AWOL Contractors

The tile guys are finished, but only the electrician has returned our calls this week. (The electrician happens to be my son.)  We still have the following list of unfinished tasks:

• Hang medicine cabinets, laundry room cabinet and bathroom cabinet .
• Finish baseboards.
• Finish repairs and trim on stairs.
• Install kitchen countertops.
• Install kitchen sink and faucet.
• Hang last two doors.
• Trim two doors so they will close over the thresholds
• Install shelving that was missing in the initial cabinet shipment
• Install toilet in hall bathroom
• Install drapery rods.
• Install tub/shower faucet.
• Install dishwasher.
• Replace electrical panel (the painters sprayed paint on all the wires – apparently, that can present a fire hazard.)
• Replace the CAT 5 cable the flooring guy demolished.
• Install the missing diffuser in the master bathroom light, when the manufacturer sends it.
• Repair and repaint walls that were damaged by subsequent projects.
• Repair the leaking chimney…correctly this time.
• Install shelving and rods in spare bedroom closet and coat closet.
• Sears “can’t find” the washing machine we purchased, but agreed to ship an upgrade.  It is supposed to be delivered tomorrow.

Cleaning and unpacking continues….

The Big Move

We moved into the construction project last week.  *Cough/wheeze*  It’s a bit on the dusty side around here! We spent the last few days cleaning, looking for essential things, cleaning, and moving boxes from one place to another and then back.  And did I mention cleaning?

Everything is makeshift, including our office.  The baseboard trim has not been installed, so the furniture and boxes sit in the middle of the rooms.

The tile guys are back again today.  The last (PLEASE let it be the last!) grouting is being done at this very moment.

Our main contractor went out of town over the weekend, and did not come back as anticipated.  He does have a good excuse, but still…. WE NEED BASEBOARDS!!!

It feels like we are camping out – minus the fresh air and scenery.

We ordered our countertops today, and *knock on laminate* we will have a functional kitchen by the end of the week.  Not that there is anything wrong with the “solid wood” countertops we currently have.  Except that they are difficult to clean.  I’m thinking maybe I could sweep them.

There are a few (dozen) other unfinished projects, too.  (It only took us three years to finish the last house we renovated.)

Recipe for Baked Calf’s Head

Stumble It!

While packing for our impending move, I discovered a recipe for Baked Calf’s Head tucked inside a cookbook I inherited from my paternal grandmother.  Surprisingly, it is in her handwriting.  Immediately, the horse head scene from the Godfather movie popped into my head.  {{{Shudder}}}

Then I wondered, “Did she eat this dish and request the recipe?”

I called my dad to see if he could shed any light on my find.  He said he is reasonably certain my grandmother never prepared it.  He said he would remember it if she did.

I also asked if the grocery store his parents, my grandparents, ran when he was a child sold calves’ heads.  He said, “we did not.”  The did stock large jars of pickled pigs’ feet, however.

I must say I am quite relieved.  (About the calves’ heads.  The pickled pigs’ feet thing opened another ‘can of worms.’ )

However, just in case you find yourself staring into the face of a calf and wondering, “hmm, I wonder how one would fashion this into a tasty dish for my beloved family?” wonder no more.

Baked Calf’s Head

Boil a calf’s head (after having cleaned it) until tender, then split it in two, and keep the best half* (bone it if you like.)

Cut the meat from the other in uniform pieces, about the size of an oyster; put bits of butter, the size of a nutmeg, all over the best half of the head; sprinkle pepper over it, and dredge with flour until it looks white, then set it on a trivet or muffin rings in a dripping pan.  Put a cup of water into the pan and set it in a hot oven.  Turn it that it may brown evenly, basting once or twice.

Whilst this is doing, dip the prepared peices of the head in wheat flour or batter, and fry in hot lard or beef drippings to a delicate brown.  Season with pepper and salt and slices of lemon, if desired.

When the roast is done, put it on a hot dish, lay the fried pieces around it, and cover it with a tin cover.  Put the gravy from the dripping pan into the pan in which the peices were fried, along with the slices of lemon, and a tablespoon of the browned flour, and if necessary, a little hot water.  Let it boil up once, and strain it into the gravy boat, and serve with the meat.

*How would one determine which is the best half?

Enjoy!

Here’s looking at you!

Oh Christmas Tree

This is why we haven’t bothered with a tree for a few years now.

more animals

This year, since we are moving in a few days, decorating wasn’t an option anyway.

I do miss having a tree.  I even miss watching the cat systematically remove the decorations.  Maybe I will give it a shot again next Christmas.

The Mom Song

Next week, I replace the departing nanny who cared for my four, young grandchildren.  Since I am a little rusty in the childcare department, I thought this song would provide a crash refresher course.

Stumble It!

Do Angels Exist?

This is a wonderful Christmas story.  Thanks to  John Baw, http://www.wildoxgib.com for the heads up.

Elephant Domination

Stumble It!

Jungle and I have been eating several elephants, one bite at a time, the past couple of months.  When I mentioned the elephant eating to a twitter friend, he remarked, “elephant domination, great!”

So, yes, those elephants will be dominated.  One way or another, Christmas will come and go, beloved out of town family will come and go, we will move into the renovation project ready or not, and we will close on the sale of our current house on January 2nd.

That said, time to actually chew the aforementioned elephants prior to swallowing has been minimal.  Our current residence is not decorated for Christmas.  It is “decorated” for moving.

Renovations at the “new house” are progressing.  However, chaos abounds on that end as well.

Saturday, nine workers, including us, stepped over each other all day.  Jungle extracted ugly landscaping most of the day, effectively staying out of the way as much as possible.

The electricians were baffled by one of the light fixtures we purchased.  It requires a type of fluorescent tube that went out of production three years ago! The legacy-style ballast produces a not-so-subtle hum.

Back in the box it went.  Back to the returns desk, once again.  I’m thinking we should add the clerk at the return counter to our Christmas card list.

Oh wait!  Christmas cards are still in their boxes. Packed inside yet another box.  Oops!

Most of the Christmas gifts are purchased, but unwrapped.  Ingredients for Christmas goodies are purchased, but unbaked.

I have to say, although I am quite tired and a bit grouchy by the end of each day, I also have a profound sense of peace.

Betsy Wright Rhodes, writer of the Issues of Faith column that appears in our local paper summed it up perfectly by including this bit of wisdom from an unnamed friend:

First Corinthians 13, the Christmas Version

If I decorate my house perfectly with bows, twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I bake dozens of Christmas cookies, prepare gourmet meals and arrange a beautifully adorned table, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, sing carols in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s Christmas cantata, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.  Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.  Love is kind, though harried and tired.  Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.  Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way but is thankful they are there to be in the way.  Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust – but giving the gift of love will endure.

Merry Christmas to all – mwah!

Best Mug Shots 2008

If you are feeling a little over the edge at this time of year*, maybe this will cheer you up.  It made me laugh!

*Or if you aren’t as proud of your kids as you would like to be…

Best Mug Shots of the Year 2008

Photo of Volcanic Eruption

Lightning bolts appear above and around the Chaiten volcano as seen from Chana, some 30 kms (19 miles) north of the volcano, as it began its first eruption in thousands of years, in southern Chile May 2, 2008. Cases of electrical storms breaking out directly above erupting volcanoes are well documented, although scientists differ on what causes them. Picture taken May 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Carlos Gutierrez)

Additional stunning photos from 2008

Shocking