Always look on the bright side

We have a new bath (just not a new house)!

While it may seem odd to buy a bathtub a year before we even start on construction on the new house, it seems like everyone who's actually been through the process of building a house has told us to go ahead and buy anything that we particularly want ahead of time, because it save so much trouble later.  We'd been keeping an eye on this tub we really liked for the last few months and when it went on sale, we decided to go ahead and take the plunge and buy it!  Here it is:

Isn't it gorgeous?  And, well, huge?  We got such a bargain on it, and it's just the kind of tub I've always wanted.  Mike was all ready to put it in the backyard and fill it up, but, much as I love my hubby, I came down firmly against that.  Actually, it was something of a minor miracle that we got it into the house at all.  We read through the delivery agreement when we bought the tub and thought it said that it would be delivered into the house, but when the delivery man came he stated flatly that wasn't the case.  So he put it on the front lawn and left.  It was a bit of a pickle to tell the truth.  The tub alone is about 210 lbs and that was without the box and wooden pallet it came on.  Although Mike is strong, there's just no way we were going to get that in the door ourselves.  Fortunately, our contractor rushed to the rescue, and although they had to take it out of the box to get it in the door they got it in and into the sunroom, which is mostly empty.  And there it will stay until next year when we move.  But it is sooo lovely!  I'm kind of glad they had to take it out of the box anyway, that way I could see what it looks like in person, since I only saw it online before.  It even has this really fancy-schmancy faucet and hand shower combination which I just adore:

You can see the faucet with the hot and cold taps, that part above it is the cradle for the hand shower, and the shower head is resting on the carpet.  It's great, even though we'll have to keep in the sunroom until we move!

Exciting Times

Many things have happened since I last posted, but rather than try to list them all out in report form I'll just talk about the one which is most on my mind and may have the most impact on our future: we're looking for an architect.  I hadn't really expected to be looking for an architect until long about December, reckoning that 6 months before building would start would be plenty of time, but Mike felt strongly that we should get started looking for an architect and builder right away, so I thought, why not?  It turns out Mike was entirely right, the architect we've gotten in touch with first says a year is about the right amount of time to begin the design process.  I don't really want to reveal who this or other architects we interview are until we actually decide on one, so we'll just call him the Richmond architect, since that's where his office is.  His firm has a strong emphasis on building green in all its aspects: solar panels, passive solar power, use of local and salvaged materials, rainwater conservation, and many others.  This definitely appeals to Mike and I, since we want to incorporate that kind of thing as far as the budget allows.  The Richmond Architect has also built small homes and homes with universal design elements, two important things to us.  At first we were worried Williamsburg was too far away from Richmond to use him as our architect (it is about 50 miles after all), but he has several ongoing projects throughout the area and that won't be any problem.  In other words, he's got all the experience building the kind of house we want.  However, I don't know if he's worked in Williamsburg itself before, or if he's worked in a historically protected area, as ours is.  And, of course, we'll have to see how Mike and I would feel about working with him personally.  But we do have our hopes up.  We'll need to go down there in a couple of weeks to meet with him and go over the site together. We'll know more then.

More ceiling, less floor

Work continues, both for the contractors and for us.  It feels like there's so much going on right now, and there's not enough time to do everything we need to do.  Thank goodness I'm only at the Smithsonian two or three days a week or it would be really impossible!  On top of everything going on, these thunderstorms really upset the poor puppies. We just have to watch them to know when the thunder is about to start, because they get all nervous.  In fact, they woke us up at about 5:45 this morning because of it.  They were very panicky and wanted to be cuddled, and sleepy we were, we tried to oblige. Unfortunately it looks like that'll be going on for awhile now.  But enough about that, how about some pictures?

As you can see, there's now even less floor than when I showed it to you before.  In fact, if you were to step on the pink insulation you'd go straight through to the basement. 

On the bright side, we've got more ceiling in the guest room, and less wallpaper.  So all in all, the work is proceeding very well.

Renovations: Bathroom and Guest Room

It continues.  Yesterday we had already left the house by the time the contractors came.  They found the key we had left them but our lock is very tricky so they couldn't get in and missed a day working on it.  They were back at it today, which also happened to be a day off for me (I spent a lot of time with either headphones on or earplugs in, just never try to use both at once, it doesn't work ;-).  It's kind of a funny thing, but at least in this stage of renovation, progress is measured by what's missing from your house at the end of the day.  For instance, they took up the bathroom floor, leaving only the subfloor.  I'm willing to bet most people, if they came home and there was no bathroom floor, would be pretty upset, but we're pretty happy about that.  Check it out:

Another weird thing is that while I know technically I've been walking around on these boards that were underneath the tile the entire time I've been in the house, I'm real nervous to set foot on them now.  Somehow, now that they're uncovered, they look so much less steady than the tile that used to cover it all.  Kind of weird, huh?

