Tuesday, August 18, 2009

BASEMENT BLUES ~ CONSTRUCTION BEGINS


First trench dug to the main drain. It looks like a grave!



Second trench along the wall. My basement is a disaster zone.

Yesterday was the first day of the construction repairs to our basement.
They took out the drywall in the ceiling and dug up the main drain. I took a personal day from work because I was a little nervous about what was going to be going on here and how the noise would effect the family pets. The noise wasn't as bad as I expected, and I feel a little more comfortable about what's going on, though it's still going to be a long three weeks.

Monday, August 17, 2009

SLOW COOKER SUNDAY


I love my slow cooker but my favorite day to use it is on Sunday. I get up in the morning, put the ingredients in and then have the rest of the day to do housework or run errands while supper is cooking.

Last night I made a Beef Stroganoff. I served it over hot buttered egg noodles with a side green salad. Lots of leftovers too!

INGREDIANTS:

* 1 1/2 pounds cubed stewing beef
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
* 1 package of sliced fresh mushrooms
* 1 tablespoon dried chives
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 cube beef bouillon
* 1/2 cup red wine
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream or 1 8oz package of cream cheese and 8oz of sour cream
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley


DIRECTIONS

1. Place the beef in the bottom of a slow cooker, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place onion on top of beef, and then add mushroom soup, mushrooms, and water. Season with chives, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and bouillon.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the wine with the flour. Pour over the beef.
3. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours. Stir in the sour cream and parsley, and continue cooking for 1 hour.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

BASEMENT BLUES


About four weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon when we were suppose to be having a backyard bbq with friends, Rob and I spent most of the day in the basement with a shop-vac he had to run out and buy. That was just the beginning of our "basement blues".

One rain storm and flood lead to more, and a bigger shop-vac lent to us by his Dad. After having a few different contractors come to inspect, we hired a company to find out what the problem is and fix it. That work begins this coming weekend.

The past few weeks haven't been a lot of fun. We've had a couple really bad storms, which meant really bad flooding again in the basement, I think we've been through it six times now, twice this past Sunday.

We had to clean out the basement completely before the work started, so we decided to get rid of most of what was down there. Gave a few things away on line, a trip to Goodwill and the rest is getting thrown out. We had talked about fixing up the basement a few years down the road, as there were other things we wanted to do around the house first, but with the flooding, the basement got put to the front of the line.

This past weekend Rob and his Dad tore down the wood paneling and the insulation behind it to get to the bare walls, and also the carpet and sub-floor. The basement looks like a dark hole now.

It's a fair size room and one day it will make a great rec-room type area. Our first goal is to get the water problem fixed. We will wait til after the spring thaw before dry walling and putting down a new floor. Want to make sure the problem is fixed before spending the money on that.

It's been a stressful few weeks, and I am looking forward to having a dry and leak free basement, but until then I am the shop-vac queen!

Friday, August 7, 2009

BLOGGING BREAK & MOVIE REVIEWS


I've been on a bit of a blogging break. I'm not sure if it's because it's summer, or if I've just gotten lazy. It most certainly isn't because I don't have anything to say!

I've been seeing a lot of movies lately, at the theatre and at home. I've been meaning to blog about them, so I should get at it. I went to see the new Harry Potter movie yesterday, and enjoyed it, though it wasn't as action filled as the previous ones. I haven't read any of the books, and think I may start, as people who have read them are telling me I'm missing a lot by just seeing the movies.

Tonight I went to see Julie & Julia. Great movie. I didn't know a lot about Julia Child, very interesting women. This is a good heart warming movie about two very lovely ladies, and how one helped the other without even realizing it. You'll probably feel like going out for a great dinner after or feel like cooking a great dish! I also learned two cooking tips just from the movie; 1. Don't crowd the mushrooms when frying them or they won't brown, and 2. Pat dry your meat with paper towel before frying for better browning. I'm half tempted to buy a Julia Child cookbook now!