How thick would the board be? I can have our builder cut me a piece to fit.

Blue…love blue. Girls, name your favorite blue.

As for the bottle tree, it will have to have a 21st century name…the recycling tree. Hang enough and it will be worth some $$$$. I vow now that I will drink more wine to support this cause. Love this thread. :>)

Go with a board at least 1" thick, mght be better to double up with 2 boards. Sky blue!

tipi, I saw that bottled water in a movie once, beautiful shade of blue, Edward Norton, Robert DeNiro, Marlon Brando, what was the name of it? Dang!!!

The Score

Cobalt blue!
Yes, 1inch thick. You don't want to have the bottom fall out during the night!
Regional artists already make bottle trees for big bucks. I missed that boat. *L* A woman living in one of the high end neighborhoods in town bought one from an artist and put it on her porch. Her HOA pitched a snitty fit over it and has an ongoing battle with her . Haven't driven by there lately to see who's winning. *L*

The Score!!!! Yes, that's it, thanks for saving my sanity!

HOA's can be terrible to deal with, but that's the price you pay, I guess, for lousy grounds maintenance and a new roof every 50 years.

I didn't know about HOA's until my friend's daughter recently purchased a to-be-built in N C. She asked me to help her long distance and I was amazed at the cost of any upgrade (choosing a paint color not from the collection, which only had about 10 beiges). Even the landscaping was controlled. Wow, I thought, those neighborhoods must be pretty redundant. The exterior had 3 choices, vinyl siding only running horizontally, or veneered brick or stone. So, yesterday I saw a new (to me) Sarah Richardson show about a house she purchased and would be decorating and it was a HOA situation. So interesting how she maneuvered different things to make her house special and not go over budget. Also, the contractor was a very patient man (at least on T V).

What happened to feeny, anyway? Did she get buried in all her paperwork?

And Carolyn, too!

judyg, I saw that Sarah Richardson show too! I try not to miss any of her stuff. God smiled on just a few people and she is surely one of them.

Calling feeny and Carolyn. Please check in!

Did you see the finished living room with the lavender walls? What did you think? At dinner last night with my designer pal, she said she didn't like it at all. Thought the colors were too girly girly and there were too many little chairs.

Of course anything Sarah does looks great to me. My only thought was that she used one big rug and had two seating areas. Always thought you used a rug for each area. Oh well, what does Sarah know? Just because she is on T V, young, gorgeous, rich and I am not….well, I tell you.

Almost 4 and I promised family spaghetti, so I should start it. I do make, if may say, a good sauce. Recipe from an old Italian friend long deceased. Talk later.

judyg! I need that recipe! I make a terrible spaghetti sauce, which should be illegal for Italians, no?

tipi, that sounds good! What size can of tomatoes? The big fatties or the 16 oz?

hahaha! Typical! Thanks!

Who is Italian, you? And you can't make a gravy? Your mother must have been Irish!

One can of either Cento Italian Tomatoes or Pastene Kitchen Ready Tomatoes
1 can of water
1 can of tomato paste
1 onion chopped
1 pkg of Perri (important) Italian sausage (I use sweet)
hot pepper flakes
dried oregano
dried basil
T of olive oil (my absolute favorite for dipping or cooking is California Olive Ranch).

Cut the sausage links into six pieces each and brown with onion in olive oil. Sprinkle with hot pepper flakes to your liking.
Add can of tomatoes, can of water, tomato paste. Stir to mix. On the top of your sauce sprinkle liberally with basil and oregano. Mix again.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least 2 hrs. Stir occasionally.

That is my basic sauce. If I am in the mood to make meatballs, I do. I use natural, ground, sirloin. I do not fry or broil them, I just add to the sauce about 40 minutes before serving. Sometime I add a handful of spinach at the end.

Freshly grated Parm, a good pasta and Mama Mia!

It is so easy. Hope you like it.

Good morning ladies, woken to a glorious day here, it is only 14 which is pretty cool for a spring morning, but hopefully will only go to around 20 with beautiful clear blue skies so should be a perfect day for the painting I want to get done.

