Sunday, February 17, 2013
February Flowers
Tried forcing some Lilly of the Valley. They finally bloomed, but they are not getting enough light. They look OK, but nothing compared to these.
Just happened to be outside today and noticed the Witch Hazel are blooming, a bit sparsely though, but I think this is only the second year I've had them and now they have a permanent home. Hopefully next year will be better, I could easily have missed them entirely. They smell great, as does the Lilly of the Valley. Do we have a blooming flower every month? I think we are close and I'm not counting indoor forced flowers.
So we lied, There are monsters under your bed
A few years ago (10) we did a roof raise. To accommodate for the plumbing to the new bathroom we had to give up a tiny corner of the bedroom below. After the plumbers were all done, we boxed in the pipe and added some insulation and put up the sheetrock. Only thing left was the base molding and I must have gotten busy with other things because it never got done.
Fast forward to Christmas Eve 2012 and we notice the Young One's arm is swollen and there are some sort of bites. It is determined that it is cellulitis and the next day, Christmas morning, at the Urgi-Clinic that diagnosis is confirmed. The cause of the bites were not, but bedbugs were ruled out. Two weeks later the Young One is home again and now we notice a swollen ear. Four weeks after that, the Young One is visiting and we notice arm swelling and bites again. We rip apart her room, find no infestation but wash all her stuff and clean her room as a precautionary measure. I had a cunning plan, have the Eldest and Young One switch bedrooms for the night and see if the Eldest was bit proving that there is something in the bedroom, as is so often the case, wiser heads prevailed(imagine if I lived alone) and we didn't try that experiment.
Remember that missing base molding? And remember how your parents always told you there were no monsters under your bed. Well we think that there may have been some monster traffic coming up from the basement.
So it seemed like it was a good time to finish closing up the wall.
For some reason the base molding removed was not long enough to span the long section, but I had some scrap oak down in the Lab which was just right the right height. I used foam to seal out drafts and the holes to the basement, I wore gloves, but some how I still managed to get some on me.
I used 2 screws to connect the longer base molding to the studs and used glue to attach the shorter piece. I didn't use nails on the short piece, I knew it would split and I would curse.
I finished up with wood putty to fill in the tiny gap between the long and short pieces and and ran clear caulk along the top of the shorter piece of base molding and the sheetrock. No way I am going to be able to match the paint so I'll just use some primer on the bare wood.
Not so great from this angle.
Not so bad from this angle.
The bed goes there so I'm not worried, the most important thing was to close up the wall.
Fast forward to Christmas Eve 2012 and we notice the Young One's arm is swollen and there are some sort of bites. It is determined that it is cellulitis and the next day, Christmas morning, at the Urgi-Clinic that diagnosis is confirmed. The cause of the bites were not, but bedbugs were ruled out. Two weeks later the Young One is home again and now we notice a swollen ear. Four weeks after that, the Young One is visiting and we notice arm swelling and bites again. We rip apart her room, find no infestation but wash all her stuff and clean her room as a precautionary measure. I had a cunning plan, have the Eldest and Young One switch bedrooms for the night and see if the Eldest was bit proving that there is something in the bedroom, as is so often the case, wiser heads prevailed(imagine if I lived alone) and we didn't try that experiment.
Remember that missing base molding? And remember how your parents always told you there were no monsters under your bed. Well we think that there may have been some monster traffic coming up from the basement.
So it seemed like it was a good time to finish closing up the wall.
For some reason the base molding removed was not long enough to span the long section, but I had some scrap oak down in the Lab which was just right the right height. I used foam to seal out drafts and the holes to the basement, I wore gloves, but some how I still managed to get some on me.
The bed goes there so I'm not worried, the most important thing was to close up the wall.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
January 2013 Review
It was such a busy month, so busy I had no time to write and also because I was exhausted at the end of most days.
On the social front;
We were invited to one of the neighbors house for a party and I brought Grolsch swing-tops because I needed the bottles to bottle the beer I had made the day after Christmas. I had planned to drink the Grolsch during the 2 week period during which the beer fermented, but I got sick right after Christmas and was in no shape to drink. Recovery took quite awhile. I plan to give that neighbor a bottle of my brew since he helped empty the bottles. We were dirty stay-outs that night, out till 2:30AM!, no wonder I kept nodding off.
The better half graduated from her MPA program in the first half of January, the Graduation reception and ceremony was very nicely done and we managed to fit in a late night meal at our local Thai restaurant. The next night we had a celebratory dinner at Carols Cafe with the immediate family.
We had neighbors over for Paella which was enjoyed by all and there was leftovers so I was able to bring some to work for lunch.
We went to the New York Times Travel Show held at the Javits Center, attended some seminars, the best being about accruing miles using credit cards given by The Points Guy. After the seminars we checked out the exhibitors, but a lot of the Travel Specialists were out of brochures and some were starting to pack up. I think Saturday is the better of the 2 days. I attended last year on the Saturday and came home with easily triple the amount of swag as I got this year.
