Work is love made visible

There are exactly 200 screws in my kitchen cabinets.

I know this because I removed and replaced Every. Single. One. of them by hand last week.

Loyal readers may recall that I don't really do New Year's Resolutions. I figure that if you're going to do something, just do it. Right this moment. And then the next moment. And then the next.

But, I also know that sometimes we walk around with a big list of "shoulds" and "wannas" and "somedays" in our heads and it can be hard to find the "right" time to get started on them. And it can be even hard to follow through and actually finish them. So, I get why some people grab onto the new year as a good transitional time to start that new project or set that new goal.

Quite a few of my "somedays" are centered around home improvement. We bought this house when I was 3 months pregnant with The Professor. For those keeping count, he's 8 now. We knew the new Casa de Zen would need a lot of updating and TLC and we've put in quite a few DIY hours on projects like painting rooms, adding pool fencing, remodeling the guest bathroom, moving from a septic system to the city sewer (oh yeah, that one was fun), keeping up with pest control, and even knocking down a wall, to name a few.

But one of the more public areas of the house that hasn't gotten a lot of attention so far has been the kitchen.

A full remodel is pretty high on the list of things I'd do with a sudden financial windfall. As I don't have any rich aging relatives and I don't play the lottery, I don't see that happening anytime soon. So, since ripping it all out and starting from scratch isn't really an option, I've had a lot of "shoulds" in my head about that room for a lot of years now.

Last week, I decided it was time to turn one of those "shoulds" into a "did" ...

BEFORE

AFTER 

Okay, so, the "before" is actually kinda early in the "during" and the "after" is really more like "not-quite-done-yet". but, you get the idea.

No, it's not the "new" kitchen I fantasize about. But, I think it's quite an improvement for a few dollars' worth of paint and supplies, about a week of my "spare" time, and a little (okay, it felt like a lot of) elbow grease. (And, looking at that before picture a little closer, at least one glass of wine. Apparently.)

I'm genuinely pleased with the results aesthetically and financially. Physically, I'm still recovering. ;)

But you know what the best part is? It's looking at my kitchen and thinking, "I did that. Me. With my own hands. All by my onsies." Kinda makes me want to thump my chest or maybe roar just a tiny bit.

There are a lot of ups and downs of home ownership. But, I gotta say, the completion of a home improvement project is a pretty damn satisfying up.

So, what kind of DIY projects are on YOUR to-do list for 2013?

 Zen

P.S. - Because it really wouldn't be a OneZenMom home improvement project without at least one moment like this:

"Work is love made visible." - Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

EDITED:

Oh, did I mention I also painted my front door recently?

Allons-y!

Feelin' Crafty

Behold: My creation! *lighting crashes* Mwahahahahahaha!

I'd seen these cute little purses made from books at Etsy and other places and, being a huge book nerd, of course, I lusted for one of my own.

But they seemed so expensive, when I knew they could be made for so much less money. And yet, I was too intimidated to try to make one myself. (My crafting projects too often end in tears and feelings of inadequacy.)

But, after a friend of mine made this gorgeous bag for herself ...

  ... I got the guts to try to make my own.
 
I took bits and pieces from several tutorials I found online and Frankenstein'd my own method of doing it.

Mostly, this involved me thinking, "Now, how how can I do that without any sewing?" Cuz, you know, laziness is the mother of invention. Or something like that.

As I'm generally pleased with my results, I thought I'd share the method to my madness.