You set me off with Patty Duke and John Austin - had to Google - yes Patty is 65 and John 82. Their marriage was the second for both of them, John had 3 marriages and Patty 4. Ironically John had 5 sons but now has 5 granddaughters. Both of them have had pretty amazing lives, Patty had a terrible childhood and is bi-polar but it wasn't diagnosed until 1982 and she now works tirelessly for mental health issues. John is still lecturing in drama at his old Uni. I really admire people who are still working in their 80s but isn't there more to life than that?? Maybe it is a labour of love.

I've heard of the bottle trees, I know years ago orchardists used to have them here, the bottles used to hang from the branches so they chimed against each other in the wind and scared the birds away from the ripening fruit. We also have a real bottle tree, it is found in the outback, don't know if you would have seen them at Uluru, Michigammemom, the tree stores water and can save the lives of people who might become lost. Didn't Carrie used to drink water from a blue bottle in Sex and the City?

You are going to have to do some translating for me too - what is HOA?

Tipi - your sauce sounds very like mine, except I add a cup of very rough red wine and a couple of spoons of tomato paste.

Well, this isn't getting the painting done and I will start getting dirty looks soon. Get back to you later.

Thanks! And yes I'm Italian, my mother was an even worse cook than me and she's full on Italian. Her mother was the best cook ever and I think she took all the good-cook genes. It will take many generations to rebuild.

How do you cut Italian sausage without it falling apart? Have you heard of the Silver Pallette cookbook? I learned how to cook Italian sausage from there, you first simmer them in a little bit of water then brown. They are very meaty that way, not so much fat.

Why do you use sweet sausage and then add hot pepper flakes? Is that so you can control the amount of heat? I would have to skip the pepper flakes 'cause my hubby will not eat anything spicy and he's Mexican so who knows.

What size can of tomatoes? You see, being culinary challenged, I have to have specifics!!!

I love a good Parm, can't get it in California without going to a specialty shop. All we have is grated cardboard from Kraft.

tipi, that is truly a beautiful blue! But I think part of its beauty is the fact that it's glass, I don't know if you could get the same effect reproducing it with paint, do you?

That is funny you saying about the cheese in CA Bobbi, when my granddaughter was about 3 and came here she complained she was hungry one afternoon so I offered her some cheese. At first she wouldn't take it but I finally tempted her and she just kept coming back for more. After they went back home she wanted to keep up the afternoon cheese snack but the first time my daughter gave it to her she threw it back saying "No, I want Nanna's cheese!" I must admit we are really blessed with a huge assortment of beautiful cheeses here. My daughter had to go to Trader Joe's to get "proper" cheese.

tipi - laquer, definitely. That could actually work.

gg - that is funny! How cute she is. And how did she ever survive that extended plane ride? That would have done me in!

Did you all hear about this? The FDA, in addition to regulating the content of these so-called youth serums, is going to start regulating the claims they make! I think that's about damn time. Any airbrushed 17 year old can look good. If they really want to test the effectiveness of their product, use it on me!

Bobbi, I agree! I despise those ads with teens using youth creams. Give me a break. And while we are on the subject, 19 year old, 6 feet tall, size 0 models. Designers say their clothes look best on that type of figure yet the average American woman is a size 14 and us baby boomers rule. If they want to sell clothes, make it look good on us!
Thank you for your time and I will get off of my soap box. ;)

creeser, did you know that fashion designers consider a size 12 to be a "plus size"? HA! hahaha!

I did! Is that not the most ridiculous thing in the world? I want to see some size 16, 60 year old, 5 feet tall models strutting the runway. Those clothes I'd buy! *L*

I couldn't agree with you more! A real woman, who's had kids and doesn't have a 24" waist!!!

Absolutely! I want them to have bat wings and a triple muffin top!

