wally definitely earned his keep in the last two days! with not having his snow tires on yet, there's no way scott would have been able to get around town in his truck - he said the interstate wasn't really plowed yet when he went up to a meeting in lowry around 10:30am. honestly, if we didn't have wally, neither of us probably would have made it off of our street - we live on a tiny side street that will never be plowed, and the intersection with the secondary street we live off of just gets so snow and ice packed, erma wouldn't have been able to make it out. this morning, scott left at the same time as me with the intention that if he got stuck, we would try to rig up a tow so that wally would help haul truck out of the ice. he managed to get through on his own, but still - it's nice to now that we have an option like that. (although it might be a more solid option if, you know, we actually had a hitch on the back of wally.)
we measured the snow on the driveway at about 5pm last night, and there was actually 1/2" less than there had been that morning despite the fact that it had been snowing all day. i think the snow yesterday was a lot heavier and wetter than the snow from wednesday, so it sort of compacted what was underneath - i noticed, too, that along the back wall, the drifts had fallen about 2" by yesterday night from where they were in the morning. so i'll estimate that we got maybe 17" of snow all told, which really only equals about 1-2" of rain! isn't that crazy? it kind of makes sense, though - i had wondered how colorado has so many drought/water issues when we get such ridiculous amounts of snow in the mountains every year, but the 300+" of snow the mountains get equals probably 20-30" of rain - most likely closer to 20" since so much of it is the dry powder. granted, that is over the entire high country, which is pretty big - colorado has the most land over 10,000 feet in the u.s. i checked aspen, steamboat, and telluride's annual snowfalls, and they're all over 300" of snow, and the three towns are very spread out. hmm, although this other site says like 136" of snow annually for aspen, which is pretty different ... either way, a ridiculous amount of snow doesn't necessarily mean a ridiculous amount of precipitation.
snow day!
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labels:
winter
i'm currently enjoying a snow day at home! we shoveled 8" off of the driveway last night at around 5pm, and by 7:30am today had another 7" built up. i haven't measured since then, so we'll call it 15" and counting. we closed the office at 1:30 yesterday, and i'm off today, too! the office is technically open today, but we don't have the snow tires on scott's truck yet, so he needs the forester to get around today. we were just planning that i would drop him off at work and then pick him up afterward, but it turns out he has a meeting this morning up nearish my work then needs to get back to his office down south. we were trying to figure out the logistics of both getting to where we need to be, and i was planning on asking my coworker who lives near us for a ride back down here after work, but she took pity on me and told me not to worry about coming in since they really don't need two people there today. yes, i do feel a little bit guilty ... but i'm still going to enjoy my pajama day.
check out my facebook for snow pictures.
check out my facebook for snow pictures.
around-the-house weekend
dinner last night turned out well! i was skeptical at how the bread would turn out - i felt like i had to add a lot of extra flour to make the dough non-sticky - but it was good! the recipe turned out two big round loaves, and our small group (8 adults plus a 2 year old last night) pretty much polished them both off. definitely will add extra cornmeal to the baking sheet next time, as the loaves stuck pretty thoroughly after baking. green beans were very tasty, but not as much of a hit as the bread. squash was also quite good - even scott ate two pieces, and he normally won't touch squash with a ten-foot pole! i probably should have cooked it an extra few minutes, but it's hard to tell how long to cook stuff when you have an oven crammed full ... plus my oven door sort-of broke (a very important screw fell out) mid-cooking, and i was tired of trying to hold the door together to check on the squash.
oh, and the beef stroganoff from saturday was also super tasty. the downside of cooking dinner in the crockpot all day while you're at home is that you can smell dinner all day and thus you're hungry all day. it's definitely a recipe i'll keep on hand for future use, though. (the reviews on cooking light's website said that they thought the sauce on the stroganoff was a little bit runny. i added probably an extra cup of liquid - plus a little worcestershire sauce - because i didn't think there'd be enough liquid to keep the stroganoff from burning over 8-9 hours of cooking, and we thought the sauce was perfect. oh, and i used dried parsley instead of fresh, and some rosemary and tarragon instead of dill because i didn't have any, and it was still good.)
anyway, this leads me to a list of things we broke this weekend:
1. two wine glasses. the pretty green pottery barn ones that we bought after our wedding, that i had carefully stored in a cabinet for three years, then happily put in a wine glass rack above our sink when we moved into the house. we started with six, and now have three. (and no, pb doesn't make them anymore.) scott was doing dishes, thrust up his arms to get his sleeves out of the way of the soapy water, and knocked two off of the rack - which is, ironically, precisely what happened to the third one back at easter.