PROLOGUE

Frankly, I was too focused on figuring out how to make it work to really document my steps very well, though I did, obviously, snap a few pics along the way. So, as far as step-by-step tutorials go, this is a little weak. Think of it as more of an inspirational report than a how-to manual. ;)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• A hard-cover book
  Just this once, you should judge a book by its cover: I find older books and children's books have some of the best covers. But, for this, I chose one of Barnes & Noble's Leatherbound Classic Series. Specifically, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. My friend used Grimm's Fairy Tales from the same series. It was actually really hard to choose just one book - they had so many of my favorites with such gorgeous covers! I wanted to buy them all. But, then, I get that feeling in bookstores all the time. The final deciding factor for me was size: The Anne Rice anthology was more than twice as wide as most of the others, meaning a bigger purse.
• Coordinating fabric
  How much depends on the size of your book. I bought four fabric quarters - two each of a Gothic-looking black/purple tie-dye and a bright arterial red to complement my blood-sucking fiends theme - and that was more than enough - even with a few mistakes and re-cuts. (Most of the bags I've seen use only one fabric. But I wanted different colors for the sides and lining.)
• Purse handles
  I went with pre-made. My friend made her own out of wire and beads. It doesn't really matter, as long as they coordinate with your book/bag.
• Glue
  I mostly used fabric glue - the kind you can buy at any craft store for hemming and the like. But you could use hot glue or other kinds of crafting glue.
• Cardboard
  Sturdy, but not too thick. Enough to cover the front, back and spine of your book. 
• Plastic report cover
• A utility knife, scissors, 2-3 blank pieces of paper, a pencil and maybe a ruler.

All of these supplies cost me somewhere in the neighborhood of $35-40 - including the $20 book.

You'll note that this list does NOT include a sewing machine or a needle and thread. Again, this is sheer sewing-aversion on my part. My bag is sew-free. Yours doesn't have to be. Just substitute "neatly sew a lovely hem" for "glue the shit out of it" and you're good to go. ;)

Or, if you're the sewing type, you should check out this great how-to article at Hungry Panda. I loved the concept of her design, but the thought of all that sewing made me start to hyperventilate.

CHAPTER 1: Remove the cover

Yes, this is absolutely the most painful step - you have to cut the pages from the book. I know! I might have wept a little. I recommend doing it quickly - like ripping off a band-aid.

Use your utility knife to cut through the end paper and stitches holding the cover to the pages. But, carefully, so as not to cut any pages or the spine binding itself. Because we are going to recover that book when we're done, are we not?

Now that your book is naked, take it's measurements: Use blank paper to trace the front and back covers and spine. Then stand the book on it's edge, open it to the width you want your bag to open to, and trace that triangle outline all the way around the book, including a straight line along the front opening.

CHAPTER 2: The Guts: Preparation 

From this article at Wiki-How, I borrowed the idea of using fabric-covered cardboard inserts for the bottom and sides of the bag, to help reinforce the the book/bag and make installation easier:

Cut out two pieces of thin cardboard that are just a little smaller than the front and back covers of your book and one that is just a bit smaller than the spine.

The finished pieces should fit all together inside your book, while it is closed, without going over any of the edges. Check this sizing and then double-check it. And then check it again. THEN, use fabric glue to cover the cardboard with your fabric. 

(As you can see, my craftier-than-I-am friend added some awesome pockets to the lining of her bag. I do love pockets, but they didn't fit into my no-sew agenda, so they got left on the drawing board for this bag. If there's ever a sequel to this project, I'll probably try to add pockets.)

CHAPTER 3: Handles

I went with a single loop handle and attached them to the middle of the bag with one strap for each. You can see on my friend's bag that she went with the half-loop handles that attach to the bag in two places, requiring a total of four straps. There are pros and cons to each, but really it's your preference.

To attach the handles, I cut two long strips of the red fabric I used for the "guts" of the bag and "hemmed" the long edges with fabric glue. (Don't worry about the short edges.)

I just looped the fabric through the handles and glued the bottom part of the fabric securely to each side of the inside of the book cover - making sure that the handles were even with each other vertically and horizontally.

I think this method of using one strap per handle is a little easier than trying to make sure that FOUR handle straps are all even and equidistant. But, again: I'm a lazy crafter. The potential drawback to this method is that the strap sits right in the middle of the purse, so it could get in the way of the ...

CHAPTER 4: Clasp/Closure

A lot of the tutorials I saw used ribbon and a button - one mounted on each side of the bag in the center, to hold the book/purse closed. I liked the concept, but, as I said, my "middle" was kinda taken up by my strap. So, I just moved my button over to one side. I used a satin-covered black button and thin black leather twine that I had on hand, rather than a ribbon.

I threaded the leather through the button, leaving a long tail and secured that to the inside of the book with glue and electrical tape (No, it's not pretty, but it's strong and no one will ever see it.) with the button just poking out over the top of the book. On the opposite cover, I secured a loop of the black leather the same way - again, with just enough poking over the top of the book to be able to hook around the button and hold the bag closed.