Afterwards we had dinner at the chip shop A Salt and Battery in the Village.
The better half had ex-colleagues over for Pulled Pork, it came out great. One of the colleagues brought along 2 trays of food so we had pulled pork and noodles and spring rolls for breakfast, lunch and dinner that week.
A different neighbor invited us to a Robbie Burns dinner, haggis and all. I brought some Scottish Ales. I was also convinced by the store owner? to buy a sample pack for myself. The sample pack by Innis and Gunn of Edinburgh Scotland had Original, Winter Beer and Rum Cask styles and included a glass. They all tasted strong and malty and all were aged in oak barrels. The Rum cask brew was tasty, but I could not see drinking more than one in a night.
My beer, made from a Chocolate Maple Porter kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop was ready for drinking this month as well. It was carbonated, malty, had chocolate and maple notes and a dry finish. It was very good. It was a bit hoppy so I would put less hops in if I make this style again. Was thinking of making the Chestnut brown ale next since I like Samuel Smiths Nut Brown Ale. The kit was a Christmas present from the eldest, I had always wanted to make beer, but most kits were for making 5 gallons. I would get sick of the beer style before I finished it all. This kit was 1 gallon and just the right size.
On the phobia front I had a bad month, I had to endure 4 needles; a blood test, 2 tooth fillings replaced and a vaccination. The dentist uses a jell to numb the gum prior to the injection so that isn't too bad and the other 2 episodes were not too traumatic, I didn't have to wait long so my anxiety didn't have time to grow exponentially.
We also had quite a wind storm this past week(01/31). I heard things blowing around in the yard next to me and I took a look from the back of my garage and saw this. The neighbors garage door which has been unable to close for years, must have been blown to pieces by the wind.
The neighbor has yet to pick up the shingles (in the background) which were blown off the roof by Super Storm Sandy.
On the social front;
We were invited to one of the neighbors house for a party and I brought Grolsch swing-tops because I needed the bottles to bottle the beer I had made the day after Christmas. I had planned to drink the Grolsch during the 2 week period during which the beer fermented, but I got sick right after Christmas and was in no shape to drink. Recovery took quite awhile. I plan to give that neighbor a bottle of my brew since he helped empty the bottles. We were dirty stay-outs that night, out till 2:30AM!, no wonder I kept nodding off.
The better half graduated from her MPA program in the first half of January, the Graduation reception and ceremony was very nicely done and we managed to fit in a late night meal at our local Thai restaurant. The next night we had a celebratory dinner at Carols Cafe with the immediate family.
We had neighbors over for Paella which was enjoyed by all and there was leftovers so I was able to bring some to work for lunch.
 |
| Not the actual Paella, but you wouldn't know unless I told you which I just did. |
We went to the New York Times Travel Show held at the Javits Center, attended some seminars, the best being about accruing miles using credit cards given by The Points Guy. After the seminars we checked out the exhibitors, but a lot of the Travel Specialists were out of brochures and some were starting to pack up. I think Saturday is the better of the 2 days. I attended last year on the Saturday and came home with easily triple the amount of swag as I got this year.
Afterwards we had dinner at the chip shop A Salt and Battery in the Village.
The better half had ex-colleagues over for Pulled Pork, it came out great. One of the colleagues brought along 2 trays of food so we had pulled pork and noodles and spring rolls for breakfast, lunch and dinner that week.
A different neighbor invited us to a Robbie Burns dinner, haggis and all. I brought some Scottish Ales. I was also convinced by the store owner? to buy a sample pack for myself. The sample pack by Innis and Gunn of Edinburgh Scotland had Original, Winter Beer and Rum Cask styles and included a glass. They all tasted strong and malty and all were aged in oak barrels. The Rum cask brew was tasty, but I could not see drinking more than one in a night.
My beer, made from a Chocolate Maple Porter kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop was ready for drinking this month as well. It was carbonated, malty, had chocolate and maple notes and a dry finish. It was very good. It was a bit hoppy so I would put less hops in if I make this style again. Was thinking of making the Chestnut brown ale next since I like Samuel Smiths Nut Brown Ale. The kit was a Christmas present from the eldest, I had always wanted to make beer, but most kits were for making 5 gallons. I would get sick of the beer style before I finished it all. This kit was 1 gallon and just the right size.
On the phobia front I had a bad month, I had to endure 4 needles; a blood test, 2 tooth fillings replaced and a vaccination. The dentist uses a jell to numb the gum prior to the injection so that isn't too bad and the other 2 episodes were not too traumatic, I didn't have to wait long so my anxiety didn't have time to grow exponentially.
We also had quite a wind storm this past week(01/31). I heard things blowing around in the yard next to me and I took a look from the back of my garage and saw this. The neighbors garage door which has been unable to close for years, must have been blown to pieces by the wind.
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