More Bathroom Blogging

I've finally taken photos of the guest bathroom vanity project that I completed while Jeff was out of town at his conference. I had been waiting for a good opportunity to work on this since we are currently living in the guest room and using this bath while we complete the master suite. With Jeff gone, it was a perfect time to clear the counter and work for several days.

With the new decor in the guest bath, everything was coming together with the updated avocado theme except the vanity countertop. It was a white faux marble laminate material that looked out of place with all the warm tones I had brought into the room. (This previous post shows the newly painted vanity but old laminate top.) Since we're keeping the sinks, I didn't want to tear out the old counter and make more work for Jeff just because the color was wrong. So, I painted it!

Before/After

I used an abrasive cleaner, wiped it down well, and primed with a good bonding primer. I used a base coat one shade darker than the walls (walls: SW (Sherwin Williams) Ecru, counter: SW Harmonic Tan). Then I used a sea sponge and acrylic craft paints to faux finish the counter with a granite look. Three coats of water-based polyurethane and it's sealed and durable. We been using it regularly for almost two weeks now and it's holding up great.

During (primer and base coat)

Close up without the flash
(true color is a little richer)

Bread Blurb

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”
--Robert Browning

Since the summers are so hot here in the South, I've been perfecting my bread baking technique in the wee hours of the morning. Okay, maybe not wee hours, but certainly early so I can use the oven at high temperatures and then turn if off before the house gets too warm. I'm also baking multiple loaves at once and storing them for later in the week, just as our ancestors did. I don't have one specific baking day, just when I have too much dough or not enough baked bread! The photo above shows two Pain d'Epi ("stalks of wheat", perfectly shaped to tear off a piece and get plenty of crust!) and one baguette, freshly baked this morning. They are a blend of rye, whole wheat, and bread flours with a sprinkle of sea salt and savory on top.

Since my staple recipe is a lean rustic artisan loaf (i.e., a slack, wet dough with no fat) with a long slow rise, I mix the dough a day or so before, deflate and fold it after the initial rise, and store it in the refrigerator so it has a retarded fermentation period. This adds greatly to the flavor, as well as the convenience. On baking day, I get out as much dough as I need (about 10-12 oz per loaf), shape it, and let it rise. I preheat the oven to 425-450 degrees F in the convection mode, slash and mist the dough, and pop it in the oven with steam. When done, I cool the loaves completely for 1-2 hours (depending on the size, thickness, and shape of the bread), and then freeze them in ziplock bags (sucking the air out with a straw, which is always Jeff's favorite part to watch as it makes me look pretty silly).

The best trick is reheating. I put the still-frozen loaf in a brown paper bag (long, thin sacks from the wine store work great for baguettes), fold the end under, and run the bag under the water faucet for just a second or two on each side (this keeps the bag from burning in the oven and provides some extra moisture so the bread doesn't dry out as the crust crisps). Just heat in the oven at around 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes (this is all flexible, so if you're baking something else, just stick it in and adjust the time depending on the temperature). Out comes warm, crisp, chewy bread, as if it were freshly baked! This also works for any kind of store-bought French bread, boule, baguette, or other crusty bread.

Way to go Professor!

We're slowly making progress on the computer front, so I should be back up and running with full posts and pictures soon. It's going to be a busy week with family visiting for a few days, Jeff's colleagues coming for dinner, a house to clean, projects to wrap up, and a vocal solo to prepare and deliver! So the computer may be last priority for a while.

One thing that is top priority is a little well-deserved praise for a certain wonderful husband. I've always enjoyed the posts of proud parents filling us in on the latest achievements of their progeny. Since our dog hasn't done anything great lately, I hope you'll bear with me while I pat Jeff on the back for a minute, instead.

At the recent international professional conference he attended in Ottawa, Jeff had been asked to serve as a session chair. This he did while also delivering a technical presentation the same week. The presentation (and accompanying paper) was awarded one of six Best Paper Awards out of 665 submissions! This is a big conference with professionals from 55 different countries and it's only held once every four years (Jeff calls it the Olympics, as it is the premier forum for fracture and fatigue research ;-). So I'm really excited and proud of my boy. Congratulations Dr. Jeffy!

Computer Complications

I've not been posting much this week due to a computer virus on our home desktop. I'm borrowing Jeff's old laptop (which has seen better years, not just better days ;-), so I'm not very Internet active at the moment. I finished a bathroom project while Jeff was out of town at a conference last week, so I'll try to post an update and pictures later if the computer cooperates!

Frugal Tacos

I love to make my own spice and seasoning blends, and I love to find ways to use up miscellaneous refrigerator items or leftovers. Tacos are great in both departments. Whenever I buy or harvest heads of romaine, I cut off the bottom quarter or so (the crispier, core part) that I don’t want in my salad, wrap it, and save it until I have three or four. They might brown a bit, but they don’t spoil nearly as fast as the more leafy greens. When sliced thinly, it’s the perfect slightly crunchy addition to a taco without resorting to iceberg or some other nutritionally bereft lettuce.

