Pineapple Upside Down Cake, My Way

Happy Spring to all. I hope that you had a wonderful Easter. The weather here has finally been more like spring, blue skies, a bit windy and cooler temps.

I wanted to share my cake that I made for Easter, I have no photos because they devoured it and it was an experiment anyway, wasn't sure that they would like it. But they did and it is super easy so I am sharing with you.

You will need the following:

! box White cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

1-2 cans of either crushed or chunk pineapple

1 stick butter or margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

unsweetened applesauce to replace the oil in the cake

Pineapple juice to replace the water in the cake ( I reserved the juice from the pineapples and used that)

Drain the pineapple and reserve the juice.

Prepare the cake as directed with egg whites, replace the oil with the same amount of applesauce and the water with the juice from the pineapple.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, I used a 13"x9" cake pan, put the stick of butter in the pan and melt in the oven. When melted, sprinkle the brown sugar over the bottom of the pan. Use enough pineapple to cover the bottom of the pan over top of the butter and brown sugar.

Pour and spread the cake batter over the pineapple and sugar mixture. Bake in the center of the oven for approx. 40 minutes. When it is done, let cool for just 5 minutes or so, the invert the cake onto a cookie sheet or other plate to cool, if you leave it in longer it may stick.

We loved it and it was so simple! Let me know what you think.

So spring has found me trying to paint and get the early yard work done as we have had an early spring, we also had a power outage that caused me to lose my entire operating system on my computer and all files and folders with it. Kind of like starting all over again! My own fault, I had nothing backed up.

So what has been going on with you? Fill me in!

This was one of my new creations for spring, since all my spring pictures were lost, thought I would share this with you.

HAPPY SPRING!

 

March Already? Hmm...Where was Winter?

I was thinking about what to write about, I knew it was tome to tend to the neglected blog, but in reality, I live a very sheltered life, not too much to talk about. But then it struck me, it's March, we have had virtually, no winter. We started some sort of winter on Halloween with a great snowstorm. My Grandson built a snowman incorporating his jack O Lantern. But then..... that was it.

Then it got warm again. the kids have had no snow days, we didn't have snow for Christmas, we didn't even have a blizzard in January. I think I live in PA, the last time I wrote my address, I did. But where was winter? Well, in Europe, Japan, anywhere but PA.

Now I am sure you think I am nuts, how could I like winter? I lived in VA through my teenage years, I hated it, I was from NY, I was used to snow, we had some in VA, but not enough for me. So I escaped here, and we did have winters, mind you I said did.  I feel the need for the 4 seasons. Each one has it's good points though Fall is my favorite. I am not a heat person, nor do I like spiders the size of my hand nor snakes poking their heads up at me from the wood pile I am trying to stack. I despise fleas and ticks. But I do love the flowers, the hummingbirds, the warm evenings on the deck and the beach time I get. But that is it. Winter brings me those cozy, warm feelings, I love my flannel shirts and jeans, my winter TV shows, Christmas, fires and snow. Snow is pretty, it changes that dreary brown landscape into something wondrous and magical, especially at night with the moon shining on it. I have missed that this year. So call me nuts if you want, but the thought of putting this body in shorts, getting bit by mosquitoes, sweating and feeling as if I am melting just doesn't do it for me.

What have I been doing? Well..........seems not much for the first 2 months, I think I slept through them. I have finally come up with some new ideas and started painting,, now I just need to paint more! I have to start thinking about that show coming in November or otherwise I won't be ready again. Here are some things I did get done. I had fun with these, they are old cookie sheets that I have made into chalkboards, of course that spawned new ideas for chalkboards and if left alone, I could paint them all year and have a great stash. I also had some muffin tins I had hoarded and didn't know what to do with, after about 2 years it hit me and I came up with this.

So I am still trying to declutter the desk, but I swore I was going to paint all that was there and not stash it, I want to get some more snowmen done and maybe a few spring type things, but that remains to be seen.

So what has your winter entailed? And what does spring hold for you? I think it will be time to start the spring cleaning if the temps are going to hold in the 70's and 60's, but I wonder if they will. Lots of flowers coming up in my beds, the daffodils are blooming and the trees look like they are budding, a little early for all this, but the result of a warm winter. Before I go, remember to spring ahead tonight, we lose a beloved hour of sleep. Happy Spring!

