Halibut chowder for my Philip

Phil has wanted me to make

 Halibut chowder for years

and I never have because

 I thought all the recipes I looked at sounded...not so good!

So three weeks ago I tackled this soup

and dumped all my favorite things together

and

it turned out delicious.

So I first like to set the table, my favorite

part of the meal.

Then recruit good help...

I first cut up a few potatoes and carrots

and par-boil them in a little chicken broth...

then I cut up my peppers and onions and saute them

in a little olive oil with sea salt.

then when the carrots are almost soft I add the sauteed

onions and peppers.

I use fat free half and half you can use the real stuff

I have also used coconut milk this is real creamy...

I melt all of the cheese and cream together

then dump it in also.

For my halibut I always use leftovers from the night before

and it doesn't matter how its been cooked.

Now to control how spicy you want your soup

 with the pepper jack cheese in it.

It is activated with black pepper

so start off with a few shakes first

 and then taste as you go.

then add your crumbled bacon and milk

and thicken with instant potato flakes

and Voila!

This is the first soup

some men

actually went back for 4 bowls!

more treasures

Here are some treasures I have found for the store and ME!!!

These French canisters

I have been in love with them

since I saw the picture of them...

note same picture on the side

of my blog...

My find of the Year!!!

I love the dream of Jeanie lamp.

and

the little flower salt and pepper shakers.

the wicker table is so sweet too!

I have big plans for the table lamp!!!

Last night we had 14 lovely ladies

for dinner it was so much fun.

I hope you all had a wonderful evening also.

Country Home

I thought I'd share some of Country Homes

inviting spaces.

I wish I could crawl into anyone of these

welcoming photos

for a nap.

My favorite rooms are the first pink bedroom

and the lavender floral room with

the cute gingham sheets.

Whats yours?

School shopping

We went to Anchorage

school shopping.

I had so much fun

with my Mom

I can't believe

my luck of hitting

Nordstroms

Anniversary sale.

Mimi got a little more than the boys

as far as clothes....

school shopping for a girl

is something I think

I was born for!

Good times

coffee

and a great sale!

What could be better a few

FABULOUS thrifted items.

I will post them tomorrow.

also

Please keep in your prayers

Jerrod Newlove

 he is one of the 2 missing soldiers

in Afghanistan.

He has a lovely wife

 and a 8 month old baby at home.

My neighbor called and asked me to put him on our

prayer list at church

 so I thought I would share this with all of you also.

New Items for the shop!!

Diane this is the picture I was telling you about how cute are these 4 bears

caught on the city web cam on a trail in Anchorage...

follow the leader!

the red tray in the first picture is from Vicki

how sweet is that

and Madelief here is a picture of my mug from Starbucks also

a gift from Vicki's trip,

I'll someday show my collection. My most

treasured ones are my Seattle mugs!

the rest are my new found

treasures for the store.

I love the 4 pieces of vintage oil cloth

how pretty are they and

the enamelware coffee pots and the little

child's dry sink!!

Oh and my light fixture arrived

It needs a little more work than I thought

thank God I have a handy man that can fix it...

It's so beautiful

I can't wait for my before and after

pictures

I know you will

agree it's a better fit for the

dining room!

I was hoping to escape to the store today

But the bad breath man

informed me that they were confused

 and thought their trip ended Sunday.

So I just set sourdough

for morning pancakes.

I didn't feel like cooking

because it was suppose to be my

evening off so

I drove 60 miles round trip for

Pizza

and brought back to serve.

It was such a lovely quiet drive

and I didn't care!

I hope you all

Have a Wonderful weekend!

sPiNario Fun

This store is amazing

SPINARIO

When my parents moved up to Alaska

18 years ago

they had always had

Teak furniture,

clean lines,

Danish!

Mid century style.

they sold it all for $250.00

It makes me sick

but after looking at it all those years growing up

I wanted no part of it..

 win some and lose some

Tomorrow I'll post treasures!

What a week...and a treat!!!

Phil and I have had

quite a week.

Sunday afternoon we went to

Vickarooni's

and she shared her treasures

from her trip

(jealous), three weeks long.

She brought me back

this adorable tray and 

a Starbucks mug.

I collect the Starbucks mugs

 from different states, city's, and countries.

so now I have a

North Carolina mug.

But Sunday I did something

lifting dishes

those pesky trays full of dishes

and slipped a disk.

Pain beyond pain

and everyday got worse

until

yesterday

my brother came up behind me

lifted me up and like dropped me hard

does that make sense

while still holding me

If I could have hit him

 it was like a lighting shock through my body.

HURT so bad...

and then I was still so sore

 but

I did start to feel better

after walking like an old woman hunched over

for 4 days

It's nice to have a little spring

back in my step.

Remember Phil and the PILL

well we both had

sillies this week

But

I have promised

to keep these things out of Blog land!

We are both being teased nonstop

but this is life.

so after such a Hard week.

 I treated myself to an original

Moose and Bird pillow...

the pear.

I hope Melinda

will start making J.r. pears

what do you think?

I will post my tray and cup and the lovelies

from Vick...soon!

as I have taken them home.

One more thing I'm alone now and in charge

at the lodge.

I told the guides I was

going to run it in a militant fashion.

they laughed

A client stayed in all morning

from fishing, a man.

His bad breath filled the kitchen and peeled

the paint off the walls.

talked the whole time

about cooking

which I loved, very interesting.

but from my suffering

I will share with you

this information.

Did you know that if

you use a thin sharp blade you wont cry cutting onions!

who Knew,

now we all know!

I'm not sure at the time if It was the

onions or his breath that was

making me cry!!

Christmas in July

For two of my friends this past Christmas

I framed them this amazing hand painted

vintage French wallpaper.

the only problem is poor Amanda had to wait till

June and Mary just got her set yesterday

Christmas in July...

The last picture is Amanda"s picture

 displyed in her beautiful home.

Amanda is also

STINKPOT STUDIO

So I guess I was on board already with the Handmade

Christmas...

Phil built the frames

and I painted them...

Now I'm next,

 I want three long framed panels.

Some day!