What can you do with a destroyed duvet, am old shower curtain and a linen couch cover?

So while I'm on a roll with the non-food related posts, I'd like to show you the project I started (and finished!) today after work.  It's my recycled doggy bed. 

You see, it all started with a problem:  2 dogs....1 doggy bed.  Something just doesn't add up there. And what's worse (as you may remember from an earlier post) these particular dogs do not share well.  And they will search out a comfy spot at the expense of my couches, beds and any shoe they can find on which to take out their aggression.  But where a problem arises, a solution can often be found. 

One recent victim of their quest for cozy, was the duvet I received in middle school and have held on to through every transition of my life.  I woke up one morning to find my beloved duvet shedding feathers from several tears that been created from an unnamed destroyer (Vegas!!). No longer good for human comfort, the duvet still held a lot of its volume and mass and had to be re purposed somehow...well ta da!


The sturdy linen (also a recent victim of the savage beast) used to function as a cover for the couch we will soon retire to make room for our new as-of-yet-un-doggy-adulturated furniture.  The polka dots are an old shower curtain I was gifted when my former roommates moved out of Savannah (thanks, Cindy!).  And the zipper was part of the supply left to me when another former roommate pared down her craft cabinets.  All-in-all, this evening project didn't cost me anymore than a few hours of labor. 

And it has already received the seal of approval!
 

Cemetery Chairs Resurrected

No cooking adventures in this post, but I couldn't wait to show you my new project.  This particular "craft" is outside of my normal creative quests and I was pleased with how well it turned out.  I figure with some practice and maybe some instruction or even a DIY manual I might someday be able to join the world of furniture restoration. 

I was conducting my daily walk through at Colonial Cemetery last Tuesday morning, kind of bumming because it was the first day back to work after the holiday weekend and ahead of me just off the main path I saw something unusual sitting in the grass.  My contacts were far from new and my vision was a little blurry, so trying to figure out what this mass ahead of me was turned out to be quite a task.  I knew it wasn't living, so I assumed it was safe to approach and it looked kind of like a tree bent over in the middle, but I was pretty certain I would have noticed a tree in the path before now (I do walk the same path every weekday). 

It turned out to be two wooden chairs.  Pretty nice, solid wooden chairs if I do say so myself.  I haven't the faintest idea why these chairs were left in the cemetery, or how they got there to begin with.  I have a sneaky suspicion someone was attempting a seance of sorts.  There was some candle wax on the top of the chair legs. 

I circled them a few times...and walked away twice, but decided they needed to go home with me.  If nothing else, I figure it is my duty to clean up debris left in the cemetery, right? 

They turned out to be quite a score.  I tore of the tattered weave, sanded them down, polished them with some linseed oil and created cushion seats with some brocade I picked up on sale at JoAnn's.  Altogether, I spent about $15 for the fabric and cushions for the two chairs...and had way too much time experimenting with the world of furniture rehab. 

I'm afraid this project may have opened a whole new obsession with dumpster diving and lane hopping... :)

Before is on the right and after on the left

Long Overdue...

I was reminded by more than one person that I am slacking on the blog front.  My sincerest apologies.  I guess the new year distracted me from my duties....but no excuse!  I resolve to be better this year...how does that sound?  Too late for New Year's resolutions?

I have been playing in the kitchen, though and I do have a few things to report.  But even more exciting, thanks to Jason's influence (and admittedly his labor hours) I have stepped beyond the four walls of the kitchen and outside to the grill...though I don't think I can take credit for those creations when I'm not the one actually slaving over the flames.  Take Monday night's dinner, for example.  I can't really claim a meal when all I contributed were a few chopped veggies and pureed beans.  But with our powers combined, we prepared an MLK day feast that rivaled all the other BBQs burning in downtown Savannah that holiday evening. 

It all began with a spur of the moment trip to Kroger.  I don't think we intended to get more than a few toppings for the leftover pizza dough in the refrigerator, but evidently we struck gold when Jason discovered lamb on sale...apparently it was a steal!  (I'm not really sure why I say "we," but I certainly benefited from the excuse to get the grill fired up).  Suddenly our meager leftover pizza plans turned into a feast of roast potatoes and garlic, stuffed eggplant and wood-fired pizza...and lamb something-or-other.  

Vegas is guarding the grill...in case anything should happen to fall off...

This was the first time we used the grill-specific pizza pan and the results were very pleasing.  The crust was wonderfully crispy on the bottom and a little doughy on top.  Personally, I liked the contrast between the two layers.  We used Bob's Red Mill gluten free pizza mix again, but this time we added some grains leftover from Jason's latest brewing process.  The grains were dehydrated in the oven and then ground in the coffee grinder.  The result was a really tasty wholegrain effect.  Surprisingly, an effect that is hard to come by in the gluten-free world.  

