Friday's Checklist

Roger and Steve pulling wires, replacing wires, rewiring, etc.  Trent, who put on the spider suit and crawled under the house, joined them later so at one point there were three electricians here for about an hour and the other hour and a half, only two.  Yeah, think about that dollar-wise.  And they will be back when the stove and oven are ready to be wired in.

So the electricians were half an hour early and so were the delivery boys from Ikea.   The Ikea delivery was scheduled for between noon and 4 and they were at the door at 11:30.  The boys didn't even bark they were so exhausted from the excitement of all those electricians.

68 pieces for the cabinets plus the outside table I got half price off the as-is price.  Score!

Those are the new wires coming out of the floor.

Note to self:  limit liquid intake when workers are expected. 

Started at 7am

First Wade (or Waylin) cemented all the sub-floor seams.  Drying time was about 15 minutes during which he started measuring and thinking on how to cut and lay the vinyl.

The tool of the day is a nifty little cart that has two rollers on it that hold the vinyl, making it very easy to unroll and cut the pieces.

The adhesive is a bright baby blue and also had to dry until tacky before the vinyl was laid down.  And while the flooring doesn't have much of an odor, the adhesive does and the glue on the seams really is strong.  If you click on this picture it will enlarge and give you a good look at the flooring.  I think it is a perfect choice, not too shiny and also age appropriate for the house.  Thanks to MSDeb for her assistance with the choosing!

And now we are done and just waiting for the seam sealer to set up and dry.  Six hours before I can let the boys into the kitchen.  It's a good thing I have to go to work because by the time I am back the baby gate can come down.

Lest anyone forgets the chaos of all this, this is the view from the tub.

Sub-flooring

The real floor guy came this morning shortly after 7 and took one look at the floor and said you really need sub-flooring here.  Too much of a difference from the new to the old and especially the spot were the original back door is.  Original as in 1903.

I really wasn't surprised.  I had been surprised when the manager said he didn't think it would be needed but then I have never been re-floored.

Wade (or possibly Waylin) did bring in the vinyl before he went back to the store for sub-floor.  It is a good choice and I wasn't particularly worried about that but you know how it is when you only have a 3x5-inch sample.

I was sitting in the sewing room doorway so I could watch him put it down.  Just one guy and it only took him a little bit more than two hours.

I learned about this tool, an undercut saw which was used for cutting away the walls to make room for the flooring to slide under.  The handle is about  3 inches higher than the blade.

The boys were pretty patient with having to stay outside and once it was all over, quickly resumed their favorite position.

Dylan

More than a little wind!

A storm really blew in early last evening.  Through the window above the French doors, I caught a glimpse of the big tree flailing about and also the turkey vultures.  I ran out to see a least six of the huge birds, wingspan of 6-ft., having a lot of fun with all that wind!  They are gliders and one swooped very low over the garage.  That was thrilling!!

Not easy to photograph birds in the air.

A Repurpose

Before repurposing

This is a very old dresser I bought about 25 years ago.  It's a modest piece and not very well refinished but it is a nice size.  It has a lovely almost ornate mirror that attaches to it.  The drawers do not have any kind of sliding mechanism in them and so are kind of annoying.  So much so that I really did not like using it as a dresser.  After the first part of the kitchen remodel, I got rid of some cheap Home Depot cabinets that I had used first in the laundry room and then later as an island in the
kitchen.  I took the mirror off this dresser and put a found enameled top on it and it became the island.  The drawers were still annoying to use but now that there was silverware being stored in them, I had to use them annoying or not.

Michael, the woodworker, now has it and will convert the bottom two drawers to two doors.  He will also add a stronger floor/bottom and I will use it for those rolling can racks.

We are 4th in line so I am not sure when it will return for the After shot.

There is some good here

I was getting a little whiny.  I needed to fill the dog food jars and had to guess which box held the measuring cups and the funnel.  Found that the 1/2 cup measure was in the dog food overflow container so considered that very lucky and counted as exercise the extra bending to reach into the bag.

And then there are the bookshelves.  I was doing some sorting, deciding what to put in the DI box and what to put in the library box when it dawned on me that I will touching pretty much half of what I own, twice. 

The whining got serious.  Then an epiphany.  If I get rid of something, I have only touched it once!

The Disruption

Really, it's worse than I expected.  As a person who lives with stuff stacked everywhere, it didn't occur to me how disorienting it would be when those stacks were gone, not to mention the flat surfaces where the stacks lived.  I turn to pick up my scissors from the counter where I left them and oops, no counter.  And using the bathroom to make coffee and wash any dishes is just gross.

So I am a little out of sorts but this morning one of the blogs I read, Piece O' Cake posted this video which provided a wonderful, weepy release:

(Beethoven's Ode to Joy)

Sewing Therapy

Brighter on the right because the window is on the right.

After the ripping out and tossing drama of the last three days, I needed a little sewing time this morning.  I love making this quilt.  Easy cutting, all strips are 2 1/2 inches and then sub-cut to 10 1/2, 6 1/2 and 2 1/2.  Easy chain piecing too, as long as you remember you are making an O and not an H.

 

...and I made more than just this one!

I have a lot of the blue rose fabric and I will try to make this eight blocks across and eight blocks down.  The blocks will finish 10 inches square.  Even without a border that will be a nice sized quilt.

All Gone

There it is, the bottom half of the kitchen, waiting for Larry and John to pull up with the trailer and haul it all to the dump.  The broken stove, the old sink which I really liked and the cursed spinning corner shelves.  They got here at 8 and it looked like this:

The last few dishes were in the sink.  It's the sink I will miss most for the next two weeks.  By 10 it looked like this:

 

John, Larry and a Saws-All.  Pretty amazing.

The Old Wallet

It was a clutch kind that snapped shut and I liked it but it didn't slip into a pants pocket.  It was still laying around though because there were still cards inside.  I get paranoid about throwing away wallets and purses that I am done with and they are something I never donate.  I am sure there is a twenty dollar bill hidden in a safe spot!

Still inside were two expired insurance cards, my new library card (I use the key ring version), a buy 12 get 1 free pizza card (first date is 10/23/08), two Home Depot rebate cards and an Einstein Bagels gift card.

The Home Depot cards still have $8.47 on them and the Einstein's card has $9.10!!  Woo Hoo!  I can splurge!  And I only need two more pizzas for a freebie.  Wow.  A good day even if I didn't find any hidden 20s! (I carefully cut the wallet apart to make sure.)

What I learned on NPR today

Discovery HQ 2012

1.  Well, it's shark week on the Discovery Channel.  25th anniversary actually.

2.  The baby boomers (born 1945-1965) are a happy and optimistic group but delusional.  No way do they have enough money saved and their health is really not that good.  That's going to cost money but we will have to wait until the election to get a clue how much.

3.  The CDC is recommending that the boomers (see above) be tested for hepatitis C.  Many of us are carriers and unaware of it.  It can cause cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.  2 million boomers are infected.  Andrew Muir, Director of Hepatology at Duke University, says treatment remains expensive and grueling.  It can cost $100,000, which can be beyond the reach of people (see above) without health insurance, Muir says, and having hepatitis C can make it hard to get insurance.

4.  Finally, from the Shark Week story, fake blood is a combination of corn syrup, ketchup and chocolate syrup.  

Kind of creepy how the two stories seem to connect, perhaps we will see a surge in the number of seniors (in Florida) choosing Death by Shark while they can still swim. (see #2)

It Begins

I'm emptying out the kitchen so the new floor can go in.  I have been through the cabinets in the recent past but did not really get to the island which has to be emptied to be moved into the living room.  Pretty much everything but the kitchen table needs to be moved into the living room.  I will leave the table and one chair kitchen chair for the last minute and then MNDeb, hopefully, will help me move the table to the deck.  The floor layers to not move anything but the refrigerator and charge $15 to slide it out of the way and $15 to move it back.  I'm pretty sure that's correct.

Here is a relic that was in the spice drawer.  I do believe it came from Illinois.

Soup in August?

It sounds crazy but it's because I had fresh corn to use up.  Sadly, my tomatoes are still green so I had to buy these:

The container is empty because the tomatoes are roasting.  I had some issues getting the green top off. I remembered that in Terry's kitchen there was a container of these tomatoes on the counter and I was pretty sure the green part was the bottom.  It didn't make any sense to me but I did finally get the green top removed and got the tomatoes in the oven.  I put the plastic parts in the recycle bin but kept the label to the side so I could take a picture of it.

Why did I want a picture of the label?  Because on the inside of the label it says "Why are other tomatoes only good in August?  Don't they know you cook all year long?"  That made me laugh.  When I turned the label over, to the top side, I noticed other words..."Open Here".  That really made me laugh.

The soup turned out well but I didn't think the tomato flavor was quite strong enough. That could be because the tomatoes I used had traveled from Mexico.  Also I would leave some of the roasted corn to be stirred into the soup.

The recipe, Roasted Sweet Corn and Tomato Soup, came from Our Best Bites right here.
 
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 cobs)
10 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, any color, diced
8 ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
32 ounces chicken broth (4 cups)
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
fresh cracked black pepper
Kosher salt

Place corn, tomatoes, and garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil and sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt and pepper.  Gently toss with hands and then arrange in an even, flat layer.  Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400º or until tomatoes are crinkled and burst.

While vegetables are roasting, heat a stock pot to medium high heat on stove top.  Add remaining one teaspoon olive oil and diced onion.  Saute about 5 minutes, or until tender.  Add roasted bell peppers, chicken broth, smoked paprika and chili powder.  Add  seasoned kosher salt and black pepper
When corn and tomatoes are done roasting, add them to the pot, making sure to scrape off all of the bits on the pan.  (If desired, reserve a couple spoonfuls of roasted corn for garnish.)  Bring soup to a low simmer and cover.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth.   Add additional salt and pepper (I added cayenne).  Yields about 6 cups of soup.

