Not-Quite-Done Door

Our new back door project is almost done.  Shane put the trim up today.  What remains to be done is staining the wood trim, touching up the wall paint where we took down the vertical blind, and deciding on window treatment. 

The plan is to buy and install the add-on mini-blinds that are encased in glass, that can be tilted or raised with the touch of a lever.  That will go on the center (main) door.  For the sidelights I'm considering lace panels stretched from top to bottom and cinched in the middle.  They'll let in light without affording much of a view into the house.

A related project will be replacing the kitchen floor that was damaged because of the old door leaking.  Shane's going to take a break before tackling that.

Anyway, since SonyaAnn and I love before and after pics, here they are.  Try not to get too disgusted with the old door photos.  I tried to keep up, but once I knew we were getting the new door, I gave up instead.

Daylight and cold air coming in around sliding door.

We used a board to wedge the door shut to stop some of the heat loss.

Nasty mildew on the stationary side of the sliding door.  Once I knew we were getting a new door I quit trying to keep up with cleaning this. 
Disgusting to look at and disgusting to deal with.

View of the old door from the back yard. 
A deck remodel is in the works, too, sometime.

Another view of the old door from the back steps.

The "crew" making adjustments after taking the old door out. 
The new door was about 6 inches wider than the opening.

Looks like the new door is going in, but no...

It was dark by the time they finally got it set and leveled.

Not the best time of day for a pic, but you get the idea.  Stain will be
a pecan color, similar to that hutch on the left. The sidelights are
screened and will open to let the breeze in.

New back door from back steps.

New door from back yard.  It would look sharp with a new deck (hint, hint).

Hey, we got a new light fixture, too!

So, there you have it.  It's done enough for now.  We're headed out of town for the weekend for a little fun.  Hope you have a good weekend; I'll be back on Monday.

Homemade, Healthier Potato Chips

I know you can't eat just one.

I found this post about microwave potato chips at From Blah To Ta-Da yesterday and just had to give these chips a try.  And after trying several variations, I just had to share them with you.

These are so easy.  To make basic potato chips, wash a large potato, but don't peel it. Slice it really thin.  If you have a mandolin slicer, go for it.  If not, try to slice the potatoes 1/6th inch thin or thinner for delicately crispy chips and not more than 1/8 inch thick for crunchier, heartier chips.

Once sliced rinse in cool water several times or soak for about 10 minutes.  This is to remove the starch.  Dry potato slices on clean dish towel.  Drying makes them cook crisper and keeps them from sticking to the paper towels.

Line a microwave safe plate with a couple of layers of paper towels or parchment paper.  Place slices on the plate, making sure they don't overlap or else they will stick together.  If desired, you can spray or brush them very lightly with the oil of your choice, but it is totally not necessary!  Sprinkle with salt or other seasoning at this point.

Microwave on full power for 3 minutes.  Turn chips and microwave at 50% power for 3 more minutes.  Watch your chips as they cook.  In my oven, it only took 2 more minutes on 50% power to finish them.  The one plateful that I sprayed lightly with oil cooked more quickly and did not need to be turned over at all.

Let cook slightly, then enjoy.  If you have any left (you won't!) they can be stored for a few days in an airtight container.

Just one large potato made four platefuls of chips, so you know they have to be a thrifty snack, too.  If I wasn't convinced before that the big chip companies are ripping us off, I am now!

I made four different flavor variations:

• Lightly salted (no oil)
• BBQ (I used a "firecracker rub" for ribs that I had in the cabinet, and no oil)
• Plain with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast (no oil)
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper (lightly sprayed with peanut oil)

They were all delicious, but I think we both liked the salt and pepper flavor the best.  Shane likes the salt and vinegar chips you can buy in the store, so he's asked me to come up with that variation.  If I do, I'll post those, too.


This post is being shared at Hearth and Soul Hop with Premeditated Leftovers and Delicious Dish Tuesday with Full Time Mama.

We Interupt Our Regularly Scheduled Home Improvement...

...for this bird house project.

Kat built this birdhouse on a field trip to Gorman Conservation Discovery Center yesterday.  She and Shane put it up when she got home.

I promise to get back to regular posting soon.  This week has just been completely ǝpısdn uʍop for me!

Ah...The Great Outdoors!

Or maybe I should say, AAGHH!!!