Then I just use a tablespoon or two of my own taco seasoning blend on some ground turkey, use up some overripe or bruised tomatoes (cutting out the bad spots, of course), grate a little cheddar, and add a dollop of sour cream or cottage cheese.

Here’s my recipe for a mild taco seasoning in bulk. It tastes great, is very cheap, and has no added chemicals or MSG. It makes a little over 1/2 cup. I store my spice blends in small 4 oz Gerber Baby juice bottles or food jars (someone kindly collected and donated them to me through Freecycle; I love that site!) You can add cayenne or more crushed red pepper to taste if you like it spicier. All the various spices make such a pretty presentation in the bowl, at least until stirred!

1/4 cup chili powder
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp coarse sea salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano

In small bowl, mix all ingredients. Refrigerate in airtight container up to 6 months.

Rain (and hail) in due season

We've had three hailstorms in the last month or two, so insurance is paying for a new roof! We really needed one anyway, so this is quite a blessing. The house was a foreclosure when we bought it, so it was a great deal but there was no info on the age of the roof, which seems to be much past its prime.

Since the opportunity has presented itself, I'm thinking of going with a darker brown shingle. I like the body color of the house, but I've never cared for the taupey-gray trim. I would love to paint just the trim someday, but I don't really know if that will ever happen. But insurance is paying for new gutters, which they will paint as well, so now would be a good time! I might have time this fall to get the trim painted, but I'd have to commit for sure if I have the gutters done now. Decisions, decisions!

I think a woodsy brown roof would still leave me lots of trim options. An online friend did some Photoshop for me; the third picture is a close up of the house with rich brown architectural shingle and Jamesboro Gold trim. What do you think?

House from across the street

Close up

Close up with proposed roof and trim

I’m just floored about it!

I finished laying the new floor in the laundry room! I did the kitchen flooring back in January when we put in the new cabinets, and I’ve had the bathroom done for a month, but the laundry room was on hold until Jeff could help me move the washer and dryer. He did the weekend before last, and it’s done! It's lovely to have so much storage space for all my ingredients, equipment, and supplies just steps from the kitchen. I even added extra pantry shelving to the coat closet beside the bathroom just for narrow bottles and jars that get lost in the cabinets.

I did all the priming and painting on Jeff's last business trip, as it took a few days of uninterrupted work to prep and finish that job. The new lighting, pulls, countertop, and open shelving were done in spurts. But the floor was the final project. This room and the bath both took a deceptively long time to lay, given the small space. There were so many tiny, tricky cuts and angles. Jeff would come home and count my fingers to make sure I hadn't lost any digits to the compound miter saw, jigsaw, or undercut saw! Since the flooring was seconds from a discount building supply place, I had to work around blemishes and damaged spots to salvage as much material as possible, so that took a long time, too.

All I need now is a counter height rolling chair for my menu planning area and I'm all set.

Here’s the before and after.

BEFORE

AFTER (same angle)

AFTER

SOUTH WALL (from kitchen)

NORTH WALL (from kitchen)

STRAIGHT ON (from bathroom doorway)

NORTH WALL (from bathroom doorway)

SOUTH WALL (from bathroom doorway)

PANTRY RACKS (in coat closet)

Eighth Anniversary!

Well, I've been absent from the computer again, but for a very good reason. Last Wednesday (July 8) was our 8th anniversary, but since we had just been camping and Jeff was leaving to present a paper at a week long conference in Ottawa soon after, I didn't expect anything special. But Tuesday evening, Jeff told me I needed to start packing! He gave me guidance on what to pack but no other details. Wednesday morning, he drove me to the shoals area of Alabama, a beautiful location about an hour west of us right along the river. There are four small cities all grouped together and so many things to see and do. We stayed at the Marriott Golf and Spa resort and had dinner at their revolving restaurant up in the tower; who knew the only such rotating dining experience in Alabama was in a little town overlooking the Tennessee River?

We spent a leisure Wednesday afternoon strolling through the old downtown, browsing antique stores, driving through historic neighborhoods, and seeing the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in Alabama (another one and only for Alabama).

But Thursday was my favorite. Jeff took me to Helen Keller's birthplace in Tuscumbia, one of the four cities in the shoals. The original house, cottage/school room, and water pump are right there on 10 remaining acres of the former plantation. I've always loved the history of Helen Keller; she was such as incredible woman and an inspiration, especially to those with disabilities. To be deaf and blind in rural Alabama in the 1800's would be a tremendous obstacle for anyone, but she used the opportunity to grow personally and teach and enrich the lives of others.

