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October 31, 2005
Carving Pumpkins
Cleaning Out
Saturday night, we took advantage of the added hour due to the upcoming daylight savings change and carved pumpkins. The kids both did a great job cleaning them out after I got the tops off. We finally convinced Sophia to stick her hand in to pull out the strings and seeds.
Sophia was very involved in the pumpkin design. She had been enamored by the pumpkins in an unusually creepy Halloween book that Grandma had sent us. (Hell, it even scared me a bit.)
The Finished Product
Posted by Rich at 9:58 AM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2005
Floor Party
Our office is in a historic building of lofts just south of downtown. Last night our floor had an open loft party. Each floor in the building typically has a party on their floor once a year. We haven't participated in previous parties due to scheduling conflicts and we weren't convinced that it would be any fun. We were wrong.
We opened our space serving wine and pigs in a blanket (one of the truly underrated/great party foods). Tons of building residents came through and got to know us. We all had a good time playing host and seeing some of the other lofts on our floor.
Because the place was really cleaned up and with the soft evening light, I snapped some shots before the party began. And a good thing too…there were some in our loft who were “over served.”
What You See When You Walk in the Door
My Desk
Down the Hall to the Edit Bay
Posted by Rich at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2005
Picture for Mia
Sophia was drawing and coloring on Sunday. When she was finished, she had created a picture for her friend Mia. Sadly I couldn't convince her to keep it or draw another one for Karen and me.
I love the scary pumpkins. I think it was a cool choice to draw each in an opposite orientation. I also like the border she put around the whole thing. But the thing I like most about it is that it came entirely out of her head.
Posted by Rich at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)
Master Bath - Part 2
We made lots of progress on the bathroom this weekend. After the cabinets were installed, I finished the tape and bed. I am not great at this process, but have gotten much better over the years. This is the best wall I have done thus far. I then used a texture gun for the first time, and loved that. It is so much easier to apply texture with a gun versus a heavy napped roller. The results are loads better as well.
I also got the wood paneling up around the cabinets. Next up: Paint the ceiling, walls and paneling.
The Home Depot saga continues. I called to set up a measurement for the countertops. I was told I had to pre-pay before they will set up a measurement. I went in and found out that the material that we wanted to use had to be ordered in a greater quantity than our little vanity countertop. We also were required to have sinks and fixtures present at the measurement. (We were told previously that we could order that stuff and that it would arrive prior to the delivery of the countertop.) So now we are scrambling to get this stuff before the measurement on Thursday.
Posted by Rich at 10:56 AM | Comments (2)
October 22, 2005
Rosemary Verde - A Visual Journey
J.D posted the recipe for this fabulous drink. One note: you may only need to infuse the vodka for 24 hours. At 48 hours my vodka was almost too infused. (Is that possible?) I think it all depends on the potency of your rosemary.
Infuse the Vodka
Mix the Ingredients
Shake It Up!
Serve
Different. Tasty. Delightful.
Posted by Rich at 6:59 PM | Comments (4)
October 20, 2005
Master Bath
Months ago, Karen and I started an arduous process. (We had no idea what was in store for us!) There was a small cabinet above the toilet in our bathroom. It was starting to come away from the wall, and fall apart. This cabinet, like the other cabinets in our bath were made by a previous owner out of cheap plywood. Despite our efforts to repaint them and add new hardware, they were still really ugly cabinets that did little to take advantage of the space inside them.
Notice the Plywood
A year after we bought our home (circa 1997) we had the shower and floor tile replaced. The shower pan was cracked and leaking. After a shower, you could hear it “raining” in the crawlspace below. The stained sheet linoleum that covered the floor was ripped in several places and we decided to switch out the sink as well. But we didn't have the money to spend on cabinets. That was another day’s project.
Old Cabinets
Fast forward to two months ago. We went to Home Depot and asked a cabinet person about getting just a small, standard cabinet to hang above the toilet. After a long discussion, we realized that maybe it was time to just replace all of the cabinets. We also realized that if we replaced the main cabinets with quality units that were more functional, we could get rid of the cabinet above the toilet all together. This would open up the bathroom a bit as well.
So that's what we did. The cabinet we went to replace, we got rid of all together. (Fools!) So we took books home and picked what we wanted. We went in to order, but were told that we had to have a measurement done. Fine. The measurement’s done and we go in to order the cabinets, but we were told a second measurement had to be done with our new design in mind to make sure it would all fit. Fine.
Second measurement done and we go in to pay for the cabinets. I had rushed in to pay for them because we were off to Portland for over a week and wanted the cabinet maker to start on them. I paid for the cabinets and install. I get back from Portland to find a message on my answering machine from the cabinet maker. They need me to confirm a delivery date before they will start the order. (Damn!)
Now the process has been delayed even further! The cabinets finally arrive about 2 weeks ago. After a couple of days I call Home Depot to find out if the installer is going to call me. I am told that I needed to call Home Depot first and that the installer would contact me to set up a cabinet inspection. (What?!?) Fortunately, the installer said he would just inspect them right before installation.