ORGANIZATION, What is it?

Ok, so I though this might be a sufficient and interesting topic for the end of January, more like an amusing topic.

Organization, the formal definition is:

a : the act or process of organizing or of being organized b : the condition or manner of being organized.

 

That doesn't mean too much to me, because it is something I am not. So let's try organize.

 

: to arrange by systematic planning and united effort.

 

Ahhhhh, is that it? I am now on the floor laughing,

I can plan all that I want to and arrange all that I want to, but it never fails, as soon as I work, it is gone. I love being organized and reaching in a drawer and finding exactly what I wanted, or opening a notebook and finding the exact pattern that I wanted. But then it starts, the pile of patterns in the corner of the desk, 15 books in a pile because I can't decide which one I want, the pattern that I know I traced and now cannot find. And where did the pencil go, where is the graphite even though I know I put it in that drawer. And where did that plaque go that I base coated six months ago?

 

Then I decide it is time to, again, for the 10th time in the last month, organize the paint and move the clutter off the desk, and gee, look what I find.

 

Yup, hiding under all those piles of stuff I intended to paint and never got around to.

I have discovered something about myself, I must have attention deficit because as soon as I dream up something new to paint, I always manage to forget what I was painting. So a bad habit I must break. A new one to start,  keeping a journal on the desk, so when I dream up new stuff, as I am painting stuff already, I can write it down instead of trying to start it. The next thing I have to do is figure out how to store already traced patterns, because I haven't discovered a simple way yet, nothing works, not notebooks, folders, sheet protectors, nothing! I still pile them all over and lose them.

So your version of organization is........

And is it even possible?

I hope January has passed pleasantly for you. Time is certainly flying and before I know it I will be going to the beach. 

Share your organizing skills with us all, maybe we can learn something helpful today.

The Beginning of a New Book

Welcome to the beginning of a brand new book, that's what I am calling 2012. I would like to tell you that I am sad to see 2011 leave, but I am not, I was eager to close that book. Though I don't like to openly complain, the last 2 years were like a bad story and I am not sad to see them go. Life has not been easy, and I am sure many people have had that same thought. I am sure it could have been worse, but there sure was room for improvement, lots of it.

I must say that I failed at most of my attempts to do anything I had planned to do, blogging was one of them. Painting and growing my business was another failed attempt. I can't pin a specific reason to it, health and lack of enthusiasm, depression and just plain lack of time, or maybe organization, were some of the things. So of course, I am saying I failed, because I did. I am starting off the year on a down note as I kick my own butt.

I found myself rather sad over the holidays, wishing for the old days and missing so many people that I have lost over the last few years. I watched my grand kids playing on Christmas Eve and thought of my deceased husband and how he never saw the girls grow up or even began to see a grandchild. I thought of my husband's brother and Mom who just left us within the last 2 years, my Mom who loved the kids and always made me mad, and my dear uncle, who was my mentor and my favorite person. January is always bad for me as it is the anniversary of my husband's death.

I have had time to think and reflect, I have many decisions to make and wondering if I can make this year better, if I can find a good doctor, if I can feel well enough to do what I need to do, if even I can get the ambition, there is no more time to play, I have to start doing and really, not sure that I know how. I don't make resolutions, I make vague goals, sometimes they are accomplished and sometimes not. This year, they have to be.

Christmas was nice, but not the same. However, we did have a huge tree that was way too big for the house, LOL. Decorated it was beautiful, but so in the way. My daughter insisted on this tree, thank you Mandy, but next year, it will have to be a bit smaller. No star was going on that tree.

We had lots of food, fun times and memories. I can't complain.

I did mange to do my craft show, it was rough and there sure wasn't enough, but I can call it successful as I sold most of what I had, just kicking my own butt for not being ready with a year to do so.

We also obtained a new furry member to the household, a beautiful little girl named Muffin, she has been a true joy to have around, we do believe that she may be a Maine Coon, she gets furrier by the day and has had her first illness at 5 months. She somehow got a virus and was down and out for a few days, but she sure has bounced back.

So I can't say the whole year was a waste. There were good points.

So as we progress into this new book, let's hope that we can all turn the page to a fantastic, successful New Year, with each page getting better and better until we reach the end and close it and say "It was the best year ever!" There are sure no guarantees, ever, all we can do is what we can do, but I know I can do better. So for now, here's wishing you Warm Winter Blessings, and lots of good stories along the way. We are here for each other, that helps makes things go a little better even when things aren't so bright!

Happy New Year!

Just a Quick Note

I wanted to let you know about the giveaway at The Rusty Thimble. Brenda is giving away a wonderful Woodland Snowman. You can get up to 5 chances to win. Take a minute and visit to find out how to do it. Go Here to read all about it. Good luck to all.

I am on my way out to enjoy the weather and do some Fall cleanup today. Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!

People Who Inspire Me

It has been another very long and very hot summer. We have had major foods, major heat, hurricanes and earthquakes. As I reflect back on summer,  the intentions that I had for it and the actual end result, it kind of depresses me and makes me wonder where I go wrong and what happens that makes it end up nowhere near what I wanted it to be. It must be something in me that is just disfunctional and keeps me from getting things done that I intend to actually do and never do.

Summer needs to be spent getting ready for fall and winter shows, painting, cutting wood and dreaming up ideas. It never goes that way. It gets spent with kids, flowers, mowing, sweating and then football, depending on my babysitting schedule. We won't mention the hours spent making breakfast, lunch and dinner and the constant cleaning. Sometimes I get a yard sale in there. Not that any of these are bad, but I can't afford to take the summer off from painting, I want it to be my full time job. I want to figure out how to do that before I die, there are too many nay sayers that think I can't do it, but I think I can, I just need a little more than an hour or 2 a day to paint.
 

That brings me to my point of writing this. There are some ingenious, organized craft people out there that I truly admire for accomplishing the things that I dream of, they are my inspiration. Though this is by far not a complete list of them all, this is just the tip of a huge amount of wonderful talented people that I have had the privilege to meet and follow over the years. If you have a minute, visit them, you won't be disappointed. When I grow up, I want to be just like them!

Lynn from Painting Thyme Needfuls delightful creations. You can find her on Facebook as well at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Painting-Thyme-Needfuls.

Then we have Elfie from paintingfromtheheart, Such a wonderful, sweet and very talented lady who finds the time to paint the most delightful treasures. You can also find her at Etsy..

These are people that love the work they do and they do it well, there are so many others that have the honor of loving their work, making it work for them and creating some beautiful treasures along the way. Someday maybe I can join those ranks too. But for now, some more painting to be done, a child to check on and some new fall shows to keep me company.

How many of you have someone that inspires you to keep striving for something you want? Share with us!! 

Where has the time gone?

The last time I wrote a post was September and I had butterflies. This is a brand new year and we have snow. We have been through Christmas and New Year's. Somehow the time got away from me. The last time I talked about breast cancer, this time I am recovering from Lyme disease, started shortly after the surgeries. It has been a long battle, being that it took 2 months to diagnose. By that time I thought I was dying, painting stopped, holiday stuff stopped, depression sank in, and the anxiety was horrible, and no one knew what was wrong with me. Finally I found out. Now I am doing much better, left with some knee problems and fatigue and some very bad eye problems that have to be worked out. It doesn't allow me to paint as much as I would like or do as much as I would like. But I am fighting to get back to me, I've been gone so long I forgot who I am.

 But on a lighter note, I have been painting as I can, and I have been trying to fill some orders. My next goal is to get some things into Etsy and debating about closing my Ebay store as there is never enough to list to keep it going. Still debating on that.

I am enjoying the snow, we have had a few inches here and there, more than normal and I don't mind, keeps me in and behaving, more time to paint. I am praying and hoping that I can have a healthier New Year and wishes for you all to have the same. Maybe this year I can accomplish some of the things that I really want to do. Happy New Year to one and all and thanks for the support and friendship all of you have given me this past year and into this year too.

So I will make no promise as to the next post, but let's say I am shooting for bi weekly right now, I'll see how that goes. As I leave you tonight, here a few things that I have been working on. Enjoy!

S