Wallpaper Project

My big project this spring was to tackle the guest room. It had some old wallpaper, rather out of sync with the house and its age. The paper was revolutionary war scenes which I figured were not exactly soothing to the occupants. So this winter my fella and I picked out something more suitable and here we are days before my summer intern is coming and I'm trying to finish this task. You see we ran into a few snags.

Before

The most wonderful tool around: Steamer

Done with steamer tool.

The steamer worked beautifully. It was messy but really easy to get the paper of with this method. We've used it in the past  and I wouldn't tackle a wallpaper removal project without it. $25 a day from the local rent-a-tool.

 

Wallpaper half done




Thank goodness, it's over.

  So I've got about two sheets on the wall when I realize I'm not going to have enough paper. We ordered it this winter. I remember telling the clerk I figured I needed six rolls. "Oh but they're double rolls, " he said with authority. I dallied with him trying to understand how much wall a double roll, in fact, would cover and was confused enough about the lingo to agree to only purchasing three rolls. Less is more. Sounds great.

I'm into the job finding out that no tool on earth is sharp enough to cleanly cut thick, wet wallpaper when the surface underneath is plaster with some gritty texture to it. I kept tearing the paper that I had so carefully hung. I switch out my cutting tools using a new sharp blade each time which killed me because of the waste. I grabbed the butchering knife that my fella uses and brought up the sharpening iron with it to try a different approach. Same issues. Razor blades. No deal.

Alright. I'll take it slow and realize that this will be the tedious part but I can get through it. It's a small room.

You can imagine the swearing that came out of the guest room when I realized my mistake a week before occupant arrival. There's no way three rolls is going to finish this job. No way. I needed Jesus himself here to stretch these resources and even he would tell me I was dreaming.

To add to that, it was not a matter of simply ordering three more rolls and having it arrive in timely fashion and finishing the job somewhat poorer and behind schedule but oh well.

No, it went more like "We can't order that til Monday to arrive on Tuesday with overnight shipping which is extra." Okay, I got the service clerk to agree to paying the overnight but at least I'd have several days to get the job done.

Not so. The product distributor was out. Then the next day the numbskulls I was dealing with didn't order it in time. TAfter that they tell me they only had two rolls in the whole F-ing US of A left unless they MADE more. Egads!

Long story short we got the two rolls yesterday. I did some magical patching and dancing about along with wallpaper god worship and I squeezed the job out of five rolls...holy cringles and chips...you gotta be freaking kidding me.

LOTS of swearing.



LOTS.




Not bad if I do say so myself.

It's over. Occupant arrives tomorrow.



Winter Grilling and Woodstove Cooking

Flat bread on the grill begins with a basic pizza dough recipe. Yeast, water, flour, salt and olive oil. Rise about three hours then roll out thinly with parchment between each bread. Heat the grill. Ask husband to change propane tank because first one ran out. Reheat grill.


 Place dough directly on grill. Close lid and cook for about a minute. Check bread to avoid burning bottom to a crisp.

Reposition over lower flame for another thirty seconds or so. Poke any bubbles to deflate.

Flip over and heat another thirty seconds to minute with cover down.

Meanwhile back inside, dig dutch oven from the depths of the woodstove oven. Here we have goat loin stewed in a quart of this summer' tomatoes and a quart of this fall's chicken stock along with various spices. The sauce really cooks down over time in the oven. Be sure to have plenty of liquid in the dutch oven. It cooks down quickly into a thick savory sauce...that can turn into burnt crusty goat jerky in no time at all if you don't keep enough moisture in the vessel.

While I was at it I baked several dozen of my ginger oat kitchen sink saucer-sized cookies. I had an order of two dozen to fill and our own cookie jar was empty. I did these in our conventional oven as the cookie sheets don't fit in the wood oven.

Lastly, I made some peanut pumkin soup which starts with a roasted pumpkin in the wood oven followed by a long slow stew of sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin and stock on the wood stove.

I don't have to cook for a few days.

Fiber Group

Today we had a "Fiber Group" meeting. A few of us ruminant lovers get together from time to time to craft a bit whilst we chat. The topics generally comprise of some sort of craft or cookery that we are interested in. Our hope is to bring a few more into the fold and exchange ideas and resources...at the very least we make progress on our projects.

 Jen demonstrates drop spindling. I love the color of the fiber she's using. She sells her work at markets here in the Upper Valley. You can check out her etsy store for a selection of sheep fiber and such.

Linda brought some knitting as well as a lovely rug hooking project. Both Linda and Jen spin fiber and serve as knowledgable resources.

Anne joined us today with thoughts of learning to spin and acquiring some tools and materials. I hope our group will continue to meet as it is a great time to catch up, see what others are doing and keep momentum going.

Its satisfying to connect with folks who have varied interests in crafts. I never get bored with all the choices at my fingertips. I only get frustrated that I have just one life with this particular skill set and opportunities and not enough time.

Poor me.
; )

It's Been Too Long...

I love trees and my son and I made an alphabet tree.

Complete with snake...

which he felt should eat the yellow apples.