Saturday, December 31, 2011

Dinner for One

A good old tradition on New Years Eve is watching Dinner for One. Enjoy...


Wir wünschen Euch allen einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr, alles Gute und viel Erfolg für 2012!
Translation: We wish you all a good "slide" into the New Year, all the best and much success for 2012

Aloha Hui Hou!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Autumn Potato Gratin

This week I made a crown pork roast that Roger and I saw on TV a couple of weeks ago. The meat was seasoned with sage and rosemary. I immediately thought of a recipe for potatoes with sage, rosemary and thyme that I made a couple of years ago for Thanksgiving, after seeing a Rachel Ray special - we love them!


Here is the link to the recipe:


Try it.....You'll like it!........ No, you'll love it!

Aloha Hui Hou!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Butter'em up and slap'em on!

So, the tile started going up today. These pictures show the shower with the foot rest.



On Tuesday the carpenter got the wood to make our vanity and the built in that will be on the other wall, around where the medicine cabinet was originally.

Right now they are trying to match the stain of the vanity to the color of the floor tile. The top piece is wood, the bottom is the wood looking tile.



The built in on the other side will kinda look like this:


The idea came from this photo I found.


It will have storage on the top and room for the magazines that magically seem to pile up in the bathroom. This might be done by Friday. Did I tell you that I'm excited?  :o)

Aloha Hui Hou!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Extra! Extra!

Read all about it! The latest news is that we have a few more changes.

So, today I lost the cubbies over the sink. Because of the plumbing there would have only been room for one. I felt like it would be lopsided, so we dropped them.

I had planned on putting my electric toothbrush in the cubby because I didn't want it standing on the counter. Plan two is putting an electric socket in one of the bottom drawers. The drawer will be deep enough to hold the toothbrush standing up. Something like this:

found on the Unplggd website
The vanity will be made of wood and stained to match floors The inside of the drawers will be lighter wood. In my drawing I have the door in the middle going all the way up. I didn't think of the sink, so there will be a dummy right above the door.

The top set of drawers will be as tall as the dummy. The 2nd drawer will be a bit deeper and the bottom drawer will be the deepest.



We will also have the wall behind the vanity done it tile instead of bead board. Is a nicer finish. I don't know how they will do the transition of the black tile - I guess we'll be surprised :o)

Oh! and I ordered the vanity lights: Just received the notice that they have been shipped.


The contrators said that they will start putting down tile tomorrow...doing the happy dance right now!

Aloha Hui Hou!




Tuesday, December 27, 2011

How I spent the day yesterday...

I'll let the pictures speak... 

















Oh, and for those that are new to my photography - These photos are mine and are all copyrighted. They are not for unauthorized  personal or commercial use.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Take your wife to work day

Last year I went with Roger to work on the day after Christmas and was able to see my first Monk Seal. So special! This year I'll be going to work with him again and see what wonderful things I can see today! If I get anything good, I'll post the pics tomorrow.





Aloha Hui Hou!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Shameless Plug

Those that know me, know that I am an artsy person. Had a craft store, traveled the world to trade shows and seminars to teach the latest craft techniques to retailers and consumers....the travel and teaching was sooo much fun and I do miss that. I also miss the endless supply of art and craft supplies I had at the store - if I came up with something new - I would just make it.

ANYway...I don't have that creative outlet here so I have set up an Etsy shop called "With a little Aloha". Etsy is a site where you can post and sell items you make yourself or vintage items. Right now I am selling totes, clothes pin hangers and Teddy Bears that I have sewn with Aloha fabric and Rubber stamps that I have drawn with underwater critters you would see in Hawaii. I also can personalize the stamps or draw custom designs.





I am also selling photos an some of my drawings on T-shirts and such on Cafe' Press

Do you have an Etsy shop? Questions or suggestions? Feel free to ask or share your link here

Aloha Hui Hou!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

How will my garden grow? I don't know!

Right now we are reading a book called "All new Square Foot Gardening"

I purchased this book here

and we're liking the idea of growing more in less space and planting in a way that everything doesn't come up at the same time (stuff that you can't really freeze or can like lettuce and radishes). Think of it, if you plant a whole row of salad...they will all be ready to harvest at around the same time. Why not plant in intervals so you can have them be ready for harvest week after week, not all at once. This way you won't be wasting your time or resources. Mel also talks about just putting in raised beds with a good mixture of top soil and compost. Guarantees good soil right away. What a concept, right?

So now that we kinda know how we want to plant, the next question would be where? Between the house and the driveway, on the West side. so it gets good sun all day? There is a water spout right there and it would be close. But would the fumes from the driveway be damaging?


OR should we put it in the back? There are two concrete pads on the other side of the ditch (which is no longer there) and we're thinking, somewhere down the line, that we could build a green house on the pad closest to the house.There is a water spout there too and there might even be electricity there from the building that burned down last February (2011) But would the trees give too much shade to that area?

The next question would be: Is that a better space to plant some fruit trees? There are a couple of apricot trees on the property, but I would like to have a couple of apple, cherry, pear and plum trees too.

Where should we plant the raspberry bushes?
Where should we put the Chickens?
Am I getting ahead of myself?

Aloha Hui Hou!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Bathroom update!

Our contractor just sent us some pictures of the bathroom - they have the shower ready for tile!






So exciting!

Aloha Hui Hou!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Our new home town

Thought I'd share some information about our new home town.

We are actually located on the outer edge of Caldwell - about a 10 -15 minute drive to town. On our last visit, our home was surrounded by fields of alfalfa on the one side,


and tumble weed and grass on the other.




More distant neighbors were growing sugar beets (There is a sugar mill in Nampa)


and some were getting ready to make hay bales.



Way out here the "blocks" are a mile by a mile. Makes it easy to say how far away things are. It is very quite out there. Roger says you could stand in the middle of the road all day and not get hit...lol


Aerial photo from Google Earth

Here are some statistics:
Ancestries:  German (15.1%), English (10.6%), Irish (8.2%), United States (6.5%) Scottish (2.4%), Dutch (2.4%). This seems to be missing something as I know there is a large Mexican population in the area too.
Elevation: 2385 feet
Land area: 11.3 Square miles
Population Density: 3816 people per square mile (average - way less where we are)
Weather:

According to what we have heard, this area is called the Idaho dessert. Not much rain, not much snow. Hot and dry in the Summer with some dirt/wind storms. Cold and a bit of snow, never more than a foot, in the winter.


this information came from http://www.city-data.com/city/Caldwell-Idaho.html


I found the following information on the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce website:

Rich in history, Caldwell began as nothing but sagebrush, volcanic soil, deer, jackrabbits, and a vision in the eyes of the farsighted.  Its inception and growth occurred largely because of the railroad, and in fact, the towns established by the railroad brought more people into the territory than the earlier gold rushes.

For a time, Caldwell was known as Hamburg, after Jake Ham established a blacksmith shop here.  An early railroad camp for construction employees of the Oregon Short Line Railroad nearby was dubbed Bugtown and the community shared this name as well. Caldwell burst into existence suddenly and grew rapidly with its eleven saloons and a private water pump – an oasis in the desert area of sage and ankle-deep alkali dust.
 Caldwell Depot 1907
In August of 1883 the original town site was platted parallel to the Oregon Short Line rail tracks (later to become part of Union Pacific). The property was owned by the Idaho and Oregon Land Improvement Company, which was interested in persuading settlers and businessmen to move here.   The group ignored compass and section lines and established the town site in honor of the company’s president, C.A. Caldwell, ex-senator from Kansas. Others prominent in the company’s operation included Robert E. Strahorn, vice-president and Howard Sebree, Caldwell’s first mayor.  By January 1884, there were more than 600 residents and 150 structures, 40 business operations, one school, a telephone exchange and two weekly newspapers (the Caldwell Tribune and Caldwell Record) in the community of Caldwell. Two months later there were several churches and social activities including an amateur theatrical group, a skating rink, and the Caldwell Silver Cornet Band. The first circus in 1884 drew from surrounding areas and had 7000 paid admissions.  The date of ordinance establishing Caldwell as a city is January 15, 1890. The College of Idaho, a Presbyterian college, was founded in Caldwell in 1891.

Saratoga Hotel on right and City Hall at center looking south from the DepotIn 1882, Caldwell endured a major fire with an estimated loss of $20,000 to business and property.  However, the expansion of the town continued.  Orchards were set out, and farmland fenced in.  In January 1884, Carrie Leech became the first schoolteacher, with 30 students attending her classes.

The Caldwell Fair Association was organized in the spring of 1897.  The fair was held for three days with 25 cents being the price of admission.  The Caldwell Board of Trade, the forerunner of the current Caldwell Chamber of Commerce, was established that same year for the purpose of influencing an increase in immigration by advertising the favorable manufacturing opportunities available and taking advantage of any other means of furthering the cause of the town.
 Van Buren School
The city was officially chartered by the order of the Ada County Commissioners on January 15, 1890, with its boundaries (six square miles) set around the railroad.  On March 7, 1891, Canyon County was created as a separate entity from Ada County, and Caldwell was named the county seat.

The College of Idaho, also established in 1891, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state.  It continues to be known as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the entire country.

During this time a complete water system from pure artesian wells was installed under municipal ownership.

Main Street 1910 - looking east from the Depot For several years during the early 1890's, the Boise Interurban provided electric streetcar service to valley towns including Caldwell.  One of the town's greatest periods of growth took place between 1905 and 1908 when the population grew to approximately 5,000 an increase of nearly 4,000 in three years!

In 1959, the first change in city government took place when the council authorized a full time salaried mayor.


Welcome to Caldwell! and Aloha Hui Hou!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Christmas Carols

Today on the Pioneer Woman blog, the big question was "What's your favorite Christmas Carol?"

I didn't have to think too long about it - it's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Growing up it was the Bing Crosby version that I loved. There's something about those low notes that sent shivers up my spine. Then last year, one of my favorite female singers - Annie Lennox - came out with an album of Christmas Carols. Here is her version of the song:



Enjoy!

Aloha Hui Hou!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Country Kitchen Sink

Even before we bought the house I was looking at sinks. Here in Hawaii I've only had single sinks and really miss the double sink I had in Germany. I also have grown very fond of the farm house sinks. 

After looking at about a gazillion photos I found this one


It's new and the skirt and the depth like a farmhouse sink but has vintage style. The only thing standing between me and a sink like this - is my wallet. This baby costs over $1600 (or $2400 - depending what sites you look at) and you can add another $150-300 for shipping! I would love it, but just can't justify the cost.

After we bought the house I looked some more and found a 1950's sink double sink with double drainboard - like this one on Craigslist:


Lots of room for Roger to splash around (he's the dishwasher of the house), the vintage look and the right price. A triple play! The seller was willing to hold it until we came in July and that's what we did. When we were there in July we took a closer look. It had a couple of chips, but other wise looked really good. so we took it home.

The sink has been sitting in our shop since July and today I got in touch with a guy named Tony that specializes in refinishing vintage sinks. As soon as he can hook up with the contractor, he'll be picking it up and making a new penny out of it.

Another step closer and a bit more excited!

Aloha Hui Hou!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Goldilocks and the 3 Garmin mounts

One of the first things we bought in preparation for our trip over to Idaho was a Garmin Nüvi. Sure, we could of done it the old fashioned way by using maps - but we like keeping up with technology....lol
Along with the Garmin Roger purchased a window suction mount. Just like this:
We had a few problems. First problem was that the clip that holds the Garmin cracked and wouldn't hold the Garmin Lady up, it's so top heavy it always pointed down so you couldn't see what was coming up. It also either kept falling off the mount or the whole thing would fall off the window.

About halfway thru our trip we decided to buy a new mount. We bought one at Radio Shack and isn't only for a Garmin, it is for a various kinds of electronics. This is kinda what it looks like this:



Well, it fell apart as soon as we unpacked it, luckily I was able to fix it. We also discovered that it is totally unpractical.  First it jams up the vent so that you can no longer adjust where the air goes. You can't really tell in this pic, but there is a little support on the bottom that is supposed to stabilize the unit - BUT if you drive over a bump or gavel road, the support slips and the whole thing flies around. Worst of all, the adjustable part that holds the Garmin does not allow room for the plug in back, so you have to hold the Garmin off center so you can charge it. Off center means top heavy and it flips around. Very poor design, flimsy from A-Z. Returned it Radio Shack as soon as we got home.

Would like to say Kudos to Radio Shack - No problem exchanging something from another state. Thank you Radio Shack!

At home we had a spare suction cup mount and pulled it out the other day to drive to the lot where they took Itsy after the accident.

I had just cleaned the inside windshield with that kind of stuff that prevents fogging and it took several tries before the suction mount would stick. In addition, the distance between the windshield and the lighter for the charger is kinda far so the charger cable was stretched and kept causing the thing to fall off the windshield...again :o( I suppose that the universal mount isn't so universal at all.

We needed something that would work no mater which car we were driving and wouldn't become an accident waiting to happen while driving. I checked out Amazon and found this one:

You can find this one on Amazon
It's nice and heavy and has a anti-slide bottom. I also liked the $15 price tag.

Roger tested it today - PERFECT. The charger doesn't have to stretch so far and it stayed put. If you're looking for a better option - we can highly recommend this one!

Happy Traveling and Aloha Hui Hou!