Of stuffed hams and brass knobs

Stuffed ham is a Southern Maryland tradition and it’s one of Crabknockers specialties. Chris made us one last Christmas to share with WARM, the homeless help our church participated in. It was so good we decided we’d like another for this year. Only this year Chris wanted to do it at our house instead of at CK’s. Duh, duh, duh... 

We chopped kale, cabbage, and onions forever and then tried mixing it in a million different bowls before we finally cleaned out a Rubbermaid tub for mixing. There was seriously chopped veggies everywhere!

Then it was time to stuff the corned ham. He cut C’s into the ham and filled them and the inside cavity to the point where it doubled in size. 

Stuffing a ham is a lot of work! I had no idea!

The girls were in bed when he came, but they heard him and came downstairs. They love their big brother and sister!

Next we cleaned a 5 gallon tub, lined it with cheesecloth, and transferred the stuffed ham into it. 

Poured in the rest of the stuffing, tied it up, and into the fridge it goes! Our whole garage smells so good and full of flavor! He’s such a good boy!

Today we set out to work on basement doors. I had had the boys take all the doors down and hardware off, thinking it was the best way to paint doors. Apparently I was wrong. 🙄 Turns out doors are a major pain to hang back up. I’ve hated these brass knobs for 9 1/2 years! 

In an attempt to be a good steward of the environment and economical at the same time, I spray painted all the hardware with oil rubbed bronze rustoleum. It went pretty well, but in spite of numerous sprays, including with a clear matte, there are still specks of brass exposed on several pieces. I think my spray painting hardware days are over. 

Anyways, after many mistakes, harsh words, hurt feelings, and adult time outs for calming down, we were able to put up 8 doors and almost all the hinges. I also made an extra dinner to serve WARM, and all the extra Saturday stuff like baths and keeping girls occupied and happy. Not a very relaxing Saturday, but we made another small dent in the basement project heard round the world, and it’s ending well.