We've still got our hands full with this door project, but at least it doesn't look like this anymore.  They got the new door in just before dark last night.

I'll post again when I get a chance.

Monday Thoughts on a Sunday Afternoon

I decided to publish my usual Monday morning post this afternoon because I don't expect to have much time to post tomorrow.  We have friends coming over to help Shane put in our new back door and my world (the kitchen/dining room) will be turned upside down for the day -- maybe longer.  I think the guys will be able to get the old sliding door out and the new swinging door in within the day, but we expect some sub-flooring repairs to be necessary, and will eventually put down a new kitchen floor, so the entire project is going to take a while.  The good news is that the door and flooring were bought last summer, so except for unexpected bits and pieces, this project is already paid for.  I'll be sure to get plenty of before and after pic to post later.

So, did you all have a good weekend?  I think I may have had too much of a good weekend.  Yesterday morning was pretty uneventful for me.  While Shane ran out to meet a friend who very generously gave us a freezer he no longer uses (to replace the one that quit on us last week), I stayed home and made potato salad and homemade strawberry ice cream to take to dinner with the same friend and a few others.   We had a great evening with our friends, eating a wonderful grilled chicken dinner and playing cards, but I absolutely overindulged in both food and drink, especially the food.  I can't even remember the last time I ate so much.  By this morning my stomach was rolling.  It's mid-afternoon now and I'm just starting to feel like my usual self.

Shane must be able to handle his food and drink better than me; he's been out in the garden for several hours already.  As for me, I'm waiting to pick up Kat from an afternoon birthday party.  That, stopping by the grocery store for a few things to feed tomorrow's work crew, and paying this week's bills are the only things I have planned for the rest of my day.

Hope all of you are having a good weekend and that the recent bad weather in some areas hasn't affected you too badly.  I'll be back with a post on Tuesday.

Strawberry Pyramids...Or, When Life Hands You Time, Use It To Your Advantage

My friend LisaB called me a tease for showing you pictures yesterday without explaining what we were doing.  Well, here's what we were doing...building strawberry pyramids!

Shane had seen some similar round "pyramids" or "fountains" for berries, but they didn't look very sturdy, so when I saw the post about wood pyramids at Hillbilly Mom, I passed that post on to him.

The basic idea is to build a large open box or frame, fill it with soil, top it with a smaller frame with extended corners and fill that one with soil, and so on.  It's easy, but maybe not as simple as you might think.  If you decide to make one, I recommend looking it up online for exact dimensions, or at the very least, working it out on paper before you start cutting lumber.  Don't forget to take into account the width of your boards.  In our case that was 1-1/2", and although it wouldn't seem like it, it can make a world of difference.  Shane did ours in his head, and they aren't without flaws, but if there is enough interest, I might be able to talk him into writing up a set of plans.

This ended up being a family project over the course of two afternoons.  Kat did a lot of measuring and marking on the first pyramid.  Shane did all the cutting, attaching (he used screws rather than nails) and wheel-barrowing of soil.  I did all of the transplanting from our small temporary strawberry bed I built last year.  We had enough plants to fill one bed and the bottom tier of the second, so we'll have to buy a few more.  I ran out of daylight for picture taking yesterday, which is why these look so overcast compared to the other pics.  (BTW, it was 71° yesterday, and this morning as I type this, we're getting a rain/snow mix.)

I think we are going to build at least one more of these to turn into a "salad garden".  Can you imagine how pretty it would be with radishes, carrots, green onions and different kinds/colors of lettuces in each compartment, with either a tomato or a big pepper plant on the top?  I think it will look really sharp.

Some of you might be wondering why Shane was able to work on these during the week.  That's because he's been laid off.  It's not a "the company's doing under and we can't keep you" sort of lay-off.  It's the "we've got several projects and we're just waiting for them to start up" kind of  deal.  We expect it to last for two or three weeks.

While there's never a GOOD time to be laid off, right now is probably as good as it gets.  We have enough savings to see us through and the weather is fine, overall, for getting things done outside, from clean-up, to bed-building, to seed-sowing.  In spring, time is at a premium, so for Shane to have time right now is something of a gift, regardless of the lack of pay.

It's also going to coincide with Kat's spring break, which is week after next, so we might be able to "vacate" for a day or two if we can decide where we want to go. We could even hitch up the camper, if the weather is nice enough that week.

Busy

We've been busy.  I'll tell you more about it tomorrow.