Author Archives: cathyboettner

My forsythia were looking pretty gangly after they finished blooming this year, so I gave all of them a really good haircut. 165 zone minutes and 11,000 steps later, I had all 100 of them trimmed back and a wagon and big pile of branches to show for it. I know that it looks shockingContinue reading “Haircuts for the Forsythia”

All the projects in the basement are so long and I needed a quick win to provide a little momentum for the stone work that we are getting ready to start, so I decided to work on a couple doors. We are using two doors that used to be exterior doors for the closet underContinue reading “The Ancient Basement–Small but Satisfying project”

First, I want to say: Wow, there is so much cutting to make a quilt and lots of steps. None of them is particularly difficult (so far), but wow, lots and lots of time. My mom and I worked on sewing the strips together into panels. We did 15 because that is enough finished materialContinue reading “Wardrobe Refresh–Update”

My husband put the door frames back in place last weekend and the trim color looks so good with the stone threshold and the color of the door (we’re going to do a tiny bit of sanding and then seal with satin lacquer.) My husband sketched the wall with the wood stove to get anContinue reading “Ancient Basement–Update”

I worked with my mom a couple of afternoons and we sewed all the fabrics together into really long strips, which took about 5 hours total. The next step (which I did on my own) was to iron all the seams to one side and cut all the fabric into shorter strips that are allContinue reading “Wardrobe Refresh–Update”

Our niece and her daughter are visiting and our son and his girlfriend came for lunch, so I decided to create a pretty tablescape. I started with the Williams and Sonoma tablecloth I found at the consignment store for $30–absolutely fantastic price for a cloth that doesn’t look like it had ever been used. BecauseContinue reading “Spring Table for Family Visiting”

This is an America’s Test Kitchen recipe and it “cheats” by adding vinegar and beer to give the bread a sourdough flavor without the work. This is copyrighted material, so you will have to find the original recipe, but I can promise you that it is so worth it. You literally stir this bread together,Continue reading “Almost No Knead Bread”

In the spring of 2021, my husband and I decided to plant forsythia along the retaining wall between our property and our neighbor. The wall is pretty tall, and I was always nervous mowing along it. I love forsythia because they are so cheerful, especially in the really early spring when you very much needContinue reading “Forsythia Update”

We have done so many projects for Chair-ries Jubilee here in Bradley County Tennessee. This is the primary fundraiser for bringing arts education into the local schools. It is always a fun event and if you are local, you should go. So many neat and creative items, great food and drinks, and loads of people.Continue reading “Project for Fundraiser Auction”

This is a delicious and quick to whip up dessert, provided that your Cool Whip is thawed… Ingredients: 2–8 oz packages cream cheese, softened 5 cups milk 3 small packages vanilla, cheesecake, or chocolate flavored instant pudding mix (My favorite is cheesecake flavor in this recipe.) 2–8 oz containers non-dairy whipped topping, thawed 20 ozContinue reading “Oreo Surprise”