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Sunday Happy

October 16, 2016 Colleen Stem

The trees are on fire, the sky has been lighting up like a masterpiece and the temperatures have been on the cooler, crisper side. I am one lucky lady to be living in such a beautiful place. If you don't know the awesomeness of fall in Vermont, you should put it on your life list cause it's amazing and will bring you so many good feelings. 

Another super productive week for the books. We finished laying all the hardwood downstairs then went straight to tiling the bathroom which was awesome cause it was my first real tiling project and now that floor is down too. But man did it do a number on me. The one thing the mr always bitches about are his knees, and now I now why. Kneeling on anything, especially cement board, for 5 hours pretty much will kill your shit. I might be a little whinny, but crap on a shoe do my knees hurt. (now I am done complaining) What else........Oh yeah, a large quantities of construction waste was brought to the dump that has bee accumulating in large piles in the back yard..(that was fun) I invented a new sport, storage unit parkor (I am really good at climbing and jumping around packed storage units), and got to see the new little monster baby while doing it. Then my little brother came over for a while to help carry the cast iron bathtub from the backyard to the upstairs. (thanks Paul!)  I even made a point during the week to stay home for just enough time to made donuts with sprinkles while I sat in front of the oven knitting cause I was freezing my ass off. And I ate 2 roasted pumpkins, an acorn squash, and a sweet potato this week. Feeling pretty good about life.

So I don't know about today. We might or might not work. We may or may not run away to the woods.(I need to be with the trees for a while) Most likely both. But one thing is for sure, I will be icing my knees. And drinking a butt load of coffee. And eating the butternut squash I picked it yesterday. I am a winter squash addict.

The things I clicked on and reading doing the internet this week.

-Have you noticed the crazy moon lately? How to See the Hunter’s Supermoon This Weekend

- How We Got ‘Bark’ for Dogs, ‘Quack’ for Ducks, and Other Words for Animal Sounds

-A classic pencil is so underrated. Trace The Remarkable History Of The Humble Pencil

- Incredible Origami Animals.. Like super incredible

-Lots of sweetbread, muffins, and all sorts of baking things in my future. The Best Way to Store Quick Breads and Muffins

-This guy tasted a shit load of butter for his Fancy Butter Taste Test

-Photo Of An Elephant Snuggling An Ostrich because it made me smile and is really freaking cute

- Check out this This Triangular House.. Its pretty crazy cool

-Can We Trust the Cooking Methods on the Back of the Bag? Question everything!

-Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize, Redefining Boundaries of Literature.His words are beautiful.

The week in some picture

Have a fantastic day!

In DIY, fall, home, life, photography, remodeling, sunday happy, vermont, Winooski, internet links Tags internet, vermont, winooski, remodeling, diy, tile, shy, foliage, photography, sunday happy, sunrise, bathtub, goodbye summer
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Sunday Happy

October 2, 2016 Colleen Stem

That's right, it's October. Another month, another season. Jeeze time, slow the f down!

The week was another jammed packed crazy fest.  We picked up 800sqft of flooring(that sucked moving) and bought more paint (pure freaking white). We finished laying all the tubing for the radiant floor heating, the radiators are painted, in place, and plumbed.  The plumbers are coming tomorrow to give us a new boilers o we can use all these new heating devices. There were two birthday parties,(happy birthday Miley Lu and Alex) a day at the pumpkin patch and drawing flowers, and the constant running back a forth between hardware stores. I had the birthday boy over for breakfast and asked him what he wanted me to make him. Anything, and he chose eggs bacon and toast. I made the eggs and toast but was not willing to cook the bacon. Bad aunt maybe, but I wasn't about to stink up my house with that. Just no. So I gave him chocolate chips and sprinkles instead. He was happy. Oh and my little (by giant) brother came home for the first time for the weekend from the military college dressed in military garb and looking all beefy and smart. Crazy what a month away from home will do to a person. I think he is much cooler now.(but don't tell him that)

Maybe one of the best parts of the week.....Found my vintage yellow fridge! Oh how I love the craigslist. The mr and I went and picked it up yesterday. Had to load the heavy as hell fridge on top of the Volvo and drive 20 miles. It was terrifying . I thought the fridge was going to go barreling off onto the hood of the car or tip over and roll away. But we made it and now we are proud owners of a vintage yellow frigidaire fridge. It's all sorts of fantastic.