Since the cabinets arrived I have been busy prepping the room. We decided to install some recessed paneling. To do that I needed to first rip out the old molding around the windows and build it out from the wall a bit. Replacing the molding and the sill wasn’t a bad idea anyway as the construction folks (nice term) who worked on the second floor addition in 2001 used those windows to throw stuff out of the house-- mauling them to the point of no return.
Demolition is Fun!
Next, I needed to install the recessed paneling around the windows. I have to wait until the cabinet install before I can put it around the sink area.
The New Paneling
More New Paneling
And today is the day! The installers have cut up and removed the old cabinets and the installation should be complete by day's end. I plan to get the paneling up this weekend, so that it can be measured for the counter top. While I understand all of these inane steps for a large job (like a big kitchen), it has been a ridiculous journey for just six feet of wall space (and it’s not over yet).
Out With the Old
Posted by Rich at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2005
Two Year Photos
Karen Gets Roped Into Flex-Fill Duty
We had Francesca's two year pictures taken last week. Yes she is two and a half now, but so was Sophia when we had hers done. We're nothing if not consistent...ly late.
Sophia Gets In on the Action
We used Kimberly Wylie. Kimberly is an outstanding kids’ photographer and her assistant Jessica is an expert at getting even the crankiest baby to smile and laugh. They managed to add to Karen's “Kid Wrangler” duties, by getting her to hold the flex-fill. By the end of the session, I was a PA (Production Assistant) too.
Black and Whites (My Favorite on the Left)
She took black and whites of Francesca and a roll of color with both girls. There were loads of great photos, making it hard to pick the shots you really want.
It's Hard to Get Two Girls to Smile at the Same Time
Sisters Explore
Posted by Rich at 2:52 PM | Comments (1)
October 11, 2005
Sophia's Clothes
The Perfect Arrangement
Sophia has to have her clothes for the next day laid out in a near perfect display. (And yes, there is even underwear where it should be!)
I wonder where she gets this way of being particular from. It could easily be argued that it is from me. I can be anal about how things are treated and putting things away...
On the other hand, I'm no clothes maven. I don't need a congressional hearing to decide what I am going to wear.
I think I should stop now....
Posted by Rich at 8:41 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2005
Bucket Heads!
Posted by Rich at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)
October 5, 2005
Watching Sophia Learn
Sophia has been in her new class at daycare for about 6 weeks and the difference in what she is learning is amazingly evident. Her previous classroom environment was a loving and nurturing one, but what was being taught wasn’t terribly challenging for her. While I knew that, I was unaware how a new and more demanding curriculum would change her demeanor. Her mind is racing, and it’s fun to see her put new things together.
Sophia is constantly talking about the new things she is learning. Her class is designed to prepare her for Kindergarten, not just with the way that the kids are taught and what they are taught, but also in applying a much more structured environment. One of the fun things they do is spend time every week learning to make simple food items like No-Bake Graham Cracker Cookies (Whatever those are…all I was told was it involved lots of rolling). They also listen to different kinds of music and talk about what they hear.
In the car, we were listening to a Pink Martini song. She starts to make observations about the music: “That man is speaking in Spanish.” “There’s a piano and someone has a shaker.” “Now they’re playing the violin.” She broke the whole song down for me which in itself was exciting, but at the same time it made me enjoy and appreciate the music even more.
Yesterday I was driving Sophia to swimming lessons and she started talking about muscles…
Sometimes you make your muscles bigger
by moving your arms. And you use some
rollers attached to a line.
Oh, you’re talking about lifting weights
on a barbell.
Right, and you use them when it’s hot outside.
It’s not necessarily hot. I think that when you
lift weights you just get sweaty.
Sometimes the learning process can be hard on a parent. Karen took the girls on a walk a few weeks ago. Sophia asked Karen if she knew anything about fire drills. When they got home 45 minutes later Sophia was still talking about fire drills and fire safety. All I heard was, “Why don’t you tell daddy about fire drills?”
Fortunately I was caulking baseboards and distracted our safety queen with the task of handing me the occasional paper towel.
Posted by Rich at 9:30 AM | Comments (0)
October 3, 2005
Fresh Tomato Salad
Tomatoes with Goat Cheese and Soy Sauce Vinaigrette
I saw this simple recipe in the Dallas Morning News this weekend. You slice 4 oz of Goat cheese and roll it in sesame seeds (white, black, or both). I didn't have any, so I just sprinkled on a few poppy seeds for presentation's sake. Slice the ripe tomatoes and drizzle with the vinaigrette (but not too much). I used some lovely vine ripened yellow tomatoes.
We also got the chance to eat at a fantastic restaurant Saturday night. Abacus has some wonderfully creative and tasty dishes including Lobster-Scallion “Shooters” with Red Chile and Coconut Sake. Served in sake glasses, these fried bits of lobster were incredibly tender. As the waiter said, "Sip, shoot, and chew."
Shooters!
The meal is divided into small and big plates. For a small plate I had a Spicy Ahi Tuna Roll. The wasabi I added cleared my sinuses nicely. For my big plate I had Wood Roasted Buffalo Tenderloin on Red Wine Butter with Black Truffle Whippers. This dish was incredible and after getting a taste of it, most at the table eyed my plate longingly throughout the meal.
Spicy Ahi Tuna Roll
Posted by Rich at 1:43 PM | Comments (3)
