. A hair cut. Maybe some cool highlights. Done and Done. But not this year. At this juncture the Plan for The …

We bought our Vacation House on the Internet. In 2013. Check out the Saga Here…We have a House in Florida! We Never Set a Foot Inside the House Until after the Closing. Crazy, maybe. But it worked. No Regrets. Except that We Could only spend a Few Days each Year at the House. Life got …

Are You Keeping Up? I’m trying, but the Craziness seems to just keep coming. There are moments where I want to fall in a heap and cry. There are times when I do an “Out of Body” experience and Watch the Grocery Shoppers around me. All in Masks. All trying their best to make this …

Tomatoes and Bell Peppers. New Mexico Chile. Artichokes and Edamame. All tucked into Bed in Organic Bedding. With Sun, Shade and Hose Water. And occasionally, a bit of Rain. And This Year I get to Watch Them All Come to Life. In this Skinny Sliver of a Raised Bed Garden. At Home. My Day is …

She hoped the celebration would be the same as all the others. Early Morning. The House is decorated with Paper Streamers. Breakfast Burritos. Mini-donuts. Watermelon. Coffee for Mom and Dad. But Not a Present in Sight. Time for the Birthday Scavenger Hunt! A Family Tradition! This Year. 15 Gifts for 15 Years. All Wrapped and …

A Photo Prompt to Tell a Snippet Tale. From Friday Fictioneers. Tuna on Rye…Really? My cellmate was tired. His gait had slowed. His eyes watered with a mix of allergies and sadness. His shoulders hunched, ever so slightly, but I saw. We rarely spoke. When we did, it was in whispers. Maybe he ran out …

Enough with “Bored in the House and I’m in the House Bored”… Let’s Bake Cookies! But in All this Summer Heat? Help!…Ugh!…No! What if We created a Summer Oven??? Outside Under the Trees! We Get to Work setting up an Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Oven on Saw Horses and an Old Wood Table Top. Outside. Doesn’t …

No one could have imagined. Who would have thought. High School Graduation. Usually So Ho Hum. Speeches. Scholarship Winners. And the endless droning of names with dutiful students standing up, walking across a stage, hand shaking and the final presentation of a diploma. For Years and Years. Always the Same Ceremony. But Now it is …

A Story in 100 Words or Less. This is the Photo Prompt. My girl. I can hardly imagine the thought. But here she is. Giggling. Reaching out to touch the sprays of water. Dark Eyes filled with diamonds. Closely cropped raven hair. New Clothes. First Time in Shoes. Shy smile. China is losing a beauty. …

Hello Friday Fictioneers and the 100 Word Story Challenge. Here is the Inspiration Photo… PHOTO PROMPT © CEAyr And My Story… But I Have a Pebble in My Shoe… If I squint my eyes and let the music in, I could be at The Garden. Maybe Next Gig. Or Next Year. Or Next Whenever. Oh …

The Friday Challenge. A Story written in 100 Words. Beginning. Middle. End. The Inspiration Photo of the Week… Mom and Me and Paradise The Beach is quiet now. Party Boats docked. Leggy Girls with Beer-Gut Boys trail off to the bars. It is only Mom and Me. Waiting for Seagulls to Swarm and Dolphins to …

A Writing Challenge. Write a Story in 100 Words. Beginning…Middle…End. Flash Fiction! This is the Inspiration Photo. A bit of fun in all the Craziness. Staying Home. Working from Home. School from Home. Home. Home. Home. I needed a tiny Break. I found a quiet spot and tried to write. Here is the Inspiration Photo, …

During these extremely trying times when we are all safely staying at home, I knew I had to change up the days to make life interesting. And to Ease the Scariness. Even though, in my heart, it is beyond Scary. We Tackled the Scariness, by Creating New and Exotic Meals. Together. Edamame Spaghetti? Cooking with …

Many Moons Ago I asked My Aunt for her Potato Salad Recipe. She Happily Obliged. She had been a School Cafeteria Salad Lady and made this Salad for probably 30 years. Side by side, I wrote as she explained the steps to making the best Potato Salad Ever. Of course My Mom would have disagreed. …

The Short Answer: Almost Impossible. The Story Begins Here. Waiting on a Long Line to Enter Costco. Carts Wiped down with Clorox. We finally get the Golden Ticket to Enter. Careful to Stay Six Feet Apart, We Navigate the Aisles. Select what food and paper goods are still available. And Hurry Home to Stock the …

The Fire Station sits quietly tucked away in my neighborhood. Fire trucks and ambulances come and go, day and night. When they leave for a run, they respectfully silence their sirens until they leave the neighborhood. Just for a fleeting moment, Flashing Red Lights fill our rooms, and then suddenly they are gone. Until last …

How Lovely is the Queen. So Solid. So Reassuring. Truly a Class Act. Her Historic Speech to the World on COVID-19 was Profound and Uplifting. Steady. Sure. And Heartfelt. She spoke of her Sister Margaret and the First Broadcast Speech that they made as Children during WWII when families were forced to be separated from …

Being Home. All Day. All Night. Going Nowhere. Staying Safe. With Everyone Home… Has Some Advantages. Like Taking Care of All the Laundry. Now there is Time to Hang Laundry on the Line. The Lovely Flap… Flap… Flap in the Breeze. The Delicious Smell of Fresh Laundry. The Rough Feel of Towels Dried in the …

How are you? I am thankful we are staying Sheltered in Place and we are safe and well. I hope you are too. I can’t think about all this for too long or I start to question the sanity of it all. But being Sheltered in Place is the right road to travel. So we …

