Let's have a Pantry Party!

Welcome to my pantry. I had a pantry party today.  My friend Esther came over.  She is a brilliant organizer.  She is also from England and has a lovely accent. She is also a lovely person and very fun to hang out with.  You should try it sometime.





This is the alternate pantry entrance.  If you are an appliance, or a very, very small person.





These are the appliances that live on the other side of the alternate entrance.  They like to hide here when not in use.





This is where my baking supplies live. Another lovely friend, Heather, helped me organize these baskets. You would like her too. So really I had two pantry parties this week.





This is my pantry floor. I painted it myself. I really, really like it. I didn't sweep  before I took this picture.  I didn't want anyone to feel bad if their floor wasn't spotless like mine.  I'm sensitive that way.






Esther had a genius idea to color coordinate these shelves.  The color gradation is beautiful. The top shelf is clear glass objects. I never, in a million years, would have come up with this plan. I love it!!!  Thanks, Esther.  Sorry my photography is so incredibly hideous.





She even kept the groove going in the 'less lovely stuff' section.





Yes, we do have food in the pantry

By the way, if you're wondering what to serve at a pantry party. Serve this. It's delicious!!!

Avocado, tomato, mozzarella salad for 4:

6 cups lettuce (I used butter lettuce)
2 ripe avocados, diced, tossed with a little lemon or lime juice
3 ripe tomatoes, diced
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, diced 2 tablespoon fresh chopped basil, or 1 teaspoon dried
Brieanna's Blush Wine Viniagrette

Just mix everything togetherer, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add dressing as desired. Yum, yum. Serve with some delicious artisan bread and enjoy! Good friends, good food, good fun, and good organization.

February 1st, 2012; a day that will live in infamy

Possibly the most abnormal day of my life.

Let me share it with you.

4:22 am: the phone rings, I run to the base to find it's not there.

4:23 am: the phone rings, I run downstairs to answer it. It's Tim saying it's time to come watch little Ginny while they go to the hospital for the birth of baby number two. I'm twenty minutes away I say.

4:27 am: I glance at the clock while brushing my teeth.

4:32 am: in my car on the way.

4:53 am: I call Tim to buzz me into the building. Not a moment too soon he says.

4:54 am: I enter the apartment. Many moments too late, I think.

4:55 am: I call 911. I'm with a friend who is not going to make it to the hospital in time to deliver her baby I say. They say many, many things in reply. Which I relay to Tim who is DELIVERING A BABY!!!!!! He and Rebecca are very calm and in control. Ginny doesn't ever wake up. I'm grateful for this.

5:00 am: Baby Girl is born!

5:04 am: EMTs arrive. Somewhere between 4:57 and 5:02 a police officer arrived. He was not the most important person at the time, so I really don't remember exactly when. I just remember running desperately for the front of the building to let him in, thinking it was the EMTs. I'm glad they lived on the first floor!

5:05 am: I text Dave 'the baby was born IN THE HOUSE!!!'

Basically the rest of the day: blur, blur, blur, take care of Ginny, blur, blur, blur.

7:00 pm: Relief Society Enrichment Night. We talk about Strenghtening Marriage. Someone may or may not have suggested sleeping naked and having sex 2 or 3 times a night. I may or may not have considered suggesting no sex ever as it may lead to having a baby, which may not be a good idea. Don't worry, I steered the conversation to safer ground.

The End

What's right with the world

Thursday night was Dave's company party at House of Blues in Boston.

I learned a few important lessons.

1. I must find somwhere in my house to put patchwork silk wallpaper and patchwork Persian rugs. The Foundation Room they use for private parties is AMAZING. http://www.houseofblues.com/venues/clubvenues/boston/foundationroom.php

2. Kami's Lady Gaga tutorial on our drive to NYC came in very handy.

3. Attending a Holiday Party (no offense intended by the use of the "H" word, don't even get me started.) as the President's wife is very similar to chaperoning my kids high school house parties when we lived in Holliston. Mass of bodies, loud music, can't hear what people are saying. Only difference being, no one was trying to sneak in alcohol, they were just drinking it openly.

