That's hawt.

We grew them, dried and diced them.







And in return? They made us sneeze, burned our lungs and tongues. Mission accomplished. We’ve made pepper flakes from scratch. Yum.

Glimpses

Our first watermelon

August 18th was National Watermelon Day (who knew?). We celebrated a few days late.

Bird vs. Girl

I had hoped the bird would take out the creepy ceramic girl. No such luck. The bird flew away and she still sits there in her menacing manner.

When life gives you cucumbers...

make soup,
and salad,
and drinks.

The soup is a new find, and much better than the one I had last year. If you find yourself with loads of cucumbers, here’s a great recipe. The 35 minute total time listed on the site is a lie; it will take much longer. The peeling and seeding is tedious, but worth it.

Cucumbers are good in any salad, but they typically play a supporting role. In these two salads, they are the main ingredient. I first had this salad, or a similar recipe in Latvia. It was after I tried a beer salad (I like beer, I like salad, what’s there not to love?). Uh, yeah, it was gross. Even the memory of the pressed, cubed ham and mayo causes me to wince. However, I did drink lots of beer after tasting it, so I guess that’s where it got the name. Anyway, back to the star – cucumbers. Slice and quarter cucumbers (you can leave the seeds or take them away), add a dollop of sour cream and chopped dill. You can use the exact same recipe for tomatoes, which I hope to be overrun with soon. And, you can have it with both cucumbers and tomatoes. Serve cold, and can store a couple of days tightly covered and in the refrigerator.

The other salad is much more traditional and I think that everyone I know grew up with it. Cucumbers (again, peeling and seeding is optional and to your taste), slice sweet onions, add vinegar, salt and pepper. I like it with a pinch of Old Bay, too. Let it sit for a bit, and serve cold.

Soups and salads are pretty traditional uses for cucumbers. To add a bit of summer to your cocktails, substitute thinly sliced cucumbers for the citrus in your vodka tonic. It’s refreshing and a definitely a conversation starter. It doesn’t use a lot of cucumber, but it certainly cuts the heat in Maryland.

Priekā!

A life lesson from my father

I remember wanting something, anything as a child – and it didn’t matter what is was… a skirt, a skateboard ramp, a pet – he knew that we could make something better and less expensive at home. While we didn’t always make the item that was so wanted at the moment, it was an incredible lesson. We can do anything.

This lesson didn’t just apply to stuff – it applied to life. He decided he wanted to fly; he got his pilot’s license. He didn’t want to work for someone else; he started his own business. I am so proud and impressed by his accomplishments. And the part that makes me the happiest? That he thinks I’m just like him.

Happy father’s day, dad! And to all of those wonderful fathers out there.

Is a green thumb inherited?

I hope so. My grandfather could make anything grow. I used to (and maybe I still do) think he was a medicine man – that was the only way we could explain how he did what he did.

Legend has it he once stuck a stick in the ground – the neighbors laughed and the family snickered, but all of my cousins and I know that we played in that perfect tree for years. It was just the right height for grandchildren to climb and swing from. In his backyard in the city, he built a grape arbor that we’d play under for hours, he had berry bushes we snacked on and a garden full of horseradish (to this day, I can barely tolerate what is sold in the stores).

Now that I have my own yard, I want to create that oasis he made for us. We have the weeping willow tree with a hammock swing, but I long for the grape arbor and a huge garden. Every time I add something to the garden or plant a sad little tree, I know he’s there helping me along. Miss you, pop!

The Mother of Invention

Necessity? Well, maybe not. But I’m pretty thrilled that we have a new way to hold our wine glasses and keep our hands free for bocce.

Story of the Day

That’s what the guy at Home Depot said after we went through the saga that is our oven. We thought it died. We started the grieving process and made it to the bargaining stage – do we buy what we really want even though our kitchen renovation is years away or do we just get one that fits the space and is relatively cheap?

As we were going though that debate, we thought we’d disassemble what we had. My suggestion was to kick it, but Michael took a much more productive approach and uncovered what not to do with appliances.

If you’re like me and have qualms about being electrocuted, you may not know the ins and outs of wire and voltage but this atrocity that was our oven was so bad even I understood the severity of it. If you are familiar with electrical work, please don’t be mortified by my recounting of the tale. Now that we have that squared away, here’s the “story of the day” as told to the Home Depot man.

From the 60 amp breaker in the panel they ran 6-2 SEU aluminum wire (note: the wire is 40 amp max rated and the 6 has to do with the thickness of the wire. The gauge of the wire is critical, and confusing if you ask me – the lower the number, the thicker it is and exponentially more difficult to work with/bend the way you want to).

From the aluminum wire, they hard-wired the 12-2 copper wire with wire nuts to the oven. And, if you’re keeping track of the amps, it’s important to note that 12 gauge copper wire is rated to a max of 20 amps. The copper was connected to the oven with Radio Shack crimp-on spade terminals (improperly crimped as a bonus, and certainly not rated for 240 volts). Additionally, aluminum and copper don’t mix, requiring special connectors of which there were none.

[A digression, with each of the problems we find, I wonder if the homeowner was just duped by some unscrupulous contractor and I feel a little bad that they paid someone good money to have such shoddy work. I’ve abandoned that thought and have moved on to debating if the former homeowner was stupid, lazy or malicious.]

Now we had to deal with really bad electrical work and we still didn’t know if our range was even broken, partially fried or just confused by the stresses it had gone through with at least five years of surges and shocks. We knew that even if we had to buy a new range, the wiring was such a problem it had to go. We ripped out everything from the range to the panel; installed new wire, a new properly amp’d breaker, a plug on the range and receptacle on the wall, and the oven works better than ever.

