Eternal Optimism or Ulterior Motive?

While I debated whether we should pass out candy at all this year, Jon went out and bought Halloween candy. See, last year we only had four trick or treaters. Our neighborhood is filled with big lots, some of them over an acre. If I was a kid, I would only go to neighborhoods with townhouses and tiny yards. A few of the kids that came to our house crawled out of cars at the curb!

Jon is either hoping if he buys the candy the kids will come, or he is hoping to have lots of leftovers.

I calculated 116 ounces of candy. If my math is correct, that equals over seven pounds. If our numbers stay consistent from last year, that is almost two pounds of candy per kid.

Holy Crapper!

It has been another busy weekend here in NC. Kate and I decided not to head to the mountains for our annual Halloween kayaking trip so we could get the bathroom ready for the impending appointment to template the granite Monday morning. It was a tall order since we still had to finish mudding, sand the drywall, prime the walls, and set the cabinets. It rained all day Wednesday and part of the early hours Thursday morning and I'm pretty sure that affected the drying time of the mud. Around midnight Friday night I was finally applying the last coat of mud, trying to be very precise with my ceiling corners so I wouldn't have to spend all day sanding. Saturday morning we ran a few errands, checked out some tile, and picked up some light fixtures before I started sanding. I absolutely, positively hate sanding joint compound. Wearing a nice mask doesn't seem to stop all the dust, it gets everywhere. By 2:00pm I was satisfied with my sanding and I was ready to begin priming. While running our errands we decided not to purchase a new can of primer ($32.00 a can) because there was an unopened can in the shed. The can had been in there a very long time. After stirring the old can of primer for 30 minutes I was rolling primer onto our bathroom's new walls! Sunday morning our chores began just shy of 9:00 am, perfect time to set cabinets! I thought we would be done in two hours, maybe 3 tops. I was way off. I was haning light fixtures at 2:30pm. I was astonished that it could've taken us that long, but we are quite proud of our accomplishment. We ordered middle of the road KraftMaid cabinets in the 3 sections, 2x27" and 1x18". The guys that do it for a living almost certainly could do it faster than we did (and with far less profanity I'm sure) but I know the finished product would be the same, perfection. Here are a few pictures for ya'll to see.

Workplace Battleground

I talked in this post about a new account I was given when a team member left the company suddenly. In addition to the heartache of losing a dear friend as a colleague, this account is notoriously challenging. I have spent the last 10 days trying to transition my former accounts (five years of accumulated experience) and learn my way around the new one, as well as deliver on projects that were already in progress. No rest for the weary or anybody else, especially me.

There is a gentleman on the account (aka the Dude) that serves as a liason between me and my company and his company, his company also being a division of my company. The Dude and I have already had some difficult exchanges, because he walked into this new relationship beating his fists on his chest, apparently trying to scare me into submission and unrealistic timelines.

I am small, I am a woman, and I am very sensitive, but I will not be pushed around, largely because of those first three character traits. In fact, the worst thing you can probably do is try to push me around because I will either ignore you or push back just as hard. It’s a no-win situation for the pusher. I really wanted to sit this guy down and say “look, you can either work with me or against me and the former is going to be in your best interest.” But instead, we had this conversation:

The Dude (with feigned humor): “Oh, ask me if I care.”
Me (with veiled hostility): “I didn’t.”

Sigh. So that is how it is going to be.

What does a rat hunter look like?

A dirty-nosed dog.
More to come.

Not Loungin'

Just so that you don't think I was lounging around the house drinking mimosas while Jon was working on the bathroom remodel, I should tell you that I spent Saturday cooking North African Vegetable Stew, courtesy of Field of Greens cookbook, courtesy of Greens Restaurant in San Francisco.

That picture on the Greens website? My friend Betsy and I once sat for Sunday brunch at a table overlooking that very marina. It was Christmas several years ago and I was already a longtime fan of the cookbook. She was in the Bay area visiting from Florida and I was visiting from North Carolina. Betsy and her sister whisked me away for a surprise Greens experience ("Where are you taking me?"). It is one of the best surprises and favorite experiences of my life.

Over the years, my Field of Greens cookbook has weathered. The spine is broken by overuse along the page for 'Filo Turnovers with Spinach, Feta, and Rosemary'. My Greens cookbook library has expanded with The Greens Cookbook, Everyday Greens (signed by the current executive chef Annie Sommerville), and Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, written by Deborah Madison, the former executive chef of Greens Restaurant.

I have never made anything I didn't love out of the Greens cookbooks, but I do have my favorite recipes. The thing about cooking from Greens is that you are usually guaranteed lots of flavor at a cost of lots of ingredients with lots of preparation. It is a labor of love to be sure.

Pictured below are garbanzo beans, onions, potatoes, cauliflower, red and yellow peppers, broccoli, carrots, cilantro, ginger, garlic, saffron, turmeric, cayenne, and paprika.

And the finished product, which was served over Almond Couscous to some of our favorite people: our neighbors Jer and Selina and our friends (their old neighbors) Mike and Caroline.

A good time was had by all, despite any appearances to the contrary.

What a weekend!

The past couple of weekends have been exciting around the house. I have made significant progress on the bathroom, we've hosted dinner a few times, and Tucker has been to the vet for his shots/checkup. Here is a "picture tour" of the bathroom updates.

Three weeks ago, we seemed to be at a dead stop. The plumbing, subfloor, and framing were complete but we didn't have the motivation to get going. We'll have guests for Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd better get moving.





Last weekend I took care of the wiring and the exhaust fan so I could begin hanging sheetrock. Yesterday, I was up early doing a little demolition in our friends' kitchen in preparation for their contractor to begin work on the new kitchen. After the demolition, I was in our bathroom hanging the ceiling with a little help from Mike and Jer. I finished hanging the sheetrock just in time to prepare for dinner. Kate made a delicious North African Stew.





This morning after our Buttermilk Pancakes, we headed up to The Home Depot for cement backerboard so I could put the walls up in the shower area. Another full day in the bathroom today.



Now it's ready for mud!

Learning by Osmosis

There is a love affair happening in my living room, right under my nose. No, in all honesty, it is right in front of my face and I am powerless to stop it. The scene below happens every single day.

I have been replaced. Tucker stares obsessively at Jon when he is driving, when Jon is studying, when Jon is doing, well, anything. When I call Tucker onto the bed, he hops up, turns his back on me and plops down to...you guessed it...stare at Jon. At least maybe we are getting two educations for the price of one!