One word of advice that I was thankful that my friend shared with me: Check the distance on this closure carefully and use something that has a little "give" for the strap. You want the book to stay closed, but not so tightly that it cuts off your storage space inside. I considered elastic, but I didn't have any on hand to try out. Plus, I liked the black leather. Hey, who doesn't? ;)

CHAPTER 5: Side Panels

I'm not gonna lie to you, Marge: This was the hard part. If you have access to another pair of hands, this is the time to call in reinforcements.

I found several slightly different, but all good, methods for doing this online. If it weren't for my severe allergy to sewing, I probably would have used this one at Curbly. But, I did this instead: 

Take that triangle tracing from waaaay up there in Chapter 1 and add about an inch to the sides and a couple of inches to the top. This is the template for cutting out the side panels for your bag.

Double over your fabric and cut a triangle from your template. Glue/hem the two sides of the doubled-over fabric together. Repeat, so that you have two equal-sized side panels.

I stole this idea from Jen Yates at EPBOT: Cut a medium weight plastic (like the kind you'd use for a report cover) into two horizontal strips about 1 inch tall and about an inch shy of the length of the top of your triangles.

Hem (glue) that plastic strip into the top of the fabric and crease it in the middle, so that the point of the crease points to the inside of the bag. This helps the side panels to fold inward, as opposed to outward, when the bag closes.

Glue the bottom point of the triangle to the inside of the spine of the book on one side - carefully checking the height before gluing to make sure the panels reach, but do not go past, the top of the book cover. Ditto on the other side.

Yes, I wish I had taken pictures of this part. But I didn't. Fortunately, Country Living did, for their very excellent tutorial on the subject.

Now take the spine-sized piece of cardboard that you covered in fabric earlier and glue it down on top of the edges of the triangles that you just glued down.(You can wait until step 6 to do this, but I thought doing it now was easier and less messy.)

Glue the long edges of the fabric up along the inside of the book covers.

That is so much harder than it sounds. Seriously, that one sentence does not accurately convey the contortions and cursing required to hold the book open at just the right angle with one hand while simultaneously holding the fabric in place with another hand while gluing the fabric down with another hand. Yes, that's at least three hands - that's my point!

So, learn from my mistakes: Either get another hand or two to help you hold the book in place or put together some kind of contraption to prop the book open at the right angle while you are gluing the sides.

CHAPTER 6: Guts: Installation

Once you've got the side panels glued in place and have let them dry - I took my time and let each side dry a bit before moving on to the next - then it's all down hill from here:

Just take the cardboard "guts" that you covered in fabric earlier and glue them in place to the insides of your bag. I used some paper clamps to hold the insides to the cover while the glue dried, which really doesn't take long.

Voila! You now have a lovely book-bag perfect for every nerdy occasion!

But, wait! There's still one last thing to do:

CHAPTER  7: Re-cover your book!

Unless the pages of the book you used were un-salvageable, you'll want to re-cover them to save the book for actual reading! Don't worry: It's not hard.

I re-covered the pages of my book with cardboard and some light denim fabric I had lying around. It's certainly not as pretty as the original cover. But the pages are protected and readable. :)

EPILOGUE

I know I don't usually do this crafty-mom thing on my blog (or in real life!).

But, I'm so pleased that I was able to make this successfully, that I want to share. Who knows, maybe there's some other book-loving-but-sewing-challenged person out there feeling, as I was, a little intimidated by this particular project.

So, if you want your very own "book bag" - don't be afraid to try it. And absolutely DO post a link to a pic here if you make one of your own!

No, my bag is not "perfect" - but it's mine. I made it. And I had fun making it. And that'd be enough right there to make me love it.

Bonus: It's a gorgeous book cover and I think I did a half-way decent job of transforming into a fun and useful bag. I even took it on it's first outing the other night - to my son's school's "Literacy Night". It seemed a fitting debut. I can't wait to wear it to even more geeky places.

The End,
 
 Zen

Is that an Allen wrench in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

"I have two boxes of leftover tile."

I looked up from my laptop and peered over my glasses at my husband.

"Aaaand ... " I prompted.

"I was thinking I would just go ahead and tile the floor in the kids' bathroom."

I cocked my head to the side. "Hmmmm ... Okay, sure."