Triple muffin top!!! hahaha That just makes me hungry!

gg, I just saw your post. HOA is Home Owners Association. Generally you find these in condo's and townhouses. They regulate what you can and cannot do with the outside of your property and generally take care of the grounds. They are responsible for exterior paint, landscaping and all roofs. They are truly a pain in the butt. They're quick to jump on you when you've planted or painted something you shouldn't have, but are mostly lax in landscaping and maintenance and paint.

For instance, I lived in a townhouse about 20 years ago and we wanted to replace the old aluminum windows with vinyl, and I had to make a presentation before the HOA board to get permission. But a neighbor had a hole in one of her window screens and they wrote her a 30-day get if fixed or pay a fine letter!

How about sharing a favorite recipe? Now, don't groan. I am not talking about Baked Alaska. I am talking about a quick get it on the table meal so we can get back to OLLD. Or someone is knocking on the door and it is wine time. What to offer?

I'll start it off. It is wine time. All you need is a bite sized chunk of cheddar, topped with a piece of candied ginger and a toothpick to hold it together. If you really want to show off, add a cracker. Seriously, try it. Yummy.

Are you seriously asking for recipes, from me? hahahaha! Isn't candied ginger hot, or spicy?

I'll get you my Pastel de Tres Leche recipe tomorrow. It's not fast, but it is to die for!

Back, ladies, just taking a lunch break. Had quite a productive morning have treated all the timber finishes in my bedroom except the bottom of the door and window frame as the 'beautiful' sun was streaming down on it. Have to do a second coat in some areas but have to wait 24 hours. Also painted the cornice - my last decor job, I painted the room in 3 shades of one colour, the palest on the ceiling, the middle colour on the wall and the deepest colour on the cornice. Now of course it will take 3 coats to bring it back to white again. Hopefully will get another coat on this afternoon plus all the ceiling.

Re HOA - we have them here for units and townhouses too only they are called the Body Corporate, which is made up of all the owners in the complex but of course there is always someone who wants to rule the roost and have everything their way. Not for me, I'm afraid these days I'm not backwards in telling people to pull their head in.

Avalon is a wonderful little traveller - she has been flying since she was 2 months old - and really has the flight off pat. She knows she can watch DVDs either on the plane or her favs downloaded onto an iPod and then she has to have a sleep and when she wakes up it is breakfast time and she is nearly at Nanna's house. She even ensures she has a pillow and blanket and wears the eye mask they hand out. Actually on that particular trip she was walking to the plane, pulling her own cabin bag, when the pilot caught up with her and asked her if she was going on his flight to Australia. She told him she was going to visit Nanna and he said he had a little girl just like her waiting for him in Australia. When the plane was coming in to land the pilot came on the loudspeaker and did the usual thank you for travelling, etc. but added a special thank you to everyone as he was retiring and it was his last flight "and to a very special little girl on board, I hope you have a lovely stay with your Nanna". Funny thing was though that my youngest daughter had gone to the airport to pick them up and was standing beside a blonde 30-something bimbo type with a little girl about 3 and overheard them talking about how long till Daddy arrives and how Daddy was going to stay home with them now. My daughter had the thought - yep, Qantas Pilot, 4th marriage and after the plane landed THE now retired pilot walks up to greet his family!!!!

The iPods are a boon for the kids, last time they came there were blizzards in New York that kept grounding flights and there was quite a backlog of people trying to get home. One flight made it out so they delayed my daughter's flight for 3 hours to wait for it. They boarded them at midnight and they had to sit on the plane at LAX till 3 am. The kids just sat with the iPod, and their earphones and watched 3 hours of Curious George!!!.

Oh, God, ladies don't start me on clothes!! Fashion definitely ends at 60!! Your whole body shape changes, sleeves are an absolute must, and NO we do not wear polyester just because we are old, especially with our humidity. I traded in my 50 year old sewing machine last year and plan on going back to making clothes - don't ask me where the time is coming from although a lot will be the time I save trudging around shops feeling more and more depressed. I am also fed up with the way sizes are shrinking, probably a legacy of everything being made in Asia. I have size 16 clothes from 10 years ago that are very roomy and comfortable on me but I struggle to get into a size 22 now, and the armholes are down around my waist.