2. my favorite cutting board. it was a gripperwood board, so it had lovely little rubber feet on the bottom so that it didn't slide around the counter when you cut. acorn squash are evidently very dense and hard - i was using my biggest, sharpest knife to cut them for dinner on sunday, but the knife became wedged mid-cut. my ill-advised solution was to grab the handle of the knife, pick up the whole thing - squash and knife wedged together - and smack it on the cutting board a few times to try to make the knife finish cutting through. it did finish chopping through the squash, but also broke my cutting board in half.
3. an extension cord. scott was out front finishing trimming the bushes saturday morning, i heard the electric (corded) hedge trimmer start up, and 10 seconds later scott was inside with a sad look on his face - he'd accidentally cut through the extension cord. yes, this is the second time it's happened in the year that we've owned the thing - i think the first time was within the first few minutes of its use - but to his credit, it is easy to accidentally do. i used the trimmer to cut back the barberries that overhang the driveway, and almost cut the cord a few times myself.
4. oven door. well, we didn't really break this, it more sort of broke itself. one of the screws at the top inside the door fell out while i was cooking for small group - i had to hold the door together with an ovenmitt every time i opened it until we found the screw (in a little lip on the drawer under the oven). it's fixed, now, though, thank goodness.
5. my tire. again, didn't really break it. friday night while we were out, the low tire pressure light came on - the last time it came on a month and a half ago, the tires were just a little low, so we didn't think much of it. got to church on sunday, i'm standing by the rear of the car waiting for scott to get his stuff out of the back seat, look down, and see a squished tire. whoops. it was at 14psi, we filled it up and by this morning it's back down to 26psi. wally's at goodyear right now getting patched up.
oh, and the beef stroganoff from saturday was also super tasty. the downside of cooking dinner in the crockpot all day while you're at home is that you can smell dinner all day and thus you're hungry all day. it's definitely a recipe i'll keep on hand for future use, though. (the reviews on cooking light's website said that they thought the sauce on the stroganoff was a little bit runny. i added probably an extra cup of liquid - plus a little worcestershire sauce - because i didn't think there'd be enough liquid to keep the stroganoff from burning over 8-9 hours of cooking, and we thought the sauce was perfect. oh, and i used dried parsley instead of fresh, and some rosemary and tarragon instead of dill because i didn't have any, and it was still good.)
anyway, this leads me to a list of things we broke this weekend:
1. two wine glasses. the pretty green pottery barn ones that we bought after our wedding, that i had carefully stored in a cabinet for three years, then happily put in a wine glass rack above our sink when we moved into the house. we started with six, and now have three. (and no, pb doesn't make them anymore.) scott was doing dishes, thrust up his arms to get his sleeves out of the way of the soapy water, and knocked two off of the rack - which is, ironically, precisely what happened to the third one back at easter.
2. my favorite cutting board. it was a gripperwood board, so it had lovely little rubber feet on the bottom so that it didn't slide around the counter when you cut. acorn squash are evidently very dense and hard - i was using my biggest, sharpest knife to cut them for dinner on sunday, but the knife became wedged mid-cut. my ill-advised solution was to grab the handle of the knife, pick up the whole thing - squash and knife wedged together - and smack it on the cutting board a few times to try to make the knife finish cutting through. it did finish chopping through the squash, but also broke my cutting board in half.
