The Writing On the Wall

If I had to do our office/library again, I might do something on the walls like this:

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I kind of love it.  If I thought it went with the current look of our office, I might be tempted to do it this weekend. 

p.s

We just passed our refrigeration and mechanical inspections and just have the FINAL whole project inspection left.  If you are counting, I think that’s our 16th and 17th (or maybe 99th and 100th) required passed inspection for the house. 

Happy Belated Anniversary to Us!

So we missed our 1st anniversary.  Micah was out of town and by the time he got back, we both seemed to busy to really celebrate.  We managed to have some cream puffs (we did that instead of cake at the wedding) and a bottle of Cava we saved from the wedding, but that’s it.  We’ve never been anniversary celebration people.  We’re more birthday and Christmas people.  I don’t even know if we have ever celebrated our dating anniversary.  When people ask me how long we’ve been together, I tell them about 5 or 6 years.

We’re changing all that.  We’re going celebrate our anniversary.  To celebrate, we’re headed here:

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We’re hoping to swap grey Seattle in November for Sunny Palm Springs.  Actually, our real destination is Joshua Tree.  Our first trip together was to Glacier National Park so I thought our first anniversary trip should be to another National Park.  Plus, it’s Joshua Tree and paper comes from trees and the 1st Anniversary is the paper anniversary – get it?  I know, it’s a stretch. 

We used our Alaska Air companion coupons for the airline tickets and Priceline to get rooms here, Riviera Palm Spring:

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I really wanted to rent one of those beautiful midcentury modern houses but they are way to big and expensive for just 2 people.  Neither of us have been to the area and are really excited.  Anyone have any Palm Springs or Joshua Tree recommendations?

P.S. – I Want To Make This…

and this

and transform these

and maybe wear this

Have you been to P.S. – I made this… yet?  I love all the trendy clothes, accessories and decor she makes out of stuff you probably have laying around the house.  I would totally rock the safety pin top and spray paint random stuff to make it look more glamorous.  Look for that wreath on the front door of 4024 this winter.

Have any good repurposing/recycling projects to share?

Neighbors! or neighbors.

A few weeks after we broke ground for 4024, we noticed some activity at the lot across the alley (and one house over) from us.  As we were building, someone else was building.  It was exciting and sort of annoying at the same time.  The neighborhood was sort of overwhelmed with the noise and traffic in the alley.  the other crew was loud and swore a lot.  We got a lot of complaints about them even though they weren’t our crew.  We were excited because it seemed like we’d have have new neighbors.  Yes, all the neighbors were new to us, but there was something nice about getting to know the area with other new people.

A month after we moved in, the new house across the alley went up for sale.  That was January.  I noticed the sign had finally come down a month ago.  There was speculation in the neighborhood that the owners had given up and were just renting it.  No one knew or heard anything.

Late last week, the head of our neighborhood watch group sent out an email letting us know that house had been bought by a nice couple, and she introduced them via email.  The next night we got an email inviting us to a house warming party that I can’t attend because I’ll be in Zambia.  I was really excited for new neighbors.  I’ve always wants to have friends in the neighborhood you just hung out with.  Dreams of summer BBQs and rainy game nights danced through my head.  I haven’t lived in a neighborhood with people my age that I hung out with since I was 3 years old.  Ah Candace, my first friend who actually now lives a few blocks from us.

Almost all our current neighbors are older than us or at a different place in their lives (read lots of young families).  We’ve decided not to even think about babies for at least 2 years.  There’s a really nice woman who pretty much knows everything about us (she made friends with Dadtractor) who we chat with every so often but we wouldn’t really hang out with her. 

So, I was excited and did a dumb thing.  I googled the new neighbors.  So, it turns out they are about 15 years older than us and are probably in a totally different tax bracket.  They seemed to have very serious jobs and in my mind I decided that they wouldn’t want to slum it with us.  I don’t even know them and I decided this.

I told Micah about what I’d found out and while he didn’t seem as disappointed as me, he did acknowledge we probably wouldn’t be having game night with them.  It was all very disappointing, mostly because we (I) built up the whole thing.  I think we’re looking for our place.  We’re not in the baby zone yet, but we’re not go out and party on weekend (and the occasional) weeknight people either.  I think we’re Friday Happy Hour, weekend game night, Sunday Suppers and sports watching people who don’t stay out later than 9pm on week night except for band gigs and are fine with catching the matinee at the movies.  I think we’re looking people like us and really hoping they would be in our neighborhood.  Sorry, rambling. 

