Just a little remodeling update :)

I am really having a lot of fun documenting this remodeling job. Take a couple of photos - snap, snap - upload, and yay! It'll be fun... and I say this with great love... or sarcasm... to look back and remember how loooong it took to remodel this room.

However, it's going to look wooooonderful. I'm very much liking the work that is getting done.


Yesterday we got the bathroom mudded and a new window installed - one without cracks and that doesn't make noise when it opens! Woohoo! It had to be custom-ordered because the size of the old one. While it's weird to have a bathroom without any sort of dressing over it (yet), it is nice to have a window that looks good.


More mud work that got finished before heading home yesterday.
Yesterday was Friday.
Then he came back today and did more! We got a second coat of mud added to the walls; all that should need to be done now is sanding before we will be able to paint it. Also - and this is just too neat - we got the ceiling smooth-coated "because it'll look better." No extra charge, either.

Here's the rest of the work got done today. This is the tub/shower stall. It's not totally completed because some of that accessory tile that we had purchased was off-center and therefore not up to standard. We also got the tile laid up higher than it used to, which will be nice for Oz since he's so tall. We'll be able to put the shower rail up nice and high if we need to.

It'll be good when it gets done. The waiting just sucks. I've never been good at waiting!

And Now for Something Completely Different

So... you've met my cats. You've met almost all the animals that we have around here, except the lizard which we have subsequently obtained, but for right now, the cats are the only ones that matter.

Now... focus on the black-and-white skunk-looking dude on the right.


This is Pepe. He is the oldest cat of the bunch, being about 17 years old.

He has some weird stuff going on, like his penchant for pulling out his own fur and the fact that his right ear is permanently scarred down from a fight he reportedly got into as a kitten. He whips the dog into shape quite a bit, too, just for fun.

He also likes to sleep in weird places, like inside this toy bathtub, on top of the paper stacks on the desk, behind the desk on top of the power supply (which irritates Oz to no end, as he also consistently hit the power switch), and in M2's princess chair.

However... he's also a tough old coot! Yesterday, while the contractor was hauling in drywall, he escaped out the front door. Not usually a problem since he tends to come right back, but I hadn't factored in the fact that we have a stray that I've named Darwin living under the house... and Pepe decided he had to go scope out this abode.

And got stuck.

We found him this evening, probably 36 hours later, under the house with nothing wrong with him other than a slightly bloody nose, some dirt in his very long fur, and a ravenous appetite.

They don't make 'em like this very often. Pepe, I'm glad you're home!

Impromptu fun/bathroom update

Today was another attempt at homeschool. I hesitate to call it actual success yet; we'll see where we are in a month or so before I go there. It's hard to evaluate something when you've only been at it for two days!

Anyway, so today, as part of his handwriting practice, I gave him 'free writing' time. I'm going to save his stories, letters, postcards, anything he writes in this time and be - hopefully - able to see how his handwriting improves over time. Practice will be good for him, no doubt.

He, however, decided that to properly do free writing, he needed to brainstorm. And to brainstorm, he needed a brainstorming cap.

So, with a little ingenuity, construction paper, scissors, and glue, he made himself one - a little hat thing with a white cloud and yellow lightning that was so big it covered his face (which is why he's making eye holes in this photo). It was really cute.


For science today, we talked about animal classification - basically the point was to understand that critters are classified by characteristics. To illustrate the point, I found a bag of 15-bean soup mix in the grocery store the other week, and he and I created this key. It's not perfect, of course, since he and I were both winging it, but it did get the point home, especially since he's going to work on memorizing the list of classification: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. Very handy.

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And now for something completely different... day 3 of the bathroom remodel. We have walls!

First Day of School and other stuff

Today was our first day of school for both M2 at private preschool (where I have graciously volunteered to be the homeroom mom, which means I'm probably crazy... but I knew that anyway... and I figured since it's my third year up at that particular preschool, I'm due) and M1 at homeschool. M2 actually has the advantage this year in that she knows the teachers, the setup, what she's supposed to do at what time of day, and some of her friends. M1 and I are going to puzzle this out one day at a time.

M2 was very excited about going to school, which is why this photo is a little blurry, because she wouldn't quit bouncing in her seat.


