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Flashback Friday – Patience Grasshopper

by Wendi5 Comments on Flashback Friday – Patience Grasshopper

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 10/11/07 at Exit 51

Patience Grasshopper

Life is filled with ‘hurry up and wait’ right now. With SFC being away I hurry up and wait for phone calls or emails. And with the renovation that took months to begin, I hurry up and wait to get my house back in order. At least I know that one of those things should happen in the not too distant future. That’s because in the last two days, two major milestones have been reached. Continue reading “Flashback Friday – Patience Grasshopper” →
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Flashback Friday – All In A Day’s Work

by Wendi6 Comments on Flashback Friday – All In A Day’s Work

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 10/1/07 at Exit 51

All In A Day’s Work

I’m starting to feel a little better about how things are shaping up in the kitchen. The weekend work resulted in doors, drawers, and hardware going on the cabinets.

So after a much needed nap on my reclaimed basement sofa (previously home to the 80 flats and miscellaneous packages that have been transformed into cabinets), the migration of displaced kitchen goods began. Since there’s no sink yet in the kitchen, everything had to be hauled to the basement, rinsed in the utility sink, dried, hauled back upstairs, and put away.

We went with a slightly different cabinet configuration than what we had so I think it’s going to take a while for me to really figure out where everything goes. Poor SFC, he’s not going to know where anything is when he comes home.
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Flashback Friday – Caution, Men At Work

by Wendi4 Comments on Flashback Friday – Caution, Men At Work

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 9/28/07 at Exit 51

Caution, Men At Work

And no, I don’t mean the 80’s band…although I’m amazed at how good Overkill sounds as an acoustic track – check it out on iTunes.

(Note to readers – grab a comfy chair and settle in for a long one.)

Work at the house has been underway since the 12th. The progress has been slow going. I’ve even been reduced to petitioning to St. Jude – patron saint of hopeless cases, things almost despaired of – to intercede. Work happens in spurts. Some days I come home to find that the crew has been hard at work, other days nobody has been here at all. It’s totally random.

For instance, not long after I got home from TIFF, the kitchen looked like this:


Cabinets completely removed, subfloor installed, new electrical lines run.
From there it took almost a week for new cabinets to be placed:
At about 5pm on Friday the contractor called to see if the guys could come in and work the next morning. Um, yeah, but I am completely shocked and honestly a little sad that noisy, dusty work will get me out of bed early on a Saturday.

LIFE LESSON #1 – Have patience.
LIFE LESSON#2 – Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

I’m sure there are more Life Lessons in this whole experience that I just haven’t discovered yet. One Life Lesson I knew going into the renovation, thanks to many hours of viewing of home improvement/home flipping shows on cable, is that sometimes it pays to hire a professional. It’s amazing how, in the name of saving a dollar, people who should know better will take on the challenge of perfoming skilled labor. What they don’t consider is that hiring someone who knows what they’re doing is cheaper in the long run. By the time you add up the cost of wasted time and materials from messing up as you work your way through the learning curve, the contractor’s number to do things aren’t so bad.

The agenda for this weekend is pretty ambitious. But if the guys are willing to work on a Saturday, who am I to say no? And at the end of the day, it may help to keep us on schedule which is kind of funny since despite my tendency to try and have a plan for everything, I never actually asked the contractor how long the job would take. I figured that three to four weeks was a pretty optimistic timetable to complete the work. But I didn’t want to tie my expectations to a specific date only to be disappointed or frustrated if it took longers. I’ve got my fingers crossed that two weeks from now I’ll be putting away everything from the kitchen and dining room that has made its way to other places in the house…and of course, getting professional help to clean up all the mess.

I sincerely cannot wait to have my house back. Since work began, I’ve been literally pushed into a corner…a corner of a table with a folding chair in the living room where I eat frozen meals, watch tv, and try to keep on top of household chores like paying bills. There has been no refuge or relaxation in the house for weeks. But there is reason to be hopeful; next week should be busy here at 2158 – countertop templating and floor tile are scheduled which will open the door for appliances to be delivered and hooked up, finish work can begin, paint can go on the walls, and the electrical work can be completed.

I am confident that by the time SFC comes home on leave (still don’t know when that will be but definitely not in the next few weeks), the renovation will be complete and the kitchen and bath will have been transformed. Won’t he be surprised by how different everything looks?
Random

Flashback Friday – Mine Eyes Have Seen

by Wendi8 Comments on Flashback Friday – Mine Eyes Have Seen

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 9/8/07 at Exit 51

Mine Eyes Have Seen

I was watching the movie Notting Hill the other day. Total chick flick. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, I always get weepy at the end. There’s a scene where Julia Roberts gives Hugh Grant a painting. She says something about how it makes here think about what love feels like.

