Lifestyle – Page 2 – Am I Write?

February 24, 2020February 25, 2020

Creating a Stairway Gallery

If you’re like me you’ve accumulated quite a few photos over the years. I love the look of a photo gallery and thought this would be a great way to showcase my favorite photos. Even better, I thought, would be to create my gallery on the stairway wall. This turned out to be quite a challenge, but I absolutely LOVE the final result.

Step 1: The first thing that I did (after perusing Pinterest for ideas) was to determine where to place the bottom, and the top of the gallery wall. A little bit of online research determined that the photos should start at 19 inches from the floor (or stair in this case) so I measured 19 inches from each stair and dropped a line of painters tape.

Step 2: I decided I wanted the photos to frame a wall hanging I purchased at HomeGoods so I place the wall hanging in the center. The wall hanging’s diameter determined the top of the photo gallery. I measured from the top of the wall hanging to the stair below it and repeated this measurement (47 inches) at the top stair and at the bottom stair. I dropped another line of painter’s tape using these reference points. This created two parallel lines with the same slope as the stairway.

Wall Hanging Centered and Top Line Set at 47″ from Molding

Step 3: Using painter’s tape and the slope of the stairs, I recreated this space on the floor so I could lay out the framed photos I had selected. The slope of the stairs was determined using good ole rise and run. The rise being the height of each stair (for my stairs this measured as 7 5/8″). The run is the depth of each stair. My stairs are 11″ deep. I placed a vertical piece of painter’s tape on the floor for reference . Next I measure 11″ perpendicular from vertical then 7 5/8″ down and parallel to the vertical tape reference measurements. I marked this spot with a small piece of tape and repeated until I had got to the other side or end of the stairway template. Repeating these over and down measurements created a sloped line along the floor representing the bottom line of my gallery. The top line was created by making several marks along the length of the bottom line at 47″ (the diameter of the the wall hanging.

Bottom Line of Template Created Using Rise and Run From Vertical tape. A Template of the Wall Hanging Created in the Center Using Painter’s Tape.

I tried to use a good mix of different size photo frames (4×6, 5×7, 8×10, and a few odd shaped frames). I arranged the photo frames in the template and moved them around until I was happy with the result. Once I had the layout, I took pictures to remember where each photo belonged. Most importantly, I kept track of how many photos I used of each daughter to keep it even!

Step 4: Lastly, I hung the photos (okay, my husband hung the photos). I considered using paper templates of each photo to hang and replace with the real frame but it seemed to me this would take an eternity. Instead, I decided to live dangerously and use a tool called “The Picture Hanging Tool”. This sells on Amazon for $12.99 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083TLSGNH/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_glWtEbDEYH390). This tool saved me hours as it allows you to figure out where you want to hang the picture and mark the wall before picking up the hammer. Using the layout photo and hanging tool, I carefully transferred each photo & frame to the wall.

I absolutely LOVE my staircase gallery and plan to update photos and frames as the years go by.

November 26, 2019February 20, 2020

Instant Pot Freezer Meal Prep

I feel so late to the Instant Pot party! I’m sorry but when I heard my co-workers raving about a pressure cooker I was NOT excited. I mean, my mom used a pressure cooker, therefore it WAS not cool. But, then I discovered on my best friend, Pinterest, some Instant Pot freezer meals and I am completely converted.

Instant Pot freezer recipes are perfect for RV trips

For the most part you just put all of the ingredients into a freezer bag or container, freeze, and take out when you are ready to eat. Some recipes are finished in as little as 40 minutes–that’s straight out of the freezer! The recipes I found are from Pinch of Yum at: https://pinchofyum.com/freezer-meals. These meals are delicious and I will definitely be looking for more instant pot recipes.

Fourteen freezer meals fit perfectly into my RV freezer

Even better, I’ve discovered that most any recipe can be converted into a freezer prep. The cook times should remain the same regardless or whether or not the meal is fresh, thawed, or frozen. Just remember that the Instant Pot will take much longer to come to pressure for the frozen meal than it will for the fresh/thawed version. So while it will only take say 15 minutes to cook, it might take the frozen version 20 minutes to come to pressure, while the fresh/thawed version only takes 5 minutes to come to pressure.

November 16, 2019September 21, 2020

Keep it Spicy (with Ghost Peppers)

Two summers ago I discovered Ghost Pepper Margaritas–Delicious! I learned the recipe for these beauties contains Ghost Pepper Jam. I also discovered that ghost peppers and its resulting jam are hard to find! I decided to grow them in my garden and make my own jam. Below is the recipe for Ghost Pepper Margaritas as well as my recipe for a variation of Ghost Pepper Jam using raspberries. This jam is delicious on brie, croissants, toast, ribs, chicken–in fact I’m still finding uses for it! Enjoy!!

Ghost Pepper Margaritas

Ingredients

1.5 oz Tequila
1.5 oz ghost pepper jam
0.75 oz orange liqueur
2 oz fresh lemon juice
1 dash (a spoonful) of agave

Directions

Salt the rim of a glass and fill with ice. Fill a shaker with ice. Add all the ingredients and shake. Strain into glass.

Ghost Pepper Raspberry Jam

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 green bell pepper, halved and seeded
5 ghost peppers, stemmed using gloves
6 cups white sugar
2 (12 ounce) packages frozen raspberries
1 box pectin
9 Jelly jars with lids and rings
Canning jar lifter
Canning funnel

Directions

Fill a large stockpot or canner at least half-full with water. Cover and bring to a simmer (180°F). This will be used to pre-heat the jars as well as processing the filled jars.
Check jars, lids, and bands for cracks, scratches, and nicks. Jars with nicks, cracks, uneven rims or sharp edges may prevent sealing or cause jar breakage. The underside of lids should not have scratches or uneven or incomplete sealing compound as this may prevent sealing. Bands should fit on jars. Wash jars, lids, and bands in hot, soapy water.
Lower the jars into the stockpot or canner to pre-heat in the hot (180°F) water. Leave lids and bands at room temperature for easy handling. Lower the jars into the water until they are filled. Keeping jars hot prevents them from breaking when filled with hot food. Leave lids and bands at room temperature for easy handling.
Blend vinegar, green bell pepper, and ghost peppers together in a blender until smooth. (I use gloves to handle the ghost pepper and resulting pepper mixture.)
Stir pepper mixture, sugar, raspberries, and pectin together in a another large stockpot; bring to a boil and cook until the jam is smooth and the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
Use a jar lifter to remove a pre-heated jar from the stockpot/canner. Fill one jar at a time with jam using a ladle and a canning funnel leaving 1/4 inch head space at the top. Run a knife or thin spatula around the inside of the jar to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp paper towel to remove any jam residue. Top with lid and screw on band until fingertip tight. Repeat for remaining jars.
Once all jars are filled, return them to the hot water bath using the jar lifter and leaving space between the jars (about 2 inches). Pour in more water if necessary to bring the water level to at least an inch or two above the tops of the jars.
Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, process for 15 minutes.
When processing is complete, shut off heat and remove the lid. Allow jars to rest in the canner for 5 minutes.
Move jars from canner and set upright on a towel. Leave jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours to allow them to seal. No need to re-tighten the bands as this may interfere with the sealing process.
After 24 hours, check to see if the lids are sealed by pressing the lid in the center. NOTE: There should be no flex when center is pressed. Remove the bands and attempt to lift the lids off with your fingertips. Properly sealed lids will remain attached. If a lid fails to seal within 24 hours, immediately refrigerate the product.