Penne with Spinach and Bacon

I made this for supper last night and it was really good! Sprinkled Feta cheese on top. I took a picture of hubby`s. Made ours separate because he had to work late, so I have no idea what amount of pasta I actually used in the end. I always make too much. But I really think the sauce makes enough for two rather than four servings. Tasty and easy!

INGREDIENTS:
1 (12 ounce) package penne
Pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 slices bacon, chopped 2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced
Tomatoes
1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed
And torn into bite-size pieces

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the penne pasta, and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place bacon in the skillet, and cook until browned and crisp. Add garlic, and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook until heated through.
3. Place the spinach into a colander, and drain the hot pasta over it so it is wilted. Transfer to a large serving bowl, and toss with the remaining olive oil, and the bacon and tomato mixture.
4 servings

Submitted by: Superman's Mom at allrecipes.com

My Green Door

Been doing the usual things off the computer...work, reading, cooking,cleaning, decluttering the kitchen, wiping muddy dog feet, cleaning up the gardens, making a new cat door and painting outside trim white and the front door green....

It may not be the prettiest door, and it`s hidden with an old screen door I painted white, but I like it much better than the brown. It feels cottagey and will be having a plain white curtain, rather than that ecru lace one. Maybe it will hint at what`s inside eventually. Still the same in there for now. I haven`t even finished the couch yet. But maybe this weekend. So much to do. Want to get together with Jackie from Jacran Cottage too, one of these weekends. Look forward to that, just when...I don`t know yet!
The spring flowers are blooming. Not a lot of them, but what`s there is nice and looking better every day. And as you can see, the wood stumps for the cats are still there lol. It was like a hot day in summer this past weekend! Chilly now though, and we had a quick and very windy downpour. Good for the plants.....not so good for my Mum`s big trellis plant stand. The wind kept flipping it over and then upright again, smashing bits off. Almost like a small tornado here a few hours ago.

This is the new window in the frontroom. I stuck a glass of fake tulips on it. I felt an urge for something real too so , I dug up a spring flower and potted an ivy stem. The fake tulips actually look the best though. Hubby got the shelf for me to eventually put some real potted flowers and plants on. All the windows are being draped in plain white sheers hung from rings on wrought iron poles. Those are supposed to arrive this week. I`m excited....another small step forward to a hopefully nice room....

To the families and friends of the students and teachers who lost their lives in this horrendous shooting in the USA at Virginia Tech University. My heart and prayers go out to you.....

Continuing My Sometimes Overwhelming Project

I`m finally able to get back to this slipcover business. I have the whole day off today! Thank you so much everyone for all the lovely comments. I`m still trying to get over to visit. Hopefully I can do some of that before we head off to a surprise 40th birthday party for my brother-in-law tomorrow.

I`ve been hearing on the radio lots lately about this place in St. Jacobs called Blind Ambition. It`s the largest fabric store in Ontario and next month I`m paying them a visit to continue putting together some fabrics for everything else in the frontroom.
Here`s one side of the couch arm finished although the back part isn`t done yet. I have to make it so it slides off somehow. I`ll worry about that later. Need to do some parts I can see so I keep inspired about all this work...

Teddy really has moved since the last picture but sits here while I`m doing the pillows and now he has another couch buddy. One cushion done except for the back zipper and cord trim on the front...

I had to take a picture of this guy too. He`s laying on an old runner rug of my sister`s we`ve put down for now until we get a proper one. It`s much safer for Elvis when he comes galloping down the hall....

I love the colours in this picture and am going to use them as another jump off point . The walls are white and one large couch totally green and add more white and green with the other colours here. Eventually I`ll have a totally clear idea I hope LOL...

Back to work now. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Come Back Here Spring , Happy Easter and the Couch Begins

Hope everyone has a nice Easter weekend. The snow is back once again here, hopefully for the last time. I took this picture below the other day.....

And this one yesterday. Hope the snow doesn`t ruin the flowers....

Today we go to my brother and sister-in-laws for supper in Toronto. But yesterday I found some time to try to start making slip covers for the couch. I`ve washed the sheets to soften them and just in case they shrink a bit. I`ll do that with all the fabric beforehand for each piece of furniture. Teddy is the star of these pictures mostly. I have no idea really what I`m doing but hopefully it all turns out in the end. Here are a few steps. If all ends well, I`ll put all the steps together eventually. I used an old tablecloth for the underside in which the cushions will sit on top. Not sure about the fuschia as a small accent. I`m still thinking about accent colours. We need an area rug to match this green and then it`s best to go from there I think as I`d originally planned until these sheets came about on sale....

Teddy was sitting here before I started and is very persistant that he will not be moved regardless of how many times I remove him LOL.....

