Paint, Paint, Skunk, Pod

I am sure every muscle in my body is maxed out.  After a marathon session of priming two rooms over the weekend, my hand has gone completely numb and I am unable to close it accept around a paint brush.  I woke up Sat morning with the realization that most of the walls in the hippie house need to be primed first and then painted because ALL of the walls were done in semi-gloss ( and the trim in flat- that is a reversal of my paint world).  We tried putting samples on the wall but they almost slid off - hence the primer which took me 4 solid/no-bathroom-break hours to finish.  

The ex-cons showed up during the week without permission or an estimate and did a bad hair job on the weeds but at least you can see the barn...see Lewis strolling in front of the barn.

Then Saturday the 'Pod' arrived with our furniture.  Irv and I struggled to empty it (which we did but I can't feel my legs anymore).  One of the neighbors stopped to say hello and some how to let us know that the neighbors to our right (on the dead end street) are all alcoholics (including her) divided into 'those with guns' and 'those without guns...well maybe not but they don't drink and shoot'.  Nice.  I am not making this up.  I only hope they don't hit the boy scouts in the camp behind the house. Perhaps there is a reality show in this- Barn Island Marsh People!  The neighbors to our left had on Sat night the biggest bon fire in their yard that I have ever seen in any yard...kids running around with men drinking beers watching the fire.  Beers, guns and fire are big here.....is this the real Stonington CT here?  Oh , yes and pizza (big Italian population here).

 And the skunks. As a kid, I remember there were lots of skunks in that area.  The dogs get me up at 5 am Sun to go out and as soon as we go outside a skunk the size of a bear crosses the road.  The dogs GO INSANE. Lewis went from being 13 to being 2 yrs old...I almost lost my arm keeping them from pulling me face first down the street.  Irv was sleeping sweetly during the skunk near encounter.  

Week 2 - The 'Tin Man' arrives along with the dogs

Within a few days Irv and I take what will be many high speed competitive drives from NJ to CT at the crack of dawn to begin to tackle the house and get it ready for winter.  My father hires The Tin Man who looks and talks like Joe Pesce except with biceps like Popeye to haul away the broken stove, frig, two microwaves and one wood stove.   We get the low down on some neighbors as an added treat.  My stepmother Marion hires 2 'navy ladies' (husbands are deployed in submarines) who are very nice, look a bit haggard, charge way too much and only get to the kitchen and some bathrooms (and not well done-I spent the weekend recleaning).  Oh well. Support the troops.  

Irv and my Dad assess the electrical system and the furnace.  Good news.  The wiring works as does the plumbing.  Bad news.  No fuel oil and the furnace might have been cobbled together.  Oy vey.  Irv calls his brother Richard, a heating and fuel guy, who will try and come up in Oct to assess the situation before we and the pipes freeze. Its only $$$$.

The dogs are a bit freaked out...

Norman's face says it all - what is going on?

The yard is a mess which Marion bravely and expertly begins to tackle....she then informs me she has procured a 'team' aka gang of ex/cons and the homeless to clean up the yard.  Whattttt??????  They arrive this weekend, along with our 'POD'  of cast off furniture.  Again, oy vey.

We have eaten so much junk that the gym/weight loss/walking regimen establised pre-closing has gone out the window.   But a new fridge arrived and was quickly filled ( in this order) with a) beer, b) vodka, gin and ice and c) hot dogs.  We find out the previous owner left lots of sausages in a freezer we found in the basement.  When I asked him about it he said 'take some, I believe you met the piggies last fall'.    Oink.

Week 1 - The Closing and The Reality

We closed on the house about 2 weeks ago after a wild toad ride through the dark and frightening world of short sales, banks and mortgage. Needless to say, our experience affirms to me why the American banking system is still a mess and why lots of people are continuing to get hurt by these institutions.  Ok my rant is over.  We take possession of the house with the owners not quite moved out.  Ok we are not happy but go with the flow (soon to be our motto - ok, just chill and go with the flow.)

The house does have charm (albeit it was and still is hidden under a lot of dirt, neglect and stuff).  The topping on the cake was the text I received from the now former owners letting me know , BY THE WAY, that neither the refrigerator or stove is working........one of many soon to discover 'non working' items.  

Irv and I just bought a Hippie House in Connecticut

After a year of looking for a relatively affordable house near the water in southeastern CT, Irv and I finally closed on the house I call 'The Hippie House'. 

When we first saw it, it had (really, no kidding) 2 turkeys, at least 12 chickens, 1 horse and what seemed like a dozen people living on the property...oh I forgot the 2 pigsty on the front lawn.  The property is not zoned for farming but  the owners were, well, pretty free spirits - she a colon hydrotherapist (which perhaps explains why anything with water is the only thing that works in the house) and he an Austrian bodybuilder stone mason (which is why the house looks European and full of stone work).  But more about that later.  