We all have our own ideas about what love feels like. Maybe it’s a touch on the back of the neck. Or the warmth of a hand in yours. But what does love look like? And how does that change over a lifetime? Continue reading “Flashback Friday – Mine Eyes Have Seen” →

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SNOMG 2010

by Wendi7 Comments on SNOMG 2010

Swings

I’ll share a secret with you…I don’t typically blog in real time.  I’ve got myself a nice little backlog of posts all written and scheduled to magically appear here on BAH Monday through Friday.  That explains why some of my recipes may not be “in season”…it’s easier just to set things to publish and not worry about whether I’m talking about Christmas Dinner in February.  If anything, it breaks up the routine.  It’s unexpected.  But there are times when you just have to cut the line and talk about the obvious.  Like SNOMG.  Or Snomageddon.  Or whatever you’ve taken to calling the freak of nature that has engulfed the MidAtlantic.  It cannot be ignored.

How could it?  Government office are closed.  Schools are closed.  Stores are closed.  Mass transit has shut down.  Mail is not being delivered.  Trash is not being picked up.

We each cope in our own way.  Me, I’m doing my thing in the kitchen when I’m not outside wielding a shovel.  Let’s look at what I’ve been cooking up for your reading enjoyment:

Retro Cinnamon Cake

Nigella’s Beef Stew

Beth’s Chicken and Rice Soup

Salmon with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Apple Almond Coffee Cake

Biscuits

Homemade Hot Chocolate

And the rest of the week looks like this:

Penne with Mushrooms

Char Siu Pork

Frizzled Beef and Macaroni

Beef Pot Pies

Cinnamon Bread

Buckeyes

Chocolate Cake

I’m guessing that by the time SNOMG moves out of here, I will be carrying around 5 extra pounds from all those sweets.  What about you?  How are you getting through the storm?

Dara has opened up a cooking help line at the Dining Examiner.  Got a question or quandry?  Send it to snomg@diningdish.otherinbox.com OR on Twitter @daracooks and we’ll see if one of Baltimore’s Food Bloggers can provide an answer.

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Flashback Friday – Home Renovation or Teen Angst Movie?

by Wendi10 Comments on Flashback Friday – Home Renovation or Teen Angst Movie?

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 9/6/07 at Exit 51

Home Renovation or Teen Angst Movie?

Earlier this year we decided to take on some home improvement projects. When we bought the house, we knew that we wanted to change things but didn’t have the cushion in the bank account. So we saved until we had what we thought was a reasonable budget in hand. Working for an architect as I do, we thought we’d have an inside track on contractors and the process would be smooth.

Silly us. Silly, silly us.

Sure, I was able to get recommendations on some contractors from coworkers. But finding a contractor is kind of like dating. You talk to the contractors and hopefully find one who is interested in your project. Then you set up a meeting to take a look. If you don’t get stood up for that date and the contractor gives you a proposal to do the work then you get to wait around until there’s an opening in his schedule.

That whole process made me as anxious as a 14 year old trying to get the cute boy to notice me. Why won’t they call me back? We had a date on the calendar, why didn’t he show? Ok, he’s been over the house, when am I going to hear back from him? Oh, how long do I have to wait to see him again? See, not too different from dating.

The rational person would just cut their losses and move on to the next name on the list. But I’d rather wait for the right contractor to be available, the one I feel comfortable with who understands what I want the end product to be, than say yes to the first one who says he can start next week. To go back to the dating analogy, it’s trying to date the most popular person in school and then understanding that sometimes you have to decide to be alone for the right reasons than with someone for the wrong ones. (Quick, name that 80’s teen movie!)

This process started back in March. It’s September and I finally got the call last week to say that our job was next on the schedule. It took a while but I feel like I got the date with the cute boy at last. Now, what am I going to wear?

Random

Flashback Friday – $80 Car Wash: It’s Not Just Me

by Wendi10 Comments on Flashback Friday – $80 Car Wash: It’s Not Just Me

Flashback Friday

I’m doubling up this week’s Flashback Friday due to last week’s schedule interruption.

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The following post originally appeared on 8/28/07 at Exit 51

$80 Car Wash

Ain’t it the truth – things happen when you’re least ready for them and I swear some things only happen to me. Case in point, I get in my car this week and the check engine light comes on. Absent any obvious signs that the engine is about to blow up, my diagnostic skill are pretty limited. Since the car is only two years old and still under warranty I decide the proper thing to do is get to the dealer. And that’s where I ended up getting an $80 car wash.