We live on a busy street and sadly don’t really know our neighbors. There is No Community. Cars Wiz By and Neighbors Go About their Business. Isolated. Insulated. With Little to No Foot Traffic. It is pretty much a House to Car Out the Driveway and Work/School to House Back Up the Driveway Existence. Weekends …

Spaghetti. Meat Sauce. Salad. Prepared by a seasoned hand. All Photos and Text are by Miss Doodle 2. Mom is working…from the dining room…well, she is trying to work. The following commentary is by Miss Doodle 2 and she is loving it. All you need are these ingredients. Fast and easy to make! Seasonings bring …

I know you have these 3 Ingredients. Sugar. Peanut Butter. Egg. That’s It. Oh, and Parchment Paper. I was quite impressed with myself that I had Parchment Paper. The box was unopened. I have no idea why I have Parchment Paper, but Cool…we are ready for a Quick Bake. Ready to Make Cookies for the …

Just Like You, We are in Cook-What-You-Have-in-the -Cupboard Mode. In the Far Reaches of the Cabinet, A King Cake was Waiting. And there is No Better Day than Today to Bake a Yeast Bread that Guarantees Good Health and Happiness for the Year. It’s Not Too Late! This was our First Attempt at Working with …

I Love Everything about the Beach. The Smell of Salt Water. The Heat of the Sun on my Skin. The Coolness of the Water. The Rhythmic Sounds of the Waves. I Love It All. If I could have planned this, I would have happily Self Isolated in Florida. My Days would be at the Beach …

How are you holding up? Yes. I know. We are all doing the best we can. And hopefully it is working. For a Quick Break from being Inside, we walked the Irrigation Ditch. There were a few people with the same idea. We waved to each other and kept walking. Keeping safe distances. The sun …

One Week Down. Trying to Keep Spirits High. Home School and Work Flowing with Wonky, Slow Internet but We’re Making Due. Silly Meal Time gives us all a Lift. Today’s Adventure. Dining in a Scottish Cottage overlooking the Sea. How about a Cottage Pie? Well…what I think a Cottage Pie is. 🙂 Pork Mixed with …

Why are you Humans still Home? You’re cramping my Nap Time Style. Cooker Man is having Fun in the Kitchen. Trying to Make Egg Drop Soup. Wake me for Dinner. This is Cooking with What You Have. Let’s Make Soup! Frozen Vegetables? Check. Pour Chicken Broth into the Pot. Let it Get Cozy with the …

School at Home. Work at Home. All at Home. No Problem. The “Cooker Man” is on the Case. How about some Pre-Packaged/Frozen Irish Stew? OK. It’s a Go. Hmmm. This was pricey and looks mighty skimpy for a Family of 4. No worries. I’ll just Beef it Up. Maybe once it’s totally defrosted it will …

Home. At least 3 Weeks. School at Home. Work at Home. Crazy Yet? Let’s Give Dinner a Zing with some Magic. Tonight – Taco Crescents! Easy and Fast. If you don’t have all the ingredients…No Worries…Improvise! My favorite way to Cook! Let’s Go! The Star is Pillsbury Crescents. Preheat Oven to 375 F. Start to …

This is all very frightening, but I see people coming together to try to comply with all that is thrown at them. Schools. Local Businesses. Offices. Theatres. BioParks. Restaurants. All Shutting Doors. Everyone staying Home. Some Working from Home. Hopefully a Solid Plan. Cleaning and re-cleaning all hard surfaces is Number One on the Task …

We had a Bathroom Flood that didn’t stay put in the Bathroom. Oh No. Water traveled under the wood floors into an adjoining Bedroom. The Wood Floors began to Heave and Ho in Waves. Testing confirmed Black Mold. A Major Clean Up was Done. One Month to Completion. The WET Floor was Cut Out and …

Finally. After 2 Months. We Have Our House Back. The Nasty Mold is Gone. Major Tear Down Construction is Over. Everything is Clean and Sparkly. And We had a Great Opportunity to Change It Up. Just a Little. All this for a Bathroom! Crazy. After Numerous Trips to the Tile Super- Store, Floor & Decor, …

This Simple Fix to Popping Tile Needs 2 Things…Utility Knife and Grout. That’s It. But first a little History Lesson on this Crazy Bathroom. The Bathroom has seen 60 Years of Home Remodels. All DIYs. The 1940’s house still retains its original Tub and Toilet. In the 1980’s, before we took ownership, a Vanity Sink …

Phase 3 of Construction. Now To Put It All Back Together. If you need to get up to speed…Here’s Phase 1 and Phase 2. 🙂 Bathroom and Bedroom. A Month-Long Project and Counting. The Black Mold and Water Damage are Gone. New Bathroom Walls and Shower Pan Completed. The Bedroom has the Easier Fix and …

Phase 1 Mitigation Done. Black Mold Gone. We Had a Scary, Soggy Mess. If you missed it – Check Out the Phase 1 Mitigation Scariness Here. Finally – On to Phase 2 – The Construction. Completion by Valentine’s Day?? Mmm…perhaps not. But we can always hope. Here’s a Sneak Peek at What’s Going On Behind …

A New Year. A New Beginning. But the Same Old Household Tasks. What If You Could Change it Up and Get Some Jobs Done While You Did Other Things? In a law practice, this is “Double Billing”. At Home, it’s Magic! Tip 1: Laundry Done with Your Eyes Closed. Literally. I know you’ve been there…it’s …

This sad story (with a Sure-to-be Happy Ending) begins with plumbing leaks in the bathroom. A steady, drip, drip, drip of water, that over time, got under the floor and behind the wall tiles. The water then eased into the subflooring, lifting the hardwood floors into wavy lumps, and single-handedly creating the Perfect Storm for …

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