Almost there....

Chapel Hill Community Center

Another last-thing yesterday was voting in North Carolina's primary election; before the November election we have to register in Chatham County with our new address. Hot topic on the ballot was the Amendment One - the silly idea that you can prevent same-sex couples from having a life! Unfortunately this morning we learned it passed with a 61% majority - go figure? Whoever thought I would end up living in the Bible Belt? This is also the year I have to renew my driver's license, they all come at once don't they?

After voting at the Community Center I noticed a sculpture on the outdoor lawn that I do not recall seeing before. Lovely, graceful thing that has moving loops floating above. Having just taken a day to see the Alexander Calder exhibit at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University - it amazes me that now I see Calder-like things everywhere! This was gleaming and twirling in the sunlight and moving in a slow, breezy dance - wonderful.


Packing the Kitchen



I did notify the Orange County Arts commissioner that I was leaving the county but she graciously offered to keep me on the list serv and gave me the contact for the Chatham County Arts Commission. Have not given it a lot of thought but I always felt that serving as a member of the arts commission was doing something important and I am proud of what my tenure brought to arts awareness.

And speaking of awareness; our life is about over. This is the view of  my lovely kitchen now with emptied cupboards and drawers and a few essential remaining on the counter tops. Most things are packed but I did save one empty bin for "fridge and freezer" to take a load to the villa on Saturday and Sunday. I hope the new fridge is ready - it's not as big as the one we have. 



Walking Path



And here's a look down the walking path through the front of the house from the living room to the bedroom hall- a one-way path of boxed up chaos. Don't be fooled by all the labels - they are a general hint of what room they will go to but I haven't a clue as to what's where.

We'll soon find our as the boxes get UNpacked over the next few weeks. Unpacking is the least of our problems: I just managed to get window blinds installed on Monday so the first night sleeping in the villa we can undress without alarming the neighbors. 

And there will be a delay in outfitting all the closets. While I do believe I found the best ever closet designer only a few of the closets get installed this Friday. The balance including the Pantry will not be install until JUNE 19th! 

Try as we might, there seems no way to finish the job sooner. DH is not happy but he can spend a month sorting out his clothes before we can sort out the pantry. By that time we will both be unhappy. Oh, the joys of retirement life. B

Are We There Yet?



Wall Washers Above/Below Upper Cabinets

 Well the time is almost here - next week we will be living in a new space in a retirement community. The thing about moving late in life is that even if you did not need an old age home before, by the time you relocate you will. This move had been stressful to the max. My feet have tromped for far too many hours and my healthy diet died a week ago.

Last Run Through: Checked out the kitchen lighting with the electrician last week - all done but the hanging pendants from the track (dark line on ceiling).


See that little blip just above the center kitchen window? You'll never guess. The hot water heaters turn down during the night when no one is drawing water - so when this little gadget senses movement in the morning the hot water begins to heat and in less than ten minutes - there's hot water for the day. Ingenious!



Big Bottles??



Did wonder about the appliances, the new fridge has a top freezer with ice maker but without a door dispenser for ice and water. Am I spoiled or what? And while the pull out drawers are great for salad greens and yogurts - where am I going to stack tall bottles or milk cartons? On the door maybe?  I do not think DH is going to like that but he will have to get used to a much smaller fridge than we have now. 

Everyone comments on the clear Lucite knobs in each bath (one for each). This is the third house in which I have used such knobs on either furniture or cabinets and love them because they are completely neutral and do not fight with the chrome, glass, mirrors and other finishes used in the room. The counter tops are moulded, cultured marble with a beige/ivory swirl to imitate the real thing. But easy to clean with Gel-Gloss. Very elegant and simple.

A Bathroom Each



Bamboo Counter top with dark core layer.

What I like best about the kitchen is the bamboo counter top for the island; harder than maple, perfect for chopping and slicing, easy to clean and from a renewable green source. These were supplied by  Bamboo Countertop from Teragren and look terrific but the installers tell me it is very hard to cut - tough as nails.
And the floors throughout are also engineered bamboo flooring with a caramelized finish. The world will never have a shortage of bamboo trees! Love it all.

Well not exactly all - the closet organizers are working on ten closet installations including the pantry and laundry but those will be ready a couple of weeks later (maybe). Bummer - the kitchen is going to be chaos for a while but I can use that as an excuse not to cook.  There may be some advantage here after all.
Later - we've moving this weekend.
B

THE MOVE IS ON, I may live.

Yes, I'm still here. Yes this will be a short post. Yes, I am up and walking but nearly brain dead.