3. an extension cord. scott was out front finishing trimming the bushes saturday morning, i heard the electric (corded) hedge trimmer start up, and 10 seconds later scott was inside with a sad look on his face - he'd accidentally cut through the extension cord. yes, this is the second time it's happened in the year that we've owned the thing - i think the first time was within the first few minutes of its use - but to his credit, it is easy to accidentally do. i used the trimmer to cut back the barberries that overhang the driveway, and almost cut the cord a few times myself.
4. oven door. well, we didn't really break this, it more sort of broke itself. one of the screws at the top inside the door fell out while i was cooking for small group - i had to hold the door together with an ovenmitt every time i opened it until we found the screw (in a little lip on the drawer under the oven). it's fixed, now, though, thank goodness.
5. my tire. again, didn't really break it. friday night while we were out, the low tire pressure light came on - the last time it came on a month and a half ago, the tires were just a little low, so we didn't think much of it. got to church on sunday, i'm standing by the rear of the car waiting for scott to get his stuff out of the back seat, look down, and see a squished tire. whoops. it was at 14psi, we filled it up and by this morning it's back down to 26psi. wally's at goodyear right now getting patched up.
inspired!
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labels:
sewing
i was googling around this morning, trying to figure out how to recover glider cushions, and i am completely inspired now. isn't this the cutest glider ever?? i love the colors, and the patterns. those are amy butler fabrics, in case you're curious. (if you ever want to know what the trendy fabric of the moment is, go to a trendy diy site like, say, etsy, search for a trendy item like, say, a wristlet, and read the descriptions of the cutest looking ones. amy butler, my friends.) i'm not sure that scott would go for a crazy floral turquoise glider in our otherwise mostly green and brown living room, and i'm not sure that i want to pay amy butler prices (which granted i've only checked out online), but seriously, that is a piece of furniture that i would not be ashamed to have in my house.
for real, though, i'm not letting myself start on that until i'm done with my picnic quilt, and with making a collage for a friend. i think sometimes that i like ideas better than i like projects.
for real, though, i'm not letting myself start on that until i'm done with my picnic quilt, and with making a collage for a friend. i think sometimes that i like ideas better than i like projects.
why i like family, among other things
so i have to confess that the number one reason why i enjoy family coming into town is entirely self-serving: free dinner out. scott's half-sister (yes, that makes her my sister-in-law, but as i have four of them i thought i'd specify) and her boyfriend are in from california for a work conference and offered to take us and goo out to dinner. we originally thought they'd be in denver, but turns out his daughter lives in boulder, so they're based up there for the week - who are we to pass up a free dinner just because of a 45 minute drive, though? we're driving up to boulder after work. :) i have absolutely no idea how nice we're talking, or where we'll be going, so i'm wearing my normal jeans and cardigan to work, and brought a skirt in case they take us someplace nice. i even wore a necklace today. (edit: scott just told me that the angels playoff game is tonight, his half-sister is a huge angels fan, so we're going to this sports bar called the lazy dog up in boulder to do dinner and watch it. i'm possibly more excited about that than i was about a fancy dinner because i love the lazy dog. there was one in denver when we first moved out and we went there all the time to watch games, but it closed a few years ago. they have amazing bbq chicken pizza, and i get to wear jeans.)
other exciting things this week:
- i bought a chair for $25 off of craigslist. a glider and gliding ottoman, to be specific. it was just such a good deal, i love gliders, and i have the perfect nook for it in my upstairs living room. (right next to the stairs in the big empty space.) the cushioning is in really good condition, and it's going to be the comfiest place to sit and read once i get it recovered. the current fabric is plush and shiny, sort of gray with blue and pink streaks in it, very early 90's. if i can convince scott to let me out of house project duty for a while on saturday, i think i'll run down to joann fabrics and see what sort of upholstery fabrics they have available, and how much it's going to set me back. i'm very excited about my project. almost as excited as i am for the picnic quilt that i already have fabric purchased for.
- i spent a good 5 minutes both last week and this week arguing with the kid i tutor about how old he is. he was born in december of '98, so he's 10, right? except he thinks that because he was born in 1998 and it's now 2009, that makes him 11. *sigh.
