Have Fork, Will Travel

Gotta love a photo challenge that makes you go out to eat… or fix something delicious at home! What a perfect, wonderful excuse to indulge in my favorite meals.

Where do I start?

How about sitting down to a spicy Ethiopian dinner?  Let’s see… we have lega tibs, goram goram, red and yellow lentils, cabbage & carrots, green beans, and tomato relish. 

And of course all the injeria you need.

Maybe instead I’ll have sushi. Mango roll is scrumptious.  Shrimp, crab mix, avocado and Japanese mango with special mango sauce.

Or perhaps Greek!  I can’t pass up a gyro platter with falafel, dolmades and baklava.  The tzatziki sauce really sets it off.

I could stay at home and sauté some beautiful seas scallops and accompany it with an artichoke.

But I think I’ll have a Caprese salad made with heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil from my garden… dressed with my good balsamic vinegar.

Care to join me?


RAZMATAZ PHOTO CHALLANGE
http://razmatazblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/photo-challenge-food.html

A Roof Over Our Heads

I’ve been trying to get a roof put on all summer.

Roofer #1 came with recommendations. He gave me a good bid; we were in agreement on what needed to be done. However, when I called to get the install date in late July that is where things started to go downhill fast. When he found out I was having my Dad come down during the install he started hedging. He called me back and told me he needed to move the install forward to just a few days from that moment… and then he told me “you don’t need to be there.” I told him “no”. So his next date he could do it was on the following Tuesday. I told him that would work great because Dad would still be there.

Monday night he ‘rescheduled’ over the phone because of a delay at another site. He set the date for Thursday… once again saying I “didn’t have to be there”. As I was repeating the date out loud, Dad nodded he could stay. I told the dude Dad wouldn’t have a problem with the new date there was a long pause, then he said OK.

Thursday morning arrived… and Roofer #1 did not. Well over his schedule time my phone rings. He starts out with, “I guess you can see we’re not there.” Now he tells me my shingles aren’t in.

Seriously? The shingles he was all ready to install a week ago and 2 days ago all of a sudden are not ‘in’? Then he tells me “if this is causing me a problem he wouldn’t mind if I used another roofer”. I told him I needed that roof on. So he sets the following Monday as the new date. And tells me “you don’t have to be there…”

On Sunday night I called him and told him I was taking his own advice and finding a competent roofer and did not want his ‘services’.

Roofer #2 came with recommendations. His bid was close to Roofer #1. Set a rough date of the fourth week of August. When I started calling to get the set date, he never returned my phone calls. After a week of trying, I gave up. Fourth week of August came and went with no contact.

So it was back to the beginning… find a roofer. With no other recommendations I went to the phone book and set up appointments to take bids.

Roofer #3 was quick with returning my calls, on time for his appointment and in agreement with what I wanted done. Checked out thru the Better Business Bureau. He set a date of 8 October for the job. Called to check on it 3 days before. Date got pushed back to 14 Oct due to issues at other sites.

Dad arrived on the 12th.

This is WHY I wanted a roof on so badly.  And this is a pre move in photo, so it was 2 years worse for the wear. 

At 7:30am on the 14^th three trucks of workers pulled into my driveway.  It wasn’t long before the roof was swarming with people.

By 7:40am the first shingles were flying into the dump truck. 

By 8:45am the roof was naked.

By 12:30pm I had a new roof!

The shingles are by Owens Corning.  They are “Oakwood 30 year dimensional” in Estate Grey.  They are rated to withstand winds of 110 MPH.  OK... my roof will be up the hill in the cow pasture... but the shingles will still be on it!  

I think Himself will be quite pleased when he gets home next week!

Before and After: The Guest Room

I finally got the guest bedroom done.  “Cure times” really hammered my schedule!

Now, just to remind you of what I started with…

Kinda “meh”, isn’t it?

First thing needing attention was the bed. It is a king-size to give the guest ample room to stretch out. I purchased a new pillow top mattress to replace the rather lumpy set of twins that had been in there. The pillows are fairly new so those didn’t need replacing. And on one of my shopping trips to Home Goods I found some beautiful 800 thread count sheets that were soft as butter.

I traded the solid wood headboard with the wood & metal one in the master bedroom. (I’ll be working on the solid wood headboard in a later project.)

So the bed is good…

The first night stand is a curb find. When I first brought it home, I just touched up the stain and gave it a good oiling for the dry, dry wood. But with this project I wanted to dress it up a bit more. I’ve been watching all these faux metal redo posts and decided this was just the piece to try it on.

I tried the one using aluminum foil that you Mod Podge on. I have mixed feelings about it. I wasn’t happy with the color change that happened once the Mod Podge was on. So I hit it randomly with some silver spray paint. Then I decided I wanted the pieces to have the aged feel that is in the frames of the artwork hanging the guest room. So I put a layer of Minwax “Early American” over the foil/silver treatment. I let it dry for a few minutes then dabbed/rolled off some. Definitely more what I wanted for the room.

However, I was SO irritated to find out that the “cure” time before you put the poly on a piece is FOUR WEEKS! That’s straight from the people at Plaid Enterprises, makers of Mod Podge.

 

Before... 

This little stand is an old telephone stand that belonged to my great-grandmother.  It’s one of the pieces of furniture my Sis gave me back in June.  Since it has sentimental value, I didn’t want to do the faux metal refinish I did on the first nightstand.  So I tried a similar finish using paint so it would be easier to strip off in the future. 