4. If you're ever in a jam, what you probably need is a sausage vendor.

As we left House of Blues at 10 pm, things were just heating up there on Lansdowne street. For those of you unfamiliar with Boston, Lansdowne Street is the home to Fenway, where the Red Sox play, as well as a variety of nightclubs. What I didn't know, not being a big club person (shocking, I know), is that Sausage vendors can apparently set up all year long, and not just on game days.

Immediately after noticing the food cart, I noticed what I would consider a little girl, although I'm sure she was one of the thousands of local college students, standing on the other side of the sidewalk. She was notable for a few reasons. 1st, she was wearing a cute little pink and white outfit with high heels and no coat, and 2nd, she was simultaneously mumbling under her breath, texting, and crying. Uh oh. Just as I started to ask her what was wrong, I heard the vendor behind me, in his full Boston accent, say 'ah sweetheart, whatsamattah? Did your friends leave ya behind?" Lest you are a sceptic like me, don't worry about ulterior motives, he was working his cart with what appeared to be his wife and son, and there were lots of people around. None of whom seemed the least bit worried about this cold, sad young woman standing on the side of the road crying. But he noticed, and cared.

I had the distinct impression this was not his first rescue. As I drove away, he had her sitting on a stool behind the cart, under the overhang, and had found something for her to wrap around her shoulders. I feel sure she got safely home that night.

Thank goodness for wonderful people everywhere who still care. The Mom me sleeps a little better at night after seeing that.

'Twas two weeks after Christmas . . .

and all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Really, absolute silence.

Weird.

Let me just give you the highlights of our Christmss vacation.

Kami came home!
Tagg came home!
McKay and Annie came home!
Chase called!

That's the good parts version, folks.

Other things of note.

We have a kitchen!

Definitely short on finish work, but We have a kitchen!!!!!

We have a living room!

With furniture!!!

We have a Dining Room Table!!!!


. . . and to all a good night!

p.s. Sorry about the exclamation points, but . . .

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Presto Chango

Do you want to know what I love about New England?

Aside from a beautiful (though rainy) autumn day with adorable teenagers and a quaint apple/pumpkin picking farm.

I like plasterers. Not drywall mudders. Plasterers. They are amazing! These are not grizzled old men who learned this skill in the old country. These are young guys who have learned a rare trade.
Remember when my house looked like this? No? Well, I do. It was Monday.

Then Paul and his crew put up blue board and it looked like this.

Then the plasterers came with their stilts and mad skills. They are amazing. They cover the entire surface with a thin layer of plaster. The end result is perfection! No sanding, no coming back for a second coat. Suddenly, you have an amazing wall that looks like this! Magic!






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Location:Nantasket Rd,Hull,United States

FYI

I just thought I'd share this picture of my gas fireplace chimney.

I say chimney because I don't want to say flue because I'm not sure how to spell it and I'm too lazy to look it up.

By closing this app and opening my dictionary app.

Which I don't actually have although there are doubtless 927 of them, at least.





I took this picture as part of my GC job.

Because of this:




Do you see how they cut into that 2 x 4 to install this pipe?

Yes, that 2 x 4 carefully designed and installed as part of the recessed area above the fireplace that will allow me to hide our embarrassingly large television with something beautiful but as yet unknown.

That's the 2x4 they cut into all right. So they could put the pipe in the tv place.

But don't worry, it's fixed now.

Because that's what GCs do. They take iPhone pictures of mistakes so they can prove it!

They also arrive at home and wonder why the front door is locked, and the door leading from the garage-doorless garage into the house is standing open.

That's just how we GCs roll.








Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Nantasket Rd,Hull,United States

Notable beach sightings

Last week Dave and I took advantage of a beautiful warm evening to walk on the beach.

This is what I learned (apart from the fact that I desperately want it to stay light until 7 all winter)




Also apart from the fact that I am a horrible photographer that has no editing skills

#1. Frisbee is alive and well in the 50+ crowd. My imaginary life history of this couple includes many competitions in the 70's. They also passed the time at Woodstock by practicing.

Also, the man is more passionate about the sport, but the woman has some mad skills.



#2. Sometimes you have to carry a shoulder bag at the beach.

Even though you are wearing your running shorts and shoes.

I don't know why.



#3. Many, many people, none of which are me, have well behaved beach dogs who walk beside them completely ignoring the many seagulls who clearly need to be chased.

Milo, take note.

Location:Nantasket Beach