More Adventures in Produce

I had a second round of local produce delivered by Greenling.com last week!  I swear I'm like a kid on Christmas when I open the box, even though I've already seen a list of what was to be in it.

I was quite the haul and contained several things I was completely unfamiliar with, cooking-wise.

As an added bonus, they threw in some veggie saver bags which came in handing for storing everything in my fridge.

I've spent the past few days experimenting, mostly using the recipes that Greenling provided in the package.  My first concoction was Southern Peas and Okra.  I had no clue what southern peas were; they kinda looked like beans to me. 

And they kinda tasted like peas.  I must say, I'm not a fan.  I ended up just picking out all the okra, which was great.  Next up was Chilled Watermelon Soup.

This was a big winner!  And perfect to enjoy on a weekend where temperatures kept soaring over 100.  It's basically just watermelon, greek yogurt (I use Fage), lime juice and ground nutmeg.  My last recipe I attempted was Fig and Tomato Wraps.  Before last week, my only experience with figs was a Fig Newton.  And I wasn't a fan of those.  I was nervous.

Luckily they turned out pretty good!  I can now say that I like figs.  This recipe had the filling mixed with soy sauce.  That was a little too salty in my opinion.  I would totally make these again but I'd probably substitute a balsamic vinegarette. I'm still having fun cooking my way through my box.   It is helping me forget that the heat has been doing a number on my own garden.  On tonight's menu, Squash and Pear Kabobs!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my favorite old man!  70 years old today and still having fun!  May we all be so lucky.

Love you, Dad!

Martha Makeover

The end table from my condo living room has been quite neglected the past year.  It has been living in my garage for the past several months and before that, it was living in the back yard.  It's been rained on, baked in the sun and then covered in garage cobwebs.  I didn't really have any use for it but I thought if I gave it a makeover, I might come up with one.

I primed it with leftover Kilz to cover the staining technique and also kill any nasty mold or whatnot the table may have picked up while it lived in my yard.  I picked out a silver metallic paint from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot.  This little container was about $6.

I basically finished the table during 2 nights of Prime Time TV.  I love evening living room projects.

I walked around the house looking for a home for it and settled on the guest room for now.  The guest room had one nice nightstand and then one puny plant stand on the other side. 

My lamp is still a little undersized but the proportion of the end table works much better than the plant stand.

It makes the bed a little more balanced.  It fades into the corner with my beige walls and gold curtains but some day I'll get around to changing all that.  I'd also like to eventually find a headboard.  But for now, this ended up being a great $6 solution to the nightstand problem!  Thanks, Martha!

All Safe and Sound

In the midst of having my roof replaced and my dead AC repaired, I have been trying to prepare for a European vacation.  The dogs booked vacations to my parents and the Petshotel...I placed a hold on my mail...just lots of little tasks to accomplish before leaving the country.  Being the person that I am, I've got a spreadsheet and several checklists going.  One thing that I have been wanting to get is a security system.  I never activated the one in my condo but now that I'm in the house I thought it was a little more necessary.  And being the person that I am, I've turned several salesmen away from my door and tossed tons of junk mail away.  I wanted to do all my research before letting some suave door to door guy get the best of me.

Pablo stays cool with a frozen water bottle

Enter my heat-filled Monday night...The door bell rings.  I slowly amble to the door, dripping in sweat and probably not smelling too good.  A nice looking man and woman are on my front porch and they want to tell me about the security system they are offering.  Maybe it was heat-induced delirium, but I invited them in after chatting for a few minutes.  Next thing you know I've got a new fancy security system.  I almost thought I owed it to them after making them sit in my 94 degree dining room.  But in reality, the numbers they threw at me we comparable to what I'd reasearched and the equipment was very impressive.  Several other people in my neighborhood use them already.

My control panel is a modern touch screen.  It gives me weather forecasts and even allows 2-way talking (like Onstar) in case of emergencies.

I can also control the whole system from an app on my iPhone (or by logging into their website).  If I forget to set the alarm after I leave, not a problem!  I can check my history log and see a list of every door that's been opened, any alarms that have been triggers, or any changes that have been made.  Along with my new system came a new thermostat.  This had been on my to-do list as well because I have an old non-programmable mercury thermostat.

This was Tuesday morning, after the house cooled a little over night but before the AC was fixed.  Once it was fixed and I headed back to work, I could monitor my house's temp from my phone.

That screen capture is actually from Monday night, hence the high temp.  But you get the idea.  I can also control a power outlet in my house to turn on a lamp or whatever, all from the power of my phone.

I have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed and hooked up to my system as well.  All alerts are emailed and texted to me (as well as reported to proper authorities).  You can also install camera that can be monitored from your phone or keypad door locks so you can unlock/lock your doors remotely.  Quite the Smart House!  So, while heat exhaustion may have lowered my defenses...I am happy with my purchase.  It was very affordable and I can now leave the country knowing my house is being monitered and protected.

Bed Repairs

I finally got around to sewing up Pablo's bed.  I gave it a while to see if we had fixed Stewart's chewing issues.  So far so good!

It's got a little Frankenstein thing going but at least it is no longer hemorrhaging stuffing.  And because we had a little bit of puzzle envy going on, Pablo now has his own mini-Kong to eat treats out of.  It's about 1/4 the size of Stewart's.

In other news, my AC was fixed this morning.  Stay tuned tomorrow for my crazy impulse buy last night while I was sweating to death in a 94 degree house.

Too Hot for Home Improvement

As temperatures cruised past 100 this weekend, I was just too hot to get anything done.  I especially couldn't seem to cool down all day Sunday.  I couldn't motivate myself to mow the lawn.  I broke a sweat just switching out loads of laundry.  I even got worried for a second that I might be getting sick because I was so hot.  But then the dogs started panting.  I went and checked my thermostat and it was a balmy 85 in my house!  The AC was running but was not actually cooling the air.  Ugh.  At least now I don't feel as lazy.  I have no clue when it went out but by Sunday evening it was like living in a sauna.  I spent most of the night awake, sweating, and covering my body with various bags of frozen vegetables.  Here is Stewart posing with some edamame.

Around 4am we all headed to the backyard for a while to play.  It was only 80 out there and my house was nearing 90.  It was quite the all nighter.  Sadly my AC people can not come out until tomorrow morning so it looks like we will be pulling another one tonight.  Send cool thoughts our way.  Or more frozen peas.

Raise the Roof!

The Great Hailstorm of 2012 claimed my roof.  Or so said my insurance company.  Some people might be elated by that news, but I'm guessing those people have lower insurance deductibles than I do.  Sigh.  I was at least excited about catching it before leaks created an even bigger problem.  Thursday morning, while I was still trying to wake up in the 6 o'clock hour, roofing elves delivered their supplies.

And while I was at work so were they.  When I came home they were still at it.  In fact, they were at it until about 9:30 last night.  I feel bad for their longs hours but I'm glad to know they were well hydrated in the heat.

Someone was hanging out in my driveway this morning so I assume they are finishing the job today.  Here's an idea of the damage from the storm.

 
Nothing too disturbing, but there are definitely some shingles knocked out of place.  Here is what it looks like now.

They replaced my whirly-thing and I actually preferred the black one I had originally.  But that's really not a big deal.  The funny thing is that the After photo almost looks like it's had some damage but that's because it's a different type of composite shingle.  This new shingle has a higher profile, doesn't lie as flat.  It also has an ombre shading (how trendy) that gives it the appearance of more depth.  Here's another before and after (of different parts of the house) that show how the shingles are different.

All in all this has been my most expensive before/after project and also the most unimpressive as far as change in appearance is concerned.  Necessary but not exciting. 

New Job

Not for me.  For Stewart.  Last Wednesday I came home from work to yet another pillow catastrophe.

Luckily no feathers were involved this go round but it was frustrating nonetheless.  Even Pablo is fed up with Stewart's shenanigans.

I was at wit's end so I threw Stewart into the car and headed to Petsmart.  I was lucky to come across the world's most helpful sales associate/dog trainer.  She talked me off my ledge.  She said that since Stewart was currently on exercise restrictions (due to his heartworm treatment) he had effectively lost his job.  That job being People Walker.  We are still taking short walks but it's a change from his runs he was enjoying in June.  Since his unemployment is technically just a furlow until September, he would need to pick up some temporary work in the meantime.  Stewart's new job?  Puzzlemaster.

I will no longer be feeding Stewart out of a dog bowl.  All his food will be inside these "puzzles" and he will have to work to get it out. 

He seems to have picked up on his duties pretty quickly.  The Wobbler is his least favorite but that's probably because it's the hardest.  The theory behind all this really made sense and I'm happy to report that we've had no casualties since Wednesday.  While at the aquarium on Saturday (more on that here), I noticed dogs aren't the only ones that get bored and need jobs.

I'm not sure what this octopus did to get him in to trouble, must have been chewing on the coral.  I really hope we've found a good temporary job for Stewart.  He seems pretty beat after a long day at work now.

Once we getting this issue licked, I can go back to decorating the house instead of just cleaning and repairing it. 

Musical Furniture

The dining room side of my front room is looking good but it is putting to shame the random area on the other side of the room.  This is the area to the left of the front door, now home to a coat rack, and the area directly in front of you when you come through the door.  Here are some older pictures. 

I don't take a lot of picture of the areas since they are just holding random furniture right now.  The tragic white cabinet will eventually move out to the garage for additional storage and the large TV cabinet is actually available for a new home, if I can find it one.  I decided having these pieces in my space was blocking my ability to make any progress so last weekend I moved things around a bit.

The armoire was moved into the guest room for the time being.  This is not a permanent move.  It is too bulky for the room but it'll do for now.

I cleared out my coat area so I could try to visualize what I want to do here.  I think it may end up like a tiny sitting area because it may be where I store my extra dining chairs (if and when I get some).

The tragic white cabinet is now acting like a place holder in my entry area.  I've got my Dallas aerial hanging approximately as it will be when I'm all done.

As I've mentioned before, what I want for this area is a bright, funky console table.  I'm having problems finding what I need because it has to be no wider than 39 inches.  Most are 40" and up.  Here's some stuff along the lines I'm thinking.

I'm willing to paint whatever piece I find but I just know that I want something semi-ornate like these tables from the UK.  I may go pink or yellow or purple, maybe orange.  I just have to find a table first.  Feel free to donate any Baroque 39" tables you have laying around the house.