And so it began.

For much the same reason you should not give a Moose a Muffin, you should not give my husband a "little" DIY home improvement task.

Because, if you ask him to lay tile, he will need to tear out the old floor.
And if he tears out the old floor, he might as well remove the old sink and countertop.
And if he takes out the vanity, he really should replace that old shower.
And it the shower is going, well, we really should extend the tile from the floors to half-way up the wall.
And paint.
And get new curtains.
And buy all new fixtures and furniture and finials and ...

Four months, three home improvement stores, two visits to Ikea, and one special order later ...

We have a lovely new kids/guest bathroom.

For the record, *I* built most of the furniture. (I am the Ikea queen - have Allen Wrench, will travel. Or something like that.)

If anyone needs me, the Queen will be on her throne,
Zen

Comidas buenas

In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, I present a rare "Cooking with ZenMom" post.

It's no secret that the ZenHusband is the cook of the family, but I do have a handful of things I enjoy cooking or baking and that, I think, are pretty tasty.

Today at Casa Zen, we are throwing together a bunch of "easy" finger foods to munch tonight while we gather 'round ye olde telly to watch the Super Bowl. So, I thought I'd go ahead and share my favorite, super-easy chili recipe.

I stole this recipe from my Dad and tweaked it here and there to my own personal taste. In fact, I don't think we've ever made this chili exactly the same way twice. We're always substituting or throwing in something new or changing proportions.

So, really, this is less of a "recipe" and more of a "guideline". :)

I think the best dishes come from experimenting. So, if anyone out there gives this chili a try, I'd love to hear how you liked it and how you "made it your own".

C's CROCKPOT CHORIZO CHILI

HARDWARE
1 medium-sized crockpot
1 large skillet

SOFTWARE:
2 cups black beans
1/2 pound ground beef
1 pkg (9oz) beef chorizo
6 oz (1 small can) tomato paste
3 roma tomatoes
1 medium green bellpepper, chopped*
1 anaheim chile pepper, chopped*
1/2 yellow onion
3-4 cups chicken broth (or 1 1/2 bottles of a medium ale)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
salt and pepper (to taste)

* I prefer to remove most of the seeds from the peppers to cut back on the heat, but if you like your chili spicier, leave them in.)

DIRECTIONS

The night before:
In a medium saucepan, cover the 2 cups of dry beans with water and boil for 20 minutes. Then turn off heat and let the beans soak overnight (or at least 4 hours).

Chili day:
Drain the beans. Add them to the crockpot.
In a large skillet: Sweat the chopped onions and bellpepper.
When the onions are soft and almost translucent, add the ground beef to the skillet.
Brown the ground beef, seasoning with the chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper.

Drain the beef, add it to the crockpot.
In the same skillet, cook the chorizo until it is mostly liquified.
Add the chorizo to the crockpot.
Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and chopped peppers.
Add the chicken broth (or beer) - make sure there is enough liquid to fully cover the ingredients.
Stir.
Put the lid on the crockpot. Turn it on medium and walk away for at least 6 hours.
(Come back and give it a stir every hour or so.)

I like to serve it with a little grated cheddar cheese on top and a side of toasted french bread.

###

BONUS RECIPE: ZEN'S PICO DE GALLO (GARDEN SALSA)

(Stolen from my Mom. And, again, a lot of wiggle-room to make it to your own taste.)

SOFTWARE:

3 large roma tomatoes (or 1 beefsteak) (3/4 lb)
1/8 brown onion (or to taste)
6 sprigs cilantro
1/8 lime or lemon (no peel)
1-2 cloves garlic
1-3 Serrano Chiles
1 tsp salt
1/8 Green Bell Pepper

*For guacamole, just add 4 large avocados

DIRECTIONS:

Chop garlic, chilis. Add to bowl. Stir.
Chop onions, tomatoes, cilantro, bell pepper. Add. Stir.
Add salt, lemon/lime. Stir.
Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors combine. It will get spicier the longer it sits.

OPTIONAL HARDWARE:

I like to make this in my food processor. Just "pulse" the garlic and chiles first until they are minced, then add everything else and "pulse" to your desired consistency.

###

Feliz Comiendo!

