What I Did on Spring Break

As a stay-at-home wife right now, there isn't really a difference to my job based on Federal holidays and vacations. The cooking and baking still need to be done, the laundry continues to pile up, the animals require tending, the weeds keep growing, etc. But it's fun when Jeff has a break because then we can do those things together!

I'm only partially kidding. Poor Jeff feels like he's had a vacation when he can stay home and do my work with me. That'll teach me to whine and moan about how hard my tasks are sometimes!

We didn't go anywhere special, but we did enjoy Jeff's week off for Spring Break. We hosted a formal dinner party, built a portable pen for the ducklings, installed a new (rain-proof!) mailbox, cleaned and organized the shop, worked on the lawn, and watched several basketball tournament games. Jeff even tried his hand at some baking one afternoon when I wasn't feeling well. With supervision (and just a little hands-on help), he made flatbread and butterhorns! Here's a bit of our week in pictures.

New duckling pen:


Bat discovery while cleaning the shop:


Jeff's baking foray:


Dressing the dining room:

Sick

March has not been a good month for my health. I hadn't had any illness in probably a year and a half, and I was getting cocky that my usually inadequate immune system was getting stronger. But no, I think I was just blessed not to be exposed to anything contagious for all those months. We had company in early March who had something mild, and I of course caught it. I was struggling to get over it when we went to San Antonio, and then Jeff caught something at the conference. I got it from him, and then just when I thought that second bought was over, I caught a third mysterious thing this week.

They've all been different, some more cold-like, some flu-like. All miserable, I can tell you. I try to watch my health, but I'm always the one to catch what's going around. So I'm making it a goal once and for all to really research and implement some ideas for strengthening my immune system. If you have any tips, techniques, or natural remedies, please help a girl out and leave some words of wisdom in the comments section!

Road Rash

Well, live and learn. We had gotten estimates a month or two ago on repaving our long drive and parking pad with asphalt. It just needed an inch or two of capping, so I had hoped it wouldn't be too expensive. But being a petroleum product, it was quite pricey! We decided it was out of our budget and not a priority, so we moved on.

Tuesday dawned a lovely, sunny morning after a day of hard rains and storms. Jeff stayed home to do some cleaning and organizing, so it was nice to have him around. I made us a pleasant lunch and, just as we were wrapping up, there was a knock at the door. It was a nice guy, the owner of an asphalt company who had two truck loads he couldn't use because the storms had washed out the gravel base on which he was suppose to pour that afternoon. He was offering us a good deal and seemed to have a very reputable company with good prep work, etc. The price was great, especially since I had gotten several estimates just recently. A private conference, a quick prayer, and an agreement was made.

But if a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is! It could have gone worse, and we're satisfied with the end results, but the process was a bumpy road. After sawing up parts of the old asphalt at the top and bottom of the drive and pouring one truck load, the owner came to us and said he had miscalculated. It was going to take many more cubic yards than he had thought. The price per yard was the same, but now the job was going to cost around $1500 more! That put it over the previous estimates that we had decided were too expensive. Our good deal now looked like a grand mistake! The owner felt he had quoted us a price per yard, and we felt he had given us price for the job, so chalk it up to miscommunication. We were understandably upset and frustrated, but Jeff worked through it with the guy. In the end, they agreed to a compromise price that was more than we had first thought but still a decent amount under other estimates. And they did lay a thicker cap and do more prep work than the other quotes I had gotten, so we probably got a better job overall for less money.

The task really did need to be done, but it's hard to swallow such a big price tag for maintaining what is basically a utilitarian (and not extremely attractive) surface. But it has already made our life easier, as the old muddy gravel parking pad is now asphalt all the way to the shop, a curved walking path leads to the side door, there is a buried conduit under the drive for the inground dog fence, the driveway is wider, and the flowerbed brick border can now be installed level and straight. I just have to quit thinking about all the other fun, beautiful, big things that same money could have purchased and be glad this big ticket item is over and done with!

It was a large professional crew with lots of equipment, power tools, their own flagger for the road, and everything!





Street view before:


Street view after:


In front of the shop before:


In front of the shop now:

Lucky Duck

Our latest fowl adventure is the incorporation of ducks into our little menagerie. I bought four Pekin ducklings the other week. They are only sold as straight run, so we don't know gender yet. Names are under consideration, so if you have any suggestions (keeping in mind Jeff's "punny" sense of humor), be sure to leave a comment! As Pekins are the white breed best known as the Aflac duck, we are toying with a bevy of insurance company names (which would also be gender neutral)!

