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More guest bath updates

So, we are FINALLY nearing completion of the bathroom that we started remodeling in, oh AUGUST.

Lest you think it has been an easy road, let us tell you a tale. A tale of a bathroom. A tale of two people with no bathroom remodeling experience and lots of enthusiasm.

We got the floor level and the tiles laid! Wooo hooo! What's that, the tile is too tall compared to where the toilet phlange is? Awesome.

The problem:



After hours of reading and talking to the people at the hardware store, we got a solution - phlange extenders! Hurray!



What? The extender makes the screws too short? Awesome. Especially since they were so lovingly concreted in place with the leveling process.

So we got all MacGyver and cut two screws and made extender screws with couplings.



It looked like this:


Yes, while it might look janky, it works! And if someone really wants to critique the aesthetic beauty of our toilet screws, that is their problem. And not a small problem, I should add.

So, we went from this:

To this!



We also finished painting (grey) and installing towel bars. We have a little dehazing to do, but we are pretty proud so far.



Operation Shower Door was also mostly successful, transforming the formerly brass shower enclosure to a flecked black. And installation of the vanity is coming along as well. One more weekend and we hope to be all set and ready! Stay tuned...

Open Housing

We did a little open housing this weekend to check out what was going on in our neighborhood, what you get for a cool million these days (which turns our is still not as much as a reasonable person might think you would), and to check out the state of the SF housing market in general. Our thoughts are that we are still pretty pleased with our purchase, despite sometimes wanting to run away from all that needs to be done to join the circus, and there are a lot of people that don't get the memo about open houses. Like, for example, what NOT to leave up during your open house:

But we did scoot by some really cool stuff - neat tree through the double deck.

And saw some really helpful storage ideas for people with similar roof situations:

Little closet in the back of the closet (meta closet?)

Drawers to get into the roof space:

And a cute little MINI closet

And some great solutions to the "foundation sticks out into the room" problem in our basement. A chair nook!

Or a footboard kind of thing

Or a little higher as a faux counter:

We also saw a great yard layout - with astroturf!

And before all this, M made a side trip to the Women's Conference. Which included a lovely lunch with Sister:

And sitting far away from really important people (Blurry person on the right = Gloria Steinem)

Farness from her seat was based proportionally on perceived importance of said speaker. Apparently, J. Lo, Warren Buffet, and Arnold are very, very important.
(photo from www.californiawomen.org/)

CT & Cambria

We have been terribly bad at updating the blog! Our apologies. This summer was a blast! Some highlights included:

...a 4th of July visit to CT to visit The Awesome Bagchis! (Who have since moved! Shame on us for our lack of updating!) While we were there, we went into the citay to visit some friends...



And went for a cruise around the sound.



We did lots of drinking, laughing, and having a good old time!



You can see more photos of the good times here!

... We also went to a delightful wedding in Cambria for The MELBABE!



On our way down south, we stopped at the Madonna Inn! Madonna Inn! Madonna Inn! to celebrate our anniversary and had the Luckiest Rock room EVER.


We enjoyed cocktails in the lounge...


And good times with friends and family in Cambria!


And most importantly, the Prada shoes...

More photos of the lovely, fun, delightful, touching wedding HERE

More summer updates to come...

The Bake (repost)

Above: A rendering of the culinary nations of North America. Modern political borders are shown in white. Note that culinary nation borders are in a constant state of change, and that many of these nations overlap one another. Also note that smaller microstates exist within these greater areas (e.g., The Scrapple Republic of the Greater Philadelphia Metro and the Lebanon Bologna & Peanut Butter Free State of Central Pennsylvania, to name just two), resulting in a patois of flavors and experiences, even in areas that are firmly within some larger nation. This graphic was originally produced for an article in the New York Times.