I wanted to see what the trim looked like against the arm. I know it should have been the other kind that sews right in the fabric but this was cheap and I`ll stitch it on with heavy duty thread. The colour is more green than the beige showing here....

The bottom front will be hemmed and all ironed up, but oh no.....another helper has arrived......

After cutting a circle of fabric and making a hole in the middle, I stitched it to make gathers and covered some buttons to stick in the middle....

The button is more in the centre than this picture shows. Due to the light streaming through the window I had to take it on a small angle. Once I sew this part, I`ll baste the rest and hope that I can get it off and on from the back. That part could be very interesting. I`m definately going to have to have seperate pieces as you can see here. That bottom part, once stitched will no way stretch over the fat arm! Yes....this is going to be interesting, but being the fickle person that I am, I want them to come off to wash of course but also maybe someday be able to change them back and forth to another set. yeah, right....as if I`ll attempt all this work again LOL. But you never know....

A stubborn and content cat....

Ignore that horrid old green piece of cloth thrown on an ugly table but look....
After posting all this I walked into the frontroom and there he is again......

Playing with Colour Scheme

I have an odd hours workday which isn`t too often luckily. The only good thing about it is that I`m not too tired or busy to do some things around here for the morning. One of them was to put something up about my re-doing the front room furniture etc.
My Mum called wanting to know if I`d like to pop out with her to Lens Mills Warehouse yesterday so I took this piece of cardboard just in case I could find a good bargain. The cloth beside it was my original sample, having collected all the green paint chips at Home Hardware. The cloth was just something I dug out of a drawer and I layed it over a chair to keep looking at the chips I had stapled to it. It`s not the shade of green I`m using anywhere. The cardboard one ( colours are a little different on camera) is the final descisions minus that pink paint chip and I haven`t yet added the new bits of fabric onto it for future use.

I found two packages of queen size sheet sets in the right colour green I wanted. $35.99 a set. Loads cheaper than apholstery fabric and washable. They have a pattern on them of some sort....tiny two tone lines, so should break up the "sheets on my couch" look hehe. My Mum has offered to help me make removable slip covers. They`re the largest last batch to the left in below picture. The colour is a little more brillint than is showing here. Also found some gorgeous fuschia/raspberry for a pillow frame and backing. 3 meters for $19 and change. The darker is an old tablecloth I had. Maybe another pillow backing. I want just a hint of this colour amongst the green as well as black. The fireplace is black so I thought a bit more might add some drama to this colour combo with the white walls.

I re-painted that green mirror in black and like it much better. It bothered me and I set it up and kept looking at it over a few days.
Those bright fake peonies are something I picked up at the dollor store for the kitchen at one time and I thought I`d use them against the greens I had to see how those two colours sat with me. Decided to go with, but maybe later get some more "real" looking ones when our short peony season is over and fresh aren`t available.
Things are evolving into something that I hope ends up looking nice. Hopefully when it comes time to find a round area rug for this part of the room, I can find something to match. As you can see the rug there now clashes horribly, but will go nice in the spare bedroom eventually.

Teddy seems to like trying out the tablecloth I threw over this little chair to see what it would look like......

This is that decorating book I picked up in St Jacobs on Saturday and a peek inside...

Not all of the pages are to my taste but it`s a nice find and E-Bay is amazing to find wonderful things as I have done in the past.

The camera isn`t capturing very well, just how lovely these pictures are....


Isn`t this cute how she`s set all these sock monkies on the bed? What a great kids room....

She bought furniture which would be great, but the shipping would be insane I would think.

Love these green dishes....

Elmira Maple Syrup Festival Part 2

Happy April 1st! or April Fools day :)
Jackie, over at Musings from Jacran Cottage....waving...."Hi Jackie" http://jacrancottage.blogspot.com/ was at the festival too! We didn`t run into each other but it`s funny because I was wondering if she would be there. She has a link to the festival at her blog. People come from all over the world for this huge little event here in Canada.
Someone went to a lot of work making these bird houses.....

The trail of people goes down the street a long way......

There was even log sawing....


Mmmmmmmmm, home made fudge with samples to try..........

More food....

Hand made teddy bears.....

Elephant Ears are a sweet pastry but now they even have pizza ones!

Garden Gnome overload......

Giant Pickles on a stick the size of a typical cucumber!


A balloon clown for the kiddies.....

More crafts.....

And warm sheep skins.....

Despite the cloudy and chilly day, the rain held off and we had a nice time.
We stopped by St. Jacobs on our way home and into the Discount Bookstore to have a browse. I found a great decorating ideas book for under $10. I did have a picture of the village but it`s gone missing somehow LOL
Hope you enjoyed a peek at the Festival :)