- we got to use my office seats for the last pre-season nuggets game on tuesday night. we used them a few weeks ago when they played belgrade (which is in serbia, fyi), and i will confess that watching two american teams play each other is much more exciting. we ate dinner at home before the game with the solid intention of NOT getting junk food there ... but you can really only sit in the presence of things like nachos and hot dogs for so long before you crave something. scott got us a churro in the 3rd quarter.
- i got to work out, eat home made chicken pot pie, and have a 2 hour long phone date with my friend alison last night.
- and i'm very excited about cooking this upcoming weekend: i bought some stew beef on clearance sale a while ago, and finally had a brainstorm last month that i can use it to make beef stroganoff. i did some investigating today and found a slow-cooker beef stroganoff recipe on cooking light that i'll be making for dinner on saturday. then sunday night we're hosting small group, and the host typically makes dinner for the group to eat together beforehand. i think the last time we hosted, i didn't feel like cooking, so we got papa murphy's pizza for the group. this time, though ... oh, this time i'm making a small fall feast. chicken legs, green bean salad amandine, homemade rosemary walnut bread, and the pioneer woman's sweet-roasted rosemary acorn squash wedges. trust me, i'll let you know how it all goes. and if you've never made chicken legs before, i highly recommend you give it a whirl - all you need is chicken legs and a canister of italian breadcrumbs which you can get generically for like $1.29 and lasts for forever. dump out a small pile of breadcrumbs on a plate, roll your thawed chicken legs (yes, skin and all) around in it one at a time until they're coated, put them on a sprayed baking sheet, bake at 425* for like 35-40 minutes, and voila. cheap, easy, seriously tasty stuff.
other exciting things this week:
- i bought a chair for $25 off of craigslist. a glider and gliding ottoman, to be specific. it was just such a good deal, i love gliders, and i have the perfect nook for it in my upstairs living room. (right next to the stairs in the big empty space.) the cushioning is in really good condition, and it's going to be the comfiest place to sit and read once i get it recovered. the current fabric is plush and shiny, sort of gray with blue and pink streaks in it, very early 90's. if i can convince scott to let me out of house project duty for a while on saturday, i think i'll run down to joann fabrics and see what sort of upholstery fabrics they have available, and how much it's going to set me back. i'm very excited about my project. almost as excited as i am for the picnic quilt that i already have fabric purchased for.
- i spent a good 5 minutes both last week and this week arguing with the kid i tutor about how old he is. he was born in december of '98, so he's 10, right? except he thinks that because he was born in 1998 and it's now 2009, that makes him 11. *sigh.
- we got to use my office seats for the last pre-season nuggets game on tuesday night. we used them a few weeks ago when they played belgrade (which is in serbia, fyi), and i will confess that watching two american teams play each other is much more exciting. we ate dinner at home before the game with the solid intention of NOT getting junk food there ... but you can really only sit in the presence of things like nachos and hot dogs for so long before you crave something. scott got us a churro in the 3rd quarter.
- i got to work out, eat home made chicken pot pie, and have a 2 hour long phone date with my friend alison last night.
- and i'm very excited about cooking this upcoming weekend: i bought some stew beef on clearance sale a while ago, and finally had a brainstorm last month that i can use it to make beef stroganoff. i did some investigating today and found a slow-cooker beef stroganoff recipe on cooking light that i'll be making for dinner on saturday. then sunday night we're hosting small group, and the host typically makes dinner for the group to eat together beforehand. i think the last time we hosted, i didn't feel like cooking, so we got papa murphy's pizza for the group. this time, though ... oh, this time i'm making a small fall feast. chicken legs, green bean salad amandine, homemade rosemary walnut bread, and the pioneer woman's sweet-roasted rosemary acorn squash wedges. trust me, i'll let you know how it all goes. and if you've never made chicken legs before, i highly recommend you give it a whirl - all you need is chicken legs and a canister of italian breadcrumbs which you can get generically for like $1.29 and lasts for forever. dump out a small pile of breadcrumbs on a plate, roll your thawed chicken legs (yes, skin and all) around in it one at a time until they're coated, put them on a sprayed baking sheet, bake at 425* for like 35-40 minutes, and voila. cheap, easy, seriously tasty stuff.
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