Brownie trifle

This is one of my go-to desserts to bring places. It is so easy to make and everyone always loves it.

Brownie Trifle
1 box Brownie mix- or your favorite prepared recipe
large box chocolate Jello pudding- prepared
large container whipped cream
2 Butterfinger candy bars

Break the brownies into pieces and cover the bottom of the trifle dish. Put a layer of chocolate pudding on top of the brownies. Add a layer of whipped cream. Hit the Butterfinger with a rolling pin while still sealed in the wrapper. Crumble on top. Repeat layers. Chill until ready to serve.

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

4 large potatoes, diced

1 med onion, diced

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

3 cups creamed corn

2 cups water

salt and pepper

1/4 cup heavy cream or 2 cups half and half

Cook bacon in skillet. Remove and crumble, set aside. In the remaining grease add potatoes and onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups water and stir, scraping all stuff off the bottom of the skillet. Add creamed corn, salt, pepper. Lower heat to low and cover. Cook for 20 minutes until potatoes are cooked through. Heat cream in microwave and add to soup. Stir and let thicken a few minutes. Serve in bowl with a garnish of bacon pieces.

Wahington DC day 2

On day two we took the Metro into DC. We were uncertain if it would be best to take it or drive in and decided that since it was a Friday and there was a lot of business traffic we would take the Metro. It cost $9 for an unlimited day pass plus we had to purchase $5 Smart card to load with parking money and we put $5 on it to pay for the parking at the Metro station. So, in all it cost us $64 for the Metro with parking. We could not pack a lunch or water because we had a tour scheduled to see the State Department Diplomatic Rooms and it was prohibited to bring in any food or drink.

We took the Metro to the Federal Triangle station. It is located by the Ronald Regan building.

Our first stop was at the National Archives building. It houses the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, the Constitution, ship logs, military records, patents, etc. They did not allow photography so I do not have photos of this building. We did not find this stop very entertaining, other than the history of the documents. It was not something I would put in priority to see if time was limited.

Across the street from the Archives building is a sculpture garden with this fountain.

We then walked through the Museum of Natural History. It had a lot of mounted animals and the kids enjoyed seeing them and how large they are.

We scheduled a tour to see the State Department Diplomatic Reception Rooms. We had to be there 30 minutes early for security check so we walked there. It was a LONG walk. The rooms are furnished with early American antiques. They use these rooms to entertain diplomats. They were very beautiful.


This painting was unfinished when the painter died. It was unusual to see an unfinished work.

This room was huge and the rug is 90 feet long and is one huge rug.

We then walked back near the Federal Triangle Metro stop which is behind this building. We were hungry and a man told us that there was a food court behind this building. We went down and through security and through the building behind and ate lunch.

We then walked back to the Museum of American History. This was one of our favorite museums. It had a lot of hands on things for the kids to do. It also houses the Hope diamond, the First Ladies gowns, and Julia Child's kitchen.

I used to work in dentistry so had to take a photo of this chair. We had to explain to our kids how you used to have to sit up and spit at the dentist.

My favorite thing was seeing Julia Child's kitchen. I love it! The color, having everything accessible, the style.

This is the Old Post office. It was built and there was so much opposition to it's construction that they planned to tear it down when the post office moved after 8 years to a different location. People thought it was old fashioned and ugly. I think it is beautiful.

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Washington DC day 1

On day one we drove from Sevierville, TN so we didn't get into Virginia until around 5:00 PM. We checked into our hotel and drove into DC to look around. It is so beautiful at night with all the landmarks lit up. We found a parking spot along the mall area and walked a little.

We walked to see the Washington Monument. It is so impressive! It was much larger than we imagined it would be. It is encircled with 50 American flags representing the 50 states.

We then walked across the street to the World War II Memorial. Each of the war memorials were so impressive. It is so hard to imagine the lives that have been lost in our wars.

Each star represents 100 lives that were lost and it is a very large wall of stars. They reflected into the pool which was very pretty.

How to hem pants keeping the original hem

I'm short. It stinks, because I am about 1/4 inch too tall for petite size pants, but the regular length is way too long. I guess I am a long legged short person- ha,ha. So, buying pants is pretty much torture. Anyway, you know how jeans have a top-stitched hem and to match the tread would be impossible? If you hem without the top-stitching it looks like nerd jeans so don't do it. Well, here is how you hem them while keeping the original hem.

Cut off the hem 1/2 inch above the original hem. This is your seam allowance so you can do 1/4 inch, but with the weight of the denim I think it works better to leave a 1/2 inch seam allowance so it will lay flat. It wasn't me, but whoever sewed the hem did it wonky. It drove me a little crazy.
Now, you need to know how long you want your jeans. I used my favorite pair that fit as a guide. Measure the inseam, which is from the crotch down the leg. I wanted my measurement to be 28.5 inches. I need to allow for 1 inch seam allowance- 1/2 on the hemmed piece and 1/2 on the bottom of the pants leg when sewed will take up 1 inch of fabric.

I measured the hemmed piece I cut off and it was 1 1/4 inches. I need 29.5 inches of fabric so I subtracted 1.25 from 29.5 and got 28.25 inches. That is the length the pant leg should be cut to without the hemmed edge piece added. Make sense? Once I sew the 1.25 inch piece using a half inch seam allowance the length will be 28.5. Below is the extra fabric I cut off the bottom of the leg piece.

Pin the hemmed edge to the bottom. (Hint: if you measure from side seam to side seam the front panel of the pant leg is not as wide as the back panel. When you put the hemmed edge on make sure you have the correct one and they match from seam to seam or you will end up with one side that is puckering and one too short across.)

I put on my zipper attachment since the denim is so bulky along the hem. I then sewed a seam right at the bottom of the hem. You can't see it in this photo because it just blends in, but it is really there, right at the bottom. See where the bottom edge is hemmed with the yellow thread... I sewed on right below the yellow thread at the same spot where the fabric is turned for the hem.

Turn right side out and iron the hem down flat.

This is how it looks on the inside. I think I will take some wonder under or double sided iron on fusable tape and bond the seam allowance down so it doesn't end up flopping around. I will see how it washes and wears first.

There you go all you short people. It was very easy- about 15 minutes from start to finish.