The water pump where Helen learned her first word

If that wasn't enough, we then had lunch at a little outdoor cafe just outside the city park beside the largest man-made natural stone waterfall and saw the tributes to the Trail of Tears, as Tuscumbia was a stopping place for the Cherokee on their way from Georgia to Oklahoma and they had been well treated and cared for by the residents of the town.

All in all it was a relaxing, educational, incredibly enjoyable surprise. I can't wait to find out what he has planned for next year!

July 4th Regional Camp-out

I've been absent from the Internet world for a few days for a 4th of July weekend camping trip. Jeff and I went south of Macon, GA to the SE regional summer camp-out and had a fantastic time! In fact, we had such a great time, we forgot to take pictures ;-) I'll have to see if I can get some copies from other attendees.

There were almost 200 people there, young and old and everything in between, from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Oklahoma, and perhaps a smattering of other states. It was so great to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. The weather was just wonderful; warm, but certainly not nearly as hot or humid as it could have been for this time of the year. The cold showers and rustic accommodations made for lots of bonding, but the amenities that we had were great given the short notice in which they were prepared. I highly recommend this annual event for anyone that can make it. (But you might want to ask your camp site neighbors if they snore and avoid sleeping in the car one night and having to pull up stakes and drag your tent to a new location at 2 am the next night!)

To keep or not to keep - that is the question

I’ve decided it's time to part with one of my vintage china sets. It was the inspiration for my first kitchen remodel in our last historic house. I came to the conclusion that we should go our separate ways after letting the china sit in the dishpack box the movers wrapped and stored it in for almost a year. I only just unpacked and cleaned it yesterday, reliving all the dinners and special events we had been through together. I have other china still in boxes, but it’s waiting for the new floor in the dining room before taking its place in the china cabinet.

But the black and white ironstone set really won’t have a place in the new home. I’m a rather thrifty sort, so I’m torn at the idea of getting rid of something pretty and useful just because I don’t have a good place for it. But on the other hand, I see the escalating problem that mindset causes. Particularly in the rural South, you encounter homes, yards, and outbuildings filled with things the homeowners don’t use but can’t or won’t part with.

Is it resourcefulness? Laziness? Frugality? Selfishness? I’m curious why we cling to material items that no longer serve a purpose in our lives. Now that my house is so much larger, I have to really think about the possessions I put and keep in it. Just because I have more room in which to accumulate and store belongings, should I? I’d love to hear how others deal with this balancing act of what to keep and what to pass on.

So cheap I didn't even need Mastercard

Thrift store coffee table - $12

General Finishes gel stain - $19

Rags and gloves - $2

Refurbished castoff finds a new home in my living room – Priceless

Before

After

I found this old, abused coffee table at the thrift store on a day Jeff happened to leave me the truck. It had been marked down several times and I had a coupon, so it was dirt cheap. Given its distressed state, I assumed I could always paint it, but the lovely diamond wood grain inlay seemed too pretty to hide. So I tried my favorite brand of gel stain over the original finish after cleaning and lightly sanding the whole piece (just to smooth the grain and spiff it up a bit after its hard life, not really removing all the original finish).

I only did two coats so as not to hide the grain, but I would have liked it just a bit darker. Yesterday I removed and spray painted the original pull with Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze, reattached it, and now it takes its place in the living room among the thrift store leather sofa, Craigslist accessories, mill end fabric remnants, flea market armoire, and cast off free chairs. I think it will fit in just fine!


I've been using this one quart of gel stain all over the house, so I'm sure there will be some future posts of all the updated woodwork; it works wonders with old 70's orange-y oak trim!

Beer Bread

If you don’t have a lot of prep time or rise time, but you do have some beer on hand, this a great quick-bread for soups and salads. I use just a few tablespoons of ale in some of my rustic artisan loaves, so I often have the remainder of a bottle hanging around in the fridge (we aren’t big beer drinkers ;-)

It’s such as basic recipe you can change it up with whatever additional flavors you want. One of my favorite variations is a bunch of fresh basil from the garden and a generous handful of grated cheddar and asiago; or some chopped sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and crumbled feta. You can simplify it and use all one type of flour and sugar, but I've found this combination produces the best crumb.

2 cups (8.5 oz) white wheat flour (sifted)

1 cup (4.25 oz) all purpose flour (sifted)

1 Tbsp baking powder (preferably aluminum free)

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp granulated sugar (raw works fine)

Herbs, cheese, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, etc, as desired (optional)

1 (12 oz) can beer (cheap, old, or flat beers all work just fine)

2-4 Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. Make a well in the middle and add beer. Stir until well combined, but no more. Pour into a greased loaf pan and level the top. Pour melted butter over the dough surface. Bake 50-60 minutes until top is brown and crusty. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes more.

Slice thickly, as it tends to crumble otherwise. Eat within 1-2 days, as texture deteriorates after that. Leftover slices make a great platform for egg salad sandwiches!