So yeah, I am really tired today and feeling a little lousy this morning. I think I need to take it easy today, I can feel this turning into full on sick if I don't catch it now. The mr and I need to clean up at the house and get ready for the plumbers, but other then that. Me and the couch are going to be friends today. Coffee, book, sleep. Sounds like a plan.

My internet finds from the week.

-Something I think about way too much. Now — And The Physics Of Time

-HOW A PERUVIAN FARMER IS GROWING 180 KINDS OF POTATOES

 -The FDA Is Finally Going to Update the Term ‘Healthy...Finally

-WE should all know this because we should The top 7 ways a trip to Mars could kill you, illustrated

-The Sweet Emotional Life of Bees.This is true of most people too.

-I reek of garlic All. The. Time. Finally, Here's Some Good News About Garlic Breath

-Ever wonder about take out containers? Chinese Food Delivery Containers, Explained

-Our Robot Overlords Are Now Delivering Pizza, And Cooking It On The Go. Or just make your own at home, but this is still kinda cool.

-The 11 Varieties of Winter Squash You Need to Know Cause its squash season

-The night comes sooner now so I can get outside to see the stars before my bedtime. A Meteor Shower and 8 More Can’t-Miss Sky Events in October

And the weeks pictures.

Bye.

-C

In Winooski, vermont, the great outdoors, photography, life, home, fall, adventure, sunday happy Tags fall, photography, internet, links, vermont, pumpkins, icf, happy birthday
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Sunday Happy

September 25, 2016 Colleen Stem

It is super chilly and dark out and the smell of jelly donuts is wafting in from open windows (it's coming from the donut factory down the street) and I am thinking about grabbing the wool blanket from the packed away winter stuff and crawling back into bed, just for a little while longer until the coffee is done brewing. (4am wake up this morning and I am feeling like a nap is in order soon, even if it is 6am) This is the stuff of the best fall morning. Now if this could be my all day.#lifegosls

The week was a week, but a good week at that. Started getting squash with the farm share which lead to a discussion between me and the mr about what our absolute #1 food we could live off of forever (him, pizza.Me, super roasted kombucha squash covered in nut butter)  I made a sheet birthday cake that also contained about an entire package of oreo cookies for a newly 15 year old Jackson that is making me feel old. There was a dinner here and a dinner there and just a lot of people and family. We haven't spent much time at home or by ourselves this week so I am definitely ready for a quite day all to my lonesome. My brain is on overload.

We ordered the downstairs flooring!!! Come this Wednesday, the mr and I will be unloading 40 or so bundles of some pretty white "utility grade" oak.  We also found some floor tile for the bathroom for dirt cheap at the resourse store( tiny white squares.. nothing fancy but looks sharp) Flooring is for real you guys. Once we lay this stuff it's over. We are good and yeah. (until 2 hours later when we realize we have a million other things to accomplish) But all is good. We have flooring.

So today is going to be a fun one. The mr, my brother and I are going to attempt to move the 10 million pound radiators from the back yard to the upstairs..... Going to be oh so much fun (no, not it is no) Once we move them, I am going to finish painting them and the mr will install them. Whoa hoo! Plumbers are coming soon to hook up the new boiler so we have to get all this shit ready. WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK!

How about you? Got any fun activities planned for this here fantastic fall weekend? Find something enjoyable, preferably outside, and try to stay away from reading all about the politics. We all need a break from that.

Internet stuff that kept me interested.

- Do yourself a favor and go outside. This Is Your Brain on Nature

- Almost finished this book and about to start this one. 

- I like honey crisps all right, but I am a mac girl for always. (and they are usually one of the cheaper varieties) Why Are Honeycrisps So Much More Expensive Than Other Apples?