My favourite recipe that my girls and their friends all loved was Drunken Meat Balls. Make up or buy meatballs, and lightly cook. Add 1pkt French Onion Soup, 1 stubby beer at room temp and simmer till the flavour goes through everything. Just before serving add one carton sour cream. Most important the beer isn't just out of the fridge as it loses all flavour. Sometimes I used 2 cans beer, depending on the amout of sauce I wanted or you could add water to make extra. Mightn't be the same without Aussie beer hahahahaha.

Time to get back to the painting.

Hi ladies, just have to go to bed, I am soooooooooooo exhausted. Got the first coat of paint on the ceiling this afternoon and the second on the cornice. Once I would have done the whole thing in a day but I think I have developed more muscles just so they could ache. My right hand went in the middle of it too - hope I'm not getting arthritis, well I probably am but I just don't want it seizing everything up like today. Damned old age!!! Try for an early start tomorrow and hope to finish the ceiling.

Tipi, yes I will post some photos for you, I'm pretty pleased with my ideas if I say so myself, and very excited to implement them, so will be very interested to hear your opinions. I will start with the ensuite which is almost finished, just waiting for the towel rail to arrive and I am trying to plan some art work. Got a few ideas. Nearly forgot have to make a curtain too, need some privacy.. The rest will take a while as I have to get new carpet right through the house but don't want to lay that till the painting is finished. I'm aiming to have my bedroom, the wardrobe, the lounge and dining rooms done by Christmas, hopefully even the main bathroom if the builder is well enough. I'm emptying each room as I go and will leave it empty until the carpet can be laid to save constantly moving furniture. House looks like a demolition site, but I can live with that for the end result.

They covered your "Perfect Storm" on our news tonight, of course had to include footage from the movie where the boat goes up the giant wave and sinks. Calling it the Frankenstein Storm because it is due to hit on Halloween. Sounds very ominous I just hope the worst case scenario isn't reached although they said it has already killed 40 people.

Oh, by the way, did you see a news item of a 60 year old lady in Germany who had a tumour that her doctor misdiagnosed. She just kept getting bigger and bigger so had an ultrasound done which was how they found it. It nearly killed her as it was restricting her airway. The tumour weighted 28 kg, had to put it in a wheelbarrow to cart it away but after the op she actually lost 40kg. Now that is what I call a diet!!!!

Granny, you always make me smile. Sleep tight!

Ladies, please help!!! I am moving from a very large house to a small cottage on the water [ok - tell the truth, it is a cove]. I currently have a cooktop and a double wall oven. The new home [cottage] has a range. I am planning to have a slide in electric [am afraid of gas] range. Saw the GE Profile double oven, but it seems too futuristic and is very expensive. I thought I could compromise with a single oven slide-in range with a warming drawer... Liked the Kitchenaid. Saw the Kenmore Gemini, [but not a slide in]. Saw the Electrolux - Not sure I like the second oven on the bottom. Seems awkward...

Any advice on how to live a double oven life with a single oven????? Am planning to get a microwave above the stove with many cooking features...

Have I missed any great double oven ranges???

paulamig, Did you consider the Kenmore 30" electric range with small upper oven?

By the way ladies there is a funky art gallery in Matlacha, FL with a profusion of bottle trees...all using the cobalt blue bottles. It looks like something out of Alice in Wonderland!

paulamig, I have an oven like the one michigammemom posted. Love it! I use the top oven mostly because it's smaller to heat, but it's so nice to have the 2 when I need it.

michigammemom, how cool! I'll have to look it up and see if they have photos.

Thanks for the recipes. That is what I need, quick and yummy.
What is a stubby beer?

judy - I should have said a stubby of beer, thats' Oz for a tin or a bottle the size you drink out of, don't know what you call them.

GG Thanks. My daughter loves Ying Ling beer probably from her years in Japan. I will tell her next time she opens one she is having a stubby. Cute.