Zen

Treat Exchange: Uber-Krispies

Veronica at Another Suburban Mom is hosting a Treat Exchange!

Now, it's pretty well known, that' I'm not much of a cook. But I do enjoy a tasty treat. And this is my favorite. It's my mother-in-law's "secret" recipe for Rice Krispie Treats. 'Round our house, we call them Uber-Krispies, to distinguish them from the vastly inferior, made-with-marshmallow variety.

I often tell my husband the real reason I married him was to get my hands on this recipe. Yeah, they're that good. And they are so easy to make! 

Uber-Krispies

6 oz Butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
4 c Rice Krispies

Melt chips and peanut butter together in saucepan. Stir in Krispies, coating the cereal.

1 tsp water
6 oz chocolate chips
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp butter

Combine in saucepan and melt.
Layer in greased pan: Coated kispies, chocolate mix, coated krispies.

Refrigerator for at least an hour. Overnight for best results. Serve chilled.

Tip: I usually make two pans. One for me and one for everyone else. ;)

Don't forget to stop by Veronica's blog to see what other good eats are being offered up in the Treat Exchange.

ETA:

Couple of suggestions: I like to melt the chocolate in a double boiler - I use a stainless steel mixing bowl on a medium-sized saucepan filled with soft-boiling water.

The most important thing with the chocolate is to heat it until it's melted, but not to "cook" it. Overheating it will cause textural issues when it cools. 

Basically, once you start heating the chocolate -don't take you attention away from it. And stir often. As soon as it's melted, take it off the heat and and pour/spread it into onto your bottom krispie layer right away.

Second, chilling it overnight is best. To let the layers set. Otherwise, they will be (more) crumbly and less cohesive. (I am usually way to impatient to follow this rule.)

Oh, and I forgot to mention that we like to make it a little more festive by putting fine red and green sprinkles on top at Christmas time. (Or orange and black at Halloween or red and pink at valentines day, etc.)

NCHF: A Photo Essay

The ZenHusband and I attended the
Northern California Homebrewer's Festival last weekend.
(You did know ZH is a long-time avid homebrewer, didn't you?)

The whole weekend was a blast, but the highlight, for me,
was the Brewer's Dinner Friday night.

O.M.G.

No, really:
O.M.F.G.

This dinner was TO DIE FOR.
It was six courses of Oktoberfest-inspired deliciousness
crafted by renowned Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton.

That's him below, the one in the chef's jacket
waving at all of the hungry people who are about to worship him.

We ate great food and drank great beer -
a different craft brew to complement each course - for three hours.

The meal was outdoors and had a casual picnic-y kind of feel,
including family-style service, but that didn't diminish
the incredible, gourmet-level food.

The whole dinner was amazing
- from the beet salad starter to the tangy sauerkraut
to the mouth-watering bratwurst,
to the melt-in-your-mouth sauerbrauten.

My two personal favorites were the "David Hasselhoff"
- a pretzel-crumb coated pork cutlet
served with warm German purple potato salad -
and the Wild Mushroom Strudel.

Ohmygawd, my knees are weak and I'm salivating
like Pavlov's pets just thinking about
the savory heaven that was that mushroom strudel.

For dessert: Hop-infused ice cream.
It tasted like green hops right off the vine, but cold and creamy.
ZH dipped his in his schwarzbeir to make a Beer Float. :)

As I tweeted that night:

This is like Iron Chef meets Oktoberfest!
What's the German word for heaven? Mmmmmm. ;D

After dinner, we all stumbled to our tents, very pleasantly sated.
(Did I mention this whole festival was at a lake resort in the foothills
and all of the attendees were camping for the whole weekend?
No? Okay, now you know.)

After sleeping off that little bit o' German heaven,
we were up bright and early (as far as you know)
to get ready for the actual Festival:

The ZenHusband being the beer addict,
um I mean, brewing enthusiast that he is,
we've been to our fair share of beer festivals and conferences.

And I have to say, this was one of the best
and most laid-back events we've ever been to.

Some of that atmosphere, you can probably chalk up to location.
Northern California is a pretty mellow part of the state
(not counting the politicos in Sacramento).

But I think part of it also came from the fact
that almost everyone there was a homebrewer.