-Breadfruit came from testicles and other weird myths. THE WORLD'S BEST FOOD-BASED CREATION MYTHS

-How can trees not have secret lives. A Web Of Trees And Their 'Hidden' Lives

- And this. Today in Terrifying Bird News, Pigeons Know How to Read

-This would be my bliss (with an added coffee bar)  Secluded Library In The Woods

-I got my information from Meryl Strep in The Devil Wears Prada (love the movie) How Trends Trickle Down. The circuitous path of ideas in food and fashion.

-Breaking Taboo, Swedish Scientist Seeks To Edit DNA Of Healthy Human Embryos. I am officially scared.

-I think this might be my next knitting project. Purl Soho Pullover

Some pics from the past week.

Happy weekend!

-C

In Winooski, vermont, the great outdoors, sunday happy, remodeling, photography, life, home, fall Tags sunday happy, photography, family, internet, links, sky, flowers, cake, weekend reading, vermonting, VT
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Sunday Happy

September 18, 2016 Colleen Stem

Sweet, sweet Vermont. Things around these parts he been oh so nice. Warm days (not hot) and cool nights. The colors are starting to show on the trees. People are starting to wear clothes again and eating apple things and drinking those darn pumpkin spice lattes. I still haven't gone apple picking yet (I've been waiting for at least a good week of cool temps so the apples get nice and sweet) but I did eat a pumpkin this week. And the sky, the sky has been nothing but pretty. I have been loving it all.

Straight up a crazy, full week.  Lots of family dinners, bunk bed building, and mathematical problems solving in order to lay the tubes for heat in the floor. We went to a wedding (congrats Alex and Allison!) were we saw an eagle and I ate all the fresh figs from the cheese platter.(sorry, not sorry) Over at the house the mr and I made the decision to rip out all the old flooring on the first floor down to the sub floor so the radiant heat can go under the new floor instead of coming up from the basement. I know, I know, we need to stop ripping shit out and just finish putting it all back together. We are getting there. Lucky me I didn't have to do to much of the floor ripping, more just the pulling of all the stupid nails left. Not the funniest job, but I have gotten pretty good at de-nailig floors. I could market my new de-nailing skills and make millions. Yeah, sounds about right.

On a sad note, I killed another freaking immersion blender so now I have to pull out the big blender every time I want some smooth soup. Me being me, I almost burned my face off when I went to blend some boiling hot soupand the lid was not on tight and hot soup splashed my face. (I am fine, minor burn left on my ear) Lesson learned. Now I wait for soup to not be so hot and check the mother f-ing lid.  Oh, and my bike tire finally fell off completely which really sent my life through a loop. I know I have been saying all summer that I was going to get a new tire but the duck tape was working oh so well (no, not really) And because I waited until the tire fell off and I wanted to save 20 bucks by ordering a new tire online, I had to ride around town all week on the mr's bike which really sucked a big one. Thank UPS man for delivering me my new tire. All is well now(besides needing a new brake pad and handle bar tape, but that will happen in time) and I can go back to my own bike. I have missed it so much.

Today the mr and I are going to plug away some more with tube laying on the floor. He is starting to worry about getting a source of heat in the house soon. I say as long as we have some type heat by November, we are all set. And if the weather is decent and not pouring rain later, I am going to break in my new bike tire with a heavy trip to the library. My stack of returns is getting pretty ridiculous. (8 books high)

What I saw on the internet this week.

- Tricky tricky sons of bitches.. 50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat

-These are some crazy photos. Winners of the 2016 British Wildlife Photography Awards

-Sad truths. Three Foods That Might Not Survive Modern Diseases

-I don't know if I would do this but it's pretty cool. Body Marbling Is A New Festival Trend That Turns Your Skin Into Art

-This is not a joke (I thought it was) Self-Driving Shopping Carts May Be the Way of the Future. I don't think I like this, not one bit.

-We have our cat Only. We do nit snuggle him cause he is evil and likes to dig his claws in, so I am ok with this.  Doctors Rudely Warn Public Not to Snuggle Kittens

-It has happened to me and it freaked me the f out. Ever wake up to a numb, dead arm? Here’s what’s happening.