Dehydrated Beer Grains



In other news, quite literally, I made the front cover of the Savannah Morning News today.  And because I simply haven't suffered enough harassment from coworkers and acquaintances alike, I'm going to post the link here to our 30 second news byte.  Notice how you never see my head lift up to the camera.  That's because I was under the impression that if "you can't see them, they can't see you."  Obviously, a huge misnomer. 

And one more thing!  I was forced to retire a beloved old friend on New Year's Eve and buy my very first brand new sewing machine.  It was the best arm-twisting purchase ever!  I may have had a few moments of buyer's remorse following the unmistakable impulse buy, but I haven't regretted it for one second.  The difference between my old machine and the new one is night and day.  I'm finishing projects 10 times faster now that I don't have to stop and fight with my machine every 2 minutes. 

Isn't she pretty!? 

I made this little bag for my friend Sarah who is getting married in May.  It's an emergency bridal kit to hold all your last minute snafu resolutions.  I'll be taking orders, so get yours in soon! O;) 





Christmas Carnage

Happy Birthday Mom!



Christmas on Haven Drive



I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas celebrations yesterday.  We had a quiet, rainy holiday here in Savannah.  And I guess it was gearing up to be a little too quiet, because we must have decided it was necessary to create our own excitement for the day, but I will get to that in a little bit.

We attempted to stay up on Christmas Eve to attend midnight mass at St. John's, but neither one of us is a night owl.  Generally speaking, by 9 o'clock we're dead to the world.  For us to be out downtown past 11 is an accomplishment in and of itself.  (And yes, I do realize we are already turning into that "little old married couple.")  But when we drove by the cathedral at 11:15 and saw the crowds elbowing to make room past the front doors we realized our already dragging bodies were going to be no match for those families in matching crushed velvet suits.  

After burning the midnight oil, we naturally slept in Christmas morning.  It still feels blasphemous to do so.  I miss sneaking down the stairs at 4am to tip-toe around the kitchen to "surprise" everyone with breakfast...just like I "surprised" them the year before...and the year before that.  Maybe if I spend enough Christmases apart from my family they might actually be surprised again one of these years. 

Breakfast is still my favorite meal on Christmas day.  I made gluten-free vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls this year.  I am in love with King Arthur gluten-free flour!  My dad was the one to turn me on to this product, and it is phenomenal!  It actually rises and gets fluffy like regular gluten-filled flours.  But it is a rare treat (for occasions such as Christmas morning only) because of its cost.  But it's definitely worth it.  Does flour ever go on sale?? 

And for the non-vegan in the family, I made a gingerbread omelet.  There's no gingerbread in it, but if you have some imagination you can make out the house shape with the door and windows.  :) I would say it looked better in person, but no...it really didn't.  

Can you see the house??

So everything was hunky-dory until it came time to open the presents...and that's when the excitement pursued.  (I know my mom has been waiting for this moment in the post...and I have a sneaky suspicion she has already scrolled down to the bottom to see the carnage ;)).  Just like kids, the dogs are always the first to receive their gifts.  If nothing else it serves as a distraction so we can get some space while we have our own celebration.  So each of the dogs received a "peppermint" pork skin bone as their holiday treat.  But you see, our dogs never really learned to share.  And Reilly is the worst.  She doesn't care what she has if she knows you have something that she can steal.  So as soon as Vegas had his bone she was in his face trying to take it.  Teeth-bared, snarling and going at each other it was a puppy free-for-all.  We separated them, but in my attempt to apologize for Reilly by giving Vegas some loving, he mistook my rump scratching as an attempt to steal his bone.  ...I won't do that again...   

Christmas memories...maybe for many years to come...

 Kinda gangsta, though, no?  ;) 

Merry Christmas everyone!!!! 

A Winter Solstice Surprise...

O:)



I said yes...



Jingle Bells and Welding Rods

We may not be winning any prizes in the neighborhood spirit competition, but our humble light display is just enough to make the house look warm and inviting and to provide the power company with a few extra dollars for their holiday bonus.  Besides, I've always appreciated the understated.  It's amazing what you can do with just a couple strands of holiday lights.  Instant Christmas cheer!  The photos don't do it justice, but I'm including their blurry awesomeness anyway.   



31 Haven Drive at Christmas

Inside the house, the simplicity continues.  A few ribbons here and some gold pine cones there and voila!  It's a subtle winter wonderland.  We haven't ruled out the idea of getting a tree just yet, but have you seen the price tags on some of those parking lot evergreens!?  That tree cost could easily translate into several bottles of a different sort of holiday cheer. 

Speaking of holiday cheer...we joined the Savannah Striders Thursday night for a "jingle jog" through the streets of downtown.  We were a group of 30 plus runners decked out in jingle bells and elf costumes participating in a spontaneous night jog.  The run was great, but the true fun was observing the reactions from the unsuspecting crowds.  Are noisy "flash" run stirred lots of smiles and "merry Christmas"s and even more "what the f#@k!"s. " We ended the run with dinner at the Crystal Beer Parlour and a round of Christmas spirits!

