Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
9:42 AM | Posted by
Team Mitchell & Crew
I often get asked why I continue to live in Winchester and make the hour long one-way commute everyday to go to work. Money is usually the first thing that comes to my head. $150,000 for a house doesn't go far in the city limits of Lexington, but it bought us an all brick home with almost an acre in Winchester.
The next thing that comes to mind is the fact I can go to WalMart and know no-one. I mean, I could talk about colleagues and students at the top of my voice (of course I would NEVER do that) in the middle of the pickle aisle and no one would be in the peanut butter section listening to me ready to tell someone else. No one related to my working world lives over here. It's lonely, but liberating.
But last night, I discovered (actually more like remembered) one of my favorite parts about living where I live. Has nothing to do with Winchester, nothing to do with Clark County, and very little to do with my house....it's something I did. Something I planted 8 summers ago and it is now amazing!
In the summer of 2000, I was planning my wedding and moving into said house preparing to be a newlywed. I was 24, Scott was 30 and we were both ready for the on-our-own style of life. One morning before the wedding, we went down to the Farmer's Market in Lex. I remember buying some tomatoes, squash and this cute little plant, they said would grown into a thorn less blackberry bush. OK. I love blackberries. I hate thorns. Perfect fit.
I brought it home and plated my $8.99 treasure. It stood 8 inches tall and had 4 leaves.
Summer #2: I got 4 berries off that silly vine. I knew I'd wasted my money.
Summers 3-7 I would stand and eat said berries straight from the vine and make it inside with 20 or so. Just enough to fling into some cereal. Lainie would also cover herself in berry juices and she double-fisted hers into her mouth.
And here we are at Summer #8. They exploded this year. Since Scott grew up without fences in his neighborhood (something about football fields and throwing passes with friends across yards) we only have one fence in our whole yard (it's chain link and our neighbor Al put it up between around his property before we moved in), it is filling up the whole section that faces our yard. Last night, we filled up half of a galvanized bucket with ripe berries, not to mention the hundreds we left on the vine until later in the week.
Lainie and I washed the berries, made a cobbler (OMG yum!), had a berry and Cool Whip snack, sprinkled them over our cereal and covered the others with Equal until later.
Cobbler recipe:
1 c water
2 c sugar, parted
1 - 2 c fresh berries
1 stick butter
1 c self rising flour
1 c milk
1 c milk
Bring water to a boil in saucepan. Add 1 c. sugar and stir until dissolved. Add berries. Simmer for 10 min. Melt butter in 9 x 13 pan in 350* oven. When melted, mix flour and remaining 1 c. sugar in large bowl. Slowly add milk to avoid clumping. Pour batter into 9x13 pan over butter. DO NOT STIR. Spoon berries into 9x13. DO NOT STIR. Gently pour hot berry syrup over 9x13. DO NOT STIR (stirring makes it all smear together. Cobblers should be many colors!)
Bake 30 min @ 350*
That alone - is one of the main reasons I will stay in this house until the number of people out numbers the bedrooms. After tater-tot, we're in trouble!
Monday, July 14, 2008
This past weekend we went fishing at my Mom and Dad's. Lainie has been asking for a fishing trip for moths now and even after the deep sea fishing adventure Scott arranged for us in Fla, Lainie isisted she had to do it at Pappaw's with Pappaw. Fair enough.
My dad retired to this fishing dock with its own little house back when I was in college. I didn't understand its appeal until I spent a sunset there shortly there after. The house is kinda on the small side, but perfect for a retired auto engineer with a love of fish and motorcycles. Ironically, my mother then bought a house directly (like you can see it through the parting of the trees) across the lake. You have to call two houses to find one parent. My dad will lean out and say - "yep, her car's over there." Long story, even as entertaining as it is.
My favorite picture is the one from above. Scott, Dad and Lainie insisted that I post the 28 inch catfish. Lainie totally took credit from Dad for that one. All Scott caught were turtles. Such silly fish tales.
Monday, May 12, 2008
So we all know what my husband does for a living, right? I mean, he owns a contracting construction business and comes home covered in paint, dust and dirt - everyday. I don't just mean occasionally....I mean EVERYDAY!!! He's ill if he's not layered in dust particles!
SO my very physically working husband gave me the best Mother's Day present he could ever think of this past weekend. He devoted the entire weekend to the upkeep and preservation of our house. Not my neighbor's house, not my family's house, not even our rental property, but mine, all mine.
Lainie loved it! (As did I!) He painted the attic door, bought mulch, cooked breakfast, sanded the front door, bought new paint, mulched my yard, juiced up the trailer and hitch, cleaned the gutters, trimmed the trees, painted the front trim, fixed the bathroom ceiling, installed the sandbox cover and laid more sand. My house looks so good. Not too mention how important his time and efforts left me feeling. He is really a great husband! Hard working, dedicated, passionate, and driven....it's just that these great qualities often benefit other people (now granted TEAM MITCHELL gets the paycheck)....but sometimes it's nice for them to notice you too. Love you bud!
Good job Handy Manny and Helper Lainie!!! Thank you sooo much!
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