What did I learn in the process? That the jury is still out on the former owner, that Michael is really good with electricity (and I don’t have to be), and that we’re happily (for now) stuck with the old range. Most importantly, I learned that we’re truly lucky that our house did not burn down.

As for the “story of the day” at the home improvement store, I think we’ll have many more to go.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night…

So I realize it’s not really the post office motto, but… I didn’t think twice when we didn’t receive mail for more than a week. The weather was bad; I had low expectations. That’s why I was really disappointed to get this notice in the mail from our local post office:

They didn’t apologize for the lack of delivery nor did they explain the ridiculously tall mounds of snow at the entrance and exits of the local post office parking lot causing loads of problems for folks driving.

Admittedly, our house definitely falls under the “no” variety. In fact, they could have taken a photo of our mailbox of what not to do.

Our choice for the weekend? Dig out more or wait until spring for mail delivery. We went for the shovel.

What I love about winter...

The sun reflecting off of the snow to brighten up any day.

Our neighbors that always plow our driveway for us.

How clear the water is on the bay and how far you can see through it.

Waking up early and then pulling the covers back up because the bed is so warm and cozy.

Hot chocolate with marshmallows, coffee with Baileys.

The really great waterproof black boots with flowers that I bought this year. Not a frivolous purchase after all.

The weather forecasters that always get the amount of show/rain/sun wrong, and how we as a population are always surprised.

The thin layer of ice that builds up on our pond and the gentle steps I take to measure the thickness of ice.

Saying “bridges freeze before road surfaces” when they actually could because of the weather. Those signs crack me up in summer.

Snow that clings to tree branches and trunks and the wind blowing it off making you think it is snowing yet again.

Finally understanding anti-lock brakes.

Watching Curt and Claudia’s dogs figure out snow (we were dog sitting at their house the first storm). For what it’s worth, their neighbors also dug us out of the snow.

And, my favorite thing about winter is that we’re now on track to have longer days and that means summer is right around the corner.

Giving Thanks

I am thankful for my parents who always taught me home is where the heart is and not where you sleep or park the car.
I am thankful for Michael’s parents who remind us that if we can get through this project with our relationship in tact, we can get through anything.
I am thankful for Gina and John and the kids for always inviting us into their warm home.
I am thankful for Todd who is a world away at home, but always feels like he is close.
I am thankful for our friends and family who make us feel at home every day.
And I am thankful for Michael, and that we’re building our home together.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nature’s Garbage Disposal

I was startled by a venue of vultures. Actually, I think I startled them first. Then this “venue” turned into a “kettle” flying overhead reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock. I seriously hate birds, but really wanted to use venue and kettle in a post.

Rocky Raccoon

Came by for dinner and a visit. Technically, I invited him. Rather than take the crab carcasses to the compost (say that five times fast), I wrapped them tightly and left them on the deck so that I could move them in the morning light rather than the creepy night.

We realized we had a visitor when the light with the motion detector stayed on – for quite some time. We investigated and found a furry friend happy on the deck having a crab feast of his own. Seriously adorable (even Michael agreed). The photo makes Rocky look menacing with the glowing eyes, but that was the flash and in no way a comment on his personality.

We don’t have a pet so I considered feeding him a second night in a row. I even had visions of domesticating him. Those thoughts were quickly forgotten as our friends told us about their raccoon, and a not so happy ending.

No revival for this Rocky.

Thank goodness I’m grounded.

And other electrical lessons.

I tried to use the dryer the other day. It sparked, and then didn’t start. Great. Wet clothes, no dryer.

I pushed the start button again. And again, a spark. This time it arced from the dryer to the vent and burned a hole. Figuring the third time would be the charm, I pushed the button again – no spark and the dryer still didn’t start.

I decided to bring in reinforcements. I called for Michael and told him what had happened. He got over the fact that I hit the button three times including a burn pretty quickly and he got to it.

He checked the wiring from the dryer to the wall – fine.
He checked the wiring from the fuse box to the floor – again, just fine. He headed for the dreaded crawl space.

Eureka.

The problem?
The former owners. Can you believe they (or folks they hired) changed the gauge of the wire below the house to save a couple of cents? Neither could Michael. He fixed the wiring and the dryer is back to normal.

Sarcastic Instructions Free with Purchase

For the record, Michael assembled the utility cart in far less than an hour. We had to replace the one we found after three good seasons of use.

Sew out of control

I wanted to buy a few outdoor pillows. I stopped by a couple of stores and wasn’t impressed with the prices or the fabric choices. I had some outdoor fabric left over from the chairs I restored, so that was a start. Then I found some really great outdoor fabric for half price one day. A few days later another print that would look great with the first.


















I made a bunch of pillows, and then still had fabric so I made some more pillows – for the hammock, and still had fabric so then I made an umbrella cover. I used all of the fabric and love the pillows, but now we need more outdoor furniture.

Huff and Puff

And the boat house blew down.
We had high wind the other night and lost the house. It had a short life – less than three weeks. In fact, I had been documenting the project with a nice little post called “Some Assembly Required” because it came with hundreds of similarly shaped pieces all serving a different function and a book (not a booklet) of instructions. It was a bear to put up, well… a bear for Michael to put up. The wind, however, took it down pretty fast.

I hope the next one stays up at least as long as it takes me to write about it.

It ain’t easy being green

We bought a solar radio for use outside. The problem?
Clouds and, of course, my shadow.

Signs of Spring

Moving furniture back outdoors and buying fun fabric to make outdoor pillows, the tall winter rye grass we’ll turn under to plant flowers in the deck beds, getting the huge and way too heavy planters ready for herbs and plants, and the many hours of planting and sowing for the new raised gardens (to be built in the coming weeks). Spring has sprung in our home… finally!