Springtime and Remodels

We have been very busy the past few days.  I haven't had much time to knit or write a note. I am about half way finished with both the cowl and the shrug.  Hopefully I will get some knitting time this weekend, we are going camping and visiting our youngest daughter.

Last Thursday we got to go to opening night of the Naturals (minor league team for the Royals).  Jim and I went with a great friend of mine and her daughter and had a wonderful time. No better way to spend an evening than watching baseball and visiting with one of my best friends.

 I love Springtime and baseball and this had been a great year for it, we were able to go to opening day of the Razorbacks, opening weekend of the Royals and now the Naturals. I see a few more games in our future this summer!




We spent the weekend at our oldest daughter's, Abby, house in central Arkansas.  It was bathroom repair and remodel weekend.  She had the bathroom mostly dismantled when we got there Friday evening, but I do have pictures of during and after.  My husband had to replace a small section of subfloor because when he was removing part of old flooring, the subfloor gave way and we could see the crawl space of the house. It is a wonder Abby didn't end up in the crawl space before now.  It was a little more involved than we had planned, but my husband, Mr. Fix-anything, was able to put in supports, a new subfloor and have it ready for me to tile by 11:30 pm Friday night.  We finished the tile at about 1:00 am Saturday morning - I had to climb out the bathroom window to get out of the bathroom.  Abby has video and Kaylyn is threatening to put it on Facebook. 

Did I mention this was the only bathroom she has....(thank goodness for store bathrooms).
We were able to grout about 1pm on Saturday and had it all put back together by noon on Sunday.  Our future son-in-law was eager to help his future sister-in-law, so he learned how to lay and grout tile.  Quite a weekend, my husband also fixed our daughter's mower, made a few screens for her windows, and fixed our younger daughter's car battery. I also ran the weed-eater and sprayed foundation for bugs in between tiling and baking.

Besides tiling, I baked cinnamon scones for breakfast Sunday morning and then a batch of chocolate chip cookies for the girls to split.  I wish I would have thought to take a picture of the scones, they were a big hit.  I will post the recipe below. For dinner Saturday night, I made an orzo pasta salad, Abby made zucchini boats and the son-in-law cooked the steaks. I will try to get her to send the zucchini boats recipe, delicious!

Well after we got home at about 8:15 last night,  I realized I am not as young as I used to be and it takes more than a couple of hours to recuperate after a weekend like this.

I hope to have the energy and time to write this week.  I just praise God for the talents he has given my husband and that we have the opportunities to help our children~~


Cinnamon Scones
Scones dough:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 c. fat-free half and half (I used skim milk)

Cinnamon filling:
2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/3 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl combine all ingredients for cinnamon filling. Mix until evenly blended and set aside.

Scone dough: In medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles crumbles the size of small peas.  Stir in half and half until just moistened.

On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough 5-10 times.  Pat dough into a 1/2 thick square.  Evenly sprinkle half of the dough with the cinnamon filling (reserving 1Tbsp for top of scones). Fold un-sprinkled half over the sprinkled half to cinnamon filling is in the middle.  Cut into 8 evenly sized wedges, place on baking sheet, approximately 3 inches apart. Brush tops with some half and half and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.  Bake until golden brown, about 13-16 minutes. Cool and enjoy.