Oh, and there's no more plumbing.  Which was ok, because it was kind of leaky anyway.

They also started on the guest room.  I know what you're thinking, it doesn't look like they did much.  Sure, there's a bit of wallpaper torn off but it's not like the bathroom looks.

Even the puppies don't see much difference. 

And then you look up.  And you realize there's no ceiling where the ceiling should be.  And there's no more crown moldings.  All gone.  But they had to do that to get it all fixed up.  That's about it for today.  Isn't it amazing how much three or four guys can get done in a day?

It's begun

For better or worse, our remodeling plans have started.  We're trying to get the house in shape to sell next spring.  The biggest part of that is the middle floor bathroom, which was still pretty much the same as when the house was built in 1959. I have to admit, I was never very fond of the turquoise and yellow combination that the bathroom was done in, but even if you really like that combination, the whole bathroom had to be gutted to help sell the house, leaky pipes and all.  Today they started the demolition.  Check it out:

The view from the bathroom door.

The right side of the bathroom, where you can still see half of the cast iron tub that was there.

The left side of the bathroom, where the vanity and medicine cabinet was.

The center wall of the bathroom, with all the tiles peeled away you can see the bones of the house.

The amazing amount of stuff they took out, all just in today, the first day.  You can sort of see the turquoise and yellow tiles we used to have in there.

I'll post more pictures so people can track the progress.  It was very noisy, but what can you expect, really?  They were very clean though, there was a small layer of dust near the entrance to the bathroom, but otherwise not a thing to show what they had done.

Rana's Saffron Chicken and Rice

Mike and I made lunch yesterday for some of Mike's brothers and sisters (and his mom of course) and the undeniable hit was the chicken and rice.  It's a Jordanian dish that our dear friend Rana taught to us, and by popular demand, here is her recipe.

Rana's Saffron Chicken and Rice

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small pieces (leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken works great for this)
2 big pinches saffron
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 cups rice
1 tablespoon cardamon
1 tablespoon black pepper
4 cups chicken broth (use a good quality one)
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup raisins, rinsed
2 cups slivered almonds (toasted)
salt to taste

Mix the saffron with 1/3 cup (or a little more) of hot water, set aside.

Sauté onion in a generous amount of olive oil.  When it's browned a little, add the garlic, cook a couple of minutes.  Add rice, and mix together, coating the rice.  Add cardamon and black pepper, let rice heat up and toast it a little.  Add chicken broth, lemon juice, saffron in hot water, plus another 1/3 cup hot water.  Add the raisins too, and stir.  Bring to a boil then lower down to a simmer and cook rice until done.  When the rice is cooked, add the almonds and chicken and mix together thoroughly.  Enjoy!

Good Dinner Last Night

Well, the dinner was a success!  Everyone really seemed to love it, by everyone I mean Mike, myself, Bev, Mike's sisters Marilyn and Laurie, and Laurie's husband Kelly.  I think the star of the evening was Mike's African Peanut Soup.  It was heavenly.  Everyone was hanging out in the kitchen while we cooked, so they'd been hearing about this recipe and watching it being cooked for a couple of hours before they actually tasted it.  Their appetities were primed, you might say.  Lesser chefs (like me) would have been quite nervous about it, but Mike was just relaxed and having a great time.  It didn't disappoint either, it was a heavenly soup.  Afterwards it was my turn, but, due to my nervousness, I'd overcooked the Low-Fat Chocolate Truffle Cake.  It was still pretty good, but it wasn't as creamy and yummy as usual.  I tend to do that if I'm nervous.  I have horrible visions of givng people food poisoning and I end up cooking things too long.  I also fixed a red wine reduction to go on top with some raspberries, which everybody seemed to love, although personally it was just a little too sweet for me.  But I'm a picky one when it comes to desserts.  So, as I promised to my lovely (and sweet) sisters-in-law, Laurie and Marilyn, here's the African Peanut Soup recipe.  It's easy, it's pretty quick, and if you have any fondness at all for peanuts, it's divine.  You can double it, it keeps well, it freezes well, it's very flexible.

African Peanut Soup
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
4 cups chicken broth or stock
Emeril’s Essence to taste
2/3 cup extra crunchy peanut butter (2/3 is just a guess, it’s really to taste)
1/2 cup uncooked rice

   1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Cook onions and bell peppers until lightly browned and tender, stirring in garlic when almost done to prevent burning. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock, and Emeril’s Essence. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
   2. Stir in rice, cover, and simmer another fifteen minutes or until rice is tender. Add in peanut butter in small spoonfuls, stirring constantly.  It needs to be in small spoonfuls because otherwise the peanut butter won't dissolve and you'll have lumps of peanut butter in your soup (which isn't that awful, really).  Once you've got the peanut butter in, serve or turn down the heat to lowest possible because if it's on high the peanut butter will start to scorch on the bottom.