She should have a stubby holder to put it in - insulated pouch so your hand doesn't warm the beer as you hold it, we Aussies think of everything especially where beer is concerned and cold cold beer is absolute top priority. Haven't tried Japanese beer but when I was in Korea I absolutely loved their OB beer. The air pollution was so high I kept choking on it and beer was the only thing that seemed to cleanse my throat - bit like a Draino effect. What also amazed me was that on every street corner would be a guy selling it all set up with coolers, bit like I envisage your hot dog stands, and so cheap. Strange thing too was that the alcohol was quite high but not once did it affect me.

Creeser and Michigammemom - I was hoping to find a slide-in range. The kind that overlaps the countertop and does not have a raised portion at the wall. I like the design of the Kenmore, but wonder if either oven would be large enough for a big turkey. Have considered a single oven with a warming drawer, so I could just bake the sides ahead and keep them warm... any ideas?

here is the slide in version of the Kenmore range - the ovens seem rather small. I think the poultry in the top oven may be a cornish hen!! http://s.shld.net/is/image/Sears/spin_prod_747296612?hei=400&wid=400&op_sharpen=1&qlt=90,0&resMode=sharp&op_usm=0.9,0.5,0,0

paulamig - I can't offer much help here as I don't know your brands but my old oven that is about to be pensioned off was quite large with a grill and rotisserie and underneath was a warming drawer. I don't see the warming drawers much now, but I don't know how I will live without it. Things will eventually dry out in the warming drawer and need to be foil covered to keep moisture in, but if you are cooking for a crowd it takes the stress out of ensuring everything cooks and is ready to serve at the same time. I wouldn't plan on leaving things in it for hours though, you would need to partially cook your sides and set aside while the turkey cooks and then put the sides back in the oven to finish off while you rest the turkey and carve and if necessary wrap the carved meat in foil for the warming drawer while the sides finish cooking. That probably wouldn't work though, I think you would prefer to carve the bird at the table wouldn't you?. They are also great for warming plates to keep food hotter after you have served it.

I've never baked a turkey the size you probably would but I believe many ovens today are quite small - the main complaint I have heard now is that Costco's pizzas don't fit into them - seems that is really important!!! LOL. Probably need to measure your existing oven and take the measurements to the store to check out against new ovens.

Thanks GG. The slide in range I am considering has the warming drawer. Here is a link: http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/product/KESS908SPS/
The top oven seems to be normal-sized. I would use the warming drawer for the mashed potatoes and the stuffing - things that will hold well. I currently have a GE Profile double oven, with one of the ovens a convection. The convection unit makes the oven so shallow that a turkey will not fit. I think the newer convection ovens are not so bulky. Will definitely take measurements to compare.

Hi Girls,

Do you know about the oil-free electric turkey roasters? I didn't...thought they all need lots of expensive oil. Just enjoyed a perfectly cooked turkey at a friend's with the oi-free. Delicious, fast,easy clean up. Just in case you can't find an oven big enough....

Will Google that post-haste! Have been worrying about the range situation, because I have been so spoiled by the double oven and there is just no room in my new kitchen. This could be my holiday salvation!

judyg, I did know that! One of my brothers-in-law has one. It's an infrared turkey fryer. Lowe's carries them as does Ace Hardware. Does a fantastic job.

Great. You can even save the drippings for your gravy.

paulamig - trust me, mashed potatoes will dry out if left too long, if I knew mine might be there a while I used to make them quite sloppy and then remix when I was ready to serve. You will need to experiment a little. The turkey roaster sounds a great idea, is that like a normal appliance that you can put away when not using? Sounds like it could be the perfect solution for you if you have enough storage space or maybe it could even sit in the garage if your use is only seasonal. I notice in America you seem to go for the all in one standing stove, here we go for a cooktop that sits on the bench and separate wall ovens. I just love not having to bend to get things out of the oven, seems so much safer to me. My oven door has a lever inside it that I release when I want to clean and the door drops down flat against the warming drawer and cupboards below. I think some now have doors that slide in underneath the oven.