Our New Old House

Don’t adjust your set, you’re still at Our New Old House written by Kelli and Brandon about our bungalow in Des Moines (with occassional appearances by Zoot and Scratch, our cats!)  I just got tired of the fixed width of my previous layout showing up all scrunched to the left of a widescreen monitor.  This theme will expand to fit your monitor.  Over the next few weeks I’ll be customizing some of the CSS to make it a little more homey.  Like most of my recent projects, I’m a total newb at CSS so if you notice any glaring and embarrassing mistakes, please drop me a line. 

Other than that, look for the same sardonic wit, quixotic optimism, and random drivel you’ve come to expect from the doorstep of 1622 York St. 

Well, really Washington came to us. Being in Des Moines, these past two months leading up to the caucus have been exciting. I was stranded in Detroit on New Years Day and got to spend some time talking to journalists from all over the world who were on their way to cover the caucus. Since I was an Iowa caucus goer, I seemed to be rather interesting to them.

The caucus itself was mind-blowing. Nobody expected the huge number of people who showed up, but everybody was super calm and polite. Here I am in line to check in:

And here’s one side of the room voting on something:

It was fun negotiating and cajoling people to come join our group. Counting the number of votes for each candidate was tense, but I was super happy with the results. It was also a great opportunity to meet some people from my neighborhood. A few people in my precinct had been at the first Des Moines Rehabbers Club meeting that we hosted at our house back in November, so it was nice to catch up with them. They all asked how my house was coming along. I was thrilled to meet the lady who lives in a house across the street from mine. My grandparents lived in that house for 15 years or so before they bought a bigger house across the street and that’s where my mom and all her brothers and sisters grew up. The lady who lives there now is excited to show it to me and wants to know about my house too, so it’ll be nice to have another friendly neighbor on this street.

Today, this gross and smelly kitchen becomes Kitchen Stadium! But on this version of Iron Chef, we do not have a theme ingredient. We have a theme power tool! Witness the stunning culinary prowess as our Iron Chefs create a traditional American comfort food using only a Pro-Line Heat Gun!!! (It’s Iron Chef meets Red Green! Did I watch too much TV as a child? Yes. Yes I did.)

Alle cuisine!

[Announcer's voice from the stands:] The most important thing to remember about making a toasted cheese sandwich is that the butter goes on the OUTSIDE! Let’s see if she remembers this crucial technique.

Beautifully done! You down there on the stadium floor! Ask her what she’s going to put inside the sandwiches! [Voiced over by a translator:] “I’m using a delicate blend of co-jack cheese, sliced extra thin at the local deli counter, and pre-packaged store-brand mozzarella cheese.” Back to you!

It seems she has handed off the bag of cheese to an assistant to cut open, lending credence to the rumor that Kelli-san is not allowed to play with sharp objects in the kitchen. [Kelli-san again voiced over by a translator:] “Tee-hee! I’m hopelessly inept at opening resealable bags without tearing the plastic zipper off. Somebody please invent a power tool for THAT!”

We can see here that she has expertly piled the mozzarella on TOP of the co-jack.

And now she carefully begins heating the cheese using the low setting on the heat gun. 750 degrees should be plenty hot, don’t you think?

With the sandwiches put together now, she starts browning the outside, melting the butter and crisping the crust SIMULTANEOUSLY. I tell you, you don’t see these kinds of old-world skills anymore.

The crowd is now hushed in anticipation of the final unveiling of this culinary masterpiece! The first test: the pull-apart string of melty cheese…

Bravo! Just like in the Kraft Singles commercials! Now, the most important test of all… Judges, what do you think?

It’s unanimous! Kelli-san is the new Iron Chef! Her power tool cuisine reigns supreme!

[Voiced over by a translator:] “Tee hee! I’m burning my tongue! Take the picture!”

Or perhaps a large angry relative of the mantis come to avenge her death? Nope, it’s just Kelli in her new respirator!

Last night I wanted to see if I’d left the owner’s manual inside the fireplace, so I opened up the glass door and saw THIS!!!

This praying mantis had made itself nice and cozy inside our fireplace! It’s that time of year when mantids (the correct plural form of mantis – I looked it up!) are laying their eggs then finding warm places to hang out until they, well, die. This one has been eating all the other little bugs that have made their way down our chimney. Fortunately, our fireplace is sealed with an airtight door. Unfortunately, it looks like our mantis friend is doomed. We can’t keep it alive in the house all winter (they typically don’t live longer than a few months in the fall anyway) and if we leave it in the chimney it will die when we light the first fire. It seemed to be on its last legs anyway, so hopefully nature will take its course and we’ll find it has perished before we have to dispose of it alive.

Nice to know we have these beneficial insects in our yard anyway!