This was taken after M1 and I got back home, obviously. He picked math as his first topic. Place values were on the agenda for today. He is easily able to go from manipulative to number but has a harder time going the other way. I figure in another day or so we'll get it down pat and will be able to move on.

He loved being at home. I thought he was bored, but he told me he liked it better than kindergarten because, "I don't have to wait on anyone!"

I suppose he has a valid point.

He also enjoyed getting to harvest the green beans, bell peppers, tomatoes, and one very significant foot-long piece of okra that he found hidden among the bell pepper plants. I hope I remember to get a photo of him holding it tomorrow. Still haven't made it out to the blackberry bushes. Stupid colt. They're probably done by now, especially in this loverly 100+ degree heat.


These are the bathroom update pictures from Day 2. This project is definitely going to take longer than we or the contractor thought, but the holdups are just... THERE. There's no getting around the fact that we have an itty-bitty bathroom where a contractor and an electrician really can't work in the same space at the same time, ya know? But we do have a - functioning - light in the ceiling in there now as well as a heater and a fan which still needs to be exhausted through the roof. I'm happy. New insulation is in on the outside wall which changes the acoustics of that room dramatically, and the drywall is off everywhere else. That's his project for tomorrow.

Have a happy evening!

Bathroom remodel - Day 1

My bathroom has been needing a good remodel for a LONG, LONG time. It was hideous. The wallpaper was crooked, the light in the ceiling hasn't worked for years, the tub and toilet were cast-iron and 1970s harvest gold. Yeah... it was bad. I tried peeling off the wallpaper at one point, thinking I could just repaint the walls, but apparently there was wainscoting or something under there at some point or other - I really have no idea - and the wallboard was in awful shape, too.

Now, Oz and I have done remodeling ourselves here a few times. We ripped out carpet in our dining room and sanded/refinished the hardwood floors, painted the walls, scraped the ceiling, added new trim, and it looks good! But we couldn't do that in the bathroom. When you only have one toilet, one shower, one tub, it can't be a job that drags on forever and ever.

So, finally, we bit the bullet and decided to hire a contractor. He started today, but Oz and I started last night, about midnight, when we emptied out the entire bathroom and scraped the popcorn off the ceiling. The bathroom is absolutely miniscule, so we need all the illusions of size we can get.

Did I mention that Oz is very tall? He's not using a ladder here at all.

Anyway... so the contractor got started today. Here are a few before and after photos from Day 1.

Really digging the fact that there's no insulation on that outside, west-facing wall...

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We're keeping the toilet functional for as long as possible and then just putting in the new one.

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We're going to put that medicine cabinet back in once we get some biscuit-colored Rustoleum on it.

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Now... another thing you have to understand about my house is that it was built in 1965. It has had two owners. The people we bought it from were sweet, wonderful people, but the guy fancied himself a handyman. Oz and I don't find that to be the case. His name was Bob... and in the course of remodeling our house, we have run across case after case where Bob jury-rigged something to work at the time, but sometimes it's just absolutely fascinating to see what he's come up with. And sometimes it's downright scary.

We had to explain the idea of a Bobjob to the contractor today when he discovered that the tile around our shower stall had been hung with liquid nails.

Then... and I don't know whether to attribute this to Bob or not... we found THIS in the wall boosting up a recessed toilet paper holder.

I don't know if you can read it, but the date on this image is February 25, 1951.

My parents were not alive.

This house wasn't even built, since it wasn't built until 1965.

I can only imagine what we're going to find tomorrow. The electrician is supposed to come out and install a new fan/light/heater combo, and more demolition will take place.

The homeschool transformation

Homeschooling is definitely a lifechanging decision. I knew it would take a lot of time, a lot of energy, and a LOT of patience (the hardest part for me). The amount of space, however, was one I had apparently grossly underestimated.

This photo was taken back in February when I first got this little bookshelf. I was excited about it. I knew it wouldn't be a permanent solution for all of my homeschooling materials, but I figured it would work for a couple of years at any rate.

That was then.