Ducks are adorable, but, wow, are they a lot of work! They are ten times as messy as chicks, and it's a constant battle to keep food and water available. They go through a gallon waterer in under a few hours, even when I provide a separate pan of water to play in. They gobble down food like little jackhammers, sending bits of starter feed flying every which way. The heat lamp casts a glow even at dark, so I have to tip-toe around to check on them in the early mornings and evenings, because if they see me they pop their little heads up and start whistling like mad to be feed and watered and bathed. They are wearing me out!

San Antonio

Jeff had a professional conference in San Antonio earlier this month, so I tagged along. It was beautiful weather and a gorgeous setting right down on the Riverwalk, so I entertained myself during the days and we had fun together in the evenings.

If you've never been to San Antonio, there is so much to do! I went up in the Tour of the Americas (built for the World's Fair) for a bird's eye view of the city. Then down through the parks and walking trails around the Riverwalk. One day I took the bus out of downtown and toured the Japanese Tea Garden and the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.











We, of course, saw the Alamo. It was a very special few weeks for the museum and shrine, as the historic letter written by Commander Travis requesting volunteers and stating their intent to fight (and die, if necessary) was on display inside the church. It had not been on the premises since it was written and sent 177 years ago! It was a very big deal, and there were lines up to five hours long to get in to see it. We toured the plaza, barracks, and other Alamo sites and made plans to come back to see the church and the letter another day. It turned out we saw the letter on the morning of March 6th, the same day the Alamo fell to Santa Anna all those decades ago. What interesting timing!







Since the Spurs were in town, Jeff hoped to see a pro NBA game. Several of his colleagues from the conference were interested, too, so Jeff arranged tickets for all of us to the Wednesday night game against the Chicago Bulls. It was aired on ESPN, so you might have seen us!







Dinners, a riverboat tour, and other enjoyable activities rounded out the week. All in all, a very fulfilling and fun time in Texas.

Delicious Nutella

We had another get-together and dinner for Jeff's grad students, so this time I made chili and cornbread and, for dessert, a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake. It needed to be gluten-free, so I used our pecans to make a nut based crust. Jeff and I had a fun discussion about cheesecake properties and cracking (since he is a fracture guy). I almost hoped the cheesecake would crack, just so he could analyze it, but it turned out lovely and smooth (I suppose I could have skipped the water bath if I really wanted to encourage it to split).

I didn't think to get a photo until I was cutting into it, so Jeff snapped an image with his iPhone.


A slice with cherry glaze on top. Yum!

Dancing Darling

I'm so proud of Jeff! We had a local church entertainment night this past weekend, and Jeff had agreed to sign us up for a waltz demonstration. We weren't sure if it would work out since we'd have to use the ballroom across the hall from the main room with the piano, but the MC scheduled us for just before intermission so people could walk over to see the dance and then take a break for pizza and snacks.

We had no time to practice, let alone choreograph something, so we just decided to wing it with a social dance. Meaning, whatever steps Jeff decided to lead on the spur of the moment, I would follow. We attempted a run-through at home once with our selected song, but waltz really needs a large space and we couldn't even get through a single verse without running into walls or furniture.

But the performance went well! It's the first time we've ever danced for any sort of audience, so it was a little nerve-wracking but fun. Forgive the loud "clumping" of our dance shoes; laminate floors make a lot of noise!

God is in the Details

I've had several questions about the bathroom, so I thought I should cover some of the nitty-gritty and then move on, away from potty-talk finally.

We did contract out the bulk of the work, since it needed to be done to code and pass a building inspection; but we designed the addition and layout, sourced and selected all the materials, supervised (and intervened) on a daily basis, laid the floor, and painted and wallpapered.