 Ahhh… silver paint. I ended up buying 7 different types and spraying each on white cardstock to get an idea of what I liked best.

Both side tables were outfitted with the excellent suggestions left in the comment section of my earlier blog about my September goal. I put in a supply of magazines (some of my less common ones like “Knowledge” or Nat Geo “Traveler”) and some books, notepad and pencil, a small box of tissue, and a coaster for a drink.

Next I worked on the lighting.

For the left side, I replaced the brass lamp with a cut glass lamp. The cut glass lamp had brass details that just had to go. So I primed, then painted it with Rust-oleum Textured Black. It has the same feel as the texture on the headboard. I bought a new lampshade on my most recent trip to Missouri. There’s a great lamp store there called “Brody’s”.

One the right side I went with a wall mounted swing arm lamp since the side table is so small. My main guests are my parents and this is Mom’s side. She likes to read at night, so this style of lamp was the best option. It got a new shade too, to match the other lamp.

 

I had been using an old Windsor chair to provide a bit of seating but it didn’t really like it there.  On one of my trips to the ReStore I spotted this chair.  The curves worked perfectly with the rest of the room.

I repainted the metal with the Rust-oleum Textured black paint to match the other pieces.  The cushion was recovered in extra fabric from the curtains.

And finally I worked on the walls and window.

I swapped out the art, taking down the large darker pieces and replacing them with ones in lighter tones. These two are original watercolor we brought back from Bosnia. We were introduced to the artist and he invited Himself and I to each pick any of his paintings we wanted! The one on the left is the one Himself selected. It’s a tree with traditional Bosnian hay mounds in the background. Mine on the right is a grove of trees along a river.

I made the curtains from lengths of textured fabric.  Very simple, just hemmed the cut edges.  I took down the old metal blinds and put in a roman shade I bought at Lowes. 

I think it's much more inviting.  It has its first guest right now... my Dad came down to help with a few projects.

Cooking at Ingredients: Italian, Part Two

I enjoyed another Italian cooking class with Lana at Ingredients a while back. 

Best Friend was able to come to this one too.  She was soon in the middle of the action helping to grate the tons of parmesan we’d be using that night. 

Nick started the evening making each of us a Coffee Frappe.  While everyone sipped their frappe, Lana prepared the different recipes.

The main course was Penne au Arrabiata.  It was super quick to make.  I think it would be a good recipe to pull out on a day you’re busy and have a crowd to feed.

She also did up a side of pesto.  I could live on pesto.  Hmmmm… I can already tell I need to make my basil patch a LOT bigger next spring.

A tasty and filling meal that is so easy to put together.

And dessert was ricotta pie. Lana added chocolate chips to her version. Not totally authentic Italian… but everything is fantastic with chocolate!

Penne au Arrabiata

1 large can of strained chopped tomatoes

1 med onion, chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

4 ounces pancetta, chopped coarsely

Ground red pepper to taste

4 ounces Pecorino Romano, grated

2 ounces extra virgin olive oil

Penne pasta – amount you desire for serving

In a large skillet, sauté pancetta in olive oil over med heat for 5 minutes, stirring to avoid sticking. Add onion and garlic; continue cooking until onion is transparent (3-4 minutes). Add tomatoes and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture has cooked down (about 10 minutes).

Pour over cooked pasta, add cheese. Mix well and serve immediately.

Another Baby... All Grown Up Now

Four years ago I was in Kenya.  In planning the things we wanted to do, I discovered the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and its “elephant orphanage” (www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org ). 

After reading about their efforts to save the elephants and rhinos in Kenya, I became a sponsor of a baby named Zurura.  At around 2 months old he fell into an open pit ruby mine and was trapped.  From the torn up ground around where he was found, it was obvious the herd tried a long time to rescue him before they were forced to flee.  This photo is from his rescue.

He was taken to the “nursery” in Nairobi where he was treated for his injuries and became part of the mini herd of orphaned babies cared for by the trained keepers.

And while we were in Kenya we had the wonderful opportunity to meet and spend some time with him! It was amazing to actually be able to stroke him.

Now little Zurura (which is Swahili for The Wanderer) is a rambunctious little guy and was shipped a year later to one of their “halfway homes” in Tsavo Park. This is where the elephants learn to be free. It’s also where ornery little boys can be disciplined by the big boys. The elephants themselves decide when they want to “cut the apron strings” and live in the wild.

For the last couple years Zurura has thrived there. Just a few days ago I received this email update:

"This month Zurura has promoted himself to the Seniors, one day simply refusing to go into his Night Stockade as usual, and instead joining a Splinter Group of Ex Orphans led by Naserian…”

My little bitty elephant has grown up and is living free.

And that is what it’s all about.

Baby, Baby!!

I took a break from working around here to go up to Missouri and play with the babies.  They are growing up so fast! 

 It’s fun watching them, especially when they interact.   Little Bird likes to love on her baby brother… not sure how he feels about it! 

Little Bird is always on the move now.  She has walking down pretty well and is working on running.  That pillow is one of her favorite toys.  It’s one of those super plush ones and she loves to flop down on it.

Flinging clothes out of the clothes basket is another favorite activity of hers! 

Little Hoss… he’s happy just being held.

Tho the “kick and play” is kinda fun too.

And my, but doesn’t that toy of Little Bird's look interesting…?

I try to get up to see them at least every 4 to 5 weeks. They change so much between visits.  Who knew having babies around would be so much fun?

Country Speedbumps

There's a reason to drive slowly along the country roads to my house...

The speed bumps are kind of rough!