Good News: the house was legally sold as of 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon. The move is on, we had the walk-thru at the Carolina Meadows Villa on Monday [many details yet to be done]. All must be in ready by May 10th. for the closing.

Bad News:  my feet are aching, my head is whirling, half the house is already packed, the other half is total chaos. DH just left to get dinner, nothing in the fridge.
Thanks to my sister Jan and BIL Rich we made a good dent in the packing today. The actual moving will get split over two days: a Saturday-Monday project.

DH is taking care of important stuff like the new digital TV, the Internet and organizing the garage.
Note: the high-speed AT&T service is out. The CCRC has an Internet service provider but our email address's and gawd knows what else will change. My last day at this address will be May 14th. My last day of sanity will be way before that. 

Tomorrow:  more packing kitchen and pantry. Plus two afternoon appointments with 1) the window shade vendor and 2) the final check over with the closet-organizer provider. Our closets are going to be the best closets in any house in the whole state. They better be, they're costing enough.

I cannot be the only one to endure upheaval in moving but I swear IF I ever have to do this again - just shoot me! B

Time to Breathe

Short post today - dinner is almost ready.

Graduation Day from Physical Therapy - Yea!  My young-therapy-assistant, Jonathan (aka Torquemada), was pleased with my progress and let me out if I promise to come back for a follow up on two weeks. I can almost walk again. Was doing great until near the end of yesterday's dance class when I landed on my left foot and felt something awful - bruise? muscle tear?  Somewhat better today and some more soaking in Epson salts should get me back on both feet.

Yesterday was the much-dreaded "INSPECTION DAY" for the house and property. The inspector, a termite inspector, the buyer's realtor AND the buyer were all here for much of the afternoon. Fortunately I was not. The result is: we passed with flying colors.

The downside is that we worked so hard getting the house clear of clutter, prepped for showing and moved everything out of corners that once the ordeal was over - we were too pooped to do anything else. I soaked my aching foot and went to bed before eight o'clock.  Wanted to see the new abc.tv show "Scandel" but fell asleep somewhere in the middle. Bummer.

Foot still hurts but DH did the dinner shopping and tomorrow I do aquacise in the afternoon - that always helps whatever aches.  We are almost ready for the big move. Almost.

Tribeca | Wellness Club | Spring Salad With Strawberries And Creamy Orange Avocado Dressing

Tribeca | Wellness Club | Spring Salad With Strawberries And Creamy Orange Avocado Dressing

Due to early warm weather the strawberries in NC are reaching their peak of perfection. Tried this for dinner Friday night and loved it.  Only used by own basic dressing as the avocados in Whole Foods were hard as rocks - but with a nice ripe avocade this could be wonderful.

Try a drip of balsemic vinegar over the strawberries for some extra zing.
b

Beet Salad for an Almost Seder

What you might ask is an almost-Seder dinner?

 

When marriage mixes families, faiths and traditions a lot of ritual gets, how do you say, 're-invented.' DH is a very secular humanist from a Jewish background, my own background is Protestant with emphasis on the "protest."  We have been to Seders in years past with his family but this year Passover and Easter hit the same week. What's a gal to do?

To keep it simple we have dinner at home on Friday night and enjoy Dim Sum at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants on Sunday. No eggs, no bunnies and definitely no chocolate!

For the almost-Seder dinner Friday evening, I tried to make something DH's Viennese grandmother used to make: cold beet salad. Searching the Internet there are dozens of beet salad recipes, some cold and some hot, some with apples and some with prunes. But none that I have tried so far to 'equal grandma's.'

So I set out again this year to explore the world of vegetable salads. This one I made up from a compilation of three recipes (one of the them Moroccan and one Viennese), made with beets and apples.

To get salads cold I made them on Thursday and then concocted the dinner plates on Friday.

The top photo (top to bottom), shows the salad- plate base using romaine, endive, red onion,  pickled cucumbers, two sardines (oil packed), and a sprinkle of smoked oysters.

Middle photo shows the beet salad added to the plate with a wedges of lemon.