Here are some "mug shots":













Here are the materials we used:

Vanities: St. Paul 36" espresso (special buy at Home Depot)

Tile: Merola cobalt and white basketweave for shower floor and niche; Lowes stock subway tile for field; Lowes clearance white chair rail and pencil liner for accents; Mapei Silver grout; Home Depot marble thresholds for niche shelving and shower curb

Faucets: Delta Victorian chrome shower and vanity faucets; Price Pfister Savannah floor mount tub faucet and risers

Tub: antique 1920's Kohler from local flea market, painted Ben Moore Hale Navy

Toilet: Danze Orrington

Lighting: clearance exterior lanterns from Lowes

Flooring: Novalis vinyl planks in Gunstock

My one regret not having more closed storage, but it wasn't an oversight. To preserve the symmetry of the house, we matched the gable addition to the existing front gable. That gave us a rather square room with lots of floor space in the middle and large triple windows. We couldn't bump a closet into the knee wall space on either side of the gable, and I couldn't figure out how to build one in and keep an attractive and functional arrangement of fixtures. The new toilet ended up 15” from the wall because of a floor joist, so I had that section of the wall furred out and a built-in niche framed. I plan to have doors made eventually, so that will hide the less attractive bathroom necessities. And the less places to hide the mess, the more tidy and organized we will have to be, which isn't a bad thing!

Bathroom Bonanza!

We're done! No more plumbers, no more tiler, no more handyman trim guy helper dude, no more contractor. They are all paid and gone home, leaving us to enjoy our bright, new, luxurious bathroom on the second floor.

We're looking forward to light-filled morning routines and long evening soaking rituals. No more squishing between the tub and toilet. No more ducking the medicine cabinet when someone needs toothpaste. No more foggy mirrors. No more slanted floor. No more balancing act to get the blow dryer and curling iron on the pedestal sink simultaneously. That bathroom still exists downstairs, of course; we just don't have to be subjected to it multiple times per day.

Granted, when I say done, I mean as finished as any project in the Evans' household ever is these days. We still plan to do the wainscoting (which was to be completed over winter break, back when we naively thought a six week project by professionals wouldn't take four months), maybe some crown moulding (if we can figure out how to handle the awkward little space above the windows), the matching lantern over the tub, a second coat of paint and some shelves in the niche, a doorknob, and accessories. But it's usable, and that's done enough in my book! So, here are some additional photos:













And, because Jeff insists a bathroom needs privacy for some reason, here's a night shot with the cafe curtains I hung. When I can stomach the expense, I'd like to install top-down, bottom-up cellular shades, but these are cute and cheap for the time being.



We're so excited and relieved to be at this point. There were days I thought it would never end, and nights I feared my vision had run amok. But the pangs are over and I would do it all again! Oh, that's right, I still have two more bathrooms to go. And three bedrooms, and a staircase, and Jeff's study, and ...I'll definitely be needing a relaxing bubble bath in that clawfoot tub!

Touching

Jeff's dad was a farmer, so the recent Super Bowl commercial featuring Paul Harvey was a big hit with us.

Pretty Pecans

It's been really busy around here lately, but we have discovered one time-saver. Cracked pecans! I was told last year by the local farmer's coop that our pecans were too small for their cracking machine. They tried to run a few through and it just didn't work. So we gave up and cracked by hand. It is very labor intensive, messy, and a bit painful, so we had bags and bags of pecans that went to waste in the shop over the summer.

This fall, we've had another bountiful crop. I didn't want to pick up all those pecans if they were just going to go bad again, so I spent some time calling around. I found another feed store that has several machines that can handle a range of pecan sizes. So with a hopeful heart, I took in a few buckets to see what they could do. It worked! Eureka! Now I just need to collect recipes to use all these tasty pecans. If you have a dish that uses lots of nuts, please send it along. My deep freezer can only hold so many bags, and I've got to get cracking and consume some of these.

We've been picking up buckets full like this everyday!

Mock Up Madness

Now that the pretty wallpaper is up, I don't want to mar it with extraneous holes. So I'm mocking up the vanity mirror placement and orientation with rosin paper. If only I could decide if horizontal or vertical is better. Which do you prefer?

The overview (please ignore the missing drawers):

The vertical closeup:

The horizontal closeup:

Spring is in the...Trees?

Spring may not be quite in the air yet, but it's definitely showing itself in our trees. I suddenly noticed a whole flock of Cedar Waxwings in the tree outside my kitchen window yesterday. I really love that hackberry tree; it's home to squirrels, chipmunks, and birds of all kinds. But I hadn't noticed the tiny berries it's bearing. Not until I got curious as to the suddenly influx of birds. I went upstairs to the (future) master bedroom to capture some wildlife photography, and finally saw the reason for the recent flocking.

Little masked bandits:

Berry snitching:

Mug shot: