Queen B

Posts Tagged ‘housework’

Kombucha

In Healthy shmealthy, Nothing to it but to do it on January 21, 2012 at 1:07 pm

Well, there hasn’t been much posting lately, mostly because we’re up to our eyeballs.

It’s high time we started again on the basement, and I wasn’t exactly taking no for an answer. To date, DH has built a new laundry room wall. He decided that it was wasted space having an extra wide walkway/hall. He was so right. It only adds a foot or less, but it will make a huge difference in the laundry room setup. The industrial laundry bin will turn sideways and the ironing board will gain its own space. Laundry is so exciting, I’m not going to waste your time by mapping it out any further.  Also, the laundry room is still ugly with a capital U.G.L.Y., so no pictures.

The biggest part is the door. We opted for a 36 inch white six-panel door to the laundry that will open out into the hall rather than into the room as it was previously set up. No more hitting hubby in the back with the door as he irons in the morning. No need to turn the laundry basket sideways to squeeze through the doorway!! That’s going to be the best. Even better than that?  This will mean the removal of the last black door in the basement.  White doors will reign supreme in the basement!  Woot!!

**For the record, there are still two black stained doors in the house – the door leading to the basement and the door leading to the garage.  All other interior doors upstairs are dark brown… for now.**

We also purchased cabinets from our local ReStore that we will be painting and repurposing as the base for our office space. The idea is to have a counter that wraps the entire room using cabinets above and below for storage and support and supplementing with open shelving as well. Between the major purging we’re doing to gear up for this portion of the remodel, and the increased amount of organized storage this should create, I’m hoping everything will finally have a place when we’re done.

Aside from all of that, I’ve also got my own personal side project going on.  I’m attempting to brew some of my own Kombucha for the first time!  If you follow me on Facebook you already know that of which I speak, because of the gross-to-you photos I post regularly showing the progress.  I don’t know why, but some people don’t have the same level of enthusiasm for slimy scoby as I do.  You know I love a good science project.

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If you really study the above photo you can see that in addition to the fact that what was once just a clear jelly fish looking blob has started to become a solid white colored mass (which is good, I swear), there are small clear (for now) blobs beginning to form on other parts of the surface of the tea.  Right now is one of those moments where I wish I could work photoshop well enough to very quickly and easily add arrows to the photo to point out the beginnings of scoby in that photo.  But I know it would be neither quick, nor easy, so you’ll just have to really look and figure it out.  There are white spots on the glass from dried drips (which I would totally scrub off, but this needs to be left undisturbed and not jostled, so it’s a no-go.  ie. deal with the damned drip marks in the photo), and then there are white-ish tan-ish looking blobs in the liquid.  THOSE are the new growths.  You should be able to find three in the photo.  And YES… it IS exciting stuff to me.  Just tea and sugar and some yeast create sunshine in a bottle?  Why not?!  And yes, I know I’m a complete dork.  Some people have normal hobbies.  I grow various types of edible yeast every winter.  Sue me.

Finally, I just wanted to let you know that I do use other types of the internets for those interested (as well as YOU, stupid loser stalker who thinks I don’t know you’re watching… news flash, I KNOW and I don’t give a shit what secrets you think you’ve unearthed by reading my blog because it’s PUBLIC, dummy).  Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.  Yep, I’m there.  Find and/or follow me at thetinytyrant.  That is all.

Love you (non-stupid loser stalkers)!

The odd couple

In Serious Fun on October 26, 2010 at 7:41 am

My husband is 100% hooked on the television.  It has been his friend since childhood.  He says it’s the brother he never had.  He has a brother.  That’s a whole different story.  He knows it, he can quote nearly anything that’s been on it since 1970, he loves it.

Me, not so much.

I’m not saying that I hate television.  Quite the opposite, really.  I like it.  I just don’t LOOOOVVVVVVE it like my husband.  I’ll watch certain shows regularly, a couple of shows if I’m really bored and happen to be flipping channels, some for information purposes (HGTV).  However, when my husband isn’t home, it doesn’t usually occur to me that the television would need to be on.  My kids will even ask for permission before they turn it on to watch.  Is that odd?

Recently, when I came home from the grocery store, my kids had the Beastie Boys jamming on the Blue Ray player through the television and speakers in the family room.  Exactly as I would prefer, and when I walked in it brought a smile to my face.  It was surprising, though.  It’s not often I get to walk in to music.

My husband was slaving (because of course I am a TYRANT) in the basement.  We’re trying to finish it, you see.  Sometime before my demise would be nice, thanks.  I went down to tell him I was home and commented that the kids were completely rocking out, and he said happily “It reminds me of when we were dating.  Whenever I would come up you would have the Beastie Boys playing really loud at your townhouse.”

I also had a beer in my hand, but that was neither here nor there.

Which brings me to the point that I get completely irritated by the amount of television watched in this house.  Increased tele = decreased accomplished.  THIS is why I am regarded as a TYRANT.  Why, o’ why would you want to do something that decreases your motivation and simultaneously irritates your mate?  I can’t answer that.  When something as simple as turning on the stereo takes you back to “the good ol’ days” when things were simpler, and easier, possibly happier, would you do it?  It was a time that was certainly less stressful, at the very least.

Music in the house makes everyone happy, everyone productive, everyone pleasant.  Especially me.  I’m not always a tyrant.  I even danced in my family room for a bit.

I don’t remember ever dancing to the television.  Sitting, yes.  Sleeping?  Definitely.  Find me the upside to that.

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