Usually at events like these you get a mix of brewers and,
shall we say, "drinkers". And there's almost always a
rowdy "frat boy" element that harshes the mellow.
But, here, there was none of that.

Oh, there was plenty of drinking going on ...

(Yeah, those are both taps.)

And lots of good fun ...

... but it was still more of a connoisseur event than a kegger.

One of my favorite elements of Beer Festivals are the booths.
There are usually contests for the best decorations
and some of the clubs really go all out.
(If you embiggen the photo above,
you'll see that's a working chandelier.)

This year's theme for the NCHF was "Oktoberfest".
A lot of the clubs did a great job with their decorations.
But this one was my favorite:

If you look a little closer, you'll see that the serving wench and the cow
(which I believe were made of papier mache!)
are a tap! Three taps, actually ...

Yep, you could pour yourself three different kinds of beer
from that cute little cow's udder.
Talk about improving on nature. ;)
I was only disappointed that one of them wasn't a milk stout.

:)

And did I mention that proceeds of all of this
laid-back and golden delicious fun go to charity?

Win. Win. Win.

And this concludes Zen's "how I spent my vacation" photo essay.
Thanks for playing!

The family that dyes together

Daddy and the boys had a tie-dying day last weekend ...




... I think they did a pretty good job, actually. And they had a blast. :)

This weekend, we're going camping.

Which means, I will soon be Interwebs free for four whole days.

I get a little light-headed just thinking about it. Wish me luck. ;)

I have a bad feeling about this

So, a little over a week ago, I twittered about the sinkhole that appeared in my front yard.

Turns out there was a busted water main at the end of my driveway. The City diligently sent out a maintenance guy within an hour - which was awesome. He pumped the water out of the hole and declared that the busted pipe was on our side of the property line - which was not so much with the awesome.

So, the ZenHusband started digging and I called my dad, who just so happens to be the best darn plumbing contractor in the tri-state area. (I can't even begin to estimate how many thousands of dollars that fact has saved me over the years. Thanks, Dad.)

So, that weekend, Handy Dad and The ZenHusband got to play with a jack-hammer and shovels and PVC. Oh my.

Two six-packs and 12 goddammits later, they'd replaced the section of pipe and filled in the sinkhole at the end of my driveway. Huzzah.

This morning, I went out to my car and saw this.

&%*#$^@%!

So, yeah. Looks like we get a Mulligan on the water main repair. Oh joy.

Our house is more than 50 years old and the pipes out there are all original, so, we figure that pretty soon we'll need to replace that whole line from the City hook-up to the house.

Apparently, we are just going to start by doing it one section at a time.

The Good News is: The kids think it's way cool that we are the only house on the block with a moat.

The Bad News is that Handy Dad is out of town this weekend (Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!) and The ZenHusband has a shoulder injury that the doctor warned against aggravating.

So, guess who gets to dig a big ol' hole this weekend?

That's right! The four-year-old!!!

Okay, no. Me.

But don't worry, The ZenHusband says he'll be happy to supervise and point out whenever I might be doing anything wrong.

Wish me luck. Or, you might want to wish him luck, or at least speed. To, you know, avoid any accidentally wide shovel swingage that may or may not occur.

Actually, knowing my husband, he'll end up down in that hole with a shovel and a pipe-wrench despite Doctor's orders. So, I guess a little kibitzing can be forgiven. :)

So, what are your plans for the weekend? (If you're planning an exotic trip or glamorous event ... lie to me, 'kay?)

Attack of the Killer Ants

Ok, so, they're not 20 feet tall.

Or radioactive.

Or even killers.

But they are definitely on the attack. And they are effing annoying!

We've been having border skirmishes with this drone army for a while now. But yesterday, hostilities escalated when the enemy executed a blitz attack.

The recon team must have slipped through our defenses earlier in the week. Because they knew just where to hit us - marching unerringly and with mindless determination for our weakest spots.

They came at us in three fronts - dining room, living room and kitchen. A tactic surely designed to cause panic and division of resources.

But our wily Master Chief (aka The ZenHusband) was not to be outdone. He didn't mess around. He went straight for the Big Guns - the dual tactics of chemical warfare and WMDs to send those enemy combatants to that great Colony in the sky.

I left most of the actual combat to the Master Chief and focused on rallying the troops and keeping the supply lines running.