So, Micah decided he’d drop in at the new neighbor’s housewarming while I’m gone.  Maybe we’re wrong about them.  Maybe we’ll have a lot in common.  Do you have real friends in your neighborhood or are you just friendly neighbors

Sunday Suppers: Kare Kare (Oxtail and Peanut Stew)

OK, I know.  Oxtail isn’t for everyone but I thought I’d share this recipe anyway.  It was my favorite growing up.  Oxtail isn’t as scary as it sounds.  It’s a tough cut but if you cook it slowly and for a LONG time, it’s really flavorful and delicious.  I cook it so long that the meat falls off the bone.  If you ate my Kare Kare, you’d think you were having a slow cooked beef stew. 

I was so excited to make Kare Kare this weekend because it was going to be the first time I made the sauce from scratch.  Even my Mom uses a powered sauce mix.  Also, I really wanted to use my new Le Creuset dish.  It’s so pretty.  I got it at Marshall’s for pretty cheap.

Kare Kare is a funny dish.  I don’t think it’s anything like any of the other Filipino dishes I’ve had.  It’s more like a West African peanut based stew.  I think the thing that makes this dish very much Filipino is the use of bagoong (shrimp paste) to salt the dish.  It’s got a strong smell like Patis (fish sauce).  I plan to do a post about Filipino condiments and ingredients soon, so I’ll save the description until then. 

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium onion sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic diced
• 3 lbs of Oxtails
• 2 cups oxtail broth (from slow cooking)
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup calrose or other white rice
• 3/4 cup of peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
• 1/2 teaspoon of annatto powder
• One bunch (about 20 pieces) of long beans cut into 2 inch pieces. 
• 4-5 Japanese eggplants cut into 2 pieces and quartered.  I used Filipino eggplants because I could find them.
• 3 cups of bok choy cleaned with bottoms cut off
• Bagoong to taste (optional – sort of)

The night before you plan to make Kare Kare, put the oxtail in a slow cooker, cover the with water and let them cook on low heat over night.  I cooked ours for 24 hours before using them because I like the meat to be so tender it falls off the bone. 

On medium-high heat, roast the calrose rice.

Once it’s all brown, let it cool then use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to turn it into a powder.  I didn’t have either so I used a food processor.  It was lumpy but turned out ok.

On medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until they are soft.  Add the annatto powder and 1/4 cup of the the broth.  I use a separator to get some of the fat from the liquid.

Once everything is this unnatural color, add the eggplant.

Once the eggplants are orange too, add the long beans, the bok choy and 1/2 cup of broth.

I covered the pot, reduced the heat to low and let the bok choy cook down for about 5-10 minutes. While it was cooking, I separated the meat from the bone.  Actually, I just had to pick the bones out because meat separated itself.

Once the bak choy had cooked down, I mixed the remaining broth with the roasted rice powder and peanut butter then added it to the dish.  I then added the meat, reduced the heat to lowest temperature and let it cook for about 10 – 15 minutes more to combine all the flavors. 

I don’t have a pretty picture of the finished dish because our dinner guests started coming over.  Here’s what it looked like when it was close to done on the stove.

Here’s what it would have looked like if I plated it and took a nice picture.

When you taste the dish, it clearly needs salt.  This is where the bagoong comes in.  You serve the Kare Kare over rice and then mix it a tiny bit of the bagoong to start.  Probably an 1/8 of a teaspoon.  You add more as needed.  If you can’t find bagoong or shrimp paste, you can use fish sauce or even just salt.  The Bagoong does give it the finishing touch though.  This recipe easily serves 6-8 people.

I took the picture from Cooking with Peachy who makes Kare Kare using a the powdered sauce mix.  She also uses beef brisket and tripe instead of oxtail.  Traditionally, Kare Kare includes tripe but I always omit it.  If you go with the mix, look for the Mama Sita brand and add a little peanut butter.  I always think it needs it.

So, anyone up for trying oxtail?  I promise, it’s really delicious and not scary at all.

You Pick – The Giveaway

Who wants some beautiful fabric?  Anyone?  I’ve had this giveaway planned for a few months but forgot all about it.  To commemorate a year of blogging (a few months ago), we’re giving away the fabric piece of your choice from Malawi.  They are all stunning.  They are great for a ready to wear sarong, wall hanging or you could make some great pillows, a top or even a dress out of them.



There are two ways to enter:

1.  Follow us (@Forty20Four) on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway. Come back and comment that you have done so.
2.  Publicly follow Forty20Four and let us know in the comments.

The Giveaway closes on Friday, October 24th at 10am PST.

Good Luck to everyone!!