BEET SALAD

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 – 2 lbs. Roasted fresh (not canned) Beets; cool and dice

2 Red Apples, cored and diced, do not peel

3-4 dried Apricots, diced
1/2 C. Walnuts, chopped
1-2 Tbsp. Red Onion

CREAM SAUCE:

Basic Dressing: 2 parts light vegetable oil, 1 part vinegar, 1 part honey; shake well
Mustard, the regular yellow type
Hot Horseradish

Philadelphia Cream cheese, whipped

Dash ground cloves, about half of a quarter-teaspoon
White pepper, if desired, I did not

PREPARATION:

To cook beets, simply boil or pressure cook whole beet roots in water until tender – when you can insert a sharp knife to the center of the beets, they're done. Rinse in cold water, and slide off the skins. It's that easy. Thursday was vegetable roasting day and I mixed about 1/3 Cup of basic dressing with yellow mustard and brushed over the vegetables, including the beets for roasting. Once cool, peel and dice into about .5” cubes and chill – overnight is perfect.

THE SAUCE:
On Friday I made a duplicate batch of the dressing/mustard mix that became the bases of the salad sauce.

To 3 tablespoons of whipped cream, add about 1/8 cup of basic dressing, 2-3 tsp. of hot horseradish and a dash of ground cloves. Adjust seasoning to taste. Chill for at least an hour.
ASSEMBLE:
Mix the chilled beets with the apples, apricots and walnuts with the horseradish sauce. The salad offers a very complex flavor but is crunchy and tasty. 

NOTES:
TIP: Unless you want very red fingers, put some gloves on to peel & slice your beets.
One sauce recipe called for orange juice which I never keep in the house, the juice or half an orange, or maybe lemon might add some zest (?).
Another recipe called for more onion, no apricots and was served with herring in oil.
If you prefer, substitute crushed almonds for the walnuts. Or add chopped celery for texture and forgo the nuts.

The third photo, right, shows dinner on the table; the black and white plates are Arabia ware from Crate and; Barrel (about thirty years ago).

Today begins WEEK TWO of physical therapy, after which I actually grocery shopped. The joint bursitis is diminishing because I managed to walk all around Harris Teeter and have not taken a pain pill. That's good news!

And my therapist says that my strengthening is progressing well; the problem is the stressed I.T. band which may take some time to heal.  Bummer.

Sister Jan is due any moment after a check-up at UNC, she will stop here for a light lunch before heading back home to Elon NC.  We have not seen each other in nearly three months (?), and have much to discuss.

Found at Goodwill

What should I find at the Goodwill this morning? 

For over a decade I have been looking for a used bowling ball to convert into a garden orb. Once enamored of Dale Chilhuly's floating glass balls in pools and streams, I had always wanted some decorative orb or globe-form for a garden spot. I may have found just the thing.

I cannot be the only crazy ole lady in the country looking to re-model a bowling ball into yard art, can I? Google has lots of sites dedicated to making garden art from used bowling balls. Yes, I am insane – they will probably commit me any day now.


See House of Hawthornes



Back in the day I remember seeing such an example on the net but we had left NJ and were resettling in NC. For the move DH tossed his custom, left-handed ball out since we had not been bowling in fourteen years (actually never). Now we are moving again and have not been bowling in 28 years, DH will have a fit if he knows I actually bought a bowling ball. But it won’t be a bowling ball for long.

My original thought was to use spray paint to create a Chilhuly-like effect with spatters and drips (forgive me Chilhuly), but the decorative varieties found now give me inspiration to try other ideas.

Here’s one that covered a ball with copper pennies: http://www.houseofhawthornes.com/2010/06/bowling-ball-yard-art.html



See Instructables



And one covered with rocks: http://www.instructables.com/id/Garden-Art-Bowling-Ball-Garden-Spheres/

 Or mosaic tile covered: http://www.instructables.com/id/Garden-Art-Bowling-Ball-Garden-Spheres/step5/Grouting-your-Bowling-Ball/
Find directions for prepping the balls here: http://www.gardensandcrafts.com/bbart.html

Chris Barbee has hundreds of them in his Oklahoma yard: http://www.bowlingballyardart.com/background.php

Would you pay $110 US dollars for this mosaic ball?

That’s what the going price is on Etsy’s auction site, for a mosaic decorated ball from a crafter in Tenneessee.

See: http://www.etsy.com/listing/90460282/kaleidoscope-stained-glass-mosaic-gazing

Here’s one of my favorites with step by step instructions included:    

ttp://www.wildflower.org/step/show.php?id=34&frontpage=true

Love the iridescent glass pebbles glued to the surface as seen below; want mine in greens and aquas - or maybe silvery smoke?

 

The next site says all I need is a ball, flat glass marbles and E6000 craft adhesive (?).

AC Moore here I come.

http://www.craftster.org/blog/home-sweet-home-bowling-ball-gazing-balls/



Wildflower's Glass Marbles



Yup, there goes the neighborhood!

bb