This is now. The top shelf is all curricula and other reference/nonfiction books. Some of them are M2's BOB books and things for her, but most of it is for M1. The bottom shelf contains the binders that I'll be using to save some of M1's work during the year as well as some more nonfiction resources/reference works, a three-hole punch, and some puzzles that I don't have another home for right now. The top of the bookshelf is home to folders, planners, a timer, the current box of BOB books that M2 is reading, and a box of 3x5 cards that can be used for whatever purpose we need. And a picture of my babies. :)
Here's the art cabinet, also the home of MY supplies for grading and rewarding. I have a whole separate cabinet filled with Play-Doh, and a shelf above this one is strictly for construction paper, spare writing paper, coloring books, random art supplies like pipe cleaners and rhinestone stickers and puffballs and more. There's also a separate cabinet for science supplies (and more rewards) that M1 is not able to access. For heaven's sake, I bought a bag of dry 15-bean soup mix today just for science. One of our first science lessons is going to cover classification of animals, and I figured classifying beans would make a great activity. I'm rather obsessed. *embarrassed grin*

As I write this, I'm realizing I need to make a list of all this stuff so that if we use it up and need more during the course of the year, I can make a note of how much we went through so I can get more when the back-to-school sales hit next summer.

Obsessed.
I sat down last night and finally worked out an exact plan for the first week of school. It takes effort! I have a lot of respect for teachers who have 30 kids to deal with. I've only got one!

The calendar is M2's school calendar. The Word document on the right is a sketchy weekly outline that I drafted to be able to cover all the material - in an ideal world - during a typical school year. I know it'll get revised as I go along, and I'm okay with that. The notepad pages cover a basic outline of the classical Well-Trained Mind process of education, which I plan to follow as much as is practical and useful. The planbook in the back is where I will record what actually happens during the course of our daily work, and... finally... the notebook front and center are the plans that I'm making one week at a time.

I'm sure this process will be revised as I go along, simplifying, memorizing, and streamlining, but for now, this is all stuff I'll be using.

Gumbo

Gumbo.

It's one of the great joys of living in a world with okra. Some people make it without okra. I suppose that's their right, if they can't handle the true sliminess that gumbo should be, but gumbo without okra doesn't exist in my happy little mind.

Gumbo.

It's also one of THE easiest things to make. So simple. In fact, I don't even use a recipe any more. I used to, back before I discovered how simple real Southern cooking can be.

Here's how I do it:

1. Put equal parts flour and vegetable oil into a pot on medium heat. Stir this together and let it simmer until it's as dark as you want it to be. This is a roux. I was making a chicken and andouille sausage gumbo, so I didn't want it too dark. If it had been a seafood or just a plain sausage gumbo, I'd have probably gone darker. Keep an eye on this, because it's your thickening agent and will determine how much broth you add later. I used 1/3 c. oil and 1/3 c. flour, I believe. It might have been 1/2 c. each.

2. Once the roux is the color you want, throw in equal parts of bell pepper, celery, and onion, all chopped. You can throw in a clove or two of minced garlic if you like as well. Stir and make sure these don't burn, either. The roux will stick to them. Saute until soft.

3. Add broth. Just about any kind will do as long as it complements what sort of meat you're adding. I say that, but I had some crawfish broth frozen in my freezer from when I'd boiled some crawfish heads in February when we had our Early Mardi Gras party, so I used that and a bit of water. I think I had about 2-3 c. of liquid in there. Start light; you can always add more if it's too thick, but it's tough to thicken it later if it's too thin.

4. "Double, double, boil and bubble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble." Step back, throw in as much sliced okra as you have/want, some cayenne to taste, salt, pepper, and let this thing go for about 20 minutes. You can put in a bay leaf if you want, too, but I usually think it's too much of a pain in the butt to find later.

5. Add any more liquid if needed and throw in the seafood, diced sausage, and/or COOKED diced chicken... whatever meat you're using. The seafood will cook quickly and can be cooked right into the gumbo, and the sausage will be pre-smoked, but the chicken should probably be already cooked. At least, that's the way I do it. You'll need about a total of 1-2 pounds of meat for an entire gumbo. Let this go until the meat is cooked/heated through, about 10 minutes.

6. Serve with steamed rice and Tabasco.

News flash

School starts in 13 days.

That is all.

Canning... in bulk

I canned today. A lot.

First, I started with peaches. These peaches have already been blanched and peeled. This is about two dozen peaches short of half a bushel. Did you also know that when you blanch and peel them and set them on a counter like this, they leak juice? And the juice is PINK????

I did not know this. So I made peach preserves first, figuring it would be nice and easy to get out of the way, and it was.

