Quality time

Friday was my day and I took full advantage of every minute. Number one priority was the dump. We never bothered setting up a garbage pick up at 19 Maple Ave since we never know if we will be here to roll the bin out on weekdays, so we just go to the dump. Which is kind of fun. The garage was overflowing with recyclables and garbage and it was time to face the nastiness. I tackled the bin and a swarm of maggots and threw the bags in the Pathfinder, which has become the around-the-town car. OMG the smell. But OMG the sense of accomplishment!

Next on the list was the front porch. I got a ladder, a respirator, a heat gun and a scraper out and went to work on the underside of the ceiling. 40 minute intervals is all my arms can handle and in between I cleaned up  around the house. Got the mail.  Did some weeding. Pruned my willow bushes. Went food shopping at Hannies. Watered the hostas. And back to the porch. 

In the afternoon I started anticipating James' arrival. He's working on a kids show and his hours are quite humane and was almost definitely going to make an 8 o'clock train. 

I thought a mini Italian buffet would kick off the weekend nicely. Some mozzarella and fresh tomatoes. Ciabatta with olive oil and balsamic dip. And a fine red box wine. 

Also in preparation of the weekend I started a Vichyssoise. My first. We are fans of soups around here and in the summer we like'em cold. I've done  Gazpacho and cold cucumber soup and this was the next logical step.

Vichyssoise in the making.

Chop 2 leeks and 1 onion and sautee them in butter until they are soft.

Add 1 1/2 chopped potatoes and 2 1/3 cups stock. 

After Thanksgiving last year I tried my hand at making turkey stock and it's been in the freezer ever since. It finally made it's way into the pot and I think that is what added that extra special touch to the soup.

Let this simmer for 30 minutes.

Put it through a blender until smooth. 

I left this mixture in the fridge until it was time for lunch today and right before serving I mixed in a cup of half n' half. Some fresh ground pepper and YUM!

I also prepped a dough for a Toft loaf last night and let it rise overnight and baked it this morning so we had fresh bread with our Vichyssoise. 

Lunch is served.

So there was a time when we thought we were painting our house white. Yea, simple and  and very un-offensive. Hm wait a minute... Since when do we care about being un-offensive?! E! 's long face when we told her "WHITE!" was enough to get us to start thinking in other directions. 

So Rosemary sent a book. 

This house was in the book. And that is exactly it. THAT'S IT! Darkgreen, to be exact - Benjamin Moore: Deep River. We took a look at that swatch and decided against and instead are going with Space (C225) from C2, in a solid stain.

And not at all to copy the mean greenies of Goatvalley fame... Just merely another homage and hats off for being brave enough to paint a house black!

Their new garage which will also house studio, workshop and store. Rrrrrraow - foxy.

Why hello there Mr. Fancy Pants.