Malan's Peak

We're here!  We arrived yesterday afternoon.  We were kind of tired and a little headachey/nauseaous from the altitude (it's about 5200 ft. up here in Ogden) but we still had a lovely quiet dinner with Mike's mom Beverly, and we're feeling much better today.  We can feel the altitude a bit though.  We took a lovely walk with Bev this morning and we were both a little bit more winded than we would usually be.  It's lovely country up here though, and we even heard a male pheasant crowing, though we didn't see him.  I also learned about the history of Malan's peak, which you can see from the little park we walked around:
 
Admittedly, I'm still not a hundred percent on which one exactly is Malan's Peak (I'm not a Western girl, I'm no good at mountains) but I believe it's the one just in front of the snow-covered mountain in back.  They've got so many mountains here, I just don't know how they keep track of them all!  Most of you probably don't know this, but Mike's middle name is Malan, and that was Bev's maiden name.  It's no coincidence, that mountain was named after Bev's grandfather and his family.  In 1892 Bartholomew Malan (known as 'Tim' although I'm not sure why) who lived at the foot of this peak with his wife, Louisa Mariah, and their children (he eventually had sixteen children) decided to carve a road into the mountain.  From what I understand, everyone thought they were pretty crazy, but he and his older sons persevered and dug out a small, one lane road up to a lovely basin most of the way up the peak.  From there they cut down trees, built a sawmill, and, using the sawmill, built an inn, several cabins, and a clubhouse.  They became quite the little tourist destination for awhile, and the mountain became known as Malan's Peak. They'd haul guests up on a little wagon up their road, and during the tourist season ran quite a good resort.  I think my favorite part of the story though is how most of the family would move down the peak for the winter, but two of the older boys would stay up to guard the place and keep it in repair.  At a set time of the day, every day, the boys would wave signal flags down the mountain to let their Mom know they were ok.  Kinda cool, huh?  Eventually though, the business started flagging, they shut it down for good, and first vandals and then fires got to it.  But it's still known as Malan's Peak.  We might try to hike up there sometime this week and look at the basin, we'll see how everything goes. 

We are pretty busy though, today we're going to cook dinner for Bev and some of Mike's siblings.  Little nervewracking though, wanting to do a good job, but using a new kitchen and slightly different ingredients.  Cross your fingers for us.  Mike is making African Peanut Soup (yum!) and I'm making my low-fat chocolate truffle cake, with a red wine sauce to go on top.  Here's hoping it turns out well! 

Update: I changed photos and we're pretty sure Malan's Peak is the one on the left. 

Some things end, others begin

Well, today was my last day at the Arlington Campus Library.  I do hope to be back to visit, of course though.  I don't start at the Smithsonian until June 1st, so I've got a bit of a break before all that starts.  Tomorrow, though, we're off to Ogden, outside of Salt Lake City, to visit Mike's mom!  I'm really looking forward to it.  Mike's mom is a wonderful, sweet lady and she's always been so kind to me.  I think we'll have a grand time.  Mike is the oldest of seven children and all his brothers and sisters will be there, so it's a kind of a family reunion for everyone, although an unofficial one.  We don't really have any set plans, we're just going to play it by ear and do what seems like fun at the time.  I do hope we'll be able to do some hiking in the canyons though, and maybe go into Salt Lake City.  We'll see.  Mostly we'll be catching up with family.  Stay tuned for pictures and updates.

Rainy outside, but sunny inside

Ocean City was awesome, even if the weather wasn't.  The weather was miserable, pretty cool and rainy.  But we weren't there for the weather, we were there for the company.  It was so great to see Ali again, I love her, of course, but I also just love seeing her with Mike, there's such a bond between those two.  We arrived Saturday night, in tie to have dinner at her restaurant (which was great) and chat with her a little while she was on duty.  Then today, first we had a great brunch in Berlin, Maryland, at The Globe.  The Globe is a restaurant that doesn't look like it'll be a good brunch place: it's dark and looks much more like a night place than a brunch place, but the food was awesome.  After that, since it was so rainy, we went back to Ali's place and unloaded some things we had brought for her, including a very nice china tea set.  They got it years ago in a trip to England and it's a rather special set: each of the twelve tea cups and saucers had a month on it and a flower for that month.  It's sort of a birthday flower tea cup set.  Ali has a lot of memories of it, so we brought it for her, but none of us quite knew where to put it.  But then we thought: why not just put up a shelf?  We had the time so Mike and Ali's boyfriend Dean went to Home Depot and got all the goods.  Then Mike rolled up his sleeves and put up the shelf!  Here are some pictures:

Mike working on the shelf.

Mike, Alison, and Dean with the tea set on the shelf behind them.

Just a really sweet picture of a father and daughter.