The house has several out buildings and is located in the Barn Island Wildlife area of Pawcatuck CT (aka mosquito-ville as we have come to realize).   I will be using this site to blog chronicle our journey of taking the house from hippie sad to hippie chic.

Plum Crazy for Vintage Pressed Glass Relish Dishes

Maybe because it is winter, but I have found a new love.  Vintage Press Glass Relish Dishes.  I have always loved glass.  It must run in the family (my brother is a stained glass artist and my house is filled with his work).  Or perhaps because when photographed by sometimes look like snowflakes when you look at them under a microscope. 

I like the feel of the different shapes and sizes, bumps and crevices.  Best of all, I like the memories they evoke from holidays past.  Looking at these dishes reminds me of the whole nuts (walnuts, almonds and the deep mahogany brazil nuts) that were always available (along with the nut cracker) in these dishes on end tables as people sat in various family members living rooms catching up.  Or the various assortment of olives (always from jars, and always green with pimento or black) on one side, and perhaps some pickles (gherkins, bread and butter, maybe dill) on the other.  Then the dishes filled with various hard candies always available at my grandmother’s house. 

As a kid, I never really appreciated the shapes and sizes that say so much about when they were made.  Some, such as this square dish, just screams l920s or l930s.  Others just say l940s or l950s.  Either way, they say warm memories of family holidays to me.

Cookbook Foraging

After several long months of being adrift, I am back in the saddle again on the thrifting and gaining momentum.  While the warmer months seem like the optimal time to meander in and out of thrift stores, I am finding that winter is the time I like best. It seems like a good enough thing to do to while away some time on a gray winter day.  And, there are few people out and no crowds (and it always involves going out to a diner for breakfast on a cold winter weekend).

I have gotten pretty psyched with many of my finds.  Like this originally published 1930 Savoy Cocktail book with its art deco illustrations in mint condition.

Or, this cookbook written by ‘Elsie the Cow’ from the 1950’s. The dust cover was in the book in bad shape, but the illustrations are priceless.

Finally, how about this cookbook devoted to recipes for edible insects?  At first I thought it was a joke, but it is a serious cookbook written by a noted academic with deep subject matter expertise on what insects are edible or not.  I imagine that this person is likely to be well known among ‘survivalists types’ but I doubt if my East Coast friends, besieged by Stink Bugs the past few years, knew that they are supposed to be delicious when roasted. Remember this during the next power outage when you run out of food…..a great gift to give people who bug you.

Recipe for "Stink Bug Pate"

(from "Creepy Crawly Cuisine" by Julieta Ramos-Elorduy, Ph.D.)

Despite their name, stink bugs are actually one of the most delectable insects.  Here, they add a unique flavor to a traditional pate.

1/3 pound roasted stink bugs

10 chicken livers

4 cloves garlic

1 small onion

1/8 tsp salt

Black Pepper, Oregano, Marjoram, Powdered Bouillon, and Olive Oil to taste

Saute the chicken livers in a saucepan with the garlic, onion, salt and pepper and cover.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the chicken livers and place in a blender or food processor, reserving the broth.  Add the roasted stink bugs and about 1/4 cup of the reserved broth and puree, adding more broth as needed, until the mixture is smooth and reaches a spreadable consistency.  Add spices and oil to taste.  Place in a wooden bowl and serve with crusty french bread.

By the way, I have never seen so many “In the Kitchen with Rosie” books in my life.  Poor  Rosie.  It is hard to believe this book is selling new for $12.00 when there must be a bazillion copies in thrift stores all over America.  I saw so many copies in each store that I started to pull them all together in each store so they would not be so lonely…..

No Yard Sales, A Cooking Slump – So Why Not Take Up Knitting?

Maybe because of the unbearably hot and humid weather, or my yardsale radar is down, but I am in a complete slump here with no place to pick cookware.  As a result, my cooking has completely gone into the yips, and my waistline expanding from the uninspiring take out food and BLTs (after all, what is summer without a couple of BLTs with Jersey tomatoes).  As a substitution, and perhaps as therapy to get myself back into some kind of creative groove, I have begun the process of re-teaching myself to knit and crochet.  As a young girl, I have many fond memories of crocheting, knitting and embroidering pillows, afghans, scarves – I even remember that I used to take my knitting to Red Sox games (in retrospective, I suppose that was a pretty geeky thing to do but like then, I cannot put the work down!  I am obsessed.)  In the course of one week, I have knit one afghan, started another, crocheted a potholder (yes, I am starting with the basics but I am practicing changing colors), started another, and my personal favorite – knit a pincushion, then felted it (my first!).  I love it.  Very Dr. Seuss-esque.  

My goal is to get decent enough to 'yarn bomb' cookware.