Nutritional info for 4, 1 1/2 cup servings:
Calories: 168
Carbs: 24 g
Protein: 8 g
Fat: 7 g

This is my version, pretty much the same but since I had no chipolte chili powder I had to adjust.

March UFO

You've seen this one before, on the old blog, but not quilted, bound and done!  I used batting I had on hand and it was a poly batt.  When I got it  back from quilting I thought I had made a very big mistake choosing to do that.  It looked a bit too puffy for my taste and I was worried that Sheila's hard work had been wasted.  Not so!  Washed and dried, it is now crinkled to perfection!!  The quilting is absolutely everything I had hoped for.

This is, currently, my most favorite quilt that I have ever made.

A Silver!

I had two big quilts and two small quilts that I "entered" into the binding competition.  I only finished the two big ones and since the two small ones did not even equal one big one, I'm saying that's a silver.  I snapped this early in the morning:

I could have finished before lunch but I was distracted by a BLT and then I fell into a book, etc.  Yes, those are hair clips I use to hold the binding in place.  I move these along as I go but mostly have them holding down the corners so the fabric remembers where it should be when I get there.  They are also helpful when the humidity is high and my thumbs are hurting.

Tomorrow a fence picture showing a washed, dried and truly finished quilt.  Yay!  A medal!

On the Rocks

...or we could just call this Design Wall Thursday.

I have a lot of the lighter blue that was gifted to me.  If you look closely, you can see that it has roses in it.  I wanted to minimize the roses so I made the block on the lower left.  Way too fiddly and time consuming.

Yesterday, after I had finished all my visiting, I had some sewing time but it was just too hot to work on binding the big quilt or quilting the other big quilt.  So I tried a more simple version of the block.  The roses are more obvious but I like it and it's much faster to cut and sew.  I will alternate the blocks when I put it all together.

I think it is a good plan, binding and quilting in the cooler hours of the day and sewing blocks when it is hot.

Too Hot to Grill Outside

...but I had a pound of hamburger that I wanted to make into burgers.  My attempts at pan frying burgers have been disappointing so I googled it.  Score!  I found the recipe here.  I made mine this way:

1 lb.  80/20 ground beef
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or to taste
Fine sea salt*

Sprinkle a scant teaspoon of fine sea salt into a large, heavy frying pan on medium high heat.  While pan is heating mix ground beef, onion, garlic and pepper together.  Shape into four patties.

When pan is hot, shake to disburse salt evenly on bottom.  Place patties in pan.  After 3 minutes, remove patties from pan, shake pan to redistribute salt and return patties to pan, uncooked side down.  Cook another 3 minutes or until desired doneness.

This worked perfectly for me.  I used heat setting 5 on my cook top (on a scale of 10-1) and to really test this I was using a heavy stainless steel frying pan.  No oil.  There was almost no sticking because of the science involved and the burger has a lovely crust on it.

Ha!  The science is that the salt draws the moisture out of the meat but because the pan is hot the burger is immediately seared, trapping the distributed moisture inside the burger.  My burger had just a tiny bit of pink in the middle, just how I like it. And I had sourdough bread for a bun.  Fabulous.

* I cooked two burgers in a large pan.  Next time I will try it in a smaller non-stick pan just to test it to see if the outside will get crusty but with a smaller pan I will reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.

Hooray, again, for Science!  I'm calling these Burgers Supreme!

***edited 08/14/12*** I made a burger in the nonstick pan and it didn't get as crispy and tasted saltier.

Binding. The 2nd Heat.

Yes, pun intended.  The glare you see behind the sewing machine is the sun squeezing through the blinds along with its associated heat.  I had sweat dripping down my neck, fps.

Of course flipping that quilt around to get the binding on wasn't easy either.  It's a good sized quilt.  The funny thing is that I was still looking for that tin full of basting pins and what surfaced but the missing binding for this quilt.  Of course it's good to leave the smaller quilts to last anyway because they are faster to do and no doubt I will be racing to the finish.

Oh Boy!

The cucumbers are starting!  I would really, really love to make bread and butter pickles again.

Word©

One of the most un-intuitive programs ever written.

Really.  Should line spacing be such a problem?

Maybe it's just me.

On the Podium

First completion in the Binding Competition!

Another UFO to cross off the list and this one isn't on the A list or even the B list but in all the stack shuffling, I ran across the stripe that I had bought for the binding and decided to just get it done.

The top I completed in 2010 and is a pattern designed for a jelly roll.  I like that pattern so much I have made it twice now and I'm sure I will do it again.  The quilting was fabulously done in 2011 by my friend Sheila. 

One down, three to go!