And then I started canning the peach halves. And that handy-dandy little estimate that the Ball Blue Book of Preserving has that states that each quart of peach halves should be 2-3 pounds of peaches? Make that 2. Barely. Nowhere near 3. You must have to have itty-bitty teeny-weeny little peaches with mongo-ginormous pits to get 3 pounds of peaches into a 1-quart jar. Which meant, of course, that I ran out of sterilized jars and had to run the dishwasher again to get enough jars to get all the peaches canned.

So this is what my kitchen looked like at noon today.

ALSO at noon today... yes, my kitchen looks pretty UNsterile and chaotic.

But I kept plodding on, thinking sooner or later I'd get somewhere.

And I did.

This was the kitchen at 2:30 when I took a half-hour break because I was done with all the fruit stuff. See? Progress!

Then I moved on to tomatoes.

I had a LOT of tomatoes to can. And of course they all have to be blanched and peeled, too.

This was the final result at 7:30 p.m., with my blonde little M2 peering at all the goods. From left, we have canned peaches, peach preserves, blackberry jam, and the tomatoes.


I could lie now and say that it was all in a day's work and I'm so Martha Stewart and also sewed a new dress today... but it wasn't, I'm not, and I so cannot sew... and my feet hurt like hell.
That's where this comes in. Yay self-reward!

Random stuff

Not a specific post today. More of just a general random blogging of stuff that might or might not be important but will be blogged anyway.


#1: Don't go to the Porter Peach Festival. I did, and I learned. It could have been fun if they had a plan for parking (they didn't... which made it very interesting trying to work out where to park and then how to get out in one piece) or if there were more peach-related items at the actual peach festival (lots of craft stalls, but not much in the way of actual peach paraphernalia) or if I was able to go for the entire day and see the parade - at 11 a.m. - and then find enough to do to kill time in between that and the street games - at 4 p.m. - but... nope. Not for me. Or the kids. At least it wasn't blazing hot.

I also made it over to Livesay Orchards on the day of the festival. I was disappointed there, too. I was hoping to get out and actually PICK the peaches myself but apparently, on festival day, due to the crowds, they don't do that. You line up, wait, get into the 'store' barn, grab what you want, line up to pay, and get the heck out of Dodge as quickly as possible. It really wasn't worth it. I'll probably be back to the orchard next year... but not on festival week!

However.

I have peaches. Some of them will be made into preserves, and some of them will be canned for eating. And then, of course, there will be pie.

#2: I want you to say adieu to the squash. This is the last one. My last squash of the year.

That's why. The plant has been having some problems. First, it just got too big for its britches. During the last storm we had, with all the wind, some of the plant collapsed. Then there are the squash bugs. They also have invaded, as evidenced by some of the brownish leaves. Between the plant collapse and the bugs (and the fact that I really am tired of eating squash, since you can't can it or freeze it), I'm ready for the squash plant to be gone. The question now becomes, do I plant something else in its place? And if so, what?

Overall, however, the garden is doing quite well! The tomato plants are putting off a dozen or so tomatoes per day - I have six plants - and so I'll be canning tomatoes this week, after doing the salsa last week. I probably have 30 pounds of tomatoes in my fridge. I almost wish I was kidding. It's difficult to open the crisper drawers right now. There's even tomato overflow on the shelves outside the crisper. Clearly, something needs to be done.

The pumpkin plant is doing quite well, too. Just a few more months till Halloween!

Outside of the veggie/fruit garden bit, here are some of the other plants that are still blooming all over...

The marigolds are still alive!

The hibiscus is gorgeous...

I hate crepe myrtles. The kids, however, get so excited when they blossom.

#3: Something that happens every year around here is 'brushhog the pasture day.' I never know when it will be, because the people who rent our land to board their horses organize it through a personal friend of theirs and just use the rent money to pay him. They get a better deal than we ever could, so it works quite well. This is M2 riding around behind one of our renters. He's a retired school principal and always likes mowing. He's on our mower, and he mows the front part of the pasture while...

... his buddy, on the brushhog, piles up wood and mows the back.
The lawn always looks so nice when it's done, and just think... they mowed down the ragweed and gave us a path to the blackberries!
Many, many more canning possibilities this week... tomatoes to start; peaches to follow; berries after that! And I haven't forgotten my promise about the gumbo... there's still plenty of okra coming in. I'll get there!