   The holiday runs aren't over just yet! Today we ran the 2nd annual Reindeer Run on Hutchinson Island (that's the island that you see across the river on River Street).   I didn't have any luck finding a Mrs. Claus outfit to put over my running clothes, but I did find some fun sparkly black tights, so at least it looked like I tried.  And the couple of jingle bells I tied to my shoe nearly drove me insane by the end of the 5 miles.  The bells are really cute when you're in a group whose sound mimics Santa's sleigh, but that single jingle on every other foot fall was enough to send even the most focused elf to the edge of the North Pole and over. 

So in lieu of a holiday baking entry (though have no fear I'm cooking something up right now for the next post!) I figured I would indulge in some show and tell from work.  I know my job still remains a bit of a mystery to some of you (and why shouldn't it?...I'm still trying to figure out what it is exactly that I do).  So maybe a picture or two in this blog will help bring some clarity...to you and me both.  

I've been welding up some wheel wells for our gantry crane (the big iron crane we use to move the massive headstones we can't pick up ourselves).  It's not the prettiest work you've ever seen, but I'm kind of proud of the small improvements I've made.  I wish I had a photo of the first fences I welded up...NOT so pretty.  You'll just have to picture spattering of melted steel and compare it with the relatively straight line you'll see below.  It's like night and day!  I don't know if anyone will appreciate the photo below, but Mom, if you're reading this, call Dad in to see my picture.  O:) 

I'm on my way out the door!  It's time to make a run to the grocery store for baking supplies!

It's Cookie Time!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

I made my first few batches of Christmas cookies this past weekend.  Melissa and I are hosting a cookie exchange this Saturday, so I had to get a jump start on my recipes to make sure they're omnivore friendly.  I'll be the first to admit that vegan baking can often be lacking, especially in the dessert category.  The results are either too soft (as in eat your cookie with a spoon) or too crumbly (more like the topping on a fruit crisp).  And the biggest drawback is the curb appeal.  Vegan baking is rarely pretty.  Have you googled "vegan Chrismtas cookies" lately?  Even the "models" aren't that attractive.  I can't take ugly cookies to a cookie exchange!  I guess I'll just have to make up for it with some pretty packaging or a shiny bow to distract the eye.

I tried three different recipes.  The first is a traditional chunky monkey style cookie.  I didn't have brown sugar, so I substituted molasses and white sugar which resulted in a dark dough that looked more burnt than beautiful.  The problem with these cookies is that they just weren't anything special.  They looked like a cookie...like one of those circles with the black dots that a kindergartener would draw.  And the taste wasn't particularly unique.  It was a basic flour, sugar, flaw-seed "egg" recipe.  This cookie has been denied!  It will not be making a debut at the cookie exchange. 

The second recipe I attempted was a little more fun.  They're called pina colada cookies, taking their name from the coconut and pineapple ingredients.  I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but these have a sweet, sticky goodness that is not like the typical bird's nest cookie.  Again, they're not particularly attractive, but they at least look somewhat out of the ordinary.  They will definitely stand out on a plate with chocolate chip cookies.  Next time, though, I'll add a marschino cherry to each for a punch of color. 

Pina colada oatmeal cookies



The third recipe looked very pretty online...but mine were not as successful.  They're supposed to turn out to be little sugar-coated balls of lime green...mine are more of a flat, pancake-looking section of sod.  I plan to frost them to disguise their fugliness.  The green comes from spinach.  I thought that was a pretty cool idea, but they taste too healthy.  You can't taste the spinach, there's just not enough sweetness.  It's almost a spinach bread.  Again, I think the frosting will help with that. 



Mine look nothing like this...



I also made banana bread on Sunday while I was doing all of this baking.  Our refridgerator is on the fritz...ie.  it doesn't work.  So I felt it was essential, my domestic duty, to bake up everything in there.  Did you know soy eggnog turns into a gelatinous yogurty substance when not kept cold?  I wonder if I should just eat it with a spoon...

I think all the baking was also a result of the previous day's race festivities.  There's something about the day after a race that makes me want to eat everything in sight.  It was a great event, though.  Jason and I ran over the Talmadge Bridge (that big one between Georgia and South Carolina) not once, not twice but three times at this year's Bridge Run.  We were joined by almost 6000 people, including Santa, a flamingo, a whole team of Forrest Gumps and a number of other people competing for the $400 costume prize.  This is Savannah's most popular run (at least it was pre-marathon days).  And as a city with no hills, it is also the toughest run of the year and arguably the coldest of the year, hence the mittens.  We ran both the 5 and 10k this year just to get an extra dose of the bridge while it was runner friendly. 

I've agreed to dress up for the Reindeer Run on the 17th...so I'll keep you posted on what I come up with.  Any suggestions?  It has to be holiday themed.  I'm leaning towards Mrs. Claus...

Sorry about the lack of photos...I thought I brought my camera cord with me today, but I guess I didn't...