-As a seltzer water drinker myself, this was all the right. A Millennial’s Guide to Seltzer

-Researching siding for the addition. Think we are going with the Shou Sugi Ban method. We get to set stuff on fire!!!

-5 Ways to Tell If Your Knife Needs Sharpening. I try to keep mine sharpened not only because cutting food withsharp knife make sense but the danger is for real. The duller the knife, the more likely I am to cut my dang finger off.

Some pictures of the happenings.

Catch yas later.

-C

In Winooski, vermont, the great outdoors, sunday happy, remodeling, photography, life, home Tags internet, links, vermont, vermonting, home, remodel, life, sunday happy, fall, photography
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Sunday Happy

September 4, 2016 Colleen Stem

Walking around the neighborhood yesterday morning in a big heavy sweater, I noticed that there is color touching a lot of trees and that there is even brightly colored leaves falling to the ground. This is the weekend to really enjoy the last bit of summer cause fall about to burst. I know its technically summer for a few more weeks, but I gauge the season by food cravings and extra curricular activities.  I bought my first winter squash (a butternut) this week, roasted it whole and then ate the whole thing, and then stared to knit a new hat for the mr.  It was all fantastic and all fall like and I am now happy to trade in tomatoes for all the root veggies, I am ready. Are you?

Progress on the house. I spent a few days meticulously cleaning up and sanding exposed wooden beams in one of the bedrooms (they look so good) This while I battled a ear infection that I treated by stuffing large amounts of garlic infused coconut oil into my ear and walked around smelling like dinner and oozing oil from my head. All the fun stuff happens to me no? But I am feeling much much better now so I can stop complaining so much. And no more shoving ear phones into these ears. Pretty sure that is why I got the infection in the first place.

The mr has been doing everything and testing out all the electrical.  And guess what, ever freaking thing works! We now have lights in each room, even a light in the windowless bathroom we use ( the unfinished bathroom that is actually just a toilet on a sub floor with a door) And instead of having to run extension cords for every freaking thing, we can now use outlets! It's been a fine fine week. Little sister Barb and I even spent all of yesterday painting the upstairs. Unfortunately after so many days of pouring over color samples and finally thinking I found the color, buying the paint and getting most of the painting done, I have realized that I don't like the color. (it's a off white, but just too yellow) BALLS! The mr is being super sweet about it and telling me it's not big thing and that the walls needed a base coat anyway (no they didn't, we already primed that walls)  and that we will just repaint together and it will take no time and be great. So back to square one with the paint samples (looking for more of a greyish white). AM I crazy? Yes I am, but I would rather repaint now and be really happy with the color then waiting until we move, hate it then, and repaint around furniture and nice clean floors. That would suck even more.

Today the mr and I are going to pick out the new color, get the paint, and clean clean clean!  Empty mud bucket piles, pieces of scrap sheetrock and tools everywhere. The house is a pig pen and it's getting a little much for my liking But after a good clean, if I have some time, I will plant my butt outside on the porch with a enormous cup of coffee and read the rest of the day away. Sunday goals.

If you are interneting (is this a word? If not, I think it should be), here are a few links from the bit of interneting I did this week (didn't do to much)

-Thinking ahead. Peak Fall Foliage Dates

-A in for science and for all of us. A Lifesaving Transplant for Coral Reefs

- This will be my life someday (hopefully sooner then later) STUDIO TOUR: A QUESTION OF EAGLES.

-I grew up watching Bob Ross, such a big influence. The Real Bob Ross: Meet The Meticulous Artist Behind Those Happy Trees-

-If you know me, you know I have a thing for chairs (I have way way to many and I love the all) This book is for me. Better Sit Down For This One: An Exciting Book About The History Of Chairs

-I avoid antibacterial shit like the plague (I like me some germs) so this makes me happy. Within a year, antibacterial soaps as you know them will disappear from the market

A few pictures of the awesomeness of the week.

IMG_0812.JPG

Have a great weekend. Hope you get a long one.

-C

In home, life, photography, remodeling, summer, sunday happy, vermont, Winooski, fall Tags sunday, happy, internet, vermonting, remodeling, photography, links, fall, summer
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