Backyard Cleanup

I finally had enough and cleaned up the backyard. I had several things that really needed to be done. In addition to it needing to be mowed we have some concrete that was left in our backyard after a contractor fixed the neighbor’s gas line and the guy they used to jackhammer out the surrounding concrete never finished his part of the job, the ash that we were dumping was in one corner along with trash that had collected in the yard.

Here are the before and during photos:
Cleaning up the Backyard - Cement that was never removedLots of Cement from when the Neighbors gas line was Replaced

Cleaning up the Backyard - area next to the fenceCleaning up the Backyard - grass has been mowed.Before Sideyard was Swept and Cleaned

and the after photos:

Sidewalk cleaned up Another Angle of The Cleaned Up Sidewalk

No More Ashes From the GrillBird Feeder in it's New Location

After - Backyard cleaned up on the sideAfter - Backyard Cleaned Up

Once my in-laws visit later this month our outside area will look even better!

Harry (2004 - 4/20/2009)

What?

Hey Mom Can I open this one?

The hole in my heart from losing Tiger last year is still raw and now I have a new one from losing my charming rock star bunny.

Harry says "no plastic"

Have Beef Ribs Need a Dry Rub.

The local grocery store had a really good sale on ham, brisket, and ribs two weeks ago and I couldn’t resist buying 4 pounds for $8.00. I couldn’t find a recipe that I liked searching through my cookbooks, magazines, and around the web so I scanned my spice cabinet and pulled a few spices to use for my dry rub.

Dry Rub
2 Tbsp Red (Cayenne) Pepper
2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp basil
1 Tbsp garlic powder

Ribs

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Spread rub on both sides of the ribs then place foil covered pan in heated oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove pan from oven and spread your choice of BBQ sauce on both sides of ribs and place covered pan back in oven for 30 minutes.

When it came time to add the BBQ sauce I combined the original Rudy’s sauce with a shot of maker’s mark. We usually have BBQ sauce in the fridge so the next time I make this I plan on trying something different. Next time we have pot roast I want to try using the dry rub and some beef broth and cooking it in the crockpot.

Our dinner last weekend ended up being ribs, oven baked fries, and broccoli with cheese sauce. After the last couple of months eating out and cooking the same couple of recipes I think I’ve finally found some variety for our meals.

A Small Update for the Cabinets

Tired of rusting, sticky, awful looking door knobs on the bathroom cabinets I updated C’s bathroom cabinets a few weeks ago. I plan on updating mine but my cabinets are different so I want to put different hardware.
Hardware Before

A nice, shiny updated look.
Hardware after

Now to update the cabinets in my area and the kitchen!

Happy Easter!

Harry says "no plastic"

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter! Our family has one request for those thinking about getting a bunny as a pet this Easter. Please do all of your research ahead of time so we don’t have more abandoned bunnies in the coming months.