Bathroom rennovations

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After just a few weeks of being without a major rennovation project ‘in-process’ we have embarked upon a major rennovation of our upstairs bathroom. Last weekend, between back-to-back work trips to Los Angeles and Puerto Rico, we disassembled the vanity, sink, toilet, and ripped up the existing vinyl floor. This week the re-building process started with the installation of a new marble tile floor. So far so good, despite the help of several cranky cats. The next step is to re-wire the lights and start to make a new vanity…..wish us luck!

Sacred Shakers and Eilen Jewell

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On Friday night we headed west to Middleton, CT for dinner at ION (It’s Only Natural) and then on to Weslyan University to see the Sacred Shakers and Eilen Jewell. We got hooked on the Sacred Shakers last year when their CD arrived in our Christmas stockings. According to the bio on their website “For The Sacred Shakers, there’s nothing finer than old-time, country and blues-influenced gospel music. Think Hank Williams, The Carter Family, The Stanley Brothers, Son House, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Beginning in 2005, that music drew a small but ever-widening circle of some of Boston’s finest musicians and vocalists together at the Country Gospel Brunch concert series. In short order, The Boston Globe described the group as “a local Who’s Who of all-star roots musicians.” “

We couldn’t miss the chance to see them live, and we were NOT disappointed! Seeing them live was a real treat. Listen to them perform “I’m Gonna Do My Best“.

Eilen Jewell who sings with the Shakers played the second set with the Eilen Jewell Band. The contrast of the American roots music (Eilen Jewell) to the Gospel music (Sacred Shakers) was interesting. Also, it was fun to recognize Jerry Miller (guitar) and Johnny Sciascia (bass) who we have seen play music with Mark Erelli. The roots music scene in New England these days draws a lot of local talent and we are pleased to be able to see such great music so close to home. We couldn’t leave without buying the Eilen Jewell CD “Sea of Tears”, check out a live performance of the title track “Sea of Tears“

RWP Jack-o-Specatular

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On Friday night we went to the Roger Williams Zoo in Cranston, RI to see the Jack-O-Spectacular, which features 5,000 lighted jack-o-lanterns along a trail that winds through the zoo. We were accompanied by Joann, Eric, Gene and Kathy and enjoyed a warm October evening along with hoards of other New Englanders. It was very well done, with entertainment to keep us distracted during our wait in line (this is in addition to Gene or course) and themed jack-o-lantern groupings with music. We highly recommend it. Best time to go is mid-week or ~9:00pm (Friday Oct 30 was pretty busy, duh!). Despite the crowds it was a fun evening and we’d do it again!

The Feature Display
(note: the background lights are small jack-o-lanterns in the trees, very cool)

Totem-kin

“Where the Wild Things Are”

A Funny Thing Happened….

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On Saturday we were invited to join Gene and Kathy for a visit to East Haddam, CT to see “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at the Goodspeed Opera House. We had never seen the musical, but heard glowing recommendations about the hilarity of the show, and evening with Gene and Kathy is always great fun.

We had a really nice dinner in Ivoryton at the Copper Beech Inn beforehand, and then made our way to the theater. The theater is beautiful, and the setting on the Connecticut River is breathtaking. The show was everything we expected, and more, plenty of talent, good humor making for a very fun evening. In spite of the “chucking rain”, a phrase used by our friend Andrew to describe alpine weather that leads either to an epic or a fester, we enjoyed a great evening out. It turns out swanky dinners and posh theaters are okay in the rain.

Cardoon Festival

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Saturday was the first annual (?) Cardoon Festival at Hangman Hill. We planted cardoons (Cynara cardunculus), a member of the thistle family, for their “succulent leaf stems” that taste very similar to artichokes. “If you love artichokes, you will love cardoons “, so they say. That was all we needed to plant cardoon seeds in early summer.

By September the cardoons were nearly 4′ high, and with cool autumn temperatures in the air, Bruno and Nick (Bruno’s father) began the harvest process by wrapping the plants in burlap to blanch the stems. The blanching process takes place while the plant is still in the ground, and protects the stems from light. This is necessary for removing any bitterness and to reveal the sweet flavors that make this vegetable a gormet gardener’s favorite.
Cardoon’s at last!

It was this “big” (until it got away?)

So, in early October when Jerry(Sheri’s father) came for a visit, it seemed like the obvious time to harvest and sample the cardoons. So with spade in hand we dug the cardoons, and Bruno carefully stewed and sauted them. Our good friends Jen and Mark were game for trying the cardoons, so they came for a dinner that started with cardoons and steamed artichokes (for comparision), followed by Chicken Mirabella (this is another blog entry!). Don’t let those smiling faces below fool you, the cardoons were terrible! Bruno’s reaction says it best. The cardoons were possibly the worst tasting vegetable any of us had ever had. Perhaps we need to hone our garden blanching skills, or move on to another unique vegetable for next year.

Dishwasher: Chapter 3

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We are getting back into the swing of work and home after a nice vacation that included some time in the Adirondacks and Cape Cod. We were pleased to find garden full of produce when we returned so we hare busy processing tomatoes, freezing green beans and cheering on the cardoons which are blanching in the garden. The cardoons should be ready for harvest next weekend, stay tuned for an update.

This weekend started out with sunny, but increasingly cooler temperatures. We spent much of Saturday in the yard and garden chopping down trees, spreading mulch, planting irises and harvesting raspberries (they are still going!). After a pancake breakfast on Sunday, we embarked on the latest development with the dishwasher repair, replace and install saga.

During our week of vacation, while Bruno’s parents were visiting, the door of the new dishwasher developed the ablility to open far enough to allow the rack of plates roll off the door and onto the floor. While Kokee thinks this is great fun, especially when the plates are in the “to be washed” stage, the rest of us are not so amused.
Armed with tools, mirrors, and a sense of humor, we pulled out the dishwasher and re-engineered a new a stop mechanism to replace the original “doomed for failure” design. We really know how to have a good time!