Yesterday I painted two sides of the Laundry Room extension and scraped the roof trim and corner boards. Sorry, didn't take 'after" pictures yet.
. I've also painted the back of the house where the bedroom and bathroom are. First, though, let me show you what it USED to look like... including a pic of the old shower that was installed on the wall. There used to be a pool, so at that time it made sense to have one there. Check it out..............
See that algae or whatever it is on the bottom shingles? Every shingle had to be scrubbed first.
Here it is after removing the plumbing and then painting..............
I still have to do something with the Bilco door....... I'm thinking of sandblasting it before painting. Also, I left the stubs of the plumbing there, just in case someday I or future owners would need a faucet or something there. I'll cap them and then paint them and you won't even notice them.
Also, I've decided to put shutters on all the back windows. You might say, "Why? Nobody will see them!" Well, the truth is, that my neighbor has been looking at this eyesore for ten years. I seriously think that I am the reason he had his house on the market for over three years and couldn't sell it. Therefore it is my gesture of peace to do it.
I also painted the trim on the lake side wall.
I haven't worked on the upper section yet as I have to replace that window. Don't worry, I'm also going to fix that attic vent!
I thought I'd show you the view from those windows in the above picture. It's especially pretty in the fall as somehow the trees take on a goldish hue. In fact, it's most prominent when my house falls into the shade of the sunset, but the other side of the lake is still bathed in sunlight. Take a look.
TANGENT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For all of you bachelors (and bachelorettes) out there who want to cook a cheap meal quick, here's one that's always been a crowdpleaser. In fact, I made it tonight. It's a pasta and veggie dish that uses one pot. I learned this from She Who Casts No Reflection, but you, the living, can enjoy it too. It looks like this:
You will need:
1 large pot (I think they call it a 4qt pot?)
1 box pasta of choice (I like the Rotelli, but you could use Penne, Farfalle, etc. I wouldn't suggest Spaghetti, though)
Veggies ... I normally use broccoli and carrots, but tonight I added variety AND saved time
5oz Canola oil approx.
butter 1/2 to 1 stick
fresh garlic cloves 4 or 5 WHEW!!
Here's the basics:
What happened is that I went to Costco tonight to finally buy some food, and I came across those Normandy Vegetable Blend frozen vegetables. It's all the stuff I like - broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and yellow carrots. Produce Guru Valerie Inzinna I think told me that many times frozen vegetables are better than if you buy them at the grocery as they are frozen right after picking, so I don't feel guilty about using them.
This is so simple that it's almost impossible to screw up. First, fill pot about 1/2 way with water and bring to boil.
Next, dump in veggies and cook to taste (these took about 12 minutes. Alternately you can do what I normally have done before today and use "fresh" broccoli and carrots. If you do that, cut the carrots in chunks and THROW THE CARROTS IN FIRST!!! When they are still firm but you think they are just a little too tough to take out yet, throw in the broccoli (that you've cut into bitesize pieces) with the carrots as they don't take long.
When the veggies are done DON'T DUMP THE WATER OUT!!! Just scoop out the veggies into a colander.
Next, use that good nutricious water and put in your pasta and cook normally.
When pasta is done, NOW you dump everything into a colander and wipe out the remaining water from the pot.
Put the pot back on the stove and add your oil and butter. Oh, I forgot to mention to dice up your garlic cloves.
When the butter/oil mixture is hot throw in the garlic and saute. MMMMMMMM! it smells SO good!
After literally a minute or so it's ready. Remove from heat, dump in the pasta and veggies and mix thoroughly, making sure that garlic/oil/butter magic is covering everything.
So what are you waiting for!! Dump some on a plate and start eating!!
I put cheese on mine. I think Val will agree though that we need some protein in there. If you use this as a side dish that would be no problem, but as a main dish I guess I should have added some chicken pieces or that seitan stuff mentioned elsewhere in another blog . Any other suggestions would be appreciated. From beginning to end this is a less than 30 minute meal. Rachel Ray would be proud.
A glass (or two) of Port afterwards also enhances the meal, as I'm doing right now (any protein in Port?) Bon Appetit!!!
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