It was a long and ugly battle and - I'm not gonna lie to you - there were moments when I thought we might not prevail.

But, we finally cleared away the last of the invading horde and had the satisfaction of knowing we had successfully defended our territory.

But this was just one battle - not the war. And I don't think we've seen the last of this army. They are a single-minded, hearty and they have the advantage of numbers. Fortunately, we have the advantage of opposable thumbs. Well, that, and being about 10,000 times bigger.

But still, it may be time to call in reinforcements.

"The torture of chalkdust collects on my tongue" or, How I spent my 3-day weekend

I have a small hole in my ankle, my legs feel like I've been running all weekend, and I can still taste the drywall dust in the air (or is it just coating my nasal passages?) ... but it was all worth it ...

This weekend, I took the kids to visit their grandparents and The Husband and I tore down a wall.

No, that's not some kind of new age metaphor. We literally tore down a wall in our house. Well, 3/4 of one, anyway.

*Insert Tim Allen grunting here*

Some background: Our house was built in 1950. We bought it "as is" a few years ago and it's needed plenty of work since day one. And that's fine with us. The Husband and I both love older houses. We would much rather live in a '50s - or earlier - fixer-upper than in any new construction. That's just our taste.

Fortunately, my handy husband knows his way around a tool box pretty well and my uber-handy Dad is always willing to lend a hand, too. (Seriously, my dad could build a whole house all by himself - just give him the time and tools.)

Me? I'm not exactly a DIY queen. But I'm not completely useless, either. So, I pitch in as the semi-skilled labor occasionally.

So, when our personal and perpetual "This Old House" needs a little TLC, we usually serve it up ourselves with a side of elbow grease.

We've completed a lot of projects, indoors and out, but, of course, there's always more to do.

THIS weekend, we did a relatively quick and easy and cheap job that, I think, makes a HUGE improvement.



I have wanted to knock down this wall ever since we moved in.

The living and dining areas are basically one long, connected room. This wall separated the kitchen from that room.

And, can I just tell you? This is a really well-built house! Damn, but that wall was sturdy. Seriously, earthquake, shmurthquake - this house ain't goin' nowhere!



We were coated in gypsum dust by the end of the demolition (as was everything else in the house not covered by a dropcloth), I have three large trashcans full of drywall, plaster and chicken wire, and there is a rather large pile of used 2x4s in my backyard.

We are not quite finished with, well, the finish work, so we'll have to work on it a bit more next weekend. But all of the hard stuff is done.

And it was worth it. I already LOVE the difference it makes! The small kitchen feels so much bigger. And the living and dining rooms feel bigger, too.

But the best part is that The Husband or I can be in the kitchen cooking or doing dishes or whatever AND still be part of family time with the kids in the living room.

I'm really happy with it.

Ta-daaaa! Whaddaya think?

Oooo, shiny!

This is my house ...



This is my house on Christmas ...



The Husband and Minions think we need more lights and candy canes and snowmen and Santas and reindeer and penguins and ....

Is this a guy thing?

I made that!

I am not crafty. In any sense of the word. So, it will likely come as a surprise to some of my loved ones that they are getting something homemade this year for Christmas:

But, it's true. I knitted my little fingers to the bone the last couple of months to make these (plus a couple more that didn't make it in the picture) for some family and friends.

Don' they look warm and fuzzy and cozy? Like long, sleek Tribbles who just want to cuddle up and nuzzle your neck.

If I ever get the feeling back in my knuckles, I will maybe make one for myself. :)

So, did you do anything "crafty" for the holidays?

Best. Turkey. Ever.

You must make this turkey!

I am not a cook. I admit this freely and without shame. The Husband does 90 percent of the cooking in our house. If you want omelettes, pancakes, waffles, enchiladas, Spanish rice, lasagna, chicken breasts or something out of a box - I'm your gal. Anything else - talk to The Husband.

So, considering that disclaimer, why the heck am I blogging about a recipe?! And why on earth should you listen to *me*?!?

Because it is The. Best. Turkey. Ever. And it's EASY!

Why should you take advice from someone as culinarily challenged as me? Because it's not MY recipe - it's Alton Brown's! And HE is a kitchen god (which is a little bit like being a rock god, but yummier.)