Chikumbuso Women and Orphans Project

I’m headed to Zambia soon and my friend Anne asked if I could bring some stuff out for her.  You know, tablets for making mozzarella, chocolate chips, magazines – the things you can’t get easily in Lusaka.  I’ve mentioned Anne before.  She’s my ridiculously talented friend who moved with her husband (my old office neighbor) and family to Lusaka.

Anne and I have been going back and forth about what I can bring her for a few weeks.  Recently I found out she’s trying to help out an AMAZING local non-profit, the Chikumbuso Women and Orphans Project, by getting bunk beds built for girls and supplying them with a few bedroom necessities like sheets and reading lights.  She’s also collecting school supplies for all the kids.

Here’s what Chikumbuso is and what it’s all about…

The Chikumbuso Women and Orphans Project began in 2005 as a response to one widow’s struggle to feed, educate and care for her children. It soon became obvious that this widow was one of many women affected by the AIDS crisis, and something had to be done on a much larger scale.

First and foremost, Chikumbuso is a support group of widows who have come together to provide each other with emotional and material support. Each woman who joins Chikumbuso is responsible for the other widows, through a mission statement that asks each person to: Remember those who have died, Remember where we have come from, and Remember to do for others. This mission is a crucial component of all the work that Chikumbuso accomplishes in Ng’ombe. In addition to the support group, weekly meetings and trainings, the women have created a micro enterprise crocheting plastic grocery bags into purses, wine carriers and other fashion accessories. This business gives them a stable income and a way to provide for their families with dignity. The bags they make are sold locally at a variety of distribution points including the Chikumbuso store in the compound and sold internationally in stores and sales throughout the US and Europe. The proceeds from the sale of the bags internationally are used to finance the other program activities of the Chikumbuso Project.

These activities include a community school specifically targeting orphans from the Ng’ombe area. The School provides kindergarten through 5th grade education, a free school lunch, a theatre group, Boy and Girl scouts, a drumming troop, two soccer teams and a gospel choir. Most importantly, it provides a safe, positive, clean and nurturing environment for its 275 students. Lacking a strong family structure and a safe place to be, orphans are often extremely vulnerable to predators and to poor choices. Chikumbuso’s compound in Ng’ombe is a unique place of love and support for children who would otherwise be on the streets.

A over the last month, I’ve actually had quite a few people ask me about good places to give.  I love the idea of organizations that support micro-finance/enterprises.  It’s a great way to give and an AMAZING way to empower others.  I think empowering people to make their lives better and help others is the best way to give.  I could go on and on about this (I wrote my graduate thesis on this), but I won’t. 

So, I’m sure you all know where this is going, here’s the ask – if you visit the Chikumbuso website, there is a place you can donate and sponsor a child.  It you have the funds and were meaning to give some of it away, it would be great if you considered Chikumbuso.  If you want to donate fitted twin sheets (nothing fancy), school supplies or solar light bulbs, contact us and I’d be happy to carry everything over in my checked bags.  Clothes?  Who needs clean clothes?  Also, Christmas is coming up, what about giving out Chikumbuso bags for Christmas?  I’m going to buy a couple when I get there.

Let me know if you have questions.  I promise to get them answered in a timely manner!  Happy Friday!!

The End Of Summer

It’s getting chilly here.  Everyday on Izzy’s morning walk I notice more and more leaves change color.  Usually, Seattle summer weather lasts through September but it’s looking like it won’t be that way this year.

Micah’s back in school, we’re back to watch College football on Saturday mornings (Go Huskies!) and the NFL throughout the day on Sunday (Go Seahawks!).  We’ve both been digging out our fall/winter sweaters and I’ve got several pairs of tights all ready for wearing.  I love Fall.  It may be my favorite seasons.  I like being able to wear a sweater without a coat and I LOVE the colors.  Fall is filled with celebrations and leads up to my favorite holiday, Christmas.  Having said that, I’m not ready to let go of summer.  Where did it go?  I swear it was just June.

I was thinking about our very short summer and thought I’d share a few greatest hits from this summer.

Happy Hour Sails

On many Fridays, we spent many happy hours on water.  Our friend Paul has access to a sail boat and I swear Micah spent 5 days straight on it.  Paul is a teacher too.

I could sit up here forever!

Micah doing a cannon ball into the lake

Our friend Joe demonstrating poor man’s wakeboarding.

Izzy Joins the Family

As most of you know, Izzy joined our family in July.  We love her to bits and she seems to tolerate us.  We took her camping and to the beach this weekend and she seemed to enjoy it.

Izzy wasn’t too sure about the cold ocean water but clearly liked the sand part.