When I arrived and explained the reason I was there, the service tech checking me in explained that if the issue was not a covered repair, I would be charged their standard diagnostic fee. Of course I agree since I don’t know the first thing about what goes on under the hood.

So I wait. And I wait. I even watch a movie on my iPod. 90 minutes later, I’m informed that the problem was a loose gas cap. And it just so happens that a loose gas cap is different from a defective gas cap. And that difference could be charged to my Visa or Mastercard. But while I’m waiting for my paperwork to come through to the cashier, would I like my car washed. I figure why the heck not, if I have to hand over my debit card for this bit of automotive wisdom, I might as well get a clean ride out of it. I paid the bill and went out to collect my car expecting it to be shiny and clean inside and out.

And don’t you know, that car was dripping wet and void of any vacuum love. Next time, I think I’ll just take it to the AutoSpa instead. For $80, I could have the entire car cleaned, waxed, and detailed. But I learned a valuable lesson…how to tighten a gas cap (three clicks!)…which I gladly pass along free of charge.

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And this was the follow up.

The following post originally appeared on 9/1/07 at Exit 51

It’s Not Just Me

Turns out I’m not the only one with gas cap issues. I got the following email from one of my friends:

my mom called me last night. she picked her car up from the VW dealer after having dropped it off yesterday morning because the engine light came on…turns out her gas cap wasn’t on all the way! true story! i almost fell out of my chair. i relayed the $80 carwash bit to her and she thought that was outrageous as well. anyway, i’ve never heard that before and now i’ve heard it twice in the same week. thought i would pass it on. i gave her your 3 click advice.

If car makers have the technology for your car to tell you when your tire pressure is low or email you with service reminders (truth is stranger than fiction), why can’t they come up with a ‘check gas cap’ light?

Random

Flashback Friday – You Are Here

by Wendi9 Comments on Flashback Friday – You Are Here

Flashback Friday

Today’s Flashback Friday entry was originally posted on 9/4/07 at Exit 51.

You Are Here

Every story begins somewhere. I mean you wouldn’t open a book and start reading from the middle would you? So I guess it helps to know where this story began to take in the scenery here along Exit 51.

I got to thinking about the notion of when exactly I started down this road because I’ve got a trip coming up to go to the Toronto International Film Festival. Back in 2001 I had exactly the same plan – just watch movies, spend time with friends, and enjoy myself.

Only I never got there. I was supposed to get on a plane on September 13, 2001. As we all know, it took a while for flights to resume after the 11th. And as far removed as I was from any direct connection to the events in New York, DC, or Pennsylvania, I’m still feeling the effects of a chain reaction that was set in motion that day.

If it hadn’t been for that day, I would not have met my husband. He was in the middle of packing up, selling his house, and moving out of state in October 2001. Then he got word that his National Guard unit was being mobilized for a year. Bye-bye Austin, hello Aberdeen. It was during that mobilization that we met.

Fast forward to October 2004. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, surrounded by family and friends, we became husband and wife. All through the process of planning our wedding, the idea of another deployment was in the back of our minds. We’d even gotten a second marriage license just in case orders came through before our planned date and we needed to visit the courthouse. But thankfully, the day went without interruption from the Global War on Terrorism.

Two weeks to the day after our wedding, I got the worst news possible. Orders were coming through for an extended deployment. In that moment, I was no longer the ‘newlywed’. I became the ‘war bride’. The next two months were spent in crisis management mode pulling together what usually takes a lifetime – wills, power of attorney, cemetery plots and burial plans. Have you ever tried to buy a life insurance policy for someone going into a war zone?

Eighteen months later we are reunited. We buy a house. We get on with the business of building our life together. And then eight months later it happens all over again. By the time we reach our 3rd wedding anniversary later this year, we will have only spent 15 months together in the same place. The Army, the Global War on Terror, has had him more than I have.

I think about that a lot with this trip coming up. That one day which so profoundly and utterly marked a country, changed lives, is still being felt in countless ways. For me, I see it every time I open the door to an empty house, with every piece of his mail that I have to open, in the face of people when they learn that he deployed again.

That’s how I got here and I can’t do a thing to change what’s happened. I can’t rewrite world history. Nor do I think I would even if I knew then what I know now. How could I, knowing that the same force that has taken him away from me twice now is what brought him into my life in the first place.