Imagine yourself in the rural, rolling hills of northern Lancaster county Pennsylvania. This is an area of traditional, small holding farmers and traditional small towns, with rolling hills that give way to the blue ridges of the Appalachians to the west. It is a bucolic place in every sense, but it is also a land of great conflict and difference. This is because northern Lancaster county is right on the borders of four different nations, each with its own tastes and traditions. From the North and West, Maple Syrup nation, sparsely represented but a real presence, following the rhythm of the seasons as they collect and process their harvest. From the South and West, Chestnut Nation, a mysterious gathering, who do battle with squirrels to collect the bounty of the mighty oak. To the South, stretching from the Chesapeake down the coast, Crabcake nation: a boisterous, welcoming people; well versed in the ways of the scuttling sea bugs, often as willing to eat a softshell on a bun as to go to the trouble of making a crabcake. These people are beer drinkers, boat sailors, friends, and neighbors. And from the east and north, the Clambake Nation. These are our people: our nation, our heritage, our tradition. We gather together to build fires and steam clams, to eat the best sweet corn on the planet, to consume mountains of cole slaw and piles of fresh tomatoes, and to - when it has all been eaten - follow it with a chaser of the butter we soaked our clams in during the meal.

These nations are not fixed, not separated by trenches or walls - no, the national borders are fluid, and as such a Clambaker could live next to a Maple Syrupian, an Chestnutter next to a Crabcaki. There are even some blended families; though for obvious reasons the sea-based nations are more likely to intermarry with one another than with a sylvan nation, and vice versa.

Now, while many of us are born into these nations, in the end nationality is an affiliation of choice. Some choose not to be a member of any of these nations, preferring instead to enjoy a patois of them. Some are members of tiny subnations, limited to a town or metro areas. Others switch from one to another as time passes. And still others find themselves orphaned, and as a result of some event, join a new nation, taking their tradition and tastes as their own.

This is how Jacob's family came to be proud citizens of the Clambake Nation. It was during the second world war, and due to a chronic health problem, Jacob's grandfather was unable to enlist. He was able to complete his patriotic duty building B-26's in Baltimore, however, and during this time he developed a taste for clams. Why he chose clams and not crabcakes is lost to history (though we suspect that the generous use of butter in clam eating had something to do with it), but no matter how it happened, to this day we annually gather from all points of the country to eat ungodly numbers of bivalves and renew our family ties once more.

Loyal readers know that we feel very strongly about food and fellowship. This is a core belief for both of us. For Jacob, this belief comes from many sources, but the annual gathering that his family refers to simply as "The Bake" is perhaps the primary font from which this passion flows.

This is Pennsylvania, so we don't mis en place: we fill up our steamer. We start empty, adding a wooden bracket that keeps the food off the bottom of the steamer (and out of the water). Then we add potatoes, right out of the garden this morning:



And follow that with onions, from a roadside stand nearby:



Now, cover these sturdy things with a few layers of corn picked this morning:

Until the steamer is nearly filled:

Then, top it all off with about 12 quarts of clams:

And spread to even them out:

Now, we add about 12 quarts of water, cover, and take to the firepit, which as been burning for some time now:



While this is all steaming, we take the opportunity to melt a wee bit (about a gallon) of locally made butter:



And to prepare side dishes (tomatoes, salads, cole slaw, and the like) for the onslaught.

After an hour or so over the fire (about halfway through we add brats to the mix), everything's ready so out they all come:



Now we make sure to have the right beverage and "sauce" on hand:



And then, we assemble our plates from the platters of goodness:



And that, friends, is all there is to it. When everything turns out well (which everything did this year, and does most years) you end up with an orgy of flavors, freshness, and joy. The buttery goodness of the clams, the sweet pop of the corn, the tomatoes that have more to them than anything you'll find in the store, and a flood of other flavors and foods... and this year, the vegetable soup that starts the day's eating correctly (way to go Constance!).

P.S.: Special thanks to the entire Hagy clan for another wonderful, well-worth-the-trip, Clambake. See you in 2009!

And now, a view from the future back of our house

There will likely be some minor tweaks, but please notice the lack of JANKINESS and lovely new roof deck! Now, fingers crossed for neighborhood design approval!

Future:



Current:



Just a wee bit different. A wee bit!


Drawings property of Gi Paoletti Design Lab, www.gpdesignlab.com