Visiting Cecilia 

We had a great time visiting Cecilia in Italy and traveling with her to Croatia.  We can’t wait to see her early next month.  We’ve shared almost all our (good) pictures from the trip so I thought maybe I’d just post one of my favorites.  We still have a food post left to do though.

Food

Summer always brings good food.  My favorite part of summer eating is that Micah spends a lot of time smoking meats and grilling. 

Smoked baby back ribs anyone?  These were amazing.  The meat just fell off the bone.

This is me enjoying the BEST pistachio gelato E.V.E.R!  Seriously.  I ate gelato pretty much every night we were in Italy and this was the best scoop I had.

This picture isn’t about the food but rather highlights Micah and Paul’s choice of drinking vessels for their beers.  The guys were performing at an at at festival type thing at a farm. 

I feel like we did more this summer but maybe we didn’t.  There were some house projects we have yet to share, Micah did go to Alabama for a week and I did turn 30.  What eventful things did you do this summer?

Rethinking Vintage?

I’ve been afraid of these gross little things for at least 5 years.  Nasty, creepy, blood sucking creatures – BEDBUGS! 

I first heard about them when I was 17 years old and going to backpack around Europe.  Someone mentioned I should think about buying a sheet liner thing for all the hostels I was going to stay at.  There weren’t too many hostels that trip as I did a lot of couch surfing at relatives’ houses.

I hadn’t thought of bedbugs again until I was about 25 years old and visiting Micah in Brooklyn.  We were watching some local news show and they featured a story on bedbugs.  From what I remember of the story, a nice small family lived in a very cute apartment on the upper east side that they owned but were considering selling and moving because they had been battling with bedbugs for over 18 months.  They threw away their mattresses, couches, fabric chairs, stuffed animals and have literally washed all their clothes in water so hot that it shrunk half of what they owned.  They had no idea where they got the bedbugs but had tried everything to get rid of it.

The story went on to talk about how bedbugs can be transferred on the subway or bus or from picking up free treasure on New York sidewalks.  Apparently people were throwing out beautiful furniture and not labeling that it was infested with bedbugs.  I wasn’t picking up furniture on the side of the street, so that didn’t concern me but I was riding the subway when I was in town which was twice a month, and I was taking the Chinatown bus to DC twice a month.  I remember being paranoid of the subway that particular trip.  I think insisted we do stuff in Williamsburg just to avoid the subway.  Lucky for me, I forgot about my bed bug fear as soon as I got back to DC. 

So that was 5 years ago.  I started thinking about bed bugs last year after some friends were attacked by them in a Parisian hotel room.  Thankfully and hot shower and a quick trip to a laundromat killed the bugs off.  After hearing about bedbugs last year, I think about them EVERYTIME I stay in a hotel or get on a plane.  Just thinking about the planes and the seats they don’t really clean gross me out.  Clearly they don’t gross me out enough to stop traveling but they do give me a 5 minute panic attack every trip.
Last week, the New York Times published an article about bedbugs and their appearances at thrift stores, vintage shops and flea markets.  I don’t usually purchase clothing at thrift or vintage stores, so I didn’t think too much about that.  I’m too short to find anything that fits.  I was concerned about vintage furniture and even craigslist buys.  We’ve bought A LOT of furniture off Craigslist over the years.  I’m so happy none of them were infested.  Just thought gives me nightmares.  Or that ottoman we found on the street corner when we first moved to Seattle.  That could have been bad. 

We’ll be thinking twice about purchasing used goods with fabrics.  I don’t think bedbugs will deter us from ever purchasing again, but I think we’ll be taking a better look at what we’re thinking about purchasing. 

So, is anyone rethinking vintage or used purchases?  Anyone ever gotten bedbugs that way?
p.s. I thought about putting a picture in this post but the images of bed bugs give me the creeps.

Small Victories

Do you know what this is?

Yes, it’s a tub.  But you know what else it is?  It’s the whirlpool bathtub in our master bathroom that hasn’t worked since we moved in.  I know, we’ve been in the house since Christmas and neither of us have used the tub.  We tried a few times but couldn’t get it to work.  After a little fiddling with the plugs and tubes under the tub, I called Dadtractor to find out what I could do to get it to work.  And you know what?  30 seconds later it was spraying and bubbling away!  HOLLA!

Then yesterday while I was telecommuting, our heat pump (and air conditioning) got fixed!  Bring on the 100+ temps, we’re ready!  I’m told that our electric bill should be half of what it once was. 

Today (theoretically), some guys are coming by to start finishing the underside of our decks.  There isn’t anything wrong with them structurally but they are a little ugly since they aren’t done. 

Man, could this be progress?  I’m thinking a celebratory soak is in order.  Anyone else knocking a few things off their to do list?