Pennywise and pound-foolish

I needed a small table for a plant in the corner of our shower and while at IKEA last week, I found one. It was okay except it was orange, but I figured I could paint it and with a search on the internet, I found the primer and paint products I would need to make this happen. I sprayed the primer without incident, and yesterday I created a "paint booth" on the back porch to spray on the burgundy paint. At some point, the sprayer lost its mind and applied a whisper of burgundy paint over an area of at least 180 degrees, if not more. Now I had paint spray on the cabinet, the floor, the recycling bins, and me!!! The cleanup process took forever, and I doubt the floor will ever be the same (not that it was much to start with). To apply mineral spirits or paint thinner only thinned and spread it, so it was a process of one swipe, change towels, and another swipe.

Ken very kindly came to my rescue, but in the process of moving a heavy chest, he jammed his big toe and it immediately turned blue under the nail. We are still waiting to see what it is going to do. The final act was to send Ken to the garbage can with the table, the paint, and the full wastebasket - including throwing away the disfigured wastebasket.

On a happier note, I had a lovely day with Elisabeth on Tuesday. We did not drive to Chehalis, but I met her in Gig Harbor where she treated me to lunch and we visited not one, but two quilt shops. I did not escape without buying something, but it was very small and insignificant. But I did spend some time talking to the shop owner about the merits of Pfaff sewing machines!!

I am off to the Olympia Farmers' Market since we garnered such a lovely bunch of produce last week. Colleen's birthday was last week, but she has requested her birthday meal while here tomorrow so I need to ingredients for stew and apple crisp. That, along with homemade bread, is her all-time favorite meal.

Here is a recipe I discovered in our Sunday paper. I have prepared it twice because (a) it is so easy, and (2) Ken loves it. Enjoy. Ciao

Roasted Pears with Caramel Sauce (what could be easier?)

4 Tbs butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 pears, halved and cored
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup toasted nuts

Heat oven to 400. Place butter in baking dish large enough to hold the pears in a single layer, set in the heating oven until butter melts. Sprinkle sugar over melted butter, then place pears, cut side down, on top. Bake until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven, turn over pears and baste with pan sauce. Return to oven, bake until golden and glossy, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Transfer pears to dessert plates or bowls. Top each with a dollop of sour cream, drizzle with caramel pan sauce, sprinkle with nuts and serve. Helen's version: I added a splash of white port to the butter and brown sugar mixture and topped the pears with a bit of shredded coconut along with the sour cream and nuts (I used almonds).