Seriously, do yourself, your guests and your bird a favor: TRY THIS RECIPE. I did. And I made a flavorful, moist, golden-brown-and-delicious turkey. Me. The girl who can't boil toast.

Trust me: If *I* can do it, anybody can. :)

So do it!

Good Eats Roast Turkey

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

Green habits

My husband and I were raised by frugal folks.

My grandparents remember the depression and the Dust Bowl. My parents came into adulthood in the 70s - 'nuff said. "Waste not, want not." should be on my family crest.

So, when we hear about "new" ideas for saving money and resources, Hubby and I usually just look at each other with raised eyebrows, because that's what we've been doing all along.

Turn lights off when you're not using them? - Duh.

Turn off the water while dish washing/teeth brushing, etc. - Been there, done that. (Hubby takes it a step further and insists that we conserve water with tandem showers. I'm sure he is motivated purely by ecological interests.) ;)

*Tip: Fill a milk jug with water and put it in the holding tank behind your toilet - instant low-flow toilet.

Set your thermostat to 85 - *snort* We don't usually turn the darn thing on until we hit triple digits. And a whole-house fan is on the short-list of home-improvement projects. We'd love to go solar, actually, but the conversion is just too darn expensive right now.

Only run the dishwasher/clothes washer when they are full - What?! Are there really people who run the washer for just one or two items?! We've recently gone back to line-drying, too. Takes a little extra effort, but it saves a lot of energy.

*Tip: When line-drying, take the clothes off the line and throw them into the dryer for 5-10 minutes with NO heat, BUT with two of those bumpy dryer balls - softens them right up for just a few pennies' worth of energy. :)

Reusable shopping bags - My grandma has been using these since the depression. They are GREAT. I really don't know why more people don't use them? When we DO use plastic for one reason or another, we always re-use them, of course. In fact, we have this great cloth bag that my grandma "invented" to store and dispense plastic bags.

Home recycling - My city FINALLY started providing those "blue cans" this year for residents to "start" recycling. Pfft. I learned how to separate recyclables before I learned how to ride a bike. My parents separated paper, plastic, cans, etc. AND we used the bio-recyclables to make mulch for our vegetable garden. (Which, by the way, had a clever irrigation system that did not waste water.)

*Speaking of renewable resources: I LOVE my bamboo bed sheets. You should get some.

Organic food - My grandma made everything from scratch. I mean picked-from-the-garden, milk-from-the-cow, eggs-from-the-chicken-coop, meat-from-their-own-livestock scratch. Mom didn't go quite that far too often, but, she could do it, too. (Have you ever gathered eggs from chickens? It is so NOT a fun thing to do. I would rather have fed the pigs, any day.)

At our house, Hubby is the cook (Gawd, I love that man!) and - while we don't make much of anything from scratch - he is very conscientious about where our food comes from and what is in it.

We don't have much room to grow food at our house. This year, the crop was just a few tomatoes and peppers and some cucumbers. But a bigger garden plot is on the long-term to-do list. In the meantime, we try to buy our fruits and veggies from the local Farmer's Market whenever we can. And I am pleased by the growing selection of organic stuff at our local market, too.

* Remember to take your cloth shopping bags to the Farmer's Market, too.

Informed Consumers - This seems like the simplest one of all. But it can actually be quite difficult. It can be hard to balance the need to get the most out of our dollar with the need to make socially responsible choices.

It shouldn't be so hard to buy local, to invest in renewable resources, to support green businesses, to NOT support foreign dictatorships and human rights violations. But it is. Cost is a factor. And so is information. It can take a lot of work to learn enough to decide who I want to give my money to.

But, it's worth it. Because what we BUY has an even greater impact on our country (and, by extension, our whole planet) than how we VOTE. As consumers, our dollar is our voice. And, while mine might be just one little whisper in a crowd, I have a responsibility to put my money where my mind is.

We are not the "greenest" family on the planet, not by a long-shot. But - because of the values and habits instilled by our families, and because we are informed consumers - we are going to keep doing our itty-bitty little part to improve the world.

Sometimes, I admit, it's not the easiest thing to do. But it's the right thing to do.

What gets me, though, is this: SO MANY of the things you can do to save money and resources ARE easy! So, why isn't EVERYONE doing them?!